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.

Justin Townes Earle played at Untapped Festival in Fort Worth last year.

Justin Townes Earle at Untapped Fort Worth

Untapped Festival Facebook

Justin Townes Earle played at Untapped Festival in Fort Worth last year.

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Movie Review

Daniel Craig searches for elusive new bond in audacious film Queer

Photo courtesy of A24

Drew Starkey and Daniel Craig in Queer.

As recently as the late 2010s, if a movie was made about an LGBTQ+ character, it was more than likely about their coming out experience. Romance, if it existed, was typically chaste, and actual sex was almost completely out of the question. Things have changed dramatically in the 2020s, to the point that a major movie star has no issue starring in a film called Queer.

Based on the 1985 novella by William S. Burroughs, the film features William Lee (Daniel Craig), whom everyone calls just Lee, a writer living in 1950s-era Mexico City who spends most of his time haunting local bars with friends like fellow writer Joe Guidry (Jason Schwartzman) and hitting on younger men. His early interactions in the film seem to indicate that Lee has a bad reputation within the local gay community, as multiple people avoid him or give him odd looks.

Lee senses an opportunity when he encounters a newcomer, Eugene Allerton (Drew Starkey). Despite some awkward interactions, the two of them start spending time together, although Lee has much more invested in the relationship than Eugene does. Their hit-and-miss bond continues until Lee, who’s starting to get into drugs in addition to the booze, convinces Eugene to accompany him on a trip to South America.

Directed by Luca Guadagnino and written by Justin Kuritzkes (making their second straight film together after Challengers), early on the film seems to be mostly about the divide between an older person who’s grown comfortable in his ways and a younger person who’s living a relatively carefree life. The introduction of drugs into the plot changes things, though, with Lee searching out more ways to open his eyes to what the world has to offer.

Guadagnino and his team use some interesting visual storytelling techniques to introduce ideas that may not be present in the actual script. The most successful, demonstrated in multiple scenes, is the superimposition of movements by Lee over what’s actually taking place in the scene. The subtle overlay gives the audience insight into Lee’s true feelings, showing what he can’t or won’t say out loud.

Music also plays a big part in how the plot is perceived, with the use of anachronistic songs from Nirvana and Prince serving to heighten certain moments. The score by Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross is not as in-your-face as the one they did for Challengers, but it complements the film well, especially when the plot starts to get trippy in its final half hour.

Craig, who appears sweaty and disheveled for much of the film, is about as far from the suaveness of James Bond as you can get in this role. He takes multiple risks with his performance and almost all of them pay off. Starkey’s character is subdued by comparison, but still comes off well. Schwartzman and Lesley Manville are given showy roles, with both using altered appearances that make them nearly unrecognizable to deliver memorable performances.

Queer is not as accessible as Challengers was storytelling-wise, but the fact that it tells a story about gay men living their lives as they see fit with no interference or questions shows how far the film world has come in a short period of time. It also continues Guadagnino’s streak of making audacious films in a way that few other filmmakers are willing or able to approach.

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Queer is now playing in theaters.

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