Detailed New History Dares to Take Prog-Rock Seriously
A political reporter for the Washington Post sticks up for perhaps rock’s most derided genre.
Ten Things to Do in Houston for $10 or Less (Six Free), June 8-14
Check out the Houston Press calendar for even more things to do.
Before You Eat That Oyster: Do You Know About Its Huge Gonad?
Welcome to Before You Eat That, which broaches all the annoying food subjects that make you highly uncomfortable and that you don’t really want to talk about. This is for all you schadenfreude-obsessed killjoys out there. First up, we covered the continuing saga of the -is-it-too-smart-to-eat octopus. Today, let’s consider…
21 Best Things to Do in Houston This Week: Pancakes, Booze and Star Wars
Star Wars night at the ballpark, South Pacific in Galveston, Comedy Dance Festival 2017 and 18 more.
New Bio Offers Incomplete Portrait of Mr. Margaritaville
Salty stories but not much insight into the man who turned a particularly liquid Austin afternoon into a $1.5 billion franchise.
New Live Album Spotlights Two Long-Lost Jazz Greats
Wynton Kelly and Wes Montgomery had a special chemistry anytime the two men played together.
15 Concerts Worth Taking a Summer Road Trip
It’s going to be a long summer, and lots of bands will be skipping Houston on tour — AGAIN.
A Third of the Way Into 2017, Our All-Astros MVP Ballot
Before I give you my rapid-fire, Astros-only MVP ballot, I bring you some glorious Astro-related betting odds news from our good friends at Bovada.lv. The Astros came into the season snug in the upper third of MLB teams in odds to win the World Series, but since then, we all…
Houston’s 5 Best Weekend Food Bets: Buy One Doughnut, Get One Free
Here’s a look at this weekend’s best culinary happenings: National Donut Day at Weights + Measures Friday, beginning at 7 a.m. 2808 Caroline The in-house bake shop at Weights + Measures will be offering buy-one-get-one-free cake doughnuts from open until the goods are gone. Flavors include citrus glazed, powdered sugar,…
Brockmire Isn’t Really a Baseball Show, Just a Great One
And the best show you’re probably not watching.
Rice Hopes Remarkable Late-Season Turnaround Bodes Success in NCAA Postseason
The Rice Owls were dead and buried. The team had just lost to Southern Miss by a 17-6 score to fall to 13-25 on the season with just 18 games left. Worse, the team had fallen all the way down to 11th place in the Conference USA standings. Forget about…
Reviews For The Easily Distracted: Wonder Woman
A bracelet-clad middle finger to every dude bleating from his keyboard about how women don’t buy tickets to comic-book movies.
Upcoming Houston Food Events: Sip Cocktails for a Cause During Negroni Week
Mark your calendars, because you don’t want to miss these deliciously fun culinary happenings: The Negroni cocktail — made with one part gin, one part vermouth rosso and one part Campari, garnished with an orange peel — is considered by many to be one of the world’s greatest cocktails. To…
Openings & Closings: Set, Spike, Play at Sideout VolleyBar
Bound to become the best new outdoor dive in North Houston, Sideout Volleybar is digging in at 2623 Keene near the White Oak Music Hall. Houston Business Journal reported that Sideout features three sand courts and a large game area with a 1,200-square-foot bar on about three acres of land…
The Five Best Things to Do in Houston This Weekend: Get Into Summer at FPSF
Torture, acrobats and some interactive Da Vinci designed mechanics. Guess that means summer is officially here.
The Astros Are on Track for One of the Best Seasons in Baseball History
Pennant winners aren’t crowned at the end of May. This magical Astros season could fall off the rails between now and September, as our own John Royal noted on Tuesday, teams have fallen from greater heights and surged from deeper depths — just ask the 2005 Astros. But long-suffering Astros fans…
Houston Firefighters Sue City Over Pension Reform
Mayor Sylvester Turner has pointed to the moment when both chambers of the Texas Legislature approved the city’s pension reform plans — signed into law yesterday by Governor Greg Abbott — as one of the crowning achievements of his administration so far. Houston firefighters, however, see this new legislation differently…
Houston Texans WR Keith Mumphery Expelled From Michigan State in 2016 for Sexual Misconduct
For a part of the NFL calendar that is supposed to be a low key burn-in period, with guys just casually going about their business to prepare for the upcoming season, the Houston Texans have had their fair share of drama during organized team activities (OTA’s) so far in 2017…
Will the Latest Foster Care Reforms in Texas Actually Solve the Crisis?
