Pat Benatar

South By Southwest

Weekend Music: Setting Things Straight

Sound Check

Static

Beat the Heat!

1996 Summer Guide

Static

1996 Summer Guide

Rotation

1996 Summer Guide

Urbana Renewal

The chef has changed, but the party rolls on

Aftermath: Reba McEntire at RodeoHouston

Photos by Mark C. AustinReba McEntire is the closest modern country will ever get to the artistic heights of its pioneering female vocalists. Sure Tanya Tucker had her run but the booze, powders and Glen Campbell took their toll. Shania Twain was just a Nashville/Pat Benatar Frankenstein proje ... More >>

Aaron Loesch Vies to Become the Guitar Center King of the Blues

A dying Houston scene suddenly might have new life

Patricia Vonne

Firebird www.patriciavonne.com

With Her Best Shot

Firebird www.patriciavonne.com

That Was the Year That Was

Looking back on the local scene in '06

Tuck of the Town

Anita Bump's show is packin' them in

Pink / Damone

I'm Not Dead / Out Here All Night

Seat Belts and Eye Shadow

If the Lost Boys can't get young Hispanic males to buckle up, nobody can!

Women of the Street

Shake it with the horned-up East Coast ladies of Avenue D

The Sounds

Friday, April 23

Back to School

Big Daddy Kane and friends revisit the era of the flattop

DJ Skribble

Saturday, January 31

Tough and Well Preserved

Joan Jett and Pat Benatar team up for a tour

Hot Tunes, Summer in the City

Houston Press Music Awards Showcase 2002

Lenny Kravitz

Lenny (Virgin)

Prime Meridian

Steve Forbert escapes the "new Dylan" tag and makes his own name.

Racket

Clear Channel keeps the air free of insensitive songs

New Wave Good-bye

Houston's The Shivers ready for Austin

Idol Beat: The Top Three Results

Photos by Frank Micelotta/ Fox Homeward Bound: Danny Gokey's exit didn't prompt a whole lot of tears."I think we've had enough suspense, enough commercials - let's just get to it." This is what Danny Gokey told Ryan Seacrest, and, by proxy, America. We were in agreeance - Wednesday night's s ... More >>

Aftermath: Blondie, Graceful and Casual at the Arena Theatre

Photos by Daniel Kramer​ Even at today's prices, dreaming is free. That's why an evening with Blondie is such a bargain. Sandwiched between the Donnas (who sounded tight and sassy from the will call line) and Pat Benatar (still "Invincible"), Debbie Harry's crew navigated the Arena's revolving sta ... More >>

2009 Concert Rewind, August: Weezy, Blondie, Depeche Mode, JoBros, Katy Perry, Mos Def, De La Soul, Blue October, Green Day and an Audience With King George

Shea Serrano​ Asher Roth, Kid Cudi, House of Blues, August 1: "[Cudi has] tapped John Goldstein, Kanye's famed stage light guy, to help him create an actual feel to his show. Hipster rappers get derided a lot as not being "real rappers," but they put on a hell of a show. The crowd is already his." ... More >>

Darden Smith, Dan Navarro

Shea Serrano​ Asher Roth, Kid Cudi, House of Blues, August 1: "[Cudi has] tapped John Goldstein, Kanye's famed stage light guy, to help him create an actual feel to his show. Hipster rappers get derided a lot as not being "real rappers," but they put on a hell of a show. The crowd is already his." ... More >>

Glee: Tonight At McKinley High School: Everyone Gets Laid

​It's fitting that the Madonna episode would feature not one, not two, but three cherry popping story arcs: Rachel deciding to give herself to Jesse, Finn submitting to Santana's years of experience, and Emma peeling off the cardigan for Will. That only one of the three actually went through w ... More >>

Pop Rocks: Hope Justin Bieber Dies Before He Gets Old

​Oh, calm down. This isn't a call for the murder of American's favorite prepubescent pop idol. Sure, the former YouTube sensation from Stratford, Ontario who dresses and talks (and Tweets) like a diminutive Tupac Shakur has made more money in the last two years than you or I will see in ten li ... More >>

Taylor Swift, Slapping Away Romantic Defeat At Toyota Center

[Ed. Note: We sent two reviewers to Taylor Swift Tuesday and flipped a coin to determine which to publish first. The next one will be up at 10:30 a.m. Boys.] Photos by Marco Torres​ It's not easy being a teen girl... Aftermath presumes. You are engaged in what feels like romantic combat with male ... More >>

Remember ABN's It Is What It Is?

