Subject: Toyota Center

• Hoops and Hot Dogs

  October 9, 2006

• This Just In: Cure Tour Postponed

  August 28, 2007

• This Just In: Tool at the Toyota Center

  September 28, 2007

• Drenched In Blog: 99 Problems.....

  October 5, 2007

• Drenched In Blog: Broing Down with the Hives

  October 16, 2007

• The Houston Aeros Face Off Against the Lake Erie Monsters

  November 2, 2007

• Whither Springsteen?

  November 20, 2007

• Ms. Aero, Where Are You?

  December 21, 2007

• Barry Brust Blocks Beaucoup Shots, Aeros Beat the Moose Again

  January 14, 2008

• Aeros Face Off Against Marlies and Bulldogs This Weekend

  January 18, 2008

• Over the Weekend: Bad Boy Bill, Montagu Hotel Implosion and Pigskin Playoffs

  January 21, 2008

• Tight Fight: Bring Back the Summit!

  January 25, 2008

• Reporter’s Notebook: Random Scrawlings from the Van Halen Show

  January 29, 2008

• Aeros Shut Out by Iowa Stars. Twice.

  February 18, 2008

• Aeros Staying in Houston for at Least Five More Seasons

  May 7, 2008

• This Just In: Let There Be Rock in December

  September 11, 2008

• This Just In: Tonight's Eagles Concert Postponed to October

  September 11, 2008

• Tonight: Tina Turner at Toyota Center

  October 27, 2008

• Slideshow: Tina Turner at Toyota Center

  October 28, 2008

• Aftermath: Latin Grammys at Toyota Center, Pt. 1

  Carlos Santana backstage at the Latin Grammys/ Photo by Olivia Flores Alvarez Is music really the universal language? There was no better place to test that ragged old saw than at Thursday’s Latin Grammys at Toyota Center. As one of the few (if not the only) non-Spanish-speakers in the building, Aftermath had a unique opportunity to sample the best Latin music had to offer, at least according to Grammy voters. And thanks to a very nice Toyota Center security lady named Diane, a curtain on

  November 14, 2008

• Damn the Torpedoes, Live Nation is Full Steam Ahead

  Start saving those nickels and dimes, kids, because the biggest tour of 2009 (so far) is headed for Houston. At a press conference in House of Blues' Foundation Room this morning, Live Nation President Bob Roux and Toyota Center General Manager Doug Hall announced Elton John and Billy Joel will bring their "Face 2 Face Tour" to the venue March 19. Sadly, Rocks Off will be in Austin covering SXSW, but he hopes all of you have a lovely time. Tickets go on sale Saturday, with a top price of $175.

  December 8, 2008

• Houston Aeros, Now with Boos and Bikinis

  I heard something on Friday night in Toyota Center I don't think I've ever heard before. The fans were booing the Houston Aeros. Of course, the Aeros were playing some piss poor and rather lackluster hockey, but I'm just not used to hearing fans in Toyota Center boo the team. And on Friday night, as the Aeros were being outhit and outhustled by the San Antonio Rampage, the Aeros deserved to be booed. They needed to hear that the 8,372 fans were upset. Not that it did any good because the te

  December 29, 2008

• Aftermath Extra: The Best Concerts of the Year, Part 1

  [Note: Aftermath attended all these shows and reviewed most of them. Even he couldn't see them all.] Six Organs of Admittance, Walter's on Washington, January 18: "[Ben Chasny's] quieter moments reminded me of the softer side of bands like Pavement and Guided by Voices, and the mournful specter of Townes Van Zandt made its forlorn presence felt more than once." Foo Fighters, Toyota Center, January 22: "Each song was embellished with the interplay between guitarist Chris Shiflett and Grohl

  December 30, 2008

• Craiged In Blog: My Year in Concerts

  Metallica, Toyota Center, November 20: When Death Magnetic came out in September during Hurricane Ike, initially I dismissed it as I was knee-deep still in the new Black Keys and Beck albums and fence rubble. But somewhere along the line I picked this up again and destroyed my car stereo speakers. The show was one of those magical metal things that only metal-heads can truly fathom. And seeing as I end up going to most of those, I'm hard to impress. But seeing the interplay between the bandmat

