Leibman’s Dainty Reuben
Leibman’s on Memorial near Dairy Ashford claims to have the best Reuben in town. According to their menu it’s a “Grilled Triple-Decker with Corned Beef, Sauerkraut, Swiss, and House Dressing on Rye.” At $10 it’s not cheap. But there is something wrong with this take on the sandwich, if you…
1600° of Sear: Fleming’s Now Open at Town & Country Village
Fleming’s Steakhouse at Town & Country Village is now open, the newest entry in the quickly expanding dining scene on the west side of town. This marks the third Fleming’s to open in Houston: the first, in River Oaks, has been serving steaks for six years while location in The…
Album of the Week: Jason Isbell & the 400 Unit
Jason Isbell & the 400 Unit Jason Isbell & the 400 Unit www.jasonisbell.com Jason Isbell just turned 30 this past February, so calling him an old soul might be soft-pedaling things a bit. You just can’t be callow and pen a line like “She left me alone with these pills,…
On The Scene At The Houston Tea Party
In the end, it exceeded the expectations of even its once-seemingly wildly overenthusiastic organizers. Approximately 3,500 pissed-off demonstrators packed Jones Plaza for a warm-up blues-rock concert and harangues about high taxes, debt, bail-outs, and socialism. You’d have to think the crowd was decidedly of the Outside the Beltway persuasion…
Gulf Freeway Should Be Avoided Tomorrow, Unless You’re Honoring Houston Firefighters
Fair warning: If you’re planning on using the Gulf Freeway tomorrow morning, be prepared to wait.Houston Transtar has sent out an alert noting that the funeral services for the two fallen firemen will tie up traffic from 6 am until 1 pm.The details: A combined Memorial Service for fallen Houston…
Down Payment Blues: Musicians With Tax Trouble
Finished that tax return yet? Not to worry: you’ve still got a few hours until midnight, and the post offices are open late. Over the years, these musicians have gotten in hot water with their countries’ internal-revenue collectors as well… Bono Forever a proponent of all things charitable, Bono took…
Oh, Those (Racist) Scamps At Pat Robertson’s Law School
We told you yesterday about Adam Key, a local guy who had been kicked out of Regent University, the law school created by televangelist Pat Robertson, because he had posted a picture on the Internet of Robertson idly scratching his face with his middle finger.We mentioned how Key’s attorney, Randall…
Tonight: Muhammad Ali at White Swan
With a helluva live show and already garnering a devoted following, Muhammad Ali is knocking ’em dead left and right. (OK, we had to get the boxing reference out of the way, because as much as we tried to sidestep it, we couldn’t resist.) Since releasing a split cassette with…
One Way To Get Into The Better Business Bureau: Sue Its Ass Off
After cleaning up its long history of customer complaints, a local moving company is trying to get back in Houston’s chapter of the Better Business Bureau. Their method: a big fat lawsuit.Student Movers, Inc. is suing the local BBB in Harris County District Court for more than $6 million, claiming…
Only Four Cities Are More Miserable For Sports Fans Than Us, Respected Financial Magazine Somehow Reports
Forbes magazine, which does stellar work examining the value of sports franchises, is branching out to assay the psyche of sports fans across the US.It’s put together a list of the 10 Most Miserable Sports Cities, no doubt using highly sophisticated criteria that would please the most exacting scientific journals.Good…
Artist of the Week: Benjamin
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. It didn’t strike us until recently, but there…
Houstonians Apparently Love Their Booty Calls
Are you looking online to get laid, but don’t want to break the law (or your bank) by shelling out money for a prostitute? If so, you might want to check out www.onlinebootycall.com, where Houston ranks as having the second-highest number of the site’s three million members, according to a…
Fighting For The Right To Live When The Hospital Wants To Let You Die
This year marks the 10th anniversary of the Texas Advanced Directive Act, which allows a hospital to discontinue life-sustaining treatment against the wishes of the patient or patient’s family. And to celebrate, the Texas Legislature held hearings this week on an amendment to change the controversial law.Under the current system,…
Uninsured 20somethings Prefer The DIY Method
Linda, a 28-year-old blonde, walked into the tiny restroom of the tony Italian restaurant with a friend. Linda locked the door, and carefully filled a syringe with clear fluid from a vial and tied off her arm to find a vein. Her friend eased the needle under Linda’s arm and…
Bad News For Bill White’s Senate Run?
