TDCJ Guard Gets Two Years For Lying About Kicking Inmate In The Head
A TDCJ guard who had been found guilty of filing a false “use of force” report was sentenced today to what no doubt will be two very uncomfortable years in a federal prison. (Or maybe guards take care of their own? We don’t wanna know.)Eugene Morris, 41, had kicked an…
The End Finally Comes For Wilshire Village
We’ve been following the slow end of the Wilshire Village apartment complex on Alabama, a once-charming relic that should never have seen the wrecking ball. But the wrecking ball has come, as these photos show.Once the process of demolition began, things moved swiftly, especially compared to the drawn-out battle over…
Houston Music Fight Club: Pizza Dude vs. Jerky Guy and 10th Grade Cutie vs. Everyone
In this episode of Houston Music Fight Club, we yet again pit some of Houston’s skuzziest and rocking local musicians and personalities together for a fight to the death. Or at least to the sore hand, bloody lip, and maybe a few tears. Some dudes fight when they cry; we’ve…
Recipe: Michael Cordua’s Alfajor Recipe
The alfajor — a kind of cookie sandwich — is an entirely different cookie depending on where you find it. In Spain, it could be a Christmas cookie of honey, almonds and spices. In South America, it’s filled with dulce de leche or jam and covered in chocolate, powdered sugar…
City Council Once Again Considers BARC; Once Again Does Little To Nothing
City Council delayed voting again on extending the contract for Gerry Fusco, the Bureau of Animal Regulation and Care’s interim chief. Council members Ronald Green and Pam Holm asked that the vote be tabled. (Green told Hair Balls earlier this week that he hadn’t read the contract yet). The $135,000…
For Teddy: Our Favorite Dead Kennedys Songs
That’s right, we went there. Longtime Massachussetts Senator Edward M. Kennedy, better known as Teddy, passed away late Tuesday night at age 77. News media sites have already gone to Defcon 2 – “A Famous Person Not Named Michael Jackson Has Died” – so Rocks Off thought we’d take a…
New York Officials Agree With Our Assessment Of An Insurance Company
American Medical and Life Insurance — the company behind those totally non-sketchy Cinergy cards we wrote about last month — was fined $700,000 August 13 for “misleading sales practices” by the New York Sate Insurance Department. The company also entered into an agreement with the Department to discontinue all limited medical benefit group…
Bayou Beat: A 15-Foot Sculpture of George Jones’ Head, $10 House of Blues Tickets, Free Tontons Show, etc.
Heavy metal comedy troupe Steel Panther has cancelled tonight’s Warehouse Live show. What’s on VH-1 Classic? Tennessee-born artist Wayne White is crafting a 15-foot puppet head in the likeness of Saratoga-born honky-tonk legend George Jones. Entitled “Big Lectric Fan to Keep Me Cool While I Sleep” – a reference to…
Artisan Teas from John Harney
Whereas English Breakfast Tea is usually a blend of Assam and Ceylon, with a little Keemun added to the more expensive versions, Harney & Sons English Breakfast is made with all Keemun tea. The flavor is clean and bright, with a fruity aroma. What a treat this is in the…
Hey Texans — You Can’t Disappoint Us If We Don’t Have High Hopes
In our cover story this week, we take a look at the Houston Texans’ brief-but-tangled history of breaking our hearts. A franchise that seems to begin each year riding on seemingly reasonable hopes of improvement consistently ends it with waves of disappointment.We also rounded up some predictions for the coming…
Jimi Hendrix Covers: the Good, the Bad and the Ugly (P.S. John Mayer Still Sucks)
This week marks the 39th anniversary of the 1970 Isle of Wight Festival, which is famous for a couple of reasons. First, it was such a financial disaster it put the kibosh on any further Wight fesivals for the next 32 years. Second, and more importantly, it marked the penultimate…
The Best Roots-Rock Band You Never Heard Of Is In Town… Again
Cleveland roots-rockers The Magpies pull into Cactus Music today for an instore performance. They were unable to book a Houston gig during the current swing though Texas and Oklahoma, but arranged an instore anyway because “we need to keep working Houston,” according to keyboardist Justin Gorski. The Ohio foursome stole…
Conservative Houston Reacts To the Death Of A Kennedy
Ted Kennedy died this morning, as anyone on the Web already knows.His death presents a problem of sorts for right-wingers, who despised him as much as they do Obama or the Clintons (or JFK and RFK back in the day, probably).So how are they reacting?The Lone Star Times blog is…
Monument Inn: All You Can Eat Seafood
Elouise Adams Jones, the founder of Ouisie’s Table restaurant, dropped me a note in the mail recently. She had just read the account of my admission into the 15 Dozen Club at the Acme Oyster House in New Orleans. Ouisie confessed that when she was 16 years old, she ate…
An Exercise In Pain: Six Songs of Radio Phil Collins
Inspired by Seanbaby’s wonderful article using Pandora via Phil Collins as musical gaydar, Rocks Off logged on to our Last.fm account to see where a similar journey with the Genesis drummer and noted Texas history buff might take us. After all, it’s not really scientific unless you can repeat the…
Bayou Body Count: Dead Bodies In Cars, A New Trend
At 3 a.m. this morning, a Harris County Sheriff’s deputy was prowling the streets around Bammel North Houston and State Highway 249 looking to nail some drug dealers. Driving along, suddenly he thought he saw a deal going down. The deputy followed a suspicious car for a while, but when…
Houston 101: The Short Happy Life of Dick Dowling
Aside from the city’s namesake, no 19th-Century Houstonian was more famous than Dick Dowling, the Irish-born saloonkeeper / businessman and Confederate war hero. In fact, when city leaders commissioned Houston’s very first public monument in 1905, it was Dowling and not Sam Houston who got the honors, not least because…
Stirred and Shaken: Christian’s Tailgate Lunch Box
Friday night is karaoke night at Christian’s Tailgate (2000 Bagby, 713-527-0261), which can only mean one thing: drunken idiots. To stand up and belt it out in front of a room full of people, most of us need to be seriously soused. Spectators, in order to endure the aural assault,…
Artist of the Week: Drop Those Panties, It’s My Own I
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. We’ve been handed CDs by band members before…
There’s No Doubt About It: Cooper Is A Trouper
What were you doing when you were seven months pregnant? (Question intended for women only.)One thing you probably weren’t doing: scrambling madly to stop a wildly leaking roof only minutes before you were going onstage for a 90-minute bout of dancing, singing and dashing around.Tamarie Cooper, Houston’s favorite comedienne, has…
Which Houston Team Has The Dumbest Front Office?
