The Man with the Golden Horn
Milton Martin spends his days blowing his soprano sax from his wheelchair in the bright sun at the corner of Main and McKinney, hard by the assemblage of broken dreams and frustrated town planning that is Main Street Square. Over an everyday assemblage of abject, bullyragging winos, hard-looking dudes with…
Cooking Shows Are Going to the Dogs
Dog show! In today’s world of cooking shows on every network from PBS to Bravo to the Travel Channel, there’s a format for every viewer. Like cutesy meals that don’t require a lot of effort? Rachael Ray or Sandra Lee. Enjoy watching people digest ungodly and ill-advised foods? Andrew Zimmern. Rather…
State Rep. Craig Eiland’s A True Ike Victim: He’s Suing The State’s Insurance Group
The Texas Windstorm Insurance Association (TWIA), a last-resort insurer, is dragging its feet on claims filed after Hurricane Ike, and Democratic State Rep. Craig Eiland isn’t having it.According to the Galveston County Daily News, last week Eiland filed suit against TWIA, as have 50 other coastal business owners, for its…
MySpaced Out: “Fuck Radiohead” and Some Twisted Tennesseeans
MySpace is a great place for discovering off-the-wall tunes and performers. Here are three wack jobs from cyberspace that hail from that weird place that Captain Beefheart found so easily and in so many forms. The Russian Sextoys: For every Radiohead fan, there’s someone like this French trio who’d like…
Texas, You’re Not Drinking Enough Hard Liquor, Say Hard-Liquor Sellers
The people who are trying to sell hard liquor to hard Texans are upset.They’re petitioning the legislature, hoping to push Senate Bill 1216 (sponsored by Houston’s Rodney Ellis), which would allow liquor-store owners to have more than five stores.Right now, the only people who can own more than a handful…
Houston Remembers Kurt Cobain, 15 Years Postmortem
Today marks the fifteenth anniversary of a Seattle electrician discovering the dead body of Nirvana frontman Kurt Cobain in a small room above the musician’s garage. The man who busted indie and punk out of their respective undergrounds had killed himself days prior, with a shotgun that Earth frontman and…
Molecular Madness at Max’s Wine Dive
Pretty. But is it pretty tasty? What if our relationship to food was not one of physical necessity? What if we consumed food not for corporeal nourishment but solely for pleasure and intellectual stimulation, much as a music lover consumes a symphony or as an art lover consumes a painting?…
The “Heidi Fleiss Of Houston” Is Now Recruiting Nannies. Really
For years, Debbie Turbiville made a living knowing how to recruit prostitutes – or at least that’s how the woman referred to a “Houston’s Heidi Fleiss” has been painted ever since police shut down her allegedly high-class hooker ring.But recruiting is recruiting is recruiting – the skillset required to find…
Honey, It’s Not What You Think
After more than forty years of marriage, there are few gifts a husband hasn’t already given his wife. But local man Shelly Neider has managed to find one.”One year ago Shelly Neider of Houston wanted to give his high school sweetheart and wife of over 40 years a gift to…
Seder You There!
Passover begins tonight at sundown and if you haven’t already made plans for Seder tonight or tomorrow night, we’ve got you covered. Seder, one of the most vital Jewish holidays, commemorates the Jewish peoples’ release from slavery and the Exodus from Egypt. For the non-Jews among us, think of it as the Thanksgiving dinner to…
Artist of the Week: Outspoken Bean
Each Wednesday, Rocks Off arbitrarily appoints one lucky local performer or group “Artist of the Week,” bestowing upon them all the fame and grandeur such a lofty title implies. Know a band or artist that isn’t awful? Email their particulars to introducingliston@gmail.com. Up until recently, we were pretty well of…
Mike Tyson: Back In Our Hearts Again?
Mike Tyson’s had an…ummm….interesting life. Winning the heavyweight title, getting convicted of rape, biting guy’s ears off, making $300 million over his career but going bankrupt, being the basis for The Simpsons’ Drederick Tatum.It’s a full life.And now it’s being examined in a feature-length documentary by James Toback, a director…
Rumors Are Always True: U2 Hits Reliant Stadium October 14
Just as Rocks Off suspected, U2 and Live Nation announced Tuesday evening that the Irish band’s record-smashing 360 tour will stop at Reliant Stadium Wednesday, October 14, with “Supermassive Black Hole” UK space-rock trio Muse opening. Tickets for the Houston show – and, if you must, the October 12 date at…
Closing: The Last Ike Recovery Center Remaining Open
It’s a milestone of sorts: The last Ike recovery center still operating will close its doors Friday.At one time 130 such centers were open, but now the only one left is at the Galveston Island Community Center on Broadway. It’s served 28,000 visitors, FEMA says.”The recovery centers provided much-needed one-on-one…
$13 at Bill’s Cafe
Where: Bill’s Café, 22845 Loop 494, Kingwood, 281-358-6198 What $13 gets you: Basically anything on the menu, from burgers, fries and beer to chicken wings and fried mozzarella sticks. This unpretentious burger joint doesn’t put on airs or gouge its customers. Bill’s is a long-held Kingwood secret. It looks a…
Classic Rock Corner: Nils Lofgren, Sideman, Sideburns and Solo
It’s certainly an accomplishment for any rock musician to have a long and fruitful career either solo or with a band. Then it’s icing on the cake to be further associated with a genuine icon. But to have two icons in your story? Just an embarrassment of riches. In the…
WrestleMania: The Fans. Let’s Not Forget The Fans
Last Sunday’s WrestleMania promised to bring the faithful to Houston, and in that regard at least, it didn’t disappoint (unless by “faithful” you were expecting personages of some religious significance, in which case you’d certainly be a little disappointed). Let’s take a look back at some of the more colorful…
Idol Beat: The Top Eight
Long before being voted in as California’s current governor, Arnold Schwarzenegger starred in a popular sci-fi action movie called Predator. The specifics of the plot aren’t important, but the underlying schematic is a bunch of characters getting picked off, one by one, by some dangerous, mysterious other. (See also Alien,…
Rockets-Magic: Landry Makes Triumphant Return
It was just over three weeks ago that Carl Landry was running for his life, attempting to dodge bullets from assailants who sideswiped his car, punctured his left calf and chased him until he hid between a house and a fence, waiting for emergency help while blood gushed out of…
Rockets-Magic: Landry Makes Triumphant Return
It was just over three weeks ago that Carl Landry was running for his life, attempting to dodge bullets from assailants who sideswiped his car, punctured his left calf and chased him until he hid between a house and a fence, waiting for emergency help while blood gushed out of…
Lord, Save Us From Amateur Chronicle Bloggers
We know the Houston Chronicle’s philosophy is “Let no blogger go unblogged,” but sometimes the results are just…out there.Take “TexasSparkle.” She’s a very conservative amateur blogger who gets highlighted on the Chron’s home page often.Of course, Obama is the anti-Christ, a socialist-Marxist-fifth-columnist, or whatever the latest talking points from Rush…
10 Jobs That Are Tougher Than Jim Nantz’s
Listening to Jim Rome yesterday, I learned that Jim Nantz is the toughest man in the world. Nantz is a tough bastard because, according to Rome, Nantz was able to do play-by-play for college basketball in Detroit on Monday night, fly first class to Atlanta, then head out to Augusta…
10 Jobs That Are Tougher Than Jim Nantz’s
Listening to Jim Rome yesterday, I learned that Jim Nantz is the toughest man in the world. Nantz is a tough bastard because, according to Rome, Nantz was able to do play-by-play for college basketball in Detroit on Monday night, fly first class to Atlanta, then head out to Augusta…
Let’s Jump To Conclusions About That Bellaire Cop
Bellaire police officer Jeff Cotton, who was indicted for shooting Robert Tolan, insists he’s not someone who indulges in racial profiling. Well, he doesn’t insist. Nor does his attorney. Instead, a spokesman for his attorney insists, to the Houston Chronicle, that he’s no profiler. Just because he shot an unarmed…
Army Chaplain Has Plenty Of Medals, But Can’t Get Insurance For His Kids
