Weekend Event Planner

These are the 12 best things to do in Dallas this weekend

Def Leppard is one of four big '80s bands playing at Globe Life Field in Arlington on August 22.

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No matter what kind of music you like, this weekend around Dallas is guaranteed to offer something for you. It features nine separate concerts, several of them with huge stars, with genres including rap, rock, country, jazz, and more. If you prefer something more low-key, two new local theater productions are starting their runs, and a big-name comedian is making a rare appearance.

Below are the best ways to spend your precious free time this weekend. Want more options? Lucky for you, we have a much longer list of the city's best events.

Thursday, August 18

Kevin Gates in concert
Rapper Kevin Gates is a rising star in the hip hop genre. After years of self-releasing mixtapes, the Louisiana native finally started getting some nationwide attention in 2012, leading to a record deal with Atlantic Records. It was a wise investment, as each of his first three albums have reached the top 10 on the Billboard 200 charts. Gates will play at The Pavilion at Toyota Music Factory in Irving in support of his new album, Khaza.

Dallas Symphony Orchestra presents Madeleine Peyroux
Jazz singer-songwriter Madeleine Peyroux has had a compelling journey in the music industry. Eight albums and 22 years since her debut, Dreamland, Peyroux continues to challenge the confines of jazz, venturing into the fertile fields of contemporary music with unfading curiosity. She'll play a special one-night-only concert at the Meyerson Symphony Center.

Friday, August 19

Echo & The Bunnymen in concert
The English band Echo & The Bunnymen may have a funny name, but they've had a long and interesting history. Debuting in 1980, they did well in the UK and developed a cult following in the United States. The departure of lead singer Ian McCulloch and death of drummer Pete de Freitas led to their breakup, but they reformed in 1996 and have gone on to release seven more albums. They'll play at House of Blues Dallas as part of their 40th anniversary tour.

The Lumineers in concert
Folk rock group the Lumineers came to prominence in 2012 on the heels of the success of Mumford & Sons, gaining tons of fans with songs like "Ho Hey." They've released three more albums since their debut, including the recently-released Brightside, all of which reached the top 10 on the Billboard 200. They'll play at American Airlines Center with support from opening act James Bay.

Jason Aldean in concert
You can't get any bigger than Jason Aldean in country music. He had six straight albums reach No. 1 on the Billboard Country charts, and either No. 1 or No. 2 on the Billboard 200 charts, throughout the 2010s. He's also a three-time winner of Entertainer of the Year at the ACM Awards, and he was given the ACM Dick Clark Artist of the Decade Award at the 2019 ACM Awards. He'll play at Dos Equis Pavilion in support of his new album, Georgia.

Improv Arlington presents Rob Schneider
Rob Schneider is an accomplished actor, comedian, screenwriter and director. A stand-up comic and veteran of the award-winning NBC sketch comedy series Saturday Night Live, Schneider has gone on to a successful career in films and television, and continues to hone his stand-up comedy craft. Schneider’s first Netflix comedy special, Asian Momma, Mexican Kids, premiered in 2020. He'll perform five times through Sunday at Improv Arlington.

Theatre Arlington presents Biloxi Blues
Theatre Arlington presents Biloxi Blues, the second in Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Neil Simon’s trilogy. When we meet Eugene Jerome, he is coping with adolescence in 1930s Brooklyn. He goes on to become a young army recruit during WWII, going through basic training and learning about life and love along with some harsher lessons, while stationed at boot camp in Biloxi, Mississippi in 1943. The production runs through September 4.

Uptown Players presents The Little Dog Laughed
The Uptown Players 2022 season will close with Douglas Carter Beane’s 2006 heartfelt drama, The Little Dog Laughed. Mitchell, an up-and-coming actor, and Diane, his agent/producer, pretend to be a couple to avoid negative press about Mitchell’s homosexuality. The plan works until Mitchell falls for Alex, a young male prostitute, who changes Mitchell’s views about relationships and convinces him to love, much to the dismay of Diane, who tries desperately to avoid a scandal. The production runs through August 28 at Kalita Humphreys Theater.

Saturday, August 20

Whataburger Fest featuring Flatland Cavalry
Whataburger Fest will feature headlining performances from country music bands Flatland Cavalry, American Aquarium, and William Beckman. Fans can also attend a non-ticketed pre-party at the Texas Lottery Plaza Stage, featuring Aaron Copeland, and a post-event show featuring Alex Aguilar. The main concert takes place at The Pavilion at Toyota Music Factory in Irving.