Houston's history is dotted with albums that, fairly or un, have been swept aside. We'll examine them here. Have an album that you think nobody knows about but should? Email sheaserrano@gmail.com. Assholes By Nature It Is What It Is (Rap-A-Lot, 2008) ​A.B.N. is Z-Ro and Trae's unduly short-li ... More >>

Loverboy, Patty Smyth & ­Scandal, Fabulous Thunderbirds

Houston's history is dotted with albums that, fairly or un, have been swept aside. We'll examine them here. Have an album that you think nobody knows about but should? Email sheaserrano@gmail.com. Assholes By Nature It Is What It Is (Rap-A-Lot, 2008) ​A.B.N. is Z-Ro and Trae's unduly short-li ... More >>

Pat Benatar

Houston's history is dotted with albums that, fairly or un, have been swept aside. We'll examine them here. Have an album that you think nobody knows about but should? Email sheaserrano@gmail.com. Assholes By Nature It Is What It Is (Rap-A-Lot, 2008) ​A.B.N. is Z-Ro and Trae's unduly short-li ... More >>

Cyndi Lauper Vs. Pat Benatar: An '80s Lady Grudge Match

​Honestly, if Rocks Off had been around in the early '80s, we would have been the biggest damned Cyndi Lauper fan in this city. Our second favorite female artist would have been Pat Benatar, because gruff chicks who snap their fingers menacingly at the camera are foxy. Also, Lauper sang about ... More >>

Friday Night: Pat Benatar At House Of Blues

Photos by Groovehouse​Pat Benatar House of Blues August 13, 2010 For more photos from Friday's show, see our slideshow here. For some reason whenever we saw people after Friday night's Pat Benatar show and they asked what we thought, all we could do was shrug our shoulders. Usually after a s ... More >>

The Eight Stupidest iPhone Music Apps

​Apple's foray into the social-network field failed big-time last month with the release of Ping, the iTunes-linked program that promised to connect you to your favorite artists, as long as your favorite artist is Justin Bieber. When it comes to iTunes, we at Rocks Off are a discerning sort. ... More >>

Top 10 Pop Songs With Children's Choruses

​On the way home from ACL this past Sunday night, Craig's Hlist had his Rdio account humming over the speakers playing one of his playlists (phlayhlist?), but not the sad-bastard mix we rocks whenever we are at work alone. It was the life-spanning one we have been making since we got on the mu ... More >>

Slutwave: Pop Phenomenon Or Feminist Scourge?

"Every generation needs a new revolution." - Thomas Jefferson Marc BrubakerKe(Dollar Sign)ha at House of Blues, July 2010​As one of the few women on the Rocks Off writing team, we were fervently proud to take an introspective stab at the new, curiously named micro-genre that 2010 bestowed upo ... More >>

Last Night: Selena Gomez At RodeoHouston

Photos by Groovehouse​Selena Gomez Reliant Stadium March 6, 2011 Teen-pop star Selena Gomez showed off a new, deeper register during her kid-friendly Sunday night set at RodeoHouston. It's easy to forget that these kids can age just like everyone else, even as they make us feel old. Since her ... More >>

Rock Of Ages: Big Hair, Big Fog, Big Cliches

Ed Note: Rocks Off and our sister blog Art Attack are conducting a "reviewer exchange program" for the '80s musical Rock of Ages. One of our "rock and roll" people will review the show soon, but the visiting team bats first. Dan LippittThe cast of Rock of Ages​The Setup: '80s Sunset Strip roc ... More >>

Last Night: Rock of Ages At Hobby Center

Ed. Note: This is the second half of Rocks Off's "reviewer exchange program" with Art Attack. Dan Lippitt/Theatre Under the Stars​Rock of Ages Hobby Center June 7, 2011 Hair metal makes for great show tunes. That's what we left with last night when Rocks Off went back to a "sexier time" of " ... More >>

MTV's Early VJs: Where Are They Now?

vegastripping.comMTV's original VJ crew (l-r): J.J. Jackson, Nina Blackwood, Mark Goodman, Martha Quinn and Alan Hunter​When it comes to the attention spans of teenagers, entertainers are on borrowed time. Which might explain the turnover rate of MTV's Video Jockeys, or VJs for short. Currentl ... More >>

The First Ten Videos MTV Ever Aired

​Closing out this week of celebration, and a little mourning, on the occasion of MTV's 30th anniversary , we reached back into the YouTube vaults to present to you the first 10 videos Music Television ever aired. On August 1, 1981, The Buggles' awfully prophetic "Video Killed the Radio Star" b ... More >>

Saturday Night: Stevie Nicks At The Woodlands

Photos by Jay Lee"Anybody seen my wand?"​Stevie Nicks Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion August 13, 2011 Aftermath can't help but wonder if the people who think Stevie Nicks is some kind of wand-waving white-witch faerie queen have paid much attention to anything she's done besides "Rihannon." N ... More >>

Lita Ford & Five Other '80s Hard-Rock Hotties

​Best known for her stint all-girl proto-punkers The Runaways and her bitchin' solo career, Lita Ford will take the stage tonight at Warehouse Live with locals Souls of Agony, Five Eyes Wide and Hounds of Jezebel as opening support. The blonde bombshell was one of the most visible women in har ... More >>

Crazy Times: 5 Festivals That Need DVD/Blu-Ray Box Sets

​Music festivals have played an indefinite part of pop culture history. From the various Woodstock festivals, Us Festivals, and even Lollapalooza - they have played a part in defining their generations. Unfortunately some of these amazing festivals have only seen the light of day in the form ... More >>