Two White Jasper Cops Fired After Video Shows Them Roughing Up a Black Woman — Inside the #@!@$$ Police Station!
Two white Jasper police officers have been fired after security camera footage — from inside police headquarters — showed them slamming a black woman’s head against a countertop during an argument last month. The lawyer for Keyarika Diggles told Yahoo News that the 25-year-old Diggles was brought to the jail…
Fat Tony Remains Houston’s Smart Ass Black Boy On New Album
On Monday, Houston’s affable, not-really-overweight rap superfriend Fat Tony gave his Smart Ass Black Boy album (out next Tuesday, June 11) to National Public Radio and thus the rest of the world’s open consumption and pre-purchase perusal. (Stream it here.) The last part of that statement is what makes Smart…
Ten Months Later, TXANG Lieutenant Can Finally Contact Woman Who Poses No Threat to Military
Ten months after the Texas Air National Guard initially opened an investigation into his activities, First Lieutenant Ian MacLeod — not his real name — will finally see a bit of reprieve from the cumbersome constraints and frustrating runaround he’s received from his superiors. As detailed in the Press’s cover…
The Black and White and in Between of jhon r. stronks and Jasmine Hearn
The Setup: A week after Psophonia Dance Company debuted the first fully produced dance concert performed at City Dance Studio, the space housed jhon r. stronks’ and Jasmine Hearn’s collaboration B.L.K. Gurls ~n~ W.H.T. Boiz Singin’ ’bout Gawd! The June 1 program was a meditation on contemporary conversations of race,…
Five Facebook Birthday Etiquette Rules to Avoid Embarrassment
I forgot the birthday of one of my closest friends on Monday. I’ll admit it. But do you know why? Because he does not have his birthday loaded in Facebook and, as a result, Facebook didn’t remind me. Now, I have known him for almost 20 years and I’ve known…
Upcoming: Martina McBride, Sheryl Crow, Michael Buble, Better than Ezra, etc.
Better than Ezra: Thu., Aug. 29, 8 p.m., $23. House of Blues, 1204 Caroline, Houston, 888-402-5837. James Balke: Tue., Oct. 29, 8 p.m., $22.50. House of Blues, 1204 Caroline, Houston, 888-402-5837. Muchael Buble: Sun., Oct. 20, 8 p.m., $59.50 to $115.00. Toyota Center, 1510 Polk, Houston, 713-758-7200…
The Push-Pull Between Surrealism and Abstraction at the Menil
Mark Rothko. Jackson Pollock. They’re not the usual suspects you’d associate with Surrealism, but they’re some of the biggest names in the Menil Collection’s current show “Late Surrealism.” Though they’re known for their groundbreaking abstract work, as the Menil exhibition shows, pigeonholing artists can be tricky business. And during the…
Do You Know Your VinoType?
How many of you actually really enjoy a glass of White Zinfandel or Moscato, but are afraid to tell your friends in fear of being judged for having a “beginner’s taste” in wine? Probably a lot of you (including myself). Wine & Food Week 2013 began on Monday night with…
When Match.com and eHarmony Aren’t Working, Maybe You Need FarmersOnly.com (w/Video)
In today’s proof that there is literally a Web site for every purpose, we bring you FarmersOnly.com. When you’re just plum tuckered out looking for a date among city slickers and you need a girl who can milk a cow as quick as she can shuck some corn (if ya…
Houston Press Music Awards Ballot Now Online; Voting Open
Last week, Rocks Off was proud to announce the nominees for the 2013 Houston Press Music Awards. Looks like it got a lot of people talking, which is what we were hoping for. Once again, we”ll be honoring the city’s top practitioners of the musical arts in the high heat…
Today’s DVDs & Blu-rays: The Politician’s Wife, Vexed and Aroused
Juliet Stevenson literally bristles as the wronged woman in The Politician’s Wife. A British predecessor to The Good Wife, the three-episode mini-series starts at the same place as its American counterpart – a woman is shocked and humiliated to find out that her politician husband has been having an affair…
Snacks in the Sun: The Food of Free Press Summer Festival
One of the nice things about the modern festival experience is the variety of food options. I like popcorn and chicken fingers as much as, if not more than, the next person, but having more than the standard concert food options is pretty sweet. Face it, eating is a big…
Iceage at Mango’s, 6/3/2013
Iceage Mango’s June 3, 2013 With the sweat and excitement of Summer Fest finally coming to an end, it’s been understandably hard for most Houstonians to get back into the swing of things. But routines and normalcy are boring. Perhaps that’s why so many people showed up to Mango’s Monday…
Rodgers + Hammerstein’s Cinderella (Original Broadway Cast Recording) Shimmers with Opulent Romance and Radiantly Lush Orchestrations
Rodgers + Hammerstein’s Cinderella first premiered in a 1957 made for TV movie, that presented the story in a three-act format and starred Julie Andrews as Cinderella and Jon Cypher as The Prince. The instantly popular musical was first staged at the London Coliseum in 1958, and began being staged…
Top 5 Supermarket Ice Cream Treats for Summer 2013
Although I plan to spend a fair amount of time this summer at Fat Cat Creamery’s ice cream parlor, I can’t possibly go there every night without 1) the owners issuing some sort of food restraining order and 2) going into massive debt. In between visits, I plan to satisfy…
Whatever You Do, Don’t Drive on 610 Near 59 South Today!
