10 Hip-Hop Classics Millennials Might Have Missed
I’m just going to be real, if you were born after 1996, this article is for you. Not only did you miss out on possibly the peak of modern hip hop, you missed out on a complete culture. Do you remember when Tupac died? If so, this article might not be for you…
Tale of Tales Dares to Bite Into the Tangential Madness of Fairy Stories
Fairy tales were meant to be oral stories. Translating the tangents of old women in far-flung villages (whose chips on their shoulders about, say, their brother’s failed shipping business might inspire long asides about the shipping industry) into written texts doesn’t always make for the most linear, easy read. In…
Bizarre Memoir Recounts Author’s Brief but Torrid Affair With Bob Dylan
Seeing the Real You At Last: Life and Love on the Road with Bob Dylan By Britta Lee Shain Jawbone Press, 280 pp., $19.95. While hundreds of books have been written about Bob Dylan, the number authored by the Bard of Hibbing’s intimates (professional or otherwise) are surprisingly scant: Girlfriend/muse Suze Rotolo’s A Freewheelin’ Time; friend/gofer…
Paul Rodgers Still Traveling With Some Bad Company
Fans of heavy ‘70s rockers Bad Company were undoubtedly thrilled by the recent announcement that the three surviving members — Paul Rodgers (vocals), Mick Ralphs (guitar), and Simon Kirke (drums) — would be reforming under the name for a co-headlining summer tour with Joe Walsh. Bassist Boz Burrell died in…
Elstree 1976 Meets the Day Players From a Galaxy Far, Far Away
None of us should give a crap about anything anyone says in Elstree 1976, but such is the nature of modern fandom that we do — even those of us whose affection for Star Wars is now more an occasional indulgence than a heated obsession. Jon Spira’s documentary is a…
The Man Who Knew Infinity Proves the Movies Still Don’t Know How to Depict Genius
Like The Imitation Game, The Man Who Knew Infinity is a Great Man biopic about a man most viewers have probably never heard of. Srinivasa Ramanujan was a brilliant, self-taught Indian mathematician who in his brief time on this earth made seismic contributions to his field. That he’s largely unknown…
Jason Bateman’s The Family Fang Tears Through Indie Cliché
You know that primly annoyed nice-ish guy that Jason Batemen always plays? The straight-arrow whose barely-held-in disgust suggests that universal American feeling that it’s everyone but you who is the selfish idiot? If you’ve ever suspected that the real Bateman was himself swallowing back some annoyance at the stupidity of…
Growing Bro-Country Alternatives Let Fans Have It Both Ways
The late Merle Haggard, while one of the great songwriters of his era, was not a particularly attractive man. No one ever mistook Willie Nelson for James Dean. And Lord knows George Jones never got confused with Kris Kristofferson. Point being, country music (Kristofferson notwithstanding) was once a genre reserved…
Every Year, Houston Municipal Courts Send Thousands of People to Jail Who Won’t (Or Can’t) Pay Their Fines
Before municipal courts judges fine you for a traffic ticket or municipal code violation, they’re supposed to consider whether you can actually afford the punishment. Under state law, if they decide you’re so poor you’ll never be able to pay off the mountain of fines, fees and additional citations that…
10 Good Songs By Terrible Bands
We can all agree that Creed was a terrible band. Front man Scott Stapp was like Eddie Vedder if Eddie Vedder lacked charisma, self-awareness and the ability to write a halfway decent tune. The band’s fake-brooding style and sanctimonious lyrics didn’t do them any favors, and Creed’s domination of late-’90s…
New Joplin & Winter Docs Add to Golden Triangle’s Rich Musical Legacy
Two titans of ‘60s blues-rock, Janis Joplin and Johnny Winter shared some of the same backgrounds, influences, and experiences. The pair were even occasional lovers and drug buddies, culminating in the story where a smacked-out Winter puked into Joplin’s lap in a helicopter ferrying them away from the site of…
Houston’s 10 Best Bars to Bring Your Kids
Life is stressful, particularly for those who have kids. And nothing quite takes off the edge like a couple of drinks. But what to do when you can’t find a sitter or don’t feel like shelling out $20 an hour for someone to watch the kids? Simple — bring them…
Big XII Begins Deep Dive on Expansion, Conference Title Game and Network
It’s been a huge discussion point on talk radio and in print (even in a big feature article here!) ever since the Big XII’s mass school exodus back in 2011 and 2012, and its subsequent semi-refill with West Virginia and TCU around that same time — the growth of the Big…
10 Best Houston Restaurants for a Graduation Dinner
The season of endings, new beginnings, and ugly polyester robes is almost upon us: in just a few weeks, family and friends will begin flocking in to witness graduation ceremonies across Houston. As the resident family food blogger and an imminent graduate, I’ve been racking my brain to come up…