Chris Cillizza, the hyper-connected political writer at the Washington Post, has gotten his hands on a polling memo outlining the Texas Senate race.The bottom line: Not good news for Bill White.Cillizza says (scroll down for “Texas Senate Numbers”) the poll was taken by Jef Pollock, a Democratic pollster, but notes…
Lonesome Onry and Mean Gets John Nemeth’s Blues
Most new blues records bore the shit out of Lonesome, Onry and Mean. A recent example is Paul Jones’ Starting All Over Again, which, in spite of some tasty picking by Eric Clapton and world-class production, just sounds like a warmed-over cliché. I have no idea why the world needs…
Hypin’ Up Those Tea Parties
Someone alert Kevin Whited at bloghouston! We’re about to mention KTRH again!! (It always seems to annoy him greatly, pointing out how the city’s once-proud and still-largest radio news station has become a mouthpiece for the GOP.)Anyway, the station’s lead story today is, of course, the “tea parties.” According to…
Idol Beat: The Top Seven
Perhaps delusionally, I nursed a desperate hope that this week’s American Idol theme would be “songs used in Quentin Tarantino movies.” Seriously, I even worked up a sort of dream list of songs I thought the seven remaining contestants would choose from brilliantly soundtracked flicks like Jackie Brown, Reservoir Dogs,…
Colbert Doesn’t Get His Node, But Doesn’t Go Away Empty-Handed
The Colbert ReportMon – Thurs 11:30pm / 10:30cSpace Module: Colbert – Sunita Williamscolbertnation.comColbert Report Full EpisodesPolitical HumorNASA Name Contes In case you missed it, the new node to the space station is not going to be named after Stephen Colbert, even though he won the write-in vote in the naming…
Hard Economic Times Coming To Sports Franchises
The NHL doesn’t have a team in Houston, so I’m pretty confident that most of you don’t follow the league, and don’t have any idea about some of the severe financial problems facing many of the southern teams. The NHL has intervened in Phoenix in an attempt to find new…
For April 15: Five Movies About Taxes
April 15 each year brings with it the journalistic challenge of covering yet another “last-rush filers” story, or some clever way to say that it’s the deadline for getting your return in. (We still wonder if anyone’s ever been prosecuted because their return had an April 16 postmark.)The subject of…
Fire Department Deals With A Tough Two Weeks
It’s been a rough two weeks for the Houston Fire Department.Two firefighters died Easter morning inside a burning house, trying to rescue a married couple that wasn’t there, and on March 30, two fire trucks collided in Montrose while responding to fire that didn’t exist, injuring nine firefighters and a…
Burger King Pulls Little Spicy Mexican Ads
Burger King has announced that it will withdraw its European advertising campaign for the Texican Whopper out of respect for the Mexican culture. The Mexican ambassador to Spain wrote a letter to the company complaining about the campaign, which features a tall Texas cowboy and a short Mexican wrestler in…
Thanks, Ike: From Five Parishes To One On Galveston & Bolivar
Five Catholic parishes serving the Galveston area will be consolidated into one, the Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston announced today.Gone are the parishes of St. Patrick, Holy Rosary, Sacred Heart, St. Peter the Apostle and Our Mother of Mercy. In their place will be a single parish, yet unnamed. (Probably not a…
Local Guy’s Suit Against Pat Robertson Helped By Racism From Pat Robertson’s Students
New evidence may help a Spring man prove the freedom of expression case he’s filed in federal court claiming that Regent University, founded by televangelist Pat Robertson in Virginia, unconstitutionally kicked him out of school for posting a picture on the Internet of Robertson scratching his face with his middle…
Feast and Reef Nab Top Honors Once Again
Feast and Reef have once again been honored at a national level, this time as two of the Best New U.S. Restaurants according to Travel + Leisure magazine. But more than two Houston restaurants were recognized: Textile and Voice also made the list of 50 eateries across the nation honored…
You’re Gonna Miss Me: Rock’s Most Messed-Up Murders
As many of you have already undoubtedly heard, Phil Spector was convicted yesterday in the murder of Lana Clarkson. More famous now for his bafflingly insane hair than the records he produced for the Righteous Brothers, Leonard Cohen and the Beatles, Spector invented the Wall of Sound production style; the Beach…
Driftwood, Texas — Not A Gay Mecca, But Maybe An Inspiration
Imfromdriftwood.com, a blog devoted to posting true stories about gay people, by gay people, caught our eye when Patrick from Galveston posted an entertaining story last week. Apparently, high school teachers in Galveston can’t tell the difference between homosexuality and African-American heritage. The blog is a little more than two…
ZZ Top, Aerosmith Hit Woodlands July 17
Monday morning, word came down from Aerosmith and ZZ Top’s respective camps, via Billboard, that the two boogie-rocking bands are teaming up for a massive world tour. After some digging, Rocks Off found out the tour makes its Houston-area stop Friday, July 17, at the Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion. It…
The Stimulus Package And The McCain-est County In Texas
We wrote after the election about King County, the Texas county that gave John McCain his biggest percentage margin in the presidential race.Fully 93 percent of King County’s voters went for the Republican, even though the county clerk told us the county is “pretty Democratic.”Eight voters — not eight percent,…
Tonight: Will NASA Discover A Sense Of Humor?
Tonight’s the night!On tonight’s Colbert Report, the nation will learn whether NASA has a sense of humor or not.They famously had a contest to name the new node on the space station; they didn’t take any of our suggestions. But Colbert’s fans put him over the top through write-in votes,…
U2 Ticket Presale Going On Now
If you want to make sure you get tickets to U2’s 360 Tour stop at Reliant Stadium October 14, your best shot is to sign up at www.reliantpark.com for the presale going on from now until 5 p.m. Thursday. Once you’re registered, you’ll be able to click the “Find Tickets” button and…
Houston!! Are You Ready For A Tea Par-Tay?!?!?!
Tomorrow is the big day: The Houston area will be the site of a dozen or so tea parties.They’re going on all over the country. It’s possible that the Fox News network might provide some coverage.The parties are to protest all that spending that’s going on in Washington; you are…
Lonesome Onry and Mean: New Albums from Webb Wilder and Commander Cody
Sometimes Lonesome, Onry and Mean flat dreads going out to the mailbox. Why? Because there’s no telling what musical mediocrity or aural atrocity lies ticking like an Al-Qaeda dirty bomb inside those bubble-packs with faraway foreign addresses like Saginaw, Michigan or Sausalito, California. I haven’t had my typing hand blown…
Tonight: The Magpies at the Continental Club
[A review from the Magpies’ January Continental show is here.] My son, a guitar plunker raised on huge doses of Rockpile and Joe Ely, tipped me to the Magpies. He saw them at Hayes Carll’s Stingaree Festival about a year ago and pronounced them the hardest-rocking band of the whole…
Customs Agent Offers Wide Variety Of Services: Will Smuggle Cocaine, Aliens
You can’t specialize in a market like this; you’ve got to be a jack-of-all-trades to keep your head above water.There are some Customs & Border Protection inspectors out there who focus strictly on taking bribes to bring illegal aliens into the country. There are others who concentrate strictly on taking…
Mexico Protests Tex-Mex Commercial
The Mexican ambassador to Spain has written a letter to Burger King objecting to a new ad campaign for the “Texican Whopper.” The print ads and commercials, which appear only in Europe, feature an unlikely pair of roommates–a tall cowboy who travels by horse and short Mexican who answers the…
The Astros: Even Worse Than We Thought?
