Houston, Thank The Real-Estate Gods That You Don’t Live In Florida
You want some good economic news?Hmmm. Well, the best we can do is that the Houston area has officially been declared the third-least-risky real-estate market in the country.The PMI Group annually issues a list of markets that are most at risk of seeing home prices fall, and the 2008 report…
Lost Tuneage: The Frost
Who Dat? Formed in Detroit in 1967 – first as the New Bossmen, then Dick Wagner and the Frosts, the band included leader Dick Wagner (vocals/guitar, above), Donny Hartman (vocals/guitar), Jack Smolski (bass) and Bob Rigg (drums). They released two singles. By the next year, Gordy Garris had replaced Smolski on…
Tonight: The Pharmacy at the Mink
The Pharmacy, recent New Orleans transplants from Seattle, sounds like a synthy Guided By Voices after a gallon of coffee and a summer nursing a dangerous harpsichord fetish – a throwback to the indie-rock of yore, where smiles abounded and jammy freak-outs were pogo-ready affairs. Rising out of the ashes…
An Update On The Strand’s Comeback, From George Mitchell
George Mitchell is pretty much the guy who saved Downtown Galveston and the Strand area as it was slowly deteriorating into oblivion; now he’s leading the efforts to bring it back from Ike.Today he issued an upbeat assessment of where things stand and where they’ll be going.The 24 historical buildings…
The Library’s Patience For The Homeless Apparently Has Expired (Updated)
The grace period at the Houston Public Library for all undesirables is officially over, it seems. A Houston police officer confronted some members of Food Not Bombs on Monday night – the group serves food to the homeless outside the library – to tell them to start thinking about another…
SXSW Update: Sonics, Bar-Kays, Black Lips, Young Mammals, Wild Moccasins Added
The Sonics, “Psycho a Go-Go” Another week goes by, with yet gigantic list of SXSW performers coming to Austin in March. The final list comes out January 30, so be prepared for maximum bloggage. We’re still crossing our fingers and polishing up the nondescript white van in the hopes that…
The List Of Groups That Hate The Houston Zoo Is Growing
Following last year’s death of two-year-old elephant Mac, PETA isn’t the only group that’s not pleased with the Houston Zoo. California-based group In Defense of Animals has released its annual “Ten Worst Zoos for Elephants,” and the Houston Zoo comes in at No. 2:The Houston Zoo’s Asian elephant breeding record…
Houston: The Cutting Edge of Fast Food and Obesity Since 1942
The University of North Texas’s Portal to Texas History has put the WPA’s 1942 book Houston: A History and Guide online. It turns out that the somewhat enigmatically named chapter “Strangers at the Gates” deals with the history of Houston’s hospitality industry. Houston, it seems, not only was on the…
Noise Extra: “I’ve Found My Weakness in You” and Billy Joe Shaver on Houston
In this week’s installment of Noise, Rocks Off’s bass-playing friend and neighbor Nick Gaitan talks about how our building inspired his song “I’ve Found My Weakness in You,” and how his boss Billy Joe Shaver liked it so much he decided to record it. Part of our conversation veered into…
Secret Saturday Shows Exit Shady Tavern
Monday, Rocks Off learned from community message board Hands Up! Houston that the organizer behind the long-running Secret Saturday shows at Shady Tavern was leaving the venue. The split was far from pleasant, from what SSS booker J.D. Tucker told us and the rest of the Houston music scene via e-mail yesterday…
A Video Q&A With Quanell X
This week’s cover story is about Quanell X, a man who needs no introduction to most news-watching Houstonians but who may not be the man you think he is.Here he answers a few questions from photographer Daniel Kramer. See what he has to say about the biggest misconception about him,…
Houston: The Cutting Edge of Fast Food and Obesity Since 1942
The University of North Texas’s Portal to Texas History has put the WPA’s 1942 book Houston: A History and Guide online. It turns out that the somewhat enigmatically named chapter “Strangers at the Gates” deals with the history of Houston’s hospitality industry. Houston, it seems, not only was on the…
Quanell X — Let’s Go To The Videotape
This week’s cover feature profiles activist Quanell X, who says his days as an anti-white, anti-gay and anti-Jew hate-monger are behind him. Quanell says he’s matured over the past decade and felt racism first-hand within his own Muslim community, and now wants to build bridges between the groups he once…
Sundance, Here He Comes
The red carpet and klieg lights are not far away for former Houston Press reporter Steve McVicker, who is headed to the Sundance Film Festival this weekend in connection with the Jim Carrey-Ewan McGregor movie made from the stories he wrote for us about a con man.I Love You Phillip…
