Therapeutic Horses Need A Barn Roof
Add another to the list of Ike victims — SIRE, the organization that helps disabled people by letting them ride horses and do other therapeutic activities. The organization has three locations; the one in Hockley suffered the most damage, losing the middle section of its barn roof. They’ve had to…
The American Wife Of George Bush: A Book Review
What’s it like to be married to George W. Bush? Imagine marital bliss with a man who farts often and calls it “tooting his own horn,” enjoys his whiskey and the occasional snort, has skills in the oral sex department and is overly concerned with his “legacy.” This is Charlie…
If Only the Texans Were Bad in a Fun Way…
I’ve decided on my real problem with the Houston Texans. It’s not that they’re bad. It’s that they’re not fun bad. Fun bad like the Oakland Raiders. Or the Detroit Lions. Take the Detroit Lions. They haven’t had a winning season since 2000. They haven’t been to the playoffs since…
TDCJ Death Sparks A Lawsuit
Remember Larry Cox, the former Texas prison inmate who graced the pages of national papers like USA Today after having a run-in with guards about a year ago and was hospitalized with injuries, only to die because of alleged prison medical staff shortages? Well, Cox’s family recently filed a detailed…
Tilman Fertitta Is Not A Homeless-Hating Grinch, City Of Galveston Says
There was an odd story in the Galveston County Daily News this morning. It was headlined “Landry’s Nixes Convention Center Shelter.” The News reported that the city of Galveston had planned to use its convention center to house people returning to the city to wrecked homes: Less than an hour…
Slain HPD Officer’s Wife Sues Over One-Cop-Per-Car Policy
A Houston Police Department sergeant — the wife of an officer who was murdered in the line of duty — is suing the City of Houston in hopes of changing the practice of only allowing one cop per police car while on patrol. Two years ago, it made national headlines…
Best of Houston® 2008: Restaurants
It’s Best of Houston® time. Click here to find out what Restaurants and Dishes and Drinks made the cut. We’ve also loaded up a slideshow with some of the winning eateries. Click here for a look. — Keith Plocek…
They’re Letting Anyone On The Tollroads These Days
A nugget from yesterday’s press conference by County Judge Ed Emmett: Those fancy-pants tollpayers on the Sam Houston and Westpark tollways are getting a little perturbed by all the riff-raff that’s being let on the roads these days. Emmett said he had received a bunch of phone calls and messages…
Welcome to Best of Houston 2008
We’ve just loaded up our annual Best of Houston® issue. Wanna know where to find the best taco? How about the best gun range, hotel bar or public pool? And just where is the best place to relive the 90s? Click here for all the answers. This year’s theme was…
dead horse Live? Only Creepy Eyes Guy Knows for Sure
dead horse’s Michael Haaga live at last year’s Axiom reunion at Fitzgerald’s Photo by Tom Fool Whenever we go out to cover a venue for Nightfly, usually our favorite part of the night is starting up conversations with strangers. Recently at the White Swan, one of the guys that we…
They’re Talking About Us In Scotland
Here is one of our favorite Ike headlines so far, from a newspaper in Scotland: “Schoolboy In Hurricane Hell.” Jack Mackintosh, a 17-year-old from the town of Barrhead, was in Houston to visit NASA as part of an educational trip sponsored by Careers Scotland. The lede of the story: A…
Random Notes: Correct Drive-By Truckers In-Store Time, Flogging Molly Postponed, New Trail of Dead Album, etc.
* Today’s Drive-By Truckers (above) in-store at Cactus Music is at 4:30 p.m., not 6:30 p.m. as printed in Cactus’ ad in this week’s Press. Meridian’s doors open for tonight’s no-opener show at 8 p.m. The band will tape its first-ever episode of Austin City Limits Friday, stepping in for…
Artist of the Week: Jim Jones Jamboree
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. We saw Jim Jones Jamboree live when we…
No Straight Answer From The Archdiocese
What started off as simple story about Seton Catholic Junior High School opening its doors to the students and staff of Saint Charles Borromeo Catholic School when Saint Charles was damaged in Hurricane Ike, quickly turned into a “Why is the Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston so funky?” tale. Hair Balls learned…
Astros-Reds: No Fundamentals, No Way
I’ve tried to defend Michael Bourn this season. Sure he didn’t hit. But I thought his speed and fielding skills made up for everything else. After last night, however, I’m not sure I can continue to defend him. The Astros were locked in a tight, 2-1 pitcher’s battle when Kaz…
Battle Of The Junkyard Dogs
The tragic death of Rice freshman football player Dale Lloyd, who collapsed during a practice in 2006, might just turn into an epic courtroom battle. Mark Lanier, the Houston plaintiffs’ lawyer known for Vioxx, big verdicts and the most lavish, if liquor-free, Christmas party in town, is representing Lloyd’s parents…
Ten Reasons Drayton McLane Might’ve Rejected Bud Selig’s Plea to Get Out of Town
As those of you who read Ballz know, the meme that Bud Selig is an evil, evil man – who forced the Astros to play two games against the Chicago Cubs in Milwaukee despite Hurricane Ike ravaging Houston and making the players abandon their families – is a lie. I’ve…
More HISD Schools Open Tomorrow
The party’s over for students of 53 more HISD schools. Thursday they’ll be headed back to class. Check here for a list of who’s opening when. “We have 53 schools on the list for Thursday which I believe brings us up to 200 with 93 to go,” HISD spokesman Norm…
MasterMinds — You Have A Second Chance
Left scattered in Ike’s path is not only debris and annoyance, but your chance to win big bucks for being a genius. The Houston Press first, hopefully annual MasterMinds awards — where local artists, innovators and entrepreneurs can win $2,000 — is being delayed. The initial deadline for nominating someone…
Welcome to Autumn: Songs of the Season by Frank Sinatra, Nat King Cole, George Strait, Willie Nelson, Neil Diamond, Neil Young, Kinks, U2, White Stripes, Green Day, Yo La Tengo, ABBA and More
This afternoon, as Rocks Off was editing an article for next week’s print edition, I realized it will be October when the issue hits the stands next week. Where has the year gone? Where all the other ones go, I guess. Rocks Off can also already feel himself growing more…
Tunnel Mole Can’t Get No Utility Love
We know a utility company retiree proud of the belt buckle that commemorates his days working on transmission for a Texas utility. It says “The Romance of the High Lines.” As the Tunnel Mole surfaced recently to look for the blessed utility trucks that often signal a return to power,…
All The Traffic Problems Solved!