Richard Justice actually had a decent blog post the other day. In it, he attempted to evaluate which of Houston’s big three sports franchises was the smartest — sorry Dynamo fans, he didn’t include them because he says the team hasn’t been here long enough, and I won’t include them…
A New Chuy’s in Westchase
The about-to-be-just-opened new Chuy’s Westchase at 9350 Westheimer was loud and busy Monday night as service staff tried to get their timing down before the public opening on Tuesday. Full marks had to go to the wait staff — besides our lead waiter Wesley who hustled, bustled and got us…
A Third Ward Pawnshop iPod and the Mysterious Fate of Previous Owner “Scooby”
So a couple of weeks ago, after three or four years of increasingly faltering service, Rocks Off’s 30 GB iPod finally died. Completely. Out of sheer broke-assedness, we had held on to it for longer than most. By the end, its quirks and shenanigans were endless, not least its inability…
NASA’s Biggest Job On This Shuttle Flight: Milking Publicity
The latest space shuttle mission opens up a new, bold era in NASA history — the desperate attempt to remain hip and relevant and therefore worthy of federal budget dollars.Commentators have pointed out how the agency seems to be embracing pop culture, but it seems to be getting to the…
A Day Late, Gene Locke Weighs In On The Ashby High-Rise
Yesterday we told you how “disappointed” two of the three main mayoral candidates were with the city’s decision to approve a high-rise development near Rice even though rich people live near it.We hadn’t heard from Gene Locke, considered by many to be the front-runner in this year’s race, but now…
MP3 of the Day: The Music of Back to the Future
[Note: The scene at 00:47 is a scream.] Tonight The Mink’s weekly Movie Nite brings us back to 1985, when Michael J. Fox was still known as that smug neocon bastard on Family Ties and Crispin Glover wasn’t the batshit auteur he is these days. A screening of Back to…
SAT Scores Ain’t Getting Much Better In Texas Or Anywhere
For U.S. kids who are tested more than any previous generation, it just doesn’t seem like we’re getting the hang of it. SAT scores for the class of 2009 were released today and like the ACT scores released earlier this month they didn’t bring particularly happy news for Texas as for…
No Reservations: Montana
Usually Anthony Bourdain is a hedonist. He indulges in food, alcohol and not a few off-color sex jokes, no matter what city or what audience. But this week while visiting Montana, he exits out of the fast lane. Maybe it’s the mountains, but in the first 20 minutes of the…
Start the Guessing Now: Which Fun Fun Fun Fest Artists Will Also Play the Next Block Party?
Fun Fun Fun Fest, the scuzzier, noisier cousin to the Austin City Limits Music Festival, announced its lineup this afternoon. Held November 7 and 8 in Austin’s Waterloo Park, FFFF is up to 91 artists this year, everyone from rappers the GZA, the Pharcyde and the Cool Kids to electronic/dance…
Big Prostitution Ring Busted In Houston
Four years ago, Ronnie Presley jammed a gun in the face of a teen-aged girl walking down the street in Kansas, pulled her into his car and drove her to Houston. There, he forced her to have sex for money. Every dime she earned went into Presley’s pocket. As time…
The Guy Who Photographed Michael Jackson’s Doctor
Thomas Nguyen is an office administrator for a Galleria-area doctor. For the past 17 years, he’s also been a part-time photographer stringing for the Houston Chronicle’s zoned editions, mostly on weekends.As with most zoned editions, a lot of the work can entail taking shots of ribbon-cuttings at local businesses or…
36th Anniversary: House of Coffee Beans
Peru Chanchamayo is a rare limited-production coffee that’s on special this month during the 36th Anniversary of House of Coffee Beans, 2348 Bissonnet. The coffee comes from the sparsely populated Central Jungle of Peru and is certified organic, Fair Trade, and migratory bird-friendly. It is medium-roasted and has a clean,…
The Night a Well-Aimed Shoe Ended Smashing Pumpkins’ Houston Goodwill
Today Rocks Off is starting a recurring series of local music urban legends; not so much ‘urban legends’ in the sense of oft-repeated stories that turn out to be false – though those are fine too – but actual legends: events and incidents that get talked about so much they…
The First Mayoral Ad: A Review
We have our first ad in the mayoral race!! Peter Brown is up with a 30-second spot that will be running on local and cable channels. What we take away from this ad:1. Where’s George Clinton? You are the only mayoral candidate in Houston history to be endorsed by P-Funk’s…
Stranger Musical Pairings Than Dancing With the Stars’ Tom DeLay and Cheryl Burke
Dancing With the Stars announced the pairings for its upcoming season Monday – like you care – and while some out there are no doubt crunching the odds of Debi Mazar and that Russian guy squaring off with Chuck Liddell and…that Russian chick in the finals, local interest is still…
Frozen Custard on a Hot Day
The thermometer in the car said 100 degrees on Saturday afternoon when we stopped for ice cream at Ritter’s Frozen Custard on North Fry Road in Katy. Ritter’s serves scoops of frozen custard in a variety of flavors. We sampled the rich vanilla and chocolate-flecked strawberry romance flavors. Frozen custard…
Beyonce: Not Just Dangerously In Love, Dangerous To Your Computer
Via the Houston site of examiner.com, anti-viral software company McAfee ranks Beyonce near the top of celebrities for whom Internet searches are likely to lead to pages containing spyware, viruses or other technology-borne maladies. Searching Beyonce and other boldfaced names like Jessica Biel (No. 1 this year), the study says,…
Oh, God: Now It’s Our Teeth We Have To Be Self-Conscious About
What is it with Houston and lists? Fattest city, most polluted city; even when it’s a good thing, it’s only something like being a cheap place to date. You know, we’re guessing Des Moines, Iowa, is a cheap place to date, too. It’s just that no one bothers to check.Now…
Ask a Rapper: Brew of Dark Sunz and Lower Life Form, “We’re All Hustling”
The hip-hop world is a less than sensible place – lots of times, you’re even required to clarify when bad means bad and when bad means good – so once a week we’re going to get with a rapper and ask them to explain things. Have something you always wanted…
Don’t Forget To Vote For The Best Of Houston; Your Opinion Actually Counts
Have you been moping around, bereft of not only vim but vigor too, all because you’re desperately hoping someone would ask you for your opinion on what’s the best parade in Houston?Today’s your day.Actually, it’s been your day for a while. Untold numbers of your fellow Houstonians have been voting…
Where Are We Eating?
