a festive saturday

Here are the 15 best places to celebrate Record Store Day and 4/20 in Houston

On Saturday, April 20, Houstonians will celebrate two holidays that appeals to specific — potentially overlapping — groups of people.

Vinyl enthusiasts across the city will be lining up for Record Store Day. The holiday celebrates independent record stores with almost 400 limited edition releases from musical artists in a wide range of genres.

At the same time, cannabis enthusiasts will celebrate 4/20. The holiday is devoted to appreciation for the herb’s beneficial qualities as well as promoting legalization efforts.

Here are the best bets for a very festive Saturday.

Record Store Day

Cactus Music will have a special guest for RSD. The English Beat founding member Dave Wakeling will be there for a meet-and-greet. In addition to RSD specials, Cactus will also have reissues of classic English Beat albums. 2 pm.

Sig’s Lagoon will have one fancy RSD. After buying some new records, head over to The Alley Kat Bar & Lounge down the street, where DJ Big Reeks may play your purchase during brunch. 11 am.

ZT Records over in the Woodlands will be getting exclusive RSD vinyl. They will also have a "what's in the box" live unboxing prior to the event as well, so shoppers can see what they’ve received. 10 am.

4/20

Cheba Hut will be curing 4/20 munchies with Nug subs for $4.20 all day long. Homies will also receive a free Cheba Hut-branded frisbee which can be used to play catch with some buds or as a rolling tray for another kind of bud. 10 am.

8th Wonder Cannabis will be celebrating 4/20 with food, music, and the introduction of Ocho Verde, its newest cannabis-infused seltzer. Dine on three pounds of crawfish and shrimp from Clutch City Crawfish. Musical acts include Marley Moon, Dollar Disco, The Stevie Clear Experience, and DJ G-Funk. They will also have an open air market, laser light shows, and more. Noon.

Over at The Flying Saucer, celebrate 4/20 with dank beer flights, food specials and, of course, munchies. A special-edition glass, courtesy of Great Heights Brewing, will also be available. 11 am.

Gas Gods is hosting the ultimate 4/20 All Gas No Smoke Car Meet. Houston’s own Slim Thug and Le$ will make appearances, and there will be a live performance by LaRussell. There will also be food truck vendors, a designated kids zone and, of course, exotic cars. 12 pm.

Over in EaDo, J-Bar-M Barbecue will host CannaFest HTX. The free event features a market with more than 40 vendors selling art, clothing, vintage gear, and smoking accessories. A percentage of proceeds from the market will go to The Courage To Bee Project, a non-profit organization that aims to increase access to school supplies and technology to economically disadvantaged youth in Texas, Latin America, and the Caribbean. 12 pm.

The Original Ninfa’s is kicking off 4/20 by offering a cannabis-infused Tranquilita Margarita. This is a refreshing and delightful alternative for those who want to unwind without the alcohol-related effects of a traditional margarita or cocktail. 10 am.

Velvet Taco will be granting guests the chance to get high (in the sky) with a prize of skydiving for two, followed by lunch at Velvet Taco. All guests have to do to enter is grab a 420 Blazin’ Taco on the loyalty app or follow the entry instructions on their Instagram page. 11 am.

Both WILD Concepts locations in Montrose and The Heights will have a 4/20 BBQ bash with a menu curated by chef German Mosquera. The cafes will also offer a bake sale with next-level, infused edibles, as well as a special 4/20 cocktail bar menu. 11 am

Both

The Blessings Gallery will be throwing a combined 4/20/RSD shindig, complete with live music and new records. It’s also a birthday party for singer Karina Nistal, who’ll be performing with her band The Cosmic Cats. 4:20 pm.

Cool Heads Prevail will have a 4/20-friendly RSD party with half-off vinyl. They’ll also have sounds from SCA Productions, boozy drinks, and snacks for all the elevated record collectors in attendance. 3 pm.