If you were planning on taking a trip to the Galleria today, you might want to rethink those plans. An oil tanker turned over on 610 South at 59 and it has closed the entire freeway down. Reports are suggesting one of the busiest interchanges in the city could be…
Memorial for Fallen Firefighters Scheduled as Investigation Continues
Photo by Dianna WrayLast Friday, a call went out around noon for a fire that seems to have started in the kitchens of the Southwest Inn. Firefighters from the Houston Fire Department showed up, because that’s what they do. The fire was massive, a five-alarm blaze being battled by more…
Best Comics of May: American McGee and an All-Female X-Men
Once a month the amazing staff at 8th Dimension Comics selects a pile of the best new releases for us to peruse and judge. Half Past Danger #1: Jeremy Bulloch of 8th Dimension Comics and I play a little game when he hands me the selections for the months books…
The Rocks Off 100: DJ Klinch Asks, “Can You Dig It?”
Welcome to the Rocks Off 100, our portrait gallery of the most compelling profiles and personalities in the far-flung Houston music community — a lot more than just musicians, but of course they’re in there too. See the entire Rocks Off 100 at this link. Who? DJ Klinch of “The…
Whataburger Monterey Melt: Your Cardiologist Will Thank You
By now I’m pretty accustomed to being shocked and/or horrified by the nutritional information I find on fast-food Web sites, but the Whataburger Monterey Melt really sent me over the edge — and directly to the drive-thru window at my nearest Whataburger. The new Monterey Melt is chock-full of the…
Hurricane Season Is Here: Please Return Your Hatches to Their Properly Battened Position
Welcome to Hurricane Season 2013: the Search for Spock, or something. As most of us along the Gulf Coast know, the Atlantic hurricane season officially opens (Remember, hunters, your bag limit is two storms per season, so wear bright colors and stay low. Good luck!) on June 1 and runs…
Food Network Star: A Promising New Show Is A Possibility
It’s that time of year once again; Food Network Star premiered Sunday at 8 p.m. for its ninth season. Last year, the three star judges, Bobby Flay, Giada De Laurentiis and Alton Brown, served as judges and mentors to the contestants they chose to be on their team. This year,…
Five Couples Who Clicked Onstage After Breaking Up
Divorce is a strange and difficult thing. Nobody goes into a marriage expecting to ever have to get divorced. But what do you do when things don’t work out, you get divorced, and yet your primary source of income and your creative outlet is inextricably tied to your former partner/spouse?…
Jaston Williams Returns to the Grand With Blame it on Valentine, Texas
Jaston Williams’s father was a cowboy, who did not in any way understand The Beatles when they first came on Ed Sullivan. “My father had a foaming at the mouth, complete nervous collapse. And he forbid me to enjoy it.” Just in time for Father’s Day 2013, actor/playwright Williams is…
Touchdown Club of Houston Names 2013 Spring Scholar-Athletes
On the heels of a week where I put together a Dwyane Wade dirty play video anthology on Tuesday, skewered a Georgia safety for smoking weed in his dorm room on Thursday and updated the 2013 Crimesman Trophy standings, I need to write about something positive. I basically need the…
Doctor Who: Goodbye, Matt Smith, and Things the New Doctor Needs to Know
Last Saturday, the BBC announced that the Eleventh Doctor was hanging up his fez and bowtie. Matt Smith will leave Doctor Who during the 2013 Christmas special, regenerating into the next incarnation of the Time Lord. Hints have abounded for almost a year that the strain of being The Doctor…
Crawfish Reigns Supreme on Brennan’s 7-7-7 Happy Hour Menu
Brennan’s of Houston may not come up in conversation as a go-to place for happy hour, but it should. During happy hour, which takes place in their Courtyard Bar, Brennan’s offers a 7-7-7 menu that includes seven cocktails, seven wines, and seven appetizers, all for just $7. And the great…
School’s Out: Seven R-Rated “Hot For Teacher” Songs
Another school year has passed, and now all that’s left for departing students to cherish are the sweet memories of Friday night football, prom and the loin-burning, unrequited, forbidden lust for their smoking-hot teachers. I know, it sounds kind of creepy. But, admit it, you once had a fantasy teacher,…
Watch Grown Men (Red Sox and Yankees) Scurry Like Children During a Clap of Thunder (w/ VIDEO)
I am putting up this brief post and (in my opinion, hilarious) embedded video a bit cautiously this morning as, believe it or not, I’ve already been deemed “weather insensitive” by a few people on Twitter today. At about 6:00 a.m., I tweeted some comments about storm chasers and Darwinism,…
U-verse Just Keeps Saying “No Thanks” to CSN Houston
There was more news in the CSN Houston debacle last week. And for users of U-verse, that news wasn’t good — for what it’s worth, it’s probably not very good news for anyone who doesn’t have Comcast. David Barron’s got the story up over at the Chronicle, but in essence,…
Fancy Pants at FPSF: Breakfast with Uchi’s Philip Speer and Rap Legend Bun B
It was Saturday morning, and I was hot. As in super caliente, sweat dripping down my back, and cheeks flushed to a bright pink uncomfortable kind of hot. I’d just fought my way through the entrance of the Free Press Summer Fest so that I could be on time for…
Free Press Summer Fest: The Best Things We Overheard In the Crowd This Weekend
“I like the red douchebag tanks.” “I know this song!” — at the beginning of Paul Wall’s “Smile For Me Daddy” “Fuck your fuckin’ water!” — a testy exchange in the Fancy Pants tent…
Game Of Thrones: “The Lannisters Send Their Regards.”