10 Artists Who Should Open for Beyoncé on Saturday
If you recently sold a kidney so you could afford tickets to Beyoncé’s “Formation” tour, consider it a kidney well spent. Because in addition to the queen herself, ticketholders will also be treated to the musical stylings of “anotha one” — the one and only DJ Khaled. Khaled has been…
Weather Woes Making Texas’s Summer Festivals a Risky Business
This past weekend was supposed to mark the latest installment of Levitation, the Austin music festival that celebrates all types of psychedelic-influenced music, with an eclectic lineup featuring Brian Wilson, Ween and Flying Lotus. That festival didn’t take place, as a threat of severe weather forced organizers on Thursday afternoon…
5000-1 Shot Leicester City Wins Premier League, Sports Books Take a Bath
If you’re the average American sports fan on Twitter, the words “Leicester City” are probably just some debris that have found their way onto your Twitter timeline here and there in the last couple weeks, mostly as a result of retweets from friends or media members who follow soccer. You…
Silversun Pickups & Foals Make a Welcome Revention Doubleheader
Silversun Pickups, Foals Revention Music Center May 2, 2016 I have to look up the name of Revention Music Center nearly every time I attend a show. The venue that seems to always change its name, but ultimately kind of stays the same. I have been to countless shows there…
Texas Grants Childcare License to South Texas Immigration Lockup
The Texas Department of Family Protective Services has granted a childcare license to a south Texas immigration detention center for asylum-seeking mothers and children, a facility that experts say is detrimental to healthy child development. The license, which was issued Friday, showed up in DFPS’ online database of licensed childcare…
This Week in Houston Food Blogs: Mother’s Day and Cinco de Mayo Recommendations
This week, we have ideas to help you have a great time for this week’s important holidays: Mother’s Day and Cinco de Mayo. Additionally, if you’d like to make some homemade treats for your mom this week, we’ve got the perfect recipe for you. Newcomer Enoteca Rossa is now open…
The Party Is Officially Over for D’Place Nightclub
The D’Place Restaurant & Sportsbar, a nightclub in southeast Houston, apparently didn’t care to follow various court orders aimed at reducing crime around the club and keeping partiers safe. Because yesterday, a judge decided to shut D’Place down, send the owner to jail for 30 days for contempt, and make…
Big Fish the Musical Makes Its Regional Premiere at Stages Repertory Theatre
Edward Bloom has told fantastic, glorious stories all of his traveling salesman life. But rather than being a source of wonder for his son, Will, it has created a distance between them. Now Will, about to be a father himself, wants more. “Big Fish is a musical based off the…
It’s Last Call for Our Margarita Trail Finale Party Tonight
Here’s your chance to vote for your favorite margarita while sampling drinks and food, while being entertained by live, on-site painting and DJ CeePlusBadKnives. Join the Houston Press at the Margarita Trail Finale Party today (Tuesday, May 3) at Winter Street Studios from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. to sample…
Former Mayor Annise Parker Will Join Rice As Leadership Institute Fellow Next Fall
Former mayor Annise Parker must have had a good time teaching at Harvard University this semester, because yesterday, Rice University announced that Parker has accepted another fellowship, this time at Rice’s Doerr Institute for New Leaders. As a fellow with the institute, Parker, a 1978 Rice alum, will be working…
Chef Justin Yu Clinches Second James Beard Award for Houston Within Two Years
After being a finalist for the James Beard Best Chef: Southwest award three times in a row, Chef Justin Yu of Oxheart finally received a heavy, shiny metal to call his own. It’s a coveted honor that had been received by no Houston chef since Robert Del Grande in 1992…
Part 2: Beating the Odds: Making Your Restaurant Part of the 40 Percent That Last Longer Than Three Years
In covering restaurants and talking with chefs and business owners, I see and hear about a lot of business disasters. This two-part series compiles many common errors and how to avoid them for a better chance at business success. Yesterday we covered business insurance and how to decide who to…
Charlaine Harris Rules the Dark Again in Night Shift
As someone who spent every May eagerly anticipating the latest adventure of Sookie Stackhouse, there’s no doubt that Charlaine Harris has built something in many ways superior to her most famous work. The Midnight, Texas novels, now in their third installment with Night Shift, are truly unique even in a…
What’s Next for Halliburton and Baker Hughes?
