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These are the 6 best shows to see in Houston this week

Barbeque, hip-hop and alt-rock legends, campfire troubadours, California cool, and even Star Wars. This week’s Houston concert round-up is as diverse as the city itself and it’s the first week on a while when all the great acts performing simply couldn’t fit into one tidy listing. If you have other plans that don’t revolve around music in the week ahead, it’s time to break them, or you’re simply missing out on a fabulous – and varied – lineup.

All-star lineup: The Great Texas BBQ Festival
What’s better than barbeque, beer, and music? Not a darn thing. Launched by the minds behind Day for Night, the Great Texas BBQ Festival, situated at Sam Houston Park downtown, features a weekend of music and meats grilled by 20 of the best BBQ teams around, competing for $20,000 in a sanctioned event. In other words, come hungry. In addition to great grub, dance off those extra calories with a great lineup of musical talent including Robert Earl Keen, Dawes, Morris Day and the Time, The Suffers, Lucero, Wanda Jackson, Junior Brown, and many more.

The Great Texas BBQ Festival brings the tunes and smoked meats to Sam Houston Park, located at 1000 Bagby St. Tickets start at $20 a day plus fees, $40 plus fees for the weekend, with various VIP packages.

Movie masterpieces: John Williams at the Symphony
If you’ve ever gone to the movies over the last 40-plus years, you’ve heard a John Williams score. Star Wars, Jaws, Superman, Jurassic Park, E.T., Harry Potter, Indiana Jones and so many more iconic Hollywood soundtracks have been composed by Williams, his orchestral ouevre as much a part of our collective memory as any pop star during that time span. The Houston Symphony will perform some of his masterworks over the series of four shows. This is a must attend event for any cinephile, young and old. Just try and not get goosebumps.

The Houston Symphony performs the best of John Williams at Jones Hall for the Performing Arts, located at 615 Louisiana St., on Friday, April 21, Saturday, April 22, and Sunday, April 22. Friday and Saturday performance time starts at 8 pm, Sunday performances are at 2:30 pm and 7:30 pm. Ticket prices start at $50 plus fees for the Friday and Saturday night performances, $45 plus fees for Sunday performances.

Alt-rock classics: The Breeders
Led by twin sisters Kim and Kelley Deal, the fantastic alternative rock band The Breeders recently reunited following the former’s departure from the Pixies and we are all beneficiaries for it. Featuring the classic line-up, including bassist Josephine Wiggs and drummer Jim Macpherson, the band produced one of the ’90s most endearing albums, Last Splash, featuring the hits, “Cannonball” and “Divine Hammer.” The group is touring behind the acclaimed comeback album, All Nerve.

The Breeders make their return to Houston to play House of Blues, located at 1204 Caroline St., on Monday, April 23. Post Pink opens. Tickets start at $25 plus fees or $12.50 each plus fees if you buy two. Doors open at 7 pm.

Hip-hop reunited: Eric B. and Rakim
Hip-hop heads be warned. Following the Breeders, another classic reunited act returns to Houston. Eric B. and Rakim took the rap world by storm and changed the game in how producers built hip-hop songs, featuring funky jazz riffs and James Brown samples alongside lyrics that flowed like smooth poetry. Masterpiece albums, Paid in Full and Follow the Leader, released in the late-80s, defined the rap genre for the next decade as many tried to replicate the sound that eventually would branch off to influence other genres like trip-hop, drum 'n bass and jungle. Rakim is still considered one of the best MCs of all time and Eric B.'s turntable technique revolutionized what could be accomplished on the 1s and 2s.

Hip-hop legends Eric B & Rakim perform at House of Blues, located at 1204 Caroline St., on Tuesday, April 23. Yo-Yo opens. General admission tickets are sold out but there are limited seated left or check the resale market. Doors open at 7 pm.

Tay-Tay's faves: Haim
They've opened for Taylor Swift, Rhianna, and Florence + the Machine, been nominated for a Best New Artist Grammy, appeared on Saturday Night Live, and have been featured on some of the most popular Hollywood soundtracks. They are Haim, three sisters, Este, Danielle and Alana, who took their last name as their band moniker and blew up the charts with their hip version of classic A.M. radio pop-rock, filtered through the sunshine of their home state of California. They are touring behind their latest album, 2017's mega-hit, Something to Tell You, which produced the radio earworms, "Want You Back," and "Little of Your Love."

