The Best Album of 2015 By a Non-Musician (Or Funniest, at Least)
You may not know who Jon Benjamin is, but you definitely know his voice. One of the most famous voice actors in the business today, Benjamin’s vocal range isn’t that of a Billy West, but his distinctive deadpan is so hilarious that he’ll probably be able to coast on it…
Ex-Pain Teen Bliss Blood Finds Her Voice in Noir Jazz
One of Houston’s greatest musical eras reached its glorious summit in 1992. I remember seeing the Mike Gunn Theory attempt to induce epileptic seizures with a strobe light flickering at near immeasurable speeds an array of colors I once found appealing. Spunk pulled few punches, mixing humor and derision into…
Striking 12: The Little Match Girl Versus 21st-Century Angst
A drummer, a keyboardist and a violin player (and not just any violin, but a Viper with its wickedly fascinating V shape and electric sound) command the stage for an entire musical to tell a holiday story spanning centuries and geography. The two men and one woman have to not…
Rum to Die For: Plight of Sugar Cane Workers Leads Bar Owners to Dump Popular Brand
A Vice Munchies exposé has raised awareness among bartenders and bar owners that horrible working conditions in the sugar cane industry are causing abnormally high instances of potentially fatal chronic kidney disease, or CKD. Studies cited in the report by Boston University and non-profit organization La Isla Foundation specifically point…
This Week in Houston Food Blogs: Make Your Own Pumpkin Blondies
Some of Houston’s best shopping areas are also home to longtime favorite eateries, such as Etoile Cuisine et Bar at 1101 Uptown Park, and exciting newcomers, like Pour Society at 947 North Gessner at Memorial City Gateway. Zagat’s Robin Sussman has created this handy guide to the best dining options…
Sabores CDMX: Visiting Chefs From Mexico City to Cook Authentic Mexican Cuisine in Houston Restaurants
Three prominent chefs from Mexico City will descend upon Houston this week as part of a new partnership between the Mexico City Tourism Trust and The Greater Houston Convention and Visitors Bureau. The partnership was formed in an effort to promote tourism between the cities. Entitled “Sabores CDMX,” the event will…
The Hot Sardines Add a 21st-Century Spin to Early Jazz Music in Houston Concert
Expect a varied set list at the Hot Sardines’ Holiday Stomp show, singer/founder Miz Elizabeth tells us. “It’s a departure from what we do usually, in terms of the holiday theme but its still fused to our obsession with popular music from the first half of the last century. “We…
Man Demands Millions From Judge and Prosecutor, Gets 10-Year Prison Sentence Instead
Demanding millions of dollars was the only recourse that Tyrone Jordan saw fit to make up for the five years he believed he’d wrongfully spent behind bars. Serving time for conspiring to launder money and smuggle illegal immigrants over the border, Jordan began sending letters to the federal judge and…
Judge: Prosecutors Screwed Up Child Molestation Case So Bad, They Can’t Re-File Charges
A state district judge has said a prosecutor’s actions in the child molestation case against a Houston pediatrician forced a mistrial, preventing charges from being refiled, according to the Houston Chronicle. Harris County District Court Judge Stacy Bond ruled that prosecutor Tiffany Johnson “intentionally and deliberately engaged in an inappropriate…
Surprise: Country Music Did Pretty Damn Good in the 2015 Grammy Nominations
For country fans – and fans of most genres, let’s be real – the annual release of the Grammy nominations does not confirm or deny anything you didn’t already know. By the time these nods roll out in December, the hype over the year’s best songs, artists, and videos is…
Texas Senate Addresses Rise in Inappropriate Student-Teacher Relationships
A high school band director having sex with a student, a track coach sexting “lewd photos” to a 16-year-old girl, a geography teacher who sexually assaulted the student who was baby-sitting his kids while his wife was asleep upstairs—that’s just a sample of the 188 cases of inappropriate teacher-student relationships…
The Texans’ Chase for an AFC South Title Could Get VERY Complicated
We are two days removed now from the College Football Playoff pairings being announced, and now in the middle of the “Did they get it right?” phase of analysis. This year was actually exceptionally easy and non-controversial, relatively speaking. But some seasons (See: 2014) are the polar opposite. Debate rages…
Mayor Parker Being Considered For Harvard Teaching Fellowship
Mayor Annise Parker makes her exit next month after more than a decade at city hall. While she has yet to answer the big question—is there any chance the first openly gay mayor of a major American city will run for higher office?—on Monday Parker announced one option in the…
Amazing Animal Photography, Dancing Bear People and Much More On Mid Main
THE FENCE started a few years ago, beginning with a juried outdoor display of images from 36 photographers, arranged in a row along the heavily trafficked Brooklyn Bridge Park in 2012. Entering new cities each year, THE FENCE expanded to Boston in 2013, Atlanta in 2014 and now has been…
100 Favorite Houston Dishes 2015, No. 28: Seafood Tower at Reef VS. Julep
As we wind down the 100 Favorite Houston Dishes list of 2015, this is the final “versus” entry where we compare the same dish at two different places. Check out the other battles: No. 64: Fried Chicken, Original Frenchy’s vs Suburban Frenchy’s No. 77: Beef Fajitas, Original Ninfa’s vs El…
Ex-Judge Chris Dupuy Was Arrested With a Lot of Weapons, but Should He Stay in Jail?
