Editor’s Note: Welcome to V3 Weekend, Vanyaland 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: Cousin Stizz at Roadrunner
Last Friday it was Van Buren at The Paradise; now it’s Cousin Stizz at Roadrunner. The stages get higher and brighter for Boston hip-hop, seemingly by the week, and tonight (April 22) the celebrated Dorchester rapper holds court at the city’s flashiest new venue, the latest stop on his “A Tour For You” run. In February, Stizz dropped Just For You, his first independent full-length since 2015 project Suffolk County and a follow-up to a two-year hiatus that began after his 2019’s Trying To Find My Next Thrill.
The casual charm and charisma flows through Stizz’s latest, and tonight’s show feels more like a party than anything else. Just check that extended lineup in the info box below. This is Stizz’s headlining bash, but the showcase starts early with top-shelf festival vibes. Plus, any party with OG Swaggerdick is the place to be.
COUSIN STIZZ + TONY SHHNOW + MICHAEL CHRISTMAS + SUPERSMASHBROZ + ALLYOUCANEAT (TOWFU + MOZES) + OG SWAGGERDICK + MESSYMONEY SAV :: Friday, April 22 at Roadrunner, 89 Guest St. in Boston, MA :: 7 p.m., all ages, $30 :: Show + venue info :: Advance tickets
Comedy: Jim Gaffigan at The Wilbur
As Vanyaland Comedy Editor Jason Greenough notes in Mic’d Up, this was one hell of a week in live comedy around Boston, and that’s not even getting into the news about Bill Burr headlining Fenway Park this summer. This weekend in Eastern Massachusetts alone sees Letterkenny at The Orpheum; Dane Cook at The Wang; Greg Fitzsimmons at Plainridge Park Casino; and Matt Braunger at Dreamland in Nantucket. But as usual, The Wilbur is the place to be, with Jim Gaffigan taking over the weekend after a pair of nights at The Chevalier.
Writes Greenough: “In the best possible way, it feels like Jim Gaffigan is an unstoppable fountain of comedy material. Balancing a blindingly heavy touring schedule with family life, the all-too-friendly stand-up titan returns to the area as part of his “Fun” tour, with some brand new jokes ad stories following the premiere of his latest Netflix special, Comedy Monster, at the very tail end of 2021. …you’ll have more than enough chances to catch him shine his pale and powerful comedy light throughout the week.”
JIM GAFFIGAN :: Friday, April 22 to Sunday, April 24 at The Wilbur Theatre, 246 Tremont St. in Boston, MA :: Friday at 7:30 and 10 p.m.; Saturday at 7 and 9:45 p.m.; Sunday at 7 p.m. :: Tickets are $59 to $75
Film/TV: The Northman in theaters
“Badass doesn’t even begin to cut it.” That’s a Vanyaland pullquote used in the new Red Band trailer for The Northman, pulled from Film Editor Nick Johnston’s review of Robert Eggers’ Viking epic. The Northman hits theaters this weekend, and we can’t remember the last time we were so excited to see a film on the big screen the very second it opened. The cast is insane (Alexander Skarsgård, Bjork, Nicole Kidman, Ethan Hawke, Anya Taylor-Joy, Willem Dafoe…), the action looks bloody intense, and the plot is damn wild: “Prince Amleth is on the verge of becoming a man when his father is brutally murdered by his uncle, who kidnaps the boy’s mother. Two decades later, Amleth is now a Viking who raids Slavic villages. He soon meets a seeress who reminds him of his vow — save his mother, kill his uncle, avenge his father.” Johnston dubbed The Northman “the heaviest and most brutal masterpiece you’ll see all year,” and we are ready.
‘THE NORTHMAN’ :: Rated R :: 2 hours and 16 minutes :: Check local listings for showtimes and information