After months of speculation, Halliburton and Baker Hughes announced on Sunday that the second and third largest oil field service companies in the United States would not, in fact, be merging. The merger was originally expected to be closed sometime last year but it ended up stuck in limbo because…
Upcoming: Alabama Shakes, Bayside, Cyndi Lauper, Erykah Badu, John Doe, Juvenile, Rock Baby Rock It, Shinyribs, etc.
Note: Events in bold reflect highly recommended shows. 1st Thursday Manifesto: With Kris Smith, Kali Schiska, Shenakahra, Derrick Rice, Jennifer Trussell, Laurie Chandler, Eddie Conner, VII The Foreigner, Yousseny Van, Dunem Maiato, J L Zombie, John Muzak, Keely Richey, Tristan Tucker, Pop Tart. Thu., May 5, 8 p.m., TBA. AvantGarden,…
Grafitti’s at Union St. Can Be Great, or Greatly Disappointing, Depending on the Day
I am confused by and frustrated with Grafitti’s at Union St. I am confused by the dual concept, only one-half of which ever seems to be open. Across several visits, the odd little tucked-away “lounge” was empty of both customers and staff. I might have rolled the dice with a Sazerac…
10 More Female Houston Artists You Should Hear
Our article on the women’s movement within the Houston music scene, this week’s Houston Press cover story, had more voices demanding attention than a Wall Street trading floor. You can sell on the premise if you choose, but we are whole-heartedly investing in the rising stock of these talented ladies…
Women are Dominating Houston Music, Both Onstage and Behind the Scenes
Within the past year, one Houston band has released a critically acclaimed album, wowed industry insiders at New York’s CMJ Music Marathon conference and earned a slew of new fans right here at home. That band is not named The Suffers. A second recently announced it will represent Houston at…
Angry Parents Say HISD Deceiving Taxpayers Over Cost of Lanier Name Change [UPDATED]
In the latest broadside to be fired in the battle over the name of Lanier Middle School, the parents group Lanier Watchdogs, with the help of consultant Wayne Dolcefino, are accusing Houston ISD trustees of deceiving taxpayers about the costs attached to the name change. A copy of an email…
Dish of the Week: The Monte Cristo
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 taking a look at Monte Cristo sandwiches. Similar to the French Croque Monsieur, the Monte Cristo is a griddled or deep-fried…
Houston Ballet Presents Free Performances at Miller Outdoor Theatre This Weekend
Houston Ballet Soloist Christopher Gray says they’ll all be packing extra water bottles and Gatorade and they know the limited space backstage will be crowded, but all in all, performing at Miller Outdoor Theatre is a good time. “The crowds at Miller are some of the best we get. You…
#TruthDontLie Baylor, You Have a Problem
Whoever runs the Twitter account for Baylor football coach Art Briles needs to be fired. Well, Briles needs to be fired, too. And if he’s the one actually running his Twitter account, then that’s just an added reason for Briles to be fired. On Wednesday Briles (or someone on his…
Chvrches Avoids the Rain to Hit White Oak Music Hall’s Sweet Spot
Chvrches White Oak Music Hall April 29, 2016 “We’ve not been rained on yet,” said vocalist Lauren Mayberry, about an hour into Chvrches’ performance Friday night. “We’re crossing our fingers.” And for the first time in weeks, the weather cooperated, allowing the Scottish synth-pop trio to comfortably serenade an overflowing…
Bonnie Raitt Beguiles Houston Once More
Bonnie Raitt, California Honeydrops Revention Music Center April 29, 2016 In a year when we’ve lost too many musical legends, it’s good to see one back out there on the road, still performing at the top of her game. Bonnie Raitt has been around long enough (40 years or so,…
Flirt Reynolds Brings Late-Night Laughs to Queensbury Theatre
A pirate-themed restaurant. A scandal-laden mega church. A bankrupt community college. A small town slaughter house. A pornographer’s bratwurst festival. Post-War Berlin. Post-Godzilla Tokyo. Post-Trump New York. These are all places that Flirt Reynolds has been. This month. “Sometimes, improv is scary. Sometimes, it’s weird or fun. We do a pretty good job figuring…
All Right, Who Vandalized This Jefferson Davis Monument?