Harris County Judge Ed Emmett has announced how he’s going to tackle the massive traffic headaches caused by Ike. HOV lanes will be open, and cops will staff major intersections to keep cars flowing faster than the herky-jerky four-way stop system. So what took so long? “The real answer, they…
Lawyer Says Galveston’s Elite Were Allowed Back On The Island Before Others
A Galveston attorney is headed to federal court claiming prominent residents of the island city got preferential treatment in being allowed back to their homes. The attorney, Anthony Griffin, temporarily dismissed the civil rights federal lawsuit he filed last Friday against island officials, but he tells Hair Balls he will…
The Worrisome List Of The Missing
The Friendswood-based non-profit The Laura Recovery Center has set up an online clearinghouse/utility page for missing persons and their loved ones. The public can both scan their list of missing people and download materials to make flyers for people they need to locate. The Laura Recovery Center (named in honor…
Some Ike Statistics
The Harris County Homeland Security & Emergency Management office has released a by-the-numbers look at the response to Ike. It’s pretty random, but numbers are real, man. So here they are: 2,400 special-needs residents were moved by Metro 1,125,750 gallons of water were distributed at PODs 2.8 million MREs were…
The Effects of Hurricane Ike on the Oyster Industry
Misho Ivic Misho Ivic, the owner of Misho’s Oyster Company in San Leon, says that thanks to Ike, there aren’t going to be any oysters harvested in Galveston Bay for a while. The Louisiana oyster grounds were also closed for several weeks as a result of Gustav. But the closings…
Traffic Problem To Be Solved (Maybe)
Good Lord, traffic sucked last night. Much as it did this morning. Broken traffic lights have snarled intersections, lack of electricity has closed HOV lanes, everything’s a mess. We asked Metro yesterday why the HOV problem couldn’t be solved by just using cops to direct traffic and was told “it…
Joan Jett: Still Fierce at 50
www.bradelterman.com Yesterday, one of Rocks Off’s favorite rockers evar hit the big five-oh. For my money, they don’t get any more rock and roll than Joan Jett – just ask her and she’ll tell you how much she loves it. That song, a cover of a once-obscure B-side by ’70s…
Ike Spawns A Peace Treaty
San Leon, the unincorporated “little drinking village with a serious fishing problem” we wrote about here, has found some friends from afar. In the wake of Hurricane Katrina, the Mississippi Gulf Coast unincorporated town of Waveland was in similar straits to San Leon. They had no governmental infrastructure, and the…
Lonesome Onry and Mean: Rich Hornbuckle, Renaissance Man
Rich Hornbuckle at the Blue Iguana, Halloween 1994 Houston’s bar world is one notch better lately with the return of longtime Houston barista/scenester Rich Hornbuckle to active duty at Under the Volcano as general manager. After six crazy years (1993-98) as part of the Blue Iguana ownership group, Hornbuckle captained…
Ten Reasons Why the Texans Didn’t Challenge the Call on Justin McCareins’ Sideline Catch
If you’re like me or CBS announcers Kevin Harlin and Rich Gannon, you watched the Texans/Titans game on Sunday and found yourself wondering why Gary Kubiak didn’t throw the replay flag on Titans receiver Justin McCareins’ sideline catch that appeared to be out-of-bounds in the second quarter. Well, don’t worry…
Some HISD Campuses Operating On Generators
Most of Houston’s schools opened today — 120 campuses — but not all of them are in tip-top shape. Three schools are operating on generator power, HISD says — Harvard Elementary in the Heights, Kashmere High on the northeast side of town and Westbury High on the southwest side. “We…
Sorry? For What?
