For things to do in San Diego this weekend, we’re holiday heavy, with plays and musicals. Most of them open this weekend and will run until December 24th.
Since The Doors are my favorite group, I’ll tell you where I’ll be for the matinee performance today, and there’s another one at night, at the California Center for the Arts in Escondido – the Six String Society presents the 27 CLUB. Local musicians will be portraying the musicians who all died at age 27: Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin, Jim Morrison, Kurt Cobain, Amy Winehouse, and local blues man Robin Henkel as Robert Johnson. I’m thrilled that Whitney Shay is involved, as I love her voice, and one of the best female guitarists I’ve ever seen – Laura Chavez, who was Candy Kane’s axe slinger, is involved.
And tonight if you’re in for a musical, but don’t want to deal with a crowd of folks singing along to the movie WICKED, you can revisit the terrific LA LA LAND, at the ROOFTOP CINEMA at the Manchester Grand Hyatt downtown. Watch the beautiful San Diego sunset, followed by a great film. They’ve been doing this for six years now, and it’s a great experience (but bring your jacket!).
For music Friday night, we have local jazz/soul legendary sax-man KARL DENSON and his band THE GREYBOY ALLSTARS at the BELLY UP TAVERN.
For Yacht rock lovers like Ted Garcia, there’s ENGELBERT HUMPERDINCK – the man with the weirdest name in music besides Meat Loaf. He’s 88-years-old and going strong. He has sold 140 million records, 64 of which went gold, 35 platinum. And he’ll be rocking the blue hairs at the SYCUAN CASINO.
If comedy is more your thing, there are three in town that people either love or hate: KATHY GRIFFIN at the BALBOA THEATRE downtown, CHELSEA HANDLER at the CIVIC THEATRE, and 8-year Saturday Night Live cast member CHRIS KATTAN at the small, intimate MIC DROP COMEDY in Clairemont. If he does the Mango character, I’m outta there!
Two comedians I love, the underrated PETE HOLMES and PATTON OSWALT, will be at the BELLY UP TAVERN on Sunday night.
If you’re up and at ‘em early Saturday morning, check out the car show CARS & COFFEE. Those are happening in Point Loma, Escondido, Carlsbad, Bonita, Coronado, and Rancho Santa Fe.
Now, Elton John might claim Saturday night’s alright for fighting, but if you think it’s alright to start embracing the holiday season – THE NUTCRACKER will be at the Poway Center for Performing Arts. At the Lamplighter Community Theatre in La Mesa, it’s TWAS THE NIGHT BEFORE CHRISTMAS. At the New Village Arts Theatre in Carlsbad, it’s a live musical radio play of MIRACLE ON 34th STREET. At the La Jolla Playhouse, it’s the Dickens classic A CHRISTMAS CAROL – AGAIN. They’ve put a fun twist on the classic, involving an actor out of Juliard. And A CHRISTMAS CAROL is also at the Cygnet Theatre in Old Town. Their version has a few new songs and a few puppets. Most of those will be running until December 24th.
For sports fans, you have SDSU vs AIR FORCE at Snapdragon Stadium on Saturday night, as well as the hockey at Pechanga Arena for a SAN DIEGO GULLS game. On a side note – if you’re giving someone a new hockey stick as a present, think of a different way to wrap it or they’ll easily guess what it is.
A sport that most people have never seen live, but San Diego has a championship team in it – the SAN DIEGO SEALS lacrosse team has their season opener at Pechanga Arena vs the Georgia Swarm. Go see and bother those Seals instead of the ones at La Jolla Cove.
Your two best bets for music Saturday night – actor/singer LESLIE ODOM JR. is doing his annual Christmas Tour. That will be at the Jacobs Music Center.
A band I think is so money, after seeing their swing tunes in the great movie “Swingers” – BIG BAD VOODOO DADDY is at the Balboa Theatre.
Since I’m a huge fan of the classic rock bands, I might check out PAPERBACK WRITER, doing their Beatles tribute show at Sycuan. Just hope this faux mop top band doesn't lose a wig while shaking their heads on stage.
For MOVIES OPENING – well, it’s probably still going to be WICKED drawing big crowds, but so will MOANA 2.
It’s safe to say MOANA 2 isn’t as good as the first, although I can’t technically say that. At the theaters for the first movie eight years ago, I left halfway through because I had a migraine (which isn’t the film’s fault, I get them frequently). I wasn’t enjoying the old grandmother character and didn’t care for Dwayne Johnson’s voiceover (the artist formerly known as the Rock).
This latest was visually stunning; gorgeous animation. The songs were okay (but they clearly miss Lin-Manuel Miranda); but it’s not as memorable as other musicals. There were a boatload of new characters (see what I did there?). The only one of interest was the little sister, always yearning to hang out with Moana. The whole thing just felt like a cash grab that had no heart or originality.
The story has Moana spending three years exploring new islands in search of others. She has a vision from an ancestor, and that sets her on a more dangerous trek shortly after her return. She assembles a rag-tag crew from the island, that include a woman who can build things, a farmer grumpier than the old dude in “Up”, a strong guy that idolizes Maui (Dwayne Johnson), and her animal pets (a pig and rooster).
I was annoyed listening to the dim-witted rooster so often (and hoped the migraine wouldn’t return). I was also frustrated there were so few scenes I enjoyed. One of them involved the evil coconut people attacking with blow darts, and how the characters talked while poisoned.
I brought my racquetball partner and he said “I thought I would hate it, but I enjoyed it.” His wife did, too; His two daughters, aged 11 and 15, both loved it, and excitedly took photos with the movie poster outside the theater.
So while I can only give this 2 stars out of 5, you can bring your kids, and they’ll probably love it.
Now, if you are tired of the crowds from Black Friday shopping and don’t want to fight the crowds for Wicked and Moana 2, you can NETFLIX and chill with THE PIANO LESSON, although I wouldn’t advise it. The movie hits too many bad notes.
It’s once again Denzel Washington (producer) tackling playwright August Wilson (Fences and Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom being the other two). This time he doubles the nepo – his son Malcolm co-wrote the screenplay and makes his directorial debut. Denzel’s other son, the usually great John David Washington, is over-the-top and too loud as the main character. My wife complained at one point with how fast he was talking and with the accent, saying she had trouble understanding anyone.
The movie takes place in Pittsburgh in 1936, after the Great Depression. The film starts with us seeing folks steal a piano in 1911. It has their enslaved ancestors carved on it. Willie (John David Washington) comes back to town and wants to sell the family heirloom so he can buy some land. The rest of the family is reluctant.
I like the cast, but not in this. I would recommend you see them in their better films: Corey Hawkins in the brilliant musical “In the Heights.” Washington in the underrated “Malcolm & Marie” or “Tenet.”
Danielle Deadwyler in “Gifted” or “Till”; or Michael Potts, who apparently was great in the role for the Broadway version of “The Piano Lesson” – in the criminally underseen “Diggers” (although that’s a very small part), and you can watch Samuel L. Jackson in just about anything, but to stick with the instrument theme – find “The Red Violin” and thank me later.
The Piano Lesson only gets 1 star out of 5.
And as tempting as it may be to see a Christmas movie, stay away from the RED ONE (another Dwayne Johnson flick). It’s one of the worst movies of the year.
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