When it comes to being covered by your insurance company, years of dedicated service in the Army and all the Purple Hearts in the world don’t mean squat. At least that’s what one decorated Iraq War serviceman says he’s finding out.According to a lawsuit recently filed in Houston federal court,…
Spam Sushi: Here and There
When President Obama requested Spam musubi during a golf outing on his pre-inauguration Hawaiian vacation, he struck a blow for Hawaiian cuisine and brought new attention to the peculiar Polynesian snack. Yes, of course you can get Spam musubi in cosmopolitan Space City. But how does our local version compare…
Drinking Pepsi Means You Support Gay Orgies, Totally Reasonable Texan Asserts
Is Pepsi in bed with the gays? That’s what former Texas Republican Party Treasurer and General Counsel Gina Parker Ford believes. Hair Balls knows this because Ford sent us a commentary detailing her outrage over a recent episode of Family Guy that “promote[d] homosexuality, gay orgies and also slander[ed] Christianity.”…
Time Grudgingly Credits The Chronicle For Its Work On Army-Recruiter Suicides
Time magazine has done a comprehensive report on the suicides among Army recruiters, a massive piece with plenty of attention paid to the troubles in Houston.As we read it, we wondered — more and more as it went on — how they were not giving any credit to the Houston…
Album of the Week: Keep Your Soul: A Tribute to Doug Sahm
As much as he deserves one – make that several – Doug Sahm is a tricky subject for a tribute album. The late San Antonio native known as “Sir Doug” was a true musical polymath, a master of just about every form of post-WWII popular music, both the big ones – country, blues,…
Houston Artist Overcoming Autism To Make Music For Hollywood, Maybe
Houston singer Kyle Cousins is making Hollywood take notice, not only because the 19-year-old suffers from autism, but because his songs rock.The fashionable teen already has a bevy of his songs available on iTunes and now it looks like one of his songs is up for consideration as the theme…
Dept. Of Good Ideas: Transtar Is Twittering
Transtar, the umbrella agency that coordinates traffic on Houston roads, is entering the Twitterarium, or whatever the kidz be calling it these days.Go to their main link and you can get individualized Twittering for all of the area’s main roads.”Twitter is a great way to give travelers the quickest, simplest…
Tonight: MDC at Walter’s on Washington
Early 80’s hardcore punk would have been a tad empty without Austin’s Millions Of Dead Cops (or MDC for short). Singer Dave Dictor was one of the first sexually ambigious – as outlined on “America’s So Straight,” from the band’s 1982 debut Millions of Dead Cops – singers among the…
Houston’s Worth It, Says Visiting Brit
Madame B., a blogger for Here Is The City News, “London’s fastest growing financial website,” was quite charmed by her recent stay here. “Let’s All Move to Houston” she urged in her headline, under which she gushed about her stay at the plush Royalton at River Oaks, with its free…
Brenner’s and Saint Arnold: Food & Beer Pairing Dinner
Food and wine pairing has long been a passionate pursuit of the culinary world. What goes better with a mild, nutty Edam cheese than a good Pinot Noir? Or with a thick filet mignon than a Cabernet Sauvignon, its harsh tannins balanced out by the proteins of the meat? But…
City Still Hiding BARC Documents, Despite AG’s Ruling
As Hair Balls has previously noted, the City of Houston apparently doesn’t want its citizens knowing what’s going on at the Bureau of Animal Regulation and Care. For the past few months, advocates concerned for the health and safety of the more than 20,000 animals BARC processes each year have…
Houston Attorney Represents Another Tarnished Evangelist
Houston attorney Don Ervin has apparently become the go-to guy for (allegedly, allegedly) sleazy televangelists.Ervin represented Jim Bakker (of PTL and Tammy Faye fame) when he was fighting charges of mail fraud; now he’s representing Tony Alamo, a 74-year-old preacher accused of crossing state lines to have sex with underage…
Austin City Limits Goes Grunge; Tickets On Sale Today
Just in time for tickets to go on sale – as in now – leaks have conveniently begun to spring in C3 Entertainment’s carefully under wraps lineup for this year’s Austin City Limits Music Festival, scheduled for October 2-4 in Zilker Park. (Don’t worry, Longhorn fans: Unlike last year, that’s…
Mims Hopes He’s Still Hot
In 2007, you’d have hard going trying to find a radio station/club/block party/baby christening that was not blaring Mims’ beautifully simplistic “This Is Why I’m Hot.” It was absurdly catchy, spawning countless bootleg remixes, parodies, and even a thesis by the Village Voice’s own Rob Harvilla that received honorable mention…
UT Actually Makes The Final Four For Once: In Chess, And In Brownsville
While UT barely made it out of the first round in this year’s college basketball tournament, a lesser known member of the state university system was playing in the Final Four … of chess.UT Brownsville/Texas Southmost College wiped the geek right off the faces of the players from Stanford to…
Springsteen Tickets for 20 Bucks
It’s always nice to find something out from the daily, but when it involves Bruce Springsteen, Rocks Off is more than happy to poach, poach away. According to this item on the Chronicle’s new entertainment/lifestyle website, 29-95.com – which debuted last week to nary a mention from its print parent,…
Get Lit: Revolution in the Air: The Songs of Bob Dylan 1957-1973 by Clinton Heylin
Will all due respect to the other major biographers over the years – Scaduto, Shelton, Spitz, and Sounes – it’s Clinton Heylin’s Bob Dylan: Behind the Shades Revisited that stands as the best and most comprehensive book on the Bard of Hibbing. So it’s wholly appropriate that the author takes…
AG Declares Revolutionary Gas-Saving Device Not So Revolutionary
Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott has bravely defended Texans from being….incredibly, incredibly stupid?Abbott announced today that his office has obtained a temporary restraining order shutting down a business called Media Dime Marketing. MDM sold something called the “MPG Device,” which promised to increase fuel efficiency.Advertising mostly in Spanish-language media, the…
The Chron’s Clifford Pugh Lands On His Feet, Locally
We called the axing of Chronicle features writer Clifford Pugh the most surprising in the recent round of cuts at the paper, and we have to say — either he’s got a lot of fans, or every single one of them decided to leave a comment on the various Chron…
NCAA Finals: Technically, That Was a Basketball Game
I’ve got a bit of a tradition. Every NCAA Men’s Basketball title game, I get together with one of my best friends, Jodie. College basketball to her is like baseball is to me. So every year, more or less, since 1990, we’ve gotten together to watch basketball. Including last night…
NCAA Finals: Technically, That Was a Basketball Game
I’ve got a bit of a tradition. Every NCAA Men’s Basketball title game, I get together with one of my best friends, Jodie. College basketball to her is like baseball is to me. So every year, more or less, since 1990, we’ve gotten together to watch basketball. Including last night…
Even Burt Reynolds In That Black Trans-Am, All Gonna Meet Down At The Lakewood Yacht Club
Houston is once again proudly claiming its mantle for all things classy. For it is here — not in Paris, not in Monaco or Palm Springs — where Burt Reynold’s legendary Bandit will be auctioned off next month.What is the Bandit, you ask, obviously putting down your dog-eared copy of…
Fighting For The Freeland Bungalows
Tucked deep into a corner of the Heights southwest of Fitzgerald’s is Freeland, a historic (by Houston standards, of course) neighborhood of about three one-story dozen bungalows.And, possibly, one giant modern apartment building.Freeland residents are hanging posters, firing e-mails and pressuring officials to try to stop a developer from demolishing…
Something New To Worry About: Chinese Drywall
If your house smells like rotten eggs, don’t blame the dog. It may be the Chinese drywall the house was built with a few years ago. America’s Watchdog, which calls itself a national consumer-advocacy group, discovered numerous cases in Florida, Virginia, Maryland and the entire Gulf coast where toxic Chinese…
Enough With the Crazy-Ass Huge Families Already!
