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: The Lumineers at Xfinity Center
A relatively light weekend of live music takes us south of the city tonight (June 3) to Mansfield’s Xfinity Center for The Lumineers and the latest stop on the Colorado folk band’s BRIGHTSIDE tour, named for their January album. As we reported before everyone else on Wednesday morning, there’s a nice local tie here, as The Lumineers’ Jeremiah Fraites randomly encountered a fan in downtown Boston playing “Ophelia” on a street piano, joining in and inviting the guy, Samuel Spencer, to tonight’s gig. It was a heart-warming moment at a time when we really need some of those. And who knows, maybe Spencer will turn up on stage, reverse the what transpired earlier in the week and join in the band.
THE LUMINEERS :: Friday, June 3 at Xfinity Center, 885 South Main St. in Mansfield, MA :: 7:30 p.m., all ages :: Venue page :: Ticket info
Comedy: Christina P at The Wilbur
A few days ago we threw down a midweek Mic’d Up, taking a breather for the Monday holiday, and set our live comedy sights on this weekend. In the quartet of picks, two were out in Western Mass, and two were at The Wilbur. For the latter, Comedy Editor Jason Greenough will have more on Brian Glowacki later today, so we turn our V3 shine towards the glowing orb that is Christina P, who on Sunday (June 5) holds parental court on Tremont Street.
Writes Greenough: “With an observational wit as sharp as a mother’s instinct, the Your Mom’s House co-host brings the power wielded in her most recent Netflix special, Mom Genes, to The Wilbur for a highly anticipated and well overdue return. Raunchy, sincere and, above all else, unfiltered hilarity is sure to ensue when Christina P hits the stage, so don’t miss out.”
CHRISTINA P :: Sunday, June 5 at The Wilbur Theatre, 246 Tremont St. in Boston, MA :: 7 p.m. :: Event page and ticket info
Film/TV: ‘Top Gun: Maverick’ on a big screen
Yeah, Top Gun: Maverick came out out last week, but maybe you were busy enjoying the long weekend. Or perhaps you were hanging with us at Boston Calling and didn’t get a chance to hit the local theater. Or maybe you were like “Hey that looks cool, but I’ll wait for it to hit Prime and watch it at home.” By now, you’ve heard the word: The long-awaited sequel to the 1986 blockbuster simply needs to be seen in a theater on the largest screen possible. The Rotten Tomatoes numbers are in, and they are bonkers: 97 percent Tomatometer score across nearly 370 critic reviews; and a 99 percent score by the audience. Talk about taking one’s breath away.
Here’s a snippet from Film Editor Nick Johnston’s review: “Maverick doesn’t try to rewrite the formula of the original, though it adds a heaping serving of pathos to the plate of fanciful imagery, white-knuckle thrills, and swell character work already present in the original film. Couple that with the impressive innovations in camera tech both as a result of the natural evolution of modes of film production and the few that were outright invented for this film, and you have something familiar, yet utterly fresh.”
TOP GUN: MAVERICK :: Now playing; check your local listings for showtimes and information