Funny Guy

'Hottest comic in America' Sebastian Maniscalco heads to Houston on new 2024 tour

Comedian Sebastian Maniscalco comes to Houston in 2024.

Photo by Peggy Sirota

Comedian, actor, and podcast host Sebastian Maniscalco will embark on the huge It Ain’t Right tour, an all-arena jaunt that includes a stop at Toyota Center on Thursday, August 8.

The tour is Maniscalco's biggest to date, traveling to 47 cities over the course of five months. In addition to Houston, the tour will stop in Austin on August 9, Dallas on August 10, and San Antonio on August 11.

Hailed by The New York Times as the "hottest comic in America," Maniscalco has been performing for over two decades, ramping up from small clubs to arena shows. He has starred in six comedy specials for Netflix, Showtime, and Comedy Central.

He's also proven to be a force in film, television, and podcasting. He has a new series, Bookie, premiering on November 30 on MAX, and he's recently been seen in movies like The Super Mario Bros. Movie, Somewhere in Queens with Ray Romano and Laurie Metcalf, and About My Father, a film which he co-wrote and which was also his first role as a leading man.

Maniscalco currently co-hosts two podcasts, Daddy vs. Doctor and The Pete and Sebastian Show, and is the author of the best-selling memoir, Stay Hungry.

Tickets will be available starting with artist presale beginning on Wednesday, November 29. Additional presales will run throughout the week ahead of the general on-sale beginning on Friday, December 1 at 10 am at SebastianLive.com.

IT AIN’T RIGHT 2024 TOUR DATES

Thu Jul 11 – Norfolk, VA – Norfolk Scope Arena
Fri Jul 12 – Raleigh, NC – PNC Arena
Sat Jul 13 – Asheville, NC – ExploreAsheville.com Arena
Thu Jul 18 – Jacksonville, FL – VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena
Fri Jul 19 – Savannah, GA – Enmarket Arena
Sat Jul 20 – Atlanta, GA – State Farm Arena
Sun Jul 21 – Nashville, TN – Bridgestone Arena
Thu Aug 08 – Houston – Toyota Center
Fri Aug 09 – Austin, TX – Moody Center
Sat Aug 10 – Dallas, TX – American Airlines Center
Sun Aug 11 – San Antonio, TX – Frost Bank Center
Thu Aug 15 – Phoenix, AZ – Footprint Center
Fri Aug 16 – San Diego, CA – Viejas Arena
Sun Aug 18 – San Francisco, CA – Chase Center
Thu Sep 12 – Orlando, FL – Amway Center
Fri Sep 13 – North Charleston, SC – North Charleston Coliseum
Sat Sep 14 – Charlotte, NC – PNC Music Pavilion
Wed Sep 18 – New York, NY – Madison Square Garden
Thu Sep 19 – New York, NY – Madison Square Garden
Thu Sep 26 – Pittsburgh, PA – PPG Paints Arena
Fri Sep 27 – Philadelphia, PA – Wells Fargo Center
Sat Sep 28 – Washington, DC – Capital One Arena
Sun Sep 29 – Wilkes-Barre, PA – Mohegan Sun Arena
Thu Oct 03 – Albany, NY – MVP Arena
Fri Oct 04 – Boston, MA – TD Garden
Sun Oct 06 – Hershey, PA – GIANT Center
Thu Oct 17 – Winnipeg, MB – Canada Life Centre
Sat Oct 19 – Edmonton, AB – Rogers Place
Sun Oct 20 – Calgary, AB – Scotiabank Saddledome
Thu Oct 24 – Vancouver, BC – Rogers Arena
Fri Oct 25 – Seattle, WA – Climate Pledge Arena
Sat Oct 26 – Portland, OR – Moda Center
Wed Nov 06 – Milwaukee, WI – Fiserv Forum
Fri Nov 08 – Chicago, IL – United Center
Sat Nov 09 – Chicago, IL– United Center
Sun Nov 10 – Dayton, OH – Nutter Center
Thu Nov 14 – Youngstown, OH – Covelli Centre
Fri Nov 15 – Rochester, NY – Blue Cross Arena
Sat Nov 16 – Buffalo, NY – KeyBank Center
Sun Nov 17 – Syracuse, NY – Oncenter War Memorial Arena
Thu Nov 21 – Montreal, QC– Bell Centre
Fri Nov 22 – Toronto, ON – Scotiabank Arena
Sun Nov 24 – Ottawa, ON – Canadian Tire Centre
Wed Dec 04 – Estero, FL – Hertz Arena
Sat Dec 07 – Tampa, FL – Amalie Arena
Thu Dec 12 – Omaha, NE – CHI Health Center
Fri Dec 13 – Peoria, IL – Peoria Civic Center Arena
Sat Dec 14 – St. Louis, MO – Enterprise Center
Sun Dec 15 – Des Moines, IA – Wells Fargo Arena

Movie Review

Daniel Craig shines in Queer, an unapologetic tale of love and loss

Photo courtesy of A24

Drew Starkey and Daniel Craig in Queer.

As recently as the late 2010s, if a movie was made about an LGBTQ+ character, it was more than likely about their coming out experience. Romance, if it existed, was typically chaste, and actual sex was almost completely out of the question. Things have changed dramatically in the 2020s, to the point that a major movie star has no issue starring in a film called Queer.

Based on the 1985 novella by William S. Burroughs, the film features William Lee (Daniel Craig), whom everyone calls just Lee, a writer living in 1950s-era Mexico City who spends most of his time haunting local bars with friends like fellow writer Joe Guidry (Jason Schwartzman) and hitting on younger men. His early interactions in the film seem to indicate that Lee has a bad reputation within the local gay community, as multiple people avoid him or give him odd looks.

Lee senses an opportunity when he encounters a newcomer, Eugene Allerton (Drew Starkey). Despite some awkward interactions, the two of them start spending time together, although Lee has much more invested in the relationship than Eugene does. Their hit-and-miss bond continues until Lee, who’s starting to get into drugs in addition to the booze, convinces Eugene to accompany him on a trip to South America.

Directed by Luca Guadagnino and written by Justin Kuritzkes (making their second straight film together after Challengers), early on the film seems to be mostly about the divide between an older person who’s grown comfortable in his ways and a younger person who’s living a relatively carefree life. The introduction of drugs into the plot changes things, though, with Lee searching out more ways to open his eyes to what the world has to offer.

Guadagnino and his team use some interesting visual storytelling techniques to introduce ideas that may not be present in the actual script. The most successful, demonstrated in multiple scenes, is the superimposition of movements by Lee over what’s actually taking place in the scene. The subtle overlay gives the audience insight into Lee’s true feelings, showing what he can’t or won’t say out loud.

Music also plays a big part in how the plot is perceived, with the use of anachronistic songs from Nirvana and Prince serving to heighten certain moments. The score by Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross is not as in-your-face as the one they did for Challengers, but it complements the film well, especially when the plot starts to get trippy in its final half hour.

Craig, who appears sweaty and disheveled for much of the film, is about as far from the suaveness of James Bond as you can get in this role. He takes multiple risks with his performance and almost all of them pay off. Starkey’s character is subdued by comparison, but still comes off well. Schwartzman and Lesley Manville are given showy roles, with both using altered appearances that make them nearly unrecognizable to deliver memorable performances.

Queer is not as accessible as Challengers was storytelling-wise, but the fact that it tells a story about gay men living their lives as they see fit with no interference or questions shows how far the film world has come in a short period of time. It also continues Guadagnino’s streak of making audacious films in a way that few other filmmakers are willing or able to approach.

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Queer is now playing in theaters.

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