  January 2, 2009

• Aftermath Extra: The Best Concerts of the Year, Part 5

  King's X, Meridian, August 19: "[dUg] Pinnick's bass was very much the lead instrument, negotiating the distance between the complicated vocal harmonies and searing chainsaw riffs with a low-to-the-ground, almost nonchalant assurance." Masters of Metal, Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion, August 23: "Dilettantes contented ourselves with their screaming (for vengeance) renditions of metal mainstays 'Breaking the Law,' 'Electric Eye' and an absolutely insane 'Painkiller,' which closed the main se

  January 2, 2009

• Houston Aeros Bounce Back

  Photo by Fred Trask With the end of the regular season fast approaching, the Houston Aeros chose last week to play some of their best hockey of the past month, defeating the Grand Rapids Griffins, one of the AHL's best teams, by a 2-1 margin on Thursday night. And though they played an error-filled game on Saturday night, they were still able to hang on to defeat division rival Chicago Wolves 3-1. The Aeros have 17 games now left in the season, and except for one game with the Lake Erie Monste

  March 9, 2009

• Houston Aeros Bounce Back

  Photo by Fred Trask With the end of the regular season fast approaching, the Houston Aeros chose last week to play some of their best hockey of the past month, defeating the Grand Rapids Griffins, one of the AHL's best teams, by a 2-1 margin on Thursday night. And though they played an error-filled game on Saturday night, they were still able to hang on to defeat division rival Chicago Wolves 3-1. The Aeros have 17 games now left in the season, and except for one game with the Lake Erie Monste

  March 9, 2009

• H-Town Holiday Shootout

  Put down your Rockets red for a while and enjoy some college b-ballers

  December 18, 2008

• Walking with Dinosaurs

  Open the door, get on the floor, everybody walk with dinosaurs

  March 27, 2008

• Trans-Siberian Orchestra

  The Toyota Center

  December 27, 2007

• The Houston Rockets vs. the L.A. Lakers

  It’s the new and improved Rockets (we hope!)

  November 8, 2007

• Daddy Yankee

  This Puerto Rican makes hits on the charts instead of on the diamond

  September 20, 2007

• Basket Cases

  The Harlem Globetrotters bounce into town for some hoops high jinks

  February 10, 2005

• Pom Pilots

  Get some spirit at the Cheer America Championships

  November 18, 2004

• Best Public Bathroom

  September 23, 2004

• Hangover Hoops

  2004 begins with Jazz, Rockets

  January 1, 2004

• Duck and Cover

  The Aeros look to skewer Cincinnati

  December 4, 2003

• With Her Gloves Off

  Pound for pound, Jackie Kallen's just tough

  October 23, 2003

• Hype This

  Fleetwood Mac opens the Toyota Center, the Chron hyperventilates, and a city grumbles

  October 16, 2003

• Aeros Beat The Rivermen And The Travel Gods

  Photo by Fred Trask / The Third Intermission "I'm proud of our guys," a tired Kevin Constantine said from his office Saturday night. "It was a travel day from hell. I've never been part of that. Something that crazy travelwise, and still played a game. I couldn't imagine a more adverse condition to put a team under than that. And the guys they hung in there. I didn't hear them complain or moan. They just kind of came to the rink and said let's do this." The Houston Aeros have had some toug

  April 20, 2009

• Distant Early Warning: Houston's Concert Horizon

  [Ed. Note: Since we already run a list of concerts just added/announced in print, we figured we might as well do it online too.]3 Doors Down: Sat., June 27, 8 p.m. Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion. Baskery: Thu., Sept. 10. McGonigel's Mucky Duck. Cameo, One Way, The SOS Band: Sat., Aug. 15. Arena Theatre. Creed: Fri., Sept. 25. Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion. D.L. Hughley, Adele Givens: Fri., June 12, 8 p.m. Arena Theatre. The Dear Hunter, mewithoutyou, Bear Colony: Sun., June 14. The Java Jazz