Local Rotation: The Dollyrockers’ Hellbound Hoedown
The Dollyrockers Hellbound Hoedown www.myspace.com/dollyrockershouston Funny. The last thing Rocks Off wrote before this review was something about how little he cared about American Idol starting up again. Albums like this are precisely why. A confluence of ’60s Link Wray biker rumble, ’70s Deep Purple stoner sneer and ’80s Cramps…
One Plus For Red-Light Cameras: Entertaining Crash Videos
Yeah, everyone pretty much hates red-light cameras, except city bureaucrats who collect the money from them.On the other hand, they can be somewhat entertaining.American Traffic Solutions, the company that runs red-light cameras in 180 cities including Houston, ushered in the new year by releasing video highlights of the best intersection…
Sole of Houston: Airline Drive, Part 2
The longest walk in the history of the Sole of Houston requires the longest piece. This being a blog and all, we have decided to break it up into three installments.This is part two. Yesterday’s is here, and we’ll wrap it up tomorrow.In this installment, we venture west down Aldine-Bender…
Artist of the Week: Shit City High
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. Regardless of genre, a musician’s sound indirectly reflects…
How I Learned to Love Piss Pie
Steak and kidney pie is a fine old British dish that I have eaten twice in the line of duty over the last year. On both occasions, I found the urine scent of the kidneys disgusting. For some reason I find it difficult to swallow an organ meat that smells…
Fleetwood Mac to Unleash at Toyota Center
“Go Your Own Way,” live in L.A. on 1982’s Mirage tour Live Nation announced this morning that soft-rock supergroup Fleetwood Mac – who put the “fun” in dysfunction while going on to sell more than 10 million copies of 1977’s Rumors, scheduled to be re-released this year in expanded CD/DVD form…
Rickey, Jose, the Hall of Fame, and Me
The string is unbroken. In the history of the Baseball Hall of Fame, no player has ever been elected unanimously. Not Babe Ruth. Not Nolan Ryan. Not Cal Ripken. Not Tony Gwynn. Not Rickey Henderson. The closest to achieving this elusive milestone was Tom Seaver who got 98.84 percent of…
Rickey, Jose, the Hall of Fame, and Me
The string is unbroken. In the history of the Baseball Hall of Fame, no player has ever been elected unanimously. Not Babe Ruth. Not Nolan Ryan. Not Cal Ripken. Not Tony Gwynn. Not Rickey Henderson. The closest to achieving this elusive milestone was Tom Seaver who got 98.84 percent of…
Murdoch’s Pier In Galveston Dies
As this photo by Jennifer Renolds of the Galveston County Daily News shows, what was left of the historic Murdoch’s Pier is no more.Yeah, the photo actually shows it’s still there, but trust us, a few minutes later it was gone.The pier was one of the oldest in Galveston; in…
Rick’s Cabaret Goes All-Nude — In Dallas
Rick’s Cabaret, the company that is Houston’s gift to horny losers across America, is making yet another bold move.It’s opening the state’s largest all-nude club. Well, the dancers are all nude; we presume the horny losers stay mostly clothed.Don’t get your hopes (or any other part of your anatomy) too…
Harris County Actually Agrees To Preserve Some History
This is Houston, where we tear down anything that isn’t a) Less than 15 years old, and b) The Astrodome.So it’s a pleasant surprise to see that the county commissioners court has actually — despite these tough economic times — agreed to go ahead with the renovation of the original…
Dominique Sachse, The Ball’s In Your Court
We were nosing around the blog of our sister paper the Dallas Observer and saw this item about a local newswoman’s interview with George W. Bush.In reading the comments to it, we learned that the blogs of the local television newspeople in Dallas are a helluva different in Dallas than…
American Idol Returns Tonight… Yawn
Come back Kelly Clarkson, all is forgiven… If you’ve been lucky enough to spend the past several months in a media-deprivation tank – or maybe you just don’t read the Houston Chronicle – then you no doubt know Fox’s shrill-singing flagship series American Idol returns tonight at 7 p.m. (As opposed…
The Metro Ninjas Will Mess You Up
Kumar Arya, a City of Houston engineer, was summoned to his department’s downtown offices last summer to defend his rejection of a Metro site plan. He didn’t think the design would work.Leaving the meeting, Arya decided to ride the Metro rail back to his office at 3300 Main St. He…
Flannel File: “Girl Bros.” Wendy & Lisa
[Note: Flannel File is an offshoot of Retro Active, focusing on the new hot nostalgia decade – the ’90s, of course.] As Retro Active expands its purview from the ’80s to the ’90s, it’s somewhat appropriate that this post remarks on some folks who became massively popular in the ’80s…
