weekend event planner

Here at the top 8 things to do in Houston this weekend

Dazzling art and photography celebrating royal India await at the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston.

Photo by Neil Greentree

It’s the start of a new month, and while swarms of Houston folk will get their cowboy on at RodeoHouston, there are other intriguing, active, artsy, and even free events that are poppin'. We've rounded up your top eight, to make the most of your weekend.

Thursday, March 1

Bun B opens the Bayou City Music Series at Discovery Green
For the next few months, The Bayou City Music Series will dispatch a number of Houston-proud performers to various venues throughout the city, in the hopes of getting the townspeople in an enjoyable, ultimately soulful mood. It all begins at 6:30 pm at Discovery Green, with trill rap icon, author, Rice University guest lecturer, and occasional CultureMap advice columnist Bun B as the headliner. The High School for the Performing Arts (HSPVA) Jazz Ensemble, former B.B. King bandleader Milton Hopkins, and jazz/blues legend Jewel Brown will serve as the opening acts. A great show — and it's free.

Rock out at Houston Ballet’s Rock, Roll and Tutus
The Houston Ballet has an intriguing, mixed repertory program happening this weekend, called Rock, Roll and Tutus. There will also be a pre-show, costume exhibit located in the theater’s lobby. Aptly titled “Tutus: From Stitch to Stage,” the exhibit features wardrobe from the Ballet’s various performances throughout the years. Among the tutus on hand: the Coppelia tutu, the Don Quixote tutu and, of course, the Swan Lake tutu. (Both those tutus will be seen again when productions of Quixote and Lake happen later this season.) The tutu/ballet fun runs through Sunday, March 4, at George R. Brown’s Resilience Center.

It's Turtle racing (!) at Little Woodrow’s
Have you ever wanted to get drunk while watching sea-dwelling creatures compete in a race? Little Woodrow’s in Midtown will once again serve all those looking for reptile-themed sporting events. Every Thursday night at 8 pm, the Little Woodrow’s Turtle Guy (apparently, this place has an official turtle handler) and his wranglers will bring in some turtles to take part of in a series of turtle races, while cheering fans get the chance to win a koozie if they pick the winner. Of course, if the sight of racing turtles doesn’t make you immediately giddy, this place still has lots of beer.

Friday, March 2

Leon Bridges brings old-school soul to RodeoHouston
As we noted, Ft. Worth native Leon Bridges is a legit national star, and a major player on the neo-soul scene. There have been some rumblings about Bridge's booking as the sole African-American act, but that doesn't take away from his superstar appeal. Expect head-swaying tunes from his album, Coming Home, which calls to mind greats such as Otis Redding and Sam Cooke. This show is sure to be a RodeoHouston standout, and unlike many of the other performances, there are still tickets available.

MasterChef Junior — with “HotHead Henry” viewing party
Katy kid chef Henry Hummeldorf will be the guest of honor at Dish Society at LaCenterra in Cinco Ranch. This night is special for the lad; that’s when the new season of MasterChef Junior airs, in which he appears as a Top 40 contestant. Along with giving a viewing party, Dish will also serve free ice cream with the purchase of a meal, as well as have Henry’s sauce stocked to spice up your dinner. (Already have HotHeadHenry on hand? Henry's happy to sign bottles of his sauce upon request.) This kid will be on TV and has his own sauce? Doesn’t this make you feel like you didn’t do a damn thing in your childhood?

Saturday, March 3

Meet tennis legends at Zina Garrison's EAT.PLAY.LOVE
Local tennis great Zina Garrison and her Zina Garrison Tennis and Education Academy has put together a charity weekend, basically known as EAT.PLAY.LOVE. The event starts at 8 am with a competitive doubles tournament. After that, VIP tents will feature contestants and winners from Hell’s Kitchen whipping up some food. Garrison and Martina Navratilova will then entertain folks at a dinner/auction set at Richard and Marty Finger’s home in River Oaks. On Sunday, there's a semi-finals tournament, followed by the “Ace of Love Fashion Show.” The event will culminate with finals and a trophy presentation.