Weddings, right? I mean, it’s bad enough making proper seating arrangements and trying to hide those crossbows from prying eyes, but what the hell gets arterial spray out of fine linen? Does Heloise even have a hint for that? Here’s your good news/bad news introduction to “The Rains of Castamere,”…
New Fifth Ward Education Center to Teach Girls Sewing, Boys Leadership
Okay, so Masjid At-Tawhid is establishing a community center in the Fifth Ward. The center will offer hot meals, free monthly clothing giveaways, and tutoring in math and reading, along with streaming video seminars on family strengthening and self-esteem — these are the kinds of places that can make a…
Discount Dining Deals at La Vie Fusion Bistro & Lounge, Quattro, Majorca, and More
We are kicking the week off right with delicious savings on Creole, Caribbean, and soul food at La Vie Fusion Bistro & Lounge. Grab today’s Houston Press Voice Daily Deal to save 50 percent off of your choice of two deal vouchers: $10 for $20, or $20 for $40. La…
Free Press Summer Fest: The Festival’s Biggest WTF Moments
Know Your City During Matt & Kim, Kim had the crowd in her pocket… until she accidentally called them “Dallas.” She immediately recognized her terrible faux pas and recovered by telling a story about how once she was having sex with Matt and called him by the wrong name. She…
Former Texans WR David Anderson Officially Retires and Then Commits to USC
Going back to August 2007, when 1560 AM was started, in our early days as 1560 The Game (long before our radio plastic surgery that transformed the station into 1560 Yahoo! Sports Radio), we used to do some pretty off-the-wall stuff on the air. At that time, our content certainly…
Tupperware As Art at TX Art Asylum (Thanks TUTS)
Sometimes two organizations come together in a way that seems totally bonkers but it’s just crazy enough to work. Theatre Under the Stars (TUTS) teamed up with the Texas Art Asylum for a Tupperware-inspired art show, which opened this past Friday night. Has TUTS gone home shopping on us? Not…
Sustainable Harvesters Brings Aquaponics to the Table
Increasingly, Houstonians — from individuals to restaurateurs to activist groups — are contributing their grain of salt toward the fight against unsustainable agricultural practices. But locals Andrew Alvis and Matthew Braud are tackling this same endeavor in a unique way. The pair created Sustainable Harvesters, a company that uses aquaponics…
UPDATED Free Press Summer Fest: The Worst Things Inflicted Upon Us, 2013
UPDATED (Monday, 2:05 p.m.). Regarding the bottled-water situation and prices, with comments from FPSF director Omar Afra. See “Water Rights” on Page 2. Geto Boys Get an “Incomplete” The absolute and definitive one goddamn thing I was truly looking forward to seeing at this year’s festival was a reunited Geto…
Rats Needed to Keep the Keystone Pipeline Rolling
The Keystone Pipeline people just can’t seem to win. First there are the landowners and environmentalists down this way objecting to the pipeline hauling the sticky black tar sands through their property. Then the Native Americans are furious because they feel the federal government isn’t negotiating properly with them about…
The Metropolitan Dance Company Gets a New Home
After seven plus years in the making, the Metropolitan Dance Company and Center finally opened the doors to its brand new home. This weekend marked a huge accomplishment for the dance company, who up until now had been holding court in much loved but let’s all agree, pretty rundown venue…
How To: Make Pancakes with Muffin Mix
One of my college roommates loved to make breakfast for almost every meal. Can you blame her? Pancakes, eggs, toast and cereal are always good options whenever you’re hungry. Being college students, most of our meals were eaten at odd times due to late-night studying, weird class schedules or running…
Free Press Summer Fest: The Best Acts of Sunday, 6/2/2013
Cat Power/Social Distortion Cat Power has such a spotty live reputation that she’s hard to pass up, epecially at a music festival. We all want to see the implosion when it happens. However, she once pleased me greatly (and made me somewhat of a fan) at one ACL Fest around…
Chicharito Impresses [Again] at Reliant: 5 Things We Learned from Friday’s Friendly
International soccer was back in the Bayou City this past Friday night. The Mexican National Team made its annual visit to Reliant Stadium, taking on an unfamiliar foe in Nigeria. Although neither side walked off the pitch with a victory to celebrate, there was plenty to draw from their 2-2…
Your Guide to Video Game Cocktails
I tend toward role-playing games, and as a result I often end up in long, Zen-like bouts of level grinding that involve hours of defeating monsters over and over again in order to overpower my team to the point they steamroll over the bosses. It’s honestly the happiest I am…
Theatre Southwest Transforms Into the Land of Howling Wolves and Blood Lust With Dracula
The set-up: We’re definitely not in Kansas anymore, we may not even be in Houston. We’re in the land of demonic dreams and nebulous nightmares, of fog and crashing waves, of howling wolves and unquenchable blood lust, via Theatre Southwest’s deliciously creepy production of Steven Dietz’s somewhat-faithful, somewhat-successful 1996 stage…
Macklemore & Ryan Lewis at Free Press Summer Fest, 6/2/2013
Macklemore & Ryan Lewis Free Press Summer Fest, Eleanor Tinsley Park June 2, 2013 Perhaps the schedulers behind this year’s Free Press Summer Festival know something the rest of us don’t. The rapper/DJ duo Macklemore and Ryan Lewis are at the peak of their careers so far, garnering more attention…
UPDATED: African-American Architects Charge “Grave Concerns” in HISD Bond Construction Selections
Updated: HISD Spokesman Jason Spencer challenged HNOMA’s numbers, sending this note after reviewing the letter a second time: “All of the design contracts approved by the Board stipulate that the design fees are not to exceed 7 percent of each project’s budget. Assuming that all of the projects hit the…
MFAH Exhibit Proves Photo Manipulation Did Not Start With Photoshop
In these days where even the most basic of computers has Photoshop or some photo manipulation software, it’s easy even for the non-techy to, say, create a visual or chef Mario Batali’s head on Angelina Jolie’s body. Or place their pet dog at the signing of the Declaration of Independence…
What’s Cooking This Week? Greek Spinach Pie & More
I love cooking for my fiancé and me, but most of the time, cooking for two proves to be difficult. If I don’t make a plan, I end up running around in circles at the grocery store and wasting half the ingredient’s I’ve bought (and I hate wasting food). Enter…
Tales of NFL Quarterbacks: Tebow Is Done, Vince Young Loves Shots
Another day, another crippling blow to my NFL quarterback wager with my cohost John Granato. Actually, to be fully accurate, two crippling blows to my side of the wager. To refresh your memory, the bet goes as follows: True or false: Out of these three quarterbacks — Tim Tebow, Vince…
The Best Concerts In Houston This Week: Iceage, Fleetwood Mac, Chubby Carrier, etc.
