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 Scrooges at O’Brien’s Pub
It’s the most wonderful time of the year — and we can hardly remember any of it come morning. This Saturday (December 9) the holidays kick into high gear as The Scrooges, the Boston institution of Stooges-lovin’ Santas, hold court at O’Brien’s Pub for the Allston dive’s annual holiday party and toy drive, a tradition carried like a sack of intoxicated joy down Harvard Avenue from shuttered sister venue Great Scott. In 2018 we documented The Scrooges’ 20th anniversary, so by our math (which is usually more Iggy than Pop), this year marks The Scrooges’ 25th year of existence.
Formed back in the late ’90s after frontman and music scene veteran David Unger felt divine inspiration while taking a piss during an Iggy Pop show on Lansdowne Street, The Scrooges have been dashing through the December snow ever since. Honoring Detroit the proto-punk band’s three classic albums — 1969’s The Stooges; 1970’s Fun House; and 1973’s Raw Power — they’ve brought together members of Boston bands like Doc Hopper, Lamont, White Dynomite, Cortez, Random Road Mother, Rock City Crimewave, Hey Zeus, Lipsmear and others all in the name of dressing up like Santa and blasting out some timeless garage rock while climbing down December’s chimney and ripping your mistletoe-sucking face off. We say it every year but we’ll say it again: Who needs a tree lighting when we can get lit with The Scrooges?
O’BRIEN’S ANNUAL TOY DRIVE & HOLIDAY PARTY WITH THE SCROOGES + YOUR SHITTY FUTURE + CATCHING HELL :: Saturday, December 9 at O’Brien’s Pub, 3 Harvard Ave. in Allston, MA :: 9 p.m., 21-plus, free with unwrapped toy :: Event info
Comedy: Anthony Jeselnik at The Wilbur
We all need a little break from all that holiday spirit, and to the rescue comes Anthony Jeselnik, who has held court at The Wilbur since Wednesday and refuses to vacate until Sunday (December 10). Who needs Santa when we have one of our favorite comedians? As usual, Mic’d Up has the word: “Just in time for the holiday season, ol’ Cringe Kringle makes his way back to The Wilbur for a largely sold-out run as part of his Bones and All tour. Depending on your comfort level, it’s been far too long since we last heard from Jeselnik, so to have him back in town after all that has happened since his last special, there’s no way this week won’t harbor some hard-hitting comedy therapy by way of the Pittsburgh native.”
ANTHONY JESELNIK :: Wednesday, December 6 to Sunday, December 10 at The Wilbur, 246 Tremont St. in Boston, MA :: Times vary, $47 to $77 :: Advance tickets
Film/TV: ‘May December’
May has come and gone but December is here to stay, so we’re pausing Netflix for a moment to catch May December in the theatre as it plays this weekend and beyond at Cambridge’s Kendall Square Cinema. Todd Haynes’ provocative drama is loosely based on the Mary Kay Letourneau scandal, when in the 1990s the 34-year-old elementary school teacher had an intimate relationship with her 12-year-old student, with whom she would later marry and start a new family. But the film is emboldened by Haynes’ art-house direction and engaging performances across its cast, including Natalie Portman, Julianne Moore, and a breakout Charles Melton. It’s worth catching on the big screen, even if already seen on the medium screen. Here’s the official word: “Twenty years after their notorious tabloid romance, a married couple buckle under the pressure when a Hollywood actress meets them to do research for a film about their past.”
‘MAY DECEMBER’ :: Now playing at Landmark Kendall Square Cinema, 355 Binney St, Cambridge in MA :: Showtimes vary :: Screening info