If Music Is Worth Listening to, It’s Worth Paying For
Earlier this month, an article on various Houston Press screens entitled “Rock is Dead and Even Axl and Slash Can’t Save It.” touched off a ferocious debate. Regardless of readers’ own opinions about rock’s vital signs (or lack thereof; even the paper’s own staff was divided), it sparked a long-overdue conversation about the…
NASA Video Shows Cascading Magnetic Arches on the Sun
From this Earth-bound angle, it’s easy to start thinking of the sun as nothing more than a yellow ball of butter, but of course a closer look proves that it’s nothing of the kind. NASA just released incredible video captured by the federal space agency’s Solar Dynamics Observatory back in December…
Take a Look at Phil Collins All Over Again
Last year, Phil Collins officially announced he was coming out of retirement after a lengthy hiatus from both recording and touring. Ostensibly, his retirement was spurred by a desire to see his children more, and his un-retirement was inspired by their coming of age and wanting to see him perform…
The Five Best Things to Do in Houston This Weekend: A ’60s Spin on Figaro & More
In Mozart’s The Marriage of Figaro, Count Almaviva has married his Rosina, now the Countess (Ailyn Pérez), but instead of a first love/true love story arc (from Rossini’s The Barber of Seville), it seems the Count has strayed repeatedly in his wedding vows. “Their love has fallen away. She has…
Coming Soon: Houston! The (Imaginary) Musical
My new year’s resolution is to do more creative writing. I have four unfinished novels to revisit and I’m convinced this will be the year I actually complete one. My biggest problem is finding time to write between a full-time, bill-paying job and this cherished labor of love covering Houston’s…
Baytown Punks Draft Bernie Sanders a New Campaign Anthem
There is a long history of musicians asking politicians to not use their music on the campaign trail. In this presidential election cycle alone, almost a half-dozen acts, including R.E.M. and Neil Young, have asked Donald Trump to stop playing their songs to advance his cause. So it’s rare when…
Local Artists Interpret Classic and Stolen Art With a Twist
When long-term artists refer to their body of work, they rarely mean a physical body, but for local artist duo Chadwick & Spector, integrating the human body into art is how they express themselves. The pair, Chadwick Gray and Laura Spector, interprets existing classic and stolen art with a twist,…
Rusalka Tells a Watery Tale of Love and Betrayal
Before there was ever the Disney version of The Little Mermaid, there was Czech composer Antonin Dvorak’s Rusalka, with a similar, but much darker, story of a water nymph who gives up the life she’s had, as well as her voice, for love. Brian Jagde (a winner of the Birgit…
Buying Beer, Part 1: Beers for Everyday Drinking [UPDATED]
This marks the beginning of a series on beer designed by multiple Houston beer experts to help anyone interested in craft beer. Whether you’re just now delving into this big, wonderful world or have been a collector for a long time, there’s going to be something in the series that…
Is The Truth Still Out There? Watch The X-Files and (Maybe, Probably Not) Find Out
The X-Files returns to Fox this Sunday, a mere 14 years after leaving us in the lurch without adequately explaining, well, much of anything about the vast alien conspiracy threatening the very existence of mankind. The shit — AKA the impending colonization of Earth by malevolent extraterrestrials — was supposed…
Webster’s Sweet Spot Audio & Records Is Worth the Drive for Vinyl Fans
Like an increasing amount of people these days, Sweet Spot Audio & Records owner Nigel Harrison believes that vinyl is the superior format for listening to music. “It’s more tactful, you can touch it, you can feel it, you can read it, you’re more engaged with it, you’re interconnected with…
Country Music Is in Complete Artistic Bankruptcy
To dismiss a genre (or subgenre) of music as just “bad” generally isn’t a good thing. When you do that, as a listener or critic or even someone just vaguely interested, you immediately shut out every opportunity that genre or style of music had to prove you wrong. Once you’ve…
Explosion at PeroxyChem Plant Shouldn’t Come As a Shock
Houston is one of the world’s largest manufacturing hubs of chemicals and petrochemicals, and this has been a part of the city’s economy for decades. But the plants and refineries in and around Houston come at a price: It’s never a question of if there will be an accident or…