HISD’s Drug-Sniffing Dog Ends Its Slump
It’s been a tough time for HISD’s drug-sniffing dog (today’s name: Cocainey).Even though he’s been out every school day since December 11 — district spokesman Norm Uhl tells Hair Balls more than a third of HISD’s parking lots have been searched in that time — he’s been coming up empty.Today,…
Mitchell Pavilion Namesake-in-Law Surveys Venue’s Renovations
Woodlands founder, developer and energy tycoon George P. Mitchell, left, tours the Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion – named after his wife – with Pavilion CEO Jerry McDonald to see the ongoing renovation after the suburban concert venue was severely damaged by Hurricane Ike. When completed, the $9 million construction project…
Peri-Peri Burger: It Seemed Like a Great Idea at the Time
The peri-peri burger at Out of Africa, the new South African restaurant on Southwest Freeway in Sugar Land, is a hamburger topped with the legendary hot sauce made with African bird peppers. And since I love peri-peri chicken, peri-peri prawns and peri-peri everything else, I figured this one was a…
Art Rock: A Handy Guide to Metal Band Names
[Via comicvsaudience.com. Click on the image for a full-screen version.]…
The Evolution Vs. God Debate Is Being Renewed In Texas
Just in case you were worried that Texas hadn’t made an embarrassing spectacle of itself lately, you need fret no more.Once again the State Board of Education is coming to your rescue.The SBOE is holding a public hearing January 21 on science standards, and the people at the Discovery Institute,…
Lonesome Onry and Mean: Nicholas Tremulis Orchestra Coming to Volcano
Nicholas Tremulis Orchestra with John Cale (third from left) As usually happens just after New Year’s, bands and venues are scrambling to line up Houston gigs during South By Southwest. Under the Volcano (2349 Bissonnet) owner Pete Mitchell has scored an early coup, lining up Chicago powerhouse the Nicholas Tremulis…
“Chili When It’s Chilly” Chili Cook-off
January in Houston is when Rodeo season really starts to kick in. One of the most popular events is the “Chili When It’s Chilly” Chili Cook-off sponsored by the Baytown/Highlands Subcommittee of the Houston Metro Go Texan Committee. This year’s event took place January 9 and 10 at San Jacinto…
RodeoHouston Hideout Schedule
Two Tons of Steel/ bbqfilm.com Music at RodeoHouston doesn’t necessarily mean doe-eyed ingenues like Taylor Swift and the Jonas Brothers, leathery country veterans like Brooks & Dunn and Alan Jackson or tube snake boogeymen like ZZ Top, you know. Although there’s no hog-calling contest – which Rocks Off thinks is a…
Sole Of Houston: Airline Drive, Complete
The longest walk in the history of the Sole of Houston requires the longest piece. This being a blog and all, we have decided to break it up into three installments. Coming today, tomorrow and Thursday in this tale of 22-plus miles of concrete, mud, and fairly cold weather: The…
Houston Likes Its Caffeine Cold And Bubbly
Houston, you love your caffeine, but only when it comes cold and bubbly.The second annual Caffeinated Cities survey came out today; it’s conducted by something called HealthSaver and looks at caffeine use across the country.The Most Caffeinated City in America? Tampa. (Huh?) Followed by Seattle (that’s more like it), Chicago,…
The Whole Wide World: Ladysmith Black Mambazo’s Live! DVD
Ladysmith Black Mambazo Live! (Heads Up) http://www.mambazo.com Though international audiences did not discover this South African vocal group until it appeared on Paul Simon’s landmark 1986 album Graceland, Ladysmith Black Mambazo has been active since the early ’60s, when founder Joseph Shabalala started the a capella isicathamiya choir alongside friends and…
BARC’s Head Vet Wasn’t Just Reprimanded Once
No doubt many of Houston’s animal-advocacy community are up in arms over this morning’s Chron story on BARC’s head vet, Eunice Ohashiegbula-Iwunze, who had her license suspended in New Jersey.But we at Hair Balls were a little more understanding – really, who hasn’t accidentally killed people’s dogs on three separate…
Free Nameless Sound Youth Classes Start Today
Houston experimental/improvised music nonprofit Nameless Sound begins its spring session of classes for young people this evening. The classes are free of charge and open to area youth from kindergarten through high school, offering instruction in three ensembles: Nameless Sound Youth Ensemble: Improvised music for adolescents and young adults; all…
A New Name For Ellington Field? We’re On It
The Houston Chronicle reports this morning that the city is proposing to change the name of Ellington Field in order to attract more commercial business.We can only say it’s about time.For years we wondered just what in the hell Duke Ellington ever did to get a Houston airfield named after…
