Arts & Entertainment >>

• Best Band Name
  The Dimes(Now Called) Young Mammals
  The group had such a great name that some band from Oregon threatened to sue the pants off these youngsters for using it. Well, the Oregon band apparently did have the name first, unbeknownst to Houston's The Dimes, now called Young Mammals. The indie group collected 2007's Best New Band and a... More >>
• Best Alternative Club
  JavaJazz Coffeehouse
  Curious who might be on the Warped Tour next year? Chances are they'll play this nearly 4,000-square-foot, all-ages room way up in Spring first — or that they already have. Since JavaJazz relocated from Old Town Spring to its much more spacious FM 1960 quarters in 2006, several of the... More >>
• Best Bar Bathroom (1 Comment)
  Rudyard's (downstairs men's room)
  We have no idea who a certain local character we'll charitably refer to as "T.B." may be, and that puts us in the definite minority among those who use Rudyard's downstairs men's room — or at least write on its walls. There we learned T.B. (allegedly) "licks ass (...and does your... More >>
• Best Blues Club (2 Comments)
  Mr. Gino's
  Along with the blues themselves, the old-fashioned juke joints that acted as hothouses incubating the music have been on the endangered species list for a while now, but they're not quite gone completely. Located in the Foster Place subdivision about as far south as you can get and still be... More >>
• Best CD by a Local Artist
  Free Gold, ­Indian Jewelry­
  There's something inherently oceanic about Indian Jewelry's Free Gold, the densely layered second disc from the (mostly) Houston-based musical collective headed up by ex-Japanic/Swarm of Angels provocateur Tex Kerschen and wife Erika Thrasher. The rolling, tribal rhythms of several songs create... More >>
• Best New Club
  Boondocks
  When Boondocks celebrated its first anniversary in July, it was kind of a shock. Somehow, it seemed that the split-level bar had been around a lot longer. But in that short time, Boondocks has evolved into an impressive cross-section of the Houston music scene. Its DJ nights feature everything... More >>
• Best Strip Club (2 Comments)
  Treasures
  Most people think strip clubs are all the same: parasitic businesses featuring emotionally damaged young women with fake boobs and daddy issues, clinically gyrating for the prurient pleasure of sad, gold-chain-wearing chodes whose frigid wives and fears of intimacy are enough to make them buy... More >>
• Best Club for Local Acts
  Continental Club
  Houston has an oddly schizophrenic relationship with its local bands, showering attention and affection on a select few and all but ignoring others until they give up and move on to greener pastures. Luckily, the Continental Club is one of the few rooms in town that is not only unafraid to book... More >>
• Best Club for Out-of-Town Acts
  Warehouse Live
  Very tough category to call this year — if you hadn't noticed, Houston has been getting some grade-A road shows lately — but Warehouse Live gets the nod for its versatility (i.e., the 300-capacity studio and 1,500-capacity ballroom), world-class sound system and the fact that more... More >>
• Best Lighting (1 Comment)
  Meridian
  Any one of Houston's major music venues has a million-dollar lighting array to beat the band. That's why we chose Meridian, because for the sprawling Chartres Street club, less is more. At June's Peter Murphy show, for instance, the most striking moments — like his a cappella cover of Nine... More >>
• Best Performance Space
  The Backroom at the Mink
  "Performance space" feels a little highfalutin to describe the Mink's Backroom — it's a venue, plain and simple — except for a couple of points. First of all, there's no stage per se; bands just set up at one end of the rectangular upstairs room. Second, no other place in town... More >>
• Best Band to Break Up in the Last Year
  UGK
  UGK, short for Underground Kingz, were at the pinnacle of their craft, the highest point of their career. They had made songs with the biggest of rap stars and gained an international following unparalleled by other Houston MCs. But it all came crashing down in December when Pimp C suddenly... More >>
• Best Place to See Naked People
  Numbers
