The Cult of ’70s Rockers Wishbone Ash Has a Long Reach
Eyes Wide Open: True Tales of a Wishbone Ash Warrior By Andy Powell with Colin Harper Jawbone Press, 320 pp., $19.95. While they were (and are) a bigger commercial and critical success in Europe than America, since 1969 the English group Wishbone Ash certainly has had its cult of admirers…
Houston’s 10 Most Overlooked Local Records of 2015
These albums are not honorable mentions. They exist on equal footing with the “best” local albums released this year. Here are a few others you might have overlooked this year, yet require your undivided attention. FOX & CATS, Ampersand “Black Hole,” the standout track from Ampersand, says, “There is only one thing that I…
New Bio Finally Gives Rock and Roll Architect Sam Phillips His Due
Sam Phillips: The Man Who Invented Rock ‘N’ Roll By Peter Guralnick Little, Brown and Company, 784 pp., $32 Well, as Guralnick clarifies shortly into his foreword, if Sam Phillips didn’t exactly “invent” rock and roll, he at least discovered it. Or so it seems from the endless array of names —…
Dish of the Week: Salmon Rillettes
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 sharing an easy New Year’s Eve appetizer: Salmon Rillettes. Rilletes are a preparation of meat or seafood that is cooked, shredded…
The 10 Best New Houston Restaurants Of 2015
Wow, what a year it has been for restaurants in Houston—one of the most exciting in recent memory. Thanks to new, exciting additions, Houston’s status as a recognized culinary destination continues to be secure. The only problem is that there are so many excellent places to choose from that sometimes…
8 Strange New Year’s Traditions From Around the World
The new year is rapidly approaching, bringing with it the hopes of prosperity and positive change that seem to be a universal human desire whenever the current calendar turns its final page. People here in America celebrate the new year with a variety of traditions, but folks in other parts…
‘Tusk’: New Box Set Expands, Reveals Fleetwood Mac’s Enigmatic Opus
When the five members of Fleetwood Mac reconvened in the studio in 1978 to record the follow-up to their massively successful/decade-defining/inescapable disc Rumours, it would have been painfully easy to simply spit out Rumours II. Instead, they took 13 months and spent a then-unprecedented $1 million-plus to birth Tusk, a…
Houston’s 5 Best Weekend Food Bets: Holiday Steaks, Crepes and Beers
Christmas Day Dining Friday, various times Give yourself the gift of a sink free of dirty dishes! Our Holiday Dining Guide shows you who’s open and ready to serve you a holiday feast this Christmas. From Smith & Wollensky steaks to global eats at Songran Thai Kitchen, the holidays never…
Upcoming Houston Food Events: NYE Eats & a Return to Life Brunch
New Year’s Eve, Thursday, December 31, is right around the corner. Check out our 2015 New Year’s Eve Dining Guide, featuring special menus from B&B Butchers & Restaurant, The Durham House, Mark’s, and Paul’s Kitchen, to name a few. Of course, you’ll need to recover after the night’s festivities. And…
Reviews For The Easily Distracted: The Revenant
Title: The Revenant Describe This Movie In One Simpsons Quote: Homer: “We’re here, we’re queer, we don’t want any more bears!” Rating Using Random Objects Relevant To The Film: Two-and-a-half Jebediah Springfields out of five. Brief Plot Synopsis: Frontiersman seeks revenge on fellow trappers who left him for dead. Tagline: “Blood lost, life found.”…
Openings and Closings in Houston: Kenny & Ziggy’s Expansion Plans & Year End Wrapup
Kenny & Ziggy’s New York Delicatessen has announced that a second location of the famous eatery will be coming to 5172 Buffalo Speedway in February. This West University location will be smaller than the deli’s original location at 2327 Post Oak, but will boast the same menu. Owner Ziggy Gruber…
Twelfth Night Comes to Houston’s Main Street Theater in a Co-production with Prague Shakespeare Company
Main Street Theater is following up its sleeper hit season opener Silent Sky (so successful that it played to full houses and had its run extended) with one of William Shakespeare’s best known works: Twelfth Night. In a co-production with the Prague Shakespeare Company, Main Street is presenting the classic…
100 Favorite Houston Dish 2015, No. 22: Chicken Chicharrón at Piqueo
Phaedra Cook is eating her way through Houston and counting down her 100 favorite dishes of 2015. It’s a collection of personal favorites that is also indicative of Houston dining. It’s a scene where a vast range of dishes coexist: highbrow and lowbrow; local and international; cheap and expensive; modern…
Why I Teach My Daughter to Believe in Fairies
This year we chose the date for our annual family trip to the Texas Renaissance Festival because Twig the Fairy would be in attendance signing books. Her series involves her being photographed in her elaborate fairy costume having various adventures with her friends, which she narrates. When making appearances in…
The Ecstasy of ‘Hateful Eight’ Maestro Ennio Morricone
Most genre titles suck, serving as meaningless shorthand for nerds in the field. Vaporwave? Gaslamp Fantasy? But, the Spaghetti Western moniker so perfectly nails the phenomenon of Italian directors setting movies in the American West that it gives worth to the entire operation of genre. In the early ’60s, American filmmakers had become…
Our Favorite Texas Political Stories of 2015
Texas politics is an excellent spectator’s sport because there’s always some new mess to watch unfolding. This year has been no exception. Now that the year is drawing to a close though, here are our five favorite Texas political stories from 2015: 5. State Rep. Molly White becomes loudly anti-Muslim…
Contest: What Will Be the 10 Favorite Dishes of 2015?
