Your #StaytheFHome Curated Weekend: 3/19 and Beyond

In these trying times of staying home to flatten the curve of Covid-19, we're sure you need a little entertainment to fill up your days. So the editors here at Third Coast Review have banded together and suggested a few things you can enjoy while you're at home during this self distancing, self quarantining. Now, we all like to get everything we want online free. However, in these times when so many drinking, dining and entertainment venues are shut down and employees are out of work, don't be stingy. Be ready to pay for what you get online or IRL -- and tip generously when you're getting service. So sit back and take a look at some of these great pieces of music, writing, activities, and more waiting for you! We also encourage you to check out Do312's running list of venues that could use some love! Donate if you can and remember to support them by going to shows once it's safe to do so!
Stay home and stay safe and healthy. Listen to our healthcare policy experts. Science matters. Keep washing your hands. And check in on 3CR, where we promote the arts for everyone's sake.
Let's stay the fuck inside and enjoy your curated weekend! FRIDAY, MARCH 20th Netflix Watch Party with Revolution Brewing @ Your Chrome Browser, 7:30pm, WHAT: Watch a movie with some beer loving friends! SO WHAT: If you're aching to watch movies with someone, go and download this extension for Chrome and start setting up some parties! In fact you can join Revoilution Brewing as they host a party of their own at 7:30pm toinght! NOW WHAT: Download the extension here and get ready to watch a fun film and make some new friends!   Arc Iris Performing The Music of iTMRW @ Their Facebook Page, 8:00pm, All Ages WHAT: Some truly live music for your isolated evening SO WHAT: Arc Iris are a phenomenal band. Their first album was a eclectic menagerie of sounds ranging from cabaret, 70s singer songwriter, and much more. Since then their sound has matured with intensity and boldness with every release (they're up to #4) that has made for an excellent and varied discography. Their live shows are also a must, but since we're all couped up inside, this is the next best thing! NOW WHAT: Head to their Facebook page at 8:00pm and check out this great band performing their new works! FRIDAY - SUNDAY, MARCH 20th - 22nd Top row, playwright Mike Lew and director Brian Balcom. Below (from left), MacGregor Arney (Richard), Liz Cloud (Elizabeth), Ty Fanning (Eddie), Courtney Rikki Green (Anne), Sarah Price (Clarissa) and Tamara Rozofsky (Buck). Theater Wit's Teenage Dick @ Your favorite internet-connected screen, Friday and Saturday 8:00pm, Sunday 2:30pm, All Ages WHAT: Theater Wit right at home! Thru April 19. SO WHAT: See our preview of Theater Wit's adaptation of Shakespeare's Richard III, with Dick in high school and working to overcome his disability to be class president. The playwright, director, cast and crew include diverse and disabled members. Theater Wit has committed to paying full performance rates to all cast/crew for the duration of the run. NOW WHAT: Tickets for this live streamed performance are available here, don't miss out on this great show. THE WHOLE SELF-DISTANCING WEEKEND ,MARCH 19th and Beyond https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL8TioFHubWFtZHMNrEuzWPXVEU1aftxQf Sesame Street @ Your Internet connected Device, Anytime the Kids need their Sesame Street Fix, All Ages WHAT: Sesame Street helps out with their Caring For Each Other initiative. SO WHAT: If you need a little more entertainment for your children, fret not, Sesame Street is here to help with fun videos meant to help kids with this time. A playlist full of activities, resources on how to explain COVID-19 to a younger generation, and more are available! NOW WHAT: Play some videos and discover some great ways to spend your day! Chicago Concerts @ Your House, Anytime you please, All Ages WHAT: There's tons of concerts from Chicago's yesteryear available online for your enjoyment! SO WHAT: There are so many great local concerts recorded for posterity and what better time to check them all out than during this self isolation period. Audiotree has a fantastic and huge list of sessions with lniks to band's websites and merch to help support them even more. We suggest checking out the Fran, Tasha, KAINA, Divino Nino, and The Ophelias sessions to start. Then head over to their record concerts from Lincoln Hall, Scubas, and beyond to check out Orville Peck, of Montreal, and so many more! Or check out Metro's twitter as they've been sharing shows this week including Metallica's 1983 stop and Oasis (see the tweet above)! NOW WHAT: Stay home, watch some live music, and be sure to check out your favorite artist's social media, you never know who might be live streaming next! Cooking @ Home, Your Place, Pretty Much Any Time, All Ages I Suppose WHAT: Confined to your home and going stir crazy? Just wait, this has only just started. Being a fan of all things food and kitchen-related, I’ve got plenty of chores to keep you occupied – from cooking, to cleaning out various cabinets, condiments and spices to reorganizing your pantry. While this is clearly disrupting our day-to-day lives, it is important that we stay optimistic and make good use of our time at home. SO WHAT: Let’s start with our spices. What better time than now to dump those jars and bags of spices from 2008? Experts confirm that spices – both ground and whole – do have a shelf