Once
Winner of eight 2012 Tony Awards including Best Musical, Once tells the story of a Dublin street musician, “Guy,” who thanks to the help of a beautiful woman, “Girl,” decides to continue pursuing his career in music. John Steven Gardner, who plays Eamon, a sound engineer at a recording studio,…
Texans Trade Ryan Fitzpatrick, Hoyer Officially Signs Two Year Deal
While the Texans’ depth chart undergoes its normal offseason scrutiny and the team’s list of needs heading toward the draft continues to take shape, it appears the roster at the quarterback position is pretty week solidified. It started with the signing of Ryan Mallett on Monday to a two year,…
UPDATED: HISD & Its Parents Ponder: If a Kid Goes to a Worse School But With A Smaller Class Size, is He Better Off?
Update 5 p.m. March 12: A note on the HISD website, confirmed by an HISD spokeswoman says that “Proposals to reduce classroom overcrowding have been withdrawn from HISD board agenda, won’t be voted on tonight.” The spokeswoman says that the item was withdrawn at the request of the board president,…
[VIDEO] Baby Crazy: Inside the Houston Rodeo’s Animal Birthing Center
Everyone loves babies, especially baby animals. And at the Houston Livestock Show & Rodeo, you can watch cows, pigs and sheeps give birth in the AGventure Birthing Center at NRG Center. Thankfully nothing was being born the day I visited, but don’t worry if that’s what you want to see:…
Happy Birthday, Paul Wall: 10 Great Photos of The People’s Champ
Today is the birthday of one’s of H-Town’s finest entertainers, who most recently has been calling himself “The Po Up Poet.” You may also know him as “The People’s Champ” or “The Iceman”. There’s definitely no mistaking him once the track bumps and he announces his presence: “Paul Wall, baby!”…
TDCJ Is Running Out of Execution Drugs. Again.
Manuel Vasquez, once an enforcer for the Mexican Mafia, was sentenced to die by lethal injection in 1999 for beating and strangling a San Antonio woman who failed to pay the gang’s “dime,” a 10 percent kick-back on drug sales. Tonight, if all goes as planned, he’ll die after Texas…
Police and Thieves: Assessing the Cultural Impact of 26 Years of COPS
You may not have been aware of it at the time, but on this very day 26 years ago, a historic event that would shake the foundation of Western civilization took place. On March 11, 1989, the very first episode of COPS aired on FOX. I was in college when…
Tim McGraw Fights Off Vocal Troubles to Play the Hits
Tim McGraw NRG Stadium March 10, 2015 It was near the end of their performance that Tim McGraw and his band hit their stride. McGraw’s vocals had finally been adjusted and underlined with harmonies, and the guitars had been turned way up. Coupled with the grit of some of the…
“DON’T CUT HIS PENIS!”: Anti-Circumcision Group Protesting in Houston
If you’re not doing anything in Houston between 10am-3pm Wednesday or Thursday, and you really dislike circumcision, you might want to check out protests organized by a group called Bloodstained Men & Their Friends. The group kicked off its statewide dick-deliverance-demonstrations in Dallas March 10 and will make stops in…
Audra McDonald Wows at UH’s Madison Artist Series
She’s played a doctor in a Grey’s Anatomy spinoff, Billie Holiday in a new musical commemorating her life, the Beggar Woman in Sweeney Todd, and so many other disparate roles that even she probably can’t keep track of them. Singer and actress Audra McDonald, holder of six Tony Awards and…
Cowboy Diaries: Trent Creager
True cowboys are hard to find, but not at the Houston Rodeo. Life on the road leads them here this time every year for the biggest rodeo in the world, where they’ll ride and wrangle livestock for cash and glory. Each day, Houston News will spotlight one person with enough…
With Champs, Mike Tyson Is Trying to Warn Younger Boxers Not to Repeat History
“Mark Twain said boxing is the only sport where a slave, if he’s successful, can rub shoulders with royalty,” says former heavyweight Mike Tyson, who once knocked out nineteen opponents in a row. “Can you imagine that? Just by fighting another human being, he can meet a king, a prince,…
Once Is a Wonderful Musical Theater at the Hobby Center
The set-up: I can say this without any qualification whatever: Once is one magnificent piece of musical theater. Unique, extremely entertaining, filled with joyous music that limns both heartbreak and possibility, crafted with exceptional stage know-how, and put across with bold strokes of old-fashioned Broadway chutzpah, this little show fills…