Jon & Kate Plus 8 (a.k.a. Look at the Man With the Dead Eyes as His Angry Wife Castrates Him In Front of America). 18 Kids and Counting (a.k.a. Making Babies for Jesus). And now, Table for 12, yet another reality show that follows people who apparently were too embarrassed…
A Couple of Lucky First Pitches for the Astros’ Opening Day
The Astros’ 2009 season should be getting underway any minute now, and while their on-field prospects this year are a little reminiscent of Major League – “Every newspaper in the country has picked us to finish last… the local press seems to think we’d save everybody a lot of time…
Russo’s Coal Oven Pizza: Charmingly Charred
The new location of Russo’s Coal Oven Pizza on I-10 near Echo is not afraid to char the crust a little. The oven was running at 660 degrees when I stopped in at 3:30 in the afternoon. I ordered a large size pie with Italian sausage. The hand-thrown dough was…
Surprise, Surprise: Yet Another Delay In 15-Year-Old DNA Case
Back in January Hair Balls brought you the saga of the seemingly endless DNA case of convicted grandma-killer Charles Raby. He’s been on Death Row since 1994, and the DNA challenge has been going on for more than six years. Today’s scheduled ruling was pushed back yet again. Sarah Frazier, Raby’s…
Aftermath: Jandek at Rudyard’s
Aftermath had literally no idea what to expect at Sunday afternoon’s Jandek show at Rudyard’s, the first-ever public performance in Houston by one of the world’s leading “outsider” musicians (who just happens to live here). From the little he knows of Jandek’s prodigious catalogue, his best guess would have been…
Now Bolivar Wants In On The Whole Gambling Thing
We’ve already noted that some Galveston residents are hoping that legalized gambling is the island’s ticket for a post-Ike comeback; now it’s Bolivar Peninsula getting in on the action.Galveston County Commissioner Patrick Doyle who represents the devastated area, tells KHOU the devastation is a big selling point.”The slate is clean…
Like It Or Not, The Astros Season Begins
Later today, at Minute Maid Park — a facility that is one-third of the way towards obsolete at 30 years old — the Astros begin their new season.We have not noticed any tidal wave of demand for them to do so, but it seems they are contractually obligated.It’s hard to…
Civil Suit Against Bellaire Is Coming No Matter What Happens With Indictment, Attorneys Say
As Hair Balls reported earlier, Bellaire cop Jeffrey Cotton was indicted for the December 31 shooting of Robbie Tolan.George Gibson and Geoffrey Berg, Tolan’s attorneys, announced that the Tolan family will be filing a civil lawsuit, regardless of the outcome of the criminal case against Cotton. Gibson refused to give…
Aftermath: Stephen Lynch at Verizon Wireless Theater
If anyone knows crowd control, it’s Stephen Lynch. He has to. Just as he assured us in our interview, someone was bellowing out for “Almighty Malachi, Bowling God” after the evening’s very first song Saturday night. Lynch improvised a short, two-line ditty instructing the fan to “bowl yourself into my…
Best Buddies Get Together At St. Thomas
Photo by Thomas RundleAlthough Robert doesn’t speak except for the occasional drawn-out yes or no, he draws back his head covered in wispy white hair, his eyes light up and his mouth opens up in a gap-toothed grin expressing excitement. He lives in the Center, an assisted-living facility for people…
Aftermath: Copeland, This Providence and Brooke Waggoner at JavaJazz
With a charming and agreeable voice mirroring the likes of Colbie Caillat and Ingrid Michaelson, Houston-born Brooke Waggoner opened Sunday’s show at JavaJazz, impressing the crowd with the catchy keyboards of “Hush If You Must.” Compared to the recorded versions, the songs’ richer textures and quicker tempos live made them…
Lonesome Onry and Mean: Best In Texas and Pat Green’s “Grownup” New Album
As anyone with half a clue knows, Best in Texas magazine is little more than a low-rent People, an open public-relations channel for Texas music performers and labels with the bucks to sit at the table. About the only difference between People and BiT is that, instead of Britney Spears…
Breaking: Bellaire Cop Who Shot Tolan Is Indicted
A grand jury has indicted the Bellaire cop who shot Robert Tolan, the son of baseball player Bobby Tolan, in his driveway last year.Sgt. Jeffrey Cotton was indicted on a charge of Aggravated Assault by a Public Servant, a first-degree felony whose conviction carries a punishment of not less than…
WrestleMania: The Slideshow!!!!!