Texas State University’s campus has been abuzz ever since someone took a can of spray paint to a historical marker bearing Confederate President Jefferson “We’re So Going to Win” Davis’ name, KXAN reports. Erected (heh) by the Texas Division of the Daughters of the Confederacy in honor of a highway…
This Week in Houston Food Events: ¡Cinco de Mayo!
Tuesday, May 3 Tamal Class with Cuchara Learn to make top-notch tamales with Ana Beaven of Cuchara at this 6:30 p.m. cooking class at Central Market, 3815 Westheimer. The menu includes chicken with green salsa tamales, vegetarian tamales wrapped in banana leaves and sweet tamales with cajeta and walnuts, and you’ll take…
Part Restaurant, Part Museum: Venerable Zydeco Diner Now Serving Dinner
Zydeco Louisiana Diner in downtown Houston has been a reliable lunch spot for more than 28 years. It would be interesting to calculate how many warm bowls of étouffée, platters of fried seafood and bowls of gumbo they’ve served through the decades. For all its steadfast adherence to tradition, though,…
Heathers the Musical Goes Gleefully Into the Politically Incorrect
The set up: “Well fuck me gently with a chainsaw.” The line is not only one of the most quoted quips from the 1989 movie Heathers, it also accurately describes my reaction upon hearing they were remaking the film into a 2014 Off Broadway musical (book, music and lyrics by…
NFL Draft 2016, All Three Days in the Books — 4 Winners, 4 Losers
Another NFL Draft is in the books, and now we enter the portion of the draft season where we assign totally haphazard grades to draft classes whose grades really don’t matter for three more years. As best I can tell, the modus operandi of draft graders falls into three categories…
4 Problems With Texas That Are Hard To Make Excuses For
Texas is an amazing place to live and explore, and the state’s so large that a person could spend years traveling it without ever being able to see everything. Whenever I hear people from other places bashing the state or Texans in general, it’s often someone who is judging us…
Giving Frustrated Educators Other Options Than Push, Shove, Slap, Stomp and Shame
The No. 1 reason teachers are fired for performance-based issues is that they can’t control their students. That’s the voice of longtime experience from Gayle Fallon, the retired head of the Houston Federation of Teachers union who has sat in on countless dismissal proceedings involving teachers in the Houston ISD…
Part 1: Beating the Odds: Making Your Restaurant Part of the 40 Percent That Last Longer Than Three Years
I don’t run a restaurant but it’s my job to know the business. For more than six years, I’ve covered the industry in Houston. I’ve watched restaurants succeed. I’ve watched them struggle. I’ve watched them close their doors for good. When it comes to restaurants, I’m the watcher on the…
How “Panda” Became the Country’s No. 1 Song, Explained
First of all, what is “Panda”? “Panda” is a song by an 18-year-old rapper from Brooklyn named Desiigner, who is signed to Kanye’s G.O.O.D Music label. It is also now the No. 1 song in the country, dethroning Rihanna & Drake’s infectious “Work,” which had been No. 1 for two…
Halliburton, Baker Hughes Officially Call Off Multibillion-Dollar Merger
Late Sunday, after months of reassuring everyone (in public at least) that their proposed merger was still on, Halliburton and Baker Hughes, the second and third largest oil field service companies in the United States, officially called off their $34.6 billion agreement to combine companies. The announcement from the two Houston-based companies comes…
Shows of the Week: Houston’s Spring Micro-Festival Returns With More Madness
SILVERSUN PICKUPS, FOALS Revention Music Center, May 2 Never the flashiest, angstiest or most derivative band on the radio, Silversun Pickups have nonetheless developed into one of the 21st century’s most successful modern-rock bands. Formed in the hipster mecca of L.A.’s Silverlake neighborhood (once basically Williamsburg West), the four-piece had…
10 Metal Bands Who Should Be in the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame
On April 8, Deep Purple was finally inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in New York, an honor long overdue for true fans of the band. Founded in Hertford, England in 1968, Deep Purple is considered one of the originators of heavy metal, so their induction got…
Houston, Here’s Your Chance to Jump Into Beauty and the Beast This Weekend
The set-up: In Disney’s prologue to its Broadway blockbuster production Beauty and the Beast (1994), on view now at the Hobby Center via NetWorks, an old beggar woman appeals at the castle door for shelter and other charitable stuff to the majordomo who looks suspiciously like a young Louis XVI…
Houston Enjoys a Rare Treat — a Vintage Lucinda Williams Show
Lucinda Williams, Buick 6 House of Blues April 28, 2016 I’ve seen Lucinda Williams many times, in all sorts of settings: killing it at packed-out clubs, fighting the sound system at outdoor festivals, late-night gigs that weren’t quite going her way, even rocking her own wedding party at Minneapolis’ First…
Reports Say Deputy Constable Shot Man While Clinging to Moving Car
A Harris County Constable Precinct 5 deputy shot and killed a man during a traffic stop on Beltway 8 yesterday, but the office is playing coy about its policies regarding shooting at moving vehicles. According to the Houston Chronicle, Houston Police Department spokesman Kese Smith said Precinct 5 Deputy R…
Rain or Shine, the Party Goes On. See You at BrewFest this Saturday!