Glenmorangie Unveils Its Newest Limited Release With a Tasting at Reserve 101
Last week, , Reserve 101 held a special tasting with guest of honor Dr. Bill Lumsden, Glenmorangie’s Director of Distilling, Whisky Creation & Whisky Stocks. At the tasting, Dr. Bill, regarded as perhaps the foremost expert on whiskey creation and barrel aging in the world, introduced six Scotches from Glenmorangie…
Hoyer Watch 2015: Mallett’s (Likely) Future Backup Arrives In Houston
Monday morning, we had confirmation of free agent quarterback Brian Hoyer’s agreeing to a deal with the Houston Texans, only to have the news retracted shortly thereafter. From there, we had buzz throughout the day on Monday that Hoyer was still interested in Houston, but the New York Jets were…
The Problem With Violence in Video Games Is Not What You Think It Is
I recently came across this excellent article by Carolyn Petit that examined the way the over-the-top violence is used in Hotline Miami… and because I found it on Anita Sarkeesian’s page I then got to watch a bunch of GamerGaters ironically denounce censorship while telling a woman she shouldn’t even…
[Video] The 43rd Annual Buffalo Bayou Partnership Regatta Hits the Water
Did you know that the largest canoe and kayak race in Texas takes place in the middle of Houston? For over four decades, participants have braved the waters of Buffalo Bayou to compete in the Buffalo Bayou Partnership Regatta. If you have any experience in a canoe or a kayak,…
HPD Doesn’t Need a Warrant to Track Your Cell Phone (Nor Should They, Says Prosecutor)
Back in September, HPD officer James Taylor lamented how the Edward Snowden leaks had spooked the public into thinking that even local law enforcement agencies were part of a broad, indiscriminate surveillance dragnet that gathers data on unsuspecting Americans. “We are not the NSA nor the federal government,” the HPD…
Try These 5 More Absolutely Loaded Fries in Houston
We’ve already conveyed to you our love of loaded fries. But there are so many absolutely smothered fries running around this town, we had to take another crack at it. Here are five more plates of cheese-drizzled, meat-laden, gravy-and-sauce-slathered fries: See also: Try These 5 Outrageously Awesome Chicken Wings Try…
Alt-Country Wit Ramsay Midwood Has a Quip for Every Tune
Ramsay Midwood, who rolls into Under the Volcano Wednesday, wants everyone to know he’s a nice guy. “You’re not going to print all those terrible things I said about people, are you,” he asks as he’s getting off our phone call. “Only print the nice stuff…I want to be the…
Chef Chat Part 1: Liz Brooks of Canopy
Diners probably most closely identify Canopy at 3939 Montrose with chef and restaurateur Claire Smith, who was highly praised for the fresh, inventive fare at Daily Review Café, which opened in 1994. She closed it in 2000, traveled for a few years, then returned to open Shade in The Heights…
The State Killed Cameron Todd Willingham, But His Case Won’t Die
At this point, more than a decade after Cameron Todd Willingham’s 2004 execution for the arson deaths of his three young daughters in Corsicana, there’s something marrow-deep exhausting about the whole saga. Willingham went to his execution protesting his innocence, and in the years that have followed his death, the…
10 More Acts Who Could Take R. Kelly’s FPSF Spot
Here it is almost two weeks later, and we’re still talking about Free Press Summer Fest inviting controversial Chicago R&B star R. Kelly as one of this year’s headliners. Until he is either stricken from the bill or takes the stage at Eleanor Tinsley Park June 6 or 7, the…
A Statement From Mumford & Sons’ Missing Banjo
Mumford & Sons have officially left the West London folk scene sound and entered into mainstream music with their newest single, “Believe.” Today, members of their fan club received an email encouraging them to download their newest hit or to stream it on YouTube or Spotify, but to many of…
The Bitter Battle Over “Fifth Beatle” Billy Preston’s Estate
“Billy Preston 1901720021” by Heinrich Klaffs is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 2.0Billy Preston in Hamburg, GermanyWritten by Nate Jackson On Nov. 21, 2005, the man known as “The Fifth Beatle” lay on a hospital bed, dressed in street clothes, thrashing and gasping for air. Billy Preston had just arrived at…
Did Mack Rhoades Help or Harm Sports at UH?
