Editor’s Note: Welcome to V3 Weekend, Vanyaland‘s guide to help you sort out your weekend entertainment with curated selections and recommendations across our three pillars of Music, Comedy, and Film/TV. It’s what you should know about, where you need to be, and where you’ll be going, with us riding shotgun along the way.
Music: We Make Noise Fest in Downtown Crossing
Summer is winding down, but festival season keeps rolling, and this weekend the second-annual We Make Noise Fest returns to Downtown Crossing with another inspired lineup of artists and action. After popping off last year for its first iteration, the festival celebrating women and gender-expansive artists holds court in Boston this Saturday with performances by a host of Vanyaland faves, including Lady Lamb, Eph See, Naomi Westwater, Jill McCracken, and kieramari. Here’s the word: “The festival will feature local musicians and DJs, a visual art gallery showcasing the work of diverse artists, digital interactions exploring feminism and activism, and a platform for local vendors through Boston Women’s Market. By empowering women and gender-expansive artists, We Make Noise aims to create an inclusive space for celebration, community, and artistic expression. The festival is presented by Mass NOW with the help of the Mayor’s Office of Arts and Culture and BID Boston.”
WE MAKE NOISE FEST 2025 :: Saturday, August 23 in Downtown Crossing, Washington and Summer streets in Boston, MA :: 11 a.m. to 8 p.m., all ages, free :: Event info
Comedy: Pete Holmes at The Wilbur
From the desk of Vanyaland comedy editor Jason Greenough: Based on the “here and now,” there’s virtually no better time to be the perennial all-star comedian than right now. Enter Pete Holmes. Returning home to Massachusetts for a Saturday night “Pete Here Now” doubleheader at The Wilbur, Lexington’s favorite son (sorry, Matt Nathanson) brings a whole new hour of uniquely crafted and often unexpectedly thoughtful jokes and musings that will have you questioning how you view both big picture things (God, parenthood, etc.) and the often forgotten, yet-still-important mundane occurrences, like “Have I ever actually needed to poop so bad that I peed second?” — ya know, just some easy weekend activity to keep the blood flowing, and to keep the horrors away for just a bit.
PETE HOLMES :: Saturday, August 23 at The Wilbur Theatre, 246 Tremont St. in Boston, MA :: 6 & 8:45 p.m., $45.25 to $55.25 :: Event info
Film: ‘The Doom Generation’ at Alamo Drafthouse
Those of a certain age — mainly those who came of age in the ’90s — understand the impact of Gregg Araki’s “Teenage Apocalypse Trilogy”, an underground film series that began in 1993 with Totally Fucked Up and ended with 1997’s Nowhere. In the middle was 1995’s The Doom Generation, a black comedy thriller starring Rose MacGowan and James Duvall that put Araki on the map. In a pre-internet world, getting ahold of these films and watching them felt dangerous and exciting, exposing a weird alternative subculture and primal exploration of sexuality that wasn’t as readily available for consumption as it is now. The Doom Generation is back on the big screen tonight as part of Alamo Drafthouse’s Time Capsule 1995 series, and we are stoked as fuck.
Here’s what’s up: “Headed home after a wild night at a Los Angeles club, young lovers Jordan White (James Duval) and Amy Blue (Rose McGowan) pick up a dangerously handsome drifter named Xavier Red (Johnathon Schaech). Jordan doesn’t see a problem with offering Xavier a quick ride, but his acid-tongued girlfriend thinks he’s a creep. When Xavier inadvertently kills a convenience store clerk, they are forced to go on the run, traversing a bizarre and ultra-violent America. Somehow, every random thug, drive-thru operator, and neo-Nazi they encounter seems to recognize Amy as a past fling or alter ego, adding to the already explosive sexual tension brimming among the renegade trio.”
‘THE DOOM GENERATION’ :: Friday, August 22 at Alamo Drafthouse, 60 Seaport Blvd. in Boston, MA :: 7:15 p.m., $17.49 :: Event info and tickets