FRIDAY night, a few great comedians are in town. WANDA SYKES will be at the San Diego Civic Theatre DOWNTOWN. I love her in interviews, but once sat in the front row for her show in Las Vegas, and only laughed twice. Her long-time opener, Keith Robinson was hysterical, though.
RICH VOSS, whom I’ve loved for decades, and has been on “Gutfeld!” a lot the last few years, will be at GRAND COMEDY in ESCONDIDO. There’s a 6:30 and 9 p.m. show, which I’ll be at.
And actor/comedian ASIF ALI is at the American Comedy Company DOWNTOWN.
A tribute band I’ve seen twice and loved – QUEEN NATION – will be at the Moonlight Amphitheatre in VISTA. They will rock you!
SATURDAY – for all you pinball wizards, there’s a PINBALL TOURNAMENT at Eppig Brewing in VISTA, put on by the San Diego Pinball Club. It’s only $6 to enter (that’s 24 quarters).
For all you writers and readers…the SAN DIEGO WRITERS FESTIVAL is happening at the CORONADO PUBLIC LIBRARY all day, with over 150 speakers. It’s free, and there’s food, drinks, music, and an actor whose memoir was absolutely terrific with such surprisingly crazy stories – Ed Begley Jr. – will be among those in attendance. There will also be many local writers in attendance, including two brilliant ones I know – Ted Washington and Jennifer Coburn (pick up her new book “The Girls of the Glimmer Factory” which recently became a USA Today best-seller).
The band that went from Jefferson Airplane to Jefferson Starship, to now just being STARSHIP (I’m guessing in a few years they’ll just be “Star”) – with MICKEY THOMAS – have gone from being a psychedelic ‘60s band to more yacht rock-esque…will be at the Moonlight Amphitheatre in VISTA.
MATT NATHANSON is at The Sound in DEL MAR.
More music tribute acts – The Music of ABBA – with “Direct From Sweden” at Sycuan Casino, and NO DUH at the Belly Up Tavern and an ELTON JOHN tribute show at Colabo Performing Arts. A band doing covers of ‘80s tunes – TOTALLY 80s – is at Humphrey’s Backstage Music Club, if you wanna get your Cyndi Lauper and B-52s on.
For sports, since the Padres are away in Chicago playing the Cubs…here are the local teams you can catch: SAN DIEGO FC vs Seattle Sounders, at SNAPDRAGON STADIUM.
You can watch a more physical sport – RUGBY with the San Diego Legion vs Chicago Hounds at TORERO STADIUM.
SUNDAY – the weekend may be coming to a close, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t shows to see.
At the BALBOA THEATER there’s a tribute show called “The Rocket Man.” It’s either a tribute to Kim Jung Un, Elon Musk or more likely, ELTON JOHN. Scotsman Rus Anderson will be on the piano, vocals, and really big sunglasses.
At the San Diego Civic Theatre DOWNTOWN, brilliant comedian NIKKI GLASER brings her “Alive and Unwell” tour. She’s been nominated for Golden Globes, Grammys, Emmys, and has sold out tours for two decades. She also has a variety of hit podcasts. What I’m most excited about is former 91X DJ and talented singer/songwriter ANYA MARINA opening the show with her lovely tunes (her cover of “Waters of March” is amazing).
For those mourning the loss of VAL KILMER, you can watch him on the big screen again as Iceman in TOP GUN, showing at the Rooftop Cinema Club at the Manchester Grand Hyatt DOWNTOWN.
For the homebodies that want to stream their entertainment, the first 10 episodes of MOBLAND are on PARAMOUNT+. This is the Guy Ritchie series with the insanely talented cast of Helen Mirren, Tom Hardy, and Pierce Brosnan.
On April 6, the final season of THE HANDMAID'S TALE will be on HULU, the season three finale of THE WHITE LOTUS is on HBO, and former SNL cast-member and Scripps Ranch resident Kyle Mooney’s underrated comedy “Y2K” will be on Max. That’s the Rachel Zegler movie people should see that didn’t want to support Snow White.
And, a movie you can watch in theaters…
LOCKED. This is a two-hander starring Anthony Hopkins, getting a bit evil in his Hannibal Lector style and Bill Skarsgard (who is usually the evil one, in “It” and “Nosferatu”). The premise is that Hopkins is a rich guy whose daughter was killed during a robbery, so he designs a fancy SUV that will trap thieves inside, so he can torture them. The car is designed with various means of torture (and you think spilling your Starbucks in the drive-thru is painful). These types of movies with limited space – Panic Room, Buried, Phone Booth, or Willem Dafoe’s brilliant “Inside” from a few years ago – can be tough to pull off. Yet this worked, despite it getting repetitive once the second half kicks into gear. Perhaps these “getting revenge” films are in my wheelhouse, because every critic hated the Bruce Willis remake of “Death Wish” but I enjoyed it. Great choice of music – Tchaikovsky, which made you think of “Silence of the Lambs.” And “I Got You Babe” was a perfect choice, as it was in “Groundhog Day.” And there was the best use of yodeling since the Nicholson film “The Last Detail.” Great product placement for Gummi Bears (as that’s the only food he has for days and days of being stuck in the car). This movie isn’t for everyone, but if you don’t mind Skarsgard looking like Pete Davidson and acting just as obnoxious as him – then being tortured for it, you’ll have fun with this tight, 90 minute film. 3 stars out of 5.