Nine months after a federal judge in December 2015 ruled that Texas’s foster care system was failing thousands of the state’s most vulnerable kids, the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services issued a progress report that could more aptly be called a lack-of-progress report: Texas was still failing thousands…
What to Expect From This Year’s Atlantic Hurricane Season (and Will Texas Get Walloped?)
Welcome to Hurricane Season 2017, you guys! If you are new to Houston, congratulations on your very first tropical storm season. For the rest of us, here we go again. When is Hurricane Season? The Atlantic Hurricane Season officially begins June 1 and doesn’t end until November 30. More practically…
Two of Houston’s Best Restaurants Just Announced Major Menu Changes
In Houston these days, rebranding and revamping are just about as common as seasonal menu changes. Chalk it up to keeping pace with what the customer wants, and dealing with ever-increasing competition. That being said, two of Houston’s highly-regarded eateries have just announced some pretty big changes to their menus…
If You’re Not Watching NBC’s The Carmichael Show, You Should Be
The slept-on NBC sitcom wants to be be the show that best represents conversations held in households nationwide.
2017 NBA Finals — Four Things to Watch For (and Our Prediction)
When you reflect on it now, LeBron James’s 2014 return to Cleveland feels as though it was been scripted by the best of WWE storyline writers. Think about it — the conquering hero and former child prodigy from Akron returns to the city he once stabbed in the back in…
Five Artists Who Make FPSF 2017 Worthwhile
Bagging on FPSF is sooooo 2015 anyway.
Suspected Heights Burglar Nabbed After Leaving ID at Crime Scene
Deputies in the Harris County Precinct 1 Constable’s Office arrested a suspected Heights burglar on Wednesday — after a little help from the alleged perp himself. A homeowner near 10th and Ashland discovered three burglars breaking into his garage on May 23 and confronted the trio with a handgun, Constable Alan…
5 New Spots for the Weekend
The weekend is here, and in Houston, that means even more brand new eateries await your busy dining schedule. Once again, the month of May has seen no shortage of restaurant debuts. Here are five spots to put on your to-do list now, from a picnic hub to a new…
Houston’s 10 Best Concerts in June
Strap in; it only gets hotter from here on out.
Houston’s Trailer Parks Offer Cheap Housing in a Pricey City, But With a Catch
Elizabeth Perez loves her trailer park. But if she’s ever forced to move, at least she has a back-up plan. A chatty 45-year-old with a wide smile, Perez has lived at and managed the Trinity Duval Mobile Home Park in southeast Houston since 2008. Used mobile homes here typical sell…
Houston’s 10 Best Bars in Midtown
One of Houston’s liveliest spots doesn’t lack for good-timing options.
How Do I Stop Being an A-Hole? Help!
What’s on your mind? What isn’t? Ask Willie D!
NASA Hopes to Touch the Sun (But Will Totally Wear Oven Mitts)
In a bid to better understand “how the sun works” and to better predict the “threats of space weather,” NASA will attempt to fly within 4 million miles of the sun’s atmosphere and penetrate the big star’s “hazy corona,” which is not as sexy as it sounds, the agency announced…
The 10 Most Memorable Plays in NBA Finals History
The postseason in any sport is the time for the greats to step to the forefront, to make plays that will be forever etched in our memories and forever carve their name into the showcase of the immortals. (I think I just set a record for “WWE descriptions for Wrestlemania”…
Jazzman Frank Morgan’s Story Is a Real Redemption Song
The MFAH screens a 2014 documentary about a jazz great whose career was cut short by prison.
“Bobby Dynamite,” the American League’s Lone Train Conductor, Rallies Astros Fans
High above the left field wall at Minute Maid Park, Bobby Vasquez has the best seat in the park. From his seat at the controls of his locomotive, Vasquez, Major League Baseball’s one and only train conductor, can see the whole stadium. And on pleasant evenings when the roof is…
Poke Showdown Host Apologizes for Creating Those Fake Restaurants in 2016
Some Houston foodies sounded the alarm over the weekend when it was revealed that an organizer of the upcoming Poke Showdown was one of the guys who posted dozens of fake restaurant pages on Facebook in 2016, using photos and addresses of actual restaurants. Pichoudam Peuo, the self-described “creative mastermind”…
Houston Comedy Duo Ophelia’s Rope Will Improvise for Queso
The Houston comedy duo is so close, “We kind of refer to each other as artistic soul mates,” one says.