Clemens Investigated by Grand Jury
I was really looking forward to writing a post today. I was going to write about the wacky greatness of Rickey Henderson – I hope Rickey gives his entire induction speech in the third person – and I was going to write about how I don’t consider Jim Rice to…
Clemens Investigated by Grand Jury
I was really looking forward to writing a post today. I was going to write about the wacky greatness of Rickey Henderson – I hope Rickey gives his entire induction speech in the third person – and I was going to write about how I don’t consider Jim Rice to…
Miss Pop Rocks’ Worst Life Series
So I’ve totally gotten sucked into the new Oprah and her Best Life series which aired last week and is all about, well, living your best life as Oprah thinks you should. Every day last week she focused on a different issue: money, body, sex, etc. with the goal being…
Obama’s Check Was In The Mail For The Galveston Relief Fund
Kenna Bush, the executive director of the United Way of Galveston, was opening the mail recently, looking for checks made out to the Galveston County Recovery Fund.She found several. Including a personal check from some guy named Barack Obama.”We all kinda went ‘This can’t be real, right? Someone’s playing a…
As All Eyes Turn To Austin, We Present The Five Best Austin Movies
“No man’s life, liberty, or property are safe when the Legislature is in session.” — Former New York Secretary of State Gideon TuckerSeeing as the Texas Lege is all set to convene for the 81st Regular Session, we at Hair Balls thought we’d take this opportunity to remind you that…
A Young Critic on Pizza
16 month-old pizza critic Matthew Varesic recommends the pepperoni pie at the Chuck E. Cheese on Memorial near Dairy-Ashford. The synergy of a Wonder Bread-like crust, a sweet tomato sauce free of extraneous herbs and garlic, and the large rounds of pepper-free pepperoni come together to create a flavor unlike…
Tonight: Room 101 at River Oaks Theater
Update: This show was cancelled, but Room 101 plays Fitzgerald’s Feb. 13. No sooner than Rocks Off’s good friend (and hella photographer) Rosa Guerrero rhapsodized about the River Oaks Theater’s occasional (but always loud) music shows comes word that Houston/Chicago noisemaker Room 101 has a gig there tonight. Expect to hear…
Scandal Of The Century — No Obama Tickets Because Of Anti-Houston Discrimination
U.S. Rep. Mike Honda, a Democrat from California, decided to hold a contest to distribute his supply of tickets to the Obama inauguration.In order to win the coveted ducats, he asked people to tell him why they wanted to go.Winners were announced today. Also announced was the most blatant, stomach-turning…
Metalocalypse: Texas Hippie Coalition
Denison-based Texas Hippie Coalition, or THC to fans, lays claim to the title “Kings of Red Dirt Metal,” and will more than likely rock you the eff out. These guys feel like Pantera meets Lynyrd Skynyrd, so horns most definitely up. (Plus, the drummer goes by “Cowboy.”) Lead singer Big Daddy Rich…
Say Hi To The Soon-To-Be-Indicted Roger Clemens
More great news for Roger Clemens!! With the word “great” being used in the sense of “big,” as opposed to “terrific.”Federal prosecutors have convened a grand jury in D.C. to look into charges that the Rocket perjured himself in front of Congress when he said he never, ever, ever dabbled…
Aftermath: White Rhino at Scout Bar
Scout Bar in Clear Lake gets a bad rep most of the time, as far as our clannish Houston scene goes. It’s so far out of the Loop, physically and aesthetically, that rarely do Inner Loopers make the drive – save for the odd Tone-Loc nostalgia gig or visit back…
$7 at CoCo’s Crepes & Coffee
Where: CoCo’s Crepes & Coffee, 218 Gray, Houston 713-521-0700 What $7 gets you: Crepes: dessert, breakfast or main meal crepes. Panini. A wide assortment of coffee, tea and other drinks. It does not get you any alcohol, though. This is BYOB. Open seven days a week from 6 in the…
A Murderabilia Sale Even Andy Kahan Can Support
A federal appeals court in California recently announced that Unabomber Theodore Kaczynski’s personal belongings can be sold on the Internet.Normally, this kind of news would send Andy Kahan, the city of Houston’s Crime Victim Advocate and the leading authority and opponent of what he calls “murderabilia,” into a rage. But…
The Decision Is In: HISD Embraces CEP Once Again
The Houston Independent School District Administration is recommending to the board that the district sign an almost $19.3 million contract with Community Education Partners, the private company that operates two alternative schools here.Despite years of criticism of the operations at the Ferndale and Beechnut campuses, a special HISD advisory committee…
California Standardizes Olive Oil; Texas to Follow?