Collaborations May Be the Trend Houston Restaurants Need for 2016
The price for crude oil is currently under $30 a barrel. Houston has more industries than oil and gas (the medical industry is also a big part of our economy), but there’s no denying how significant the energy sector is for us. With fewer discretionary dollars allocated for dining, for…
Tony Award-Winning All the Way Comes to the Alley Theatre
It’s a historic negotiation between LBJ and the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. starting in 1963 as President Johnson concentrates on getting the Civil Rights Act passed, with only a hint of Vietnam on the side. In All the Way, (winner of the Tony Award for Best Play in 2014)…
The EU Has a Point About the Halliburton/Baker Hughes Merger
As oil prices continued to tumble on Tuesday — hitting a new 12-year low after the Iranian government took advantage of the end of international sanctions to encourage its oil industry to open up the spigots and send another glut of crude onto the already thoroughly oil-saturated market — the…
“What Shall We Do Next?”: DiverseWorks’ First Exhibit at Its New Digs
“What Shall We Do Next?” is not only a jumping off point for DiverseWorks’ newest exhibit, but could also be a statement about a significant change recently made by the mid-sized contemporary arts vehicle. The exhibit, curated by DiverseWorks’ associate curator Rachel Cook, is the first at the organization’s new…
The Marriage of Figaro: Complete With a Car for the Count
In Mozart’s The Marriage of Figaro, Count Almaviva has married his Rosina, now the Countess (Ailyn Pérez) but instead of a first love/true love story arc (from Rossini’s The Barber of Seville), it seems the Count has strayed repeatedly in his wedding vows. “Their love has fallen away. She has…
This Could’ve Been You, Houston — Titans Fans Want Owners to Sell
As a sports fan, I’ve lost two teams in my lifetime to the ultra painful franchise relocation bug. The first happened after I moved to Houston in 1994, and within a year of my arrival, Bud Adams was backing up moving trucks and searching real estate in the Nashville area…
Where to Dine in Houston This Valentine’s Day 2016
With Valentine’s Day right around the corner (and on a Sunday this year, score!), it’s time to start planning. So we got the lowdown on the best St. Valentine’s dining deals around. From weekend specials and simple dinners for two to candle-lit feasts with full on romance, check out our 2016…
The Murky Business of Ticket Reselling
Recently, I began to hear stories of people who were selling tickets to Adele concerts for astronomical prices. I’m not a fan, but the fact that some people felt that they could resell a few tickets for the same price most people would spend on a major home improvement or…
Upcoming: 2 Live Crew, Ace Frehley, Big Freedia, Bleached, Feed Me, Heart, Hive Mind, Miike Snow, Tinashe, Tori Kelly, etc.
Note: events in bold reflect highly recommended shows. The 1975: With The Japanese House. Sat., May 7, 7 p.m., $49.50 to $51.50. Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion, 2005 Lake Robbins Dr., The Woodlands, 281-363-3300. 2 Live Crew: Sat., February 27, 8 p.m., $21.49. 18th Street Pier Bar & Grill, 101 18th…
AG Calls Fantasy Sports Websites Illegal Gambling
Attorney General Ken Paxton issued an opinion Tuesday saying popular daily fantasy sports games constitute “prohibited gambling” in Texas, according to a press release from the Attorney General’s office. “Paid daily ‘fantasy sports’ operators claim they can legally operate as an unregulated house, but none of their arguments square with…
Barrence Whitfield: A Savage Old Rocker With Young Blood In His Veins
Of his his latest album, Under the Savage Sky, 60-year-old garage-rocker Barrence Whitfield says it was meant to give “the kids a musical karate chop to the head.” Released in early 2015 on Bloodshot Records, the album has surpassed all expectations and outdone its excellent predecessor, 2013’s Dig Thy Savage Soul,…
10 Types of Trolls Commonly Found Online in Music
Writing for a music blog is tough work, and can be a thankless job when you read the ruthless comments posted by some readers. While everyone is entitled to his or her own opinion, some take that entitlement to the most serious degree. Indeed, sometimes the comments section of an…
Did University of Houston Just Lose the GOP Primary Debate?