Sure it’s just one week. Just seven games. But damn. The Astros are bad. Historically bad. How bad? The Astros record of 1-6 is the team’s worst start to a season in 25 years. But it doesn’t stop there. The Astros have failed to score in 27 of their last…
Rockets-Hornets: Point Guards Finally Get Defensive
(Note: This is written by Ben DuBose. We’re working on that byline glitch, honest.) At least for one night, the Rockets answered their only remaining defensive questions in a resounding way. Since dealing incumbent point guard Rafer Alston at the February trade deadline, skeptics have wondered if the Rockets could…
Eminem’s Comeback: Yay or Nay?
So Eminem is back. Eminem. A man who is a paradox wrapped inside an enigma and served with two joints and a beer. The man has totally homophobic and misogynistic lyrics, yet he has performed with Elton John and is, by all accounts, a loving single dad to his little…
Happy Birthday, “Louie Louie”
Forty-six years ago today, a group of teenagers gathered in a Portland, Oregon, studio to record a ridiculously simple anthem that would go on to become one of the most influential – and most misunderstood – songs in rock history. The group was the Kingsmen – none of whom was…
One Day, Four Bank Robberies
Bad day to be working in, or visiting, a bank.Four Houston banks were robbed today, the FBI says.One woman hit up two in the same strip center, which is certainly a time-saving strategy that should be applauded, if it wasn’t for the whole robbing-a-bank part. Or the fact that the…
Snackshot: Nachos at the Juice Box
While some fuss has been made over the new food at Minute Maid Park this year — Aramark is now offering items such as “healthy” salads, fish tacos, various vegetarian items and a rather unappealing-sounding “tumbled Texas chicken” — it’s the classics that people will continue to turn to at ball…
Aftermath: Morrissey at Jones Hall
Tropical Storm Morrissey blew through Jones Hall Saturday night, leaving a full house of hyperventilated fans – never more so than when, during “Let Me Kiss You,” he removed his shirt to reveal an enviable set of abs – and more than a few moist eyes in its wake; after the…
WTF Is Up With All The Cursing Arrests In Galveston County?
Believe it or not, a third person has been ticketed for cursing in public in Galveston County.First it was Kathryn Fridge, arrested for dropping an F-bomb in a La Marque Wal-Mart. Then it was the guy from Queens, ticketed for talking like a guy from Queens, in a Galveston diner.Now…
Tonight: Trapt at Scout Bar
What’s amazing about bands like Bay Area quartet Trapt is how many of them are lurking out there in the musical ether. Each major city has to have about a dozen or so of them, with varying names playing the same clubs, composed of guys who all look the same…
Twitter With The Rockets
(Note: This post is by our Rockets writer Ben DuBose. We’re efforting, as they say in TV/radio, to fix the byline glitch.)Last Thursday, I told a friend I didn’t understand the Twitter obsession and what it offered that, say, a traditional Facebook status did not. Less than 24 hours later,…
Sonidos y Mas: Getz/Gilberto Turns 45
2009 marks the 45th anniversary of Getz/Gilberto, the album that established bossa nova in the international market – something that came at the right time, as the popularity of the unapologetically apolitical genre had begun to wean in its native Brazil. But it was not like Verve Records was excited…
Easter Leftovers: Deviled Ham
Deviled ham, made of ground-up ham with mayo, mustard and pickle relish, is one of my most vivid Easter memories. Late on Easter Sunday night, after all the festivities were concluded, my dad would get out the old hand-crank meat grinder from under the sink and grind up the leftover…
One Wild Night Out For The Easter Bunny
We hope the Easter Bunny made it out to leave treats for your kids Sunday.Because his weekend was pretty hectic. Club-hopping through Montrose and Midtown, hitting JR’s, South Beach, Escobar and Rich’s can wear a rabbit out.Click here and here and here and here for the photos of one wild night…
Relax, AIG: Houston-Area Fourth-Graders Love You
A Washington Post reporter was apparently at the offices of disgraced financial company AIG when she noticed something on the walls.Kid’s drawings telling AIG executives to not feel so bad. “We know you’re not villains,” said one.Did some AIG executive order his kids’ class to cough up some sympathy?No. It’s…
Crunchy Bacon Chocolate Bar
The best thing I got in my Easter Basket was this Mo’s Bacon Bar from Vosges chocolate company. The texture is not unlike a Nestle’s Crunch, but instead of crispy rice, the crunchy bits here are pieces of alderwood smoked bacon and coarse alderwood smoked salt. When you open up…
Turning the Screw: Bun B, Asher Roth, Eminem, The Kanye, 50 Cent, Jim Jones, LL Cool J, Chris Brown, Baby Bash 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: “Swang On Em,” Bun B feat. Lupe Fiasco Wire To Wire Asher Roth makes a surprisingly lucid point regarding…
Boxing: Williams Overwhelms Wizened Wright
Saturday night’s middleweight bout between aging former world champion Winky Wright and up-and-comer Paul Williams was nothing short of painful to watch. Williams began round one at a frenetic pace that tested Wright’s trademark defense to its limit. At first, Williams’ average 100 punches a round did little connecting, but…
Houston’s John Bradshaw On Virtue, 9/11 And Consorting With Galveston Madams
Houstonian and author John Bradshaw spoke with Hair Balls about his latest book, Reclaiming Virtue: How We Can Develop the Moral Intelligence to do the Right Thing at the Right Time for the Right Reason.Hair Balls: The title of your book is Reclaiming Virtue. What is virtue?John Bradshaw: Virtue means…
Aeros Limp Into The Playoffs, But They Keep Hope Alive
The Aeros were struggling badly coming into this weekend. With the playoffs on the line, they had suddenly forgotten how to score, and with injuries to their top goalies, the team was having trouble stopping the puck.The Aeros lost 3-2 to the San Antonio Rampage in overtime on Friday night,…
The Houston Press Now On Flickr; LOLCat Submissions Not Accepted
That’s right. We’re on Flickr now and we want your photos. Amateur or professional, we’re looking for the best pictures from around Houston to feature on Hair Balls each week. Sporting events, concerts, parties, neighborhoods, parks, restaurants, bars, architecture, museums, funny or serious, artistic or straightforward, we’re looking for the most…
The Glenn Beck Insanity Extravaganza Is Headed To Houston, Unfortunately
Any sentient human being who knows of Glenn Beck can pretty much agree he’s a clown. Watch this if you have any doubts. (The best part: After this jaw-dropping bit of utter stupidity, Gov. Rick Perry apparently told Beck he was proud to be on the show.) The only way…
Rent:Back With Its Stars, And Still Relevant
Photo courtesy TUTS When Broadway performer Gwen Stewart heard they were closing down Rent last September, she was sad for a lot of reasons. She’d rejoined the Tony- and Pulitzer-Prize-winning show as Mrs. Jefferson so there was the whole job angle. She loves the songs and the book in this…
Ha-Peep Easter!