That is one pink drink. This might be easy for some, but let’s see who will be the first to guess where we’re eating this week. Leave your guess in the comments section below…
True Blood, Episode 10: Sister Gertrude, Bride of Christ, Soundtracks a Visit to the Vampire Queen
Alan Ball was known for his masterful use of music in Six Feet Under. He’s lost none of his touch when it comes to his current HBO series, One of the reasons Rocks Off began this column was to help bring to the limelight some of the lesser-known artists that…
Make The Astros Better: Forget Free Agents
A friend sent me this Richard Justice blog post over the weekend, then he asked, given the premise that Drayton McLane was going to allow unlimited spending for next season’s team, just what it was that I would do. First, unlike one of Justice’s suggestions, I wouldn’t waste any money…
Houston 101: Neighborhood Of Astronauts
Nowadays, being an astronaut just doesn’t have the cachet it once did. But back in the 1960s, astronauts were celebrities, and an obscure neighborhood near Clear Lake was their Beverly Hills.Timber Cove was a development of what today would be considered smallish homes — no McMansions here — on small…
Chef Chat: Ziggy Gruber of Kenny & Ziggy’s New York Deli Restaurant
Foodies generally acknowledge that one of the last authentic New York delicatessens in the world is located at 2327 Post Oak Blvd. Ziggy Gruber, owner/chef of Kenny & Ziggy’s New York Delicatessen, recently spoke with Eating Our Words about how a third-generation deli man wound up living in the Lone…
Distant Early Warning: Cobra Starship, Har Mar Superstar, KISS, Nitzer Ebb, The Used, etc.
“3rd Annual Texas City Music Fest” With Jerry Jeff Walker, John Conlee, Texas Johnny Brown: Sat., Oct. 24. Nessler Park, Texas City. Bob Schneider: Fri., Sept. 25. Warehouse Live. The Bravery: Sat., Oct. 24. Warehouse Live. Cobra Starship, Boys Like Girls, A Rocket To The Moon, The Maine: Sun., Nov…
Back to School with Miss Pop Rocks!
For most kids in the Houston area, this week signals the return to reading, writing, and random drug searches of their lockers. Ah, modern times. The bell ringing us back to class got Miss Pop Rocks thinking of all the pop culture schools she wishes she could have attended.Bayside High…
MP3 of the Day: Morgue City, Not Metal But Still Plenty Dark
Rocks Off was sure that Houston’s Morgue City was a metal band – it’s a perfect metal name, that’s for sure. Not quite. The Houston duo, descended from bondage-loving former HPMA Best Industrial winners Bozo Porno Circus, plays a brand of “noiz” not far off from KMFDM or My Life…
Mayoral Candidates Are Disappointed With The Ashby High Rise Decision
The massive battle over the proposed Ashby high-rise is one that leaves us not very interested.On the one side, you have a developer trying to force a 23-story complex onto the shady streets near Rice; on the other, you have the well-heeled residents of that neighborhood marshalling lawyers and graphics…
Coroner Rules Michael Jackson’s Death a Homicide
It already looked bad for Houston physician Dr. Conrad Murray, whom just about everyone with a pulse expects to face criminal charges stemming from his client Michael Jackson’s June 25 death and is already the subject of a manslaughter probe by the LAPD. Now things look even worse, because the Associated Press…
Council Hears About More BARC Stuff, This Time Some Nasty Divorce Allegations
It seems a day can’t go by without some drama regarding the Bureau of Animal Regulation and Care. Today’s edition involves a 2006 allegation of abuse against BARC Interim Bureau Chief Gerry Fusco made by his then-wife. The Harris County Sheriff’s Office report was posted on an online animal-advocacy forum and…
A Bizarre, and Sometimes Electrifying, Tribute to Michael Jackson, Luther and Marvin at Miller Outdoor Theater
Saturday Rocks Off and a friend attended Keeping the Music Alive, a free concert at Miller Outdoor Theatre. The show was a tribute in honor of the late Michael Jackson, the later Bernie Mac, the even later Gerald Levert, the later still Luther Vandross, and the even yet later still…
The British Isles: Texas Haggis
In photos, canned haggis looks alarmingly like dog food. It is traditionally eaten as part of a full Scottish breakfast or as an entrée on a bed of mashed rutabagas and potatoes, which go by the cutesy names of “neeps and tatties” in Scotland. I bought a can of Caledonian…
“Rock the Casbah” and Other Songs You Won’t Hear at Many Ramadan Parties
This past weekend marked the beginning of Ramadan, the Islamic holiday of spiritual purification. As you might imagine, fasting and self-sacrifice don’t usually go very well with conventional revelry, so the occasion isn’t usually marked by all-night house parties. This is just as well, because the selection of songs referring…
School Year Opens, As It Always Does
School has begun today for HISD and other area districts, which means you’ll have to put up with several inevitable developments.Here are five of the worst:Mom blogs. Generally a bane to society, as evidenced by the Chron’s newest house ad for them: “We’re the Moms no one warned our kids…
Something Old, Something New at La King’s in Galveston
A newly reopened La King’s on Galveston’s Strand looks for all the world like the inside of Florean Fortescue’s Ice Cream Parlour, the fanciful sweet shop from the Harry Potter novels. Wood floors moan softly underfoot while marble counters seem to glow from within and lights twinkle off the metal…
Lonesome Onry and Mean: Macon Greyson Pushes Strings, Strings Push Back
Macon Greyson, the Dallas band our sister paper up north loved to ignore until it landed a song in The Wrestler, has just emerged from the studio with a four-song EP titled This Machine Kills Hypocrisy. Unlike last year’s Twentieth Century Accidents, the new tracks are a return to working…
Questions Continue To Rise About Houston-Based Lifeguard Program
John Hunsucker is not a medical doctor. This is one of the first points his many critics tend to make.They make it because Hunsucker, who runs Houston-based NASCO (National Aquatic Safety Company), the third-largest lifeguard training organization in the nation, teaches a rescue technique that has been dismissed as useless…
Yes, It’s Hot. So Women Are Wearing Tiny Bathing Suits, And We Are There To Photograph Them
They were washing bikes and cars out at the Harley-Davidson dealership in Stafford, so naturally we sent a photographer. Imagine our surprise when we discovered it was a bikini car wash. We decided to shoot pictures anyway, and here’s the slideshow.Then, to compound our bad luck, there was a beauty…
Aftermath: Blondie, Graceful and Casual at the Arena Theatre
Even at today’s prices, dreaming is free. That’s why an evening with Blondie is such a bargain. Sandwiched between the Donnas (who sounded tight and sassy from the will call line) and Pat Benatar (still “Invincible”), Debbie Harry’s crew navigated the Arena’s revolving stage with casual grace and veteran cool…
Bayou Body Count: Death At The Movies…And The Firehouse
Damian Scott was restless. He woke up in his home at around 4:30 a.m. Friday, told his wife to go back to sleep and walked out to the garage. Then he hopped in his car, closed the door, turned on the engine and started watching a DVD. The garage door…
Heirloom Melons: Swan Lake
Swan Lake is an heirloom melon with a sensational honey-like flavor and a custardy texture. It’s my new favorite melon. I had never even heard of heirloom melons until last weekend when I ran into this guy selling them at the Bayou City Farmer’s market on Richmond. Garth Travis grows…
Boy, Do We Feel Old: “Hot for Teacher” and Other Back-To-School Songs
Today is the first day of school for almost all the public school districts in the area. Children and teens from Alvin to Alief are trudging into polished halls and sterile classrooms for yet another year of romantic intrigue and bitter class struggle, and impromptu dance routines in the cafeteria,…
Who Anointed Gary Kubiak A Quarterback Guru?
