The Gourds, with the Sidehill Gougers
You can tell a lot about the Gourds by the artists they cover: Hank Williams, Minutemen, Doc Pomus, Velvet Underground, Ted Hawkins, Fleetwood Mac, Snoop Dogg. Having cleared up that matter, we turn to their subjects: barbecue, the Bible, banana republics, wannabe gangstas, homemade pickles, One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s…
Jack and John
John Irving’s newest novel — his 11th, Until I Find You — opens with four-year-old Jack Burns being dragged through northern Europe by his tattoo-artist mother, looking for his vanished organ-player father. They don’t find him and so return to Canada, at which time Jack’s becomes a life of sexual…
Fearsome French?
SAT 8/6 The French Foreign Legion conjures grandiose romantic notions of fighting honorably in exotic lands, all while wearing képis blancs (that’s those funny little white hats, to you). Houstonian Jaime Salazar certainly had that impression before he joined the elite military division, which accepts enlistees from all over the…
White Trash
And so, once more, the googolplex emits the stink of the network rerun, this week offering yet another worthless big-screen take on small-screen detritus. As Hollywood wonders — cries, actually, over spilled, spoiled milk — why audiences are staying away from theaters, offering theories ranging from the absence of such…
The Missing Fish Mint
Hours: 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Mondays through Thursdays; 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays. Nam Vietnamese Cuisine Fried squid$9.99
Vietnamese steak$10.99
Vietnamese chicken$9.99
Pork in clay pot$10.99
Fried wontons$4.99
You Have Liftoff
In some places, parasailing can be risky business. You know those horrible spills you see on America’s Funniest Home Videos, where spring breakers careen into porta-potties on the beach just seconds after taking off? That most often happens south of the border, where restrictions are more lax. David Hearne, owner…
On the Road Again
The contentedly independent filmmaker Jim Jarmusch has brought his restless energy to a series of surreal road movies that move nicely along on the strength of rare characters, quirky humor and a willing embrace of chance adventure. These quest stories for hipsters have transported Jarmusch’s fiercely loyal audience from New…
Houston’s Gone Gaaga for Haaga
The votes have been counted and the shows have been played. The deal’s gone down, and the winners have their wonderful trophies. Houston’s finest musical extravaganza — one day in which Houston’s downtown is transformed into Sixth Street during South By Southwest — has come and gone, and a few…
Bench Warmers
SAT 8/6 Craig Long, a.k.a. BBC or B-Boy Craig, knows a little bit about the Houston hip-hop scene. The 38-year-old has been involved since 1984, hosting events at long-gone hip-hop clubs like Magic Bus and Wax Museum. “I’ve been a graffiti artist, I’ve deejayed, I rhyme, I break,” he says…
November Mourn
Sure you want to be inside Sophie Jacobs’s head? The poor woman’s cabeza is so stuffed with guilt and fear, so tormented by grief and what might be delusions, that to spend even five minutes in there poses an obvious risk to your own sanity. At least, that’s the way…
The Art of Presentation
The shrimp with corn bread ($9) at Ibiza (2450 Louisiana, 713-524-0004) is not only a culinary tour de force, it’s an artistic masterpiece. A large rectangular plate holds three big butterflied, charbroiled shrimp that have a sensational smoky flavor. Each of them sits on top of a piece of corn…
Turkey and Raspberries
SAT 8/6 Can’t tell if you’re a tepee or a wigwam? Maybe you’re just “two tents.” Ha! Groaning yet? At the Turkey Awards, the Houston Storytellers Guild’s annual fund-raising dinner, such rude behavior is allowed — along with booing, heckling and the throwing of plastic fruit for the worst jokes,…
G’Dead, Mate
Since George Romero’s long-awaited Land of the Dead turned out to be a letdown, we’ll have to find our zombie-movie solace elsewhere. Thankfully, Romero’s been making movies for so long that not only has he inspired others to follow in his footsteps, but those others have begotten others still. Sam…
Young Gun
Collin Herring appears
Guilty Gertrude
Of all of Shakespeare’s beleaguered heroes, none is more woeful than the grief-stricken Hamlet. The poor man’s father is dead, and it looks like his brand-new stepfather may have murdered dear old Dad. Any good son would be undone by these circumstances, especially one as prone to brooding as Hamlet…
Can’t Touch the MMMBop
Musically, the ’90s boil down to this: In January 1992, grunge gods Nirvana knocked pop king Michael Jackson off the No. 1 position on Billboard’s album chart. And for most of the next eight years, commercial radio was unusually diverse. Rhino Entertainment — the folks who brought us the boxed…
Capsule Reviews
Moonchildren Remember the ’60s? Sittin’ around, preferably on the floor, smokin’ a fatty, blowin’ soap bubbles and groovin’ on how round and cool they are? Between giggles and the inevitable munchies, the talk was relevant, deep and meaningful, usually against the Man, the pigs, the war and anyone over 30…
The Voodoo Chile’s Slight Return
The Mirrors appear , at
Scenes from Summer