  Based on all the hookups-in-progress on a typical Friday '80s night at Numbers, maybe we should have called this category Place to See About-to-Be Naked People. And the stories we've heard about the people who couldn't wait until they got home and get it on in the lower Westheimer synth-pop/goth... More >>
• Best Steak Night
  Under the Volcano
  Sometimes it seems like there are as many steak nights around Houston as potholes, and they'll all fill your belly up real good. But Under the Volcano gets the nod, because the Bissonnet shrine to Malcolm Lowry's novel (and all things tropicalia) has the good sense to have its steak night on... More >>
• Best Hotel Bar
  The Black Swan
  Modern and warm, chic and cozy, The Black Swan is the perfect oasis whether you're a guest at the Omni Hotel or a fashionable urbanite looking for a great night out. Just steps away from the highly praised restaurant Noe inside the hotel, marble black swans greet patrons as they enter. Inside,... More >>
• Best Cigar Bar
  Downing Street Pub
  This one's a natural. It has the dark wood, the leather sofas and chairs, the black-clad ­waitresses — all the class, none of the ­snobbishness. Here's what you do: Walk in and head to the 400-square-foot humidor. If you don't have a favorite, or if the last cigar you had was ten... More >>
• Best Patio
  El Pueblito Place
  Gotta be honest: Last time we went to El Pueblito, they only had one credit-card machine, which meant we had to wait a fortnight for them to run the cards for a large party who closed out ahead of us. Essentially, we were hostages. But what a damn fine patio to be a hostage on! When you're... More >>
• Best New Gallery
  Artstorm
  Artstorm took the city by, well, storm. Houston was hit with a wealth of paintings, sculpture, photography and more from some of the city's and the country's most exciting up-and-coming artists. This is thanks to the brainchildren behind the gallery — a mix of young artists and art... More >>
• Best Bachelorette Party ­Entertainment
  You(genious)
  Houston's self-proclaimed "Misfit of R&B" is equal parts sex, soul and hilarity. You(genious) is known on the local music scene for his ability to lay down sultry vocals while busting plenty of moves with his well-dressed, more-to-love torso. For him, every show is a chance to woo... More >>
• Best Bar
  Poison Girl
  Poison Girl (PG if you're texting) gets a nod from us for its diverse clientele, entertaining decor and alcohol-heavy drinks. You're as likely to see a local musician enjoying a cheap drink on the patio with a one-legged Cabbage Patch Kid as you are a lawyer playing vintage pinball and drinking... More >>
• Best Bar Atmosphere/Decor
  Lone Star Saloon
  On the outskirts of Midtown is a time warp to a Vietnam-era dive bar. Okay, so it's actually the Lone Star Saloon, but anyone who has moseyed (purposely or accidentally) into this shotgun-style drunken haven might believe the aforementioned scenario. The clientele ranges from talkative veterans... More >>
• Best Bartender
  Jon King of The Harp
  Jon King has mastered the most important skill in bartending — attitude. He's not all smiles or cheery salutations; rather, he possesses that charming, old-man sass (even though he's barely 40) that's no doubt born of years of serving drunks. You want to earn King's respect, but first... More >>
• Best DJ (8 Comments)
  Squincy Jones
  Way too few DJs manage to do anything original; many just seem to play the same records and never dare to venture outside the box. There's no room for mediocrity in a good DJ, and we're glad Squincy Jones figured this one out. As co-founder of the genre-splitting night Speakerboxx at The... More >>
• Best Coffeehouse (2 Comments)
  Catalina Coffee
  Catalina owner Max Gonzalez has a know-how you can taste. His passion for all things foamy and bean-born translates into his staff's cups of joe. It doesn't matter which of his always-friendly employees is preparing your latte, coffee or doppio, you're guaranteed a killer caffeine boost. But... More >>
• Best Local Comedian (1 Comment)
  Sarah Tollemache
  We're giving Sarah Tollemache top honors this year despite her recent move to New York. The comedian spent a better part of the year here and was even featured on the Houston edition of Last Comic Standing's season six. Tollemache amassed more laughs around town in less than a year than most... More >>
• Best FotoFest Show
  Michael Somoroff: "The Absence of the Subject" at Deborah Colton Gallery