Dan Orlovsky entered the Texans/Saints game in the second quarter. He did his best Rex Grossman at one point when he threw wildly for an interception. And he didn’t really look that good throughout the game. But Joel Meyers and Spencer Tillman, the TV announcers on KTRK — by the…
Five More Stretches Of Bad Houston Road
When we put up our list of poorly designed pieces of road in Houston, we asked for your suggestions. And, by comment and e-mail, they came in.The recurring theme seemed to be: Stay off the West Loop if you value your life.Let’s take it from the south up. We already…
Tex Chick Puerto Rican Restaurant Lives On
As far as we can tell, Tex Chick Restaurant at 712½ Fairview in Montrose is the only Puerto Rican restaurant in Houston. That’s impressive, considering the incredibly diverse ethnic dining scene in Houston. It’s also an opportunity, as we recently discovered during lunch there, to explore a fantastic niche in…
Aftermath: Lil Wayne at The Woodlands, Cussing Up a Storm and Selling Everything That Wasn’t Nailed Down
Show of hands if any of you have ever been wrangled into a time-share scheme. Wherein you have to sit and listen to a talking head decked out in Sears’ finest grind down your gears with a two-hour seminar on some delightful ocean-front property. Now, add in blaring hip-hop beats,…
Aftermath: Fastball at House of Blues
It hasn’t been that long since the ’90s ended, but it sure seems like it sometimes. Like going to a concert sponsored by a radio station, in Saturday’s case Mix 96.5. It doesn’t matter what the station is, or who is playing, you’re immediately struck by two things: “People still…
While You Weren’t Tweeting: It’s Back to School Time
Take a stroll down any aisle in Target. Pirouette through the airy walkways at the Houston Zoo. Squint your eyes in disbelief at a nearly abandoned Discovery Green. Go ahead; try it. There’s something markedly different in the world today, isn’t there?Oh, helloooooo, Big Yellow School Bus! Does this mean…? …
Snackshot: Cake Fail
Today’s fail-tastic Snackshot comes to us courtesy of my mother and her vast collection of embarrassing photos. This is how not to frost a cake. My family refers to it as the Stroke Cake to this day…
Turning the Screw: Clinton Sparks, Bun B & Slim Thug, More Bun B, Jazzy Jeff, Erykah Badu, Pitbull, Big Mello, etc.
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. (Super, Super Cool) Single of the Week: “Pack The Gat,” Clinton Sparks feat. Bun B and Slim Thug Wire To Wire If there’s…
Texans-Saints: New, “Improved ” D Falls Flat In First Home Test
Run the ball, and stop the run.It’s one of the oldest clichés on what determines NFL success. But if there’s much truth to it, the Texans’ potential breakthrough season might already be in some trouble.With Reggie Bush out with a calf injury, the Saints (2-0) gashed the Texans (1-1) on…
Texas Traveler: Robber’s Cave
This week Texas Traveler is crossing the border. No, not that border. About two and a half hours north of the Red Rover (about eight hours north of Houston), stands a strange little state park with a history steeped in Southern folklore. Its name is Robber’s Cave. Nowadays the park…
Take A Look At The BARC Change Agent’s Contract — Complete With Discount!
The City of Houston’s proposed contract with Bureau of Animal Regulation and Care Interim Chief Gerry Fusco has a $23,500 discount. (Read the contract here and here).The lowered cost to $135,000, which the contract states Fusco agreed to, will be used “to defray the City’s cost for leadership-development training that…
StubHub: Houston Is More “Rockin'” Than Vegas, Less So Than Hartford and Milwaukee
Online ticket broker StubHub.com released its annual list of America’s Top 20 “Most Rockin’ Cities” Friday, with Houston holding steady at No. 17 for the second year in a row. We probably would have been even higher – in several ways – if Vermont jam-band overlords Phish, who reunited this…
This Week in Deliciousness
Welcome back to Eating Our Words’ weekly roundup, where we’ve already picked all those wonderful little brown rye chips out of the Gardetto’s. This week started off with a story from another dimension: Conservatives are applauding Whole Foods, while liberals are boycotting it. WHAAAA?!!?! At first we thought we were…
Friday Night Noise: Tchrite’s Unpronouncable Take-No-Shit Ecstacy, Ascites’ So-Called “Soft Adult Contemporary”
Tchrite, “Casahdt”: Houston duo Tchrite – don’t ask FNN how to pronounce that – are an experimentalist train wreck. They sew samples (No Doubt’s “Don’t Speak,” the sorta public-access sound scraps that The Books go gaga over) into woozy patches of static tone. They puree and smush and smash samples…
Last Call For Art: You’re Getting Off Easy This Week
Each week Last Call for Art presents shows and exhibits that are closing, meaning you only have the weekend to get off yer butt and go see them. When there are a half-dozen or more things shutting their doors at once, deciding which to see can be difficult.This week, not…
Comings and Goings
Because so little went on by way of restaurant openings or closings and so much went on by way of personnel changes at some of Houston’s most high-profile restaurants, we’re shifting focus this week. First up is the news that Robert Gadsby, the executive chef and co-owner of upscale Heights…
We Weren’t Lying: A Hell Of A Lot Of People Saw The Wiz In The Park
We wrote earlier about our various attempts to see the Ensemble Theater’s free production of the The Wiz in Hermann Park.Incredibly long lines for covered parking, and packed conditions on the hill, defeated our attempts to enjoy the spectacle.And now we know why, officially: The Ensemble says an amazing 22,000…
It’s Not Too Late for a Hurricane to Interrupt Talentless Taylor Hicks’ Turn in Grease. Please?
Braaaaaaaap! That’s the sound of us thinking about Taylor Hicks. For the uninitiated, it’s a fart noise, meant to denote a lack of candor or warmth. In another case of the Good Lord shitting the bed of mankind, Hicks is coming to Houston next month to play “Teen Angel” (Frankie…
Good Lord, Was Tom DeLay Drunk On Hardball?