After months of counting down and showing off my 100 Favorite Dishes in Houston, we are finally getting to the very top of the heap. Considering how vast and fiercely competitive Houston’s restaurant scene is, it’s a huge mission and one I’m proud to complete. The list of the 10…
Reviews For The Easily Distracted: The Big Short
Title: The Big Short Describe This Movie In One Simpsons Quote: Mr. Burns: “By the way, are you acquainted with our state’s stringent usury laws?” Homer: “Us-ury?” Mr. Burns: “Oh, silly me! I must have just made up a word that doesn’t exist. Now, what is the purpose of this loan?” Rating…
8 Best Edible Gifts From Houston
Whenever I visit other places, I’m usually at a loss for a good host gift to bring from Houston. This season, whether you’re traveling out of state or staying in town, consider picking up one of the following items to execute the dual tasks of impressing your family and friends…
The 10 Worst Places to Propose in Houston
My wife and I are practical people. I proposed to her in our living room after the ring we ordered together online arrived. Some folks, though, go all out to make popping the question something more akin to performance art. While I don’t really recommend public proposals at all since…
Texas AG Says Public Colleges Can’t Prohibit Guns In Dorms
The Attorney General’s office issued a sweeping opinion on a number of campus carry questions late Monday afternoon. According to the AG’s ruling, public colleges are not allowed to prohibit handguns in dorms, may not let professors decide whether guns are allowed in individual classrooms, and cannot prohibit guns “in…
Waller County Officials Won’t Face Charges in Sandra Bland’s Death
A grand jury has decided not to indict Waller County officials in the death of Sandra Bland, but it could still issue indictments related to Bland’s arrest, the Houston Chronicle first reported Monday night. Bland was arrested by state trooper Brian Encinia in mid-July after a routine traffic stop turned…
This Week in Houston Food Blogs: Holiday Booze and Bites
This week, we have more holiday recipes, plus some restaurants reviews and a foodie gift guide to help you finish off those last-minute gifts. Here’s another good light bites recipe for your upcoming holiday parties– it’s Meyer lemon focaccia, brought to you by Nishta of Blue Jean Gourmet, who originally…
Houston Texans 2015 Playoff Scenarios: The Math Could Still Get Crazy
As we woke up on a glorious Monday morning following the Texans’ 16-10 win over the Indianapolis Colts in Indy, first time ever for our hometown team, not only was the air fresher and the food tastier, but the standings actually lined up the best possible way it could for…
A Missed Opportunity for Visual Art at Day For Night
From the time he announced it, Omar Afra promised that Day For Night wouldn’t just be “Free Press Winter Fest” but rather an experimental mash-up of top-notch music and stunning visual art. The FPH publisher and co-founder of the insanely successful Free Press Summer Fest insisted Day For Night wouldn’t…
Police Choking, Beating High Schoolers Is Apparently “Reasonable” in Texas
Two police officers separately accused of using excessive force against teenage students in Texas high schools were cleared of wrongdoing last week. Last Monday, the Round Rock Police Department announced officer Rigo Valles would not face disciplinary action after he was videotaped in October grabbing 14-year old Round Rock High School…
An Omakase Dinner at Kata Robata
There are times when you go to a sushi restaurant knowing exactly what you want to order. You dutifully fill out the sushi menu with two orders of hotate (scallop), maguro (tuna), hamachi (yellowtail), and whatever catches your fancy. Maybe you’re a roll person, and your go-to thing is the…
Houston Grocery Stores Open on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day
Ideally, all of your shopping will be done by Christmas Eve. Many stores are not open at all on Christmas Day. Many also close early on Christmas Eve. But life’s not always ideal, is it? Thankfully, there are a few places that will keep their doors open, even on Christmas day…
Football Feast: The 10 Bowl Games to Watch This Year
Rare is the line of work in which being assigned another month of labor is a highly sought-after reward for a job well done, but that’s the dynamic in the world of college football, where the carrot of a bowl game is dangled in front of 80 teams as the…
The MFAH Goes Back to the Headlong Living of the ’20s and ’30s With “Deco Nights”