Bill to Prevent Debtors’ Prisons in Texas Sent to Gov. Abbott’s Desk
Every year, thousands of Texans are jailed because they can’t pay traffic tickets. Thousands of others can’t renew their licenses because they are unable to resolve surcharges on the original fines — which results in a cycle of more tickets and more fines, for driving without a license or insurance…
Upcoming: Big Freedia, Cheetah Chrome, Colin Hay, K. Michelle, Ms. Lauryn Hill, Nas, Tripping Daisy, etc.
A constantly updated guide to upcoming concerts in the Greater Houston area.
Breaking: Tony’s Has a New Chef After Kate McLean Departs
Kate McLean, who made history as the first female to head the kitchen at Houston landmark Tony’s has quit her post at the River Oaks restaurant. McLean became the first female sous chef of Tony’s at age 26, taking over as chef de cuisine at the young age of 29,…
HISD Invokes Immunity in Case of Kindergartner With Broken Jaw
On August 25, 2016, a misbehaving five-year-old boy was turned upside down and marched from the cafeteria to the principal’s office at Wilson Montessori Elementary. Along the way, something went significantly more wrong because by the time the kindergartner’s father drove over to the school, his son’s jaw was broken…
Five Can’t-Miss Houston Acts at FPSF 2017
There’s a definite upside to showing up early at FSPF this year — that’s when the locals are playing.
House of Cards’ Return Suggests That America Has Killed the Political Thriller
In 2015, House of Cards’ fourth season had President Francis Underwood (Kevin Spacey) confessing a murder to his secretary of state, ICO (the series’ fictional ISIS) beheading a guy on live TV, lone journalist Tom Hammerschmidt (Boris McGiver) dogging the president with corruption charges, data scientist Aidan MacAllan (Damian Young)…
China’s God of War Proves, Again, Hollywood has No Monopoly on Epic Action
One benefit of China’s rise as a global film power has been that bigger budgets and larger audiences are now devoted to productions of stories from the country’s expansive history. Films set during China’s imperial-dynasty era have been around for decades, but only recently have they rivaled in scope high-dollar…
Churchill Squanders History and an Ace Brian Cox Performance
There will always be, it’s become clear, one more WinstOn Churchill story to tell: one more slant on a weekend, a summer, a year in the life of the 20th century’s most formidable leader, a man whose history includes two world wars and speeches so glorious that future dramatizations were…
10 Best Things We Ate This Month
It’s the end of May, and that means it’s time to take a look back on the dishes we have been obsessing over all month. From chicken biscuits to Justin Yu’s drunk food dream, The Party Melt, here are the best dishes we ate. 10. Scallops at Field & Tides…
Lawmakers Tussle After Republican Calls ICE on SB 4 Protesters at State Capitol
It all started with a mariachi band and megaphones outside the governor’s mansion at 3 a.m. Monday. The protests against SB 4, the anti-sanctuary cities law that immigrant rights advocates call racist, would continue for the next 12 or so hours in Austin, as hundreds of protesters swarmed the capitol…
Houston’s Hottest Summer Fun Runs and Other Ways to Stay in Shape
Because nothing gives Mother Nature the finger like running a 5 or 10K in the summertime Houston heat.
Houston Is Still at Risk of a Zika Outbreak
Summer is returning to Houston, bringing heat, humidity and fresh fears about mosquito-borne illnesses like Zika. From late spring to early fall, Houston offers an ideal climate for mosquitoes. The notorious aedes aegypti species can carry nasty diseases like Zika, chikungunya and dengue fever. Experts say it’s almost impossible to…
There’s Now an Energy Drink for Cats and Dogs Named After a Lethal Party Brew
It was only a matter of time for a product like Fur Loco to land on the market. Not surprising either that this new mind altering substance for cats and dogs comes from Apollo Peak, makers of an entire line of cat and dog wines including the Pinot Meow and…
Don’t Celebrate Yet, Astros Fans — The 2005 Season Proved Anything Can Happen
The Houston Astros lost 3-0 to the Milwaukee Brewers on May 27, 2005. That dropped the club’s record to 16-31, a remarkable 15 games behind the division leader. The Houston Chronicle pronounced the season dead and published a tombstone for the Astros in the following day’s paper. Then, improbably, the Astros…
Summer Fun In Houston: 2017 Edition
There are scores of fun happenings in Houston this summer. Here’s where to find them.