Haim will perform at Revention Music Center, located at 520 Texas St., on Wednesday, April 25. Lizzo opens. Tickets start at $39.75 plus fees. Doors open at 7 pm.

Hawaii in The Woodlands: Jack Johnson
Anyone with children under the age of 12 will know Hawaiian surfer-dude Jack Johnson from the adorable Curious George soundtrack that catapulted him into living rooms of parents forced to sit through the film for the 100th time. But anyone who loves hanging around a campfire on the beach, watching the sunset after a day on the waves will have an affinity towards Jack Johnson's easy going tunes drenched in island vibes. He's easily the most laid-back superstar, having sold 25 million albums worldwide. He's touring behind his 2017 album, All the Light Above It Too. Anyone not in shorts, sandals and a tee will be overdressed at this show.

Hawaiian troubadour Jack Johnson plays at Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion, located at 2005 Lake Robbins Drive in The Woodlands, on Thursday, April 26. Fruition opens. Tickets start at $35 for lawn seating plus fees, or $70 for seated areas plus fees. Show starts at 7:30 pm.

California pop-rock band Haim performs at Revention Music Center on Wednesday, April 25.

Haim/Facebook

California pop-rock band Haim performs at Revention Music Center on Wednesday, April 25.

barbecue nightlife music concerts

Movie review

Adam Scott explores creepy Irish hotel in moody horror movie Hokum

Photo courtesy of Neon

Adam Scott in Hokum.

There are relatively few actors who can switch back and forth between comedy and drama easily, but Adam Scott is the rare exception. He’s equally as well known for starring in comedy projects like Parks & Recreation, Party Down, and Step Brothers as he is for dramas like Big Little Lies and Severance. He’s going the latter route again in the new horror film, Hokum.

Scott plays author Ohm Bauman, who’s trying to finish his latest book. In an effort to avoid distractions and also pay tribute to his parents, he retreats to an Irish hotel where his mom and dad spent their honeymoon. Bauman, who is about as stand-offish as you can get, and the staff of the hotel are at odds almost right away, although Bauman finds a kind of kinship with Jerry (David Wilmot), a seemingly-homeless man he meets in a nearby forest.

Bauman becomes intrigued with the story of the hotel’s closed-off honeymoon suite, which is said to be haunted. His curiosity, though, seems to trigger a variety of strange things, one of which ends with him in an extended stay at the hospital. He returns to the hotel determined more than ever to discover what’s really happening in the honeymoon suite, with things both normal and supernatural blocking his way at every turn.

Written and directed by Irish filmmaker Damian McCarthy, the film’s approach to horror is both subtle and overt. On the good side is Bauman’s story, which gradually gets deeper as more is revealed about his past, especially the premature death of his mother. Bauman’s trauma over her loss influences his thinking and actions, and a possible connection between his current situation and his personal history broadens the scope of the plot.

There is plenty of creepiness to be found in the film, starting with the dark and decrepit nature of the hotel itself. Any building where a particular room is off-limits naturally inspires intrigue, and McCarthy does a solid job of building tension. That’s why it’s strange and disappointing that he gives in to the lamest of horror tropes - a sudden appearance by an odd-looking person accompanied by a big screeching noise - on multiple occasions.

The film is at its best when it features weird moments that are never or only slightly explained. A dead body in a rabbit suit is echoed by the unexplained broadcast from Bauman’s youth featuring a terrifying TV host with bulging eyes and rabbit ears. Bauman’s explorations take him into the hotel’s basement via a dumbwaiter, where he encounters all manner of strange things, including what seem to be witches. Because most of these things are left to the audience’s imagination, they hit harder in the moment.

Scott is known to be understated in his acting, and that skill works well in this particular role. Although he clearly plays Bauman as freaked out, he never indicates panic, and that level-headedness makes his character someone you want to follow no matter how dark the path might be. The mostly-Irish supporting cast is not well-known, but Wilmot and Florence Ordesh make the most of their short time on screen.

Hokum — a title that is also not explained — is a horror film that earns its bona fides through mood more than action. Even though not much of consequence happens throughout the film, it still keeps you on the edge of your seat trying to figure out what will happen next.

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Hokum is now playing in theaters.

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