Weekend Event Planner

Untapped indie music and beer festival leads best weekend events in Dallas

The first full weekend in March is full of amazing events around the Dallas-Fort Worth area; it's fitting them all in that's the problem.

Music-wise, there are three big-name concerts in Dallas, plus a big festival in Fort Worth. It's also packed on the theater side, with a visit from a popular traveling show, a festival celebrating local groups and the world premiere of a buzzed-about musical.

Below are your best options for your precious free time Thursday through Sunday. Don't like what you see? Lucky for you, we have a much longer list of the city's best events.

Thursday, March 6

Dallas Summer Musicals presents We Will Rock You
The songs of the band Queen have become such a part of the musical fabric around the world that you hear titles like "Another Bites the Dust," "We are the Champions" and, of course, "We Will Rock You" and you immediately start humming the songs. This production, presented by Dallas Summer Musicals at Music Hall at Fair Park through March 16, capitalizes on that knowledge with a story set in the future where rock music has become all but extinct.

George Thorogood and the Destroyers in concert
Speaking of a song everybody knows by just the title, George Thorogood and the Destroyers are arguably best known for one tune: "Bad to the Bone." Nothing the band did before or after that 1982 release is as iconic as that single, but that hasn't stopped them from trying, as they've put out a new album as recently as 2011. They play at House of Blues Dallas.

Clint Black in concert with Bruce Robison and Kelly Willis
Clint Black hasn't exactly been a stranger around the Dallas-Fort Worth area in recent years, playing multiple private and public shows. It doesn't really matter that he hasn't put out a new album since 2005; has name still has that certain cachet that's guaranteed to draw a crowd. He does so again at the Majestic Theatre, with Texas husband-and-wife team Bruce Robison and Kelly Willis as opening act.

Friday, March 7

2014 Out of the Loop Fringe Festival
The Out of the Loop Fringe Festival, hosted by WaterTower Theatre at Addison Conference Centre, technically starts with one show on Thursday, but Friday is when it gets going in earnest. The festival, which runs through March 16, gives multiple local theater and dance companies a chance to show what they have to offer as part of a larger group.

Dallas Theater Center presents The Fortress of Solitude
There have been other buzzy shows during Dallas Theater Center's 2013-2014 season, but this is the one everybody circled on their calendars. A co-production with New York's The Public Theater, it's the world premiere of a musical about the friendship between two boys who find common bonds through music, neighborhoods and comic books. It plays at Wyly Theatre through April 6.

Childish Gambino in concert
Donald Glover may have left Community behind, but he's far from finished being creative. He — or rather, his rap alter ego, Childish Gambino — brings his Deep Web tour to the South Side Ballroom in support of his 2013 album, Because the Internet. Make sure to download the accompanying app for an interactive experience at the concert.

Saturday, March 8

2014 Untapped Music and Beer Festival
It's not entirely clear what the focus is at the Untapped festival. Is it the nine national and local music acts? Or is it the more than 200 beers from 65 breweries that you can taste? Although the balance seems to tip in favor of the latter, let's split the difference and just be thankful that the festival, taking place at Panther Island Pavilion in Fort Worth, exists at all.

Jim Jefferies in concert
It's a rarity these days for the Majestic Theatre to make the events round-up twice in one week, but the appearance of Clint Black is followed closely by comedian Jim Jefferies. The Australian comic is best known for his semi-autobiographical sitcom, Legit, which just started its second season on FXX.

Sunday, March 9

Nordstrom NorthPark presents Sarah Jessica Parker
Fashionistas will descend on Nordstrom NorthPark for an in-person appearance by Sarah Jessica Parker, who recently unveiled her SJP Collection nationwide. Better get there early, though: Parker will only be there for an hour, and she will only sign autographs on SJP items that have been purchased that day. But still, Carrie's coming — squee!

The Complete Works of Shakespeare: A Midsummer Night's Dream
Although there's an argument to be made over the best plays Shakespeare ever wrote, A Midsummer Night's Dream has got to be in the top five, as it's consistently one of his most frequently-staged plays. Here it's the 14th in the five-year series by Shakespeare Dallas to do staged readings of every single one of Shakespeare's works. It plays in Hamon Hall at Winspear Opera House on Sunday and Monday.

Childish Gambino, a.k.a. Donald Glover, brings his unique brand of rap back to town with a concert at South Side Ballroom on March 7.

Free Press Summer Fest 2014 Childish Gambino

Photo by EWatson92 Wikipedia

Childish Gambino, a.k.a. Donald Glover, brings his unique brand of rap back to town with a concert at South Side Ballroom on March 7.

unspecified

Movie Review

Iranian film It Was Just an Accident is a thriller with deep meaning

Photo courtesy of Neon

Mohamad Ali Elyasmehr, Majid Panahi, and Hadis Pakbaten in It Was Just an Accident.

American filmmakers, for the most part, enjoy luxury and freedoms when making movies in the United States that filmmakers in other countries could only dream of. Not only does Iranian writer/director Jafar Panahi not have millions of dollars with which to make his films, he also has to deal with a government that has previously arrested him for being critical of their policies.

And yet he persists, returning to the screen with the taut It Was Just An Accident. The film begins with a kind of misdirect, showing Eghbal (Ebrahim Azizi) and his family driving home at night, during which they strike and kill a dog. That accident sends Eghbal into the orbit of Vahid (Vahid Mobasseri), who works at a business that helps repair Eghbal’s car.

Recognizing the distinctive sound of Eghbal’s prosthetic leg, Vahid believes him to be the same man who kidnapped and tortured him and others in a recent government arrest spree. Desperate to confirm his suspicions, Vahid kidnaps Eghbal and takes him to a series of people who were also imprisoned under the man they named “Peg Leg,” including Shiva (Mariam Afshari), a wedding photographer; Golrokh (Hadis Pakbaten), the bride being photographed; and more.

Most filmmakers have the ability to use sets and take as much time as they need - within reason - to get the shot they need. Panahi employs a type of guerrilla filmmaking rarely seen these days, stealing shots in broad daylight while trying not to gain the notice of Iranian authorities. The daring nature of the making of the movie infuses the story with an extra tension that elevates what is otherwise a relatively simple story.

The film puts the audience directly in the shoes of the various characters as each of them wrestles with the complicated feelings arising from their actions. As they were all blindfolded while imprisoned, they can’t be 100 percent sure they have the right man, and debates/arguments between the characters keep viewers guessing as to who he is and what they will do with him. Even if he is who they think he is, will enacting some kind of revenge on him soothe their consciences?

Through it all, the idea that a former political prisoner is making a film about former political prisoners who are engaging in conduct that could get them arrested again - just as Panahi is doing with his film - makes this meta filmmaking on another level. The simplicity of the story belies the complexity underscoring the entire film, and it delivers one of the most impactful endings of any recent movie.

While a few of the actors have acted before, including in previous Panahi films, most of them are making their first appearance in a movie. Despite this lack of experience, each of them does well, especially Mobasseri and Afshari, who share a number of heated scenes that bring out the best in both of them.

It Was Just an Accident is the type of film that constantly keeps the audience on their collective toes, never knowing where it will head next. And that’s even if you didn’t know the details of how and why it was made; once that is discovered, it becomes something much deeper and more important than most other movies that will be released in 2025.

---

It Was Just an Accident is now playing in select theaters.

movies film