Back in October when the University of Houston first announced that the school would host the of Republican presidential debates on February 26, it was a pretty huge deal for the university, a get right up there with scoring Matthew McConaughey as commencement speaker. However, since the debate location was announced…
A Maniac Drove Into a Vet Clinic — Want to Lend a Hand?
A Houston veterinary clinic could use a hand after a man drove his SUV drove through its doors early Sunday morning, killing one kitten and causing tens of thousands of dollars in damage. Nottingham Animal Hospital owner Dr. Skip Finix told KHOU, “There was just total destruction. The vehicle had…
Early 2016 Heisman Odds Are Out, Who’s the Favorite?
Hey, the 2016 Heisman big board is out! Yeah, I know what you’re saying — the 2015 season hasn’t even cooled off yet, and we’re already talking about 2016?!? Well, when the opportunity to gamble is nigh, we must discuss it! That’s the rules, man. So let’s talk some Heisman…
Alley Theatre Launches New Festival With New Works From Playwrights on Display
In a remarkable endeavor, the Alley Theatre is launching The Alley All New Festival — free to audience members — that will present new works through readings and workshops from six playwrights with the help of 25 actors from all over and artistic directors from New York and Chicago, in…
This Week in Houston Food Blogs: Reasonably Priced (But Still Good) Houston Eats
This week, we’ve got reviews of two burger eateries that will do well on a budget, plus a healthy version of a classic pasta dish and an update for your go-to squash recipe. Dalida of Brunch and Conversation visited Buff Burger at 1014 Wirt, where she learned all about the…
Twelve Pit Bulls Need Your Help — STAT!
A Houston pit bull rescue is losing the lease on its boarding facility and is in desperate need of fosters for 12 dogs. Treat ‘Em Right Rescue announced on its Facebook page that the property manager of its facility is raising the rent to “a higher rate than we can…
The Paintings at Isabella Court Run the Gamut
Running the gamut from wonky abstraction to goofy realism, the galleries of Houston’s Isabella Court have some pretty great painting on view. Inman Gallery presents the hard-won abstraction of David Aylsworth in “Sweet sweet sweet sweet sweet tea.” The artist’s forms have a kind of elegant, mid-century vibe — there’s…
Excellent Middle Eastern Desserts Beyond Baklava at A Sweet Factory
If you leave only with baklava, you’re missing out. That’s the most important thing you need to know when you go to The Sweet Factory. In the dwindling daylight of a weekday afternoon, the bakery still attracted a steady stream of customers, confirming its status as one of the most comprehensive purveyors…
The Wanderer Pens a New Love Letter to the Big Apple
Often, early rock and roll artists were tied to a certain geographical area, becoming something of unofficial (and unelected) city representatives. Elvis meant Memphis. Buddy Holly was Lubbock. Little Richard preened and screamed in Macon. And Jerry Lee was solid, swampy Ferriday. But the boroughs of New York City –…
Deputy Arrested at His Own Wedding Sues County for Wrongful Arrest
If there is one undisputed fact in the wrongful arrest civil suit that two Harris County Sheriff’s Office deputies have filed against the Harris County Precinct 1 Constable’s office, it’s that Deputy Kevin Meyer had a pretty crappy wedding. It ended with him in jail after being arrested for interfering…
Houston Metro Is Set to Make It Easier/Possibly Harder on Cash-Paying Riders
Heights resident Miles Brown has been a Houston Metropolitan Transit Authority rail and bus commuter for 13 years. Because of a circuitous route that forces him to make transfers in order to get to work, Brown says he has been paying the one-way $1.25 cash fare twice, or $2.50. Same…
Laissez les bons temps rouler at Mardi Gras! Galveston
Laissez les bons temps rouler. There’s no better place – or time – to let the good times roll than during the almost two week period of revelry known as the 105th Celebration of Mardi Gras! Galveston. Whether you want to sow those proverbial wild oats before the ritual fasting…
Political Correctness Makes Comedy Better
Nothing is more important than unrestricted free speech. -white proverb There is a truism, mostly uttered by South Park and other aging comedians fading in relevancy, that comedy stands on one side of culture and political correctness stands on the other. The two forces are mutually opposed, with one embodying…