We take beer very seriously around here, and a disappointing weather forecast isn’t going to stop our signature event, the 5th Annual BrewFest, from taking place this Saturday. The epic beer-sampling festival is going on, rain or shine, but we did hedge our bets just a little. “BrewFest is one…
The Brewfest Party Moves Inside; We’re Not Letting a Little Rain Stop Us From Tasting 150+ Beers
We take beer very seriously around here, and disappointing weather forecast isn’t going to stop our signature event, the 5th Annual BrewFest, from taking place this Saturday. The epic beer-sampling festival is going on, rain or shine, but we did hedge our bets just a little. “BrewFest is one of…
Texas Supreme Court Shoots Down Houston’s Air Quality Law
The City of Houston has been defending its Clean Air Ordinance ever since it was enacted in 2007, with city lawyers arguing in court that Houston has the right to control and regulate its own air quality. That fight is now over. On Friday he Texas Supreme Court issued its…
Initial STAAR Passing Rates Not Spectacular for HISD
Almost half of the Houston ISD’s fifth and eighth graders didn’t pass the state’s assessment tests in reading and math, respectively, in preliminary figures just released by the Texas Education Agency today. In addition, more than a quarter of the fifth graders could not pass math and more than a quarter…
With Keanu, Key and Peele Save the Cat — and Maybe Buddy Action Comedies, Too
It’s easy to think, based on the marketing, that the first feature film from acclaimed comedy duo Keegan-Michael Key and Jordan Peele will be a hundred minutes of an adorable kitten dressed in a do-rag and gold chain for easy laughs, but Keanu is so so much more than that…
Astronaut Scott Kelly to Speak at University of Houston’s Commencement
As commencement approached, we’ve been wondering how the University of Houston would top last year’s impressive commencement address by Academy Award-winner Matthew McConaughey. Well, they’ve certainly done it, nabbing the one and only retired astronaut Capt. Scott Kelly, the guy who spent almost an entire year in space. Kelly spent 340 days…
The Nether: A Thriller Set in the Future and a Virtual Reality Playground
Josie de Guzman has done a lot of acting, on Broadway (Tony nominations for Guys and Dolls and West Side Story) and in Houston’s Alley Theatre (The Other Place, All My Sons, Vanya and Sonya and Masha and Spike) but she has never played a detective before. Now she has that…
You and Your Pet Can Strut Your Stuff at Rice While Raising Money for BARC
Chances are, if you have a pet, your furry friend won’t let you sleep in late Saturday morning, so as long as you’re up, you might want to treat both of y’all to the Houston BARC Foundation’s “BARK for BARC” pet walk at Rice University, which will raise funds for…
Revention Crowd Easily Falls Under My Morning Jacket’s Spell
My Morning Jacket Revention Music Center April 28, 2016 Halfway through their third song at Revention Music Center Thursday night, psychedelic indie-rockers My Morning Jacket really hit their stride. The entire crowd had been transfixed by their performance of “Compound Fracture” as the lights emanating from the back of the…
Rape Mythology Meets Modern Issue Play in Dollface
The set up: So, you know who Medusa is, right? The ancient Greek chick with the snakes for hair and the look that can turn you to stone? Well, yeah, that’s her, but did you know how she got that way? If your answer is no, don’t feel embarrassed, I…
Is Jeff Van Gundy About to Become Daryl Morey’s Next Scapegoat?