As the Houston Chronicle reported today, Gov. Rick Perry personally called two state workers from Georgia because Houston Mayor Bill White had cursed at them in the frantic days after Ike. They report: A witness said White told the women, “You need to be getting these (expletive) trucks out of…
NFL Review, Week Three: Bad Challenges, Tricky Snaps and Playboy Bunnies
It’s time for a little Tuesday review of the past weekend’s NFL games. As usual, we’ll start with the Texans. The Texans appeared to make more of an effort against the Tennessee Titans than they did against the Steelers just weeks earlier. But they still got their asses kicked. One…
Manifesto Of The Powerless
We, the people of Houston still without power 11 days after Ike; we, the CenterPoint customers who are seeing friggin’ Entergy restore power more quickly (this, for the uninitiated, is the equivalent of your four-year-old making LeBron his bitch on the court); we, the neglected one-third who have yet to…
Top Ten Astrodome Sports Moments
As hard as it is to believe, it’s now been 35 years since the classic Billy Jean King/Bobby Riggs matchup in the Astrodome. So, in honor of that, I thought I would take a look at ten other great sporting events that also took place inside the Eighth Wonder of…
Helping Out Those Hurt in Brennan’s Fire
Photo by Bill Olive / Click here for more Ike images By now most people have heard that Brennan’s of Houston “wine guy” James Koonce and his four-year-old daughter Katherine Koonce were severely injured during a fire that gutted Brennan’s during Hurricane Ike on early Saturday, September 14. Koonce and…
If It Ain’t The Air Pollution, It’s The Wind
Another victim of Ike — the Greater Houston Association for Smog Prevention. GHASP’s headquarters took a heavy hit from the storm. “Unfortunately our office was severely damaged during Hurricane Ike,” the group announced.”The roof was completely torn off the building, and our office had major water damage.” Until they can…
Football U: Texas Roundup, and Then Some
Due to Hurricane Ike, there was no college football preview issue last week. Not that you missed anything. But I would have tried to warn you not to expect much excitement this past weekend as, for the most part, there really weren’t any good games scheduled. For instance, I’m sure…
The Show Must Go On …. But Not Yet
Hurricane Ike is having long-term effects on Houston’s performing and visual arts organizations. We’ve gotten several messages about shows being postponed or canceled and we thought we’d pass them along. The Country Playhouse’s production of Neil Simon’s Rumors will open Friday, September 26. Regular showtimes are 8 p.m. Fridays and…
No One Messes With Fort Bend County Fair Day
School districts all over the area are scrambling to make up instruction days lost to Ike. Some, like HISD, are considering lengthening each school day next semester; others will be adding days at the end of the year. So you’d think every day would be precious. But not if it…
Balinese Room Unlikely to Rebuild
Photos by Brett Koshkin Scott Arnold, the Houston attorney who bought Galveston’s Balinese Room in 2001 and watched it get washed into the Gulf of Mexico during the early hours of Hurricane Ike’s landfall, has posted an open letter on its Web site that more or less closes the book…
Galveston’s Train & Plane Museums Were Hit Hard
Two of Galveston’s museums — the Lone Star Flight Museum and the Railroad Museum — got hit pretty hard by Ike. They’ve posted pictures of the damage here. Those plaster sculptures of passengers sitting around the terminal at the Railroad Museum? It looks like they were tossed around like confetti…
If The Light Was Working, So Was The Red-Light Camera
Houstonians have spent the past week happily flipping the bird to the tollbooths along the Sam Houston Parkway and other pay-to-ride roadways. What about the infamous red-light cameras, though? Did we get a pass on those, too, in the wake of Ike? Only if the intersection in question was shut…
We Are An Accident Victim Coming Out Of A Coma, Apparently
The New York Times weighed in over the weekend with their take on life in Houston after Ike. Like an accident victim coming out of a coma, the city has been returning to life. The downtown glitters with lights, despite boarded-up windows and doors. More and more gas stations and…
More Ike-Related Music News
A few more (possibly) final bits of music-related Ike aftermath… Photos by Dan Workman * Sugar Hill Studios (above), emerged from Ike relatively unscathed, though the legendary Produce Row-area recording house sustained a little roof damage and, like everywhere else, was beset by fallen trees and power lines. Sessions scheduled…
KRBE’s Roula and Ryan are fans of the Press
This morning, as Rocks Off was inching toward the Press on the Gulf Freeway, he caught an interesting shout-out to the paper on KRBE’s The Roula and Ryan Show. They were giving away some passes to our Best of Houston launch party Thursday at Lucky’s – where Roula will be…
Your Highway’s A Parking Lot, But The HOV Lanes Are Clear
Traffic has been a complete, total, unrelieved pain in the ass since most downtown workers have returned to their jobs. Highways like 290, 59 and 288 have become parking lots, mostly due to the lack of traffic signals on the off-ramps and service roads. But as you sit and stew…
Turning The Screw: Crew54, DJ AM & Travis Barker, G- Unit, Pharrell, Eminem, Nate Dogg, Kanye, Wu-Tang vs. UFC and More
Welcome back to Turning the Screw, Rocks Off’s weekly rap post. It probably won’t rhyme, at least most of the time. E-mail tips to introducingliston@gmail.com. Thanks, homies. Single of the Week “Lil Miss Sunshine,” Crew54 feat. Rochelle Terrell Wire To Wire Sadly, DJ AM and Travis Barker were critically injured…
Over the Weekend: Avant Garden, Silver Jews, High Island, Oak Island and Galveston
After several days of coolness, the weather gods brought the heat yesterday. Great timing, considering half the city still doesn’t have a/c. Here’s what we were doing when we weren’t sitting around and sweating. 9:30 p.m. at Avant Garden One way to tell things are slowly getting back to normal:…
Your Animals Are Probably Bitching About Ike, Too
Because Ike (that bastard) has created more victims beyond the human variety, it’s important to keep our furry friends in mind. Fortunately, groups like the Houston Humane Society and the Houston SPCA have been keeping us apprised of the animal situation, and what folks can do to help out. First,…
Stages Theatre Finds A New Stage
Stages Theatre is moving to a temporary new home thanks to Hurricane Ike. The facility’s Yeager Theatre suffered water damage and lost power during the storm; it had been hosting the world premiere of the musical Unbeatable. And, of course, Always…Patsy Cline (a/k/a The Cash Cow) is also running. The…
Astros-Pirates: Better to Be Lucky and Good
I really tried to care about the Houston Astros this weekend. Seriously, I did. But despite the Astros winning two of three games from the Pirates, I just can’t make myself give a damn. And I don’t care because despite the best efforts of the New York Mets and the…
Texans-Titans: Houston Looking a Little Better, But Not Good Enough
I don’t really know what to write about the Texans’ 31-12 loss to the Houston Oilers Tennessee Titans. Sure, they played better than they did in Pittsburgh, but is that really saying much? And Steve Slaton had an impressive day at running back – hopefully indicating the end to the…
Humane Society Helps Galveston Animals After Hurricane Ike
Kyle Held came from St. Louis to help. Kyle Held and Catherine Raymond must have driven Galveston’s west end back and forth 100 times this past week. They’re from the Humane Society of Missouri in St. Louis; just two of the dozens of animal rescue personnel who flocked to the…
Video of Oak Island After Hurricane Ike
Here’s some more video from Daniel Kramer, this time of signs of life in Oak Island. (Click here for a report from Chambers County and here for photos.) — Keith Plocek…
Slideshow: Silver Jews at Walter’s on Washington
Photo by Bill Olive We’ve loaded up some images from Thursday’s Silver Jews show. Click here for a slideshow and here to revisit Troy Schulze’s review. — KP…
How Is Price-Gouging Like Pornography?
