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These are the 5 best concerts in Houston this week

Mother nature doesn't have time for your springtime shows.

True to form for this time of year, the bipolar nature of Houston weather went full manic over the last seven days, bringing several torrential downpours that wreaked havoc on concert-goers. On Tuesday, the weather led to a cancelled MGMT lawn show at White Oak Music Hall, but the the Brooklyn band made up for it by throwing a free dance party inside. Meanwhile, the Bob Seger and the Silver Bullet Band show at Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion was postponed for three hours that night to let the rain and lightning pass through the area.

Thankfully, the forecast calls for clearer skies this week but have those umbrellas handy just in case.

CultureMap's best, biggest, and most noteworthy shows of the week are as follows:

The Right Stuff: New Kids on the Block at Toyota Center
Anyone who spent time at the roller rink 30 years ago will be hangin' tough at the Toyota Center this Wednesday night as Donnie, Danny, Jordan, Jonathan, and Joey aka New Kids on the Block bring their Mixtape Tour to town. Sure, NKTOB has the right stuff, but you'll think you're alone now when '80s Tiger Beat heartthrob Tiffany makes an appearance. You'll push it real good to Salt-N-Pepa and say hip-hop hooray to Naughty By Nature. Throw in Debbie Gibson, and this show is something that happens only in my dreams. Seriously though, this line-up is a late-'80s/early-'90s fever dream.

New Kids on the Block perform at Toyota Center, located at 1510 Polk St., on Wednesday, May 15. Tiffany, Naughty by Nature, Salt-N-Pepa, and Debbie Gibson open. Tickets start at $29.95 plus service fees. Doors open at 6 pm.

Dave Matthews Band at Cynthia Woods
Believe it or not, a lot of people like Dave Matthews Band, especially those whose wardrobes consist of a large selection of plaid shirts, cargo shorts, and loafers/sandals. Despite having the gall to name a very good group of musicians after himself, the wannabe Phish bandleader has sold over 30 million albums since starting in the '90s, hitting No. 1 on the Billboard charts seven consecutive times, the first for a rock band. DMB is on the road promoting their latest, Come Tomorrow, (inexplicably) selling out almost everywhere. Tickets are still up for grabs at this one, however.

Dave Matthews Band is at Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion, located at 2005 Lake Robbins Dr. in The Woodlands, on Friday, May 17. Tickets start at $45.50 plus fees. Gates open at 6:30 pm.

CultureMap recommends: ZZ Top celebrates milestone
If you're a fan of classic rock, ZZ Top headlines one of the strongest line-ups of the year when the local legends celebrate 50 years of kicking ass and taking names as one of the best bands of all time this weekend. And if you're wondering whether these guys still have what it takes to put on a killer show, have no fears, Billy Gibbons, Dusty Hill, and Frank Beard still bring it hard, running through an immense catalog of hits, including "Sharp Dressed Man," "Gimme All Your Lovin'," and "Legs." They'll be joined by the equally great Cheap Trick and Bad Company for a riff-tastic time in The Woodlands.

ZZ Top is at Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion, located at 2005 Lake Robbins Dr. in The Woodlands, on Saturday, May 18. Cheap Trick and Bad Company are also on the bill. Tickets start at $76 plus fees on the resale market. Gates open at 5 pm.

Steve Aoki: The cake-throwing wunderkind
"Music is everything,” Steve Aoki told CultureMap early in 2018. “Music keeps me young and keeps me relevant. It is a huge priority for me.” Party rocking will be the only priority for the music mogul this weekend when the night-clubbing set lines up next to the red velvet ropes to see one of the biggest DJs in the world at Spire. The cake-throwing, crowd surfing producer always plays a crowd-friendly set of electronic music mixed with the odd alt-rock tune to keep things high energy.

Steve Aoki performs at Spire Nightclub, located at 1720 Main St., on Saturday, May 18. Seb and Wes Walz open. Tickets start at $45. Doors open at 10 pm.

