Weekend Event Planner

Fleetwood Mac and Mythbusters top best weekend events in Dallas

Christmas is just two weeks away, but believe it or not, the slate of events in Dallas-Fort Worth this weekend is not as holiday heavy as you'd expect. Among the offerings are a popular science TV program's road show, art by a rocker and a visit from that rocker's classic band.

Below are the 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, December 11

Mizzen + Main presents Gift Your Guy Girls Night
Mizzen + Main specializes in men's shirts, but behind every good man is an even better woman, a demographic at which this event is aimed. Female attendees can induldge in Fluff Pop, champagne and flowers while they shop for the perfect Christmas gift for their husband or boyfriend at the brand's Design District showroom. Gift-wrapping is complimentary.

Andrea Bocelli in concert
Italian tenor Andrea Bocelli has been wowing audiences for going on 20 years, becoming one of the rare classical music artists to transcend his genre and appeal to the mainstream. Bocelli comes to American Airlines Center without a new album to support, meaning his fans can expect a mixture of favorite songs and holiday tunes.

Friday, December 12

Galleria Dallas presents 2014 Dallas CityScape
It's amazing what some people can create out of Lego bricks, and starting this weekend, you can ooh and ahh over the annual Dallas CityScape exhibit at Galleria Dallas. Featuring a slew of Dallas landmarks made entirely out of Legos, the exhibition is on display through January 4, with proceeds benefiting Education Opens Doors.

Michael W. Smith and Amy Grant in concert with the Dallas POPs
Christian music fans will be in heaven when genre superstars Michael W. Smith and Amy Grant team up for this special holiday concert at American Airlines Center. The two collaborated on Smith's recently released Christmas album, The Spirit of Christmas, which is sure to be heavily featured. Dallas POPs joins the duo for a memorable night.

Saturday, December 13

Samuel Lynne Galleries presents Mick Fleetwood: Reflections
In advance of Fleetwood Mac's concert on Sunday night, drummer Mick Fleetwood shows off his other passion — photography — at Samuel Lynne Galleries. The "Reflections" exhibit has works for sale December 11-13, and anybody who makes a purchase can attend this private reception with Fleetwood on Saturday.

Old 97's in concert with Matt Hillyer
Dallas originals the Old 97's complete a Texas-only mini-tour with this stop at the Majestic Theatre. Even though the band is enjoying the biggest success of their career with 2014's Most Messed Up, this concert is a blast from the past, as they play their debut album, Hitchhike to Rhome, in its entirety, along with a variety of their other hits. Matt Hillyer is the opening act.

Mythbusters: Behind the Myths Tour
Adam Savage and Jamie Hyneman from the Discovery Channel's Mythbusters have been combining science and entertainment since 2003, proving or disproving theories, legends and Internet rumors. This show at Verizon Theatre at Grand Prairie features onstage experiments, audience participation and behind-the-scenes stories.

The Brian Setzer Orchestra Christmas Rocks Extravaganza!
Brian Setzer has had one heck of a career, putting out multiple records with the Stray Cats, the Brian Setzer Orchestra and as a solo artist. All of those elements and more are in play for this concert at the Winspear Opera House, as Setzer performs some of his biggest hits along with a variety of reimagined and acclaimed holiday classics.

Sunday, December 14

Demetri Martin: The Persistence of Jokes
Demetri Martin is one of those "that guy" comedians who has been fame-adjacent for many years without ever becoming truly famous himself. He's had roles in a number of movies as well as his own short-lived Comedy Central show. He is also slated to have his writing and directing film debut next year, but he has yet to really break out. He persistently tells some jokes at the House of Blues Dallas.

Fleetwood Mac in concert
Purist fans of Fleetwood Mac are rejoicing, as Christine McKie has rejoined the group for the first time in 16 years. That means this concert at American Airlines Center is an opportunity to hear the classic band's songs as they were meant to be heard. If you couldn't get tickets for this date, don't fret: The band recently announced that they'll return to Dallas again on March 4, 2015.

Post-weekend bonus

Dave Chappelle in concert
A week ago, the idea of Dave Chappelle's coming to Dallas wasn't even a possibility. Now fans are blessed with four chances to see the elusive comedian, because he's performing two separate sets at the House of Blues Dallas on both Monday and Tuesday. We don't know what he has planned, but we can't wait to find out.

Fleetwood Mac plays at American Airlines Center on December 14, while drummer Mick Fleetwood shows off his photography at Samuel Lynne Galleries on December 13.

Fleetwood Mac Facebook

Fleetwood Mac plays at American Airlines Center on December 14, while drummer Mick Fleetwood shows off his photography at Samuel Lynne Galleries on December 13.

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Documentary News

Dallas native directs new Netflix series Waco: American Apocalypse

Waco: American Apocalypse

ATF agents at Waco compound in 1993.

Netflix has a new series on the tragedy that took place in Waco three decades ago: Called Waco: American Apocalypse, it's a three-part series documenting the standoff between cult leader David Koresh and the federal government that ended in a fiery inferno, televised live, with 76 people dead.

The series debuts on March 22, to coincide with the 30-year anniversary of the event which took place from February 28 to April 19, 1993. There's a trailer here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=scZ2x7R_XXc.

It's an oft-told tale and not the only new release to try and exploit the 30-year anniversary: Jeff Guinn, former books editor at the Fort Worth Star Telegram, just came out with a book also described as definitive, called Waco: David Korsh, the Branch Davidians, and a Legacy of Rage.

Waco: American Apocalypse is directed by another "local": Dallas native Tiller Russell (Night Stalker: The Hunt for a Serial Killer), who obtained never-before-seen videotapes of FBI negotiations, as well as raw news footage and interviews with insiders.

Those insiders include one of David Koresh’s spiritual wives; the last child released from the compound alive; a sniper from the FBI Hostage Rescue Team; the FBI Crisis Negotiation Unit Chief; journalists; and members of the ATF tactical team who watched colleagues die in the shootout against the heavily armed members of the religious sect.

The FBI videotaped inside the hostage negation room, thinking they'd be there maybe 24 hours, not 51 days.

"These are video cassettes that were sitting in somebody’s closet for 30 years, that show the mechanics of hostage negotiations in an intimate setting - not the hostage negotiation scenarios you see in films, but a team of people grinding, day in and day out, for 51 days," Russell says.

He also procured footage from Waco TV station KWTX, who had a reporter embedded in the initial gunfight.

While the standoff was broadcast live on TV at the time, much of it was out of camera range. The film uses 3D graphics to recreate the details of the compound.

Russell acknowledges that the tale of the cult leader who was also a pedophile, the debate over the right to bear arms, the constitutional limits of religious freedom, dredge up painful conversations that continue today.

"It cast a long shadow, pre-saging the Timothy McVeigh bombing in Oklahoma, the shooting at Colombine, and a growing distrust of government, but I think it's important to reckon with our past so we don't repeat mistakes," he says.

"So much of what’s roiling in culture today can be traced to Waco, a story about God and guns in America with all these children at the center whose lives were determined by the adults around them," he says. "There was no playbook for what happened, everyone was out on a limb, and people made mistakes. But almost everybody was trying to do their very best."

"I think this is a story that's often recalled in politicized terms, with finger-pointing on who screwed up and how did we get here, but there's a profound humanity to it all," he says.

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