Iceage Mango’s, June 3 Not even out of their teens, Denmark’s Iceage caused quite a stir within the indie-punk world a couple of years ago with New Brigade, an album that was almost pure id. With one nihilistic fuzz-bomb after another, it caused some critics to suggest a latter-day Joy…
Bowl on Richmond’s Fresh Menu Is a Summer Staple
Even though the peak lunch hours at Bowl Café are usually hopping with customers, I still feel like it’s one of my “secret spots” in the city. While I enjoy their menu of salads, soups, sandwiches, and pizzas year-round, summer is my favorite time to visit and my trips to…
World War Z Gets A New Trailer And, From The Looks Of It, A New Plot
At the risk of having all the book snobs reading this look down on me I will confess the following: World War Z is one of my favorite books. I’m aware of its problems- why do people from different walks of life all talk the same in an oral history?-…
Free Press Summer Fest: More Sweaty Photos of Saturday’s Acts
[jump] [page] Rocks Off’s coverage of Free Press Summer Fest 2013 continues Monday. Follow @hprocksoff…
Free Press Summer Fest: Saturday’s Best Acts, 6/1/2013
Alabama Shakes I went into this expecting to enjoy the set by Alabama Shakes, but I didn’t realize how it was going to set the tone for the rest of my day. I arrived under the overbearing sun, and struggled to catch glimpses of Japandroids. Festival frustrations threatened to make…
Iggy & the Stooges at Free Press Summer Fest, 6/1/2013
Iggy & the Stooges Free Press Summer Fest, Eleanor Tinsley Park June 2, 2013 The official closing band on Saturday at FPSF was the Postal Service, but for those of us who know how much even mellow indie-rock like the fare played by Ben Gibbard et al. owes to Detroit…
The Postal Service at Free Press Summer Fest, 6/1/2013
The Postal Service Free Press Summer Fest June 1, 2013 Back in 2003, a magical group of musicians came together to create a standalone project. Their little experiment became Give Up, one of the most beloved indie records ever. They never toured this record, but its fanbase continued to grow…
Geto Boys at Free Press Summer Fest, 6/1/2013
Geto Boys Free Press Summer Festival, Eleanor Tinsley Park June 1, 2013 One of this year’s most anticipated FPSF sets by far on Saturday belonged to the Geto Boys, those 3rd Coast originators who put this city on the hip-hop map 25 years ago with their gonzo gangsta lyrics and…
Billy Joe Shaver at Discovery Green, 5/30/2013
Billy Joe Shaver Discovery Green May 30, 2013 As the saying goes, Billy Joe Shaver is the kind of character who, if he didn’t already exist, someone would have had to make him up. Was that Larry McMurtry? Kinky Friedman? Willie Nelson? Doesn’t matter, really. Shaver, the old five and…
UPDATE: Five-Alarm Blaze on Southwest Freeway Injures Four Firefighters
UPDATE: The four firefighters taken to the hospital died as the result of injuries and smoke inhalation according to reports. One of them was a 24-year-old rookie, Anne Sullivan. Original entry: Multiple outlets are reporting a five-alarm fire at the Bhojan Restaurant at 6855 Southwest Freeway. The fire, which continues…
Free Press Summer Fest: Acts We’d Rather Skip This Time
This weekend’s Free Press Summer Fest at Eleanor Tinsley Park is officially (way) sold out, so our readers who don’t have passes at this point are sadly now forced to test their skills at the “secondary market.” For those of you who are already in, this week Rocks Off has…
Weekend Weather: Hot, Hot, Hot
If you are planning on getting outside this weekend, be sure to take extra care because the summer heat will be beating down like crazy. Temperatures today should reach the low 90s, and tomorrow it could get as high as 93. That’s hardcore summer weather, which is great if you…
May Flowers: The Week In Photos
It’s time again to check out the Houston Press Flickr Pool and see what kinds of art shots our talented photographers have added. We love street art, unique perspectives and beautiful photos of Houston’s creative community. If you think you’ve got a good eye, drop your pictures in the pool…
Wade Bowen Pitches In to Help Explosion-Rocked Town of West
When the Texas town of West was rocked by the April 17 explosion at a nearby fertilizer plant, a few on the Texas country/Red Dirt scene were affected as well. While no one in his family was hurt, singer/songwriter Wade Bowen has ties to the community. “West is pretty much…
Top Four Things to Do in Houston Sports This Weekend: Mom, I’m Bored Edition
It’s here again, that time of year when the kids are let out of school and immediately begin whining that there’s nothing to do. Oh, sure, you try and try to make them happy. You can invent a brand-new game with balls and paper sacks and even clean up the…
Upcoming Events: The 9th Annual Wine & Food Week in The Woodlands
Yep, it’s that time of the year again. Wine & Food Week is coming to The Woodlands next week. From June 3-9, The Woodlands will become home to more than 50 restaurants; 500 wines; legendary wine producers and culinary personalities from around the globe; and a vast collection of craft…
Summer TV Club: Magnum P.I., “Did You See the Sunrise”
This week, the Art Attack TV Club dug deep into the ’80s archives and pulled out a classic, Magnum P.I. Pete, being the resident Magnum fanboy, suggested we watch the two-part Season Three premiere, “Did You See the Sunrise.” If you know nothing about Magnum P.I., then I’ll give you…
Broken but Unbowed, Baroness Pushes Forward After Horrific Bus Wreck
Of all the bands rolling into town from all over the planet this week for Free Press Summer Festival, no one had to come farther to get here than Baroness. After the alt-metal squad set out to conquer the world last year behind the excellent double album Yellow & Green,…
Reveille VII: A Hasty Eulogy
Like everyone else who follows the world of college canine mascots, Hair Balls was saddened to hear of the death Thursday of retired Texas A&M mascot Reveille VII. Her passing, following emergency surgery, took us by surprise, and we couldn’t sleep last night, so instead we penned this eulogy: We…
Lydia Lunch Returns to Houston to Whisper and Scream