On June 25, 2015, Scott Hardcastle, a Harris County Sheriff’s investigator with a search warrant and a growing sense of impatience, kicked open the door to the League City apartment belonging to a disgraced former judge. As Hardcastle would later testify at the ex-judge’s bond hearing, Hardcastle had knocked on…
New Standings: Turns Out the Big XII Didn’t Need a Conference Title Game After All
Ever since it was conceived back in 2013 and launched in 2014, the College Football Playoff, FBS football’s cash volcano of a postseason, has been perfect in nearly every way. Every way except the math. In a college football world that is run as much like the New York mob…
When It Comes to Añejo’s Fajitas, Expensive Doesn’t Mean Good
According to Robb Walsh’s book The Tex-Mex Grill, skirt steak was once considered so unworthy that it was given to ranch hands as part of their pay, along with other undesirable cuts like the head and intestines. Cooks had to pound the skirt steak and soak it in lime juice…
Ho Ho Houston: Where to Find the Holidays on Stage in Houston
I’m fairly confident we’ll see no snow on the bayou this festive season, but there’s plenty of holiday cheer, good will and spiritual enlightenment to take its place. Does any other city celebrate a theatrical Christmas with more variety and spice than here? We may lack an exterior winter wonderland,…
Upcoming: Christian Death, Clarence Carter, Kelly Willis, Leon Russell, Karina Nistal, Lil Keke, the Melvins, Tool, etc.
2016 Rockin’ New Year’s Eve Bash featuring Nobody’s Fool: Thu., December 31, 7 p.m., $55. Stafford Centre, 10505 Cash Rd., Stafford. 2nd Annual Red and Green Party: With Gio Chamba, Nikhoo vs P.L.X.T.X, Whit, XLO,, LSDJ., Sat., December 12, 8 p.m., $7. The Waughford, 15 Waughford, Houston, 713-679-3558. 30footfall: With…
Self-Worship Pays Off: The Weeknd’s Blockbuster Narcissism
Pay better attention to your Classics professor, for the Greeks really knew how to create lasting myths and character types. Take Narcissus, the boy who loved himself. Strikingly handsome and thoroughly vain, Narcissus was lured to a still pool where he fell for his reflection. According to different tellings of the myth, the boy drowned…
When Is a Phone More Than a Phone? When It’s Erykah Badu’s New Mixtape
Earth goddess and Dallas native Erykah Badu’s latest effort, a mixtape entitled But You Caint Use My Phone, is kind of like an postmodernist Afrofuturistic funk and trap version of eccentric British film director Peter Greenaway’s Dear Phone. That 1977 short film features images of red telephone booths in London, handwritten notes…
Family of Memorial Day Flood Victims Releases HFD Review of Capsized Boat
The Houston Fire Department had determined Brays Bayou in Meyerland was too swift to cross hours before a rescue boat attempting to do just that capsized, killing three of the four civilians it was carrying to safety, according to a final draft of HFD’s internal review of the incident obtained…
College Football, Week 14 — 4 Winners, 4 Losers
We entered the weekend needing one of two things to happen to unleash chaos in the College Football Playoff rankings — Clemson losing to North Carolina or Alabama losing to Florida. They could play the latter game 1,000 times and Alabama would win by two touchdowns (at least) every time…
Looking for Basic Info From the City of Houston? That’ll Be $100
All we wanted to know was whether anyone in Houston had ever been fined up to $500 for feeding homeless people. It’s possible, thanks to a 2012 city ordinance requiring Good Samaritans to first obtain a permit before being compassionate—an ordinance that, as we previously reported, has made some volunteers stop…
Worst of the Weekend: Does Coldplay Scream ‘Super Bowl’ to You?