“Have you ever seen a one-legged dog making its way down the street? If you’ve ever seen a one-legged dog than you’ve seen me,” Bruce Springsteen sings in the title song to The Wrestler.Well, we’ve never seen a one-legged dog, to be honest, but we could have seen Mickey Rourke…
Turning the Screw: UGK, DMX, Common, The Kanye, T.I., Ice Cube, Trick Daddy, Lil Keke and More
Welcome back to Turning the Screw, Rocks Off’s weekly rap post. It probably won’t rhyme, at least most of the time. E-mail tips to introducingliston@gmail.com. Thanks, homies. Single of the Week: Hollywood F.L.O.S.S., “Attack of Hollywood” Wire To Wire The new UGK is really good. Buy it. Matter of fact,…
The Heights Says It’s Beating The Recession
Houston’s doing better than most of the rest of the country economically — at least that’s the consensus among the local talking heads. Hair Balls visited the Heights’ 1st Saturday Sale to see if money was indeed changing hands. Grace Hart, of Grace Hart and Company, an antiques store on…
A Small Colorado Town Becomes “Capital of Transsexuals” And Houston Hears About It
More than three years ago cinematographer/director PJ Raval heard about a small town in Colorado that was “the sex change capital of America.” Intrigued, he contacted the doctor, herself a transsexual woman, and began a conversation that resulted in a two-and-a-half year film project, Trinidad. “I had never heard of…
Houston Astros 2009 Season Preview Part 2: Happy Opening Day!
Are you psyched? I’m psyched, so I hope you’re psyched. Of course, I’m psyched because I love baseball, not because I think the Astros are any good. And after I take a look at the team, I don’t think you’ll be psyched about this team, either. But first…here is the…
Houston Astros 2009 Season Preview Part 2: Happy Opening Day!
Are you psyched? I’m psyched, so I hope you’re psyched. Of course, I’m psyched because I love baseball, not because I think the Astros are any good. And after I take a look at the team, I don’t think you’ll be psyched about this team, either. But first…here is the…
Wrestling: Hot Sweaty Guys With Mullets
They rassled last night. At that there Reliant Stadium. People waved big belts and jumped from things. We’ll have a full slideshow of all the excitement up soon, but til then here’s a couple of shots to whet your appetite…
Intercontinental BBQ
The brisket in the steam table bin looked hopelessly dried out when I stopped into Barney’s BBQ at FM 1960 just east of the Hardy Toll Road around 12:30 in the afternoon. I asked for a sliced brisket and sausage sandwich and requested my meat from the fatty end of…
The Sleaziness Of The Door-To-Door Magazine-Subscriptions Industry Continues
Editor’s Note: The following article has been updated to clarify some statements made in the original. To clarify, we did not mean to suggest that Levonia Stancil is the owner of Unified Doers Management Group. And we wish to make clear that it is Darrick Stancil who settled a civil…
Tonight: Dafnis Prieto Sextet at the Wortham Center
The Beaty Brothers, a duo formed by two Texas-born twins, has a story that seems right out of a TV movie – growing as part of a broken family with a troubled history of substance abuse, saxophonist John Beaty and trombonist Joe Beaty trombonist Joe Beaty struggled to get their…
(Another) Local Album of the Week: Spain Colored Orange’s Sneaky Like a Villain
Spain Colored Orange Sneaky Like a Villain www.myspace.com/spaincolouredorange Thanks to differences with Spain Colored Orange’s former label Lucid Records, the songs on the local psych-pop quintet’s brand-new disc Sneaky Like a Villain are already old hat to the band members. For the rest of us, though, Sneaky – released on…
Lou Perryman, A Star In Houston’s Biggest Cult Film, Murdered In Austin
Bad news from the state capital… Actor Lou Perryman — who played Claude in Eagle Pennell’s 1983 Houston-shot film Last Night at the Alamo — was stabbed to death April 1 in his South Austin home. Perryman was 68. A suspect is in custody.Perryman’s most prominent role nationally was as…
Thelma’s Barbecue Reopens; City Can Relax Again
Thelma’s, the well-loved barbecue place savaged by a February fire, has reopened.It’s got a new address, 3755 Southmore Boulevard, at the corner of Southmore and Scott.They’re so happy about it they couldn’t take their fingers off the caps key:MON-FRI 11AM-7PM; SAT 11:30AM-7PM AND CLOSED ON SUNDAYTHANKS FOR SPREADING THE WORD!!!THELMA…
Thelma’s Barbecue Reopens; City Can Relax Again
Thelma’s, the well-loved barbecue place savaged by a February fire, has reopened.It’s got a new address, 3755 Southmore Boulevard, at the corner of Southmore and Scott.They’re so happy about it they couldn’t take their fingers off the caps key:MON-FRI 11AM-7PM; SAT 11:30AM-7PM AND CLOSED ON SUNDAYTHANKS FOR SPREADING THE WORD!!!THELMA…
Lisa Nowak Ordered To Undergo Psychiatric Testing
Lisa Nowak, the former Houston astronaut whose lovesick, (possibly) adult diaper-enabled 1000-mile drive from Houston to Orlando made international news in 2007, has been ordered by a Florida judge to undergo psychiatric testing.According to an Orlando TV station, Nowak’s attorneys might be planning an insanity defense. They claim she suffers…
Seattle’s KEXP Loves Our Hungry Villagers
The fruits of Hungry Villagers’ labors have seemingly paid off. Today, while perusing the concert industry website livedaily.com, we saw the Houston indie-pop group has today’s free download of the day, new track “Tree Full Of Ghosts.” Further investigation led us to the music blog for influential Seattle indie station…
An Actual (Alleged) Dick-Measuring Contest Spawns Lawsuit
Allegations that the CEO of an energy company dropped his pants during a work dinner, tried to force his way into the hotel room of a woman colleague and stole the woman’s cell phone in order to place sexual prank calls may be bunk, but at least they’ve got a…
Alleged Killer Nurse Has At Least One Defender
A nurse at the Lufkin Dialysis Center injected her patients with bleach, murdering five of them and injuring five more, according to an indictment released today from an Angelina County grand jury. Kimberly Saenz was arrested this week and charged with capital murder and five counts of aggravated assault for…
Aftermath: Kevin Welch and Dustin Welch at McGonigel’s Mucky Duck
This was not the usual Mucky Duck opener, some member of the street team with a guitar and a desire to hang with rock stars. Dustin (son of Kevin) Welch stunned the sparse crowd at the Duck last night from the first note of “One False Move,” the brilliant opener…
This Week In Deliciousness
What’s the first thing you’d like to hear about on a Monday? Personally, a great Monday morning, to me, is when you find out there’s a new bar in town serving carefully crafted cocktails. Katharine Shilcutt interviewed the proprietors, and we all got thirsty just thinking about it. Next, Ms…
Lost Tuneage: Jerry Lynn Williams
Who Dat? I’d forgotten about Fort Worth rocker and soul man Jerry Lynn Williams until the other day when I was reading Eric Clapton’s autobiography. Warner Bros. had returned Clapton’s tapes from sessions in Montserrat and, to keep his Warner’s deal, Clapton agreed the company should suggest songs they thought…
For The Final Four: Five Most Inspirational Pre-Game Speeches
As the NCAA Tournament builds to a climax, one can only speculate about the kinds of speeches offered by the likes of Texas’ Rick Barnes and OU’s Jeff Capel before their respective matches against Duke and North Carolina. One thing seems certain, it probably wouldn’t have hurt to have one…