Easter has arrived, which means one very important thing for millions of Americans across the nation: they can once again feel free to indulge in the sweets or wine or Mexican food they gave up for Lent. To celebrate this momentous day, we’ve compiled the greatest moments in Peeps for your…
Aftermath: Bamboozle Roadshow at House of Blues
This year’s Bamboozle Roadshow, which passed through Houston Thursday night, fused together a variety of musical flavors among up-and-coming bands Mercy Mercedes, NeverShoutNever!, The Cab We the Kings and Forever the Sickest Kids. (The tour is sponsored by the Wonka candy company, which allowed concertgoers a preview of its new…
Last Chance Weekend: Two Big Museum Shows End Their Runs
Two of this year’s biggest museum shows are closing this Sunday, so you have mere hours to see them.First is “The Birth of Christianity: A Jewish Story” at the Houston Museum for Natural Science. Highlights for the exhibit include an oil lamp from the time of Herod (you remember Herod…
The Littlest Morrissey Fans and More
Well, tomorrow is the big night, when Morrissey himself will be causing swoons left and right all over Jones Hall and, no doubt, the greater Theater District area. (See if any tickets are left here.) Rocks Off was a little curious how one shy, sensitive, verbally gifted bloke from Manchester…
Saturday: “Hip-Hop Hope Family Fun Day”
Tomorrow, from 12 p.m. to 5 p.m., Rap-A-Lot Records, local Christian rap label Much Luvv Records, and a slew of local businesses/ministries, unite to offer Hip-Hop Hope Family Fun Day, an event meant to uplift the community and celebrate more than ten years of community service at the Prince Complex,…
$13 at DNR European Café and Deli
Where: DNR European Café and Deli, 4621 Montrose Blvd, 713-529-0367 What $13 will get you: That’s way more than you ever need to spend here. We tried anyway. Take the quintessential European fast food joint–the döner kebab stand, which was invented in Berlin by Turkish immigrants–Americanize it and stick it…
The Feds Hit Fort Bend County (Sorta) For Screwing Hispanic Voters
The U.S. Department of Justice has just about settled its claims that Fort Bend County discriminates against Hispanic voters. According to a lawsuit filed by the department, the county was first notified that it was violating federal voting laws in 2004. Documents from the Justice Department that detail the agreement…
This Week In Deliciousness
First, let’s have a round of applause for Robb Walsh and Katharine Shilcutt, the glue holding Eating Our Words together. Without them, we’d have had three articles this week, one of them about places you can’t actually eat at anymore. Robb started us out with a piece on a little…
For Good Friday: The Five Best Torture Scenes
Today is Good Friday, so named because it’s the day they finally offed that pompous windbag from Nazareth who would just not shut up about all his “Love your brother” crap. Have you met any of my brothers?Of course, the powers-that-be decided they wouldn’t just kill Jesus, they had to…
The Departed: More Restaurant Closings
Well, here’s the latest list of local restaurants to go under the scythe. We were hoping the list was going to grow shorter. Unfortunately, it doesn’t look like that’s in the cards this time around. Sirenuse Bistro in the Woodlands Big Island Hawaiian BBQ on Cypress Como se Dice on…
Eyeballin’: Rory Gallagher Live in Cork
By the time of his 1995 death at the age of 47 due to complications from liver transplant surgery, Rory Gallagher was already a giant blues-rock guitar hero – albeit in pretty much every country besides the U.S. And it’s a shame that these shores never cottoned to the Irishman,…
Hey, Houston: Are You Ready For A Three-Hour Commute?