Listen. It’s the bounce of a jazz beat through the shimmer of a 1925 night — not the meandering, languorous stuff from later on, but jazz with verve and rhythm. Jazz that demands you dance and drink champagne till dawn. Le jazz hot. So cool. You can almost hear it…
Houston’s Arts and Cultural Plan: What’s There, What’s Missing
When Houston City Council thumbs-upped the Mayor’s Office of Cultural Affairs Arts and Cultural Plan on October 14, Houston had its first cultural policy document since 1993. There are good things and not-so-great aspects about the plan, the Houston Press found during an extensive canvassing of local artists and cultural organizations. …
Obama Grants Clemency to Six Houston Drug Offenders
When Billie Marie Taylor went to prison in 1991 for intent to distribute methamphetamines and possession of an unregistered firearm, she left behind an 8-year-old son and 6-year-old daughter. She was sentenced to 412 months. Today, her kids are in their thirties, and she has seven grandchildren. This past March,…
At Any Given Minute, Pour Society Is Apt to Fly Off the Rails
The TV Dinner, a daily dinner special at Pour Society, looked as if it might be a lot of fun. The meal was $17, and a beer could be added for $3. “What’s on the TV Dinner tonight?” we asked our server. “I don’t know,” he said. “Oh. Well, what…
Nearly All of Houston Arts Funding Goes to the Same Big Players Year After Year [UPDATED]
In October 2014, Ed Wilson thought he had unanimously scored an $830,000 art commission, by far the biggest of his career. The winning proposal by the Houston-based sculptor was a 60-foot-high by 30-foot-wide stainless steel and perforated metal assemblage of cloud and bird shapes that would hang from the ceiling…
Upcoming: Adele, Carly Rae Jepsen, Diplo, Future, Fetty Wap, Journey, Killing Joke, Pat Green, Pusha T, Unwritten Law, etc.
Note: Lines in bold are highly recommended shows. “A World of Song”: With Dr Pamela Elrod Huffman, conductor., Sat., February 27, 7:30-9 p.m., TBA. The Centrum at the Cypress Creek Christian Community Center, 6823 Cypresswood, Spring, 281-440-4850. The 44s: Fri., February 5, 9 p.m., TBA. Dan Electro’s Guitar Bar, 1031…
Bad, Bad Santa Charged With Distribution of Child Porn
It’s every parent’s nightmare: That mall Santa isn’t a well-adjusted, gainfully employed middle-aged man who just likes spreading Christmas cheer by having little kids sit on his lap, but a sexual predator. That nightmare came to life, federal agents say, when they found more than 1,000 child-porn images on the…
The 10 Best Texas Country Albums Of 2015
Texas Country music is a league of its own; anyone familiar with the genre knows that. As much as Nashville has wanted to insulate Texas music away from “popular” country music, this year they really couldn’t deny some of our fine state’s top talents. As artists like Aaron Watson and…
Creative Crimes: Revisiting Dead Kennedys’ Apocalyptic Punk Masterpiece
Michael Stewart Foley’s svelte new book for the 33 1/3 series explores Fresh Fruit For Rotting Vegetables, the sardonic and raucous opus by the Dead Kennedys originally released in 1980. It offers an incisive blend of urban history, socio-political witnessing, and pop culture insight. Peeling back the band’s mythos, he deftly…
Asleep at the Wheel Keeps Right On Rolling Along
In their 45-year career, Asleep at the Wheel have recorded two holiday albums, providing more than enough fodder for the group’s “Merry Texas Christmas, Y’all” program that Western swings its way through Galveston’s Grand 1894 Opera House this evening. Seasonal favorites on the set list will surely include the Wheel’s…
Kendrick Lamar Took Day for Night to Church on Sunday
Kendrick Lamar Day For Night Festival, Silver Street Studios December 20, 2015 The Day for Night Festival already felt like a rousing triumph by Sunday night, beautifully blending electronic sounds and lights to offer up something distinctly different from the rest of the city’s growing slate of fests. But as…
Day For Night Rewind: The Good, the Bad & the Weird
GOOD ** Janelle Monae was on my list of unmissable acts at Day for Night, and for good reason. Looking picture-perfect in her short-sleeve tuxedo shirt, Monae made everything appear easy on Saturday. The neo-soul star sang and danced with iconic style and electric joy, and when her white-hot band…
Just How Good Is UH Basketball? That’s Yet to Be Determined
The Houston Cougars defeated Eastern Illinois 81-65 on Saturday. The win improved the team’s recored to 8-1. That’s a nice record, and one vastly better than any record seen by a UH basketball team in years. But with only three games left before the conference schedule starts up, there’s one…
