Must-See Summer Concerts

10 must-see summer concerts: Houston's music scene is really heating up

One of the better things that comes with Houston's stifling summer heat? A ridiculously good lineup of concerts that attracts all kinds of audiences.

Break out the piggy bank and group text, because it's already time to plan your big summer night. This Houston concert season is shaping up as one of the best in recent memory.

Here are 10 Must-See shows:

1. Backstreet Boys

No, your eyes are not fooling you. This iconic 1990s boy band is on a World Tour, which will include songs from their latest album, In A World Like This, as well as hits from the peak of their stardom. Maybe it's time to dust off your CDs from more than a decade ago and listen to "I Want It That Way" and "Larger Than Life" to refresh your memory.

Oh and did I mention Avril Lavigne will be there too?

The details: Thursday, June 5th, 7 p.m.; Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavillion; tickets from $22.50

2. H-Town Beat Down featuring Kendrick Lamar, Trey Songz, Future, J. Cole, Slim Thug, Paul Wall, Z-Ro and Trae tha Truth.

If you tuned into the Grammy's, you would have seen Macklemore's acceptance for Best Rap Album of the Year. Everyone's heard about his immediate instagram apology that claimed Lamar got robbed and was the true winner.

This on-the-rise rapper is a definite crowd pleaser with his knockouts "Swimming Pools" and "m.A.A.d city". Not to mention the rest of the lineup includes the best of Houston's own.

The details: Friday, June 20th, 7 p.m.; BBVA Compass Stadium; tickets from $38.

3. Goo Goo Dolls & Daughtry with the Plain White T’s

Prepare your picnic blankets for a summer night of great American rock with the noteworthy Goo Goo Dolls teaming up with American Idol alumni Chris Daughtry. This combination will allow concert goers to enjoy their longstanding favorites as well as get a taste for another similar artist.

The details: Friday, June 27th, 6:45 p.m.; Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavillion; tickets from $24.50

4. The Fray

If their name doesn't strike you as a must-see, go check out your Spotify to be pleasantly surprised with the number of hits you know, such as "How to Save a Life" and "Never Say Never." The smaller venue will be sure to provide a more intimate setting for this somehow soothing take on rock.

The details: Sunday, June 29th, 6:30 p.m.; Bayou Music Center; tickets from $39.50

5. Queen & Adam Lambert

Adam Lambert is aware of the daunting task of filling in for the legendary Freddie Mercury, but with his fierce stage presence and breathtaking vocals, the renditions of classics like "We Are the Champions" and "Somebody to Love" are not something to miss.

The details: Wednesday, July 9th, 6:30 p.m.; Toyota Center; tickets from $35

6. Lady Gaga

Get ready for a visual show in addition to eccentric vocals, because Gaga is not backing down with the number of outrageous, racy costumes she is bringing to her Artpop tour. Despite the low popularity of her most recent album, expect to hear her originals like "Poker Face" in addition to the more recent hits, "Applause" and "Do What U Want".

The details: Wednesday, July 16th, 7:30 p.m.; Toyota Center; tickets from $35

7. The Neighbourhood

Never heard of this indie rock band new to the scene? How about their chart topper "Sweater Weather"? Listen to their more unknown but capturing songs "Afraid" and "Female Robbery" before checking them out in person and getting hooked.

The details: Thursday, July 17th, Venue: Bayou Music Center Opening Act: Tickets $29.50

8. Beyoncé & Jay Z

The only thing that could make this concert any better is if Solange barges on stage and goes after Jay-Z. Get ready for this iconic couple to take over Minute Maid Park for what's sure to be Houston's hottest summer ticket.

Perhaps you should practice singing "Drunk In Love" at the top of your lungs a couple hundred times too.

The details: Friday, July 18th, 7:30 p.m.; Minute Maid Park; tickets from $108

9. Tim McGraw with Cassadee Pope and Kip Moore

Tim McGraw is your go-to country cowboy with favorites like "Something Like That" and "Truck Yeah", but what about newcomer Cassadee Pope? Winner of The Voice Season 3, this girl has pipes. Check out the Country Top 10 number "Wasting All These Tears" or my personal favorite, her original audition for The Voice.

The details: Saturday, August 9th, 6 p.m.; Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavillion Opening Act: Kip Moore & Cassadee Pope Tickets: $29.75 - $70

10. One Direction

If you are a man reading this, buy tickets now for any female in your life (or yourself, no judgment here). And if you're a woman, well unless you are completely uneducated about the most remarkable boy band of our time, you either already have tickets or dream of getting them.

One Direction is a worldwide sensation which is blessing H-Town. These five European hunks are guaranteed to make you laugh, cry and faint in a matter of two hours, because I know it can't just be me right . . . right??

The details: Friday, August 22nd, 7 p.m.; NRG Stadium; tickets: $39.50 - $99.50

Editor's Note: The opinions expressed above are those of the author and not necessarily those of CultureMap. Especially the One Direction opinions.

One Direction will definitely be worth the wait when they roll into Houston August 22nd.

One Direction Facebook

One Direction will definitely be worth the wait when they roll into Houston August 22nd.

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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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