Well, this will be long. So I’ll expedite.
Friday
I was obviously way more excited about NSYNC’s under-three-minute reunion at the VMAs than I have ever been about this Backstreet Boys concert happening tonight at Verizon, but I suppose there are some redeeming elements. The boyband is claiming that nothing’s changed after a 10-year hiatus, which obviously means Kevin’s still not allowed to sing, but here’s one difference: Nick Carter is no longer far-and-away the cutest. They’ve all cleaned up okay. Ish. Anyway, they have a new album out, but I’m not even going to bother to tell you what it’s called. You know you’re only going to this concert to see them do the “I Want It That Way” hand moves. Or you can just watch this video of Charli XCX singing that same song, but better. Tickets, shockingly enough, are still available to purchase online.
You can trade pop for lo-fi drums and guilt at the Texas Theatre, which hosts Los Angeles duo No Age for a concert behind the on-stage screen. That should help make the whole experimental experience just a tad more mysterious. As a bonus for those playing hooky from work today, you can catch the film Computer Chess there at 3 p.m. Our arts editor, Peter Simek, recommends it, and it’s showing at the theater through Tuesday.
Saturday
Saturday is your last chance to catch the Dallas Actor’s Lab’s production of the play Jailbait. There’s a matinee and an evening performance to make fitting this in easy on your schedule. It’s well worth your time, a statement which I expound upon further in my review for FrontRow right here. Over at Ochre House in Fair Park, Matthew Posey has a new puppet musical called Beat Seat in Town.
Dallas has also been bestowed the honor of hosting the Mad Decent Block Party Saturday night at Zouk, so if you’re interested in seeing what the hype is all about, now’s your chance. Catch Mad Decent artists such as Major Lazer, Flosstradamus, Dillon Francis, and plenty more. No Danny Brown, but we just got him for Gorilla vs Bear. I think he can be forgiven.
Sunday
This is fantastic. On the laziest of days, the most fun thing is happening approximately ten seconds from my house. The Kessler Theater has put together a little old-fashioned neighborhood get-together, you know, like you’d host in your backyard. But with better music, probably. (I don’t know what you got going on.) It’s call LO-OC-Al, and you’re invited to stop by the Kessler for an indoor/outdoor activity that includes tribute bands, burgers, and beer. You can bring pets, lawn chairs, and snacks, but you gotta buy the booze there. A portion of proceeds benefit the Winnetka Heights Neighborhood Association.
I also love a good Sunday matinee. Thank You, Jeeves is running at Fort Worth’s Stage West, where they seem to enjoy the work of British author P.G. Wodehouse as much as my mom and I do. Wodehouse’s beloved creation, the daffy Bertie Wooster, bumbles his way through life with the help of his trusted butler, Jeeves. This play is based on the novel of the same name, in which Bertie actually manages to find a hobby so obnoxious, Jeeves resigns. This delightful afternoon fare is directed by Stage West founder Jerry Russell, who is unfortunately in critical condition at a hospital in Fort Worth. Here’s to a speedy recovery.
Monday
I hope you’ve got yourself a pool. Otherwise, use this opportunity to catch up on all the movies you haven’t had a chance to see, like The Spectacular Now and Ain’t Them Bodies Saints. We’ve got plenty of reviews on FrontRow to help you pick a good one.
The Sixth Museum has an exhibit of AP photographs from its archive of presidential campaigns, administrations, and more, dating back to Abraham Lincoln. I’ve been wanting to check it out since it opened, but I never wanted to brave it on a weekend and weekdays are tough. Among the 71 images is Paul Vathis’ Pulitzer Prize-winning shot of President Kennedy meeting with Dwight D. Eisenhower, right after the failed Bay of Pigs Invasion.
For more to do this long holiday weekend, go here. Enjoy it.