  May 5, 2009

• No Matter Game 7 Outcome, These Rockets Have Heart Of Champions

  Photo: Jeff BalkeScrapper Chuck HayesThirty-seven million of the Rockets' approximately $70 million payroll sits on the bench in luxury suits instead of basketball uniforms. With Yao Ming and Tracy McGrady sidelined, the Rockets counter the Lakers' top scoring option -- only one of the best players ever, Kobe Bryant -- with the erratic Ron Artest and Aaron Brooks. When the Lakers walk supremely-talented seven-footers Pau Gasol and Andrew Bynum to mid-court, the Rockets match up with Chuck Hayes

  May 15, 2009

• Summer Sounds

  May 21, 2009

• George Lopez

  July 30, 2009

• Rocks Off Succumbs to That Evil Facebook "Bands I've Seen" List

  Chris GrayWilco's Jeff Tweedy at Verizon Wireless Theater, March 2008​If you're reading this at all, Rocks Off will just assume you're fairly familiar with the Internet, and therefore that you more than likely also have a Facebook page. Congratulations - don't you feel special? Rocks Off was recently "tagged" by several of our Facebook friends with one of those "notes" things, which usually ask you to come up with some list or another and share it with up to 25 of your fellow social-networking

  August 20, 2009

• ACL 2009 Day One: Kings Of Leon Rage Against The Fame

  Photos by Mark C. Austin​Funny thing happened last night. It was the same thing that happened to U2 in 1987 in the wake of The Joshua Tree, and the same thing that killed Kurt Cobain in 1994. Fame has finally overtaken Kings Of Leon, leaving their core boots 'n flannel crowd in the proverbial pop culture dust. The even funnier thing is that KOL seems to see and are raging against it. It's not a bad thing when a band gets huge and finds themselves surrounded by new fans. Those are the things t

  October 3, 2009

• Aftermath: Kings of Leon, and Their "Fans," Trying Our Patience at Toyota Center

  Photos by Groovehouse/ Click here for a slideshow​ Aftermath has seen almost every single step on the road to fame Kings of Leon have taken since their debut album Youth and Young Manhood in 2003. We heard a track off that album in mid-2003, "California Waiting," on a radio show while living in San Diego that year and the band stuck with us ever since. The first time we saw them live was at Meridian in 2006 at a free Camel cigarettes show. The entire band was still hirsute and on fire, coming

  October 7, 2009

• Aftermath: Maxwell Loves All the Single Ladies, Who Definitely Love Him Back, at Toyota Center

  Photos by Groovehouse​ Maxwell sure knows his audience. And not just all the single ladies - many of whom were up and dancing to Beyonce's ubiquitous hit the prince of neo-soul used as his intro music Tuesday at Toyota Center - but the men who love them, or at least want to get with them. "Fellas, you can see I'm setting you up right?" he said in one of his many asides to the crowd, shortly before crooning a bit of Al Green's "Simply Beautiful." "If you can't go home with something after this,

  October 14, 2009

• Aeros Breaking Out Of Their Funk, Maybe

  Photo by Jason Villenanueva/Houston Aeros​Last Wednesday, the Houston Aeros lost a tough 1-0 game to the Lake Erie Monsters at Toyota Center. It was disappointing not only because of the loss, but because it dropped the team below the .500 mark on the young season.Worse, the team appeared to be lost, drifting about in search of an identity. Veteran Peter Zingoni took the loss hard, claiming that he and his fellow vets weren't getting the job done. "I think as a whole, as a team, I think we

  October 27, 2009

• Aftermath: AC/DC, Deja Vu All Over Again - Except Maybe Better - at Toyota Center

  Photos by Daniel KramerYes, you've seen these photos before - hey, it's not our fault. Trust us, the band pretty much looks the same.​ Aftermath suspected AC/DC's return to Toyota Center might be a little similar to the ageless Aussies' December 2008 Black Ice tour stop here because, well, we cheated and looked up set lists from the band's Oklahoma City, Dallas and Austin stops last week on setlist.fm. Lo and behold, we were right. Sunday night, we saw the same songs (save two), the same borde

  November 9, 2009