A Hipster’s Guide to Sparkling Wine in Houston
When it comes to shopping for sparkling wine for the holidays or anytime of year, for that matter, the bottom line is that Spec’s has the biggest selection and the best prices. Even the curators of Houston’s few remaining independently owned retail outfits will begrudgingly concede that they simply cannot…
This Week in Houston Food Events: Christmastime Is Here
All Week Long Feast of the Seven Fishes This four-day celebration spans from Monday through Thursday, and each day will bring with it a new, seven-course meal of all seafood. The feasts, hosted by The Pass & Provisions at 807 Taft, will be prepared by a different pair of all-star…
Dish of the Week: Fritto Misto
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 sharing a dish perfect for your Feast of the Seven Fishes spread: Fritto Misto. The Feast of the Seven Fishes –…
NFL Week 15: Texans 16, Colts 10 — 4 Winners, 4 Losers
Let’s go back in time for a moment — three weeks ago, the New Orleans Saints were in Houston to take on the Texans, and at about 10:30 in the morning, as they usually are, the inactive players for the game were announced. Here they were: Keep those name sin…
How I Learned to Love the Children’s Museum
When my daughter turned 2 my sister-in-law gave her a membership to Houston’s Children’s Museum for her birthday. Ever since then I’ve had kind of a love-hate relationship with it, but I think I’ve finally worn away the hate part. On the surface the Children’s Museum is lovely. Lots of…
Ken Paxton Has (Possibly) Given Us a Blueprint for How He’ll Handle the Alabama Coushatta
After a long wait the state has finally tipped its hand on how it will handle the Alabama-Coushatta reopening a casino in Livingston in 2016. Spoiler alert: The state is most likely against it. Back in 2001, the Alabama-Coushatta opened their casino on the reservation just outside of Livingston, and…
Houston Restaurants Struggle With Open Carry Law (UPDATED)
Imagine that you are enjoying a meal in a restaurant. At a nearby table, another customer is unhappy with their dinner. His voice grows louder as he angrily berates the waitress over the slow service and the fact that he asked for mustard, not mayonnaise. You look over at the…
New Order Redeems Long Houston Absence at Day For Night Set
New Order Day For Night Festival, Silver Street Studios December 19, 2015 New Order’s virtual anonymity has long been one of their greatest assets. Almost unique among bands that can pull in a crowd numbering in the thousands, like the one that filled Day For Night’s carpeted main-stage area Saturday…
Five Types of Audience Members Who Should Stay Home Instead
Anyone who has spent any time at all going to rock concerts or club shows knows that it’s an environment where some people tend to go a little wild, and that’s all right — it’s just part of the experience. It would be weird to go to a rock concert…
Bryson Tiller Hits and Misses In Warehouse Live Debut
Bryson Tiller Warehouse Live December 18, 2015 Before you walked into Warehouse Live on Friday night, you heard rumblings and rumors about a singer/rapper from Louisville, Kentucky named Bryson Tiller. This singer/rapper only has one full-length project to his name, yet has sold out concerts across the country in a…
Once They Get Going, Chvrches are Something Special
Chvrches, Robert DeLong Revention Music Center December 18, 2015 Chvches look impressive, like there’s no stage anywhere that’s too big for them. They’ve got the energy of a rock band and lead singer Lauren Mayberry moves across the stage with the confidence of the strongest of performers. Add in to…
Striking 12 at TUTS Underground: A Beauty of a Quasi Musical With Better Fortune Than The Little Match Girl Had
The set-up: What a lovely ornament to hang upon our Houston theater tree – shiny in theatricality, bright in new-agey pop music, sparkling in lyrics, reflective in the warm spirit of the season. Set in the chilly present of hip Manhattan on New Year’s Eve, Striking 12 (2002), a pop…
Protesters Call for Downtown Aquarium’s White Tigers to Be Put in a Sanctuary
Animal welfare groups are planning a protest in downtown Houston December 19 against what they say is the mistreatment of four white Bengal tigers at the Houston Aquarium. “The tigers do not have adequate room to walk, run, hunt, or do anything they instinctively would do in the wild,” Houston…
Wake Up to Black Coffee’s Blistering New LP, ‘For the Birds’
