Subject: Toby Keith

• Giddyup!: Full RodeoHouston Lineup Announced

  January 7, 2008

• Paul McCartney Stuns Oklahoma City

  August 7, 2008

• Lonesome, Onry and Mean: Pat Green's Instant Karma

  August 21, 2008

• Have You Read Roseanne’s Blog?

  August 27, 2008

• Lonesome Onry and Mean: Jon Byrd Tunes Up Country

  September 3, 2008

• The Wreck of the Record Rack

  Another local music institution bites the dust

  November 21, 2002

• Aftermath: B.B. King at House of Blues

  Photos by Mark C. Austin   B.B. King deserves a break. If the genial Buddha of the blues, now 83, would rather spend the bulk of his two-hour set bantering with the sold-out crowd about Viagra (groan) and the wayward ways of womankind instead of, you know, singing and playing, he's earned it. And besides, he's a pretty funny guy.   "You look 30!" one audience member cried out shortly after King went onstage Saturday night around 9:20 p.m.   "You need new glasses," the Kin

  November 24, 2008

• Hitsville: The Year in Music, by the Numbers

  You don't need a half-wit music critic to tell you it's been a remarkable year for America, one historians will be discussing and researching for centuries to come. War, financial collapse, politics, technology: All have been dinner-table topics for many Americans. Racial barriers in 2008 were demolished by a Midwestern black man, and gender barriers were hurdled by an Arkansan and an Alaskan.Democracy has a few awesome new dance moves rolling into the Obama presidency, and it'll be a feast for

  December 31, 2008

• Musicians Don't Have W. to Kick Around Anymore... So Now What?

  Now that Lil' Bush has shuffled off the Presidential coil - or will in a couple of hours, anyway - and heads off into some Dallas burg to write his memoirs and reflect on his two wild and strange terms as Commander in Chief, it seems that the writers of so many protest songs can call off their guns and put their grudges to bed. With an artist-friendly liberal president in Barack Obama, what will come of all the anger and poison that helped so many musicians write protest anthem after protest an

  January 20, 2009

• What Are Houston Twitterers Doing For the Rodeo?

  We don't know if you're heard, but there's something going on over at Reliant Stadium called the Houston Livestock Show & Rodeo. We sent the call out over Twitter for Houston folks to tell us their plans, and they did. Y'all are cooperative that way. Houston Press comments are in parentheses. txkyle: We'll be there tomorrow for the rodeo and carnival w/ the kids. Probably skip the concert, tho. (We understand; by the time Trace Adkins takes the stage, you'll have scarfed down approximately 90

  March 6, 2009

• Tonight: Toby Keith at Reliant Stadium

  Just think, if not for September 11, Toby Keith would probably still be as bland as dry toast and just as exciting. The horrific events of that day, and our nation's rapid retaliation, suddenly sprung the Oklahoma-born Keith into action - he soon began a whole new career as a political firebrand, a sort of Lee Greenwood on steroids. Keith already had a decade of numerous pop-country hits like ""A Little Less Talk and a Lot More Action" and "How Do You Like Me Now?", but it wasn't until

  March 10, 2009

• Aftermath: Toby Keith at RodeoHouston

  Photos by Mark C. AustinIt's easy to see why Toby Keith is so popular... until he opens his mouth to sing. The 47-year-old singer, actor and tireless Ford pitchman has the kind of easygoing, big-galoot charisma that would make him an ideal drinking buddy. No doubt that's why so many of his songs, which are generally sarcastic without being mean and avoid profundity at all costs, concern bars and the types of refreshements served therein. But OMG, Keith probably couldn't pass the audi

  March 11, 2009

• Rocks Off Is Too Critical For CMT

  Mark C. Austin Yes, CMT, we did enjoy Alan Jackson's RodeoHouston performance.If you've been following Rocks Off's rodeo coverage, which hopefully you have, you've probably noticed that we've found a few of the entertainers' performances to be less than stellar. Which is not to say we haven't been having a blast down at Reliant Park with thousands of our friends and neighbors. CMT has certainly noticed and, um, "called us out" on it a few hours ago. According to CMT blogger Craig Sh

  March 11, 2009

• Saving Country Music Rides to Rocks Off's Aid

  TK's atomic mullet is no match for Rocks Off and Saving Country Music's poison pens.This has been a fun week down in the Rocks Off foxhole, as Toby Keith's loyal minions have besieged us with comments taking issue with our review of the Big Dog Daddy's lackluster RodeoHouston performance Wednesday. (Come on, guys, we did say the guitar work on "Stranglehold" was pretty badass.) They even enlisted the flacks at CMT to help assail our defenses. Now, like the cavalry in some John Ford Wester

  March 13, 2009

• Aftermath: Clint Black at RodeoHouston

  Photos courtesy Houston Livestock Show & RodeoNot only does Clint Black know how to play to the home folks - after being introduced by his daughter Lily, he said hello to Tomball, Spring, Pasadena and his hometown Katy (but where, Aftermath would like to know, was Friendswood?) upon taking the RodeoHouston stage Friday night - but he was responsible for what has to go down as hands down the oddest moment in this year's concert series, if not ever. Unless ZZ Top decides to do something

  March 17, 2009

• Could Alternative Country Work at the Rodeo?

  February 26, 2009

• Remembering Martin Luther King Jr. in Song

  January 15, 2009

• A Super-Patriotic July 4 Playlist

  Have You Forgotten?