Perhaps Monday is the wrong day to point out the errors in judgment and straight-up malfeasances that can plague music. It’s already the sorriest day on the calendar, so why pile on? The short answer is: because we can. And, further, we must, especially when the misguided and wrong that’s…
4 Things That Would Make The Walking Dead a Much Better Show
The Walking Dead took a break recently with its mid-season finale, leaving regular viewers with the same sorts of questions these finales usually do – Who else might die, where will the regular cast of characters end up, now that their latest sanctuary has been overrun with zombies (Sorry, I…
Security Guards Punched Students Who Rushed Field After UH Victory
In case you missed it, this weekend was a big freaking deal for the University of Houston, whose football team won the school’s first conference title in a decade. To mark the occasion, some students rushed the field at TDECU Stadium on Saturday. Most made it to mid-field to celebrate…
Dish of the Week: Zucchini Latkes
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 putting a twist on a Hanukkah classic with zucchini latkes. Also known as potato pancakes, latkes are typically made with –…
NFL Week 13: Bills 30, Texans 21 — 4 Winners, 4 Losers
It’s been a while since we’ve done one of these — a breakdown of the Texans’ performance following a loss. After going the entire month of November undefeated, the Texans started off December, to some degree, the way they ended October. By losing a football game. However, unlike the loss…
Houston to Face Florida State in Peach Bowl
And so it comes to pass, after 13 games, after supposedly debilitating injuries, after winning a conference title, that the word comes down. The Houston Cougars (12-1) and the 18th-ranked team in the country, is going to the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl to face ninth-ranked Florida State (9-2) on New Year’s…
Artists From Our Great State Reveal Diverse and Witty Works in Holiday Show
For a surprising and very diverse sampling of the art being produced by Texas artists today, this is the exhibit to see. With the success of their inaugural holiday show last year, the folks at William Reaves Fine Art brought the concept back this year, but on a grander scale…
100 Favorite Houston Dishes, No. 29: Shrimp & Pork Xiu Mai at Fung’s Kitchen
Phaedra Cook is eating her way through Houston and counting down her 100 favorite dishes of 2015. It’s a collection of personal favorites that is also indicative of Houston dining. It’s a scene where a vast range of dishes coexist: highbrow and lowbrow; local and international; cheap and expensive; modern…
Le$ Might Have Made a Classic With ‘Steak X Shrimp Vol. 2’
Sometime around E36, Le$ found his groove. Rap critics had long lobbed his style to be something close to “cloud rap” when it was really him running with a lifestyle. An authentic one. He may have rapped with a light rasp, but he was tough and he could be comically…
Doctor Who: Clara’s Choice
There’s been a lot written about how Doctor Who under Steven Moffat handles women, and I’m not all that keen to re-open that can of worms. However, I think there is something to be said about the ultimate fate of Clara and Ashildr / Me in “Hell Bent”. There’s no…
5 Houston Roads to Avoid This Holiday Season
No one would think to question the stress-inducing nature of Houston traffic. It is made all the worse during the holidays when certain areas of town experience the kind of gridlock we dream about on fitful nights of sleep leading up to Black Friday. The good news is the holidays…
This Week in Houston Food Events: Breakfast With Santa
All Week Long 12 Days of Mole at Picos Each day this week, you’ll find a different featured mole at Arnaldo Richards’ Picos, 3601 Kirby. This week’s offerings include chicken forehalf in mole negro, oxtails in chichilo and rabbit in mole almendrado. Saturday’s special is pork spare ribs in mole…
Dwight Yoakam Rocks Out In the Round as the Original Urban Cowboy
Dwight Yoakam Arena Theatre December 4, 2015 The last time I saw Dwight Yoakam he was in a huge arena in Raleigh, North Carolina, and although he wasn’t a thousand miles from nowhere, he did seem a thousand miles from me, and I remember that he hardly moved a muscle…
Why Won’t Stations Run This Ad Saying Bill King Defended a Child Predator?
