Little Rock

Friday Night: Hayes Carll's Burlesque Circus & Sideshow Freakout at House of Blues

Hayes Carll's Burlesque Circus & Sideshow Freakout Feat. Corb Lund House of Blues December 28, 2012 "For years our shows have been PG... 13," Hayes Carll said early in his long, long, long set Friday night at House of Blues, as he headlined his own "Burlesque Circus & Sideshow Freakout." "I wanted ... More >>

Friday Night: Pallbearer, Power Trip, etc. at Fitzgerald's

Pallbearer, Venomous Maximus, Power Trip etc. Fitzgerald's December 21, 2012 When Fitzgerald's changed ownership a couple of years ago, some of us worried that the days of mondo metal shows at the storied club might be over. But as has often been the case of late, Fitz was once again the center of ... More >>

5 Cool & Cheap Weekenders: December 21-23

Dwight Yoakam, Mike Stinson Arena Theatre, December 21 Hard to believe it's been more than a quarter-century since Dwight Yoakam turned Nashville on its ear with the hard-charging Hillbilly Deluxe. You have to hand it to him: He's not one to rush things. It had been seven years since 2005's Blame t ... More >>

Pallbearer

Watch Your Beer! You've Wandered Into the Best Mosh Pits of 2012

A dump-truckload of fun punk and metal shows threatened to stomp Houston flat(ter) in 2012, from the gritty environs of the White Swan to the high-priced hill in the Woodlands Pavilion. Which one was the best? That depends on your perspective, naturally. It's kind of hard to compare doom metal to po ... More >>

Last Night: Rod Stewart & Stevie Nicks at Toyota Center

Rod Stewart, Stevie Nicks Toyota Center August 9, 2012 I really wish that Rod Stewart is recording the past few years of tours he's had under his belt, because he's in essence setting the bar for how to grow old in rock and roll without looking like a granny doofus or a stuttering clown. At 67 year ... More >>

Owls and Coogs Disappointing Basketball Fans, Dammit

These guys are turrible!​The Rice Owls (11-8, 2-2) lost a basketball game they should have won on Wednesday night. The Houston Cougars (9-9, 1-4) were blown out yet again. It's turning into another disappointing men's basketball season in Houston, Texas. It's not supposed to have been this ... More >>

Daisy Bates: First Lady of Little Rock

The Good, The Bad, The Ugly: The Year Just Past In Cougar Sports

John RoyalCase Keenum was the Man of the Year for the Cougars​Yes, it's that time of year. That time of year when I take a look back at the year just past. On Friday, I looked back at the sports year for the Rice Owls. Today, let's take a look at the top 25 events, in no particular order, f ... More >>

Friday Night: Sideshow Tramps CD Release At Fitzgerald's

Photos by Jason WolterHayes Carll (left) and Craig Kinsey go down the road.​Sideshow Tramps Fitzgerald's September 9, 2011 If Aftermath doesn't have to be at the office first thing in the morning, sometimes we let our personal hygiene slide a little. Some days stretch well into the afternoon ... More >>

Top 10 On-Air Gaffes: A List Inspired by Pattie Shieh

This current Houstonian locks down the top spot.​As an ode to the "spit" blast uttered last night by Pattie Shieh of Fox 26, Hair Balls looks back at the top 10 on-air fuc_, uh, mess-ups of all-time.

The Best Local & Texas Albums Of 2011 (So Far)

​Chris Gray: My pick is a dead heat between a pair of Lost Highway albums by a couple of artists who just happen to be appearing at Summer Fest this weekend, Hayes Carll's KMAG YOYO (& Other American Stories) and Black Joe Lewis & the Honeybears' Scandalous. Though he's been one of my favorit ... More >>

NCAA Day One -- Winners and Losers

Need some downtime for the NCAA tourney? Try a vasectomy.​Yes, you read that headline correctly -- yesterday was "Day One" of the NCAA Tournament. Not Tuesday! Despite what the NCAA propaganda machine will tell you, the greatest single two-week period of sports during the calendar year is not ... More >>

Last Night: Hayes Carll At Warehouse Live

Photos by Jason Wolter​Hayes Carll Warehouse Live December 28, 2010 It was almost New Year's Eve, just not cold as hell for Houston. For the third year in a row, Woodlands native Hayes Carll shambled back from Austin for his post-Christmas show at Warehouse Live, which might explain why the ... More >>

Going Platinum: Artists We'd Pay $10,000 To See - And When

​It started one night on the patio of Big Star Bar in the Heights; over Lone Star and cigarettes, a handful of Houston music wags debated the shows they would pay top dollar to see from lartists, iving or dead. We argued the aspects of an At the Drive-In reformation, seeing Sam Cooke in 1963, ... More >>

Game Time: Tennessee Whiskey -- Jack Daniel vs Willie Wonka

caption goes here​Having just returned from vacation literally about eight minutes ago, today's pearls of wisdom will not be sports-related (sports resumes in this space tomorrow). In my best efforts to derive some sort of synergy out of the 18-hour odyssey I just endured (Elkhart, IN to Houst ... More >>

Concrete Dreams

Preemo paints his masterpiece, but who will wake up to listen?