The Houston Cougars hosted the UTSA Roadrunners on August 29, 2014. It was a hot, muggy night, but the air was electric with anticipation. The Cougars, fresh off an eight win 2013 season, were double-digit favorites, and fans flocked to brand new TDECU Stadium to soak in the atmosphere of…
Six Weeks Later, Johnny Manziel Still In Rehab
They say the NFL Draft is the ultimate crap shoot. It’s why teams go through the exhaustive research they do on players, especially players that they are considering selecting with their first round pick, and “double especially” if they are considering taking a quarterback, the veritable “face of the franchise.”…
Andre Johnson Officially Released While Texans Wait on Hoyer
The average NFL career life span is less than four seasons, so the fact is a majority of players who make it to the league very rarely see their second contract. So extremely rare is the player that actually gets to leave his longtime team or the game itself on…
Fratellini Ristorante Italiano Has an Old Soul With Traditional Cooking
Forget that Fratellini Ristorante Italiano is only six months old. It has an old soul. It’s a faithful re-creation of Raoul’s Italian Grill, which used to be just a mile down the road at the intersection of Theiss Mail Route and Louetta. A manager at Fratellini says the new place…
“Becoming Modern” Is an Elegant Small Show With a Big Impact at the Menil
I’ve been mesmerized by a fingernail — the one on the right pinkie of Odilon Redon’s The Fool (or Intuition), an 1877 charcoal drawing currently on view at the Menil in “Becoming Modern: Nineteenth-Century French Drawings from The Morgan Library & Museum and The Menil Collection.” The fingernail grips your…
Cowboy Diaries: Ty Wallace
True cowboys are hard to find, but not at the Houston Rodeo. Life on the road leads them here this time every year for the biggest rodeo in the world, where they’ll ride and wrangle livestock for cash and glory. Each day, Houston News will spotlight one person with enough…
9 Instastyle Inspirations for Your Rodeo Houston Look
Rodeo Houston time has come to our fair city once again. Aside from the rides, concerts and carnival eats, all I hear people buzzing about is the fashion — apparently even cowboys care about color matching and proportions. Because western wear is in this year, it won’t be hard to…
Artisanal Cachaça Brand Comes To Houston
Most of us in North America were introduced to cachaça by way of a cocktail called the caipirinha. It’s the national drink of Brazil and is made by muddling lime quarters and sugar in the bottom of a rocks glass. Ice is added and then the cachaça. It’s hard to…
DPS Is Super Worried About Glitter Bombs
Well, glitter bombing has now been deemed both dangerous and a thing that gay rights groups are totally into, according to the powers that be at the Texas Department of Public Safety. Last week, a DPS captain sent out an email to Texas legislators warning that certain nefarious groups have…
Despite Strong Performances, A Midsummer Night’s Dream Lost the Magic
As I drove east down Spring Street toward Stark Naked Theatre’s playhouse at Studio 101, where Shakespeare’s glorious nocturne A Midsummer Night’s Dream awaited, what should appear dominating the downtown skyline but an incredibly huge, rising full moon, bright and gigantic like a harbinger of spring’s beginning or wonders to…
Upcoming: Avett Brothers, Junior Brown, Kelly Clarkson, the Queers, Slim Thug, etc.
Adam & Chris Carroll: Fri., March 20, 8:45 p.m., $15. Anderson Fair Retail Restaurant, 2007 Grant, Houston, 832-767-2785. Aesop Rock & Rob Sonic: With Homeboy Sandman, Dark Time Sunshine. Sun., March 15, 8 p.m., $18 to $22. Fitzgerald’s, 2706 White Oak, Houston, 713-862-3838. All the Dead Pilots: With Forgive Us…
The Other American Sniper: Adan Castañeda’s Delusions Only Got Worse After a Revolving Door of Treatment and Release at the VA
Maria Esparza awoke to what she thought was the sound of her husband cooking — the hiss and pop of fresh vegetables dropped into a pan of hot oil. Reality set in when Roy Esparza told her to keep her head down as bullets cracked and whizzed through their two-story…
This Week in Houston Food Blogs: Don’t Scoff at Canned Beer
It’s been raining and chilly for the past several days in Houston. When the weather’s like this, some of us just want to stay indoors and cook at home. A Southern Fairytale is ready to accommodate that wish with an easy broccoli and beef stir fry . It includes plenty…
Bob Suren: Confessions of a Former Hardcore Punk