  July 3, 2008

• Downtown's Got Soulphilia

  A superbad shindig at Dean's

  July 3, 2003

• Houston Music Map

  Queen Norah reigns, Josh Groban pains, and lots of Natalie Maines

  June 5, 2003

• Odd Couples

  Strange musical pairings

  June 14, 2007

• Radical Chick

  You can't tell Natalie Maines to Shut Up & Sing

  November 9, 2006

• Just Say No Más

  In which we examine Cancuntry music

  May 4, 2006

• Lord of the Cover Bands

  Lonnie Posey rules the retread roost

  March 23, 2006

• Year of the Concept

  Green Day opens the Idiot-ic floodgates

  January 12, 2006

• Down-Home Delights

  Ten of the best from Nashville and elsewhere

  December 8, 2005

• How Low Can You Go?

  Let's see with the last installment of our guilty-pleasures project

  June 23, 2005

• Austin Collins

  Tuesday, June 21, at McGonigel's Mucky Duck, 2425 Norfolk, 713-529-9899.

  June 16, 2005

• Elephant Dance

  Cuttin' a rug with the Dubya bunch at Wild West

  November 18, 2004

• Wanted: Moore Rumbles

  You'd think talking crap about Dubya would be enough to get your ass kicked at the Tall Texan. You'd be wrong.

  September 2, 2004

• Music Awards Survey

  A rundown of every act on this year's bill

  July 22, 2004

• Defending the Dirty Thirty

  And coping with Yankee slander

  May 6, 2004

• Pats and Cats Bring It Back

  The biggest of them all returns to Houston

  January 29, 2004

• Heard It Through the Grapevine

  Notes toward new and better criticism and marketing of wine and song

  January 8, 2004

• The Class of '03

  Grab your gift certificates and trade in your white elephants -- here's what you really wanted for Christmas

  December 25, 2003

• The Mavericks

  Saturday, December 6

  December 4, 2003

• Letters

  September 4, 2003

• Burying the Past

  A farewell slap to a Chronicle columnist

  August 14, 2003

• F.Co

  The King of Texas (F.Co Music Management)

  May 22, 2003

• Dark Riders

  The good, the bad and the ugly rock-star performance contracts

  May 8, 2003

• Club Directory

  April 10, 2003

• War on War Songs

  Iraq and roll don't go together well when rockers protest

  March 27, 2003

• Hissin' Dixie.

  Country stars battle it out on the eve of war

  March 27, 2003

• Artist of the Week: BetterLuck

  Each Wednesday, Rocks Off arbitrarily appoints one lucky local performer or group "Artist of the Week," bestowing upon them all the fame and grandeur such a lofty title implies. Know a band or artist that isn't awful? Email their particulars to introducingliston@gmail.com.For some reason, back in 2002 we were super anti-fans of whine-rock goofballs Sum 41. We know it had less to do with them being from Canada (patriotism seems misplaced in any music argument that doesn't involve Toby Keith) and

  June 24, 2009

• Big Willie Style: The Red Headed Stranger at the Movies

  Honeysuckle Rose This weekend at the Woodlands comes one of the most prolific trios of artists to ever appear on the same bill. Bob Dylan, Willie Nelson and John Mellencamp converge on the Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion for what looks to be one of those landmark shows people brag about catching, kind of like the Dylan/Paul Simon gig out there about a decade ago. Nelson is so ingrained into the state psyche that if we ever decided to make our own musical Mount Rushmore in West Texas, he would b

  July 29, 2009

• This Week in Deliciousness

  Pork bellies galore. They plump when you cook and/or tickle them.​Welcome back to Eating Our Words' weekly roundup, where we've already picked all those wonderful little brown rye chips out of the Gardetto's. This week started off with a story from another dimension: Conservatives are applauding Whole Foods, while liberals are boycotting it. WHAAAA?!!?! At first we thought we were in some kind of alternate universe where George W. Bush converted all the cars to run on water and Toby Keith

  August 21, 2009

• Oh, Great: Nashville Songwriters Name Redneck Doofus Toby Keith Artist of the Decade

  We beg to differ, jerkwad...​Sadly, it's official: Toby Keith, that big redneck doofus who is always threatening to put his boots up somebody's ass or feuding with the Dixie Chicks, has been declared by Nashville Songwriters Association International the top songwriter/artist OF THE DECADE. Man, Lonesome Onry and Mean bets Kenny Chesney and Tim McGraw, among others, are pretty pissed, although none of them will ever say so. You know what they say about Nashville: "Nobody ever says anything ba

  September 16, 2009

• Lonesome Onry and Mean: Right-Wing Gun Nuts Ain't the Only Ones Who Can Reload

  ​ We knew it would happen, we just didn't know it would take so long. The so-called Texas music (and right-wing) lunatic fringe has finally located us and zeroed in on Lonesome, Onry and Mean. They've got their self-righteous gun-nut editorial Uzis a-blazin' like a shootout at the OK Corral over our blog about Austin Cunningham's song, "Guns and Religion."​Apparently we have Radio Free Texas to thank for our cup of bile running over. Here are some of the juiciest brain farts from the comment

  October 8, 2009

• Lonesome Onry and Mean: Has Miranda Lambert Sparked a Revolution In Nashville?

  If there is a ticking time bomb signaling the impending end of the '80s hair-band nature of mainstream country music, Miranda Lambert is probably lighting the fuse. Lambert's third album, Revolution, debuted at No. 1 on Billboard's Top Country Albums chart last week and sold 23 percent more (almost 69,000 units) out of the gate than her previous album, Crazy Ex-Girlfriend, which ended up as the 2008 Country Music Association album of the Year.​It doesn't take many listens to the searing Revol

  October 22, 2009