An Improbable Script Undoes When We Were Young and Unafraid
The set up: In an age where Planned Parenthood is being defunded, men are determined as ever to limit a woman’s dominion over her body and the President of the United States has bragged about grabbing unsuspecting women, it might seem that a story about a safe house for abused…
Before You Eat That Octopus
Welcome to Before You Eat That, which broaches all the annoying subjects that make you highly uncomfortable and that you don’t want to talk about. This is for all you schadenfreude joykills out there. First up, the ever continuing saga of the octopus. Are they perfectly okay to eat or…
Where Would 2016 Brock Osweiler Rank Among All-Time Cleveland Browns QBs?
I fully realize that if we go back to Friday, this makes two straight posts about former Texans quarterback Brock Osweiler. The guy’s not even in Houston anymore, so I know I should be able to let the whole Osweiler nightmare go, but I just can’t. My inability to free…
Exclusive: A Sneak Peek at Ohn Korean Eatery and Soju Bar
Mike Tran is on a roll. The restauranteur and chef behind hotspots such Aka Sushi, Tiger Den, Mein Chinese Restaurant and Night + Market (which is temporarily closed and undergoing a reconceptualization) is opening Ohn Korean Eatery in Chinatown on Wednesday, May 31, and it’s looking to be one of…
Hometown Vibe Boosts Neon Desert Into Nation’s Elite Festivals
In its seventh year, the music fest in downtown El Paso shone brighter than ever.
Is Ted Cruz, Most Hated Guy in the Senate, Trying to Change His Image?
It’s no secret that Sen. Ted Cruz isn’t exactly beloved by his fellow lawmakers. After all, he’s made his political career out of finding a way to oppose the majority on just about any issue that is set down in front of him. And initially that approach served him well…
Here Are the Five Big Highlights From the Texas Legislature This Year
This year, Memorial Day was supposed to mark the last day of the 85th legislative session — but not if Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick gets his way. Patrick has repeatedly threatened a special session over the bathroom bill and the property-tax reform bill as the regular session has drawn to…
Houston Punk Community Mourns 30footFALL Guitarist Chris LaForge
“He’s definitely one of the most genuine guys in the Houston music scene,” said one of Chris LaForge’s many friends before the 30footFALL guitarist passed away late Monday.
A Kaleidoscope of Houston’s Sizzling Summer Dance Nights
Summer’s here and the time is right for dancing in the streets, but this being Houston, indoors will do.
Give a Chance to Hank Azaria’s Brockmire, That Prick
For some reason, I can’t bring myself to hate Jim Brockmire. Played by comedian Hank Azaria, best known for his voice work on The Simpsons, Brockmire wears a perpetually wounded and somewhat confused expression, the look of a man coming off a bender who can’t find his car. His loud,…
Wonder Woman Emerges to Save the World But Risks Losing Herself
Perhaps Wonder Woman’s greatest superpower is enduring for the past 75 years as a wildly unstable signifier. Patty Jenkins’ Wonder Woman, starring Gal Gadot in the title role, further adds to this complicated, contradictory cluster of signs and symbols. Forged from deeply feminist sympathies, the character debuted in All Star…
One Day They’ll Say the Baywatch Movie Was the Day Dwayne Johnson Became President
Baywatch kinda baffled me. This R-rated comedy adaptation of the cheesy but sincere beach-set action series — which somehow became a worldwide phenomenon in the 1990s — is a movie that should be as enjoyably ridiculous as its source material. In some instances, it is. Director Seth Gordon (Horrible Bosses)…
New Address Brings Out Big Crowd, Same Local Love at Madness On Main
A change of venue couldn’t dampen the spirits of Bayou City music fans.
NASA Spots Five Asteroids That Will Be Flying Awfully Close to Earth Starting in July
NASA constantly monitors space looking for asteroids that might pose a threat to Earth, but Ron Baalke, a scientist at the federal agency’s Jet Propulsion Lab, recently took the time to point out five asteroids in particular that NASA will be keeping an eye on over the next year. The…
Handy Book Is Your Guide to 100 of Texas’s Greatest Swimming Holes
A new guide to the state’s best places to get wet not only tells you where they are, but how to access them, what’s nearby and what you can do when you get there.
Thousands of Texas Military Personnel Still Waiting to Rest in Peace
Nearly 70 years after he was killed in the Korean War, U.S. Army Corporal Luis Torres of Eagle Pass, Texas, was officially laid to rest. The 20-year old went missing on September 1, 1950, when his infantry division was surrounded by enemy soldiers along the east bank of South Korea’s…
Shows of the Week: A Gospel Superstar Reaches Non-Churchgoers For Once
The livest live music in the Bayou City for the last days of May and into June 2017.