Black Coffee’s record release show on Sunday has been a long time coming. The local hardcore scene fixtures have been active since 2011, and in that time, they’ve put out four pit-ready EPs, played a few dozen sweaty warehouse shows and gone through ‘round about 168 rhythm sections. But they’ve…
College and NFL Football: This Weekend’s Best Bets
We are down to the home stretch of the football betting season — bowl games and meaningful (and a few not meaningful at all) NFL December fames. Last week, I was able to climb out of my multi week slump to go 3-3, which means that if you follow my…
Judge: State Foster Care System “Consciously Disregarded” Risks to Children
The Texas Department of Family and Protective Services for years turned a blind eye to internal failures in the state’s foster care system that led to repeated exposure to physical, sexual, and psychological abuse, a federal judge in Corpus Christi ruled Thursday. In a damning 260-page ruling, U.S. District Court…
Houston Gets Poor Marks on LGBT Equality Report Card
A national human rights group gave Houston a score of 48 out of 100 for LGBT equality, according to a recently released report. Yesterday, the Human Rights Campaign released its fourth annual LGBT equality index assessing more than 350 cities across the country, including Houston. We didn’t fare so hot…
Houston’s 5 Best Weekend Food Bets: Tasty Last-Minute Holiday Shopping
Evenings on the Espanalade – Winter Soulstice @ Navigation Esplanade Friday, 6 p.m. to 10 p.m. 2800 Navigation Hit this East End Street Market to shop for the perfect Christmas gift, enjoy great brews from 8th Wonder, Karbach, and St. Arnolds, chow down on awesome eats from local chefs, and…
Adrian Garcia Vs. Donald Trump?
Adrian Garcia, a former “frontrunner” in the Houston mayor’s race who came in third on Election Day, this week filed paperwork to challenge Congressman Gene Green, a Democrat who’s represented Houston’s 29th congressional district for more than two decades. Explaining his decision, which a very surprised Green has called a…
Montrose Becomes Houston’s Newest Tax Increment Reinvestment Zone
Like it or not, Montrose, y’all are getting a tax increment reinvestment zone. The hell is a TIRZ? In brief, it’s a Texas-wide law that allows a city government to assign a portion of commercial property tax money to improve a neighborhood’s infrastructure. A classic example of a TIRZ project:…
Bullets Over Broadway the Musical: Funny Slapstick With Intelligent, Dark Humor
Olive is not particularly smart, at least not in the academic way. But according to Jemma Jane who plays her in the upcoming Bullets Over Broadway musical adapted from Woody Allen’s 1994 movie: “Basically she is seen as kind of a bimbo. She didn’t grow up with much. She was…
Texans-Colts — Four Things to Watch For
Well, this is it. For all the talk about how important the Buffalo game was to keep momentum, or how crucial the New England game was to show the world that the team can actually play well in a prime time game on a Sunday night, THIS game THIS Sunday…
Upcoming Houston Food Events: Burger Specials & Holiday Feasts
Laurenzo’s Restaurant, 4412 Washington, will be celebrating National Hamburger Day from Monday, December 21 through Sunday, December 27. Order any signature fajita burger – all ground daily inhouse using fresh Hereford beef, outside skirt-steak – and enjoy any draft beer at happy hour prices. All half-pounders are served with house…
Ag Commissioner Sid Miller Talks Small and Gives His Employees Lots of Bonuses
State Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller has been going on for months about how he doesn’t have enough in the way of state funding to properly run his agency. However, it turns out that is apparently, hilariously and ridiculously not entirely true, based on the bonuses Miller has been giving out…
Day for Night Local Spotlight: Indian Jewelry
I should recuse myself from this feature, but I won’t. I have an unhealthy affection for Indian Jewelry, a band whose twisted Phil Spector wall of sound psychically seduces hearts and minds without consent. A healthy band for unhealthy minds. Like a good little capitalist, I consumed everything they created…
Openings and Closings in Houston: Good News for Good Dog
While we were very sad to see Brick & Spoon at 1312 West Alabama close its doors in August, we’re not complaining about the new tenant in its space. Good Dog Houston, a gourmet hot dog food truck turned brick-and-mortar, will open its second stationary location in the Midtown building…
Houston’s 10 Best New Bars of 2015
If you cover the Houston bar scene like we do you come to realize that the sheer number of bars in and around Houston that are always opening and closing is pretty staggering; the good ones stick around, of course, and help create some beautiful memories for their loyal patrons…