iHeartMedia (formerly known as Clear Channel) won’t run a political ad sharply critical of mayoral candidate Bill King, citing concerns about “legal liability.” The Houston Professional Firefighters Association, which bought airtime for the ad on 99.1 FM and 790 AM, says the spot had been approved by the station’s lawyers…
Spider Stacy & Lost Bayou Ramblers Lead a Magical Irish-Louisiana Hoedown
Lost Bayou Ramblers feat. Spider Stacy Continental Club December 4, 2015 As the Lost Bayou Ramblers took the stage at Continental Club Friday night, they were men with a purpose, like they’d come to Houston for an orgy or a bar fight — and it was our decision. The Texans…
Seven Things to Know Before Your Band Plays a Holiday Gig
Being in a gigging band can be a challenge under any circumstances, but if your band plans on being the entertainment at someone’s holiday celebration, there are a few things to keep in mind that will make the experience much better for everyone concerned. Let’s take a look at a…
Cougars Claw the Owls, Win Conference Title
Tom Herman couldn’t have scripted a better beginning to today’s football game. The Houston defense forced a bad throw that became an interception on the fourth play of the game. Ten plays and 36 yards later, the Cougars were up 7-0 after Javin Webb’s one-yard touchdown run. On Temple’s next…
Harwood Grill To Shutter Soon
Harwood Grill, the restaurant with a focus on Akaushi beef, is going the way of its predecessor, 60 Degrees Mastercrafted. A press release from earlier today stated that the restaurant’s last night of service will be December 12. Harwood Grill opened in the midst of some really bad, road-hampering construction…
Texas Stops Trying to Keep Out Syrian Families…for Now
The State of Texas has withdrawn its request for a restraining order attempting to prevent Syrian refugees from resettling in Texas, according to court documents filed today. The withdrawal came minutes after the federal government filed a response to the state’s original complaint, calling Texas’s fears baseless and “uninformed” and…
Billy Gibbons Gets Some Cuban Satisfaction With the BFGs
Billy F. Gibbons & the BFGs Cullen Performance Hall December 3, 2015 Billy Gibbons’ legacy is secure. Within the city of Houston and the rock and roll community at large, his role lies between mystic shaman and beloved uncle, an avuncular old dude with mojo in his fingers who can…
College and NFL Football: This Weekend’s Best Bets
I’ve always hated those screaming infomercial handicappers who claim to have never had a bad weekend gambling, mostly because I know they are absolutely full of shit. They aren’t hitting on 70 percent of their picks as they claim to EVERY DAMN SEASON. They’re spinning their lies just enough to…
Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick Tries (and Fails) to “Improve” the NY Daily News San Bernardino Mass Shooting Headline
In the aftermath of the mass shooting in San Bernardino, California, this week there have been lots of different reactions, but leave it to Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick to turn a horrific shooting into an epic and hilarious fail on social media. In the immediate wake of the shooting the New York…
Scott Weiland’s Death Tears Through Music Community
News of the death of Scott Weiland, 48, has stunned the world of rock today. The singer, who was due to return to Houston next Friday, was reportedly found dead on his tour bus at around 9 p.m. last night in Bloomington, Minnesota, where Scott Weiland & the Wildabouts were scheduled to perform…
Rep. Lamar Smith Is Still Fighting NOAA on Climate Change Study
Rep. Lamar Smith has backed down on his quest to get his hands on National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration scientists’ emails, but that doesn’t mean the good congressman from San Antonio — and current chair of the House Committee on Science, Space and Technology — has actually let go…
100 Favorite Houston Dishes 2015, No. 30: Wings & Waffle at The Breakfast Klub (Updated)
Phaedra Cook is eating her way through Houston and counting down her 100 favorite dishes of 2015. It’s a collection of personal favorites that is also indicative of Houston dining. It’s a scene where a vast range of dishes coexist: highbrow and lowbrow; local and international; cheap and expensive; modern…
We’re Calling It: White Christmas in Houston, 2015
So, the seasonal modeling is apparently snowing temperatures around Christmas could be lot colder than normal this year—like, cold enough that people are wondering whether parts Texas, and maybe even Houston, will have a white Christmas. It’s unclear whether the internet rumblings of potential snow over Texas prompted Eric “Sci…
Houston’s 5 Best Weekend Food Bets: Tamales, BBQ & Brunch With Santa
