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 Elovaters at House of Blues
We’re currently 153 days away from the official start of summer, but for The Elovaters, the chill season never stopped. The Boston progressive roots and reggae rock brigade hold court at House of Blues on Saturday (January 20) for a sweet hometown winter gig of warm vibes and positivity, fresh off being named Live Artist of the Year and Reggae/Ska Artist of the Year at last month’s Boston Music Awards. Their 2023 global breakout album Endless Summer has plenty of juice left, and The Elovators have a busy year ahead, including festival appearances at Cali Vibes, California Roots, and Rise and Vibes Music Festival. For this weekend’s throwdown, they’ll be joined by Shwayze and Surfer Girl, and Lansdowne will be transformed no matter what the winter weather may bring. Bundle up for the outside, let it hang loose for the inside.
THE ELOVATERS + SHWAYZE + SURFER GIRL :: Saturday, January 20 at House of Blues, 15 Lansdowne St. in Boston, MA :: 7 p.m., all ages, $32 to $55 :: Event info :: Advance tickets
Comedy: Dumpster Fire at The Rockwell
We’ve been massive fans of Brieana Woodward ever since she brought a ballistic buffet of laughs to the Vanyaland Comedy Festival at Bellforge a few years ago, and by now, we’ll follow her wherever she goes. Even to Davis Square! This Saturday (January 20), she takes things underground with Dumpster Fire; here’s Mic’d Up with the deets: “Fresh off her Rising Star of the Year honor at the Boston Comedy Choice Awards, Woodward hosts the latest showcase to hit The Rockwell, alongside her life and creative partner Al Christakis. Joining them for the evening will be a smattering of the city’s grinding comedy talents in Cam Ohh, Logan O’Brien and Theo Konstantino, so you’re pretty much getting one of the best shows you can find on the calendar.”
DUMPSTER FIRE :: Saturday, January 20 at The Rockwell, 255 Elm St. in Somerville, MA :: 9 p.m., 21-plus, $15 advance, $18 day of show :: Advance tickets
Film/TV: ‘Poltergeist’ at Coolidge Corner Theatre
If you’re of a certain age, few movies scared the ever-loving piss out of kids in the ’80s quite like Poltergeist, forever changing the way we looked at static TV screens, midnight meat snacks, and the big fucking tree out in the front yard. It felt like pure evil was contained in that damn VHS tape. Well, we have some good/bad news: The 1982 supernatural horror film is showing Friday night (January 19) at The Coolidge Corner Theatre, part of its After Midnite series. Here’s the word from the Brookline cinema: “Director Tobe Hooper joins supernatural forces with producer Steven Spielberg to create one of the most frightening haunted house stories ever! The typical American family moves into the typical suburban house, but what they encounter is anything but typical. Their house may look exactly like every other one on the block, but what’s buried beneath the foundation results in horrors that the Freeling family couldn’t imagine even in their worst nightmares.”
‘POLTERGEIST’ :: Friday, January 19 at Coolidge Corner Theatre, 290 Harvard St. in Brookline , MA :: 11:59 p.m., $15.50 :: Info and tickets