The Same Old Names Aren’t Atop Texas College Football in 2016
It was a brisk October night in Oxford, Mississippi. Texas A&M was trailing Ole Miss by a score of 23-3 and Aggie quarterback Kyle Allen had just fluttered his 13th consecutive incomplete pass of the third quarter, landing somewhere between its intended target and the fifth row. Aggie fans (and…
Pick Your Adventure: Cooking Girl Brings the Heat or Not
The mapo tofu at Cooking Girl is a powerful reminder of why there’s a variety of bean curd called “silken.” The large white cubes are as soft and yielding as fresh butter. Of course, the flavor is quite neutral — all the better for ferrying the powerful doubanjiang sauce, a…
Sounds of the City: Getting ‘Lost’ In Love Dominique’s New EP
Note: Sounds of the City highlights the best Houston music not attached to its strong but overdiscussed rap scene. LOVE DOMINIQUE GETS ‘LOST’ When you see Love Dominique in concert, she’s a mix of business and glam. She lets her hair roll down from the top of her head, raven-colored…
Worst. Smugglers. Ever.
If you try to sneak something past border security and get caught, then you’re not a particularly good smuggler. But some smuggling failures are way worse than others, like this half-hearted attempt on January 10 to hide more than a ton of marijuana inside thousands of fake carrots. It’s not unusual…
Biker Kingdom: Who Are the Cossacks and What Happened in Waco?
Rattle Can was a real person. His family wants you to know that. He was a “big ol’ bear” of a man, tall and strong and slightly rotund, with a long, ginger beard hiding a strong-jawed, handsome face. His given name was Jacob Lee Rhyne, though most people called him…
20 Reasons Houston Audiences Are Awesome
“Why do y’all hate us?” was an actual question posed to me once by someone who knows I write about music for the Houston Press. The commenter was responding to me personally on one of the pieces written (by someone else!) about audience decorum in Houston; or the frustrating lack…
Five Great Ways to Kill Your Band
The road to creating a successful band can be very rocky, and a lot of projects never get off of the ground. When one looks at many of the bands that do manage to stick with it long enough to gain a certain level of success, they’ve usually been through…
Glenn Frey’s Final Houston Show Saw the Eagles In Peak Classic-Rock Form
Note: Glenn Frey, co-founder of classic-rock stalwarts the Eagles, passed away Monday at age 67, according to multiple reports. Unlike David Bowie, who died last week at age 69 but ceased regular touring more than a decade ago, the Eagles visited Houston many times after the release of their 2007…
Dish of the Week: Tom Yum Goong
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’ll be sharing a recipe perfect or winter: Tom Yum Goong. Tom yum or tom yam is a traditional Thai soup, with…
This Week in Houston Food Events: A Week As Sweet As Pie
All Week Long Galveston Restaurant Week Now through Saturday, you can find deals on prix-fixe meals at participating Galveston restaurants, much as you can in town during Houston Restaurant Weeks. Participating restaurants include Gaido’s, Little Daddy’s Gumbo Bar, Number 13 and many more seaside favorites. Patrons also have the chance…
Harsh Lighting Shines an Unfavorable Light on Venus In Fur
The set up: The spectacle of sex holds great allure for the stage. Sexual attraction, sexual deviance, sexual manipulation, sexual abandon, sexual politics, sexual power … let’s face it, we’re into all of it whether we admit it in polite company or not. But just because sex sells, doesn’t mean…
Texans Hire Former Rice Owl Izzo to Rebuild Special Teams
To say the Houston Texans’ special teams has been the team’s Achilles heel implies that the other units and position groups are A-OK (or at least darn near close to it), and that is most certainly not the case. However, if you had to vote for which Texans’ unit has…
When MLK Came to Houston
By the time, Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. visited Houston for the last time in October 1967, he found a city that in many ways defied explanation. After all, across the country cities had been gripped by riots, while George Wallace was already beginning to gather a following of white…
Help Paint the Next Big Sculpture from Artist Patrick Renner and Flying Carpet
We’ve been hearing a lot from artist Patrick Renner of late – between touching base to see how he’s been doing since being named one of the Houston Press MasterMind winners for 2015 (he got engaged and is now a full-time artist) – and learning about his new collaboration with…