How in the name of all things Holy and Un do you prepare for Lydia Lunch? Pinning a genre on her is harder than getting a ferret in a tube sock. She is by definition the antithesis of all definition, spouting pop music, No Wave, spoken word, and just in…
Pamela Fraser at the Blaffer; It’s Funny Ha-ha But Also Not
In 1966 artist and writer Robert Smithson wrote an essay entitled “Entropy and the New Monuments,” in which he deconstructs selected works in a beautifully written critique comparing the art to science, fiction and society in a philosophical, and somewhat metaphysical manner. Smithson says, “Questions about form seem as hopelessly…
The 5 Best Things to Eat or Drink This Weekend
Houston Press Craft Beer Hoppy Hour @ MKT Bar Friday, 4-10 p.m. 1001 Austin St. Once the work day is over, you and your friends are heading to the Houston Press Craft Beer Hoppy Hour at MKT Bar inside Phoenicia. Celebrate the end of the work week with a brand-new…
Reviews For The Easily Distracted: After Earth
Title: After Earth Sure Seems Like It Took A Long Time For The Kid Of A Hollywood A-Lister To Make The Big Time: Don’t let Kiefer Sutherland or Scott Caan hear you say that. Rating Using Random Objects Relevant To The Film: Two copies of George Michael’s “Father Figure” single…
30 Seconds With Los Amigos Invisibles
Rocks Off: What is worst song in the world, and why? Julio Briceño (lead singer): It is hard to name just one because most of the time,what may seem to be the worst song for some people, is the best song for other people because it gets really famous. Lately,…
Houston Ranked No. 3 on Happiest Cities for Recent College Grads List
I think it is fair to say Houstonians are a friendly lot. We say “hi” to people on the street whether we know them or not. We take in hurricane victims and wave at our neighbors. Syndicated sports talk show host Travis Rogers once explained to me how confused he…
Adela Andea Brings the Music to Her Light Party in “Cocomirle”
Houston artist Adela Andea’s light installations and sculptures are true crowd pleasers, captivating artists at galleries, art fairs and, last winter, Art League Houston’s outdoor garden-turned-bio-electronic environment, “Primordial Garden.” The Romanian-born artist returns to the Montrose art space — this time indoors — for the site-specific installation “Cocomirle.” Andea’s work…
Bosnian Rainbows at Bronze Peacock Room, 5/30/2013
Bosnian Rainbows House of Blues (Bronze Peacock Room) May 30, 2013 Ex-Mars Volta and At the Drive-In guitarist Omar Rodriguez-Lopez has entered his weird ’80s phase. What that means to his listeners will vary depending on who you ask. Perhaps the comparison means that he’s transitioned from a “prog dinosaur”…
Upcoming Events: Mac ‘n Cheese Fit for a Rockstar
Fleetwood Mac is coming to Houston next week and Quattro has your before and after meal plans already set. If you’re still trying to figure out what to eat before and after the concert, have no fear, Quattro is here with its pre-concert menu offering. The pre-concert three-course menu is…
Houston Ballet Presents Journey with the Masters
The Setup: Houston Ballet has started its two-weekend run of Journey with the Masters, a mixed-rep program featuring choreographies by George Balanchine, Jiří Kylián and Jerome Robbins. From the classic to the comedic, it’s a rich cross-section of masterworks from three of the most celebrated names in ballet. The Execution:…
Man Steals Ribs, Gets 50 Years (Don’t Mess with the Barbecue)
Barbecue is a serious thing in Texas. You may have come over and kicked your neighbor’s cat, trampled the flowers and generally been a no-good, no-account rascal, but even then you know not to mess with the meat. Well, a Waco man obviously didn’t heed this cardinal rule, because he…
UPDATED Free Press Summer Fest: This Year’s Toughest Schedule Conflicts
This weekend’s Free Press Summer Fest at Eleanor Tinsley Park is officially (way) sold out, so our readers who don’t have passes at this point are sadly now forced to test their skills at the “secondary market.” For those of you who are already in, this week Rocks Off will be…
Sommelier Sean Beck Always Stumps Me at Backstreet Café
“Anything but Italian!” I exclaim as I find a seat at the bar at Backstreet Café, where Sean Beck curates one of the best by-the-glass wine programs in Houston. I have nothing against Italian wines. In fact, I’m a big fan of Sean’s Italian selections. But because Italian wines are…
Get Your Mexploitation Fix With The First Trailer For Machete Kills
Machete started out its life as a trailer in the middle of the Rodriguez/Tarantino love letter to the exploitation films of the ’70s known as Grindhouse. As a trailer it was pretty cool- a one note joke that didn’t overstay its welcome. The Machete that hit theaters as a full…
Rice’s Road to Omaha Begins in Oregon
It’s just kind of another ho-hum season for Rice Owl baseball fans. The team won the regular season C-USA title, and the team once again won the C-USA conference tournament. For the 19th consecutive season, the 41-17 Owls are taking part in the NCAA postseason. It’s all something to which…
Health Department Roundup: Meat Row and Trouble in the Phamily
Pickings are sort of slim on the Health Department’s Web site this week. Regardless, we’ll start with the meat, because you don’t win friends with salad. Fleming’s Prime (2405 W. Alabama) had a good inspection, earning just two violations during a routine inspection: equipment not kept tight/adjusted in accordance with…
Five Covers of the Cure That Don’t Suck
For this latest edition of “things that don’t suck,” we decided to look at one of the most talked-about and anticipated headliners of this year’s Austin City Limits Festival: the Cure. The Cure’s legacy in pop-culture history is inestimable. A generation of teenage goths owes their ethos to front man…
100 Creatives 2013: Sameera Faridi, Fashion Designer
A career in fashion wasn’t always on the drawing board for designer Sameera Faridi. Originally a pre-med student with a strong biology background, she decided to make a switch when she moved to Houston from Dubai. Houston Community College’s fashion design program gave her the creative outlet and technical skills…