The dumpster fire that was this season for the Houston Rockets is over. It’s a season that cost Kevin McHale his job. It was a season that did further damage to the reputations of James Harden and Dwight Howard. And it was a season that finally showed that emperor that…
2016 NFL Draft — 4 Winners, 4 Losers
We say it all the time, especially in radio where Twitter and Instagram are such a huge part of what we do in 2016, but honestly “What was life like before social media?” I mean, I remember it being simpler, easier to focus, but also not nearly as entertaining. It’s…
Houston’s 5 Best Weekend Food Bets: BrewFest is Here
Here’s a look at this weekend’s best culinary happenings: Houston Firkin Fest @ Hennessy Park Saturday, 2 p.m. to 6 p.m. 1900 Lyons The Houston Firkin Fest is a celebration of unique Texas craft beer served in traditional casks – also known as firkins. Now in its third year, guests…
IKEA Houston Invites Guests to a Three-Day Celebration Honoring Its Remodeled Restaurant
It is already incredibly easy to lose half a day roaming the displays at IKEA in search of the perfect décor accessory or testing and comparing the endless selection of comfy couches. Now guests have even more incentive to linger thanks to a re-opening of the store’s second-level restaurant, which…
Alley Theatre’s The Christians Offers No Easy Answers and Some Great Acting
I don’t know in what church actor Shawn Hamilton (a.k.a. associate pastor Joshua) will be preaching after he leaves the megachurch depicted in Lucas Hnath’s The Christians, but I’ll be there in my Sunday best as one of his new congregants. His Joshua has passion, conviction, and fervor enough for…
How One Grieving Mother Is Using Radio to Address the Pain Caused by Fatal Police Shootings
Biko Gray sat next to Janet Baker as she went on the air the first time to tell all of Houston what happened to her son. They were in the KCOH recording studio, one of Houston’s oldest black radio stations, and Baker, with strong resolve, talked about the night her…
Upcoming Houston Food Events: Let’s Get Ready to Derby
Mark your calendars, because you don’t want to miss these deliciously fun culinary events: Back in March, Real Ale invited representatives from each Treadsack restaurant and bar out to the brewery, and each filled a cask of Real Ale beer with unique ingredients they each thought would complement the brew…
Sen. Cornyn Tries to Expedite Houston Hurricane Study
With hurricane season approaching, it would make sense for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ study on how to best protect Houston from hurricanes to be completed, you know, pretty soon. That’s why Sen. John Cornyn is introducing legislation to expedite that process. According to a press release issued yesterday, Cornyn’s Corps’…
Adam Bricks Gets to Know Houston on New ‘Relations’
In 2011, Adam Bricks returned to Houston from New York. Since then, he has established quite a few connections, many of which are explored on the anti-folk singer-songwriter’s forthcoming album, Relations. “On Relations, I’m talking about relationships with people and how they develop,” Bricks says. “The sad and the happy…
The Five Best Things to Do in Houston This Weekend: Bayou City Art Festival & More
Forget Second City. Comedy and improv greats are descending on H-Town this weekend for the Houston Improv Festival; over at the Hobby Center, teenage murder is on the menu with Heathers the Musical; and the jiggly lovelies are doing some great things over at the Benefit Betties Ball. The weather…
Openings and Closings in Houston: Cleburne Burns & A Deli Doubles
The big news this week is that beloved family eatery Cleburne Cafeteria, 3606 Bissonnet, burned to the ground on Monday night, just weeks before its 75-year anniversary. Even worse, owner George Mickelis used the restaurant as an art gallery for his late father’s paintings, most of which were destroyed in the…
Jimmy Webb Sheds New Light on “Galveston” and Other Classics
Jimmy Webb has written scores of songs that have been recorded by some of history’s all-time best-selling artists, but only one has a special place in Southeast Texas’ collective heart. Before you go reaching for that almanac, it’s “Galveston,” which Webb wrote at the height of the Vietnam War. He…
Mother Nature Returns to Ruin Your Weekend Once Again
If you expected to close out the month of April with some much-needed mild, calm weather, too bad. Forecasters say a line of storms expected to crash through the region this weekend could dump even more rain on areas still trying to recover from last week’s historic flooding. In addition…
Elizabeth Warren Is Everyone’s Political Girlfriend Who Lives in Canada
The Democratic primary season has exposed a lot of the sexism in the left side of the political spectrum, a side that normally escapes heavy scrutiny because when compared to the right… Holy God and all His Juggalos, those people are next-level awful. Nonetheless, bias, as I have pointed out…
