Sex, Food and Rock and Roll

TUE 3/2

When musician Lisa Loeb approached a record company about the idea of combining
her love of music with her affinity for food, she got some blank stares. “They
were confused by the concept of doing something people might actually like,”
says Loeb. But the Food Network not only liked the idea but proposed a weekly
sort-of-reality show based on the concept. Dweezil & Lisa, starring
the Dallas-born singer and her longtime boyfriend, guitarist Dweezil Zappa,
son of Frank, debuted in January. The show features the cutesy couple traipsing
from Phoenix to Puerto Rico, combining the elements of a cooking show with concert
footage and travel scenes. A recent episode had the geek-o-meter cranked to
ten, with Dweezil confiding, “I’m a guitar player who loves golf, but I’m obsessed
with tomato sauce.” And Lisa: “I like sneaking bacon into a vegetarian diet.”
Hey, who doesn’t?

Both singers have new albums ready for release in April. In keeping with the hodgepodge aspect of the show, the couple’s concert tour, which is stopping in Houston this week, combines some of Loeb’s songs — recall her 1994 Grammy-nominated “Stay” — with Zappa’s, plus some of his dad’s quirky stoner music from the Mothers of Invention days. Loeb says fans have been known to chow down at concerts. “At the gig in Milwaukee,” she says, “this lady showed up with all these great pies, so we shared them with the audience.”

Finally, we pop the question America really wants answered: What’s your favorite
food in the bedroom? Slight pause. “We eat pizza in bed watching TV.” 7 p.m.
Tuesday, March 2. Rhythm Room, 1815 Washington Avenue, 713-863-0493, www.rhythmroomhouston.com.
$15. — Greg Barr

GOODE CO. SEAFOOD’S SEA BREEZE

Sunday mornings are good for two things: church and cocktails. I had too many sins to count, so I headed out to look for a bar. I was jonesing for some fresh February oysters, and friends, there’s only one place to go, as far as I’m concerned. The guy sitting next to me at the counter of Goode Co. Seafood (2621 Westpark, 713-523-7154) was wound up like the Energizer Bunny. Turns out he’d been on a banger the night before, something about going to sleep around 6:30 that morning, and he was back at it a few hours later, sucking down Bloody Marys. I opted for a refreshing sea breeze, thinking the cranberry juice might actually help my tired, beat-up liver. He kept a running dialogue with Dave behind the bar. After a while, I realized they were old buds. As messed up as he was, his stories never stopped. I was still scratching sand out of my eyes, and here he was going on about a game of washers at the West Alabama Ice House nearly ten years ago. Actually, he proved to be entertaining. The drinks kept coming, and we kept talking. I had almost forgotten about the oysters when he mentioned them himself. In fact, he insisted on putting them on his tab. I polished them off, thanked them both and headed out the door.

2-1/4 ounces Grey Goose Le Citron vodka
3/4 ounces cranberry juice
Splash grapefruit juice

Fill a good-size old-fashioned glass with ice. Measure out the booze, followed
by the juices. Lime garnish optional. Great for church socials, garage sales
and four-year-olds’ birthday parties. — J.W. Crooker

Better Late Than Never

SAT 2/28

The folks at Premature Thoughts are having a Mardi Gras blowout this Saturday.
Apparently no one ever told them that the point of Mardi Gras is to get all
of the debauchery out of your system before Ash Wednesday, but we can’t
blame them for wanting to throw a kick-ass party. And what a party it will be:
Free beer and jungle juice should get the crowd all liquored up for performances
by halfway-underground acts like Vango BTB, Trockspin, Grinch and Q.U.E. Also
expect an open-mike session for all you wannabe rappers during the instrumental
funk/metal stylings of Green Rhino. And no bacchanal would be complete without
beads for boobs. Mardi on. 7 p.m. Saturday, February 28. 4116 East Crosstimbers.
For information, visit www.houstongraffiti.com.
$10. — Keith Plocek

Feel the Bass

FRI 2/27

You don’t have to be inebriated to enjoy a Primus show, but it sure doesn’t hurt. There’s just something about the band’s thumping basslines and wacked-out lyrics that’ll really take a buzz to the next level. It’s almost as if the band expects some sloppiness from fans. But don’t get all crunked up and expect a friendly conversation backstage with lead singer/bassist Les Claypool. “When you’re exhausted after a show and you’re tripping on mushrooms, it’s a bit awkward being approached by strangers, and sometimes you just can’t give it your all,” he once told a fan. We can respect that. 8 p.m. Friday, February 27. Verizon Wireless Theater, 520 Texas. For information, call 713-230-1600 or visit www.primussucks.com. $33.50. — Keith Plocek