2013 NFL Crimesman Trophy: The New Orleans Saints Are on the Board!
The calendar flips over to June this weekend, which means that perennial criminals are going to need their game up if they’re going to make a dent in this offseason’s Crimesman Trophy standings for outstanding criminal performance among NFL players. Much like some ballparks in MLB lend themselves to gaudier…
Openings & Closings: An Earlier Goodbye from Feast, But a Happy Welcoming of Christine Ha
The month of May has seen many restaurants and bars come and go, including a few surprises and an earlier good-bye from a well-loved restaurant, but this week fortunately brought more openings than closings. As Mai Pham reported, Seasons 52 opened last week on Thursday offering a menu filled with…
The Best Concerts In Houston This Weekend: Summer Fest Free Zone
A Flock of Seagulls Concert Pub North, May 31 Ever heard of a little ditty known as “I Ran (So Far Away)”? You might remember it from the days that it ran across the screen of MTV literally every ten minutes, setting a record for number of video plays. And…
Top Five Things to Do in Houston This Weekend: B.L.K. Gurls ~n~ W.H.T. Boiz: Singin’ ’bout Gawd! and More
Robert Louis Stevenson and Arthur Conan Doyle never met — although they attended the same university a year apart and were fans of each other’s stories — but thanks to playwright Jeffrey Hatcher, their work is joined in Sherlock Holmes and the Adventure of the Suicide Club. Co-director Mark Shanahan…
Slum Village at Fox Hollow, 5/29/2013
Slum Village, Non Stop Rebels, Noon, All Day, Boi Dru Fox Hollow May 29, 2013 “Baby will you call me… the moment… you get there. Don’t forget about me baby!”– Aretha Franklin Judging from the crowd response at Fox Hollow last night, fans have not forgotten about the Detroit rap…
Attack of the Drones: Texas Could be a Top Drone Producer, Thanks to NASA
If you talk about being from Texas, people automatically think of the stuff us Texans are famous for — oil, cattle, more oil, guys with really great mustaches and awesome cowboy boots, riding horses to school — but in the coming years, they may also think Texas, land of the…
The 2013 Houston Press Music Award Nominees
Without fail, the Houston Press Music Awards sneak up on us. Last year, when the HPMAs returned to the dog days of summer after a one-year Thanksgiving holiday, only a few short months fell between the 2011 trophies and 2012 nomination ballot. This time it’s been several months longer, but…
Christian Home-Schoolers on Alert for Atheist Protest at Convention
Hair Balls is licking our lips over an atheist group’s planned protest of a Christian homeschoolers’ convention in The Woodlands later this summer — few things are more awesome than watching two groups of insufferably sanctimonious windbags duke it out in a heavyweight Battle of the Blowhards. As regular readers…
The Rest of the Best: Houston’s Top 10 Weekend Getaways
Our friends from other parts of the country (poor things) tell us about going away for the weekend to a nearby state. Well, except for a little bit of Louisiana and the Gulf of Mexico, the only place within three or four hours of Houston is still Texas. Here are…
Black Moth Super Rainbow and The Hood Internet at Fitzgerald’s, 5/29/2013
Black Moth Super Rainbow, The Hood Internet, Oscillator Bug Fitzgerald’s May 29, 2013 As I walked up the stairs to Fitz last night I was greeted by a pleasant sound. I had arrived to the Black Moth Super Rainbow show early, and got a nice surprise in opening act Oscillator…
Exxon Shareholders Vote Overwhelmingly Against Environmental Accountability, Same-Sex Benefits
A couple weeks ago, carbon dioxide within the Earth’s atmospheric makeup exceeded, for the first time in human history, 400 parts per million. They’ve not been this high for the past 3 million years — when sea levels were approximately 80 feet higher than they are now. And while no…
Delicious Deals on Creole at Lemond Market, Union Kitchen, Papa Mio and More
Don’t miss this week’s Houston Press Voice Daily Deal to save up to 52 percent off Creole samplers from Lemond Market. Choose from two deals: • $24 for Creole Sampler 1: Chicken & Sausage Gumbo (1 qt.), Crawfish Etouffee (1 qt.), and mini Bread Pudding. ($50 value) • $39 for…
Sherlock Holmes and the Adventure of the Suicide Club
The set-up: In Sherlock Holmes and the Adventure of the Suicide Club, playwright Jeffrey Archer has borrowed his central character, Sherlock Holmes, from Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, and much of his plot from The Suicide Club, a thriller by Robert Louis Stevenson, creating a mystery for the stage, with the…
The Rocks Off 100: Jose “Chapy” Luna, Percussionist Con Corazón
Welcome to the Rocks Off 100, our portrait gallery of the most compelling profiles and personalities in the far-flung Houston music community — a lot more than just musicians, but of course they’re in there too. See the entire Rocks Off 100 at this link. One of the city’s hardest-working…
Are the Skeeters the New Astros?
