Friday Happenings

Photo of the youthful Angry Samoans from the band's Web site.

Boston has seen a parade of old men playing old fashioned punk rock music this week, and it continues marching today with California critic-punks Angry Samoans, who are still trying to reach out to the masses who have not gotten hip to the lights out way. Bring your fork. Middle East Upstairs, 472 Mass. Ave., 8 p.m. $12.

Punchlines

We hope that the world hasn't aged so much that people don't get jokes about kids with Stryper shirts anymore. (If you're scratching your head: Stryper is the Christian metal band, and the kids who wore Stryper shirts were the children of Jesus freaks who weren't allowed to listen to Slayer.) House of Blues, 15 Lansdowne St., 7 p.m. $25/$30.

Festivals

Today's weather is not expected to put a damper on the Boston Arts Festival, which kicks off this evening. With more than 60 visual artists and 2 stages for performers, it's unlikely that you'll hate everything. Christopher Columbus Park, 5:30 p.m. (through Sunday). Free.

Movies

James Whale is probably best known as the director of Frankenstein (1931), but the Universal Studios standby was something of an overlooked auteur, a point that the HFA sets out to prove this weekend. Tonight's offering might be the strongest, featuring The Old Dark House (1932), a Boris Karloff horror flick, and Remember Last Night? (1935) a mystery-comedy about a couple who got so drunk party-hopping that they couldn't remember how a corpse ended up in their bedroom. Harvard Film Archive, Carpenter Center, 24 Quincy St., Cambridge, 7 p.m. $8/$6.

Hip Hop

Greater Philly's Jedi Mind Tricks brings a furious political agenda to its hip hop, and the results can be mixed. The group is capable of rhyming with the best of them but also pens tunes that just fall flat. If you're a fan, the live show is worth the cost of admission. With MC Esoteric, Reef the Lost Cauze, and Bound by Honor. Paradise Rock Club, 967 Comm. Ave., Allston, 9 p.m. $23.