Odesza in concert
It is a true rarity for any act to play two nights in a row at Dos Equis Pavilion, but electronic duo Odesza is breaking that particular mold. The group made up of Harrison Mills and Clayton Knight has been at the top of the Billboard Dance charts since 2014, and their last two albums, including the new The Last Goodbye, have also gone high on the Billboard 200 charts. They'll perform on both Saturday and Sunday.

Dallas Symphony Orchestra presents An Evening with Lucia Micarelli
Best known for her collaborations with Josh Groban, Chris Botti, and classic rock band Jethro Tull, and for her role as Annie Talarico in the critically acclaimed HBO series Treme, Lucia Micarelli will present a performance that will flip from the likes of bluegrass to Led Zeppelin to Ravel to Tom Waits. She'll put on a one-night-only concert at Meyerson Symphony Center.

Monday, August 22

Mötley Crüe in concert with Def Leppard, Poison, and Joan Jett and the Blackhearts
Okay, technically Monday is no longer the weekend, especially since it's not even a holiday, but when you have a concert with as many big bands as this one, you have to include it. Hair metal was a dominant force in the 1980s thanks to bands like Mötley Crüe, Def Leppard, and Poison, and the fact that they're all still playing is a minor miracle. Throw in Rock and Roll Hall of Famers Joan Jett and the Blackhearts, and you have a festival-style event that's guaranteed to rock hard. They'll all play at Globe Life Field in Arlington.

Jason Aldean will play at Dos Equis Pavilion on August 19.

Photo by © Michelle Watson CatchLightGroup.com

Jason Aldean will play at Dos Equis Pavilion on August 19.

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Movie Review

Horror comedy film Y2K goes for nostalgia but maybe too soon

Photo courtesy of A24

Jaeden Martell, Rachel Zegler, and Julian Dennison in Y2K.

Movies that rely on nostalgia can be successful if they’re timed right. Generally, 25-30 years seems about the right amount of time to try to take advantage of people’s fond feelings for a certain era, which is why movies/TV shows about the ‘80s have been prevalent for much of the 21st century, and ‘90s-set films started to pop up in the last 10 years.

Y2K, a horror comedy that plays on the fears of technological mayhem many people thought would happen at the turn of the century, is right on the cusp of that rule, taking place 24 years after its timeline. It centers on two teenage boys, Eli (Jaeden Martell) and Danny (Julian Dennison), who are opposite in demeanor but have an unshakeable bond. Eli likes a popular girl, Laura (Rachel Zegler), and Danny convinces him to crash a New Year’s Eve party where she’ll be.

As the clock strikes midnight and the year moves from 1999 to 2000, everything that uses an electrical current goes haywire, with many of them combining forces to attack the humans around them. Eli and Danny find themselves on the run with Laura, as well as two stoners, Ash (Lachlan Watson) and CJ (Daniel Zolghadri), with each of them trying to use their unique skillset to help defeat a growing robot army.

Directed by Kyle Mooney and written by Mooney and Evan Winter, the film lands some solid jokes about the era in its opening 20 minutes or so, whether it’s the extreme slowness of dial-up internet, the goofy user names from AOL Messenger, or the various high school cliques of the time. However, many of them seem to echo ones told in 1999’s American Pie, a weird kind of art-imitating-art moment instead of commenting on real life.

The jolt of the machines attacking partygoers seems to promise a fun-if-bloody romp, but Mooney and Winter don’t seem to know where to take the story. They establish the computer bona fides of Eli and Laura early on, but when it comes time for them to put their talents in action, it feels like two actors going through the motions instead of real people who know what they’re doing. Almost none of the characters are believable or entertaining, and the few that rise above are dispatched way too early.

And because the filmmakers don’t make you care about the main group, nothing they face is that interesting, either. The villainous robots are made up of a bunch of disparate parts, which would seem to offer the opportunity for funny sight gags. Mooney and his team fumble most of their chances, though, leaving that side of the story stuck in limbo where it’s not absurd enough to be hilarious or scary enough to really count as horror.

Martell, Dennison, and Zegler are each rising stars who have their individual charms, but only Dennison is able to make much of an impact. Zegler, who starred in West Side Story and will soon be Snow White, is especially misused. They try to shoehorn in a cameo by Limp Biskit lead singer Fred Durst, but his appearance makes little sense and adds almost nothing to the story.

Filmmakers who want to mine nostalgia, especially in a comedy, need to really commit to the bit instead of throwing in a few references and needle drops. Mooney, who’s making his directorial debut, demonstrates little feel for timing, and so most of the film is like a car spinning its wheels, going nowhere.

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Y2K opens in theaters on December 6.

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