How is price-gouging like pornography? Because it consists of someone getting screwed? Well yeah, but that’s not the only way. There is no sharply defined definition in Texas of what constitutes “price gouging” in the wake of a disaster. A bill in the legislature recently tried to define gouging as…
Renters — Don’t Get Screwed By Lazy Landlords
Homeowners hit by Ike know that if they want the little-to-somewhat-big things fixed after Ike, they just need to buckle down and do it themselves. But what about renters? Should they wait until their landlord does the job? And what happens, say, if their downstairs neighbor evacuated and the refrigerator…
Slideshow: The Journey to High Island After Hurricane Ike
Speaking of High Island, we’ve just loaded up some images from Craig Malisow and Daniel Kramer’s trip there on Thursday. — Keith Plocek…
John Royal’s NFL Power Rankings
Last week I started a new feature, my NFL Power Rankings. So here’s Week Two. 1. Dallas Cowboys (2-0): The defense let down a bit against the Philadelphia Eagles, but the offense was on fire. Last week, number 1. 2. Carolina Panthers (2-0): Have beaten two very good defensive clubs…
Lonesome Onry and Mean: Hayes Carll Wins Americana Song of the Year
Woodlands native Hayes Carll took home honors for Song of the Year at the Americana Music Association Awards show in Nashville Thursday night. Carll wrote “She Left Me for Jesus” with former Austinite Brian Keane, who relocated to Nashville earlier this year. The song appears on Carll’s 2008 Lost Highway…
Video of High Island After Hurricane Ike
We’ve loaded up some more video from Daniel Kramer. This time he reports from High Island, where animals are running free. — Keith Plocek…
Sideshow Tramps/Three Fantastic Equipment Stolen
Sideshow Tramps at a “Students Against Sweatshops” rally, U of H, October 2007 Looks like looters made off with some equipment that belonged to Geoffrey Mueller (Sideshow Tramps) and Kelly Doyle (Three Fantastic, Clouseaux, etc.). A MySpace post says that sometime before or after the storm the following items were…
Chambers County Smacked by Hurricane Ike
Photo by Daniel Kramer / Click here for a slideshow It’s probably safe to say that other than the communities on the Bolivar Peninsula, no places in Texas were ravaged worse by Hurricane Ike than the bayside Chambers County towns of Oak Island and Smith Point. In the case of…
Checking In on the Disabled After Hurricane Ike
The managing attorney for Advocacy Inc., a group that represents the rights of the disabled, went over to the Villas on Winkler this afternoon to check on the disabled residents there. Attorney Sarah Guidry was escorted out by security guards as soon as she mentioned she’d like to talk to…
Traffic — It Was Bad Last Night, It’ll Be Bad For A While
Traffic on the freeways out of downtown has cranked up to worse-than-normal status, as more and more people are getting back on the roads. Several people in this office reported sitting in gridlock late into Thursday night. If the Texas Department of Transportation is to be believed, that traffic could…
Aftermath: Silver Jews at Walter’s on Washington
Photo by Bill Olive / Click here for a slideshow Under the circumstances, the sight was painfully familiar: a crowd of people in a parking lot, waiting. But instead of water, ice or MREs, this group desperately needed some kind of shared experience that didn’t involve clearing debris or scavenging…
Lonesome Onry and Mean Extra: Billy Joe Shaver Indicted for Aggravated Assault
Billy Joe Shaver, who wrote many of the anthems of the Outlaw Movement, is a true outlaw now. Shaver was indicted Wednesday on two felony charges by a McLennan County grand jury, stemming from a shooting incident at Papa Joe’s Texas Saloon in Lorena the night of April 1, 2007…
Dammit: Plant and Krauss Cancel
Robert Plant & Allison Krauss, “Gone Gone Gone” Word is the Robert Plant/Allison Krauss show has now been added to the list of cancellations at the Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion. Also, Nelly’s show scheduled for Tuesday at Warehouse Live is off, as is this weekend’s Dan Electro’s benefit for its…
Are You Taking Over, Or Are You Taking Orders?
Trouble is brewing. A group of Galveston evacuees says they are planning a bit of civil disobedience in the fight to get into their island homes to assess and fix damage. “We are planning to caravan to Galveston and disobey the police when they tell us that we cannot have…
Cary Winscott 1970-2008
Cary Winscott, “Forever” (Daniel Johnston) Cary Winscott, a popular Houston actor and musician, passed away from skin cancer Tuesday at Ben Taub Hospital, his longtime friend Jason Nodler, former director of Infernal Bridegroom Productions said Friday afternoon. Winscott, 38, originated the role of the Pro-Tester in IBP’s first production, 1993’s…
120 HISD Schools To Open Tuesday — UPDATED
The Houston school district has announced that 120 schools will be open for students on Tuesday. Other schools will be added Thursday, officials said. Some other schools might need generators or portable buildings. No school was damaged so severely that massive repairs are needed, officials said. Seven instructional days have…
Tales Of The Rare And Skittish Utility Truck
If you’re one of the unlucky ones still without power, the sight of an electric company truck in your neighborhood feels like Christmas morning and prom night put together. And given the tales of crews working 16-hour days to help get Houston back online, one would think such trucks would…
Lonesome Onry and Mean: Only a Week Until Robert Plant/Allison Krauss
cmt.com Only a week until the Robert Plant/Alison Krauss/T-Bone Burnett show at the Woodlands Pavilion – which is still on the Ike-damaged facility’s books – but that doesn’t mean it’s too early to start the hype. Here’s a teaser the ex-Led Zeppelin frontman with one of the great rock bands…
SOS From The Montgomery County Animal Shelter
Just like the Houston Humane Society, the folks taking care of animals up in Montgomery County are running into trouble thanks to Ike. Their urgent press release: From the Montgomery County Animal Shelter: Montgomery County Animal Shelter on I-45 exit 242 East, gets about 2000 animals a month, they have…
Let The Bidding For Galveston’s HS Football Stars Begin!!