For many, Florida is the land of humidity-boiled punk, mostly epitomized by the fabled roster of No Idea Records (from Assholeparade, Less Than Jake and A Wilhelm Scream to Against Me! and Hot Water Music); earlier iconoclastic waves including the Eat, Gay Cowboys in Bondage, and Maggot Sandwich; or rare…
Maxo Kream Ups the Ante of Houston Street Rap
With so much news to that flies by in the Houston rap scene, luckily we’re here to sit back and deal with it all. Welcome to our own version of March Madness, where every workday we’re delivering stories to keep you occupied with the ins and outs of the Houston…
10 Acts Who Should Replace R. Kelly at FPSF
For the first time in its burgeoning existence, Free Press Summer Fest is engaged in a legitimate controversy. Activist groups, music bloggers and Summer Fest ticket buyers have called on the festival to cancel one of its main-stage acts, R&B crooner R. Kelly. Kelly has long been dogged by accusations…
Animal Cruelty Charge Filed in Dog Park Shooting
An animal cruelty charge has been filed against a man who shot and killed a dog at a Clear Lake-area dog park in January. Joseph Potts, 27, is not yet in custody, according to a Harris County Sheriff’s Office press release. But the real lesson here, according to what has…
Not Everyone Is Thrilled With Memorial Park’s Master Plan
The Memorial Park Conservancy is finishing up gathering public input on the new master plan that will govern how the park evolves over the next 20 years, but not everyone is thrilled with the changes the conservancy is pitching. While the officials with the Memorial Park Conservancy say these changes…
Houston Texans Sign QB Ryan Mallett
In the first year of his regime as head coach of the Houston Texans, Bill O’Brien essentially cleaned house at the quarterback position, figuratively moving a lot of Gary Kubiak’s old furniture out of his office. Gone was Matt Schaub, traded to Oakland. Gone was T.J. Yates, traded to Atlanta…
Apollo the Dog Gets a New Face
Boy, it’s nice to write about a happy ending. In January, rescue group ADORE Houston put out the word about a dog who had half his face chopped off. The injury seemed man-made, but it’s still unclear what happened. The dog, who they called Apollo, was rushed to veterinarian Ryan…
Fall Out Boy Soars in Rodeo Debut
Fall Out Boy NRG Stadium March 8, 2015 It was weird when the Rodeo released the genre calendar to tease this year’s musical lineup and there was no mention of rock music on it. It’s not that you can’t have a rocking good time with country music, it just seemed…
Torche Gets Back Into a Heavy Groove With Restarter
For just about a decade now, Torche has more or less locked down the dubious title of world’s heaviest band to politely decline the “metal” tag. Hard to blame them, really. Torche is its own trip. The proudly down-tuned outfit packs the same percussive wallop as sludge titans Mastodon and…
At Season Opener, Houston Dynamo Ushers in New Era
By Matthew Reese The Houston Dynamo ushered in a new era on Saturday night against Columbus Crew SC. A new head coach, Owen Coyle, patrolled the sideline. The Dynamo showcased their new home jerseys. Three of the 11 new players brought in this offseason made appearances. Yet, it was a…
Roosh Williams Leads Rainbow Coalition of Local Rap at Walters
Roosh Williams, T2 the Ghetto Hippie, Kyle Hubbard, George Young, Def Perception Walter’s Downtown March 7, 2015 It’s probably nothing he set out to accomplish, but Roosh Williams kind of can’t help but be a symbol of Houston’s diversity, both within the rap scene and without. Not only is he…
Mystikal & Juvenile Take Arena Theatre to NOLA School
Juvenile, Mystikal Arena Theatre March 6, 2015 Mystikal is rap’s James Brown. Even if Friday night’s Arena Theatre show was billed as one where both Juvenile & Mystikal brought their own brand of New Orleans funk and hip-hop to the city, by night’s end it was Mystikal’s affair while Juvenile…
Ndamukong Suh Likely to Sign With Dolphins, Eclipse J.J. Watt’s Contract
In sports, sometimes being the highest paid player at your position (or in this case, your side of the ball) isn’t about actually being the best. It’s about timing, being the most recent. Don’t get me wrong, a player still must be good, but in a sport with an escalating…
John Legend Shines on Perfect RodeoHouston Date Night
John Legend NRG Stadium March 6, 2015 Clad in a gray suit and a black bow tie, John Legend strutted onto the RodeoHouston stage Friday night looking like the James Bond of Rush Limbaugh’s nightmares. But unlike Limbaugh, Legend exuded class during his performance. From the onset of the evening…