In 26 years, the average Houstonian will be forced to endure a three-hour commute, according to a mobility study submitted to the Greater Houston Partnership’s Transit Planning Committee. The study was presented by Ray Chong, the City of Houston’s outgoing Deputy Director of Public Works for Traffic and Transportation.As president…
Starbucks’ Artisan Bacon Sandwich: Taking One for the Team
I took one for the team this morning and finally consented to try one of Starbucks’ new artisan breakfast sandwiches that have been created as part of an effort to put “real food” into the stores aside from fatty pastries and dry croissants. Y’all owe me for this one. The Good: The…
Tonight: Gavin DeGraw at House of Blues
Since 2003’s catchy as hell folk-grunge single “I Don’t Want To Be” hit America’s ears, Gavin DeGraw has been firmly implanted on pop radio. Routinely lumped in with the John Mayers and Jason Mrazes of the world, DeGraw has a decidedly rougher edge, wielding a soulful R&B inflection in his…
Saturday: KTRU’s Free Outdoor Show with Ted Leo and More
We hope we have some gas left in our metaphorical tanks for Saturday’s “KTRU Outdoor Show.” Between SXSW and Westheimer Block Party still waking us up at night like PTSD-plagued soldiers, our festival energy and motivation is quickly dwindling. But between the Pasadena boys in Buxton, B L A C…
The BARC Survey The City Should Be Conducting
BARC is asking for the public’s input on how to improve the shelter by completing an online survey. According to the preamble, the Mayor’s office is ready to roll up its sleeves and get to the bottom of the “complexity” of BARC’s problems. (Apparently, the 2005 Mayor’s Task Force and…
Houstonian Succeeds In Leaving Lufkin Drivers In The Lurch
The boss told his employees to call him “Judge,” since he said he used to be one in Jasper County.Working out of Houston, he ran the Stonebridge Management Corporation, which was a trucking company.Until their trucks started getting repossessed. And until “The Judge,” who turned out to not have ever…
Houston Law Firm Involved In Pennsylvania Political Fight, Something That Would Never Happen Here
The Houston law firm of Bailey, Perrin & Bailey is a mega-torts kinda place, ringing up big victories in cases against, as their website puts it, “Phillips Petroleum, British Petroleum, Owens Corning, Dow Chemical, Wyeth Pharmaceuticals, Eli Lilly, Metropolitan Life, Shell, Exxon, and Halliburton to name a few.”Name partner Ken…
Five Spot: H-Town Veteran Klondike Kat
Welcome back to Five Spot. Every Friday, we’ll examine a recent bit of music news and, sometimes awkwardly, tie it to a bit of Houston rap. It’s five videos and occasional cussing. Send tips to introducingliston@gmail.com. The first time we ever met Klondike Kat was at ScrewFest a couple of…
Hunting for a Chocolate Bunny
I ended up in charge of putting together fancy Easter baskets for esteemed relatives who are coming in from out of town. My usual collection of hollow milk chocolate rodents and marshmallow chicks from Walgreen’s wouldn’t do this time. So I drove around town looking for some quality chocolate bunnies…
The Astros: Off To A Rough Start, Shockingly
That’s three games down for the Astros, 159 to go. And at 1-2, the Astros are already in last place. The Astros were outscored 17-11 in those three games as the high-powered Astros lineup was, for the most part, shut down the by the superior Cubs pitching. Richard Justice says not…
You’re Looking Like That To Rob A Bank, FBI Asks Incredulously
The FBI, in its never-ending effort to stem the rising tide of bank robberies in Houston, is now turning to fashion criticism. Always anxious to grab media attention, they’ve gone beyond nicknaming robbers to providing a Mr. Blackwell take on things. A pair of white folks robbed a Wells Fargo…
Hair Balls Gets Even More Balls
In case you haven’t noticed, Hair Balls has got more balls then ever before. The Houston Press sports blog Ballz has been combined into the HB blog, so in addition to everything else you get here you can now keep up with the chronic ineptitude of the local sports teams. Whether…
Fresh Mango
Mango’s has undergone a serious facelift. What previously used to be a mediocre Mexican restaurant (owned by the same folks who run El Pueblito) at Westheimer and Taft has been tranformed into a vegetarian restaurant/coffee house/bar/live music venue. The only similarity left between the old Mango’s and the new Mango’s…
Fozzy Bear on ‘Shrooms: “Gooby” Hits Theaters Next Week at WorldFest
We don’t know what the folks at the upcoming WorldFest Houston Film Festival are loading their pipes with, but judging by the trailer for “Gooby”, one the festival’s official selections, we really want to score some. “Gooby” is the story of ah, um; we’re guessing a space alien that looks…
Aftermath: Bruce Springsteen & the E Street Band at Toyota Center
Bruce Springsteen missed the Great Depression – which no doubt bugs him every time he thinks about what a wealth of material those years provided for one of his idols, Woody Guthrie – but he seems determined to make up for it during these days of massive job-shedding, frozen credit and paper-thin stimulus…
FBI Seeking Information on Compass Bank Robbers
The Houston FBI Bank Robbery Task Force is asking for help in identifying the latest geniuses to rob a bank. It happened at noon today at the Compass Bank at 7040 Lawndale. One man robbed the bank while the other drove the getaway truck. They fled in “an older model,…
Feast: An Outstanding Newcomer, According to New York Times
New York Times food writer Frank Bruni is on an enviable assignment these days, scouring the country for the best and most creative new restaurants. It’s no surprise to anyone who’s eaten a meal at Feast, the almost indefinable English restaurant on Westheimer, that the nose-to-tail purveyors made Bruni’s list. To…
Diamond Durst: Neil, Fred and Other Musical Tweets
Hhhoo-kay. This was the story that made us here at Rocks Off check to make sure it wasn’t April 1 again. It would be just like April Fool’s Day to feature us in some kind of cosmic Groundhog Day sequel without letting us know first. But no, evidently this really…
If You’re Going to Smoke, Stay Away From Siamese Cats
Texas A&M’s College of Veterinary Medicine has tackled the question of whether second hand smoke can give heart disease or cancer to your pets – and comes up with a profound maybe. “Laboratory studies using dogs trained to smoke cigarettes have shown that they develop typical lung pathology similar to…
Hey, Guess What: Morrissey’s Not Sold Out After All
Sometimes Rocks Off thinks he hears things, and he doesn’t. Sometimes he gets really excited about a show and figures everybody else must be just as excited. Or maybe he just needs to ease up on the mescaline. Either way, for some reason he thought Morrissey’s show at Jones Hall Saturday…
Tonight: Jubal Lee Young at Pappasito’s Sugar Land
Pappasito’s Cantina in Sugar Land begins a two-month long Thursday music series tonight with Jubal Lee Young. Young has been in the area a week now, having opened for Carrie Rodriguez last week at Conroe’s First Thursday series. He’ll do an instore at Cactus Records on Friday at 5:30 before…
Can’t Get It Out of My Head: Anya Marina’s “Whatever You Like”
So in addition to not being able to get T.I’s “Whatever You Like” outta our skulls since last fall, here comes blonde pixie Anya Marina’s sultry acoustic version of the hip-hop hit. Marina is based out of San Diego, Calif., and when she’s not writing sweet lil’ acoustipop with her…
Glenn Beck Takes a Break From the Economy; Talks with Marcus Luttrell, Former SEAL Who Chased Down Men Accused of Shooting His Yellow Lab
If you have been listening to right-wing pundit Glenn Beck’s daily syndicated radio show on 740 AM KTRH in the mornings or watching his Fox News Channel TV show in the evenings, no doubt you have heard the sad tale of former Navy SEAL and Navy Cross recipient Marcus Luttrell…
Texas Salutes You, Mr. (or Ms.) Beer Drinker!