Cheap tickets. Fun atmosphere. Professional baseball. Creative charitable endeavors. Remember when that used to describe the Astros? That was awhile back. Sure, you can still get $7 tickets to Astros games if you want to sit near the roof out in left field. The atmosphere is fun…when the Yankees are…
Pi Pizza Truck Reflects on Tattoos & Its Free Slice Offer
Last November, local food truck favorite Pi Pizza wanted to celebrate its one year anniversary with something memorable. Anthony Calleo, owner and head honcho of Pi Pizza, came up with the idea to offer anyone who got a Pi Pizza tattoo during that month free pizza for life. Not some…
Slapping Bey’s Ass May Have Been a Poor Life Choice, Dude
I’m just going to go with the obvious here and say that when you’re at a concert, there’s a golden rule that one should follow, both with your fellow concertgoers and with the performers. It’s a rule that has been reiterated since the dawn of man: keep your hands to…
Good Eats for a Good Cause at OKRA Charity Saloon
By now, unless you’ve been living under a rock, you’ve explored that block of downtown Houston that’s revitalizing, re-energizing and restoring downtown to the height of its glory. Anchoring the change was OKRA (Organized Kollaboration on Restaurant Affairs) Charity Saloon, one of the first establishments to breathe life back into…
Direct TV Now in the Making TV Business with Neil LaBute Original
The cable provider has become the television maker. When satellite television was first launched way back in the 1970s, it was in an effort to expand services and help all those unfortunate people that weren’t able to get over the air television. Dish and Direct TV have been fighting with…
UPDATED: Richard Justice Says Chron Getting Rid of Nonessential Blogs
We’re still trying to figure out the details, but if one of Houston’s more notable (former) writers is to be believed, the Houston Chronicle is shuffling back from its unencumbered foray into the digital age. Richard Justice, who worked for 11 years as the Chronicle’s pre-eminent sports columnist before heading…
Kinky Boots (Original Broadway Cast Recording) is Fun, Funky, and Infectious
The 2005 quirky British film Kinky Boots recently received a Broadway facelift. Producer Daryl Roth sent director Jerry Mitchell (Hairspray, La Cage aux Folles) a DVD of the film, and Mitchell enthusiastically set about preparing the stage adaptation. Following his initial desires, he got Harvey Fierstein (Newsies, La Cage aux…
Wine & Food Week 2013 Goes Back In Time
Wine & Food Week in The Woodlands is back again with a bountiful assortment of wines and food concoctions from outstanding chefs. Starting Monday, June 3, until Sunday, June 9, anyone can attend the variety of events centered on wine (of course), food, socializing. Constance McDerby, alongside her husband Clifton,…
Limp Bizkit at House of Blues, 5/29/2013
Limp Bizkit House of Blues May 29, 2013 When I first heard Three Dollar Bill, Yall$, Limp Bizkit’s debut album, I thought I had discovered the Mecca of music. Surely, I thought, these Jacksonville misfits would become the voice of my generation. I was ten years old then. As time…
JaMarcus Russell Is Reportedly (Relatively) Svelte, and the NFL May Be Interested
As the trail of the NFL offseason winds through Organized Team Activities and training camp draws closer and closer, I am getting more and more nervous about my NFL quarterback-related bet that I have with my co-host John Granato. To refresh you memory, the bet goes like this: True or…
Pop Rocks: Why Is Everyone Hating On Justin Bieber?
I was watching an episode of Chelsea Lately the other night, not something I do regularly, and Chelsea and her cohorts were doing their usual celebrity slamming and began a coordinated dump on Justin Bieber. This usually doesn’t bother me as I am all for crapping on deserving celebrities. Sometimes…
Five Babies, Four Baby Mamas
Welcome to Ask Willie D, Rocks Off’s advice column where the Geto Boys MC answers reader questions about matters, in his own words, “funny, serious or unpredictable.” Something on your mind? Ask Willie D! FIVE BABIES, FOUR BABY MAMAS Dear Willie D: I can’t believe I messed around and had…
State Water Plan All Lawed Up, But Will Voters Care to Fund it?