  Michael Somoroff (the mastermind behind the Rothko Chapel installation Illumination I) took more than two dozen photographs from legendary German photographer August Sander's collection "People of the Twentieth Century" and removed the people. His meticulous touch-ups made it look as if... More >>
• Best Graffiti Artist
  Give Up
  If you noticed a lack of Give Up wheat-paste posters around town earlier this year, it's because the Give Up guy/gal had gone fishin'. Well, actually he (or she) was taking a vacation in the Pacific Northwest, collecting inspiration for his (or her) latest works. His (or her) return prompted... More >>
• Best Local Reading Series
  Poison Pen Reading ­Series
  Good writers? Check. Alcohol? Oh, check! The folks behind the Poison Pen Reading Series took their cue from greats like Dylan Thomas and Hunter S. Thompson and set up literary shop in a bar. Normally, the idea of poetry and bars sounds like a surefire way to get stuck at an open-mike listening... More >>
• Best New Bar (3 Comments)
  Pearl Bar
  Yes, we know we gave them this award last year. But Pearl Bar has undergone major renovations since 2007, and you might say, well, it's like a whole new bar. The place that started as an open-every-now-and-then patio bar is now up and running both indoors and out. The inside makes it hard to... More >>
• Best Piercing Shop
  Taurian Body Piercing
  Taurian's employees don't poke around with any other body matters — they stick to piercing. This means customers can have their ears, eyebrows, nipples, bellybuttons and anything below the belt holed in an establishment where safety and knowledge of the procedure come first. (The place... More >>
• Best Unsigned Band (1 Comment)
  News on the March
  The members of News on the March didn't rush into the spotlight, but instead took the time to hone their craft. The result was a standout offering of first-time performances, featuring the most perfect three-part harmonies ever heard live from a start-up act. News on the March plays... More >>
• Best Wine Bar
  13 Celsius
  Tucked away in a corner of Midtown, 13 Celsius is housed in a cozy, window-filled, 1930s Spanish-style building. This sets the stage for a laid-back atmosphere complemented by a staff ready to give you as much or as little attention as you need. Want to know what the folks behind the bar... More >>
• Best Concert Series
  Secret Saturdays at the Shady Tavern
  These shows are all about hidden treasures. First, there's the venue: Shady Tavern is a 69-year-old icehouse that's every bit as nice as the Alabama Ice House, if one-tenth as popular or overcrowded. Then there are the bills at the Secret Saturday shows: Since the talent is never announced... More >>
• Best Hip-Hop Producer (1 Comment)
  Mike Dean
  When it comes to music, there's seldom the chance to correctly use the word pioneer in describing an artist. However, when it comes to Mike Dean, nobody would argue the validity of those two words being used in one sentence. He's singlehandedly shaped Houston's hip-hop sound for some time, and... More >>
• Best Dive (2 Comments)
  Crowe Bar
  The drinks are cold and cheap, the jukebox will make you weep, and the shuffleboard is slick and true at this strip-mall tavern just off South Post Oak. The owner — Ms. Crowe herself—is a former Chronicle printer and has a lifetime of stories to tell, and occasional stragglers from... More >>
• Best Hidden Bar (2 Comments)
  Carolyn's
  We really mean what we say when we call this place hidden — it's on the side of a crumbling strip mall on an obscure side street off Willowbend Boulevard, which is never one of the first streets you think of when you think Houston nightlife. And then there are the train tracks nearby.... More >>
• Best Local Rapper
  K-Rino
  There's nothing fake about K-Rino — all of this Southside rapper's street tales positively peal with hard-earned authenticity. Although he has been in the game longer than almost everybody else in Houston, K-Rino has never seen fit to coast or ride on his own coattails. His lyrical ability... More >>
• Best Place to Drink on Your Way to Work
  The Red Hog Saloon
  Outside of Katz's Deli, taquerias with breakfast menus and Mary's, spots to get your a.m. drink on are few and far between. Those who want or need to get primed before that 10 o'clock sales meeting without the distraction of families eating migas or perhaps overly amorous patrons are... More >>