Five Spot: Pitbull Has Nothing On Houston’s V-Zilla
Welcome back to Five Spot. Every Friday, we’ll examine a recent bit of music news and, sometimes awkwardly, tie it to a bit of Houston rap. It’s five videos and occasional cussing. Send tips to introducingliston@gmail.com. Wednesday afternoon, Billboard announced that Cuban rapper Pitbull moved his Mr. 305 imprint over…
9 Questions With Stephen Lynch a.k.a. Yusuf Mohammed
Rocks Off was recently able to conduct an e-mail interview with comedian / musician Stephen Lynch, who plays tomorrow night (Saturday, April 4) at the Verizon Wireless Theater. Rocks Off: We’ll get the dry, technical question out of the way first: what comes first, the music or the lyrics? Do…
UH’s Student Newspaper Apologizes For Running Holocaust-Denial Ad
If you’re going to take an ad in your newspaper, it’s probably a good idea to check whether it’s from a group whose website banners a challenge to the US Holocaust Museum that says “Please provide, with proof, the name of one person who was killed in the gas chambers…
For WrestleMania: The Five Best Acting Jobs By Wrestlers
You can act like Houston hosting one of the biggest sporting events of the year isn’t that big a deal, but 70,000 screaming whack-jobs with rage issues descending upon our fair city from the four corners of the earth would probably disagree. And if you think wrestling contributes nothing of…
Houston’s Program To Help Women-Owned Businesses Gets Revamped
After today, set-asides for women-owned businesses in Houston may be set aside forever. The move stems from a federal lawsuit brought in 1996 by business owner Robert Kossman who alleged the city’s MWBE program discriminated against him because he was white.U.S. District Judge Lynn Hughes gave the city until today…
The Lazy Gardener Gets Shown The Door
The print edition of the Chronicle will no longer include the “Lazy Gardener” column, which has been a feature of the paper for 40 years.Current columnist Brenda Beust Smith says here the column will be going online only.In an e-mail to fans, she’s a little more blunt: I’m in mourning…
Aeros Running Out of Steam, Goalies
For a team that is just two wins away from clinching a playoff spot, the Houston Aeros have played more than their share of bad hockey this season. And last night, with a chance to move ever closer to that playoff spot, the Aeros turned in one of their worst…
Aeros Running Out of Steam, Goalies
For a team that is just two wins away from clinching a playoff spot, the Houston Aeros have played more than their share of bad hockey this season. And last night, with a chance to move ever closer to that playoff spot, the Aeros turned in one of their worst…
Bryan Caswell: Houston’s Best New Chef
Bryan Caswell, who was just named one of Food & Wine’s Best New Chefs of 2009, took to Twitter immediately after the official announcement to share his joy with the world. Past recipients of the Best New Chef award, which recognizes rising culinary stars across the United States, have included such influential chefs as…
One Man’s Fight To Legalize It
As lawmakers scramble to address the surge of violence spawned by Mexican drug cartels seeping into our borders, the question of legalizing drugs has once again been raised — and not just by a bunch of hippies. Russ Jones, a member of Law Enforcement Against Prohibition (LEAP), tells Hair Balls that…
That’s One Ballsy Ex-Cop In Beaumont
Paul Perritt is one ballsy man.He used to be a Beaumont police officer. That career ended when it was discovered he had stolen more than $142,000 from the Beaumont Police Association. The thievery was made somewhat easier by the fact that he was the organization’s treasurer (His motto: “The Books…
Rice Students Get Their Art Displayed On Billboards! In, Ummm, College Station
It’s not every day that college art students get to see their work displayed on billboards, but that’s what’s happening with a group of Rice seniors – they’ll just have to drive to College Station to it.Rice University was kind enough to send Hair Balls a press release explaining how…
The Rebirth Of A Cemetery
Olivewood Cemetery, established just after the end of the Civil War, is home to Houston’s first freemen. Among the buried are a 100-plus-year-old woman who came to America on a slave ship in the late 1770’s but lived long enough to see the end of slavery, the man who started…
Hung Kee Dumplings To Go
It’s only $6.95 for the all-you-can-eat buffet, the waitress at Hung Kee Chinese restaurant on St. Emanuel St. in Old Chinatown pointed out. So why pay $4.95 for one order of dumplings? Because the rest of the food on the buffet line looked old and tired? Because I was the…
Mango’s Becomes Full-Time Music Venue Next Weekend
The Houston scene has another music venue in the mix, as Mango’s Café on Westheimer has its grand opening next Friday with a huge show headlined by the Sideshow Tramps. Took ’em that long to get the joint cleaned up from the Homopolice show, we imagine, and let’s hope they got the…
Sex Claims Against High-Profile Lawyer Dismissed
We took notice last year when high-profile plaintiffs’ attorney Richard Laminack was sued for sexual harassment.So it’s only fair to take note that the case has been dismissed.”I have always had faith in the system and knew that the facts would speak for themselves,” Laminack said in a prepared statement…
The Best Wrestler Theme Songs of All Time
With Wrestlemania in town for its 25th anniversary, Rocks Off thought we could take a little stroll down memory lane and relive some of the WWE’s best wrestling theme songs. Nowadays, the WWE can afford to purchase the rights to slick, well-produced songs by popular music acts such as Saliva,…
HISD Board Still Struggling With Stunning New Concept Of “Television”
Two years ago, we wrote about how HISD was having trouble with the seemingly simple task of televising their meetings on the cable channel they run.The district had long said their outdated headquarters building couldn’t handle the logistics, which sounded shaky enough; after moving into a new building and not…
Album of the Week: Shooter Jennings & the .357s’ Bad Magick
Shooter Jennings & the .357s Bad Magick www.shooterjennings.com “I don’t wanna be a legend/ I just wanna be a man,” Shooter Jennings sings on “Living Proof,” a Hank Williams Jr. cover and one of two previously unreleased songs on Bad Magick, which otherwise rounds up the best of Jennings’ three…
The DA Takes On Illegals, Because She Can
Not content to throw two of her prosecutors into the blender last week, Harris County DA Pat Lykos has decided to turn her guns on yet another unimportant bloc of voters – illegal immigrants.The Chron picks up the tale:”Four senior assistant district attorneys, speaking anonymously to protect their jobs, said…
Tonight: Carrie Rodriguez and Jubal Lee Young at Conroe’s Free First Thursday
Carrie Rodriguez kicks of Conroe’s free First Thursdays concert series tonight. After a long tenure as a duet with hall-of-fame-quality songwriter Chip Taylor, Rodriguez struck out on her own last year with She Ain’t Me. The album is very much in a Patty Griffin vein, but the title track would…
Bank Robberies Continue To Soar In Houston
Photo courtesy FBIBank robbers had a banner year in Houston in 2008, but it appears 2009 is going to be even better. (Or worse, if you’re a law-abiding citizen.)FBI Special Agent Patricia Villafranca says robberies are up in a big, big way: “The Houston Bank Robbery Task Force, which investigates…