life. According to WiseGEEK, the famous spice aficionado, the shelf life of spices is longer than what some might expect. They don’t actually go bad in terms of spoiling or becoming rancid; they just lose their potency. The best way to tell if they are still effective is by using your nose. Smell them. Still fragrant? If so, they are fine. I recently went through my cabinet and chucked some older ones. That led me to The Spice House on Wells to stock up on my favorites and special blends. Rule #1: Keep spices away from heat. They are best stored in cool, dry places. The issue with this is most people use spices when they are cooking and prefer that they are convenient to the stove and oven. Either way, taking inventory of what you have and discarding that jar of celery salt from 2010 is probably a good move. NOW WHAT: Can’t go outside to replenish? Some of my favorite spice companies offer mail order like The Spice House and Savory Spice. - Cynthia Kallile Video Games @ Your at home PC or Console, As long as it takes, Just check the game rating WHAT: Videogames for all! SO WHAT: Check out our games page for some recommendations of what games to download while we're stuck at home and if your a PC user, head over to the Epic Games store as a new batch of FREE games was just released: WatchDogs and The Stanley Parable (honestly a fantastic game for self distancing days)! NOW WHAT: Wash your hands and dive head first into some fun games Reading @ Home, Still at Your Place, When You're Tired of Watching TV, All Ages As Long as You Can Read WHAT: As Lit Editor I always have a stack of books handy to read and review. Until then, here's a quick appraisal of several upcoming titles. SO WHAT: Publishers and booksellers are struggling right now, so consider putting in orders and pre-orders on such books as...
  • Iron Circus Comics' Banned Book Club (publishing in May), a graphic novel autobiography of the writers' days as a young protestor in 1983 South Korea. Brings to mind the title of Sinclair Lewis' book It Can't Happen Here. Mmmaybe it can?
  • Midwest Futures, by Phil Christman, released by Belt Publishing in April. Christman speculates on the meaning of the term Midwest and where this immense yet indefinable part of the country is heading.
  • Four White Horses and a Brass Band by Violet McNeal, among their sundry works on high weirdness and creepy strangeness, Feral House offers reprints of out of print books about the Old Weird America. Published in 1947, Four White Horses and a Brass Band is the memoir of a Minnesota woman who traveled the Midwest and beyond with various patent medicine "doctors", snake oil salesmen, and other con artists in the late 19th and early 20th centuries
  • Never a City so Real, by Alex Kotlowitz. A reprinted collection of essays by the author of  There Are No Children Here, detailing a Chicago of just a couple of decades ago that no longer exists.
  • He Had It Coming. Long before Bob Fosse got his jazz hands on the story and produced the musical Chicago, Tribune reporter Maurine Watkins covered four women on trial for murder. Reporter Kori Rumore and Trib photo editor Marianne Mather dug through the paper's archives and turned up a treasure trove of vintage photos and contemporary accounts of the events. Not a body stocking or bowler hat in sight.
NOW WHAT: Skim the publishers' catalogs: there are plenty of great reads and more than one offers books in PDF form! - Dan Kelly Bruce Springsteen's 2009 London Hyde Park Concert @ A Computer or Mobile Device That You're Viewing this Post on, Any time you need some live music, All ages should be fans of the Boss. WHAT: Practice social distancing and stream London Calling: Live In Hyde Park, now on YouTube and Apple Music in its entirety for the first time! Stream to your laptop, tablet, phone or smart TV. SO WHAT: Bruce and the E Street Band’s 2009 concert from the Hard Rock Calling Festival in London is a powerhouse that opens with a cover of The Clash’s iconic single that gave the set its name and continues with non-stop fan favorites including “Dancing In The Dark,” “Born To Run,” “Badlands” and “The Rising.” And a great version of Jimmy Cliff's "Trapped." My favorite track is "Racing in the Street" midway thru the concert, with its beautiful long piano coda by Roy Bittan that makes up the last half of this 9-minute track. NOW WHAT: Take in the Boss and crew right from your favorite spot at home!< -- Nancy Bishop Birds of Prey Image courtesy of Warner Bros. Pictures Movies @ Home, On most devices with a screen, Anytime, WHAT: If you haven't been catching up on movies during this free time, we think you should! SO WHAT: There are so many movie available on Netflix, Hulu, Amazon Prime, and beyond (like Criterion Channel which offers a two week free trial, Sudance NOW with a 30 day free trial using code “SUNDANCENOW30”, and the horror focused Shudder offering 30 days free with promo code “SHUTIN”)! Now's the time to catch up especially with so many recently in theater film coming to VOD!  Birds of Prey and the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn comes out on March 24th and rumors of The Invisible Man, Emma, Bloodshot, and more are getting early VOD releases. NOW WHAT: Grab some popcorn and enjoy from the comfort of home (but once it's safe to go out again, support movie theaters!).
Third Coast Review Staff

Posts with the Third Coast Review Staff byline are written by a combination of writers, credited by section within the article.