• Best Place to Lie Around Drinking Beer (1 Comment)
  Valhalla
  If there is a more serene pleasure to be had in this hustling, bustling megalopolis than lolling around on a blanket outside this Rice grad students' bar, watching the clouds rearrange into more and more fantastic shapes high overhead, a cup of some of the cheapest and coldest beer close at... More >>
• Best Place to Relive the '90s
  The Richmond Strip
  Despite the best efforts of VH-1, '90s nostalgia has yet to take hold of the national consciousness with the same force of '80s mania. In Houston, however, there is one hotbed of Clinton-era memories: the Richmond Strip, our forlorn "entertainment district of the future." What few nightspots... More >>
• Best Places to Score an Eight-Ball (2 Comments)
  Jeez, there are so many, and while we don't wanna just spell this one out for you, we will give it to you tabloid blind item style. So here we go — four of the best places to find bat food inside the Loop: 1. Puff Daddy would like to shepherd his buddies to this 24-7 joint. 2. Ray Davies... More >>
• Best Place to Smoke and Drink
  Tables in Front of La Carafe
  Since the nicotine-loving set has been literally kicked to the curb, those who also enjoy a tipple with their tobacco have been on the lookout for prime public spots in which to indulge their twin vices. While many bars have simply roped off a couple of cheap picnic tables in their parking lot,... More >>
• Best Redneck Bar
  Robbie's Lounge
  Contrary to our image in the national mind's eye, the redneck seems to be something of an endangered species in inside-the-Beltway Houston. But they didn't get that memo at Robbie's Lounge. At this Spring Branch-area strip mall bar, a Confederate flag hangs in one window, while a sign nailed to... More >>
• Best Song About Houston
  "Montrose Boulevard Blues," by Craig Kinsey
  "See the Chinese meditatin' / smell the Dietrich's coffee percolatin' / hear the train whistle blow down at Main Street Station / when it's springtime / down in the 'Trose." So runs our favorite verse of this lovely little Dixieland ditty. Too often, songs that mention Houston do so only in... More >>
• Best Jukebox (1 Comment)
  Warren's Inn
  Those digital jukeboxes where a patron can download anything they want to listen to are the scourge of the Houston bar scene and a sign you should question the quality of an establishment. Imagine, letting some douche with appalling musical taste play whatever he can dream up. Nobody should ever... More >>
• Best Art Show (1 Comment)
  "The Old Weird America" at the Contemporary Arts ­Museum Houston
  With works including everything from square-dance dresses to Pilgrim mannequins to shadow puppets committing antebellum sodomy, "The Old Weird America" presented a weirdly insightful take on America. CAMH senior curator Toby Kamps honed in on bizarre strains of American folk culture in... More >>
• Best Art Space
  The Station Museum of ­Contemporary Art
  There are no better artistic agents provocateurs than Jim and Ann Harithas and the Station Museum of Contemporary Art. The Station is privately funded and directed by the Harithases, which allows them to essentially do whatever the hell they want. A former director of the Contemporary Arts... More >>
• Best Curator
  Franklin Sirmans, ­Curator of Modern and Contemporary art at The Menil Collection
  Franklin Sirmans left New York for Houston, and NY's loss is Houston's gain. With his exhibition, "NeoHooDoo: Art for a Forgotten Faith," Sirmans, Curator of Modern and Contemporary Art at The Menil Collection, has brought the de Menils' legacy of spirituality in art into the 21st century. No... More >>
• Best Local Artist (1 Comment)
  Tom Jones
  In the early morning hours of May 11, Houston lost a dear friend. Fifty-one-year-old Tom Jones, curator and spokesperson for the Art Car Museum, was basking in the glow of ­another successful Art Car Parade, chatting with friends outside the museum after the traditional Illuminated Cruise,... More >>
• Best Local Actor (1 Comment)
  Justin Doran
  Justin Doran has been so busy performing around the city this year that it's hard to pin down just one role that makes his work so outstanding. He was hilarious as a long-limbed Little League dad in Rounding Third at Stages and disturbing as the scary fantasy man of a lonely little girl's dreams... More >>
• Best Local Actress (2 Comments)