Alan Jackson Right on Time for Huge Rodeo Crowd
Alan Jackson NRG Stadium March 8, 2015 I do not have a dog in the fight for the soul of country music. To be honest, I doubt the fight even really exists. Nashville is in the business of making money, and if they can squeeze out a few extra record…
Cowboy Diaries: Timber Moore
True cowboys are hard to find, but not at the Houston Rodeo. Life on the road leads them here this time every year for the biggest rodeo in the world, where they’ll ride and wrangle livestock for cash and glory. Each day, Houston News will spotlight one person with enough…
There’s More Than Cupcakes at CRAVE in The Woodlands
CRAVE is well-known in Houston for its neatly-iced cupcakes in a rotating menu of flavors like carrot, mint chocolate and Nutella, but these aren’t necessarily the most interesting things at the newest location in The Woodlands at 2501 Research Forest Drive. The new location is more spacious than the original…
Texans Retain Free Agent CB Kareem Jackson and RT Derek Newton
When it comes to second contracts for players they’ve drafted, it’s generally gone one of two ways for the Houston Texans the last few seasons. For Pro Bowl caliber, “foundation” level players, they’ve generally had their second contracts done at least one season before they could hit the open market…
Comedian Anjelah Johnson’s on Sale and Coming to Houston
Comedian/actress Anjelah Johnson might not want to take any fashion tips from her alter ego, Bon Qui Qui, a pretty, if slightly unsophisticated, ghetto glamorous street thug, but she might want to ask her for some business advice. The day Johnson’s most recent comedy special, The Homecoming Show, was released…
Dish of the Week: Crème Brûlée
From classic comfort foods to regional standouts and desserts, we’ll be sharing a new recipe with you each week. Find other dishes of the week here. This week, we’re moving on to a classic dessert: crème brûlée. Also known as burnt cream or crema catalana, creme brulee is a torched…
UH Baseball Had an Anemic Prime-Time Showing This Weekend
The seven o’clock Friday and Saturday night games of the Houston College Classic are the prime time games. Those games featuring the best teams in college baseball, and which draw the biggest crowds of the weekend. If UT’s at the Classic, it plays in one of the games. Same with…
Doctor Who: The 10 Best Eighth Doctor/Charley Stories
Whenever I try to get people into the Big Finish Doctor Who audio dramas I always tell them to start with the Eighth Doctor and Lucie Miller because they are the closest thing to the revived show in terms of length, pacing and content. However, fond as I am of…
This Week in Houston Food Events: 1252 Tapas Celebrates Five Years
Monday, March 9 Domaine Philippe & Vincent Jaboulet Wine Dinner at Aura Brasserie The wine dinner starts with a reception with passed hors d’oeuvres at 6:30 p.m. Then, dive into a five-course dinner at 7 p.m. that includes Duck Confit Ravioli with Foie Gras Nage and Baby Vegetables paired with…
USW and Shell are in Houston to Talk Again
After a month on strike, representatives of the United Steelworkers and Royal Dutch Shell are meeting at an undisclosed location in Houston today to see if they can finally hammer out a deal. This is the first major oil refinery worker strike in 35 years. USW, on behalf of its…
The Five Best Concerts in Houston This Week: Tim McGraw, Paul Wall, Zac Brown Band, etc.
Tim McGraw NRG Stadium, March 10 Although some of the more regrettable traits of the recent “bro-country” fad can be laid squarely at Tim McGraw’s doorstep, his 20-year career has been a lot more than 12-packs and Daisy Dukes; his keen interest in Southern soul music and knack for crossover…
Miranda Lambert Owns Adoring Rodeo Crowd
Miranda Lambert NRG Stadium March 5, 2014 Not above a cheap pop she totally didn’t need to get the crowd in her corner, Miranda Lambert sweet-talked an NRG Stadium crowd of more than 60,000 fans for almost an hour Thursday night. But when you’re able to convince that many people…
Texas Monthly Says What We’ve All Been Thinking About Chron.com
Well, we’re glad we aren’t the only ones who noticed. On Wednesday, Texas Monthly called out the Houston Chronicle for a slideshow misfire the paper ran on its free website this week. The slideshow in question was attached to an aggregated story on Lacey Smarr, a Longview teenager who died…
Santa Muerte Puts Houston Flavor Into Latino EDM
In the short time that DJs Panchitron (Pancho Briones) and Sines (Leroy Bella) have joined forces as the duo called Santa Muerte (stylized as SVNTV MVERTE), their music has already been heard across the country at popular dance parties in San Francisco, Los Angeles, Brooklyn and Portland, as well as…