Why do we salute you? Because your enjoyment of a cold mug of suds has contributed $16 billion to the Texas economy in the last year, far more than our budding entertainment industry (only $409 million), and provided over 78,000 jobs at breweries and distributors across the state. For every…
BARC’s Problems Still Far Beyond the Scope of the City’s Resources
A faulty anesthesia machine, a dog that nearly escaped during euthanasia, poor lighting, and a busted air conditioning system were among BARC’s surgery room problems highlighted in an intra-office e-mail, according to newly released public records. “One of the [anesthesia] machines has a 02 reader that gets stuck,” Management Analyst…
Idol Beat: The Top Eight Results
First things first: in yesterday’s Idol Beat, I made reference to how excited I was for Idol Gives Back, a wildly successful annual event/trainwreck wherein the program brings a ton of celebrities on in an effort to raise money for various worthy charaties. I’ve just learned that Idol Gives Back…
I Have a Problem With The Hills. Like a Drug Problem.
Seriously. Why do I torture myself? Why do I find myself creating an appointment television relationship with MTV’s reality show, The Hills? And by reality I mean as real as Heidi Montag’s tits. Frankly, I think it’s pretty much basically sick to be a thirtysomething married woman who is so…
Big Honking Hamburguesa
The hamburguesa estilo Monterrey at Tostada Regia is una whopper grande. At first I though $7 was kind of pricey for a hamburger at a taco stand, but when the waitress delivered the goods, I changed my mind. When I took the burger home, my housemates demanded I cut it…
Psychic: Your Unborn Baby Says To Put A Mini-Fan Near Your Testicles
When Houston psychic Kim O’Neill was in her late twenties, she was unhappily employed at an advertising agency. In a moment of despair, she shut her office door and cried out, “I need help! Someone help me!” That evening an angel appeared in her living room. “When he started to…
Disney’s Beauty and the Beast — The Broadway Musical
There are two kinds of stars at today’s Disney’s Beauty and the Beast — The Broadway Musical. There’s the Big Dipper kind, and then there’s the undiscovered-talent kind. Rebecca Moyes and Danny Kirkwood are the latter. Those names don’t mean anything to you now, but wait a few years, and…
Jesse Lott and Javier de Villota
The Station Museum of Contemporary Art paired Houstonians Jesse Lott: The Urban Frontier and Javier de Villota: DeHumanization Echo for a shared show not only because their styles are similar, but also because the purpose of their art is similar. The work of both men reflects their humanistic outlook. Lott,…
Everyone Loves a Good Tsunami
When disaster strikes, there are the victims, and then there are all those well-meaning do-gooders who want to help those victims. Sujit Saraf’s Everyone Loves a Good Tsunami, presented here by Shunya Theatre, a Houston group devoted to providing a theatrical voice for the South Asian-American experience, tackles the latter…
Disney on Ice
Here’s how you can see the Little Mermaid, Peter Pan, Simba and Lilo all in one sitting: Disney on Ice: Mickey & Minnie’s Magical Journey. Mickey and his girlfriend Minnie go on a long journey skating from an underwater kingdom, to the African plains, to lush Hawaii, to a fairy-tale…
Children of Eden
Stephen Schwartz, the man behind Godspell and Wicked, tackles the conflict between fathers and sons, mothers and daughters in Children of Eden, presented here by Masquerade Theatre. Filled with rock, folk and gospel music, Children uses two ancient stories, the Garden of Eden and the Great Flood (both present in…
“Retratos y Banderas”
No identity is safe with painter Stanley Bermúdez. In the portraits of “Retratos y Banderas,” the Venezuela-raised artist uses vertical lines and bold, unblended colors to depict historical figures and family members, offering them new life in an alternate pop art universe. Fidel Castro is no longer a fatigue-wearing revolutionary…
Earth Day Houston
Say happy birthday to Discovery Green during today’s Earth Day festivities. There’s a Mothers for Clean Air Earth Day 5K, green transportation, green art, green learning games, a green farmer’s market, green music, green food — oh, wait. No, it’s normal music and food, but the folks behind the event,…
The Future of Houston’s Former Suburbs: A View from Sharpstown — Infrastructure, Education, and Quality of Life
What’s Houston going to look like in 50 years? In a hundred? By then we might be a mega-metropolis stretching beyond Highway 6 to the outskirts of San Antonio. Can’t happen? Well, that’s what the folks who lived in a suburb called Sharpstown used to think. In the lecture The…
A Poetic Response to Marlene Dumas
What rhymes with art? We’re hoping the writers at A Poetic Response to Marlene Dumas have more mature responses than ours. Sasha West, a poet and former managing editor of Gulf Coast: A Journal of Literature and Fine Arts, has selected a handful of local wordsmiths whose musings share themes…
Movies Houstonians Love: The Sound of Music
Known as reality TV’s sexiest and most romantic couple, Joyce and Uchenna Agu were winners of the seventh season of The Amazing Race. Once they got back home to Houston with their million-dollar prize, the Agus started The Great Raise Houston, a fund-raiser patterned after the reality show. It’s no…
Nevada Barr
At the opening of Borderline, Anna Pigeon is having a bit of a rough patch. She’s on leave from her job at the National Park Service with post-traumatic stress disorder (a wolf study went horribly wrong last year — don’t ask) and isn’t sure she’ll be allowed back even after…
Easter in the Gardens
Egg hunts are just one of the many activities planned for kids during Easter in the Gardens. There’s also a petting zoo (featuring lots of bunnies as well as other adorable, huggable critters), music, games and, of course, a meet-and-greet with the star of the day, the Easter Bunny. If…
Dance Salad Festival
There is just one thing to gripe about when it comes to the Houston International Dance Coalition’s annual Dance Salad Festival: the name. This is no longer a salad. It’s a mile-long buffet. The 17th annual installment features more than a dozen companies and soloists from eight countries (67 dancers…
Sordid Lives
It’s a jumble of crazy relatives, country music, drunks, cheaters, a female ex-con, a Vietnam vet with two wooden legs and a Tammy Wynette-look-alike transvestite who’s in the nuthouse in the stage comedy Sordid Lives (what else could it be called?). 8 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays; 3 p.m. Sundays. Through…
“2009 School of Art Masters Thesis” Opening Reception
The Blaffer Gallery’s”2009 School of Art Masters Thesis” exhibition is like an intriguing tasting menu for art lovers. The School of Art students represented in the event have produced a fantastic array of work in a variety of media. Highlights include Emily Sloan’s take on the snow globe not since…
Bill Engvall
The man who made “here’s your sign” a catchphrase, blue collar comic Bill Engvall, might be the only nationally known funny man working today to come from Galveston (yes, he’s BOI). He says he was born during a hurricane and that the drop in the barometric pressure affected his brain,…
The Seven Year Itch
The film version of The Seven Year Itch gave us Marilyn Monroe in a white dress standing over a New York City subway grate, its hot air blowing up her skirt while she writhed suggestively. That was as sexy as the 1950s ever got. Today Theatre Southwest’s production of The…
“Round 30: Home. Space. Place.”