Five Memorial Day Mixtapes You Need In Your Life
No Memorial Day is right without music, so fire up these five new tapes and get going.
The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance Is the Western That Works on Stage
Young British playwright Jethro Compton may be just the one we’ve been waiting for. The one who might resuscitate – nay, resurrect – the moribund, neglected theater genre known as the “oater,” a.k.a., the “cowboy” play. If you like westerns, saddle up and gallop over to Stages Repertory Theatre where…
The Powerful Sami Blood Finds a Teen Girl Coming of Rage in Lapland
Amanda Kernell’s scrupulously shaped coming-of-rage drama opens with Christina (Maj-Doris Rimpi), an elderly woman wearing sparkling pearls and a pitiless countenance, turning bitterly obstinate when taken back to the Lapland of her birth for her sister’s funeral. She’ll speak to no one, vows not to stay the night, and has…
Again With the Sad Clowns: The Missed Opportunities of I’m Dying Up Here
I’m Dying Up Here premieres June 4 on Showtime Mythologies are built on pain. It’s why nations remember the invasions they’ve suffered better than the ones they’ve perpetrated, why religions celebrate their martyrs, and why Disney princesses — among the most privileged individuals in their respective kingdoms — sing about…
Channelview Teachers Give 13-Year-Old Girl “Most Likely to Become Terrorist” Award
Apparently, the good old-fashioned superlatives of “most likely to become president” and “most likely to be high school sweethearts” are over. Because this week, teachers at a Channelview junior high school thought it was fine to give a 13-year-old girl a “mock award” for “most likely to become a terrorist.”…
Cannes’ Beguilements: Relishing the Latest from Lanthimos, Coppola and Baumbach
Imagine a remake of Cape Fear shot like Kubrick’s The Shining, with Max Cady recast as a child, and you’ll have some idea of the strangeness of Yorgos Lanthimos’s The Killing of a Sacred Deer. The film has quickly proved to be one of the most divisive titles at this…
Family of Couple Who Drowned During Memorial Day Flood Rescue Sues Houston
Two years after an elderly couple drowned as firefighters tried to rescue them during the historic Memorial Day Flood, their family has sued the city of Houston, alleging the couple’s would-be rescuers were not properly equipped nor trained. Jack and Shirley Alter drowned after the Houston Fire Department rescue boat…
Scrappy Rice Owls Not Dead Yet, Hope to Keep NCAA Postseason Streak Alive
Like Monty Python’s delusional Black Knight, the Rice Owls baseball team is not dead yet. Their epitaphs written by many in early April after a 14-25 start, the Owls have gone on an incredible streak that has put the team just two wins away from making its 23rd consecutive visit to…
Governor Abbott Signs Bill to Crack Down on Creepy Teacher-Student Relationships
Creepy teachers in Texas be warned: Governor Greg Abbott has signed into law a bill intended to crack down on inappropriate teacher-student relationships, hoping to put an end to the rise in such relationships over the past several years. Under the new law, principals or superintendents who fail to report…
Eight Ways to Avoid Being a Jerk at the Beach
It only takes a few bad apples to spoil the fun for everyone else. Don’t be that guy.
You Might Need an Umbrella for Memorial Day…or Not
Live in Houston long enough you realize that our weather forecasts are bound by different rules. The complex set of variables that is Texas and Gulf Coast weather makes meteorological prognostication rather difficult. So, before you go howling at the screen over our ambiguous forecast for the holiday ahead, try…
The Tempest a Miss for Houston Ballet
The Tempest isn’t nearly as effective as David Bintley probably hopes, the decision to stick so close to the play the one that hurts it the most. But it is a handsome show, one that won’t leave audiences bored, though they may leave wondering what exactly the point is.
Legislature Wants Texans to Shoot Feral Hogs From Hot Air Balloons
Because hunting feral hogs from helicopters was just getting too impractical and expensive, the Texas Legislature has now approved a new plan to help eradicate the pests: hunting them from hot air balloons. The Senate just passed House Bill 3535 this week, sending the bill up to Governor Greg Abbott’s…
Ex-Meteorologist Corrington Wheeler Brews Up a Storm Onstage
The former USAF meteorologist and post-hardcore singer explores some weighty themes on debut LP Seeking Light.
NOAA Predicts More Active Hurricane Season Than Last Year
There’s a damn good chance the Atlantic region will see five to nine hurricanes — including two to four of at least Category 3 strength — in the upcoming hurricane season. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration on Thursday unveiled its forecast for the 2017 hurricane season, which runs from…