  Mikelle Johnson
  She's only just arrived in Houston, but Mikelle Johnson is already making a name for herself. The Yale graduate first starred as a disenfranchised teenager in Big Death, Little Death, Catastrophic Theatre's opening show. Then she moved on to darker subject matter in Stages's Mr. Marmalade, the... More >>
• Best Director (1 Comment)
  Mark Adams for The Best Man
  Mark Adams is not one of the glittering directors who amazes his audiences with flash-in-the-pan pyrotechnics. His work is most striking for the fact that it is quiet, strong and practically invisible. All the work and rehearsals disappear in his shows and allow the actors and the script to take... More >>
• Best Musical (2 Comments)
  Love, Janis atThe Alley Theatre
  Okay, we admit it, one of the best things about Love, Janis was that the show about the life and times of Janis Joplin, the Texas queen of rock, was so, well, unmusical-like. The setup was simple: Two actors played Joplin. One sang the great singer's amazing songs while the other told her story... More >>
• Best Ensemble Production
  The Scene at The Alley ­Theatre
  The Alley Theatre's production of Theresa Rebeck's The Scene was one of the most deliciously disturbing productions of the season. Focusing on an out-of-work actor who spirals out of control, the story managed to make many wonderfully wry observations about the current human condition.... More >>
• Best Original Show
  The Splasher by Troy Schulze
  Created by Catastrophic Theatre company member (and Houston Press contributor) Troy Schulze, The Splasher focuses on a real-life guy who ran around New York City vandalizing graffiti as a political statement against art. The Splasher hated the fact that when the artists moved into any... More >>
• Best Midtown Club
  Shoeshine Charlie's Big Top Lounge
  Let Midtown get as gentrified as it can, certainly not a problem these days, but walking into the Big Top ("No phone, no pool, no pets") will always feel like being transported back to 1976. A toy store once upon a time — supposedly the place that provided the inspiration for Toys "R" Us... More >>
• Best Theater Company
  Stages Repertory ­Theatre
  Producing Artistic Director Kenn McLaughlin proved himself over and over at Stages Repertory Theatre last season. The season of powerful scripts moved easily from money-making musicals like Altar Boyz to thoughtful social commentaries such as The Unseen and Black Pearl Sings. Rich with political... More >>
• Best Theater on a Shoestring Budget (2 Comments)
  Mildred's Umbrella ­Theater Company
  Give a theater $100,000 and you expect something great, but the real test of a group of artists is what they can do with a next-to-nothing budget. We could all take a lesson from Mildred's Umbrella, a company dedicated to the strangeness of theater that manages to keep its artistic integrity on... More >>
• Best Ballet
  Sleeping Beauty
  Poor little Aurora. In Dominic Walsh Dance Theater's version of Sleeping Beauty, she was a rebellious teen suffering from narcolepsy, drug abuse and, well, general sluttiness. Walsh turned the fairy tale on its head and created a splendid fast-footed, semi-comical, quasi-tragic tail of love,... More >>
• Best Choreographer
  Stanton Welch
  It's not easy running a major ballet company — you have to deal with daily headaches, budgets and dancer dilemmas, not to ­mention create groundbreaking choreography. ­Houston Ballet Artistic Director Stanton Welch handles it and still manages to create dances that ­dazzle.... More >>
• Best Dancer
  Domenico Luciano
  This Italian hunk with smoldering matinee looks is one tall drink of water. We knew he had great form and a brooding presence and that he could pull off princely ballet moves and blend seamlessly into contemporary choreography. But in Dominic Walsh Dance Theater's Sleeping Beauty, he showed... More >>
• Best Dance Company
  Hope Stone
  Most Houston arts companies would say that they want people of every color, size, age, gender, ethnicity and ability in their audience. Hope Stone goes one better and puts people of every color, size, age, gender, ethnicity and ability onstage, too. Choreographer/artistic director/resident... More >>
• Best Movie Theater (2 Comments)
  River Oaks Theatre
