Local groups fill September with activities
A bit of this and a bit of that … while wondering why practically every local organization decides to book events in September, with many bumping against, conflicting with or sadly being overshadowed by other events.
Need a Buddy Holly music fix? Try the free concert by Colorado-based band Runaway Express at 3 p.m. today at the Buddy Holly Center’s Meadow Courtyard, 19th Street and Avenue G. After all, the show also will serve as a CD-release celebration for the band’s latest recording, titled ”Yeah Buddy.”
Holly’s birthday is Thursday, and there’s not a ton of entertainment planned that day in Lubbock. Mind you, another visit to the Buddy Holly Center might be in order; the first 300 people to make a stop at the center Thursday will receive a pair of commemorative Buddy Holly glasses. (Can’t make it? Not to worry. They’re also sold in the gift shop.)
Not enough?
Bill Griggs to the rescue. The music historian will host a Holly tribute from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m. on KRFE (580-AM); the show will include music, interviews and a tape of Snuff Garrett telling Lubbock listeners on Feb. 3, 1959, about the plane crash that claimed Holly’s life.
Thursday also will find Mike Pritchard’s Blue Thunder & The Lightning Horns performing a free show from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. at the Buddy Holly Center’s Meadow Courtyard. And guitarist extraordinaire Ian Moore will headline a concert of blues-rock music at 9:30 p.m. Thursday at Liquid 2000. General admission tickets are priced at $13 in advance and $15 at the door.
That’s about it.
WWF returns to Lubbock
But hey, we’ve got rasslin’ news.
Just confirmed is an appearance by the World Wrestling Federation at 2 p.m. Nov. 5 at the United Spirit Arena. Reserved-seat tickets will be priced at $43, $33, $28 and $21.
That’s right, The Rock and the boys will make a Sunday afternoon appearance for those looking for something to do after church.
No doubt the question you’d like to ask first is, ”Why?” Allow me…
The WWF had hoped to rumble at the arena on Saturday night. However, there’s the matter of a Texas Tech vs. University of Texas football game on Nov. 4. Presently, kickoff is set for 1 p.m., but there’s a chance that the game time could be shifted to evening for television purposes.
Thus, a Sunday rasslin’ matinee.
Closer at hand, World Championship Wrestling matches will be held at 7:30 p.m. Sept. 23 at the Lubbock Coliseum.
Weekends crowded with entertainment events are not limited to September, by the way. Glancing ahead, choices must be made in mid-October.
More entertainment conflicts
The Oct. 13-14 weekend includes ’70s Nostalgia Nite concerts at the Cactus Theater and the opening of (count ‘em) four plays: ”Dracula” at the Garza Theater in Post, the musical ”Monky Business” at the CATS Playhouse, the musical ”A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum” at the Charles E. Maedgen Jr. on the Texas Tech campus, and ”The Glass Menagerie” at Lubbock Community Theatre.
Oh, there’s also the little matter of a Texas Tech vs. University of Nebraska football game at 6 p.m. Oct. 14 in Lubbock. That may attract a few folks, too.
Expand the window to Oct. 12-17 and even more big events pad the calendar.
Shifting topics, is it just me or is anyone else peeved at being forced to watch commercials at movie theaters? Kick things off with four commercials for everything from fast food chains to soft drinks, follow them with four or five trailers for upcoming attractions, and now we sit in the dark for 20 minutes before the actual movie begins.
Think you can skip the commercials? Arrive late at the theater and the odds of finding a good seat on a busy night decrease. A cinematic Catch-22.
Looking on the bright side, there’s now plenty of time to claim a seat and then go back to the lobby for popcorn.
By the way, Cinemark’s Movies 16 must have landed very late bookings for ”Highlander: Endgame” and ”Saving Grace,” because The A-J entertainment desk never was notified in advance.
They won’t be here long. But I’ve looked forward to seeing the latter only because it earned one of the funniest opening one-liners I’ve seen in a review. Film critic Chris Hewitt wrote in the Saint Paul (Minn.) Pioneer Press: ”’Saving Grace’ is so fake that I didn’t even believe the actors when they were breathing.”
Ouch.
William Kerns
Entertainment Editor