Hayes Carll

The Chicken or the Egg?

​Wabash Feed Store (5701 Washington Avenue) is a trip to the country in the middle of the city. There are fresh free-range eggs for three dollars a dozen behind the front counter. Of course, if you want really fresh eggs, the store also sells chickens. Hens start at $12, roosters are $13, but ... More >>

Chef Chat: Kay Soodjai of Khun Kay Thai Café

​Kay Soodjai and her sister-in-law Supatra Yooto opened the Golden Room in Montrose 27 years ago. Last year they replaced the venerable Golden Room with Khun (Madame) Kay Thai Café (1209 Montrose), with a fast-casual concept and less expensive meals. Supatra, who describes herself as more of ... More >>

The 100 Best Bars in America: None For You!

Hey, Esquire, stick to covering topics like this and we'll all be happy.​The venerated Esquire has released its list of the Best Bars in America, compiled after what we imagine was some serious and excessive binge-drinking that had either mind-erasing or mind-altering effects on the editors ... More >>

Lonesome Onry and Mean: My Son, the Guitar-Slinger

William Michael SmithLance Smith (left) and Mike Stinson​ LOM grew up in the oil patch, made a good living in it, saw the world because of it. So it made sense to want our son, Lance, to grow up to be a petroleum engineer. Alas, it was not to be. Now he's a guitar player. Two years into the petrol ... More >>

Houston Ranks Second in All-Important Commando Cilantro Index

Photo by babyparentingguideDamn, guys, what's up with Houston only being the 39th manliest city in the land? We're only one spot above Seattle, and we all know what kind of dudes hang out there. Not very manly dudes, that's who. In all seriousness, this is easily one of the lamest surveys ever. ... More >>

Life On The Rodeo Road: The Road Was My Home

Photo by Paul KnightScotty Drennan Rodeo cowboys basically live on the road, traveling with a herd of men and women crazy enough to ride, rope and wrestle live animals for a paycheck. Each day, Hair Balls is asking a different cowboy to tell us a little bit about himself and his wildest story from a ... More >>

2008 in Texas Albums and Local EPs

Shuck U: The Right Tool

The big brute of the oyster-shucking world is called a "Galveston knife" (on the left). It's an eight-inch knife with a stout four-inch blade designed for opening large oysters like the five-inch Espiritu Santo Bay oyster shown beside it. (Espritu Santo Bay is down around Port O'Connor.) The knife s ... More >>

Aftermath: Robert Earl Keen at House of Blues; Dash Rip Rock at the Continental Club; Hayes Carll at Warehouse Live

Photos: Hayes Carll/ Craig Hlavaty; Dash Rip Rock, Robert Earl Keen/ Chris Gray On their 1996 self-titled debut LP, Hee Haw-loving Nashville ironists BR5-49 cut a song called "Little Ramona (Gone Hillbilly Nuts)." Anyone who has read either the paper or this site in the past few weeks wi ... More >>

The Plane Truth

Houston minister Dr. K.A. Paul flies around the globe using Jesus to pull in worldwide donations -- unfortunately spending more money on jet fuel than orphans

Shawn Camp

Fireball

This Week's Day-by-Day Picks

One More for the Road

Local musicians regale us with more tales of woe, joy and debauchery

Booking It

These travel narratives are as much about the teller as the terrain

The Bolivar Kid Strikes Again

Hayes Carll continues H-town's hot streak with Little Rock

O Little Town of West Texas

Lee Friedlander goes to homes for the holidays

Playbill

You Better Watch Out

These Saint Nicks can be real pricks

This Week's Day-by-Day Picks

Barnyard Boogie

Former Houstonian Kev Russell talks about Snoop Dogg and Cow Fish Fowl or Pig

Image Versus Reality

MFA exhibits shatter two things that America loves: Its myths and its marketing

See George Educate

A Texas journalist gives George W. Bush his due

News of the Weird

To Bloom Again

Quiet, intellectual John Bloom transformed himself through his alter ego, Joe Bob Briggs, into a drive-in-movie critic on TV. Now a new character is emerging: John Bloom himself.

The Master Interpreter

Nasty Girl

Conference Kudos and Crud

Letters

Food Fight

The Landrys came to Houston with good food and good ideas. But a good family squabble let Tilman Fertitta step in and carve himself an empire.

Return to Bali Ha'i

Death of a Comic

Bill Hicks wasn't Houston's most famous funnyman, just the most important

The Celluloid of the President

A winning documentary about the Clinton campaign's inner circle