High school football could be the last thing on anyone’s mind in Galveston, but Ball High School football coach Ron Holmes has already said that he’ll help his players find a transfer if the season is canceled. Two or three missed games – much less a missed season – could…
Ike Can’t Stop Our Best Of Houston Party
You’ve been sitting in your darkened, powerless house, dreading the coming return of humidity, mourning the lost days, wondering when there will be some relief. Fear not: The Houston Press Best of Houston Launch Party is still on. This Thursday, at Lucky’s Pub, celebrate the best of Houston — including…
This Just In: You(genious) Not Dead, Is Awesome
Every “Atomic Dog” has his day: You(genious) and George Clinton. Woof! Photos by anotherlevelphotography.com There were rumors floating around this week that You(genious), Houston’s parenthetical Misfit of R&B, had died during Hurricane Ike. We gave him a call and he took a few minutes to address the rumor, its origins…
BevCo International’s Wine Hit Pretty Hard by Hurricane Ike
We here at Eating…Our Words hate to see good wine go un-drunk. But that’s exactly what’s happening to thousands of bottles of wine stored at wine importer/wholesaler BevCo International’s warehouse. On Saturday after the storm, owner David Baird headed over to the space. “When I opened the door, there was…
New List of Places Open After Hurricane Ike
Our original list of places that are open, which we put together a little haphazardly in the crazy days right after Ike, is now an efficiently organized, easily searchable wonder of the modern age. Check out the list, divided by category, here. Want to see it as a map? Here…
List Of Open Places — Now Organized For Your Benefit!!
Our original list of places that are open, which we put together a little haphazardly in the crazy days right after Ike, is now an efficiently organized, easily searchable wonder of the modern age. Check out the list, divided by category, here. Want to see it as a map? Here…
Weekend Music: (Just Like) Starting Over
John Lennon, “Starting Over” Call Rocks Off crazy, but last week about this time – when I was frantically posting as many Ike & Tina Turner videos as I could find as the wind ominously picked up speed outside – seems about, as the Plimsouls said, a million miles away…
Riding It Out In Style On High Island
If you ask William Guidry how long he’s been on High Island, he’ll tell you since 1717. He’ll tell you that his family had lived just fine without electricity or bottled water, thank you very much, thriving on water from a spring and a good work ethic. That’s why Guidry…
Five Spot: Jack White, The Edge, Jimmy Page and the Mediocrity of Your Life
Welcome back to Five Spot. Every Friday, we’ll examine a recent bit of music news and list five reasons why it’s either brilliant or dumb-assed. Send tips to introducingliston@gmail.com. Getty Images North America It Might Get Loud, a documentary centered around Jack White, The Edge and Jimmy Page swapping stories,…
Astros-Marlins: That’s Five in a Row
The Astros played last night. And I have some good news: the Astros actually had a lead for two innings; they were up 1-0 after two. And more good news: the Milwaukee Brewers lost to the Chicago Cubs. But there’s far more bad news. The Astros lost their fifth straight…
Miss Pop Rocks: Special Hurricane Ike Edition
I am typing this on a computer fueled by a generator (we just received one an hour ago thanks to my dear husband’s boss who doesn’t need it anymore). It is so loud, I can barely think to type…or perhaps that is just the carbon monoxide setting in ha ha…
Hurricane Wine
Prolonged power failures are hell on wine collectors. If your wine cellar gets hot, your wine gets cooked and your investment goes down the drain. Luckily for me, there was only one bottle of wine in my little portable wine cellar that was worth anything when the power went out…
Unlucky Pasadenans Arrive At The George R. Brown
Red Cross and FEMA workers seem about ready to be finished with shelter operations at the George R. Brown Convention Center. Earlier this afternoon, officers with the Houston Police Department arrested one man at the site and were on the verge of putting another man – possibly drunk – in…
Department Of Bad Timing (Press Release Div.)
Worried about when you’ll actually get electricity? Have a house that’s a water-clogged shell? Don’t worry! According to the most mis-timed PR release ever, FAO Schwarz is — today — announcing it is coming back to the Houston market in four locations, ready to serve all your needs for what…
An Assessment Of Galveston’s Historical Sites
Here is a summary from the Galveston Historical Foundation — via their temporary digs in Austin — about how the old and cherished buildings on the island fared during Ike: First reports from the scene indicate the following: The 1861 U. S. Custom House, GHF’s headquarters, was flooded by as…
Ike Beats Oprah, With HPD’s Help
The Houston Police Department seems to have taken on a new role: theater critic. They recommended to TUTS that it cancel performances of The Color Purple. Which is not really a whole lot different than what New York theater critics said when it opened on Broadway. Luckily for the production,…
Let The Polluting Begin Anew!