The Chronicle Gets Slutty
Good Lord.Where would you expect to read something like this? You’ve got questions and I’ve got answers.MILF at 9:33am on April 1, 2009Don’t believe me? Too bad for you because I can help you liven things up in the bedroom (or anyplace else that you might want to get naked…
Oh, Aldine ISD: Get Ready To Have Your Heart Broken Again
We’ve noted before how Aldine ISD is the Susan Lucci of school districts when it comes to the prestigious Broad Prize.Three times in the six-year history of the award, Aldine has been one of the five named finalists. They’ve never won it, though.And this year….they’re nominated again. BY THE MOST…
Sandra Cisneros At Rice: Tales Of Beer, Urine & Sausage
Photo by Amina RiveraAuthor Sandra Cisneros and Nuestra Palabra marked the 25th anniversary of her popular book, The House on Mango Street with a reading at Rice University last night that was more like a reunion among old friends. The Shell Auditorium was brimming with giddy followers as Cisneros shared…
See How Long You Can Make It Through This Before Losing It
It won’t take long, trust me. Rocks Off was close after the Twins’ “Walmart-K Mart” call-and-response, but he was a goner when the “God damn racist Kool-Aid” caption flashed on the screen. Nawida slizzerator!…
Idol Beat: The Top Nine Results
Karma’s a bitch, ain’t it? Megan Joy admits that she doesn’t care what Simon Cowell thinks of her performances, and then, when the judges have to decide whether or not to save her from elimination, Simon throws that comment back in her face like an icy snowball. Karma at work,…
Chronicle’s Robison To Work For Democrat
Cue the outrage from right-wingy Chronicle hatahs — former Austin bureau chief Clay Robison has got a new job working for a Democrat.”Why not? He’s been working for the Democrats all along,” will be the refrain.In journalism’s defense, any left-leaning tendencies in Robison’s weekly columns were hidden by the fact…
This Season’s MLB Predictions: The National League
With baseball season due to start next week, I thought I should put myself on the line and make some predictions. I made my American League predictions yesterday. Today I’m going to take a look at the National League, and on Monday, I’ll take an in-depth look at the Astros…
This Season’s MLB Predictions: The National League
With baseball season due to start next week, I thought I should put myself on the line and make some predictions. I made my American League predictions yesterday. Today I’m going to take a look at the National League, and on Monday, I’ll take an in-depth look at the Astros…
Wrestlers, Art, A Library & Bill White: The Madness Arrives
Cameras flashed, the crowd oohed and ahhed, and WWE superstar Jeff Hardy carefully painted a nose onto an oversized white canvas. The WWE onslaught that culminates with Sunday’s Wrestlemania XXV eased its way into Houston this evening in an unusually genteel (and slightly unsettling) fashion — a charity auction called…
I Want To Have Sex with Seth Rogen. But Why?
I want to have sex with Seth Rogen, the star of the upcoming Observe and Report (and numerous other Judd Apatow-type vehicles). But why?First up, let me say that Miss Pop Rocks is happily married, and she wouldn’t cheat on her man even if Mr. Rogen showed up at her…
WrestleMania: A Beginner’s Guide
Gonna be upfront here: I don’t get the whole pro-wrestling thing. Never did.I grew up in New Jersey, where every pizzeria had a glossy shot of Bruno Sammartino on the walls, but it just never took.With that in mind, here is my analysis of the matches in the upcoming WrestleMania…
Working, the Musical
Stephen Schwartz knows a thing or two about musicals. After all, he wrote some of the most popular ones ever to hit Broadway — Wicked, Pippin and Godspell. Still, when it came to transforming Studs Turkel’s book Working, a collection of interviews with everyday working people, into an entertaining song-and-dance…
Chiara String Quartet
Most musicians who perform at the level of Chiara String Quartet prefer the sanctity of the concert halls, but this foursome is spending some of its time in Houston in “Chamber Music in Any Chamber” concerts. Their Houston mini-tour starts Saturday at the AvantGarden, 411 Westheimer. It continues Sunday with…
Short Films from Emily Hubley
Women’s issues get the big-screen treatment at today’s Short Films from Emily Hubley, when the Aurora Picture Show presents seven shorts from the award-winning film-festival darling. Short topics include dreaming about the doctor who delivered you; a mother’s daily ritual of poetry, history and volleyball-inspired aerobics; and a grandmother’s her-story…
The Wizard of Oz
If you think The Wizard of Oz is a little kid’s story, think again. Sure, there’s the pastel countryside and a sweet little girl who just wants to go home. But there’s also a killer tornado, a really mean witch and some sharp-toothed flying monkeys. Things get pretty scary for…
Wallflower
The age of YouTube has turned shy girls into revolutionaries. That’s the premise behind Deborah Stein’s Wallflower, getting its world premiere today at Stages Repertory Theatre. The writer sees the world in unpredictable ways. Her past plays include Bone Portraits, about the history of X-ray technology, and God Save Gertrude,…
Houston Children’s Festival
Most elementary school-age kids aren’t quite ready for the sights, sounds and smells of the Westheimer Block Party (“Mommy, why is that man wearing a bra?”). But there are no such worries at the always-popular Houston Children’s Festival. A total of six separate areas — including the somewhat incongruously named…
ARchiTecture: College of Architecture Faculty Biennial 2009
The faculty members of Texas A&M’s Architecture program usually let their students take the spotlight, but for ARchiTecture: College of Architecture Faculty Biennial 2009, the professors are front and center. The design showcase didn’t have any particular theme or limitations, so the works are wildly varied. There’s a wall made…
A Midsummer Night’s Dream
Here’s your chance to see Main Street Theater’s production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream. The show is usually touring local schools, but it has a two-day home stand this weekend that’s open to the public. The production is funded, in part, by a grant from the National Endowment for the…
David Brown: “20/40”
Apple Inc. ought to be paying David Brown for his “20/40” photography exhibit, since he shot all of the images in the exhibit with his iPhone. That’s not a big deal, right? Well, actually, when you get high-quality, expressive images like Brown did, ah, yeah, it kinda is a big…
The 23rd Annual Elissa Regatta Festival
Take a tour of the 1877 Tall Ship Elissa, the centerpiece of the 23rd Annual Elissa Regatta Festival. The Houston Yacht Club and the Texas Seaport Museum joined forces to bring the recently restored Elissa to the Houston Bayport Cruise Terminal for a weekend of pomp (there are commodores and…
“Clay Across Texas: San Antonio”
Saturday, April 4, 18 Hands Gallery is opening “Clay Across Texas: San Antonio,” an exhibit by three Alamo city artists. In press materials, Karen Cruce, co-curator of the show and co-founder of the gallery, says each of the artists is bringing something completely new to the gallery. “Susan Raine’s large…
The Convenient Woman