As of January 1, California became the second state in the union to enact laws enforcing standardization of the olive oil industry. (Connecticut became the first late last year.) Texas olive grower Jim Henry hopes that Texas will become the third. Why the need for laws? Because, in short, as…
Flashback: Pasadena Napalm Division at Warehouse Live
Photos by Craig Hlavaty Brand-new (sort of) Houston hardcore supergroup Pasadena Napalm Division, featuring alumni of deadhorse, D.R.I. and Dethkultur BBQ, made a most excellent official debut before a mostly full Warehouse Live studio Saturday night. Rocks Off was impressed by the five-piece’s taut, seething songs, which reminded his ears of…
Rosa’s Photo Corner: Midnight Shows at River Oaks Theater
In 2007 and 2008, River Oaks Theater would occasionally hold live midnight shows. They were the best of times… “Dead Roses, misfit dentist elf, Winter Wonderglam 2007. Nikon FA, Kodak Tri-X.”…
The Chronicle, Covering And Donating To The USS George H.W. Bush
The aircraft carrier named after George H.W. Bush got commissioned over the weekend, as you would know if you glanced at the Houston Chronicle, which covered the event like it was the most important thing since George H.W. Bush’s last parachute jump.Maybe their orders came from on high, though: the…
RodeoHouston Announces Complete 2009 Lineup
Lady Antebellum RodeoHouston announced the remainder of its 2009 concert calendar this morning, a lineup that includes several old standbys – although, once again, no George Strait (boo) – and a few first-timers. Making their rodeo debuts this year are Beyonce’s little sister Solange (March 6, part of a Black…
Traditional Sunday Roast at Feast
I’m a frustrated world traveler. Too little time, too much responsibility, too many places to see. All these things conspire against my natural born wanderlust. So I’m always looking for those opportunities in Houston where you can go and feel like you’ve been transported to a different country/city/culture or even…
Over the Weekend: Saint Dane’s, Maple Leaf and Escobar
Enough with the holidays. We now return to our regularly scheduled drinking. 11:05 p.m. at Saint Dane’s Bar & Grille Bill Olive started off Saturday night at the former site of Late Night Pie. 11:30 p.m. at the Maple Leaf Pub He then moved down Elgin to Canuck-ville…..
Turning the Screw: Kyle Hubbard, Bun B, Cory Mo, The Kanye, Dr. Dre, Notorious B.I.G., Lil Wayne, 40 Glocc, Death Row Fire Sale, Trae and More
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. Single of the Week: “Sippin’,” Kyle Hubbard feat. Roosk and DZA Wire To Wire “Get Out the Way” We enjoy Bun B and Cory…
The Best Houston Astros Home Grown and Acquired Rosters of All Time
So I was fooling around on the interwebs yesterday, and between the launch of the MLB Network, the naming today of the new class for the Baseball Hall of Fame, and the coming of spring training, I was in a bit of a baseball mood. And I came across this…
The Best Houston Astros Home Grown and Acquired Rosters of All Time
So I was fooling around on the interwebs yesterday, and between the launch of the MLB Network, the naming today of the new class for the Baseball Hall of Fame, and the coming of spring training, I was in a bit of a baseball mood. And I came across this…
Get Lit: So You Want to Be a Rock ‘N Roll Star: The Byrds Day-by-Day, 1965-1973 by Christopher Hjort
With the release of their 1965 debut record, these five fine feathered friends were hailed as “America’s Answer to the Beatles.” The tag was both misleading and, well, pretty much inappropriate. That’s because Roger McGuinn, David Crosby, Chris Hillman, Gene Clark and Michael Clarke – and their music – was…
Houston — The Baby Name Of 2009
Brooklynood
Houston Helps Fight The Cliches Of Hollywood Nurses
Nurses tend to get a raw deal in movies, say nurses who think they get a raw deal in movies.A recent scholarly report in The Journal of Advanced Nursing found that while Hollywood stereotypes of nurses are becoming less common, there’s still a way to go.”Can we finally kiss the…
It’s Official — George W. Bush Never Considered Coming “Home” To Houston
Both President Bushes were interviewed — together!! For the first time!! — on Fox News Sunday.Of course, seeing that it was Fox News, the interview was about as hard-hitting as Larry King grilling Don Rickles.Brit Hume asked an endless series of softballs which the two guys handled effortlessly. It turns…
Of Course They’re Building A “Green” Hotel In Houston
When you think Houston, you definitely think “green.” You think unabashed commitment to the environment. You think “The Portland of the South.”At least you do, apparently, if you’re Starwood Hotels, that branch of the Sheraton company.Starwood has announced they’re opening a series of “green hotels” in four lucky cities, and…