You still may not have electricity, ice, Internet access or Starbucks access, but the petrochemical plants of Southeast Texas are slowly cranking up again after the bastard Ike came and left. Frankly, it’s an awesome undertaking starting everything up again. The process will continue, in some cases, for the next…
Garbage Pick-up Not Going Smoothly In The `Burbs
Sure the far western reaches of the Houston are having the better of it when it comes to power, but they’re falling behind in another area: garbage collection. Many of the `burbs get pick-up from Waste Management, and that company has issued a statement saying there’s so much debris to…
Sunny San Leon Picks Up the Pieces After Hurricane Ike
Photos by Daniel Kramer / Click here for a slideshow There’s always someone unluckier than you. In the wake of Hurricane Ike, such people were easy to find in the devastated Galveston Bay town of San Leon, as Press photographer Dan Kramer and I found out when we crossed a…
Houston Has a New Theme Song
The things that show up in your in-box… Yo Texas, let’s kick it! – Chris Gray In case you need a melody refresher… Ike Ike Baby, Ike Ike Baby All right stop, evacuate and listen Ike is here with some big ambition People, close your homes up tightly It’s blowing…
The Michael Chertoff Show, Starring Michael Chertoff
Wearing only the latest in fashion, baby blue guayabera, Department of Homeland Security head Michael Chertoff stepped off his military helicopter yesterday looking more like he was headed for vacation than the disaster zone that is Galveston. Chertoff came down to the island to assess damage and check in on…
NFL Review, Week Two: Another Call for the Texans to Play in the Dome
So what do we know after the second week of the NFL season? I think we can be sure of who some of the better teams actually are. I think we can be sure of who some of the bad teams really are. And I think we can all agree…
Suburbs Get The Power, Houston Gets The Shaft
Offices around Houston are breaking down into the haves and the have-nots — those who’ve had their power at home restored, and those who are still stumbing in the dark. If you look at CenterPoint’s map of when proposed areas should get power, it seems pretty clear: the suburbs are…
Video of San Leon After Hurricane Ike
Daniel Kramer and John Nova Lomax spent yesterday down in San Leon. We’ll have words and photos online later today, but for now here’s some video, complete with a shirtless announcer, chirping parrots and what looks like one tasty cookout. — Keith Plocek…
Aftermath: Jana Hunter and Lesser Gonzalez Alvarez at the Petrol Station
Photos by Ramon “LP4” Medina It would be a stretch to call Wednesday’s Jana Hunter/Lesser Gonzalez Alvarez show – which had been hastily relocated to Garden Oaks coffeehouse/pub the Petrol Station from DiverseWorks – normal. That much was clear when some guy came out of his house and expressed his…
All That Remains of the Balinese Room
Man, I am just heartbroken about this. – Chris Gray Photos by Brett Koshkin…
Ike, You Are A Sadistic Bastard
In Path to Power, the first volume of his epic Lyndon Johnson biography, Robert Caro has a terrific passage dealing with LBJ’s tireless fight to bring electricity to the isolated Hill Country. Utility companies refused to string wire to far-away, low-income farms. Even when families physically moved their homes to…
Taco Truck Price Hike
A taco truck called “La Guerita” has doing a brisk lunch hour business in the Food Town parking lot at Briar Forest near Wilcrest yesterday. There was a sign advertising “hamburguesas” so I asked how much they were. The lady doing the cooking responded that there weren’t any hamburgers at…
Santana, 3 Doors Down, Carlos Mencia Postponed or Cancelled
Most of the music venues in the Houston area seem to have weathered Ike without much damage – with the notable, terrible exception of Galveston’s Balinese Room – but the Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion wasn’t so lucky. The outdoor amphitheater was hit hard enough to force the cancellation of Saturday’s…
Astros-Marlins: Tough Loss for Houston
I’ve been really hard on the Astros this season and this past week. I’m not going to do that today. I have the feeling that after last night’s 14-2 loss to the Florida Marlins that they’re going to beat themselves up worse than I could. Let’s just say that Brandon…
Lonesome Onry and Mean: Meet Lena Anderssen
While it has nothing to do with honky tonk or Americana or Texas music, every now and then we come across a compelling artist we just have to blog about. Name: Lena Anderssen. Address: Faroe Islands (near Denmark, bubba… kinda like Canada). Occupation: helluva songwriter in a genre she ironically…
The Edward James Olmos 6th Annual Houston Latino Book and Family Festival
Named after actor/director/author/activist Edward James Olmos, The Edward James Olmos 6th Annual Houston Latino Book and Family Festival has a cumbersome title. Thankfully, that’s the only criticism anyone has ever had about the festival, which claims to be the fastest-growing book fair in Texas. This year’s festival includes an appearance…
Classically Modern
At Classically Modern, you’ll see boys dancing with boys, girls dancing with girls and each dancing with the other. The Houston Ballet’s four-piece program starts with Hans van Manen’s Solo. The seven–minute ballet, set to Johann Sebastian Bach’s Suite for Violin in D Minor, is danced by not one, but…
The Gulf Coast Film Festival Opener
The Gulf Coast Film Festival covers everything from the demise of AstroWorld to the world’s craziest diet to love among science nerds. Festival Director Hal Wixon says, “This year we got 127 films, in every genre. We saw comedy, drama, documentary and animation.” The submissions went through a screening process,…
Gulf Coast Reading Series
Nothing says “back to school” like witnessing the results of a good edumacation. The Gulf Coast Reading Series starts out the school year with a trio of talent from the University of Houston’s nationally acclaimed Creative Writing Program. Hayan Charara, the editor of Inclined to Speak: An Anthology of Contemporary…
Las Fiestas de Frida
Latin American cultural expert Gregorio Luke starts things off at Las Fiestas de Frida. He’ll discuss the impact and legacy of the Mexican artist Frida Kahlo, best known for her emotionally raw self-portraits. Then it’s on to a reception, where the mixture of art and food includes a display of…
Outsider Comedy