It’s entertaining to watch the women of Real Housewives and Top Model. But less entertaining is the cold, hard fact that women are still confused and tormented by society’s notions of body image and gender roles. In The Convenient Woman, a dance-theater performance showing today at DiverseWorks, Houston-based choreographers Teresa…
Speeding Motorcycle
What better subject for a rock musical than a mentally ill, artistically singular songwriter? Speeding Motorcycle, the show originated by the now-defunct Infernal Bridegroom Productions, was inspired by Daniel Johnston. It was hailed as a work of great originality back in 2006, and in case you missed it, Catastrophic Theatre…
Buy One Get Five Free
Amy Lanasa is from the grand state of Texas, which seems to have served her well — the up-and-coming playwright garnered a Best Short Play award at the 2001 Kennedy Center/American College Theatre Festival for poking fun at her fellow Lone Star residents. Buy One Get Five Free, the farce…
Pocket Full of Soul Music: The Harmonica Documentary
Get a sneak peek at Pocket Full of Soul Music: The Harmonica Documentary, the perfect blend of film and music. The fun starts at 5:30 p.m. with a harmonica workshop led by Gary Allegretto. Then it’s a screening of Pocket Full of Soul Music, which features James Cotton, Huey Lewis,…
“First Annual Neopopstreetfunk Art Show”
Exhibit co-organizer Kevin Sechelski admits that there really isn’t any funk art in the one-night-only “First Annual Neopopstreet – funk Art Show.” There’s some neo-pop, and certainly some street art, but sadly, no funk. “We have a large group of artists, and we were trying to come up with something…
Craig Ferguson: Stand Up for Houston’s Children
Here’s something you probably didn’t know: Houston is reportedly the largest hub for child trafficking in the country. Shocked? Well, today’s your chance to do something about it. Join Carolyn Farb and comedian/late-night talk-show host Craig Ferguson at the Stand Up for Houston’s Children dinner and performance, benefiting Children at…
Vox Populi
Even the most generous of souls might have a hard time signing a check for charity these days, but when you get live music, food and social interaction in return, as you will at Vox Culture’s Vox Populi two-day event, you’ll find donating a little easier. Friday evening features experimental…
Brent Fogt: “Silent Topographies”
Tiny circles make up Brent Fogt’s “Silent -Topographies.” The artist uses the simple shapes to create ink drawings that resemble — among other things — maps, internal body systems, plants and galaxies. Thousands of circles are used to shape and shade works like Transplant, which is either an aerial view…
Scarface
When I was in college, we had a drinking game that got us all really loaded really quickly — we’d put on Scarface and take a slug of beer every time somebody said “fuck.” In the years since, director Brian De Palma’s 1983 epic about the rise and fall of…
Meg Cabot
Meet Meg Cabot, the woman behind The Princess Diaries, the 1-800-Where-R-You series and other classic teen titles, today when she reads from and signs her latest release, Best Friends and Drama Queens (Allie Finkle’s Rules for Girls). 4:30 p.m. Blue Willow Bookshop, 14532 Memorial Drive. For information, call 281-497-8675 or…
The Grapes of Wrath
John Steinbeck’s famous novel The Grapes of Wrath gets the musical treatment in today’s Houston premiere of the show at The Edythe Bates Old Moores Opera Center. (The music doesn’t change the story, though; it’s still a heartbreaking tale.) 7:30 p.m. April 3, 4 and 6, and 2 p.m. April…
InPrint/Methodist Hospital Studio Series
Poetry nuts and prose-heads alike can find inspiration at tonight’s InPrint/Methodist Hospital Studio Series, which features two young, successful writers. Wunderkind Bret Anthony Johnston not only received oodles of praise for his collection of Texas-centered short stories, Corpus Christi, but also tapped the brains of famous writers and teachers to…
El Desvarío
See Gente de Teatro perform a Spanish-language reading of Chilean playwright Jorge Díaz’s comedy El Desvarío. There’s a 7:30 p.m. reading today followed by a reception at Talento Bilingüe de Houston, 333 South Jensen. For information on each of these performances, call 713-826-0445 or visit www.gentedeteatro.org. Free. Sat., April 4,…
“Pioneers of Contemporary Glass”
Harvey Littleton is the guy who took glassmaking out of the factory and brought it into the studio — he’s considered the founder of the studio glass movement. And his work is one of the highlights of “Pioneers of Contemporary Glass: Highlights from the Barbara and Dennis DuBois Collection” at…
El Desvarío
You’ve got two chances to see Gente de Teatro perform a Spanish-language reading of Chilean playwright Jorge Díaz’s comedy El Desvarío. First there’s a 7:30 p.m. performance today at the Institute of Hispanic Culture of Houston, 3315 Sul Ross. Tomorrow there’s a 7:30 p.m. reading followed by a reception at…
Dafnis Prieto
It’s been less than a decade since Latin jazz drummer Dafnis Prieto came on the international music scene. In that time, he’s won a Latin Grammy nomination for Best New Artist and a Grammy nomination for Best Latin Jazz Album. He’s also racked up stage time with Latin and jazz…
Lonestar and Laundry & Bourbon
Pandora Theatre mounts its first production in the newly remodeled Frenetic Theater with a pair of James McLure’s one-act plays. First, there’s Lonestar, which is set in the 1970s on a hot summer night in Maynard, Texas. Brawny Vietnam vet Roy and his brother Ray are passing the time drinking…
Balaclavas, Future Blondes
We stayed alive and in one piece, albeit a broken piece, long enough to catch Balaclavas’ SXSW showcase last month. What we saw floored us beyond words, as Tyler Morris and the boys trotted out new material off of the soon-to-be-released Roman Holiday. This album and its new tracks we…
ANVIL BAR & REFUGE’S THE LAST WORD
I drank a lot in my twenties. I’m in my thirties now, and I still drink a lot. But now I drink for different reasons…usually. I drink wine because it tastes good with dinner, not because Thunderbird cost s 60 cents (as the song says). I drink whiskey because I…
Sandy Ewen, Wols, Dogebbi
Signal to Noise magazine and Sound Exchange present this evening of experimental music, drawing from divergent styles to spotlight a variety of ways in which pop music becomes high art, and featuring three women with strong musical personalities. Guitarist Sandy Ewen’s main project is Austin’s Weird Weeds, a mellow, quirky…
The Original Wailers
Note to reggae fans: There are currently two bands touring as the Wailers. The first is the Wailers Band, which was formed by Bob Marley as his backing band after the first group of the same name (which included Bunny Wailer and Peter Tosh) disbanded in 1974. After Marley passed…
Slim Thug Breaks a Four-Year Dry Spell on Sophomore LP Boss of All Bosses
Intimidation. Definition: To frighten into submission or compliance. Application: Sitting on Slim Thug’s couch. It’s a nice couch, really — one of those L-shaped sectionals with plush cushions that you sort of sink into. It’s clearly expensive, but tastefully so. It’s neither draped up nor dripped out, just classy. Understated,…
Searching for Hurricane Ike Victims
The airboat’s engine burned out while ferrying members of J.R. Santana’s crew back to Bolivar. Since that flat-bottomed craft propelled by a giant fan was the only method of transportation to and from Goat Island, Santana and half of his search crew found themselves stranded on their first day. It…
The Summer of Our ’80s Youth in Adventureland