Toronto Transplant Whitney Rose Plays Country Music for All Climates
It’s highly likely that when listening to latest album from Whitney Rose, Heartbreaker of the Year, you will also detect a bit of noise in the background. Don’t be alarmed, as you’re probably hearing the sound of keyboards from all over this continent typing out praises for the Canadian native’s…
Five Quick Live-Music Picks That Won’t Get Rained Out This Weekend
Unfortunately it looks like Houston is in for (still) more lousy weather this weekend, leaving the status of outdoor events like Chvrches tonight and Blackberry Smoke tomorrow in jeopardy. Check venue Web sites for other possible cancellations, but luckily these five shows promise to leave you high and dry, possibly…
Captain America: Civil War Is Comic-Book Cinema Without the Wonder
If nothing else, Captain America: Civil War stands as something of a corrective to this spring’s other superheroes-bludgeoning-each-other opus, Batman v Superman. While that film was severe and downcast, Civil War is expansive, at times even light. BvS strove to redefine its superheroes to fit newer, darker, borderline-sociopathic molds; Civil…
Send Flowers Instead: Garry Marshall’s Mother’s Day Is the Gift That Gives Nothing
Is it too much to ask that all these holiday-themed rom-coms — Valentine’s Day, New Year’s Eve and now Mother’s Day — one day merge with the Halloween movies? Michael Myers might be the only one in either franchise with a truly cutting response to all the rhetorical musings about relationships romantic,…
Are Houston Regs Hurting Uber? Hard to Say, Since Uber Sued to Keep City Records Hidden
Uber says Houston’s rules for drivers, among the strictest in the country, make it too hard for qualified people to drive for the company. On Wednesday, Uber general manager Sarfraz Meridia sent Mayor Sylvester Turner and City Council members an ultimatum: Either change the rules, in particular one that subjects…
As Rescued Pets Movement Fights Insolvency, the City Fights Transparency
As a city contractor that transports animals from Houston’s overcrowded pound out of state slouches toward insolvency, city officials are still blocking efforts for a full accounting of what happens to the animals it delivers to rescue groups as far away as Toronto. Houston City Council in 2014 approved a…
“Just Like a Hand Grenade,” a 17-Year-Old’s Air Bag Exploded and Killed Her, Lawsuit says
The night before 17-year-old Huma Hanif was killed by the air bag intended to save her life, she was filling out an application to Wharton Junior College. She had planned to go to school and become a nurse like her sister. But those plans were cut short after an otherwise…
Who Should Really Be Ted Cruz’s Veep?
Yesterday, Ted Cruz announced that Carly Fiorina would be his running mate. It’s a move that reeks of overconfidence. Remember, he’s currently in a delegate hole by a good 409 votes. Maybe, later this week, Cruz will announce where he wants his presidential library built in Houston, or the start of…
30 Years Later, Cast of Aliens to Reunite at Houston’s Comicpalooza 2016
It’s hard to believe it’s been 30 years since Sigourney Weaver’s Ripley awoke from a cryogenic sleep in Aliens (1986); she and her cat the sole survivors of the deep space towing vessel after the rest of the Nostromo crew was killed by a a mysterious lifeform in 1979’s Alien. Now,…
2016 NFL Draft: Here’s the Problem With the Houston Texans
With less than 24 hours until the start of the 2016 NFL Draft, I sat down last night to crank out a little retrospective content on Texans drafts gone by. I find hindsight to be more my wheelhouse, and leave the time consuming things like film study and forecasting to…
A Night at 13 Celsius: Houston’s Unofficial Tinder Bar
The bartenders at 13 Celsius call him “The Terroirizer.” Every few weeks, the guy brings a new Tinder date for some wine and cheese at one of the few cozy Midtown bars that isn’t full of sweaty 22-year-olds, and every time, he orders a bottle of the same red, earthy…
This Week’s Favorite Houston Dishes: Sunny Days and Bright Seafood
The sun is (mostly) shining and the skies have (mostly) been clear this past week, which means there has been zero excuse to not run to the best Houston restaurant patios and indulge in some summertime food. What is summertime food, you ask? How about fresh shrimp, a crunchy tuna…
Five Things I Learned Spending the Night at a Korean-Style Spa
When was the last time you slept in a room full of strangers? I’m not talking family strangers, like the cousins you haven’t seen since you were six, or friend-of-a-friend strangers, like when you’re invited to a sleep over where you know some of the people in the room. Summer…
I’m Pregnant by My Older Stepbrother. Help!
