weekend event planner

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

Brian Ching's East End Backyard patio bar opens this weekend.

Photo by Wilf Thorne Photography

This weekend, look for a fun happenings like a soft opening of a record store/plant boutique and Sawyer Yards' usual Second Saturday goings-on (complete with a unicorn bike show). Or, you can pop over to the It's Not Fair State Fair Pop-Up at The Rustic.

Former Dynamo star Brian Ching opens his massive new East End patio bar, Prince fans can rock out to a cool tribute, plus much more. Here are your best picks for the weekend.

Thursday, October 8

Asia Society Texas Center presents Women’s Leadership Series - Building Black and Asian Solidarity: Women Leading Across Race, History, and Culture
To launch the sixth year of the Bank of America Women’s Leadership Series, Asia Society Texas Center will be setting up this live webcast. This program, moderated by Nightline co-anchor JuJu Chang, will explore the depth of Black and Asian-American experiences in the U.S. and discuss overcoming racial conflict and division between communities. Prairie View A&M University president Ruth Simmons and activist/author Helen Zia will be the guest speakers. 6:30 pm.

R&R Studio presents Dirty Mind '40' | Virtual Showcase
Thursday marks the 40th anniversary of the release of Dirty Mind, Prince's sex-on-the-brain, funk-rock 1980 masterpiece. Houston's own R&R Studio with celebrate with a live virtual showcase, complete with a pre-show, pre-Dirty Mind era, "Partyup" mix from Peter V., two live-music showcases, an interview with special guest/Prince keyboardist Matt "Dr. Fink" Fink and a post-Dirty Mind era mix from Def Jam Blaster. Donations will go to Houston-area artists and Prince-related charities. 7 pm.

Friday, October 9

East End Backyard Opening
Houstonians can look forward to a brand-new, dog-friendly patio bar opening this weekend. Located on a 20,000-square foot lot on 1105 Sampson St., this spot (owned by Houston Dynamo legend Brian Ching) boasts a 16,000-square-foot patio that includes a 3,500-square-foot dog park and a bar that features 1,300 square feet of indoor space. Over at that bar, you can get 25 beers and ciders on tap, along with a full cocktail menu and food from a rotating lineup of food trucks. 3 pm.

Felipe Esparza at Improv Houston
Comedian and Last Comic Standing winner Felipe Esparza appears to be on a mission to win over both American and Latino audiences. Just last month, he dropped not one but two Netflix stand-up specials: Bad Decisions and Malas Decisiones. As you've probably guessed, one has Esparza doing stand-up in English, while the other has him talking en Español. Chances are he'll be going back-and-forth when he performs all this weekend at the Improv. 9:45 pm (7 and 9:30 pm Saturday; 7:30 pm Sunday).

Saturday, October 10

Sawyer Yards Second Saturday
It’s that time of the month, where the artists who have spots in studios all over this area will be open for business — and if the artwork is too pricey for you, at least shout ‘em out on Instagram. The Silos, Winter Street, Silver Street, Sabine Street, Summer Street, and Spring Street will all be open for the afternoon. But don’t forget about the Market at Sawyer Yards over at Art Alley, complete with a — we kid you not — unicorn bike show. Noon.

Horror Punk Swap Meet at Team Romel Studio
This swap meet will be an event for those who are fans of Clive Barker and Stephen King as well as The Cramps and The Damned. Local artists and collectors will be buying, selling and trading books, art, vintage T-shirts, records, art supplies, and more. There will also be booth decorating, costume contests, and an art and studio swag raffle. Wild Will (of Texas Honey Cult) and Sin Apuros 66 will provide the music. 3 pm.

Sunday, October 11

The Blessings Gallery soft opening
Are you the kind of person who likes to take care of their plants while also listening to some fine, groovy music? You’re in luck, because there is a new spot ready to cater to both those needs. This new Montrose establishment will be selling vinyl records and plants. There will be a three-hour soft opening, complete with a design-your-own-bouquet flower bar, complimentary beverages, and a live DJ. Don’t forget to RSVP at the above link to attend. 3 pm.

RBG at the Drive-In at Sawyer Yards
We still can't believe Ruth Bader Ginsburg is gone; the Supreme Court justice was a legendary trailblazer. If you feel like celebrating her legacy this weekend, check out this community screening of the 2018 documentary about her life and times. Each car will receive a Notorious RBG keepsake upon arrival, and all proceeds from this screening will be donated to the ACLU in her honor. 10 pm.

event-planner

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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Movie Review

Offbeat drama Pillion features command performance by Alexander Skarsgård