Texas Winter Beer Fest @ Town Green Park (Woodlands) Friday, 4 p.m. to 10 p.m.; Saturday, noon to 6 p.m. 2099 Lake Robbins This season’s largest food and beer festival features more than 50 brewers, plus DJ music, food booths and trucks, and vendors. Sip and sample your way through…
Texans-Bills — Four Things to Watch For
In this completely murky and bizarre NFL landscape in 2015, at 6-5, the Texans are actually among the luckier teams. The massive parity pervading the league has kept them in the mix for an AFC wild card spot (if the season ended today, they’d have one), and Andrew Luck’s poor…
Upcoming Houston Food Events: Celebrate Hanukkah With Latkes
Three Brothers Bakery is known for its famous gingerbread men, serving the soft, spiced cookies year-round. This year, the bakery is incorporating its beloved gingerbread recipe into an all-new product, the Gingerbread Pie. Made with a gingerbread crust, a traditional gingerbread spice cake filling, and luscious cream cheese frosting with…
‘Long Live the Pimp’ Gives Pimp C One Last Strut
The first thing you always tell yourself about posthumous albums is that some of the music is dated for a reason. It’s taking an artist you loved and unearthing some of his or her final thoughts. These are usually unfinished ideas — or even better, completed works — that were…
“Creed” Finally Gets Rocky Balboa Right
As a child of the ’70s and teenager of the ’80s, it’s not a reach to say that Rocky Balboa was one of the four or five most important fictional characters of my film-watching formative years. I cried (tears of joy) when he conquered Apollo Creed at the end of…
DEA Confirms That “Adorable Drug Kingpin” Girl’s Father Is DEA Special Agent
The grinning mugshot of the drug-dealing 19-year-old girl—who had just been caught with 31.5 grams of cocaine, 126 grams of high-grade weed, 29 Ecstacy tablets, some methamphetamines and 60 tabs of acid—went viral within days. “Texas cops arrest adorable drug kingpin,” read one November 10 headline from Death and Taxes…
The 5 Best Things to Do in Houston This Weekend: Dickens on the Strand, the Sneaker Summit and More
New York-based actress/playwright Ginna Hoben wanted to see a holiday show besides The Santaland Diaries every Christmas. She looked around and didn’t see anything, so she wrote The Twelve Dates of Christmas. It’s a one-woman show coming to Bayou City Theatrics for its Houston premiere and our suggestion for a…
Cougars Host Temple Tomorrow With Conference Title on the Line
This Houston Cougar football season was never about a perfect season. It was never about going to one of the big games. If you ask head coach Tom Herman, this football season was about one thing: winning the conference. And come tomorrow, Herman and his team will get that chance…
Openings and Closings in Houston: A New Heights Ice House Is Here
The new ice house from Morgan Weber and Ryan Pera of Revival Market and Coltivare is set to open on December 10; Eight Row Flint is in a renovated gas station at 1039 Yale in The Heights, and the casual location fits their vision perfectly. You’ll find six different barrel-aged…
Artists and Fans Can Do Much More to Fight Terrorism and Fear
The Bataclan in Paris has announced it will reopen its doors in due time. And sadly, in due time, the memory of the attacks that killed 130 people across that city on the evening of November 13 will fade further from the media spotlight. Even as I write this now, my…
Beef Between City Council Candidates Includes Swastikas and Communism
More than a dozen of Houston City Councilman Richard Nguyen’s campaign signs have been defaced with black painted swastikas, Burnt Orange Report first reported yesterday. Via Facebook, Nguyen’s campaign tossed a not-too-thinly-veiled accusation toward his election opponent Steven Le, while Le’s campaign says Nguyen’s side probably vandalized the signs themselves…
Houston’s 10 Best Bars For the Wintertime
The weather in Houston is bi-polar, as the cashier at Academy told me the other day as I was doing some holiday shopping. He was referring to the up and down swings of the temperature in our fair city. Yet despite the unseasonably warm days we have experienced in November,…
Space-Rock Elder Nik Turner Orbits Houston Again Tonight
Houston has a way of getting legends cheaply. I seldom leave the house, but even I have seen here Bo Diddley in a hotel lobby, Roky Erickson at a catfish festival in Conroe, German electronic music pioneer Roedelius playing in front of the shoebox stacks upstairs at Notsuoh and, more…
Seven Bands It Would Suck to Miss at Fallcore 2015
Walters Downtown is all set for a major beatdown this weekend. If you’re an angry young man who finds that screaming, shoving and swinging your fists around to music is the most satisfying way to confront your feelings — or if you’d simply like to hang out and share a…
Mass-Shooting Gun Control Debate — Campus Edition!