Sounds of the City: Nick Greer Just Does It ‘Live at the Corkscrew’
The knowledge I have of Nick Greer extends back arguably four or five years, when he was part of a rather impressive Wire Road Studios collective with The Niceguys and a couple other artists. Greer was a red-headed bandleader with a sturdy hand on the piano and a more than…
Shea Serrano: The Man Who Would Be Santa Claus
In one sense, it’s been easy to keep up with the comings and goings of Shea Serrano since the launch of The Rap Year Book in October. Just head to the man’s Twitter feed, and you’ll find him joshing with his fans, posting links to his latest articles, harassing people about J. Cole, and…
After 34 Years, Khun Kay Thai Cafe Owners Prepare to Retire
For 34 years, Montrose residents have been able to count on seeing the friendly faces of Supatra Yooto and Kay Soodjai at Khun Kay Thai Café. Now, only a few weeks remain to say, “Farewell,” before the ladies take a long-deserved retirement. The Thai natives opened their first restaurant, Golden…
QB Crisis in College Station: Kyler Murray Reportedly Ready to Transfer
During his head coaching career, at both the University of Houston and Texas A&M, two perceptions-that-border-on-reality have followed Kevin Sumlin around. The first one is that Sumlin can’t field a competent defense, either because the pace his offense plays with doesn’t allow it or because he doesn’t emphasize defense enough…
HISD Police Chief Explains Why Email Threat To “Destroy All Our Schools” Wasn’t Credible [Updated]
Although Robert Mock, Houston Independent School District chief of police, described an anonymous threat to “basically destroy all our schools” as “just an email,” it was threatening enough to hold a press conference to discuss HISD’s increased safety measures. The threat was emailed to several HISD officials and educators, including…
Feds Say Former Police Credit Union VP Embezzled Funds For Two Decades
When a retired Houston police officer dies or changes addresses, his or her pension check is most likely returned to the Houston Police Federal Credit Union, a federally insured credit union responsible for, among other things, the majority of accounts held by the Houston Police Officers’ Union. And it happens…
Peligrosa, DJ Orion’s ‘Puro Party’ Tour, Shakes Up Fox Hollow Tonight
The word “Peligrosa” is Spanish for daring, risky, or unsafe. When it comes to Latin music in Texas, the Peligrosa crew of Austin sits on the cutting edge of music, not content with just playing records straight from the crate, but rather remixing and combining every sound at their disposal…
Fall Out Boy’s Smallest Houston Show of 2015 Is All Killer
Mix 96.5 Not So Silent Night With Rob Thomas, Fall Out Boy, The Band Berry, etc. Revention Music Center December 16, 2k15 Radio shows are odd ducks. You either get shows that are a radio-branded version of an already existing touring show or you get a bunch of random acts…
Bob McNair Is Happy With Mediocrity, and That’s Not Going to Change
The 6-7 Houston Texans are playing the 6-7 Indianapolis Colts on Sunday, with the winner primed to make the playoffs. The quarterback will be T.J. Yates, picked up several weeks ago off the proverbial scrapheap. The backup is Brandon Weeden who was cast aside by the Cowboys several weeks ago…
100 Favorite Houston Dishes 2015, No. 23: Mole Verde at Cuchara
Phaedra Cook is eating her way through Houston and counting down her 100 favorite dishes of 2015. It’s a collection of personal favorites that is also indicative of Houston dining. It’s a scene where a vast range of dishes coexist: highbrow and lowbrow; local and international; cheap and expensive; modern…
Another Houston Holiday Dinner Option: High-end Takeout From B&B Butchers
Yesterday, the Houston Press got another unsolicited but much appreciated food delivery and in this case it really was a chance to see the high end of the takeout market. B&B Butchers & Restaurant, 1814 Washington, dropped by samples of its holiday specials, so as usual we took a few…
Tom Herman Nominated For More Hardware, Finalist For The Bear Bryant Award
It’s no exaggeration to say that the upcoming Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl is the most important game that the University of Houston will have played in since the disintegration of the Southwest Conference in the mid-90’s. I’ve said this repeatedly (so why stop now?), but these final acts of the Cougars’…
When Does Filming An Oil Refinery Make You A Terrorist Threat?