I’M PREGNANT FOR MY OLDER STEPBROTHER Dear Willie D: I got pregnant five months ago for my older stepbrother, and I have to figure out a way to tell my dad the truth without him exploding. My stepbrother is my dad’s son from a previous relationship; he has been living…
Ted Cruz Taps Carly Fiorina As Running Mate
Ted Cruz announced today that he has chosen Carly Fiorina as his running mate. He is the first candidate so far in the 2016 presidential race to add someone to the ticket, and the move comes as little surprise, considering reports have circulated since early this week that Cruz’ campaign…
The Strange Beauty of a Houston Thunderstorm
After last week’s historic flooding, the crack of thunder is enough to put most Houstonians on edge. This morning, yet another major storm system came barreling through the area, bringing isolated rains, high winds, and a possible tornado that may have killed one Tomball-area woman. Yes, the past week has…
A Netflix Doc Digs at the Truth Behind the Foxcatcher Killing
If you thought the billionaire played by Steve Carell in Bennett Miller’s Foxcatcher was eerie, please allow me to introduce you to the real John du Pont. A dangerous concoction of lonely and paranoid, du Pont was blessed with money and mobility and cursed with the kind of childhood that…
House of Blues Spends a Tuesday Night in Hell With Ghost
Ghost, Tribulation House of Blues April 26, 2016 It’s hard not to tip your mitre to Ghost for achieving one of the unlikeliest success stories in recent rock history. Another group of masked and face-painted Scandinavians singing songs about Satan? Heavily influenced by AOR sops like Kansas and Blue Oyster…
One Woman Dies in Early Morning Storm, Even More Rain Expected for Houston This Week
The weather gods evidently have decided they haven’t yet crapped on Houston enough for one month. This morning, another line of gnarly thunderstorms pushed its way through the city, just in time for rush hour traffic. By the time the quickly-moving storms had pushed through, the Harris County Sheriff’s Office…
Calling All Lightsabers for this Star Wars-Themed Art Festival in the East End
You’re never too young or too old to wear Princess Leia’s signature hair buns, though it appears General Leia Organa might have moved on. For the rest of us, it’s time to recharge those lightsabers because costumes are definitely encouraged at the 5th Annual Star Wars Art Festival: Revenge of…
As Other Cities Talk Police Reform, Houston Stays Mum
Freddie Gray’s death in Baltimore police custody dragged to the surface longstanding complaints of police brutality, sparking not just riots in the streets but legislation aimed at boosting police accountability and oversight. When video surfaced last year showing Chicago police officer Jason Van Dyke shooting Laquan McDonald 16 times, what…
Why Is Houston’s Convention Bureau Worried Space City Comic Con Might Ruin Its Rep?
Even though the Greater Houston Convention and Visitors Bureau may be tasked with boosting tourism in Houston, there’s one upcoming event it would rather take to court than promote on its calendar: the Space City Comic Con. The cosplay event is poised to attract thousands of sci-fi and comics fans…
Houston Here’s Your Chance to Join Dining Out For Life
There are two things, without question, that Houston accomplishes incredibly well: fundraising and food. If you haven’t made plans for visiting a local eatery on Thursday, now you have a reason to do so….the dollars spent will benefit a worthy cause: AIDS Foundation Houston. Dining Out For Life is hosting its…
Lawsuit Challenges Demolition of Chron Building
In February, the Houston Chronicle abandoned its home in the heart of the city and moved to a nondescript Soviet-style stack of cement blocks by U.S. 59 and the 610 Loop (the defunct Houston Post’s old digs). Last October, Hines real estate firm, the building’s new owner, revealed that it intended to…
Bernie Sanders Doesn’t Level Grind and That’s Why He Should Lose
Repeat after me: you cannot kill a dragon just by trying. You need a sword, good armor, healer support, a plan, and a back-up plan for when your first stupid plan fails. And you need the levels. Bernie Sanders reminds me very much of myself the first time I ever…
Remembering Guitar Great Lonnie Mack, Who Died the Same Day as Prince
Besides Prince, last Thursday the music world lost another great talent when blues-rock pioneer Lonnie Mack passed away at age 74 near Nashville. Mack was hugely important in transforming the electric guitar into a lead instrument in rock music, and his influence on the development of guitar solos was a…
Houston’s Five Hottest Music Venues Right Now
There are no shortage of stages in Houston, and no shortage of acts to fill them either. Every night of the week, there’s some kind of quality live entertainment going down, even if you might have to drive a while to find it. But not every venue is created equal…