10 Lessons Chipotle Must Learn From Jack In The Box and Taco Bell
Last week, Chipotle revealed its marketing plan to regain consumer loyalty after hundreds of diners across 15 states became ill from E. Coli and norovirus contaminations in late 2015. According to a report at the Restaurant Business web site, the recovery strategy is as follows: In addition to direct mail…
UH Basketball Is All About The Process
It’s not so much that the Houston Cougars lost 69-57 to UConn yesterday. It’s in how the Cougars lost. There was starting the game making just one of the first 15 shots for the day. There was shooting just 33.3-percent from the floor for the entire day and making just…
It Took Texas a Century to Remember African Americans Slaughtered at Slocum
On Saturday, descendants of African Americans slaughtered in one of the worst acts of post-Civil War racial violence gathered on the side of a desolate East Texas road. A bell sounded eight times while the same number of black balloons floated up toward an overcast sky to commemorate the eight…
Macklemore & Ryan Lewis Walked the Tightrope of Silly and Serious
An Evening With Macklemore & Ryan Lewis Revention Music Center January 16, 2016 When it comes time to put together a set list, Macklemore has to walk an interesting tightrope. On one hand, he’s a dude who has a lot of things to say about heavy issues like discrimination and…
The 2016 Oscars’ Original-Song Nominees: Which Ones Suck?
When Oscar season rolls around, think-piece season on diversity and representation in entertainment rolls around too. There’s no missing it. In my usual flair for hating on things people typically like for no reason other than enjoyment, the Oscar nominations for Best Original Song are almost like the highest of…
Hiccups Resurface, But Rodeo’s On-Sale Seems Smoother Than Last Year
When Houston Livestock Show & Rodeo tickets went on sale earlier this morning, familiar hiccups and complaints resurfaced from last year, when the rodeo switched to the AXS ticketing system, but in the early going it appeared that at least the full-on social-media meltdown of last year had been averted…
How Anti-Abortion Activists Lied Their Way Into a Houston Planned Parenthood Clinic
To hide that the newly-formed company was a front for activists tied to a radical strain of the anti-abortion movement, they filed incorporation papers using pseudonyms and fake IDs. Next the activists aggressively marketed “Biomax Procurement Services, LLC” as a legitimate company that transfers donated fetal tissue from abortion clinics…
13 Hours Trades Truth for Explosions — But It’s Not Truly Political
Benghazi is a hashtag battle-cry, a call to arms that many Americans don’t understand. Unlike the simplicity of “Remember the Alamo!” a bleat of “Benghazi!” still has people wondering, “Wait, what happened? And why are we mad?” Michael Bay’s 13 Hours: The Secret Soldiers of Benghazi has an explanation, though…
NFL Playoffs: This Weekend’s Best Bets
One week in, we’ve watched eight of the twelve playoff team in action, and for now, it appears that only one didn’t belong even remotely close to an NFL playoff game — that would be our Houston Texans. As it turns out, the Texans shouldn’t have been allowed near an…
Classics Carry Yet Another Strong Tool Show at Toyota Center
Tool, Primus, 3TEETH Houston Toyota Center January 14, 2K16 When it comes to arena tours, pop stars and rappers have it easy. If you’ve got the pop-industrial complex behind you, every tour is an elaborate wonderland in which you’re the star. If you’re a rapper, odds are good you’ve been…
Two Whooping Cranes Shot in Jefferson County
Two whooping cranes were shot in Jefferson County this week, and no matter which way you look at it, that’s a lousy development. Beaumont resident Trey Frederick, 18, was arrested Thursday because of a criminal complaint filed in federal court charging him with violating the Migratory Bird Treaty Act. For…
Houston’s 5 Best Weekend Food Bets: A Chili Fest & Blacksmith by Night [UPDATED]
7th Annual YAGA Chili Quest & Beer Fest @ Galveston Friday, 8 p.m. to 10 p.m.; Saturday, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. 23rd & Strand The 7th annual Chili & Beer Fest begins with a Kick-Off Party Friday evening before Saturday’s festivities, which include a 5K Fun Run, Washer Pitching…
George Washington – The Country’s First Money Man?