Sugar Land’s Tom DeLay has wormed his way back into the spotlight lately via the announcement he’ll be on Dancing With The Stars.He showed up on Chris Matthews’ Hardball the other day, and we’ve got to ask: Was he drunk? (DeLay, not Matthews.)Check out the video for yourself.Visit msnbc.com for…
Upstairs, Downstairs: Drive-By Truckers, “The Living Bubba” and the Steep Price of Radioactive Ice Water
After many, many years, Rocks Off is beginning to realize that it’s possible to have a worthwhile musical experience nowhere near a stage. Ironically, the band responsible is Drive-By Truckers, whom we’ve seen live more often than probably any other save Wilco, Rev. Horton Heat and a handful of old…
Café Cubano’s Cuban Sandwich
At Café Cubano, 9411 Richmond, the pre-made Cuban sandwiches are kept in the refrigerator. When you order one, the counter person heats it in the microwave and then puts it on the sandwich press. I drank a cortadito (sweet espresso) while I waited. Café Cubano’s Cuban sandwich sells for $5;…
How To Grab The Reader’s Attention
The Texans and the New Orleans Saints have been practicing together this week, and yesterday they got into some scraps.Houston Chronicle reporter John McClain ably summed things up with this lede on his story:”The Texans and New Orleans Saints spent so much time fighting during Thursday’s morning practice they could…
Lonesome Onry and Mean: “OD’d In Denver” and Other Drug-Addled Americana Songs
A group of us were sitting at our regular table at the bar the other night when one of our number reported that he had to fly to Denver the next day. LOM never hears the word “Denver” that we don’t think of Hank Williams Jr.’s “OD’d in Denver.” We…
For Ramadan: Five Movie Muslims
Ramadan is a time of reflection and prayer for the world’s Muslim population. It is meant to teach them patience and self-restraint, and to bring them closer to Allah. We at Hair Balls know little of patience, and have never been good at self-restraint, but we’re nothing if not equal-opportunity…
Obscure Wine Grapes: Touriga
Touriga Nacional is an ancient Portuguese varietal that was probably introduced to the Iberian peninsula by the Phoenicians. It’s a black grape that typically has high tannins and very concentrated fruit flavors. The grapes are most famously used in the highest quality ports. Touriga is also used to produce red…
Incubus’ Brandon Boyd: “The Shit We’ve Been Screwing Around With Has Been Really Exciting”
After year-long hiatus from touring and recording, Calabasas, Calif.-based rockers Incubus have jumped back on the road to promote their first greatest-hits collection, Monuments and Melodies. The band is using the time on tour to workshop new material for a release said to be hitting the streets next spring or…
What To Look For If You’re Looking At The Texans And Saints
It’s time for preseason game number two for the Houston Texans. This week, they’re taking on the New Orleans Saints. The two teams have been practicing against each other this week, and yesterday, things got a bit heated as there were multiple fights punctuated by Saints tight end Jeremy Shockey…
In Honor of Michelle Obama and “Shortsgate,” the Best Ass Songs of All Time
In a year when the biggest news stories aren’t about war or the environment but a mentally unbalanced woman having a litter of children and the death of a creepy pop singer who hadn’t put out a decent album in 25 years, it should come as no surprise that so many people…
Is He Cyber Playing You For a Fool?
He’s the cutest thing since a sweet-cheeked tabby soulfully cozied up to the ivories on a piano. He makes you laugh harder than that time an errant seagull dropped a big ol’ load in your sister’s ice cream at the Pasadena Strawberry Festival in 1984. He looks good on paper…and…
$10 Tom Yum Goong
I have a cold. So I walk into Thai Restaurant at 5757 Westheimer and ask if they have any soup. Waitress points to the menu. Tom yum goong is $3.95. I’ll take that, I say pointing at the item. Thai soups are great cold remedies, especially the shrimp, lemongrass, lime…
Things to Do This Weekend If You’re (Almost) Broke
Friday Twice the Classic Numbers this week. Free admission Saturday with Friday’s ticket stub. Dallas electronica-rockers Ishi gets bodies moving at Walter’s with DJs Cuba Gooding Jr., Fredster and Stiletto Chrome. Ride your bike and get in free. The Urbane Guerilla Sound System spins vintage soul, R&B, reggae and ska…
Free Night Of Theater Coming To Houston, If You’re Fast Enough
In the never-ending battle to get people to come see live theater, the Free Night of Theater project began five years ago in three cities.Now it’s coming to Houston.Nationwide, over 65,000 free tickets were given away in 120 cities…which kinda makes you wonder what took Houston so long.But beggars can’t…
Rick Ross Is Completely Innocent and the Greatest Rapper Alive
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. Last year, president of Don Diva magazine Sam Ferguson played a major role in…
A Chat with Reid McGraff of a+ bar and grille
Seeing Reid McGraff at the Alden-Houston’s a+ bar and grille — an affable and friendly bartender, but with a certain polished bearing — you’d never guess he’d ever tended a less elegant bar. Asked about his past positions, he mentions Hotel ZaZa, House of Blues, Warren’s Inn and City Streets…
Hotel Occupancy Dips, And Groups Who Depend On Those Tax Monies Keep A Wary Eye
If yesterday’s Chron story on projected drops in hotel tax revenues gave you the frightening impression that Minute Maid Park might shutter its doors, or at least make the entire Astros roster sweep the bleachers and maintain the field, you may exhale — at least for now. Janis Schmees, executive director…
The Five Worst-Designed Bits Of Road In Houston
Houston is perhaps the most car-centric city in the nation, if not the world. You walk here, you get funny looks.But for a city that loves its cars, officials have sure designed some driver-hating pieces of road.Whether they’re intersections gone bad or baffling pieces of highway, Houston has some Roads…
MP3 of the Day: Kenny “Roaster” Rogers at His Freakiest
Because of Tuesday’s We Were Wolves/Satin Hooks show (our ears are still ringing), the Mink moved its weekly movie night to 9 p.m. tonight, but it’s worth the wait. They’ll be showing the Coen brothers’ 1996 classic The Big Lebowski, with $3 White Russians and a pair of Sunny Day…
Into HISD’s Bold New Future, With A Superintendent Who Doesn’t Speak Spanish
As expected, HISD named Terry Grier its new superintendent at a press conference earlier today. We went to the press conference to find out why Grier was selected, considering his job history is what some people might call shaky. A state senator told us earlier today, “It makes me wonder…
He Said She Said: Songs Guaranteed to Offend the Opposite Sex, Part 2
It’s been 25 years since Tipper Gore and the ladies of the PMRC (Parents Music Resource Center) self-righteously rode the the rescue of delicate ears across America, claiming that rock music was “infecting the youth of the world with messages they cannot handle.” It was the 1950s all over again…
Bayou Body Count: Two Confessions And Two Mysteries
A man’s music is sacred. Even more so when he’s blasting it stone cold through a night of boozing it up with friends. This is a lesson Turcious Villeda Marcial learned painfully well on Monday at 3043 Golfcrest when he was stabbed to death after telling his partying roommates to…
Food Fight: Battle Cheese Enchilada
“Cheese enchiladas served in chili con carne — not thin, meatless chili gravy, or authentic enchilada sauce — are the hallmark of real Tex-Mex, according to 78-year-old Fort Worth sportswriter and Tex-Mex expert Dan Jenkins,” as Robb Walsh stated in his July 2008 feature “Temples of Tex-Mex.” The gooey, cheesy,…
