Catch Jimmy Cliff as antihero reggae god in The Harder They Come, which just got a 40th anniversary reissue. Puff, puff, pass your way to Texas Theatre tonight to see it, then stick around for a dub/reggae afterparty in the lobby.
But wait, there's more. Kick it off tonight with an all-Texas filmmaker showcase and a pre-Fugtag rivalry party. James Magee, the artistic prophet creating The Hill, visits Dallas on Friday and Erykah Badu leads a natural hair foot parade on Saturday. Still unimpressed? Fine. There's burlesque, a Dolly Parton tribute show, a play called Five Lesbians Eating a Quiche and one giant night of art openings in the Design District and Expo Park.
Now, let's get to it. Share this list with your crew and click on the event titles for more information. I'll see you out there. (I'll be the one imitating the Dolly Parton imitator.)
Thursday 9.5 Caviar Club vs. Rec Shop: 2013 Red Bull Flugtag Rivalry Party -- Sure, Flugtag is still a little more than two weeks off, but that won't stop local art collective Caviar Club from uprocking those Rec Shop skate dudes tonight. It's a little pre-show battle featuring DJ Sober spinning for CC and DJ Nemesis cutting deep for Rec. Also, there'll be breakdancing. (It's BYOC: Bring your own cardboard.)
TexFest -- A partnership between the USA Film Festival and the Texas Association of Film and Tape Professionals, this community showcase features works from rising Lone Star talent. There are shorts and longs, so pop in and satisfy your cinematic urges.
The Harder They Come at Texas Theatre -- Jimmy Cliff's character is a reggae bandit, rising to the top of the charts while waging war with the police and the ganja cartels.
CentralTrak Next Topic: Creative Computation -- Explore visual art through code tonight at CentralTrak as profs Paul Fishwick and Ira Greenberg explain digital approaches to traditional painting, and thoughts on immersive gaming. It all goes down at our favorite university residency.
Friday 9.6 James Magee at Kirk Hopper -- Prophet, poet, artist, architect and all-around inspirational look-to James Magee will have sketches of his legacy opus work The Hill at Hopper's Deep Ellum gallery space on Friday. Magee will be in attendance, and you'll experience his process through relief sculptures and drawings. Plus, there's air conditioning. The Hill ain't got that.
Viva Dallas Burlesque Presents Naughty Bits -- It's a fanboy's erotic dream come to life! The vixens of Viva Dallas Burlesque strips down to their 8-bits for this month's offering of all nerdery/gaming thing tease.
Anthony K. Giannini at Oliver Francis Gallery -- RISD MFA grad Anthony K. Giannini commandeers OFG on Friday night with a sequence of paintings that document the line-crossing ceremony, where a sailor takes his first voyage across the equator. It's a nautical rite of passage, but really it's a jumping off point for Giannini to tackle more imperative topics, like modern culture's ease of consumption regarding national and international torture stories.
FIG Finale -- It's your chance to shop the designer labels you lust over ... at more Maxxinista price points. The FIG Finale is three days of bargains, brands and unapologetic credit card swipes. Grab your ladygang and shove in there.
Saturday 9.7 Dolly Parton Tribute Show -- Dollywood is too far away, and that dinner show Real Parton supports in Branson just looks depressing. But if you stick a Vegas-grade impersonator in Grand Prairie, well, that's just enough camp to have us reaching for the car keys. Hand said keys over to a designated driver, then pound shots till Not Dolly looks authentic.
Magic Bike Public Art Celebration -- This new piece of Fort Worth Avenue public art gets a debutante bash on Saturday at Smoke. Welcome Robertus Joost Van Der Wege's new sculpture into the world and raise a glass to South Dallas' artistic efforts. They're putting the work in.
Five Lesbians Eating a Quiche -- I'm still unclear on this one, aside from its inclusion in Uptown Players' Dallas Pride Performing Arts Festival, which wraps on September 14. It involves the 1956 annual breakfast of the Susan B. Anthony Society for the Sisters of Gertrude Stein, some light communism and a bunch of widows.
Naturally Isis Hair Parade, led by Erykah Badu -- Isis Brantley fought a fight that few in Dallas even know existed. A leader in the underground hair-braiding movement, Brantley was arrested in '95 for practicing her craft without a cosmetology license. She fought it and demanded rights for those working with natural hair, and on Saturday both her victory and the natural hair movement are celebrated in a foot parade. The whole thing ends in a block party at the ever-inspiring Pan African Connection. Oh, and Erykah Badu is grand marshal, naturally. 17th Annual Jewish Film Festival -- Nine films in total screen throughout this festival, with selections from Germany, France, Croatia, the Netherlands and Israel. The quirkiest of them may be Paris-Manhattan, a French number about a woman obsessed with Woody Allen.
Big Ol' Night of Dallas Gallery Openings -- From the far reaches of the Design District to Dragon Street and Expo Park, there are A LOT of great art openings happening on Saturday night. We've put a guide together, if you're into that kind of thing. Sunday 9.8 Cock, a staged reading -- Another fun weekend addition from the Dallas Pride Performing Arts Festival. (Thanks, Dallas Pride Performing Arts Festival: We don't get to say "cock" anywhere near enough on this arts blog.) Cock is the story of a polyamorous love triangle, line, segment, Spirograph kinda thing. Anywho, you can hear Cock read aloud on Sunday at Kalita Humphrey.
Family Friendly Babes and Bombers -- By its title you're aware that this tribute fighter planes event is a family affair, but then they slip in the word "babes." Yes, there will be babes. Pinup gals and classic aircrafts share space at this one, which happens at the Cavanaugh Flight Museum.