First Entrepreneur: How George Washington Built His – and the Nation’s – Prosperity By Edward G. Lengel 280 pp. Da Capo Press $25.99 “There is no record of Washington getting bent out of shape over political, legal, or military issues,” Lengel writes early in this book. “Economic disputes, however, could…
Reviews For The Easily Distracted: 13 Hours: The Secret Soldiers of Benghazi
Title: 13 Hours: The Secret Soldiers of Benghazi Describe This Movie In One Simpsons Quote Image: Brief Plot Synopsis: Six CIA contractors in Benghazi battle bureaucratic inertia, and also a hundred armed militants. Rating Using Random Objects Related To The Film: Two weeping bald eagles out of five. Tagline: “When everything went wrong, six men…
Houston Punk Musician Accused of Hanging Tortured, Decapitated Cat Inside MetroRail Car
A 23 year old Houston man active in the Houston punk scene has been charged with animal cruelty charges after a dead cat was discovered hanging from a handrail by a MetroRail passenger last Thursday. Herber Martinez was arrested the following day and jailed under suspicion for cruelty to livestock…
The Myth of Bill O’Brien, Quarterback Developer
As the Texans head into another offseason, following another embarrassing postseason loss, Houstonians are to be reassured that the Texans braintrust is going to do whatever is necessary to fix the problems with the team. The number one priority, according to the Houston Chronicle, is finding a quarterback. But here’s…
Blues Destroyer Jim Suhler Puts a ‘Panther Burn’ on Houston This Weekend
Dallas bluesman Jim Suhler doesn’t stand on the mountaintop and scream about it, but at 55 he’s had a rather amazing career in the often moribund genre known as the blues. When Suhler isn’t fronting his band the Monkey Beat, coming to town this weekend for gigs at the Big…
The Five Best Things to Do in Houston This Weekend: Blue Man Group & Venus in Fur
It’s hard to categorize the Blue Man Group, as this trio of performers with emotionless blue faces is so much more than a multimedia sound and light show featuring percussionists who improvise or mute actors who drum. But when we had the opportunity to speak with one of the Blue…
A Racially Divided HISD School Board Kicks Off 2016
In a long combative night in which accusations of racial bias and unfair privilege were hurled about the room, the Houston ISD school board Thursday elected an all-minority slate of officers led by Manuel Rodriguez while white trustees impotently hunkered down on the losing side of a series of 5-4…
Rebooted Queensryche Has Hardly Skipped a Beat
Despite the turmoil that has followed Queensyrche in recent years with former front man Geoff Tate’s dramatic departure in 2012 and the heated legal battle that followed, Queensyrche are eagerly looking to start a new chapter on last fall’s Condition Human. Like a progressive-metal phoenix, the band has remarkably risen…
Sylvester Turner Is Trying to Eradicate All of Houston’s Horrific Potholes
Brand-new Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner, in only a few weeks at the helm, is making progress with something that ex-Mayor Annise Parker somehow couldn’t figure out. Potholes. Thrilling, electrifying potholes. During Turner’s inauguration speech on Monday, January 4, he told the Jones Hall crowd that he was going to buckle…
Black Kite Lends Their Dark Art-Pop to Tonight’s ‘Next Wave’ Release Party
Aboriginal tribes in Australia often blame the black kite, a raptor-like bird of prey, for starting 1,000-acre fires in the country’s Outback. The bird’s secretive nature may not be trusted, yet its resourcefulness when scavenging in the remotest of areas allows it to survive despite the apparent lack of resources…
Five Amazing Things About David Bowie Beyond His Music
The outpouring of emotion that has followed David Bowie’s death has been amazing to witness, and seems to have affected many people on a far more profound level than most celebrity deaths tend to. I can’t remember a time when I experienced a similar level of grief over the death…