Both Sound Revolution locations will be opening up real early for Record Store Day. They will also celebrate 4/20 with a gift card raffle, 20 percent off glasses, and 20 percent off all wellness products. 8 am.

The Toasted Coconut will celebrate the holiday with food and drink specials as well as a market selling vinyl and ceramic pipes made by local artist Lori Muñoz. Specials include a Mapo Hotdog, Big Rib sandwich, and the Purple Kush cocktail. A DJ will spin from 9 pm until midnight. 4:20 pm.

Courtesy of Gas Gods

Gas Gods is hosting the All Gas No Smoke Car Meet.

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Movie Review

Star TV producer James L. Brooks stumbles with meandering movie Ella McCay

Photo courtesy of 20th Century Studios

Emma Mackey in Ella McCay.

The impact that writer/director/producer James L. Brooks has made on Hollywood cannot be understated. The 85-year-old created The Mary Tyler Moore Show, personally won three Oscars for Terms of Endearment, and was one of the driving forces behind The Simpsons, among many other credits. Now, 15 years after his last movie, he’s back in the directing chair with Ella McCay.

The similarly-named Emma Mackey plays Ella, a 34-year-old lieutenant governor of an unnamed state in 2008 who’s on the verge of becoming governor when Governor Bill (Albert Brooks) gets picked to be a member of the president’s Cabinet. What should be a happy time is sullied by her needy husband, Ryan (Jack Lowden), her agoraphobic brother, Casey (Spike Fearn), and her perpetually-cheating father, Eddie (Woody Harrelson).

Despite the trio of men competing to bring her down, Ella remains an unapologetic optimist, an attitude bolstered by her aunt Helen (Jamie Lee Curtis), her assistant Estelle (Julie Kavner), and her police escort, Trooper Nash (Kumail Nanjiani). The film follows her over a few days as she navigates the perils of governing, the distractions her family brings, and the expectations being thrust upon her by many different people.

Brooks, who wrote and directed the film, is all over the place with his storytelling. What at first seems to be a straightforward story about Ella and her various issues soon starts meandering into areas that, while related to Ella, don’t make the film better. Prime among them are her brother and father, who are given a relatively small amount of screentime in comparison to the importance they have in her life. This is compounded by a confounding subplot in which Casey tries to win back his girlfriend, Susan (Ayo Edebiri).

Then there’s the whole political side of the story, which never finds its focus and is stuck in the past. Though it’s never stated explicitly, Ella and Governor Bill appear to be Democrats, especially given a signature program Ella pushes to help mothers in need. But if Brooks was trying to provide an antidote to the current real world politics, he doesn’t succeed, as Ella’s full goals are never clear. He also inexplicably shows her boring her fellow lawmakers to tears, a strange trait to give the person for whom the audience is supposed to be rooting.

What saves the movie from being an all-out train wreck is the performances of Mackey and Curtis. Mackey, best known for the Netflix show Sex Education, has an assured confidence to her that keeps the character interesting and likable even when the story goes downhill. Curtis, who has tended to go over-the-top with her roles in recent years, tones it down, offering a warm place of comfort for Ella to turn to when she needs it. The two complement each other very well and are the best parts of the movie by far.

Brooks puts much more effort into his female actors, including Kavner, who, even though she serves as an unnecessary narrator, gets most of the best laugh lines in the film. Harrelson is capable of playing a great cad, but his character here isn’t fleshed out enough. Fearn is super annoying in his role, and Lowden isn’t much better, although that could be mostly due to what his character is called to do. Were it not for the always-great Brooks and Nanjiani, the movie might be devoid of good male performances.

Brooks has made many great TV shows and movies in his 60+ year career, but Ella McCay is a far cry from his best. The only positive that comes out of it is the boosting of Mackey, who proves herself capable of not only leading a film, but also elevating one that would otherwise be a slog to get through.

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Ella McCay opens in theaters on December 12.

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