Zapruder Analysis of Viral YouTube Guy Putting His Girlfriend in WWE Finishers
I was born 30 years too early. As someone who’s adapted his game pretty well to the social media/Internet age (as well as any 46-year-old I know), I always quietly believed this was the case. Now, I’ll shout it from the rooftops. It’s undeniable. Here is why I am now…
[VIDEO] Adrenaline Junkies: Scariest Rides at the Rodeo Carnival
HLSRCarnvial from Voice Media Group on Vimeo. It can be tough for adrenaline junkies to get their fix in Houston. AstroWorld has been gone for ten years now, and the nearest theme park is a few hours away (Kemah doesn’t really count, though it can take an hour or more…
Reviews For The Easily Distracted: Chappie
Title: Chappie Describe This Movie In One Simpsons Quote: “My worst, eh? Smithers; release the robotic Richard Simmons!” Rating Using Random Objects Relevant To The Film: Three ED-209s out of five. Brief Plot Synopsis: Scout 22 is alive. Tagline: “Humanity’s last hope isn’t human.” Better Tagline: “The problem’s plain to…
Cold War Kids Make a Soulful Return to House of Blues
Cold War Kids, Elliot Moss, the Vanity House of Blues March 5, 2015 It’s been nearly ten years since Long Beach’s Cold War Kids took the indie-rock world by storm with their debut LP, Robbers & Cowards, but their fans have not forgotten it. With its soulful sensibility and soaring…
The Results Are In! Here Are the Rodeo Gold Buckle Foodie Winners
When it comes to rodeo food, some vendors obviously know what they’re doing. Some who won last year were successful again this year and even won multiple awards. In a hilarious turn of events, by far the entry that got the most attention was the scorpion, cricket and mealworm pizza…
Kyle Hubbard Is Back; Kyle Hubbard Is Dope
This time last year, Kyle Hubbard was preparing for the biggest gig of his life. Two years after recording and releasing his critically acclaimed album, You’re Not That Special, and after clawing his way to respectability as a young white man in Houston’s underground hip-hop scene, Hubbard had been tabbed…
Texans Host Former Dolphins WR Brian Hartline
On Monday, after our show was over, we were in our post-show meeting in our program director’s office when my cohost, Ted Johnson, openly expressed his frustration with how boring the Texans have been so far this offseason. “Why don’t they make any moves, man?” Ted asked, rhetorically. “It makes…
Houston’s 5 Best Weekend Food Bets: Time to Get Your Crawfish On
Crabbie’s Tastings @ Multiple locations Friday – Sunday Crabbie’s Alcoholic Ginger Beer, the first alcoholic ginger beer available in the United States, has made its way to Houston. Get a taste of the refreshing drink at events all weekend long, including an Instagram Party at The Railyard, 4206 San Felipe,…
What’s the Next Step at Sharpstown High School?
In many respects, the latest dust-up/embarrassment at Sharpstown High School, in which students claimed Principal Rob Gasparello had hit them, has been resolved to the satisfaction of all. Houston ISD investigated and cleared Gasparello saying that “HISD Police has concluded its investigation into allegations related to Sharpstown High Principal Rob…
Houston Ballet’s Modern Masters Presents 3 Distinct Dance Performances
Ballet lovers of all types as well as people not too sure what part of the art form appeals to them will have a chance to look at it in some variety as the Houston Ballet presents Modern Masters, a program featuring three distinctive dance performances. Oliver Halkowich, a soloist…
Upcoming Houston Food Events: Bacon, Wine & St. Patty’s Day
Now through Tuesday, March 17, Central Market, 3815 Westheimer, is celebrating the bacon-obsessed with its first annual Bacon Fest. During this two week long fete, customers are invited to try out more than 35 varieties of bacon, dozens of new recipes, and bacon-centric classes at the Central Market Cooking School…
More Classic Numbers Art Because the Film Made Its Goal
We would like to offer our deepest congratulations to the team behind Friday I’m In Love, the proposed documentary film about the beloved Montrose alterna-club Numbers and for the past few weeks the focus of an intense Kickstarter campaign. The last day would have been today, but thanks to an…
Houston’s 5 Best Weekend Events: A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Discover Dance 2015 and More