On back-to-back days, two men were arrested on the same isolated section of sidewalk on the corner of the entrance to Shell’s oil refinery in Deer Park. Both men came to the scene wielding video cameras, and both refused to identify themselves when off-duty Harris County Sheriff’s deputies approached them…
Houston Bar and Coffee Shop Collaborate on a True Espresso Beer
Houston beer bar The Hay Merchant is collaborating with coffee shop Blacksmith and Massachusetts brewery Clown Shoes on a beer infused with Greenway Coffee espresso that they hope will be the highest expression of what a coffee beer can be. On Sunday, December 20, Houstonians have an opportunity to get…
Reviews For The Easily Distracted: Star Wars: The Force Awakens
Title: Star Wars: The Force Awakens Describe This Movie in One Simpsons Quote: Ralph: “What’s a diorama?” Skinner: “Why, it’s Luke, and Obi-Wan, and my favorite, Chewie! They’re all here! [to Miss Hoover] What do you think?” Hoover: “I think it’s lunch time.” Skinner: “We have a winner!” Rating Using Random…
Doctor Who: The 10 Best Moments in Series 9
If I had to pick the best season of the revived Doctor Who I would be hard-pressed to name a better one than the just wrapped up Series 9. A combination of new format, Peter Capaldi settling in the role of the Twelfth Doctor, a villain extravaganza and good scripts…
Day for Night Local Spotlight: B L A C K I E (all caps with spaces)
When asked about what kept his approach to jazz fresh, one of its greatest drummers, Max Roach, replied, “Music mirrors where we should go, have gone and can go.” For Michael LeCour, known proudly to many Houstonians as B L A C K I E (all caps with spaces), his…
The Most Festive Restaurants in Houston
When dining out during the holidays, it simply feels more like a celebration if the restaurant has put some real effort into decorating. Some restaurants in Houston are really into the season in a big way, but the approach varies from one place to the next. No matter what setting…
The Halliburton/Baker Hughes Merger Has Been Delayed. Again.
The Halliburton/Baker Hughes merger has been delayed again. This time the two oil field services companies — the second and third largest oil field service companies in the United States, respectively — have until April to get the deal signed, sealed and delivered. With yet another delay announced on the…
HISD Receives Email Threatening Violence at Schools
In an automated phone call late Wednesday night, the Houston Independent School District alerted parents to an email the district received earlier that night threatening violence across school campuses. The threatening email, which, according to the Houston Chronicle, district officials do not believe to be credible, follows similar threats of…
Part of the Melting Pot: In Defense of Bro Country
I am the problem with modern country music. Country music, broadly speaking, does nothing for me on an emotional level. Growing up, I’d like a country song every now and then – a “Why Haven’t I Heard From You” here, a “Pocket of a Clown” there – but it was…
10 Strange Gifts for the Musician in Your Life
It’s almost Christmastime, and you’ve put off your holiday shopping until the last minute, you big fuckin’ idiot. Not to worry; with our help – and some outrageously expensive overnight shipping costs – you can still secure the perfect gift for that string-plucking/drum-thumping/digeridoo-tooting weirdo in your family. AERODRUMS AIR DRUMMING…
My Friend’s Uncle Is Trying to Pimp Me Out. Help!
