Learn all about a scandalous bank robber gang in Boston in the ’30s this weekend, or check out singer Nick Hakim at Great Scott.
BOOKS
Nathan Gorenstein
Thursday, 7 p.m.
Porter Square Books
25 White St., Cambridge
Free, 603-448-1533
Journalist Nathan Gorenstein will discuss his new book, “Tommy Gun Winter”, about the Millen brothers, sons of a Jewish contractor, who performed several bank robberies in 1930s Boston with the help of an unlikely gang. It sounds like a setup for a comedy, but the story ends in murder. Largely forgotten today, it was major media sensation at the time. DANCE
Back Pocket Dancers: Here at Last
Thursday, 7:30 p.m.
Multicultural Arts Center
41 2nd St., Cambridge
$15-$18, 617-577-1400
www.multiculturalartscenter.org
Back Pocket Dancers are an intergenerational dance troupe with members ranging in age from 25 to 92—rare for dance, in which youthful performers tend to be favored and older dancers tend to work behind the scenes as instructors or choreographers. They’ll perform several pieces celebrating both the youth and experience of members, including a set of stories in many languages. MUSIC
Nick Hakim
Sunday, 9:30 p.m.
Great Scott
1222 Comm. Ave., Allston
$12-$14, 18+, 800-734-3000
Singer-songwriter Nick Hakim, a native of Washington, DC, traffics in a love-haunted, lachrymose soul sound, usually awash in reverb, sparse but spacious, driven by the quiet passion of his vocals. It feels like perfect music for some lonely nighttime drive in a mood caught between remorse and nostalgia, and all those other paradoxes of being a vulnerable human. MOVIES
Expanded Animation: New Directions in Chinese Animation
Friday, 7 p.m.
Institute of Contemporary Art
100 Northern Ave., Boston
$5-$10, 617-478-3103
This screening will reveal the state of contemporary animation from mainland China, from visual artists, filmmakers and experimental artists, with a special focus on the work of Lei Lei, who will make a live appearance along with Chai Mi. It’s a diverse collection, influenced by work in stop motion, printmaking, collage, painting, and computer algorithms. ART
The Birds and the Bees
Through May 10
Nave Gallery Annex
53 Chester St., Somerville
Free, 617-259-8386
We’ve never understood how exactly “the birds and the bees” became a euphemism for sex—why not the squirrels and the trees?. But for this group show the Nave Gallery doesn’t intend any euphemism. This is simply a springtime-appropriate collection of works about birds and/or bees, from nest building to colony collapse disorder, and no awkward talks from parents.
5 things to do in Boston this weekend
William Hacker