Down in the Root Cellar: Carrots and Turnips
Turnips are cheap and bitter. Carrots are annoyingly sweet. But before you allow the unpleasant characteristics of these root vegetables to summon disturbing memories of your relatives, consider how brilliantly they balance each other out. Pair the bitter turnips with the saccharine carrots and you get a wonderfully complex marriage…
Hearst, Owner of the Chronicle, Is Killing Off One Of Its Other Big Papers
Hearst, the media company that owns the Houston Chronicle, announced this afternoon it was all but killing one of its other large papers, the Seattle Post-Intelligencer.Hearst officials said they would look for a buyer for the paper, but if — as expected — no one comes forth, they would consider…
Sunday: Gospel Brunch at House of Blues; Pete Mayes Tribute at Big Easy
Rocks Off isn’t sure what sort of currency a slogan like “Praise the Lord and pass the biscuits” would muster beyond the Pearly Gates – maybe, if he’s really lucky, he’ll get a chance to find out one day – but it works well enough for House of Blues’ weekly…
30 Rock Takes Another Little Piece of Port Arthur
One of the only things Rocks Off loves as much as Tom Petty and chicken-fried steak is NBC’s brilliant, multiple Emmy-winning 30 Rock, which he thinks is the best TV comedy since The Larry Sanders Show. Now he loves it even more after last night’s deliciously twisted episode, “Senor Macho Solo.” Besides…
Please Hold for the Next Available Operator… Bee-yatch!!
A friend who works for a Houston manufacturer whose product shall remain anonymous emailed this choice bit of hilarity this afternoon. Seems his company was having some trouble with the phones earlier this week – a lot of static whenever customers were being put on hold. So the IT administrator did…
Burger King Urges You to Abandon Your Friends for Whoppers
I have to say, I wish Burger King’s food was better. Because their marketing department is evidently full of interesting people who, unlike other companies who balk at any controversy whatsoever, simply do not care whose feelings get hurt. Burger King has announced the implementation of the Whopper Sacrifice promotion,…
Different Neighborhoods, Different Crime Stats
If you want your car broken into, go downtown. If you want to get high, Canal Street in the East End is you a good bet. That is, at least according to Houston Police Department crime stats. Hair Balls trolled HPD’s stats and randomly selected three neighborhoods to compare for…
Man Wants To Lick Hooters (In The Courtroom)
Nikolai Grushevski, a man from Corpus Christi, has filed a lawsuit because Hooters wouldn’t let him work as a waiter, which we guess would be called a Hooters Boy. “Hooters tries to circumvent the law by referring to its waiters as ‘Hooters Girls.’ Hooters is wrong,” claims the lawsuit, filed…
Greek 101
Robb Walsh wrote about Ekko’s this week in the Press. A couple of days ago, someone asked me whether “gyros” was singular or plural and I thought I’d share this with you so that you can dazzle the Greek guy behind the counter the next time you’re out and about…
World’s Most Casual Bank Robber
This guy walked into a bank on FM 1960 this morning and robbed it.Robbed it with a casual style that you just have to admire. Dude be the Smoove B of bank robbers.”Yo, pretty lady — while you’re getting that cash for me, let me ask you what a woman…
Lonesome Onry and Mean: Miss Leslie Takes Top Honors in Freeform Americana Radio Awards
Miss Leslie and Her Juke-Jointers, “Yes Ma’am” Houston’s own Miss Leslie Sloan of Miss Leslie and Her Jukejointers was tipped for a slew of honors in the most recent Best of 2008 voting by FAR (Freeform Americana Radio) members. She was voted Female Artist of the Year over Eliza Gilkyson and…
Nurses In Houston Begin To Look For The Union Label
Houston has become a hotspot in Texas for “nurse activism,” evidenced by the state’s first unionized hospital, the Cypress-Fairbanks Medical Center Hospital, but one Houston facility is very serious about keeping a union far away from its employees. Joanne Thompson, a registered nurse who works at the West Houston Medical…
Houston’s Eccentric Super Gyros
The Ekko’s gas station and Greek deli on Richmond and South Rice founded by former airline pilot Steve Bouboudakis was the subject of this week’s Café review. But Steve’s gas station gyro stand is hardly the only wacky Greek venue in town. Houston Greek restaurants are beloved both for great…
Coming (Maybe) To Kemah: A Fake Christopher Columbus Ship
You know what Kemah needs?We mean, beyond extensive repairs in the wake of Hurricane Ike.What Kemah (apparently) needs is a replica of the Nina, one of the three boats Christopher Columbus sailed to make his old-white-man invasion of the bucolic New World.There is a mysterious plan afoot to restore the…