Two days before a madman and his wife shot 14 people to death and injured at least 20 others, Rice University President David W. Leebron announced that the private institution was opting out of the Texas campus-carry law. Not every state allows guns on campuses, so Texans on both sides…
Bun B & Friends’ Holiday Jam Keeps It Trill for Those in Need
Every year, Bun B hosts a holiday event and concert that supports the Houston Food Bank. Black Sheep Agency also hosts their annual event, which this year benefitted Child Advocates. With the help of Mark Austin of the Convoy Group, the two teams joined forces this year to create the…
Rep. Ron Reynolds Wants Your Money to Appeal Ambulance-Chasing Conviction
If the Christmas spirit of giving has grabbed you and you’ve been cruising crowdfunding sites to find out what person with what weird disease to give to, we suggest you go another direction and take a look at State Rep. Ron Reynolds’ Gofundme page, which aims to raise $25,000 for Reynolds’…
Five Special Events at Houston Restaurants Worth the Splurge
With Christmas just a few short weeks away, now is the time to get in the holiday spirit. What better way to do so than to treat yourself and a loved one to an unforgettable meal? If food is your passion, we’ve got the scoop on five upcoming special dinners…
Crackers & White Wine Is Houston’s Best Political Webcomic
Isaiah Broussard is best known for his lighthearted, all-ages comic Transyltown, which follows a young vampire named Timmy and his friends on a series of adventures. However, when the news turns grim, especially involving police shootings and domestic terrorism, he puts out another entry in his phenomenal political webcomic, Crackers…
Unarmed, Stopped, Chased and Shot: Why Was Jordan Baker “Suspicious”?
All Janet Baker wanted was to see the grainy security camera footage that showed some of her son’s final moments before the off-duty cop chased Jordan Baker from a strip mall parking into the alley behind a row of stores, where the officer shot and killed the unarmed, 26-year-old father…
The Other Mozart: Wolfgang Mozart Had a Sister Who Played, Composed and Was Forgotten
There was another Mozart. Older sister to Wolfgang, Nannerl was said to be just as accomplished as a musician and composer. Actress, producer and playwright Sylvia Milo discovered her existence nine years ago while visiting Vienna and in the Mozart House saw a portrait of the two of them “playing…
J.J. Watt Talking Mad Trash to the Saints While Miked Up (w/ VIDEO)
The Hard Knocks experience during the preseason gave us a very clear window into the personalities (or lack thereof) of some of our favorite Houston Texans, so if I’m making my list of players I’d like to see mic’d up for Inside the NFL, the default switch is no longer just…
Who Are These Cats Opening for Billy Gibbons Tonight?
The fact that Tyler Bryant & The Shakedown is playing unplugged tonight should be just as sonically surprising as ZZ Top’s Billy Gibbons playing Latin style. Quiet just isn’t this band’s thing — and in fact some of the only times you’ll hear these Nashville-based, Texas-bred blues-rockers without amps is…
Pop Culture Company Gets Its Own Dark Knight Variant Cover
For Frank Miller’s latest entry into the Dark Knight series, The Master Race, one lucky Houston comic book stop has a special variant cover drawn by Tony Harris, the Eisner Award-winning artist who has worked on Starman and Ex Machina. Pop Culture Company was one of the 47 stores chosen…
10 Best Restaurants in Montrose
The Montrose is one of Houston’s most important culinary epicenters. It’s thanks to some of the high-quality establishments in the area that Houston is repeatedly cited as one of the best food cities in the nation. When people hear “Montrose,” they tend to think of a small area around the…
The New Gilley’s: Score One for La Porte
After years of talking about it, Mickey Gilley appears close to opening another nightclub bearing his name in the southeastern quadrant of Harris County. Except instead of Pasadena, the locale the Gilley’s of Urban Cowboy fame is said to have “put on the map,” the new club will be located…
Texas Sues Refugee Resettlement Group for Doing Its Job
A few days after it threatened to sue a Dallas-based aid group for helping Syrian refugees resettle in Texas, the state has followed through and filed a lawsuit against the group and the federal government in an attempt to keep Syrian refugees out, the Houston Chronicle first reported late Wednesday…
Radio Play or Not, Dwight Yoakam Is One of Country Music’s Greatest Treasures
With a few key exceptions, these days it isn’t the good artists who get all the press and airtime on country radio — it’s the jackwagons who make country music look like the butt of some redneck joke. As such, you probably haven’t heard much of Dwight Yoakam’s Second Hand…
I Have Control Issues. Help!