Find your inner dude at the Houston Lebowski Bash
Twenty years ago this month, Joel and Ethan Coen’s The Big Lebowski hit theaters, though it wasn’t a smash upon its initial release (everyone was too busy seeing Titanic over and over again). However, this hilarious mashup of film-noir detective story, and rambling stoner comedy, has now turned into an iconic cult film — even spawning an annual, major gathering: Lebowski Fest. Local Lebowski fans can celebrate this movie by attending the Houston Lebowski Bash, at 6 pm at Smither Park. Along with an 8 pm screening of the movie, there will be a costume contest, Lebowski Trivia and a Vinyl Ranch DJ set. And yes, White Russians will be served.

Sunday, March 4

Dazzling treasures at Peacock in the Desert: The Royal Arts of Jodhpur, India
This weekend, the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston unveils eye-opening, sophisticated, Indian treasures. Sunday is the kickoff date for Peacock in the Desert: The Royal Arts of Jodhpur, India, an epic exhibition of royal treasures from India. Some 250 objects will be on display — many of them seen for the first time in the U.S. Along with the artifacts, there is also a community “Mela” party on Sunday, from 12:15 pm to 6 pm. Free with admission, it will be full of art-making activities, Indian cuisine, performances, and other goodies. Peacock runs at the MFAH through Sunday, August 19.

Houston legend Bun B will trill the crowd at Discovery Green's free outdoor concert.

Photo by Katya Horner

Houston legend Bun B will trill the crowd at Discovery Green's free outdoor concert.

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Movie Review

Offbeat drama Pillion features command performance by Alexander Skarsgård

Photo courtesy of A24

Alexander Skarsgård and Harry Melling in Pillion.

Describing the new movie Pillion is almost an act of futility. It contains a variety of seemingly disparate parts that coalesce into a whole to make it utterly fascinating. Few other recent films have been able to walk the line between filthy and wholesome in quite the way this one does, and that’s only because few other filmmakers would actually dare to try.

It centers on Colin (Harry Melling), a meek man in his mid-thirties who still lives at home with his parents, Pete (Douglas Hodge) and Peggy (Lesley Sharp), while working a dead-end job giving out parking tickets. While performing in a barbershop quartet at his local pub, Colin catches the eye of biker Ray (Alexander Skarsgård), who summons him for a clandestine hook-up the following day (which just so happens to be Christmas Day).

With barely a word exchanged between them, Ray establishes a dominance over Colin that quickly leads to them starting a relationship in which Colin does anything Ray asks. And that means more than just sex: Colin, whether desperate for any kind of affection or unlocking a side of himself he hadn’t known, readily agrees to cook, clean, shop, and basically do whatever else Ray wants him to do.

Written and directed by first-time feature filmmaker Harry Lighton, the film is astonishing in the way it’s able to mine humor from Colin and Ray’s atypical bond. To call Ray “unfeeling” might not be totally accurate, but the way he treats Colin borders on cruel. However, the way Lighton structures the film, it’s easy to understand why someone like Colin would be willing to go along with the situation. It’s both hilarious and heartbreaking to see Colin debase himself in a variety of ways.

On the flip side is Colin’s heartfelt arc with his parents. It’s established right away that Peggy, who is sick with cancer, is a bit too involved with Colin’s love life, with the opening scene featuring her setting him up on a blind date. But their easy acceptance of his queerness and desire to see him find love is as heartwarming as it gets. The juxtaposition between the wholesomeness of their family and Colin’s new life is also the source of a good amount of comedy.

Lighton does not shy away from the sexual side of Colin and Ray’s relationship, and the scenes he depicts are as graphic as you are likely to see in an R-rated film. Some go up to and a little past what might be expected in a mainstream movie (including the use of a certain fake appendage). Other times they play out in a comical way to illustrate just how far Colin has progressed from the person he was when the film started.

Skarsgård, who stole the show in the Charli XCX movie The Moment, is the attraction in more ways than one in this film. The part calls for someone who’s not only impossibly handsome, but also a person who can stop dissent with just a glance, and he lives up to both qualities equally well. Melling, best known for playing Neville Longbottom in the Harry Potter movies, also embodies his role perfectly. He plays Colin as weak enough to be run roughshod over by Ray, but not so hopeless as to not be worth rooting for.

Pillion (which is the name of the secondary seat on a motorcycle on which Colin rides multiple times in the film) operates at a storytelling level that is difficult to achieve. Many people will not fully understand the film’s central relationship, but the way it is showcased by Lighton makes it compelling, gut-wrenching, and sexy.

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Pillion is now playing in theaters.

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