Alan Rickman: A Character Actor and Director with the Presence of a Movie Star
Alan Rickman has died at the age of 69. To Americans of a certain generation, he’ll always be Hans Gruber from Die Hard; to those of a slightly fresher vintage, he’ll never not be Severus Snape. But it was his ability to transcend the typecasting of those iconic roles that…
How Critics Became TV’s Newest Stars
Critics rarely receive love from filmmakers. Last year’s Best Picture Oscar winner, Birdman, featured a vengeful harpy of a theater reviewer (played by Lindsay Duncan) hellbent on annihilating a play before she’d even seen it. Birdman was joined in its release year by other unfair portraits of critics in Top…
How to Avoid the Marathon Stampede This Weekend
The Houston Marathon is this Sunday, bringing not just thousands of runners pushing their bodies to the limit but also one of the city’s biggest annual traffic nightmares. Having sold out for 11 straight years at this point, the Chevron Houston Marathon (and its little sibling the Aramco Houston Half…
Clemson Head Coach Swinney Beats Out Tom Herman, 4 Others for Bear Bryant Award
Given that the winner’s name each year is associated with one of college football’s coaching icons, the Paul “Bear” Bryant Award always feels exceedingly special for the man chosen at the recipient. However, having been born and raised in Pelham, Alabama, and having watched the “Bear Bryant Show” religiously as…
Max Stalling Isn’t Just a Ballcap Nation Act Anymore
Tall drink of water Dallas singer-songwriter Max Stalling has made a solid career on the Texas circuit since the mid-’90s one gig and one solid album at a time. A running buddy of Dallas-based Mark David Manders, Stalling began his musical journey at Dallas open mikes where he received encouragement…
Environmentalists Want EPA to Take Over TCEQ. They Know This Is Texas, Right?
For years environmentalists in Texas have pretty much known that expecting the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality to get down and dirty and really start environmentally regulating things was a pipe dream. That’s not to say that TCEQ regulators don’t do anything at all, but it’s not like they go…
Blacksmith Warms Up January With Evening Pop-Ups and Coffee Classes
After an eight-month hiatus, the popular Blacksmith By Night series is returning on Sunday, January 17 with an event to benefit a children’s charity. The a la carte menu has been created by guest chef David Cordúa. One of the most fun aspects of Blacksmith By Night is seeing how…
Legendary Houston Music Photographer Ben DeSoto Opens His Punk-Rock Vaults
Many photographers, myself included, are sometimes guilty of using cameras as blunt instruments: documenting only singers-cum-heroes at a gig, as if bands were no more than rock and roll puppets temporarily, but powerfully, occupying one’s attention. Ben DeSoto, though, has always approached concerts at clubs, bars, and warehouses more holistically. He…
Gamers Have Become the New Religious Right
There was a time back when I was a teenager when I could always count on organized protestors of a particular religious bent to get together and try to shut something down. Usually it was something they hadn’t even seen or heard or read, and I know that’s true because…
Alleged ISIS Supporter Wanted to Blow Up Galleria, Sharpstown Mall
Omar Faraj Saeed Al Hardan told a government informant that he wanted to plant bombs in the Galleria and Sharpstown Mall, took an oath of loyalty to ISIL, and told his wife and mother that he was “against America,” a Department of Homeland Security investigator testified at a federal detention…
Let’s Remember Why HISD Needed an Ethics Policy to Begin With
The Houston ISD did not draft and adopt an ethics policy in 2012 out of the kindness of its heart. HISD administrators and trustees did not look around the district, decide that all was good and say hey, we’re bored, what can we do next? No, brothers and sisters, let…
Is ‘SNL’ Ready for Chris Stapleton?