I HAVE CONTROL ISSUES Dear Willie D: I need help with curbing my impulse to control people. In my home things are my way or the highway. I tell my kids what to wear, who to be friends with, and how to feel if I think they’re whining about something…
Check Out the New, Lovely and Large Killen’s Steakhouse Location
Killen’s Steakhouse is now up and running in their new building at 6425 West Broadway in Pearland. The facility was formerly the Malibu Steak & Seafood location. The move paves the way for chef Ronnie Killen to turn his former steakhouse into Killen’s Burgers. The Houston Press was invited in…
Muse Ascend to the Next Level of Concert Theater
Muse, Phantogram Toyota Center 12/1/2k15 At the risk of sounding like a snob, some artists elevate the concert to something above just a performance; they turn it into art. That’s not to say that these artists or their performances are objectively better, they just provide a different experience. Seeing Kanye…
College Football Playoff Rankings: The Day The Drama Died
There’s a theory out there that the College Football Playoff is (and will forever remain) four teams in part because the 12 person committee thirsts attention and relevance, and four teams lends itself to perpetual debate, if for no other reason because there are five power conferences and only four…
For Democratic Fundraisers, the Sky Is Always Falling
No matter what the dictionary tells you, politics – at least as it exists in 2015 – is nothing more than the marketing of fear. Politicians may dress it up in the vocabulary of competition, but their core message is pretty simple: “The other rich guys wearing suits are trying…
A Video Trip Through Magical Winter Lights
Magical Winter Lights, the exotic lantern festival that’s come to the Sam Houston Race Park, continues to attract crowds drawn in by the large scale lightshow. Houston Press Art Director Monica Fuentes took her video camera out to the fairgrounds to capture five of the exhibits that especially caught her…
Owners Of Two Opulent Houston Restaurants Launch Dumbest or Smartest Kickstarter Ever
Peli Peli is well known for its two gorgeous, luxuriously-appointed South African restaurants. One is in Vintage Park and the other is in The Galleria. Now they’ve launched a Kickstarter to raise $25,000—but say they don’t really need the money. That’s right. Instead of people donating holiday goodwill money to…
Katy ISD Baseball Coach Resigned After Team Funds Disappeared [UPDATED]
When Taylor High School’s former head baseball coach Cory Bowyer resigned in mid-July, school officials said the coach wanted to spend more time with his family, and they publicly wished him the best. But according to emails obtained by the Houston Press through an open records request, Bowyer actually resigned amid…
Cruz: Let Them Have Condom Machines
Sen. Ted Cruz is on a roll this week when it comes to talking about women’s health. On Monday, Cruz was at a question and answer session in Bettendorf, Iowa — the end of his three-day 14-stop tour — when a woman asked him about his thoughts on contraception “for…
Spider Stacy and the Lost Bayou Ramblers Are Poguetry In Motion
Unlike his elders in the Pogues, the most popular Irish trad-punk band in the world, Spider Stacy still wants to make music at a high level. A New Orleans resident for the past five years, Stacy has recently begun working with top-shelf Louisiana Cajun roots band Lost Bayou Ramblers. This…
Spike Lee Resurrects His Voice With Chi-Raq, His Best Film in Years
Oh Zeus, hear my lament that I was not present when Spike Lee imagined updating Lysistrata to present-day Chicago. I bet he burst himself cackling. Aristophanes’ 411 B.C. comedy, written during the three-decade Peloponnesian War, concocts a crazy scheme: Women refuse sex until their blue-balled men give in and declare…
Jessica Jones Is the Best On-Screen Drama Marvel Has Ever Made
Marvel’s Jessica Jones is smart, surprising and occasionally terrifying, a human tale of trauma and healing in a superhero vein. Its first episodes have more (unexploitative) sex scenes than battles, more shrugs and eye rolls than mighty kapows. But it’s not the shock or novelty that gives it resonance. Jessica…
It’s Well Acted, but James White Strains to Make Us Care
Cynthia Nixon is such a terrific actress that she can steady even the wobbliest material. In writer-director Josh Mond’s modestly scaled family drama James White, she plays Gail, the mother of twentysomething underachiever James (Christopher Abbott, of Girls), a guy who can never seem to lay hands on a clean…
