Cory Morrow
Cory Morrow gave Music City the big ol’ Texas middle finger with “Nashville Blues” on his last release. So why does he now sound even more like the mundane shite that drops from the Music Row assembly line? Don’t get me wrong, here. Morrow has some strong merits, if not…
The Great Divide
It was a standard high school parents meeting, beginning with a lengthy discussion of senior photos and student yearbooks. Adults, tired at the end of their long day, slumped on cafeteria chairs, listening dutifully to the well-meaning overexplanation of what was available. Typical, normal and comfortably boring. Except that this…
The Dictators
In the annals of late-1970s New York City rock — as fertile a place and time as ever existed — this is the band that never received its due. The Dictators were just as creative as any of their now-better-known contemporaries (Patti Smith, Blondie, Talking Heads) and far more gloriously…
Keeping On Task
Governor Rick Perry has ordered that the Department of Public Safety begin monitoring the state’s 49 narcotics task forces following allegations that some of the drug teams were little more than vigilantes run amok. “What the DPS involvement will do is make sure all the bases have been touched,” says…
Bob Marley Festival
It’s hard to beat this underrated annual event for its combination of budget price, good vibes and number and diversity of acts. If the weather’s nice, that’s just a bonus, mon. The 12th edition of the Houston-based festival, which as usual will make its debut here before beginning a nationwide…
Change Change
Bargain hunters may not be exactly awed by the arrangement, but Harris County is suddenly offering the general public a real deal: four (count ’em, four!) quarters for a dollar bill. The transactions can occur almost instantly at the dollar-bill changer in the lobby of the county’s main jail at…
David Olney
Part of David Olney’s genius, and it is genius, is that he takes familiar situations like the sinking of the Titanic and looks at them from a new point of view, in this case that of the iceberg. (“Come to me, Titanic,” it beckons.) In his “Robert Ford and Jesse…
Some Very Reliant Directors
After Enron’s bloody bankruptcy, legal giant Vinson & Elkins drew fire for contributing to the downfall as the corporation’s legal adviser. Attorneys for the downtown law firm had signed off on Enron partnership agreements that created the illusion of massive Enron profits — while executives diverted millions of bucks to…
Back to the Future
Science fiction can wow us with gadgetry, but only the truly ambitious stuff lights up our imaginations with disturbing and unshakable aberrations, be they incredible shrinking men, 50-foot women or Sting’s winged panties from Dune. In this vast genre, it figures that the ultimate human construct — time — proves…
Thou Shalt Not Pee
Reporters covering the gruesome and depressing Andrea Yates trial might decide they need an extra cup of coffee or two to get through the day. They better think twice. Once they sit down in the courtroom, there’s no getting out — no bathroom breaks, no leaving to update editors, no…
The Wedding Zinger
Cell phones and silk saris, dot-coms and arranged marriages — Monsoon Wedding, the latest film from Indian-born director Mira Nair (Salaam Bombay!, Mississippi Masala) captures the heady mix of old and new, rich and poor, traditional and modern that defines contemporary India. A sort of Father of the Bride set…
Leaches in the Mist
Leaches in the Mist Could it be the car wash? If the gas station tanks do turn out to be secure (no underground leaks), it may be that the benzene is getting into the soil of David Rosenfield’s property via the fine mist being sprayed from the car wash [“Gas…
Chris Cross
“Are we gonna play chicken here, Robert? Who’s gonna go first?” That’s Chris Moore talking, from the other end of a cell phone–the preferred means of communication for the Hollywood producer too afraid of standing still. Moore–a producer of Good Will Hunting and the American Pie films, partner with Ben…
The Pelecanos Brief
For George Pelecanos, “novelist” is just the latest entry in a résumé that also includes stints as a shoe salesman, cook, dishwasher, bartender and construction worker. Sort of a literary one-man Village People, the acclaimed writer of hard-boiled mysteries did not pen his first book until the age of 31…
Trippin’ with Slick
Jeremy Blake must have a hell of a time decorating his apartment. His exhibition in the upstairs galleries at the Blaffer, “All Mod Cons,” seems at first glance to have been created by two separate artists who are clearly at odds with each other. But one man’s personal problems can…
Croaking in Large Numbers
As much as we’d like to go with the misunderstood creature angle, the myths about frogs are pretty obvious: Their warts aren’t contagious, and they don’t turn into princes when you kiss them. “I’ve been trying with each new shipment that comes in, but nothing,” Moody Gardens curator Suzanne Smith…
Drugs and Women
Ken Kesey’s 1962 One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest is a young man’s sexual phantasmagoria. Curvy young women with long silky hair and high-heeled shoes sneak into a locked-tight asylum under shadow of night. A young and reckless hero invites them in and beats back evil armed with nothing more…
Two Chefs, Third Time
Will the third time be a charm for 2300 Westheimer, home of two previously shuttered eateries and now the site of Two Chefs Bistro? The spot, in the Inner Loop hub of River Oaks, a stone’s throw from the Montrose, lies on a busy street between the popular French Gourmet…
Cheese Twist
There are three keys to making a superb cheese steak. First, shave the beef until you can see through it. Then ensure that the onions and peppers are well caramelized and the mozzarella well melted. And finally, slather it all onto a crusty roll. The folks at Market Square Bar…
Italian Corn Pone
Jonathan Jones was born in Oklahoma but grew up in La Porte. He graduated from the culinary program at the Art Institute of Houston and has worked in restaurants for over 15 years. Last October, he opened Café Chiasso (1330-B Wirt Road, 713-263-9555), where he specializes in upscale Italian cuisine…
Inside Baseball at the Bistro
My lunch partner starts giggling. Is it my deconstruction of the ham and cheese sandwich that’s cracking her up? I’ve just told her that I think the version at Mockingbird Bistro Wine Bar is almost, but not quite, perfect: The ham is sweet and firm, with none of the watery…
Rodeo Retrospect
The last service at Houston’s secular cathedral has ended. The Eighth Wonder of the World can now officially be regarded as a mere waste of parking space, awaiting the inevitable word that our forlorn Olympic bid has gone the way of Enron. The mother church of our collective dreams, where…
Bounced
Last week, The Nightfly manned the velvet ropes outside The Mercury Room (1008 Prairie). Having mastered the art of club gatekeeping, the next logical step in this anthropological study of Houston nightlife would be to assume the persona of another essential part of a club crew: the bouncer. Oh, yes,…
Sunny Day, Sweepin’ the Clouds Away
For those who lived through them, the ’70s were not as bad as they might seem from watching That ’70s Show. Yes, there were some silly fashions — bell bottoms, men with perms and mood rings, to name but a few — but every decade has to claim a few…
Zombie Jamboree
If there’s one thing missing from the 12-page color booklet inside Rob Zombie’s latest CD, The Sinister Urge, it’s teeth. The four band members are all keeping their lips zipped, lest the merest hint of a smile ruin the faux menace Zombie’s crew has working here. And of course, Mr…
Mystikal
We may never get back the true Mystikal, the real Mystikal, the Mystikal who put his skills on the table first, then looked around for some well-deserved ass. That was the Mystikal of “Y’all Ain’t Ready Yet,” and indeed we weren’t. When the New Orleans rapper dropped that single in…