Fighting Alzheimer’s, With Hector Elizondo
You’ve seen him as the dad in Tortilla Soup, as Joe in The Princess Diaries and most recently as the shrink in Monk. But here’s one role you haven’t seen Hector Elizondo in: Health advocate. Elizondo spoke with Hair Balls about his work raising awareness for Alzheimer’s disease, including how…
HISD Explores its Alternatives With CEP
Next week’s Houston Independent School District Board meeting coincides with its self-imposed January 15 deadline for whether it will continue to fork over $17 million a year to the private Community Education Partners for its two alternative schools here. CEP and HISD agreed to a contract extension last August 15…
Longhorns Sue For BCS Title; Coach Brown: “We’re Texas, Damn It”
Austin — Following last night’s Florida Gators victory over the Oklahoma Sooners in the BCS Title Game, the Texas Longhorns football team held a press conference outside of the main entrance to Darrell K. Royal – Texas Memorial Stadium. Head Coach Mack Brown, reading from a prepared statement, stated that,…
Longhorns Sue For BCS Title; Coach Brown: “We’re Texas, Damn It”
Austin — Following last night’s Florida Gators victory over the Oklahoma Sooners in the BCS Title Game, the Texas Longhorns football team held a press conference outside of the main entrance to Darrell K. Royal – Texas Memorial Stadium. Head Coach Mack Brown, reading from a prepared statement, stated that,…
The Most Unlikely Bernie Madoff Savior
Hair Balls’ faith in humanity was temporarily restored this week when we saw a press release headlined “Texas Millionaire Offers Support to Charity Victims of Bernard Madoff.” As you know, a lot of good non-profits, like the Innocence Project of Texas, which has helped free a bunch of wrongly convicted…
Lost Tuneage: Terry Reid
L-R: Waddy Wachtel, Keith Richards and Terry Reid Who Dat? Though unfortunately best known to rock trivia buffs for what he didn’t do than for what he did, Terry Reid was (and is) an extremely well-regarded British blues-rock singer/guitarist. He began warbling as a toddler when his mother would perch…
A Little Sororal Love for Broward’s BCS Live Blog
Our old pal Michael J. Mooney, who helped us out with our October feature about the Katy High School football team, posted up at Dolphins Stadium last night to live blog the game for our sister paper, the Broward-Palm Beach New Times. Here’s the recap, which includes frequent references to…
A Little Sororal Love for Broward’s BCS Live Blog
Our old pal Michael J. Mooney, who helped us out with our October feature about the Katy High School football team, posted up at Dolphins Stadium last night to live blog the game for our sister paper, the Broward-Palm Beach New Times. Here’s the recap, which includes frequent references to…
Houston: We Have Idiots Riding the Rails on Metro’s Line
Drivers going home last night along Main Street were treated to the sight of a car that made its way from the lane next to the rail lines, to the rail lines themselves. And stayed there for about four blocks. There was some hollering from pedestrians which apparently had absolutely…
Five Spot: Eminem Is Clever, But K-Rino Is Just Sick
Welcome back to Five Spot. Every Friday, we’ll examine a recent bit of music news and list five reasons why it’s either brilliant or dumb-assed. Send tips to introducingliston@gmail.com. So the expected hip-hop sites recently all went crazy for “Crack A Bottle” (above), an annoyingly catchy Eminem track that’s sure to…
The Fox-ification of KTRH, Part XXXVIII
They’re not even trying to hide it anymore at KTRH, the once-proud AM news giant in town.This morning, President-elect Obama was having a press conference; KTRH chose instead to do a live interview with lunatic Ann Coulter.That’s okay; Coulter is notoriously difficult to get an interview with. If you’re a…
Cutout Bin: Nathan Woodruff’s This Is the Way I Feel
Nathan Woodruff This Is the Way I Feel (Star Records, Dallas) This is the way Nathan Woodruff feels. A grinning, lopsided form of happy. It’s the kind of happy that requires your most ruffled shirt and a bow tie tied just so. Nathan has the confidence to say, “I’ll wait…
ManKind Project Not Living Up To Its Promises, Says The Mom Who Sued Them
It’s starting to seem as though the ManKind Project Houston, which settled a wrongful death lawsuit against it in June for allegedly traumatizing a man at an orientation weekend just before he killed himself, has not implemented the changes it legally promised to.That was the news as told by Dr…
I Have Seen the Devil, and His Name Is Big Mac Snack Wrap
You know, F. Scott Fitzgerald was right about American lives having no second acts. I found that to be sadly true yesterday as I sat down at the McDonald’s near the bus station off Main and jumped teeth first into an American tragedy. Somewhere in a cold and sterile boardroom…