Art Houston, our fair city’s annual dead-of-summer art extravaganza, was originally called “Introductions,” and galleries used the event to introduce the work of new artists. But these days, the event is less about debuting new artists and more about luring people out of their air-conditioned homes and cars for a…
Uncorking the Truth on Nuwine
It was six years ago, in this very paper, that a young, righteous rapper by the name of Nuwine was preaching the importance of hip-hop that wasn’t flashy, shallow or gratuitous. “I see that the young people of this generation need more than a song about shaking your butts,” he…
Capsule Reviews
“Amy Arbus: Rites and Rituals” This show presents work by Amy Arbus, the daughter of legendary photographer Diane Arbus. Diane is a tough act for any photographer to follow, and it has to be even tougher if you’re her daughter. But Amy has taken up the challenge, and she’s been…
Raul Midn
Here’s another guitar-picking black guy you probably never would have heard of until some hip, alternative publication mentioned him first. On this recently dropped debut, New Mexico-born, New York-based Raul Midón shows why he’s another hopeless optimist/romantic with a guitar. Produced by the iconic Arif Mardin (who counts Norah Jones…
Commie of the Year
The Houston Rockets’ Yao Ming has won a ton of awards, and we’re not just talking about the Softest Guy in the Paint award given out on talk radio after the team’s every loss. His trophy cabinet now formally boasts another occupant, however: the Model Worker given out by the…
Esthero
Wikked Lil’ Grrrls is the first full release from Esthero since the 1998 trip-hop crossover Breath from Another. In the time between, Esthero has gone from a duo to a solo act: The woman (née Jen-Bea Englishman) now exclusively associated with the name has parted ways with Doc, the noted…
They Walk Among Us
My editor fields a complaint that a downtown park is overrun by giant rats and homeless folks who are seen crapping and pissing on the bushes and sidewalks throughout the day. For some reason — is it the humidity? the hangover I’m nursing? — I volunteer to investigate. Be sure…
Stephen Malkmus
Stephen Malkmus vacated Pavement a few years back and embarked on the mother of all ego trips: the solo act. If you were one of the countless fans of Pavement’s wink-wink, nudge-nudge pop quirk, this album won’t disappoint. What you won’t find familiar, however, are the extended instrumental bits containing…
Forty-Eight Hours
Inside the Japanese Gardens at Hermann Park, the Devil stands on a bridge savoring her doughnut. It’s a cherry-filled glaze, and the red goo bulging out matches the temptress’s horns and tail. It’s the exact sort of treat our hero, Alan, can’t resist. “Goddamn, this doughnut is really good. Check…
Terry Allen
If Bob Dylan hadn’t written the line “Don’t ask me nothin’ about nothin’/ I just might tell you the truth,” it is likely Terry Allen eventually would have. Like a surgeon general’s disclaimer on a cigarette pack, Dylan’s warning should be prominently displayed on The Silent Majority (Terry Allen’s Greatest…
Letters
That’s Hotze Advice from Doctor Nice: I would be more than hesitant to knowingly accept medical recommendations from a gay-bashing physician who believes the use of birth control by women makes them “less attractive to men,” and that when men suffer the loss of a testicle, “they have difficulty reading…
Holly Golightly, with Tom Heinl
British garage-folk-pop-blues savant Billy Childish casts a long shadow. But Holly Golightly is more than just his protégée, even though she started her career playing the Childish-penned songs of Thee Headcoatees. Like her mentor, she’s implausibly prolific, spewing studio albums, live albums, EPs and singles at a breakneck pace since…
Finalist Times Two
Former Houston Press staff writer Sarah Fenske has been named a finalist in the 2005 National Association of Black Journalists’ national awards competition. Fenske was a finalist in the Enterprise category for her story “Black and White,” which investigated whether African-American deputies are being treated fairly in the Harris County…
The Red Chord, with the Acacia Strain, Premonitions of War, and Between the Buried and Me
Given that the monkey-to-man transformation took millions of years, it’s amazing how far hardcore has evolved in the two decades since the Gorilla Biscuits. Like ’50s rock, early-’80s hardcore is so building-block basic that many contemporary bands dismiss it as antiquated. Lots of groups salvage some aspects of the classic…
These Guys Kill
In these troubled times, not even a touring noir-wave act from San Diego like Kill Me Tomorrow is safe from the watchful eyes of Homeland Security. “It was a little bit sketchy when we first came into Canada,” says singer-drummer-programmer Zack Wentz. The band was touring with fellow Californians Dance…
Jesse McCartney
Hey, this is Jesse’s cell phone. I’m on my first major tour right now, so leave me a message, and I’ll get back to you as soon as I can. Peace. “Hey, Jesse — it’s Aaron Carter. Somebody else just mistook me for you, ’cause of that dirty-blond bedhead you’re…
This Week’s Day-by-Day Picks
Thursday, August 4 The Exorcist? Child’s play. The Blair Witch Project? A stroll in the woods. Those so-called scary flicks haven’t shaken you, horror fan. No, you’re just waiting for your big break, when you unleash your hellish screenplay and movie. Take a stab with the Silver Screams Film Festival’s…