MY FRIEND’S UNCLE IS TRYING TO PIMP ME OUT Dear Willie D: I’m a 15-year-old girl in high school. My mom and I used to be real close. But lately we have been arguing a lot. She works long hours, and leaves me to myself. I started drinking, smoking pot,…
Houston Suspended Four Firefighters for Being Mean to Their Union President on Facebook
The end of Bryan Sky-Eagle’s short stint as president of the Houston Professional Fire Fighters Association did not seem like a particularly fun time for the union. Before Sky-Eagle resigned just 11 months into his three-year term as president in September 2014, the contract he’d negotiated with City Hall was…
100 Favorite Houston Dishes 2015, No. 24: The Butcher’s Cut at Underbelly
Phaedra Cook is eating her way through Houston and counting down her 100 favorite dishes of 2015. It’s a collection of personal favorites that is also indicative of Houston dining. It’s a scene where a vast range of dishes coexist: highbrow and lowbrow; local and international; cheap and expensive; modern…
How to Please the Juggalo in Your Life This Holiday Season
The holidays are upon us, and the chance to gather with our loved ones and be merry is nearly universal at this time of year, although not everyone chooses to celebrate in the same manner. Many of us will be putting up a tree and decorating it, while the yearly…
The Texas Racing Commission Isn’t Backing Down on Historical Racing
The Texas Racing Commission is doubling down on historical racing. Despite the pressure — and funding threats — from the Texas Legislature, the TRC voted on Tuesday to keep historical racing, a form of gambling that Texas racing insiders maintain will help save the struggling industry. Texas thoroughbred horse racing…
Shinyribs Brings That ‘Cosmic Coonass’ Vibe to Historic SugarHill Studios
Kevin Russell’s post-Gourds project, Shinyribs, has had one of the most successful 2015s of any band, ballooning its audience way beyond its original confines of hippies, slackers and music connoisseurs. This year Shinyribs finally broke through with the Ballcap Nation/Texas music crowd that normally prefers songs about pickup trucks or…
Jailer Goes To Jail For Punching Mentally Ill Inmate
A Houston Police Department jailer is now sitting in jail after punching a mentally ill inmate in the face several times and then lying to his fellow colleagues about what happened. On June 10, surveillance footage showed Lasswon Shannon placing the inmate, Akrem Azzam, in a padded solitary cell, according…
Dreams Rewired Examines How Mass-Media Tech Has Altered Our Minds
A capital clip-job, this brain-tickling cine-essay examines how last century’s mass-media technology — telephones, radio, moving pictures — altered our minds, our expectations and our understanding of the world. The film is assembled mostly from early films, so its lens is that of a new medium’s examination of new media:…
Don Verdean Is to Laughs What the Dead Sea Is to Water
There’s terrific comic potential in the idea at the heart of Don Verdean, the latest shrug of a film from Jared and Jerusha Hess, the husband-wife writer-director team behind Napoleon Dynamite, Nacho Libre and one that for good reason you haven’t seen, Gentlemen Broncos. That idea: A fraud of a…
A History of How Star Wars-Style Fantasy Violence Conquered Our Culture
A while back, a friend expressed concern that her son, a ten-year-old, was watching too much My Little Pony. “It’s sweet,” she said, “but not what I’d choose.” I asked what she would prefer that he watch. “Well, his dad started him on that new Star Wars cartoon.” That cartoon…
Sisters Isn’t Brilliant, but Fey and Poehler Make It a Bash
What’s quietly revolutionary about Sisters is that it’s a dumb party movie like a million others. The hosts score booze, invite over dozens of friends and frenemies and then watch in horror — and a touch of self-congratulatory awe — as their house gets trashed. With the sunrise come lessons,…
Quentin Tarantino Is Back, and He Wants You to Think for Yourself
Here’s a true story about a St. Louis murder that changed America. In 1837, a black freeman named Francis McIntosh stepped off a Mississippi riverboat and blundered into two white cops chasing a drunk sailor who’d called them names. They ordered McIntosh to stop the perp; when he refused, they…
The Force Awakens Is the Third Good Star Wars Movie
George Lucas is the L. Ron Hubbard of Hollywood. Both men were sci-fi dreamers turned mega-millionaires who spun their pulp adventures into a religion. Tap the power within yourself, they urged. The faithful forked over their dollars. Then both Lucas and Hubbard mucked up their simple premise with add-ons like…