Stephanie Diamond, Lance Flowers and Lisa Qualls are among the artists presenting their work at “Round 30: Home. Space. Place.” The Project Row Houses exhibit focuses on, well, home, space and place, of course. But it also takes a look at identity, personal and group struggles against oppression and the…
Mauritius
The world of philately may not seem the stuff of great drama, but if anyone can make studying rare stamps interesting theater, it’s playwright Theresa Rebeck. Those who saw the Alley Theatre’s productions of Bad Dates or The Scene can attest to Rebeck’s fine theatrical acumen. Her 2007 Mauritius focuses…
Hobson’s Choice
The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston’s film division continues its centenary homage to director David Lean with the 1953 movie Hobson’s Choice. Set in 1890s England, Choice is the story of a bootmaker (Charles Laughton in an excellent performance) who wants to pick out a suitable husband for his daughter…
The Easter Orange Hunt
Leave it to the offbeat artistic visionaries at local treasure The Orange Show to put its own spin on an Easter tradition with the Easter Orange Hunt. Here, anxious kiddies will be on the prowl for (what else?) oranges! But don’t worry, if your tyke has a sweet tooth, there…
Two Star Symphony
Spend some time with Two Star Symphony during Discovery Green’s Sundays in the Park for a lovely, if eerie, afternoon. The local string quartet will be performing its classical, Danny Elfman-esque tunes as part of the Sunday concert series. In the past, Two Star has used its symphonic powers to…
Life in 1860 Houston: the Civil War and Reconstruction
In the 1960s, Houston was concerned with civil rights and the antiwar movement. In the 1860s Houston was concerned with civil rights and the antiwar movement. At the “Life in 1860 Houston: the Civil War and Reconstruction” exhibit currently on display at the Houston Library’s Julia Ideson Building, you’ll see…
“Way Way Out West”
What’s Asian Heritage Month without a little art? “Way Way Out West” guarantees that you won’t have to find out with a presentation of ceramic, photographic and mixed-media works by Bennie Flores Ansell, Sandria Hu, Rahul Mitra and Terry Hagiwara. 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Mondays through Fridays. Through May…
Ariel Pink’s Haunted Graffiti, Vivian Girls
Ariel Rosenberg’s creations are like a musical magic lantern. Through tricks of arcane technology, Rosenberg re-creates common, recognizable elements, but generates them as warped and shifting shadows of themselves. The slightly manic creative force behind Ariel Pink’s Haunted Graffiti, Rosenberg owes a heavy debt to ’70s and ’80s pop, notably…
Capsule Stage Reviews: Constant Star, Hunter Gatherers, Little Women
Constant Star Five actresses portray the complex post-Reconstruction pioneer Ida B. Wells in Tazewell Thompson’s glorious “play with music,” but by the time the tribute’s over, you’ll think there should be more. For someone whose incredible work laid the moral bedrock for our country, crusader Wells has been sadly relegated…
Split Lip Rayfield
Critics likely will never agree on whether Split Lip Rayfield should be classified as bluegrass or country. The good news is that it really doesn’t matter. The band is doubly blessed with top-notch fast-picking skills and a twang more natural than any that Keith Urban could muster, so fans of…
Calliope’s Po-Boy and The Big Mamou
Dish Lisa Carnley recently moved to Houston, where she’s serving authentic poor boys, gumbo and red beans and rice at her new place, Calliope’s Po-Boy (2130 Jefferson, 713-222-8333). “Our family is from New Orleans, and after Hurricane Katrina, we decided to move to Hattiesburg, Mississippi, and open a poor boy…
Morrissey Taps His Never-ending Reserve of Lyrical Bons Mots
Whether you call him Moz, the Mozzfather, Steve, the Pope of Mope or just plain Morrissey, there’s no doubt the former Smiths front man possesses one of the deadliest poison pens in alternative rock. In honor of Morrissey’s show Saturday at Jones Hall — Chatter would like to remind everyone…
Sweet ‘n’ Spicy Calamari at Vic & Anthony’s
Terrific trifecta: There are three flavors that, when combined, form a perfect harmony. They are sweet, savory and spicy, and they can all be found in the calamari ($10.50) at Vic & Anthony’s (1510 Texas, 713-228-1111). The sweetness comes from sweet caramelized onions, as well as sweet red peppers, which…
Texas Punk Music Is Gay
Just as gays and lesbians from Wayne County to the Screamers and Hüsker Dü shaped the socially confrontational music of the “Blank Generation,” Texas punk stalwarts like the Dicks’ Gary Floyd, Randy “Biscuit” Turner of the Big Boys and Dianna Ray of the MyDolls proved that queer Texas punks were…
The Rise and Fall of the Stanford Financial Group
On an overcast March day, Rosemary Mazor is saying goodbye to friends at the Stanford Financial Group in the Galleria area. This week, the doors are open for employees who didn’t get time to gather their belongings before federal agents raided the building February 17. Mazor had already collected her…
Violent Miscreants and Power-Tripping Sociopaths
Observe and Report writer-director Jody Hill makes mean-spirited tragedies that studios market as inane comedies because otherwise no one would pay a cent to see them. That’s more or less what happened to Hill’s The Foot Fist Way in 2008, two years after its Sundance twirl first caught the attention…
Boxing, Sex and Madness
Though he no longer sports the black trunks, sockless black boots and gut-twisting scowl with which he cut such a menacing figure in the ring, Mike Tyson hasn’t lost his knack for making an entrance. When he arrives at the Green Valley Ranch resort in Henderson, Nevada, he does so…