During William Shakespeare’s lifetime, there was a lot of belief among the populace that fairies and other magical beings could cast spells on you while you were sleeping, says Kim Tobin-Lehl, who is co-directing A Midsummer Night’s Dream with her husband, Philip Lehl, at Stark Naked Theatre. Both are looking…
Rice Fight, Never Die: Rice Owls Aren’t the Team of Years Past
Rice’s Tudor Fieldhouse holds just a little more than 5,000 people. It’s a small facility built in 1950 (renovated back around 2008) that’s a no-frills combination of seats and bleachers with a huge balcony overhanging one of the baselines. There’s a big, ultra-modern video board over mid-court, but overall, walking…
Openings & Closings in Houston: Willowbrook Has Deep Dish Pizza Now
The Willowbrook area got its very own Chicago-style deep dish pizza place on February 26. ” target=”_blank”>Gino’s East at 17116 Tomball Parkway is now open in the former Bikinis spot. (ATX Brands, is the company behind both businesses. They own the Bikinis chain and are a franchisee of the Gino’s…
L.A.’s the Sloths Crawl Back From the Grave
Written by Art Tavana/LA Weekly Jason Voorhees’ gimmick in Friday the 13th is that he never stays dead. He’s the campy horror equivalent of ’60s garage rock, back from the grave whenever we need knuckle-dragging escapism to tickle our prepubescent fancy. In 1964, British Invasion-aping garage rock was sexing up the Sunset Strip,…
Houston’s 10 Best Irish Bars
With Saint Patrick’s Day coming up on March 17, we present to you a list of some great Irish pubs in Houston that you might want to visit on that holiday, when many celebrate the patron saint of Ireland and Irish culture. For others, of course, the date is just…
Eric Church Sends a Message as Rodeo Opener
Eric Church NRG Stadium March 3, 2015 Asking Eric Church to open the Houston Livestock Show & Rodeo’s 2015 season definitely sent a message. The 37-year-old singer is what passes for an outlaw in country music these days, with more depth and a harder edge to his music than many…
The 10 Best Concerts In Houston This Weekend: John Legend, Juvenile, Above & Beyond, etc.
John Legend NRG Stadium, March 6 John Legend’s stock is sky-high right now. The veteran R&B singer followed the biggest hit of his career, the multi-format No. 1 “All of Me,” by winning an Oscar last month for “Glory,” his duet with Chicago rapper Common as featured in Ava Duvernay’s…
Rodeo by the Numbers: Cowboy Boots, Turkey Legs and Truckloads of Twinkies
Every year this city throws a huge boot-stompin’ party called the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo. To get a better understanding of what it takes to put on one of Houston’s biggest annual events, we asked the rodeo folks for some stats. From truckloads of Twinkies to a veritable army…
March Madness: Some Insight Into the Steve Francis Chain-Snatching
With so much news to that flys by in the Houston rap scene, the month of March is here to sit back and deal with all of the madness. Welcome to our own version of March Madness, where we’re delivering stories every work day to keep you occupied with the…
D.J. Swearinger Under Investigation for Running Out on Truck Customizing Tab
Athletes like to trick out their cars. It’s what they do. Well, many of them, at least. And if you’re making that sweet second-round-pick cheddar, you want the world to know it. Spinning rims, bass booming speakers, tinted windows, that’s what’s up, man! You don’t want to be driving around…
Advocacy Group: Stop Charging Truant Students in Adult Court
“Texas currently prosecutes more than twice the number of truancy cases prosecuted in all other states combined,” with cases filed in adult criminal courts — uncommon among other states — according to a report released Thursday by the nonprofit advocacy group Texas Appleseed. More than 115,000 students were charged with…
Helmet Melts Faces In the Spirit of a Landmark Album
Helmet/Betty 20th Anniversary Tour Fitzgerald’s March 4, 2015 No matter how many different descriptions have been used for Helmet’s music, it all boils down to “heavy.” The group’s discombobulated intro of “Wilma’s Rainbow” Wednesday evening, the veteran New York band transitioned into the dense bass line that hit the crowd…
Exploring a “New World” Through Japanese Photography at MFAH
Grainy and swirling, yet starkly revealing images bridge the past and present in For a New World to Come: Experiments in Japanese Art and Photography, 1968-1979. Organized by the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, “For a New World to Come” focuses on avant-garde Japanese works produced during a time seminal…
USW and Shell Talked. Briefly.