To the surprise and shock of nobody — aka almost everybody — legislators managed to get together and pass the state water infrastructure plan before the 83rd Legislative Session ended. They did it by basically breaking the legislation into pieces and passing each piece separately, including the creation of a…
Travi$ Scott Aims High With Owl Pharaoh Debut EP
There’s a methodology about Travi$ Scott (neé Jacques Webster), the 21-year old Houston rapper who bolted to Los Angeles following a short stint at the University of Texas-San Antonio. It revolves around muddled synths and drums that sound buried below the earth, both of which he uses to tinker with…
No Paint? No Problem at Gallery Sonja Roesch’s New Exhibition
The premise of Gallery Sonja Roesch’s new exhibition is simple enough: artists who make painterly objects without using any paint. But the results are much more diverse and creative than you could imagine. The six artists in “No Paint” use materials ranging from Plexiglas and steel to lasers and even…
Meditations on Home Cheese-Making
My husband has never been one to shy away from making foodstuffs at home that can be easily (and cheaply) purchased elsewhere. In addition to regularly brewing beer, he has also tried his hand at making yogurt, bagels and kimchi. I admire his culinary ambition and certainly relish the fruits…
Ranking the Best Original Song Oscar Winners of the Past Ten Years
I heard Adele’s “Skyfall” on the radio this past week and couldn’t help but think that the producers of the James Bond film scored big by getting one of the world’s most loved music acts to write a song that not only played over the songs credits, but helped make…
10 Things to Do Before Labor Day: My 2013 Summer To-Do List
Summer’s back, and although it feels like it’s here to stay, Labor Day has its way of creeping up on you. Every year, I give myself a list of things I’d like to accomplish before the end of summer (this usually involves a promise of nightly laps in the pool…
Sugar, We’re Going Down: Songs For the Candy Crush Craze
Two weeks ago, I was a normal, well-adjusted American man. Now, I’m a fiend in need of repeated fixes. I’m a junkie who can’t get enough of that sweet stuff. I’m addicted to Candy Crush Saga. Let’s say your mail’s addressed to the rock you live under. In that case,…
Georgia Safety Suspended Because He “Smoked a Blunt” (His Words to Police)
As the college football calendar goes, we are smack dab in the middle of that late spring “soft spot” in the schedule where spring practice is a solid month in the rear-view mirror, the school year is wrapping up and summer school (for most places) is still a few weeks…
In Omit the Logic, Richard Pryor Crucifies Himself, Again and Again
“Least you got to see a motherfucker crucify himself,” Richard Pryor spits in the most surprising footage director Marina Zenovich has unearthed for her new documentary Richard Pryor: Omit the Logic. The scene is of Pryor’s last great cock-up just before his last, great comeback. Pacing restlessly before a Hollywood…
Forced Apart
Highlights from Hair Balls Texas A couple in McKinney, Texas, has been together for nearly three years. They’ve been together following one’s messy divorce. They’ve helped raise the two young children that were on the receiving end of the acrimony following that split. After living under the same roof, the…
After Earth: Smith Family Robinson
The surprise twist in the new M. Night Shyamalan film is that the film is directed by M. Night Shyamalan, a fact that the movie—like the posters and commercials—won’t admit until after you’ve already sat through it. While at heart a Pinkett-Smith family bonding project, the kind of sci-fi play…
After Auteur: How M. Night Shyamalan Became Just Another Director
Wait, you didn’t know that After Earth, the Will Smith–Jaden Smith sci-fi adventure hitting theaters this weekend, is the latest from Shyamalan, he of The Sixth Sense fame and Lady in the Water infamy? Columbia Pictures has done everything in its power, in both trailers and print and TV advertisements,…
It’s Blockbuster Time: Your Guide to the Summer Movie Season
5/31: Now You See Me: Action filmmaker Louis Leterrier’s output is all over the map, from the fitfully delightful Transporter 2 to that irredeemable Clash of the Titans remake. His latest sounds pretty dopey — the FBI tries to stop a group of bank-robbing magicians — but Leterrier, the director of superior Jet Li…
Oxheart: Challenging the Idea of What Dinner Can Be
Five days a week, five and a half short hours each day, chef Justin Yu and his team at Oxheart spring to life like a clock that’s striking noon. Watching Yu and his corps of sous chefs — each bent at the waist over stainless-steel prep tables, noses inches from…
Relentless Sun: The Images of Clarissa Tossin
When Brazilian artist Clarissa Tossin came to Houston in 2010 as a Core Fellow, she was stunned by the heat — Houston is apparently way hotter than her hometown of Brasília. She was also fascinated by the prevalence of tinfoil-covered windows in the city. It took her awhile to figure…
As He Likes It: Joss Whedon Takes On Shakespeare’s Much Ado About Nothing
After completing five months of principal photography on The Avengers, Joss Whedon flew back to Los Angeles and threw himself a welcome-home party. As the guests circled his pool, he asked friends like Firefly’s Nathan Fillion, Angel’s Amy Acker and Buffy the Vampire Slayer’s Alexis Denisof if they were busy…
Before Midnight: The Aftermath of a Sunrise and Sunset.
Ask people about their favorite movies, and the same titles come up regularly — Casablanca, Pulp Fiction, Annie Hall, Citizen Kane. But some movies have special meaning for people even if they don’t turn up on lists of established favorites. These are the secret movies we keep in our pockets…
Once Bitten, Twice Shy
On the Road Maybe the band should have expected strange things to happen when they headed out on tour with Hollywood Undead. Considering their own name, American Fangs, this couldn’t have come as a complete shock. Because this sounds more like something that would happen in an episode of HBO’s…
Max’s Wine Dive Moving to Montrose
Restaurant News Fried eggs and truffle oil as toppings may be old hat to foodies these days. We’re easily distracted creatures who paw like needle-clawed kittens at every new bauble that comes along. But back in the rollicking days of the mid-2000s, the novelty had not yet worn thin and…
A Dog of a Question and Classroom Confidential
Dear Mexican: I went to a Los Angeles Dodgers game today and noticed that they now have Doyer Dogs, which are fucking disgusting and covered in nacho cheese, jalapeños and chili. Not that it doesn’t have potential, but this is Dodger Stadium here, not a food truck. But my question:…
Capsule Art Reviews: “Colony Collapse,” “The Cyrus Cylinder and Ancient Persia: A New Beginning,” “Halls without walls, room to feel in. The door awaits you, your return within,” “Maurice,” “Pastmodern,” “Salt House,” “Shambhala”
“Colony Collapse” Nicola Parente has a way of getting your attention. Four years ago, it was with giant mushrooms made of peat moss that sprouted from Art League Houston’s patio. The piece, a collaboration with Divya Murphy, was in response to a New York Times article that named Houston the…
Capsule Stage Reviews: Close Up Space, Malcolm and Teresa, Road Show, Warrior Class
Close Up Space The tyrannical senior editor of a publishing house keeps his rebellious teenage daughter in a boarding school, but, expelled for destruction of property, she returns to attack him. Add an assistant whose past excesses with Mary Jane have left him mentally challenged, salt with a high-strung female…