Outsider Comedy features people who fit two types of characters: aspiring comedians and dorks. (Yes, they can be mutually exclusive.) The event was founded by local comic Eric Dieckman, who was inspired by Comedians of Comedy, the tour-turned-Comedy-Central series that featured notable funnymen Brian Posehn, Patton Oswalt and Zach Galifianakis…
Michael Scott
Here’s the truth: One, Nicholas Flamel was born in Paris in 1330. Two, the greatest alchemist of his time, it was rumored that he discovered the secret of immortality. Three, he reportedly died in 1418. Four, his tomb is empty. Michael Scott’s The Magician is built on those four facts…
This is Spinal Tap
Turn it up to 11, it’s time for This is Spinal Tap, the film about the world’s funniest (and fictional…est) heavy metal band. Spinal Tap was the first mockumentary from the minds behind others such as Best in Show and A Mighty Wind. Sit your big bottom down and see…
Green House Gallery Opening
Creation meets conservation today at the Green House Gallery Opening. The latest addition to Houston’s art scene is a showcase space for a collective of 12 artists who put earth first. Monique Weston recycles found objects such as lighting gels, plumbing parts, door hinges and cogs from antique watches for…
“in the shadow of doubt”
Scott Gordon rips things into shape. For his exhibit “in the shadow of doubt,” the artist manipulates old paper materials — newspapers, photographs, book pages and covers, envelopes, album jackets, etc. — to create colorful collages. The pieces exist not only as a whole composition, but also as a collection…
Buffalo Bayou Kayak Tour
The Buffalo Bayou Kayak Tour allows you to explore Houston’s downtown waterways without having to actually get in the water (not always a wise choice). Paddlers are guided from Shepherd to Allen’s Landing to the trip’s end in downtown near the Theater District. Admission gets you a two-seater kayak, paddles,…
National Paintball League Super 7 World Series
Paintball games are not just a dignity-robbing exercise in teamwork anymore. That pastime, known to many corporate office jockeys as a great way to humiliate their co-workers while learning to work together, is now a professional sport with stars, fans and worldwide accreditation. You can see it in action today…
“Radar Eyes”
The ArtCar Museum has been closed the last couple of weeks for renovations, but it opens this month with “Radar Eyes,” an exhibition of 200-plus silk-screened prints by experimental artists that, according to press info, “depict distortions of perception, altered states of awareness and geometric, sometimes hallucinogenic subject matter.” We…
The Wizard of Oz sing-a-long
You know you do it alone in the shower anyway, so you might as well do it in public, right? We’re talking about singing, of course (get your mind out of the gutter!). Put on your ruby slippers and head down to the movie theater to belt out the hits…
“The Great Indoors”
The Brooklyn-based artist Aurora Robson proclaims to be “in love” with string theory. But before everyone who is still traumatized by high school physics hightails it out of here, wait. Her new installation at Rice Gallery features colorful, playful creations for which physics is merely a means to a beautiful…
Manhattan Short Film Festival
If you’ve got impeccable taste — who doesn’t? — and a penchant for giving your opinion — again, who doesn’t? — the Manhattan Short Film Festival could use you. The 11th incarnation of the annual event features screenings in several countries on four continents this week. Audience members at each…
Underworld’s Monthly Bash
Seraphemera Books is taking a chance that goth music fans are literary as well when they pair the musician Voltaire with author Gabrielle S. Faust for this edition of the Underworld’s Monthly Bash. Voltaire has described his sound as “music from a parallel universe where electricity was never invented and…
The Shivering Eyelash
Give an event a title like The Shivering Eyelash, and you know right away it’s a little, well, weird. But weirdness is something the folks at the International Experimental Cinema Exposition strive for. To wit, they’ve collected several of the most groundbreaking avant-garde films from the past century and packaged…
Fans of the Sea Duck Race
Regression is a very acceptable practice when there’s charity involved. Case in point: MarineBio.org’s second annual Fans of the Sea Duck Race, in which kids and grown-ups race little rubber duckies for prizes and a good cause. You can sponsor one duck or several; corporations can get big five-foot tall…
Museum District Day
So you say you want culture and refinement, but you just don’t have the time to peruse all of Houston’s diverse temples of knowledge? Knock ‘em out speed–dating style — and for free — during Museum District Day. A total of 18 local museums will participate in the annual event…
Drive-By Truckers, A to Z
Houston’s Austin City Limits festival spillover season gets underway Wednesday with an overdue visit from Alabama-born, Georgia-dwelling brigands Drive-By Truckers. Wrongly pigeonholed as the thinking man’s Lynyrd Skynyrd (who are pretty thoughtful themselves), the Truckers are closer to an amalgamation of Social Distortion, Blackfoot and The Who. The band stopped…
The Queers
The Buzzcocks and Ramones may have laid the groundwork for pop-punk, but the Queers helped make sure the genre would never grow up. After 25 years, Joe Queer still pines for that girl in third period, still appreciates a good party and still sings about his subjects in a teenager’s…
Falafel Frenzy
We love the name of the new restaurant that just opened in downtown, just off of Market Square. It’s called Falafel Frenzy (914 Prairie, 713-237-8987), and it’s owned by Ayman Jarah, who is Lebanese. “I used to have a bar and nightclub in the same space,” he says, “but I…
These Are Powers
There are certain sonic signatures within Chicago and Brooklyn’s prevailing indie scenes that collide oh so colorfully in These Are Powers, a trio that’s at once rhythmically tight and freakishly blurry. The band’s hypnotic scrawls and sprawl were enough to lasso Austin’s Dead Oceans — kid-sister label of major indies…
COACHES PUB’S COLORADO BULLDOG
The long wait is finally over. With all apologies to Michael Phelps and, um, the guys running for president, can I get an “amen” for the start of football season? As a special treat on the first weekend of the NFL season, we were blessed with a Monday Night doubleheader…