Representatives from United Steelworkers International and Royal Dutch Shell were back at the bargaining table Wednesday and it seems they talked just long enough to decide they’ll try this whole talking thing again next week. That means the strike is definitely going on for another week, at least, which is…
Julep Embarks on a Year-Long Southern Cocktail Program
Alba Huerta at Julep has totally nerded out on Southern cocktail history, and many cocktail fans will appreciate it. It’s also allowed her and the staff at Julep to create a historically influenced program that will span the rest of this year and take guests on a journey to the…
Broadway’s Audra McDonald Launches the UH Madison Artist Series
Award winning actress and singer Audra McDonald returns to Houston, where she made her opera debut in 2006, for the first of the University of Houston Moores School of Music’s Madison Artist Series. During her time here, McDonald performs in a public concert and leads a private master class for…
Houston Will Miss Chris Myers
For years, Texan fans seethed over the perception that Gary Kubiak was overly loyal to players. He was afraid to cut “his guys,” many of whom he’d happily doled out extensions for sometime in the recent past. Real or imagined (and honestly, like most things in life, the truth was…
Chef Chat, Part 2: The Pit Masters Trent Brooks of Brooks’ Place
This is the final installment of our three-week “The Pit Masters” segment of Chef Chat. We started with CorkScrew BBQ in Spring, visited Rogels Barbecue Co. off of San Felipe and Voss and are wrapping up with a visit to Trent Brooks of Brooks’ Place in Cypress. Thanks to everyone…
Dwight Yoakam Sideman Brian Whelan Heads Off on His Own
After four years of road-dogging with Dwight Yoakam’s band, multi-instrumental utility man Brian Whelan has quit and struck out on his own. He rolls into McGonigel’s Mucky Duck Saturday for a song swap with old Los Angeles running buddy and local songwriter extraordinaire Mike Stinson. Whelan has a new album…
Patterson Hood Touts Drive-By Truckers’ New Unity
Over a discography of work, some rock bands become closely identified with their frequent record cover artists be it Ken Kelly with KISS, Jim Fitzpatrick with Thin Lizzy, or Roger Dean with Yes and a universe of prog rockers. But no band/artist relationship is tighter than the Drive-By Truckers and…
I Got Pregnant From a One-Night Stand. Help!
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! DO I RESERVE THE RIGHT TO SELL OR GIVE AWAY MY EX-BOYFRIEND’S BELONGINGS? Dear Willie D:…
In the Oddly Emotional Chappie, Humans Are Weirder Than the Rapping Robot
It’s an ironic truth that directors fascinated by robots tend to make inhuman movies. From Ridley Scott’s Blade Runner to last year’s Transcendence, these stories that ponder the gap between man and machine often reveal filmmakers unsure of where they fit in — they get so involved in the question…
Mini-Dallas VideoFest
The Mini-Dallas VideoFest is coming to Houston thanks to Bart Weiss, co-founder of the Dallas VideoFest; John Dean Alfone, founder and producer of Corsair Media Productions; micro-cinema 14 Pews; and Houston’s Women in Film and Television. “Houston is a very hip city.” says Alfone. “People here are progressive. I think…
Houston Symphony: Blockbuster Film Scores
Here’s a little music trivia: Shostakovitch and Prokofiev, both hugely influential composers, were unabashedly successful with music for the cinema. The Houston Symphony’s Blockbuster Film Scores concert showcases some of the incredible music that’s been heard in films over the past 30 years. Michael Krajewski, principal POPS conductor, leads the…
Wordsmyth Reading Series: The Goldilocks Zone
A sort of scientific slang for “circumstellar habitable zone,” the Goldilocks Zone refers to the areas in outer space that could theoretically support earthlike life. In Ian August’s play The Goldilocks Zone, it refers to the conditions necessary for a couple to conceive. Which, by the play’s end, we see…
Cronenberg’s Maps to the Stars Has Little Fire, but Julianne Moore Is Grand
Is it possible to essentially like a movie yet feel revulsion toward its script? David Cronenberg’s Maps to the Stars is clearly intended as a sharp satire of Hollywood ambition, vanity, avarice and emptiness, and in places it’s smart and astringently funny. Yet it seems to be fighting its own…
Second Best Ain’t Bad: Here’s a silver medal for The Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel
Almost immediately after it was released, the 2011 stealth hit Best Exotic Marigold Hotel became more a punchline than a movie. Who knew “older” people were so starved for pictures featuring gorgeously shot exotic locales, not to mention people falling in love, falling out of love or desperately hoping for…
Capsule Art Reviews: March 5, 2015
The Lillie and Hugh Roy Cullen Sculpture Garden There is a hidden treasure tucked away next to a parking lot, a remarkable collection of majestic sculptures by internationally famed artists, on display behind attractive stone walls in an open-air park; it is the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston’s Lillie and…
Capsule Stage Reviews: March 5, 2015
The Blackest Shore Catastrophic Theatre brings the work of New York-based up-and-coming playwright Mark Schultz to us twice this season. Closing out the year is Schultz’s play Everything Will Be Different: A Brief History of Helen of Troy, a show about teen girl anguish. On offer now is the premiere…