He Said She Said: Songs Guaranteed to Offend the Opposite Sex
Chicks, man. Can’t live with them, can’t play music that objectifies them while in the car on the first date. What’s up with that? You play one song with the queen mother c-word in it and she leaves the car before we get our complimentary paper crowns. We compiled a…
Gene Green And The Town Halls
Among the local Congressional delegation, probably no one’s run into more rambunctious Town Hall madness than Gene Green. Sheila Jackson Lee has had some of it, of course, but as long as the cameras are running she’s happy.Green’s town halls, which usually attract a couple of dozen people, are now…
Rocks Off Succumbs to That Evil Facebook “Bands I’ve Seen” List
If you’re reading this at all, Rocks Off will just assume you’re fairly familiar with the Internet, and therefore that you more than likely also have a Facebook page. Congratulations – don’t you feel special? Rocks Off was recently “tagged” by several of our Facebook friends with one of those…
Houston Stays Alive In Bid To Host Some World Cup Games
A few years ago, Houston memorably (and hilariously) pushed hard to host a Summer Olympics. It had as much chance of landing one as it did a Winter Olympics, but the effort persevered nonetheless.We seem to have a better shot, however, at seeing some World Cup (that’s soccer, you xenophobes)…
Paul Wall, Jamie Kennedy and Chuck Norris Help Mattress Mack Find His Inner Gangsta
It’s been a rough summer over at Gallery Furniture, what with a former employee being arrested for torching the local home-furnishing superstore’s warehouse. But we all know plucky owner Jim “Mattress Mack” McIngvale isn’t going to let losing the lion’s share of Gallery’s inventory get him down any more than…
Seabrook Seafood Stores Are Back
Beeline snapper was $4 a pound and American red snapper was $6 a pound at the dockside seafood markets in Seabrook a few days ago. Big gulf shrimp were $3.95 a pound — cheaper if you bought five pounds or more. The dock for Gulf shrimp boats in Seabrook is…
HISD About To Hire Its Superintendent, And Some Critics Emerge
We have word from HISD spokesman Norm Uhl that the district might officially name the new superintendent at 2 o’clock. If the choice is Terry Grier, as it’s been reported, some people are already unhappy. (Update: It is.) “I’m very disappointed in the board,” State Sen. Mario Gallegos, who serves…
The H-Town Countdown, No. 23: K-Rino’s Time Traveler
Roughly 84,000 rap albums have been released in Houston since 1989. We’re counting down the 25 best of all time every Thursday. Got a problem with the list? Shove it. Just kidding. Friendship. Email it to sheaserrano@gmail.com. “So you was God posing as Satan doing an imitation of God acting…
You’ve Heard It Effin’ Before: Cops Wash Out With Soap Another Galveston County Potty-Mouth
We really thought we wouldn’t be writing again about people getting into trouble with the law in Galveston County because they cursed. But goshdarnit, it just keeps popping up.Whether it’s a frustrated woman in a Wal-Mart, a guy arguing over his neighbor’s dog poop, or even a guy from fuckin’…
$13 at Huynh Restaurant
Where: Huynh Restaurant, 912 St. Emanuel, 713-224-8694 What $13 gets you: A filling lunch of hearty, authentic Vietnamese food in a deceptively upscale setting. You can definitely bring your fancy-pants boss here for lunch, if you can get him past the front door. As the center of Houston’s south Asian…
Cutout Bin: The Goldwaters’ Liberal-Baiting Folk Songs
The Goldwaters Sing Folk Songs to Bug the Liberals (1964, Greenleaf) The 1964 presidential election was a pivotal point in our nation’s history. After years of the liberal leadership and acronym names of JFK and LBJ, Republican Senator Barry Goldwater sought to take the country in a new direction. Could…
The Color Purple, Back And Unbowed By Ike
Just like its main character Celie who overcomes all odds, the national tour of The Color Purple came to the Hobby Center this week and soared in sound and spectacle — despite a few sound and lighting glitches during opening night — ultimately redeemed by its strong message and dramatic…
Aftermath: Mos Def at House of Blues
9:30 p.m.: Just walked in to see the place pretty well filled. Snoop is playing through the speaker system. If you walk into a venue and “Gin and Juice” is playing, you can take that as a sign that you’re going to have a good time. Well, that or that…
It’s Only Going To Get Hotter In Houston, Group Says
Think it’s hot in Houston now? Just want for….(switch to stentorian voice)…The Future!!!!That’s the word from Climate Central, a non-profit scientific group that apparently believes all this climate-change mumbo-jumbo the socialist-fascists are trying to throw at us when they’re not trying to force government health care and take away our…
Julia’s Bistro’s Plantain Crusted Snapper
We love mangoes here at Eating Our Words, and as summer comes to an end, we’re panicking and glutting ourselves on them before it’s too late. So we think it’s perfectly reasonable to share two recipes with mango in two weeks. In fact, you’re welcome. This time, we’ve got a…
You’re Not Expecting Us To Live Without Your Best of Houston Vote, Are You?
Dudes and dudettes, time is running out to cast your ballot for this year’s Best of Houston categories.You only have until August 28 to click away here and tell us everything from where to find the best mac-and-cheese to what was the city’s best sports moment of the past year…
The Texas Rangers, A Klein High Kid And Richard Justice
Richard Justice is a columnist, not a reporter. And as part of his job, he’s supposed to give his opinions, no matter how wrong I think they usually are. But that said, when he’s writing an opinion piece trashing Klein High School’s Matthew Purke for turning down a $4-million-a-year contract…
Health Department Roundup: Single-Service Edition
Usually the Roundup shines its light on the misdeeds of full-service restaurants, but this time out we reconnoiter the single-service foodscape. These are generally not sit-down restaurants but cheaper grab-n-gos where you aren’t expected to tip anyone. These establishments cannot get away with spirit-of-the-law spit polishes but must meet the…
I Wanna Be Your Dog: Michael Vick’s Entrance Music
The mystery of whether or not Michael Vick would be picked up by an NFL team was solved pretty handily last week, when the Philadelphia Eagles signed him as a backup for Donovan McNabb. The Eagles were able to look past Vick’s history of…questionable behavior because they need a reliable…
A Little Couple? A Little Booooorring.
Oh my God, Miss Pop Rocks, now you’re going to pick on little people? HAVE YOU NO SHAME, WOMAN? Truth is, I don’t. But hear me out. I am not picking on TLC’s latest reality stars — Houston’s very own Jen Arnold and Bill Klein — because they are small…
Houston Museum of Natural Science Excursion: Waugh Bridge Bats
See hundreds of Mexican free-tail bats as they emerge at dusk during today’s Houston Museum of Natural Science Excursion: Waugh Bridge Bats. Dan Brooks, curator of vertebrate zoology for the HMNS, has studied bats all over the world and he’ll be your guide as you discover one of Houston’s most…
Madcap 24
Theater groups from across Houston will participate in the frenzied Madcap 24. Each group will write, cast, direct and stage a production in a single 24-hour period. From the blank page to curtain call in one day Ñ hmm, it’s easy to see why they call it madcap. 8 p.m…
“Paper or Plastic?”