The New Year
A band taking four years between recordings is cause for both anticipation and dread, and on The New Year’s The New Year, the results bring equal parts frustration and relief. Kadane brothers Matt and Bubba continue to anchor the Dallas-based band, with a supporting cast plucked from Saturnine, Macha and…
Flaco Jimenez
Rumor has it Flaco Jimenez has been known to take a drink or two. There are also those who claim, “That cat is messed up all the time.” Whatever his state of mental impairment (or improvement), there’s no denying the 69-year-old San Antonio accordionist is the absolute king of his…
The Smokin’ Joe Kubek Band with Bnois King
One of the more unlikely musical pairings in contemporary Texas blues — or any other genre — is also one of the longest-lasting. If there was any doubt, the Smokin’ Joe Kubek Band and compatriot Bnois King cement their bond with the title of recent Alligator Records debut and twelfth…
Unbearably Beautiful: “Houston Collects”
In 1865, a North Carolina father built a desk for his little girl, who was learning to read. Such a desk may not seem noteworthy, as it is rough-hewn and made from mismatched scraps of old furniture, with some pieces painted and others written upon. But this desk becomes almost…
Juliana Hatfield: How to Walk Away
Solo or with one of her bands (Blake Babies, Juliana Hatfield Three), Juliana Hatfield’s moody MOR jangle-and-coo always anticipated an indie-rock styled for Jay Leno. While that’s not necessarily a diss, her sweet child-voice requires a bitter trade-off: namely, some of the best lyrics ever written about punishing asshole boys,…
SPECIAL CATHOLIC EDITION
Dear Mexican, I am a chica struggling with the choice to come out to my parents about my sexual orientation. My family is Catholic, and my parents are old school. While we are very close, I am scared of how badly this can go. My parents have been living in…
Irma Thomas: Simply Grand
File Irma Thomas’s new Simply Grand under “Why didn’t I think of this?” Pair the New Orleans vocal icon/national treasure with great pianists and top-shelf songs; it’s like that Guinness ad: “Brilliant!” What could be more New Orleans than Irma Thomas and a piano? Thomas sets her course by opening…
In Need: Signal to Noise
Recently, one of Noise’s contributors forwarded me an e-mail from Pete Gershon, editor and publisher of Houston-based experimental-music journal Signal to Noise. Facing rising production costs, slow-to-pay advertisers and, well, just being a print publication in our Internet-mad age — and one targeted to a small, specific audience to boot…
Bayousphere
No BayouSphere this week. Please visit the slideshow page to view Daniel Kramer’s coverage of Hurricane Ike…
Ike, You Bastard
Despite ferocious wishing and fervent prayers, Ike still decided to slam into Galveston and Houston and a large part of Southeast Texas. Destruction was widespread. Including at the Houston Press, which was flooded and without power even after much of downtown got back online. Apparently a drain clogged on the…
The Faint: Fasciinatiion
Cut Copy and Hercules & Love Affair have been burning up dorm-room dance floors. Then there’s the rise of the more richly histrionic LCD Soundsystem, not to mention the textured Burial and grotesquely distorted Justice. It all makes Omaha quintet the Faint’s simpler mind-meld of angst and beats seem more…
Balaclavas: Inferno
“Before me nothing but eternal things / Were made, and I endure eternally.” These two lines, inscribed on the gates of Hell in Dante’s Inferno, precede the more memorable “Abandon every hope, ye who enter here.” But the former lines lend the latter credence: Hell is hopeless because it’s forever…
Language Barrier at Child Protective Services
And the Lord said, “Behold, they are one people, and they have all one language, and this is only the beginning of what they will do. And nothing that they propose to do will now be impossible for them. Come, let us go down and there confuse their language, so…
Capsule Art Reviews: “Heroes Alter Egos,” “Joe Mancuso: Still Still Life,” “Neo HooDoo: Art for a Forgotten Faith,” “(Re)Vision: A Preservation of Houston’s Inner Loop,” “Transcendental Smoothie”
“Heroes Alter Egos” Utilizing images of Nixon, Reagan and both Bushes to represent the dark side of American culture has become an artistic cliché, just like JFK’s visage gets used to symbolize good. Now that Shepard Fairey’s ubiquitous Barack Obama poster has proclaimed open season on the presidential candidate’s face…
Steak Night: Under the Volcano
Last week, in my review of Dharma Cafe, I wrote that it was my dharma to eat steak. This week, I further fulfilled my carnivorous destiny by exploring the Houston phenomenon called “steak night.” It’s odd that I have missed out on this tradition for so long. My interest was…
Capsule Stage Reviews: Electile Dysfunction, A Murder of Crows, Unbeatable: A Bold New Musical
Electile Dysfunction Radio Music Theatre has tackled the wild and wacky political season with this funny play, which is full of characters as kooky as the past few months have been. Writer/director Steve Farrell knows just how to put things into perspective. His silly show features the Jones family from…
White Swan Runs Red
Every time Road House comes on TV, we watch it no matter what. As a matter of fact, Patrick Swayze has been the subject of more arguments in our household than should reasonably be expected. We mention this not because it’s particularly pertinent, but because we know it to be…
A Dentist’s Job: Ghost Town
It takes a good while for Ricky Gervais to warm up; it takes even longer for the audience to warm to Ricky Gervais. During the opening minutes of Ghost Town — an occasionally effective mash-up of Ghost, The Sixth Sense and The Frighteners — Gervais, as Bertram Pincus D.D.S., is…
Neil LaBute’s Lakeview Terrace
Earlier this year, when I found myself assigned to jury duty on a drug-related trial at the Los Angeles Superior Court, our jury foreman turned out to be a blond, blue-eyed reality-TV producer from the bedroom community of Altadena. During the jury-selection process, when the judge asked if we had…
Hope for the Houston Texans?
Where’s the love? I was reading the Texans article in this week’s issue, and I damn near choked on my breakfast taco when Richard Connelly referred to my beloved Astros as a “disaster” [“Hope,” by Rich Connelly, September 4]. What the hell, man? Since when is 74-66 a disaster? If…