Set a mere two decades ago, Greg Mottola’s Adventureland seems as if it could be taking place on a distant planet, less for the leg warmers and knee socks clinging to lower extremities than for the legions of pre-Internet Luddites who gather, like the apes at the start of 2001,…
Kelly Hansen Joins “Hot Blooded” Rockers Foreigner
Founded in 1976 by guitarist Mick Jones (Spooky Tooth) and multi-instrumentalist Ian McDonald (King Crimson), UK/American hybrid Foreigner dominated FM radio throughout the late ’70s and early to mid-’80s with a high-gloss sound evident on both energetic hard rockers (“Hot Blooded,” “Head Games,” “Dirty White Boy”) and mushy ballads (“Waiting…
Opera in the Heights puts on a stunning Falstaff
It’s an extremely cold day in hell when a masterpiece can be appreciated equally by opera queens and novices with tin ears, but Opera in the Heights satisfies both with its stunning production of Verdi’s final opera Falstaff (1893). If you’re new to opera and ever wondered what all the…
Mortgage Papers and Foreclosure
At first, Nancy Perez thought it was a neighbor’s house on fire. She and her two children were returning from dinner at Perez’s parents’ house on June 19, 2005. It was already past 9 p.m., and she tried turning onto the small Spring Branch street where she lived, only to…
Julius Caesar
There’s noise of a different sort arising from Town Center Theatre. I wouldn’t call it singing, as much as the sound of Shakespeare spinning in his grave. Director Chris Tennison has an intriguing take on the play — one involving contemporary, cutthroat mega-business. We’re at Rome Industries, where a giant…
Fast & Furious Should Have Gone Straight-to-Xbox
With the molded-rubber face of Savalas, the basso profundo of Stallone and the name of an underdog gas alternative, Vin Diesel’s already-dubious ripped-tough-guy star has dimmed enough to warrant a return to the car-chase series that made him — and money. In the latest, notably slack Fast & Furious (number…
Everlasting Moments Looks Great, But it’s Ultimately a Missed Photo Op
Lovely to look at but too slow and deliberate to get lost in, Jan Troell’s Everlasting Moments is a tribute to still photography filtered through a portrait of working-class life wracked by war and want in early 20th-century Sweden. Written by Niklas Rådström from a story shaped by Troell and…
Capsule Art Reviews: “Dennis Harper — Ritual Prototypes for the Afterlife,” “Get a Rope,” “Sarah Sudhoff — Repository,” “The Puppet Show”
“Dennis Harper — Ritual Prototypes for the Afterlife” Dennis Harper’s delightfully subversive installation at Lawndale features a video interview with a man describing his religious upbringing, how he never really believed in the afterlife but felt obligated due to family pressure. He even wanted very much to believe but always…
Jandek
Calling Jandek a “cult hero” would be about as much of an understatement as calling him “prolific.” Since 1978, the eccentric Houston singer-songwriter savant has released more than 50 albums on his own Corwood Industries label, which is accessible only via P.O. box. Jandek’s music is rich with imagery steeped in…
Capsule Stage Reviews: Constant Star, Doubt, Les Misérables, Steel Magnolias
Constant Star Five actresses portray the complex post-Reconstruction pioneer Ida B. Wells in Tazewell Thompson’s glorious “play with music,” but by the time the tribute’s over, you’ll think there should be more. For someone whose incredible work laid the moral bedrock for our country, crusader Wells has been sadly relegated…
Ratatat
Haters and even casual fans may find Ratatat a bit one-note, seeing how the New York duo mostly wields zippy guitar riffs and bubbly synths in the service of breezy, instrumental electro-pop. But there’s always enough vivid color lingering around the edges to draw us in upon closer inspection. Between…
Axman at the Houston Chronicle and Bank-Robbing Cops
Spaced City Assessing the fallout from Chron layoffs It might seem like we harped on the recent round of layoffs at the Houston Chronicle just because we’re journalists too (“Hey, how come you don’t do ten posts about the layoffs at Schlumberger!!”), but — as we’ve said before — we…
Decemberists: The Hazards of Love
Smarty-pants Colin Meloy has yet once again topped his prior output, this time bringing his Portland group Decemberists to bear on a 17-song concept album. People will no doubt label this a “rock opera,” but Meloy is actually drawing more from the traditional folk world than anything. His words and…
Layoffs at the Houston Chronicle
“The Former Chron Employees’ List, So Far (Updated 5 pm Wednesday),” By Richard Connelly, Hair Balls blog, March 24 and 25, got more than 100 comments. Here’s a sampling. Human face: Your coverage of the Chron layoffs has been admirable. It’s natural that you would be so effective in putting…
The Riverboat Gamblers: Underneath the Owl
It’s been three years now since Spin named Austin-via-Denton punks the Riverboat Gamblers to its list of “25 bands to see live right now,” but still, the band’s penchant for raucous showmanship and borderline out-of-control performances remain its calling card. That hardly means the band’s recorded output should be discounted,…
Spitten King: Gold Room EP
Houston’s Scottie Spitten is a very talented, very creative MC. He flaunts a monochromatic yet sporadic flow, recognized most often by whichever of producer King Midas’s soul samples any given track lionizes, and Spitten’s subtle punch lines. (“Charlie Brown, niggas, I’m like ‘Good Grief.'”) He first publicized his talents in…
New Found Glory: Not Without a Fight
The most pop by far of a whole generation of pop-punks, New Found Glory has been influential enough over the last dozen years to see mainstream radio stations now fairly packed with young soundalikes. That puts NFG in a weird position on its sixth album and first since getting out…
Tex-Cajun Cuisine at BB’s Cajun Cafe
“It’s all about the gravy,” New Orleans food writer Pableaux Johnson observed as he sopped up huge mouthfuls of the stuff. He passed the bowl over so I could sample the dish. Judging by the number of people eating it, “Maw Maw’s Grillades and Grits” is the most popular entrée…
Talking About NAFTA and Mexico
Dear Mexican, Why are Mexicans so proud of the brutality of their police force? They seem to glamorize it in all their music and telenovelas. Batons Are Bats, Or Super Oracles Dear BABOSO, I’ll let you know when Dirty Harry, Detective Sipowicz, Chief Wiggum and the producers of COPS get…
Jonathan’s The Rub
Jonathan Levine worked for three restaurants on Cape Cod before moving to Houston. Since 2000, he’s been running a catering business here and working as a personal chef. Recently he decided to open a small restaurant in a storefront just off Memorial, Jonathan’s The Rub (9061 Gaylord, 713-465-8200), using the…
Playing Favorites
About a week before SXSW, where he knew he would be on foot almost constantly, Noise did something that until recently would have been completely incomprehensible to him. He loaded up an iPod. His iPod. Amazingly, Buffalo Bayou did not run red with blood. Until then, I had managed to…
Onion strings at Brick House Tavern & Tap
Once you’ve seen one onion ring, you’ve seen them all, right? Wrong. The Brick House Tavern & Tap (12910 Northwest Fwy., 713-462-0576) serves onion rings like you’ve never seen before. The onions are dipped in buttermilk and batter and then quickly fried so they’re extremely crispy and not dripping in…