  The River Oaks Theatre is one of a kind in Houston. Built in 1939 in ornate Art Deco style, it's the only movie palace left in the city. Of course, the films shown now are slightly racier than the theater's inaugural screening, Bachelor Mother with David Niven and Ginger Rogers. Today there are... More >>
• Best Festival
  Bayou City Art Festival
  The Bayou City Art Festival isn't just the best in Houston — it's among the best events of its kind in the country, frequently ranking among the top five festivals in Sunshine Artist magazine, the result of a vote by participating artists. BCAF is actually two festivals, or rather one... More >>
• Best Houston Book (1 Comment)
  The Memoirs of a ­Beautiful Boy by ­Robert Leleux
  Robert Leleux's grandmother told him, "Sad lives make funny people." If that's true, Leleux must have had a very, very sad life. His book, The Memoirs of a Beautiful Boy, is a giddy, sometimes hysterical (in both the funny and the not-funny way) coming-of-age story. The young Leleux didn't know... More >>
• Best Music Festival
  International Festival
  The mega-size International Festival is held annually over two weekends in April. From mariachis to Hugh Masekela, if it's music, it's there. Ten stages feature music from around the world — and some from around the neighborhood — and include Latin music, world music, pop, blues,... More >>
• Best Sports Bar (1 Comment)
  Jonny's Sports Bar
  We'll tell you right here off the bat, this isn't some giant spot with 10,000 TVs where you can watch the Romanian Curling Championships. This, ladies and gentlemen, is a locally owned neighborhood sports bar. Chain sports bars are like McDonalds for sports fans. Jonny's is the spot with the... More >>
• Best Place to See Good Jazz
  Tommy's Seafood ­Steakhouse
  At Tommy's Seafood, some of the best local musicians perform four nights a week. Pianist Matt Lemmler, originally from New Orleans (sorry, Big Easy, he's ours now), anchors what is a stellar lineup of live music. Trumpet player Dennis Dotson, saxophonist Warren Sneed, drummers Joel Fulgham and... More >>
• Best Gambling Room
  Maxwell's Carwash
  There may be some high-dollar underground poker rooms in the city, but Maxwell's Carwash ain't one of them. Located on the far north side of Houston, in a bright blue, wood-paneled building, the car wash isn't a large-scale operation, but there's an open lot and cleaning supplies out front. And... More >>
• Best Drag Queen (1 Comment)
  Kofi
  Kofi is a perennial favorite, and winner, of Best of Houston®. In fact, you might think there's not another drag queen in town, but Tuesday nights at JR's Bar & Grill prove differently. The show starts at 11 p.m. as Kofi dances and lip-synchs to songs from the diva collection.... More >>
• Best Lotto Ticket
  Texas Hold 'Em Poker Scratch-off
  Scratch-off lottery tickets can be a great gambling fix. There's something about the physical act of furiously scratching that makes you feel like you're gambling real hard. Taking that to the next level is the Texas Hold 'Em Poker scratch-off, which allows a double fix: poker and lotto. For $5,... More >>
• Best Pool Hall
  Cue & Cushion
  Cue & Cushion is a laid-back place to shoot some pool and have a drink, or watch some serious players shoot. Finding an open table usually isn't a problem, and word is, the tables are the best in town. Cue & Cushion also caters heavily to the "industry" crowd, so the place fills up later... More >>
• Best Stripper
  Angelic at The Colorado Bar & Grill
  Angelic is the best stripper in Houston because she's smoking hot. She dances at The Colorado Bar & Grill, but she doesn't blow fire or do back flips or twist her body into crazy stripper positions. Simply. Smoking. Hot. Brutha. "When I first started, I would just shake my ass like I was at... More >>
• Best Tattoo Artist (4 Comments)
  Antoine at Texas Tattoo
  What do you get when a Vietnamese kid is raised and steeped in all things Texas while growing up in Pearland? An Asian tattoo artist with a serious Southern drawl who has an interest in tat'in kick-ass skulls and naked chicks onto your skin — and who can do it better than most. Antoine has... More >>
• Best Unofficial Private Club
  The Next Door Bar
  No, the Next Door is not an after-hours club per se; no secret knock or any of that Al Capone-type stuff. However, if you're reasonably well acquainted with the staff and don't piss them off (which is not exactly easy to do, but it does happen), they're not always in a hurry to chase you home at... More >>