Weekend Roundup
Love it or hate it, it's time to plan ahead for Valentine's Day Weekend
Before the overly-charged Hallmark holiday rears its expectation-heavy head on Tuesday, there's a fantastic weekend to fill with good times and excitement (and romance, if you're in to that sort of thing). Plenty of big names are visiting our fair city, offering their one-of-a-kind entertainment on every entertainment front. Go it alone and meet some new friends or, if you've got one, take that someone special.
Friday night is alright for lovin', apparently, because there are three awesome music concerts for all the (music) lovers out there.
First up, country crooner Keith Urban kicks off the weekend with a special ACL Live Date Night to benefit the Beyond Batten Disease Foundation. The Australian cowboy lends his talent to this big-ticket fundraiser, which raises money to develop treatments for the largely unknown and untreated disease. The long-haired scruffy pop country star is no stranger to the big stage, and his recent hits like "Without You" and "Long Hot Summer" will get you in the mood for love for sure.
Meanwhile, on the other side of Lady Bird Lake, Grammy Award winner Natalie Cole performs at The Long Center thanks to The Austin Symphony's Pops Series. Legendary for her sweeping ballads and unforgettable voice, the daughter of Nat King Cole continues to amaze audiences year after year. This show will remind you what role music plays in setting the tone for falling in love.
And if you can even believe it, Andrea Bocelli will be filling the Frank Erwin Center with his world-renowned tenor at the same time. Bocelli's Valentine's Day Concert is undoubtedly full of romantic numbers that will break your heart, mash it all up into a pulp, and then mend it again in a new, more vulnerable formation. His voice can handle pop songs just as easily as operatic arias, so be ready for just about anything at this show.
Phew! All those sappy love songs in one night! For the rest of us, there are crazy dance parties and theater shows and even some anti-Valentine's Day events for the rest of the weekend to help you fall in love with the city all over again.
If you're in the mood for a more energetic party Friday night, the crowd at Lipstick24 will thrill you with Lovebomb!: A Valentine's Day Fundraiser. The lovely folks at Queerbomb are throwing a benefit to help raise the funds necessary to make their 2012 celebration as awesome as possible. With five DJs and a date auction with the one and only Christeene, it's going to (of course!) be a crazy, over-the-top adventure like you'd expect from the Queerbomb crew.
On Saturday, we cannot recommend enough checking out John Leguizamo's new one man show, Ghetto Klown, at the Paramount. After two decades in the movie industry, you undoubtedly know Leguizamo from his roles in Baz Luhrman's Romeo + Juliet and Moulin Rouge. Now he's back on stage, telling the story of making it in Hollywood, including spot-on impressions and stories of celebrities who have helped or hindered him along the way. Considering the popularity of his past stage shows, this is one you don't want to miss.
Theatrically speaking, this weekend is your first opportunity to see the latest work from the Rude Mechanicals at The Off Center. The working title of their show is CL1000P, and they describe it as an "interactive puzzle for the stage inspired by alternative reality games." We don't know what that means, exactly, but we do know that everything this collaborative company touches tends to turn to dramatic gold. You can even be a part of the creation and revision process, as each production of the show will be followed up with a talkback session with the audience.
And if you're especially anti-Valentine's, the Bat City Bombshells are putting on a burlesque show just for you. The show's going to be full of naughty, naked dancing, and it's called the Anti-Valentine's Day Burlesque Show, so the emphasis is definitely not about drippy romantic love. This is sexy, raunchy, in-your-face kind of love. Comedian Kat Ramzinski will kick the show off at Hotel Vegas, and the Hot Rod Hillbillies will provide the twangin' soundtrack for the night.
Finally, rounding out the weekend on Sunday night, the much-loved Stag Comedy returns with their next exciting sketch comedy intallment, Ghostly Do-Gooders. The team of six comedians combines live sketch with video productions which get projected up on the Alamo Drafthouse Ritz screen. Tickets go fast for these shows that play just two Sundays, so grab 'em while they're hot. (The tickets, not the comedians.)
So much to say and do besides sitting at home fretting and crying and eating individually wrapped chocolates. At least wait until the V-Day candy goes on clearance at Target before you start that ritual!
Have fun this weekend and play safe. Just remember: True love waits. Ha!
---
You can catch Michael Graupmann on KUT 90.5 FM, every Friday during All Things Considered. Or listen to his Best Bets right here.
Adobe Flash Required for flash player.