Some African-Americans once used a paper bag to determine attractiveness and worth. The practice involved taking a plain brown paper bag and holding it up to their faces. If the bag was darker, that was a good thing. If the bag was lighter, well, that wasn’t so good. In his…
Rocky Horror Picture Show
You haven’t really seen the Rocky Horror Picture Show until you’ve seen it with a live shadow cast. Members of The Beautiful Creatures troupe appear at today’s screening, telling the story of Dr. Frank-N-Furter, Brad and Janet along with the actors in the film. (Don’t forget to wear your fishnets!)…
“Body in Fragments”
Given the national obsession with the “Body Worlds” exhibition – in which real bodies are plasticized and opened up so we can all look inside ourselves – the Menil Collection’s new “Body in Fragments” exhibition should be popular. But it should also appeal to those who’d like to have a…
The Music of the Night
If you love Broadway but hate to fly, you can drive over to Conroe tonight to catch a bona fide star of the Great White Way, as the Crighton Theatre welcomes David Gaschen, a Texas native son, back to the Lone Star State to perform in The Music of the…
The Okra Principle
There’s no drama bigger than the one happening at your very own kitchen table. That’s the basic idea behind Amaechi Felix Madueke’s The Okra Principle, about three Nigerian brothers whose favorite food is the traditional Nigerian okra soup. Of course, soup isn’t the problem; it’s just the comfort food they…
While You Have Time
The gospel play While You Have Time has a simple message: repent before it’s too late. The uplifting production follows a woman and her brother as they struggle with personal failings, compounded by a lack of faith, before finally finding redemption. 7 p.m. Acres Homes Multi-Service Center, 6719 West Montgomery…
Wonder of the World
When the show first opened at Manhattan Theatre Club in New York, it starred Sarah Jessica Parker as Cass Harris, the unhappily married lady at the center of David Lindsay-Abaire’s Wonder of the World; it also featured Amy Sedaris as a comic-relief character. That tells you something about the star…
4th Annual Italian Retrospective
Film critic Gerhard Midding described the heroine in director Antonio Pietrangeli’s 1965 film I Knew Her Well as a “lusty Mediterranean Holly Golightly.” Sounds like a fine way to kick off the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston’s 4th Annual Italian Retrospective, which focuses on the leading ladies of postwar Italian…
Starship Troopers
Don’t pass up the chance to see Denise It’s Complicated Richards, Neil Patrick How I Met Your Mother Harris and Rue The Golden Girls McClanahan in the 1997 Starship Troopers. The futuristic Dutch-American film, about a young soldier who is fighting against giant arachnoids, was nominated for an Academy Award…
All In a Day’s Work
“I work my ass off,” says an Oregon lumberjack in David Fenster’s documentary Wood, without much emotion or pride. He’s just doing his job, a job on the verge of extinction. Each subject of the movies that comprise All in a Day’s Work, the traveling festival of short documentary films…
Kathryn Casey
Houstonian and former true-crime writer Kathryn Casey often gets calls from families who want her to help a loved one. She’s heard hundreds of parents say, “My son is innocent,” or “My daughter would never commit suicide.” The fact that the families are turning to Casey, a journalist and novelist,…
S certy nejsou zerty
These Czechs are for kids. And kids of all ages. Loosely translated as Don’t Mess With Devils, or maybe No Jokes in Hell, S certy nejsou zerty, a delightful fairy tale from Hynek Bocan (1985), has plenty of fun set down below. The devil (a wonderfully campy and snorting Ondrej…
David Dow
Discuss liberty and equality during David Dow’s reading and signing session today. The author of American Prophets: How Judicial Activism Makes America Great, Dow says biblical figures such as Jesus, Isaiah and Amos were archetypal activist judges and, by extension, contemporary activist judges are today’s prophets. Not only is that…
“Annual HSPVA SHOW”
The High School for the Performing and Visual Arts started more than 30 years ago with little more than an idea and a strong-willed principle. Since then, thousands of student artists have walked through its doors. See the latest crop at “Collections, Annual HSPVA Juried Show,” the fourth such pairing…
Three Nights of Family Films
You’ll have your choice of fun flicks during this week’s Three Nights of Family Films. Monday night it’s Stuart Little (an adventurous mouse faces off with his nemesis, Snowbell the Cat). Tuesday night it’s The Land Before Time (Littlefoot, the orphaned brontosaurus, sets off to find the Great Valley). And…
Scriabin and Kandinksy: Hearing Color, Seeing Sound
At Scriabin and Kandinksy: Hearing Color, Seeing Sound, pianist Jade Simmons will explore the link between the visual and the auditory. While it’s possible to achieve this with certain classic rock albums and illegal drugs, all Simmons needs is a score and some slides Ñ the Houston pianist will perform…
Pamela Walker & Linda Walsh
Pamela Walker wants you to know you are where what you eat grows. Her book, Growing Good Things to Eat in Texas, chronicles 11 Lone Star State farmers and ranchers through interviews and photographs by Linda Walsh (no relation to Press food critic Robb Walsh). The two will sign and…
2009 Mug Awards
The 2009 Mug Awards, sponsored by sports radio FM 1560 The Game and Warehouse Live, are billed as “the Oscars meets the Kids’ Choice Awards, only with beer.” Highlights (and a few lowlights) of the station’s broadcasts will be noted, including Show of the Year and Interview of the Year…
HBO Boxing After Dark
Former lightweight World Champion Juan “Baby Bull” Diaz makes his welterweight debut against Paulie “Magic Man” Malignaggi in today’s HBO Boxing After Dark bout. Also in the ring are Robert “The Ghost” Guerrero and Malcolm “Stone” Klassen. (Do you think nicknames are required by the boxers union?) 3:30 p.m. Toyota…
Riff Trax Live: Plan 9 from Outer Space
During today’s nationwide broadcast of Riff Trax Live: Plan 9 from Outer Space, the stars of Mystery Science Theater 3000 (Michael J. Nelson, Kevin Murphy and Bell Corbett) will riff live on the worst film ever made by Ed Wood, everyone’s favorite transvestite director and high camp king (Nelson and…
Adult Wink
Have a sleepover with lions, bears, and great apes at the Houston Zoo’s Adult Wink. After dinner, you’ll get behind-the-scene tours, meet some touchable animals and see the zoo residents as very few do – in the moonlight. Sleep on the zoo grounds (tents are provided), then wake up to…
Josh Neufeld
In A.D.: New Orleans After the Deluge, artist Josh Neufeld shows how a graphic novel can tackle serious, real-life events – in this case, a city in the wake of a natural disaster. His poignant work follows the lives of seven Crescent City citizens who are forced to choose between…
“The Hosek Collection of American Art”
The Pearl Fincher Museum of Fine Arts hadn’t even opened its doors when Chip Hosek, a private collector, approached them and said he had some American art he was willing to give the Pearl for an exhibit. The works included paintings by Norman Rockwell, Jamie Wyeth and John Falter. The…
Hot Club of Cowtown
It’s been over a decade since Hot Club of Cowtown formed and became an instant hit with fans of country and swing. Since forming in 1997, Hot Club has been one of the most consistent and reliable acts in the broad pantheon of Texas music, although they did go their…
Soul Rebels Brass Band/Rebirth Brass Band
In New Orleans, a brass band is a mobile party. Just thinking the words “second line” conjures up mental images of tubas, trombones, trumpets and saxes parading down the street, beckoning people out of their homes to join their footsteps to the rhythm of the drums, until an entire neighborhood…
Gay Panic in Cowtown
Benjamin Guttery and his partner were drinking on the patio when five officers showed up and started shining their flashlights in patrons’ faces. Rainbow Lounge, the newest of six gay bars in Fort Worth, had only been open a week, and the vibe there was different from its more low-key…
Quentin’s Final Solution!