CultureMap show of the week: Ariana Grande at Toyota Center
There's probably no other bigger star — save Beyoncé — in the world right now than Ariana Grande, who bounced back from some huge challenges in her personal and professional life to release the critically and commercially successful Sweetener. That album went straight to No. 1, establishing Grande as a force to be reckoned with on the pop charts and positioning her as the voice of a new generation of smart and savvy music listeners. She'll bring the hits "No Tears Left to Cry," "The Light is Coming," and "God is a Woman" with her to a sure-to-sell-out show at Toyota Center.

Ariana Grande headlines the Toyota Center, located at 1510 Polk St., on Sunday, May 19. Normani and Social House open. Tickets start at $39.95 plus service fees. Doors open at 7 pm.

New Kids on the Block bring their Mixtape Tour to Toyota Center on Wednesday, May 15.

Courtesy Toyota Center

New Kids on the Block bring their Mixtape Tour to Toyota Center on Wednesday, May 15.

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Movie Review

Over-the-top acting and incoherent plot drag down Her Private Hell

Photo courtesy of Neon

Sophie Thatcher in Her Private Hell.

Danish filmmaker Nicolas Winding Refn is not someone who plays nice with the general film world. His 2011 film Drive introduced him to American audiences in a big way, but that pulsating thriller was followed up with artier films like Only God Forgives and The Neon Demon that eschewed coherent plots in favor of moody, atmospheric pieces.

Winding Refn, who hasn’t made a feature film in 10 years, has gone fully down the rabbit hole with Her Private Hell. Taking place in a liminal space that kind of resembles Earth but also feels like someone’s dreams/nightmares, the film focuses on Elle (Sophie Thatcher), an actor currently starring in a sci-fi film. Staying at a hotel with newcomer Hunter (Kristine Froseth), the two bond over their shared passion and the legend of Elle’s father, Johnny Thunders (Dougray Scott), who’s now married to Elle’s friend Dominique (Havana Rose Liu).

After spending a good amount of (mostly incomprehensible) time with that group, Refn introduces Private K (Charles Melton), who seems to be living in post-World War II Japan. He is looking for his daughter, who might have been taken by a mysterious figure known as “Leatherman,” and he will stop at nothing to find her, fighting whoever stands in his way.

It becomes clear almost right away that Winding Refn has no desire to engage in traditional storytelling in this film. The main characters wander through neon-drenched streets and buildings, which are often surrounded by a mist that is referred to on multiple occasions but never explained. Everyone speaks as if in a constant state of wonderment, and there are many moments where it’s unclear if events are actually happening, part of a movie-within-a-movie, or something else entirely.

Unlike his previous films, Winding Refn has taken the characters in this film completely out of the real world, with every scene taking place in a sparsely decorated room or street that is obviously a movie set. While there are moments where this decision really works, especially the striking first shot of a human-like figure mixed in with a cityscape and clouds, most of the time it only adds to the stilted nature of the film as a whole.

In fact, the entire movie has the feel of an avant-garde theater exercise. Every actor seems to be trying to outdo the others with awkward performances and out-sized reactions. Two very specific characters make appearances in both sides of the story for seemingly no reason other than to inject their weirdness into both spaces. The shocking violence that crops up on occasion would have more of an impact if it was related to anything intelligible.

Thatcher (Companion) and Liu (Tuner) are among the young stars who have had breakout moments in recent years, but neither of them is served well by this hot mess of a movie. They, along with Melton, still demonstrate the talent they possess, but the oddity of the film weighs them down. Scott makes an impression for all the wrong reasons, while Froseth is called upon to play a character who might as well not be there at all.

If there’s any kind of message that Winding Refn was trying to convey with Her Private Hell, it’s lost among the flashing lights, overload of pink, and jewel-like structures. Filmmakers who try to make art for art’s sake have a place in the world, but this film too often feels like people are making things up as they go, with no real goal in mind.

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Her Private Hell opens in theaters on July 24.

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