Little Joe Washington: Texas Fire Line
On his second album for Austin’s Dialtone Records (following 2003’s Houston Guitar Blues), the blues flows so effortlessly out of Little Joe Washington’s guitar it’s hard to believe any of these 14 songs needed more than one take. Washington’s feverish runs and penetrating leads — which fly by at a…
The Big Show
When talking about professional wrestling, it’s hard not to make those annoying air quotes with your fingers every 15 seconds. Just look at WrestleMania, the “sport’s” premiere event. More than 72,000 people attended WrestleMania XXV Sunday at Reliant Stadium (in addition to the millions watching on pay-per-view) and witnessed a…
Heavy Lifting
Anvil Bar and Refuge (1424 Westheimer) seems like the type of place that, if it were empty (which so far it never is) and you wandered in alone on a rainy afternoon, the bartender would instinctively know to play John Coltrane’s “In a Sentimental Mood” and then start talking about…
Poster-Sized Post-its
Rachel Hecker has made art from the ephemera of daily life — the kinds of stray bits and pieces of paper you find floating around in your desk drawer, tucked in your wallet or stuffed in your purse. In Hecker’s hands, grocery lists, store receipts, fortune cookie fortunes, Post-it notes…
Spain Colored Orange
Psychedelic pop group Spain Colored Orange, winner of Best Band at the 2006 Houston Press Music Awards, finds itself in a curious position for its Warehouse Live show Friday night. It’s the release party for the band’s first full-length effort, Sneaky Like a Villain, but the songs are already old…
Bellamy Brothers
Not many people remember that Howard and David Bellamy, a.k.a. the Bellamy Brothers, began their career with the cheeseball, saccharine pop smash “Let Your Love Flow” in 1976. Fewer still, probably, know they originally honed their craft on the Southern chitlin’ circuit with the likes of Eddie Floyd (“Knock On Wood”)…
Blowfly
Under his given name, Miami native Clarence Reid penned numerous soul songs for the likes of Betty Wright, Sam & Dave, K.C. and the Sunshine Band and himself. Then he became Blowfly, turning to a full-time career of singing about dildos, dirty pussy, big dicks and assorted sexual antics on…
T.K. BITTERMAN’S RUSTY NAIL
I guess the front-row tickets and backstage passes Brit Brit was supposed to send me got lost in the mail. Whatever. I found myself having a rusty nail at T.K. Bitterman’s (2010 W. Alabama, 713-529-8979) instead of her concert last Monday night. I decided to conduct a survey of the small, but friendly, crowd…
Capsule Art Reviews: “Dennis Harper — Ritual Prototypes for the Afterlife,” “Face Off: A Selection of Old Masters and Others from The Menil Collection,” “Get a Rope,” “Sarah Sudhoff — Repository”
“Dennis Harper — Ritual Prototypes for the Afterlife” Dennis Harper’s delightfully subversive installation at Lawndale features a video interview with a man describing his religious upbringing, how he never really believed in the afterlife but felt obligated due to family pressure. He even wanted very much to believe but always…
Shooter Jennings & the .357s: Bad Magick
“I don’t wanna be a legend / I just wanna be a man,” Shooter Jennings sings on “Living Proof,” a Hank Williams Jr. cover and one of two previously unreleased songs on Bad Magick, which otherwise rounds up the best of Jennings’s three studio albums starting with 2005’s Put the…
Island Grinds
The Spam musubi at Little Island Grill on Westheimer looked strange. There was so much nori wrapped around the outside of the sushi roll, I couldn’t see the pink pork product inside. It tasted okay, though I would have liked a thicker slice of Spam. The grilled shrimp and fried…
The DWI Bride and Houston’s Love for Rush
Spaced City The Bride Cried More complaints from the DWI bride by CATHY MATUSOW So it’s your wedding night. Your new hubby is driving you from the reception to your hotel. You get stopped. He gets charged with DWI, and you get charged with public intoxication. You’re wearing your wedding dress…
The Lonely Island: Incredibad
Did Saturday Night Live honcho Lorne Michaels save his show by annexing the comedic talents of The Lonely Island? It’s probably too soon to say, but there’s no question that Akiva Schaffer, Jorma Taccone and Andy Samberg have, in recent years, injected SNL with much-needed cultural cachet — the trio’s…
From Homelessness to Wine Snobbery
Houston’s Homeless Make a donation: Thank you for your excellent article on the new breed of homelessness in Houston [“People Like Us,” by Mike Giglio, March 19]. Individual Houstonians can step up to the challenge and do something that will make an enormous difference. I urge all of your readers…
Jim Jones: Pray IV Reign
While many established rappers are being downsized from major label deals to “independent” contracts, Harlem MC Jim Jones is climbing the food chain. After sharing the limelight with Juelz Santana and friend-turned-foe Cam’ron in Dipset, Jones has become the group’s most popular member thanks to his 2006 monster hit “We…
Ay, Caramba!
Dear Mexican, For as long as I can remember, Mexicans were known for doing three things: Drinking lots of cerveza, having lots of niños and saying “¡Ay, caramba!” While I can vouch for the first two, I’ve never, ever personally heard a Mexican utter those famous two words. Is this…
Stereo Total
Given the average lifespan of European techno bands, Berlin’s Stereo Total, which has now been around over 15 years, is a true graybeard. Credit goes to Francoise Cactus and Brezel Goring for their extreme musical adventurousness and monumental sense of humor that allows the pair to create fresh music described…