Energetic, inventive, swaggering fun, Quentin Tarantino’s Inglourious Basterds is a consummate Hollywood entertainment — rich in fantasy and blithely amoral. It’s also quintessential Tarantino — even more drenched in film references than gore. Tepidly received in Cannes and thereafter tweaked, Inglourious Basterds may still be a tad long at two…
On Top? It’s Not Rape, and Full-service Journalism
Courts, Crime On Top? It’s Not Rape Houston judge questions whether victim was raped By Richard Connelly Newly elected judge Kevin Fine isn’t your typical jurist — he’s been frank and outspoken about his missteps in life, which include a cocaine addiction. Now he finds himself dealing with another alleged…
Hot in Herre
Anytime you’re in a bar and the person you’re talking to reveals a firm stance on anything, immediately argue the contrary. It’s hours (or at least minutes) of pure fun. It doesn’t even matter if you agree with what they’re saying or not. If they say health care should be…
Mangola’s Fine Italian Restaurant
Sal Rosas has owned Mangola’s Fine Italian Restaurant (11786 S. Wilcrest, 281-498-6790) since 1998, although the restaurant goes back to 1987. He recently reopened the place after a fire gutted it more than two years ago. The family restaurant serves folks from the Missouri City and the Sugar Land areas…
Capsule Art Reviews: “Amy Blakemore: Photographs 1988-2008”, “Carlos Runcie-Tanaka: Fragmento”, “Detritus”, “No Zoning: Artists Engage Houston”
“Amy Blakemore: Photographs 1988-2008” The photographs Amy Blakemore takes with a crappy plastic camera can make you cry. Dad (1999) is an image from this exhibition, a 20-year survey of the artist’s work at the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston. The entire time I was in the gallery, people kept…
Is It Done Yet?
The kakuni pork belly ($11) at Kata Robata Sushi & Grill (3600 Kirby, 713-526-8858) is slow-braised for ten hours before being served, and it’s as soft and tender as can be. Four cubes of pork are served on a rectangular platter, sitting on top of some spinach. The word “kakuni”…
Capsule Stage Reviews: Steel Magnolias, The Story of Burford, Category 5, The Tamarie Cooper Show: Journey to the Center of My Brain (in 3-D)
Steel Magnolias Old-fashioned as it may be, Robert Harling’s 1987 comedy-drama about a girl who suffers from complications from diabetes remains a very tender story that’s as funny as it is sad. And when the actors are as uniformly strong as the ones getting their up-dos at Truvy’s Beauty Parlor…
Nothing Sets Our Readers Off Like Che Guevara and Rape
Checking in on Che Guevara No hero: Thanks for the article on Che [“A Darker Look at Che,” by Tim Elfrink, August 6]. I can’t express the anger I feel each and every time I see Che being portrayed as a hero in books, T-shirts and articles. You really showed…
Gay Panic in Cowtown: Houston Pride
Cops used to raid Houston’s gay bars all the time. They’d burst inside, kill the music and flip on the lights. People would be ordered up against the wall. Then they’d be arrested, for offenses like public intoxication. Ray Hill didn’t drink. An outspoken gay advocate since coming out in…
No Exit
Blondie’s heyday was over when even the techiest of computer geeks had just begun pecking away on state-of-the-art machines like Apple IIes and those Texas Instruments keyboard/tape-recorder hybrids. Nevertheless, the band — founded in 1975 by then-couple Debbie Harry and Chris Stein — always seemed like it was custom-made for…
King Bubba
Rockwell Tavern on Telge Road in Cypress opened in January, but the interior already looks well worn. That’s because it was furnished with used tables and chairs bought from another restaurant. When you sit down, your forearms stick to the tacky wooden tabletops. The floor is stained concrete. There’s a…
Hotel Time Again
For a band that started by accident, Whiskey Boat is making a pretty good go at turning into the real thing. On August 19, the quartet that bills itself as “Southeast Texas White Trash Honky Tonk” plays its 100th show as host band of Wicked Wednesdays, the Continental Club’s weekly…
Cava Bistro’s Southern Belle
Alissa, the lovely GM at Cava Bistro (301 Main, 713-223-4068) came up with the idea for the Southern Belle one lazy Sunday afternoon by the pool. See, she and her girlfriends were just chillaxin’, catching some rays, and they needed a poolside thirst-quencher. So our hero combined two great Southern…
Incubus, the Duke Spirit
When Incubus hit the national stage in the mid-’90s, the California quintet sounded like kissing cousins to 311 — mainly because both bands shared a love of spacey grooves, loud guitars and turntable-based samples. Since the turn of the millennium, however, Incubus has pulled away from stoner rock and recorded…
Rudyard’s 31st Anniversary
Now and forever “Montrose’s Living Room,” Rudyard’s has been serving up beer, bands and burgers to Houston’s bohemian set longer than a lot of people who inhabit the cozy pub night after night these days have been alive. If your friends aren’t already there, smoking on the patio or watching…
Babasónicos
One of the pioneers of the original rock en español wave in the mid-’90s, Argentina’s Babasónicos has always refused to follow the dictates of music-industry fashion. As a result, the band’s blend of psychedelics, electronica and acoustic folk has steadily cultivated a niche-y but dedicated and unwavering following. Like many…
Identity and Religion
Dear Mexican, My family hasn’t been long in this country, came here because of lousy treatment by other Europeans, and didn’t live close enough to the southern U.S. border to have exposure to Mexico or Mexicans. So, anyone looking down on Mexicans can be mysterious to many of us that…
South Park Psycho
Ganksta NIP is a scary person. That’s really the best way to describe him. He’s not some great, physically awe-inspiring specimen. At about 5’10”, 180 lbs., he’d probably rank a little above average. But there’s just something about him that’s hostile. Even his smile feels sinister, although, fundamentally, it looks…
