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: Foster The People at House of Blues
For a certain segment of older heads in the Boston music scene, Foster The People will always be a kinda-sorta local band. Mark Foster’s longtime collaborator and co-conspirator Isom Innis once toiled in our fair city’s dirty rock clubs via electro-pop project Southern Belle, and we always figured he’d go on to global stages. So as Foster The People embark on the Foster Paradise State of Mind Tour in these early stages of ’25, we’re counting Saturday’s party at Boston’s House of Blues as a homecoming gig. The duo is on the road supporting last summer’s ace new album Paradise State Of Mind, and given the upbeat and eclectic beats on the record, it should be quite the dance party. But like most Foster The People compositions, there’s a darker undercurrent to the gloss on the surface. “I think the trickiest part about this record was trying to be authentic about what had been going on with me,” says Foster via Audacity, “without writing something super dark and without glossing over it, either. Because, to me, it was really important that hope remain at the core of this whole thing.”
FOSTER THE PEOPLE + GOOD NEIGHBOURS :: Saturday, February 22 at House of Blues, 15 Lansdowne St. in Boston, MA :: 7 p.m., all age, $45 to $69 :: Event info :: Advance tickets
Comedy: Nikki Glaser at The Wang
There are few things in the world right now that just make sense, but Nikki Glaser being every-got-damn-where is one of them. The comedian, actor, podcast host, and whatever she just did yesterday has been all over our feeds lately, from hosting the Golden Globes to being nominated for a Grammy to taking on arenas with Bert Kreischer for some “Big Game” revelry. And we’re still thinking about last year’s Tom Brady roast appearance. Now the St. Louis multi-talent takes over The Wang this weekend, bringing her wonderfully named Alive And Unwell Tour to Boston for six shows tonight through Sunday. “The biggest tour of my entire life has officially begun,” she wrote on Insta a week ago. “These past two weekends of The Alive And Unwell Tour were the best crowds of my career. I can’t wait to do like 150 more shows with you this year! I am so lucky.” So are we.
NIKKI GLASER: ALIVE AND UNWELL TOUR :: Friday, February 21 to Sunday, February 23 at The Wang Theatre, 270 Tremont St. in Boston, MA :: 7 and 9:30 p.m., $49.75 and up :: Event info and tickets
Film/TV: ‘The Fall’ at The Brattle
For the past several weeks, we’ve listened to The Murder Capital’s riveting new single “The Fall,” where the Irish post-punk band warns us “And the fall is coming, and the fall is coming / And the fall is coming, and the fall is coming.” We assumed the worst, but perhaps it was setting up The Brattle’s weekend showing of The Fall, Tarsem Singh’s 2006 adventure fantasy film. The Cambridge cinema pairs it with the Indian director’s 2000 film The Cell, and provides the details: “In this stunningly gorgeous cult classic, Lee Pace stars as a stuntman who meets a young girl while recovering from a paralyzing injury and begins to tell her a swashbuckling story that comes to life in her imagination. But this is no Wizard of Oz; the man has ulterior motives and the girl a desperate need to please. As the story approaches its end, it’s increasingly unclear whether it’s headed for a happy ending or a tragic conclusion… The visionary filmmaker Tarsem (R.E.M.’s “Losing My Religion” video) fills the screen with magnificent costumes and stunning locations as he crafts a magical love letter to the power of storytelling and human connection. Unavailable for almost 20 years, The Fall is now available in a spectacular 4K restoration for all to appreciate.” It’s here.
‘THE FALL’ :: Friday, February 21 to Sunday, February 23 at The Brattle, 40 Brattle St. in Cambridge, MA :: Showtimes vary, $15 :: Event info and tickets