FRIDAY –
Here in San Diego, we don’t hear live zydeco music that often, so if you want that Mardi Gras vibe with your entertainment, you can see the BAYOU BROTHERS at Hooleys Irish Pub & Grill in LA MESA.
There are a couple tribute bands at the Grand Ritz Theater in ESCONDIDO. The opener is Cat Stevens, followed by an America tribute. We can all use a ride on the Peace Train these days.
And one band that’s not a tribute act, per se, but former members of XTC are in a band appropriately titled EXTC. They’ll be at the Bornemann Theater in SAN MARCOS.
Grammy and Oscar winning musician JON BATISTE has his “Big Money Tour” stopping at the Rady Shell DOWNTOWN.
SATURDAY –
We’re still a few weeks away from October, but it doesn’t mean you can’t celebrate Oktoberfest early. The 9th ANNUAL EAST VILLAGE OKTOBERFEST at the Quartyard DOWNTOWN will have live music, Bavarian bites, and of course, lots of beer.
For tribute bands, there’s a Pink Floyd in ESCONDIDO, and a SANTANA in SAN MARCOS.
No one’s to blame but yourself, if you miss HOWARD JONES at the Sound in DEL MAR. I’m more excited by the opener – HAIRCUT 100. I thought their song “Love Plus One” was one of the best of the ‘80s.
And more ‘80s – CLASSIC ALBUMS LIVE: PRINCE – PURPLE RAIN, is going to be raining down on the Rady Shell DOWNTOWN. You’ll hear every song from that album, but also some tracks from 1999 and other records.
An L.A. punk band with a great name, the NEVERLAND RANCH DAVIDIANS, will be moshing at The Tower Bar in SAN DIEGO.
SUNDAY –
If you like big trucks and you cannot lie…the HOT WHEELS MONSTER TRUCKS LIVE is happening in the afternoon at 2:30 at Pechanga Arena.
At the movies…
A BIG BOLD BEAUTIFUL JOURNEY
What a horrible title for a film. It sounds like a Journey tribute band. Yet my wife and I were really looking forward to it. The trailer looked cute – and Colin Farrell is a guy my wife is quite fond of. And I wouldn’t kick Margot Robbie out of…the movie theater. It will be a lot easier for me to just list the few good things about the movie: Seeing Kevin Kline and Phoebe Waller-Bridge (Fleabag) bookend the picture (she’s especially funny, always working in the F-bombs). The use of two songs – “Shout” by the Isley Brothers and the appropriate “Let My Love Open the Door” in the closing credits. And lastly, the only scene that was enjoyable – watching Farrell go back to high school and be in the musical “How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying.” Everything else was garbage. The story has a couple meeting at a wedding. They have no chemistry (and it stays that way throughout). And Robbie’s character is rather unlikable in most of the movie. A car rental place run by a couple of cupids, sets them up in the same vehicle, and there are various doors they find along their road trip. They go through them, and go back to a time in their life that was impactful. It could be the love that got away, or a parent dying. None of it worked. I saw one critic that wrote something along the lines of “It makes Hallmark cards look like Charles Bukowski.” Best. Line. Ever. A guy at the cigar lounge asked me if there was any nudity. There wasn’t, but my wife wasn’t complaining when Farrell took his shirt off. 1 ½ stars out of 5.
HIM
If you watch this movie, you’ll get a little insight into what quarterback Aaron Rodgers probably does in his “darkness retreats” before the season. (I kid, of course). It’s unfortunate that the trailer basically gives away the premise of the story. It’s like “North Dallas Forty” meets “Rosemary’s Baby” [note to self: I should probably update my movie references, instead of referencing a movie from the late ‘70s and one from the late ‘60s]. Some of the visuals are cool. The performances are good, too. Marlan Wayans plays the best quarterback football has ever seen (8 Super Bowl and MVP wins), and he’s ready to pass the torch to Cameron (Tyriq Withers, who was channeling Channing Tatum). Cameron starts to realize just how crazy the training regime is once he goes to the compound in the desert. This picture tries to be a sports movie, horror film, and comedy. And never really succeeds at any of those, and if you really dissect the story (especially after what happens at the end), there are too many flaws in the logic of what these three screenwriters gave us. Of course, there are many vomit scenes. I’m guessing it’s now up to 83% of all movies having to feature a scene that has that. 1 ½ stars out of 5.