There’s no denying the transformative power that a show like Saturday Night Live can have for an artist. It has jump-started careers, ruined them, and helped show us the finest in up-and-coming music since the 1970s. Its place as a cultural icon notwithstanding, Chris Stapleton holds a lot of cards…
Rock May Be Dead, But It Sure Makes a Good-Looking Corpse
DISPIRITED CORPSE Let me begin with a digression that is neither hot nor trashy. I used to be in a band that began our show with this sample from the Toxic Avenger: “You said you were going to take me to the David Bowie concert, he’s not David Bowie.” Heroes…
My Girl’s Ex Is Rich. Help!
I’M INTIMIDATED BY MY GIRLFRIEND’S EX’S MONEY Dear Willie D: My girlfriend is always bragging on her ex-boyfriend’s finances. He is a successful businessman. She stays at my place most of the time because her apartment is too small for her and her two kids, and it’s located in a…
Entertainment Puts You in the Tux of America’s Worst Comic
Like grad school or that cave in The Empire Strikes Back, what you get out of Rick Alverson’s bold and desolate Entertainment depends on what you put into it. It’s less a film you watch than a breakdown episode you try to get through, a bottomed-out desert lulu that manages…
Kevin Hart Motormouths Again in the Funny Ride Along 2
A sure-bet time-waster with a clutch of big laughs? A 100-minute brief on Hollywood’s lack of imagination? Grist for future essays about how quickly the idea of Ice “Fuck tha Police” Cube playing a gun-happy hero cop became routine? Whatever you make of Ride Along 2 beforehand is certain to…
Sweaty Betty‘s Characters and Creators Squeeze All They Can From the Everyday
Don’t let that title throw you. Joe Frank and Zachary Reed’s rambling neighborhood comedy Sweaty Betty isn’t dopey or sweaty, and I don’t recall meeting anyone in it named Betty. There is a thousand-pound hog named Miss Charlotte, decked out in Washington Redskins gear and paraded around to tailgaters, but…
EU Antitrust Regulators Are Digging Into the Halliburton/Baker Hughes Merger
The proposed $34.6 billion merger between Halliburton and Baker Hughes, the second and third largest oil field services companies in the United States, respectively, has been in the works for more than a year now, but the two Houston-based companies just cannot seem to get this deal done. Between the…
The TABC Ban on Crowlers Is About to Go to Court
On September 15, 2015, we told you about Cuvée Coffee Bar, an Austin bar that defied the Texas Alcohol Beverage Commission’s ban on crowlers. A crowler is similar to a growler in that it can be filled with beer for customers to take home. The only difference is that it…
Special Cantor Concert at Brith Shalom This Weekend
This Saturday, Cantor David Krohn will finally get to present a special program in honor of his father, a cantor and rabbi who died six years ago — he’ll sing for his father. He will also sing with him. The Brith Shalom synagogue will be the setting for the 70-minute…
Toyota Center Crowns Madonna Queen Rebel
Madonna Toyota Center January 12, 2016 Long before the doors opened at Toyota Center, the Madonna welcoming committee had already been formed. They lined the sidewalk down Bell Street, camera phones at the ready. It was still early on a Tuesday night, and it was cold out. But there they…
Monster Jam: Destruction Is Inevitable
Expect lots of casualties, and not just the 3,000 cars, vans, buses, motor homes, ambulances and even airplanes that are crushed each year at Monster Jam® events, but also the supercharged and methanol-injected trucks themselves. Veteran driver Carl Van Horn knows, even before he straps himself into the 10,000 pound…
How Essential Texas Restaurants Are Handling Open Carry (Updated)
After our recent survey of how Houston restaurants are approaching open carry, we wondered how restaurants in other Texas cities were handling the issue. Back in 2013, Katharine Shilcutt, with the help of several other respected journalists, compiled a list of 30 Essential Restaurants In Texas. For our survey, we…
Five Ways Houston Can Finally Be a Great Music City
Houston is an amazing city in many ways, and can legitimately boast of its diverse population, a great museum district, and other things that make it a great place to live, but its live music scene rarely gets the credit that it should. The Bayou City has had great local…