Five Best Strip-Club Movies
In concluding our tribute to the recently departed Penthouse Club, and as a service to future generations who may never know the joys of spending $9.50 for a Miller Lite or learn what a “bottle charge” is, here are some of the more memorable movies where strip joints serve as…
The King Catfish Ranch
If you’re looking for shining examples of the local indigenous cuisine while driving Highway 59 through East Texas and you’ve already had your fill of barbecue then its time to pull over for some catfish. I purchased this fried catfish dinner with cole slaw, french fries, odd cylindrical hush puppies…
For the King: Elvis Impersonators from Around the World
Elvis Presley would be – or, depending on who you believe, is – 74 years old today. But he’s as popular as ever, and alive or dead, as Mojo Nixon has noted many times, Elvis really is everywhere… Rob Kingsley, Elvis Tribute UK’s 2008 European Champion “Turkish Elvis” Nevrez Caliskan…
Two Bills For The Price Of One From Reliant
Customers of Reliant Energy received their December bills as usual. They probably freaked a bit at the price (as usual), but paid up.Then they received another bill for December.Not to worry, Reliant says — they were just confused by the whole complicated process whereby 2008 becomes 2009. It involves putting…
What Is It About Houston and Burgers?
More Five Guys Burgers and Fries restaurants are on their way to Houston. Last August, Robb Walsh told you about the new chain location at 24004 Southwest Freeway in Rosenberg brought in by John Hooff who told us he plans 10 in all in Houston Now, the big kahuna Bob…
Harassment Suits Against The Harris County Sheriff’s Department Live Again
When Sean and Erik Ibarra sued attorney Lloyd Kelley in October over legal fees, one of the questions was what would happen to a separate civil-rights lawsuit with several plaintiffs, including the Ibarras and April Walker, against the sheriff’s department and certain deputies.(The original suit, however, did accomplish one thing…
Aftermath: The Magpies and Sideshow Tramps at the Continental Club
Photos by Chris Gray It didn’t look good at the beginning. A few minutes after 9 p.m. Wednesday, the posted start time for visiting Cleveland roots-rockers the Magpies, the “count” at the Continental Club front door was all of 16 paying customers, and the band was nowhere in sight. Two…
A Tale of Two Burgers
Sometimes I get a craving for a burger like the ones from my youth, from the pharmacy luncheonette on Park Place where Kelly’s is now. They fried the hamburger patty a la parilla with the bun toasting right next to it. Then, one bun was dropped on top of the…
Asher Roth (and Entourage) Save the Day in L.A.
Despite being branded a hero, “Frat Boy Fresh” Asher Roth has since clarified that he’s more so a hero by association. Wednesday, a post on the URB blog claimed that according to his publicist, Roth was involved in detaining a man who made a bomb throat on an Atlanta flight headed…
We Have Our First Apology For The Morton Ranch High Hazing
As part of their pretty sweet deal to clear their names in the Morton Ranch High cheerleader-hazing scandal, those spunky gals who bound and blindfolded classmates and threw them in a pool were ordered to write apology letters.The letters, which should wash away the terror of being hogtied and thrown…
Grammy Day at U of H Until 5
Paul Wall: Also available for oral-hygeine advice. Today at the UH Main Campus on Cullen, The Recording Academy and the Grammys are putting on a Career Day for students in the college’s music department. The Grammys hold these workshops around the country for students looking to take the leap into…
Charlie Wilson’s War Continues
We wrote in August about the brouhaha over UT’s plans to name a chair in South Asian studies for Charlie Wilson, the former U.S. Rep played by Tom Hanks in Charlie Wilson’s War.UT professors protested, saying Wilson had done far more harm than good over there.Now a niece of Benazir…
A Sweeter Sweet Potato
That’s a fine little yam, ma’am,” I told Tara Smith, the LSU AgCenter’s sweet potato extension specialist and coordinator of the Sweet Potato Reseach Station in Chase, Louisiana. I had just finished a taste test comparing Evangeline (left), a new variety of sweet potato developed by the LSU sweet potato…
The Land Of The Killer Trains
It’s bad news when the state lists you as the absolute most dangerous county when it comes to deaths involving railroads.It’s worse when you take into consideration the report doesn’t even cover the treacherous, havoc-wreaking collision machine known as Metro’s light-rail system.The Texas Rail & Relocation Association, whose activities you…
Five More Houstonians and Their Wacky Sexual Escapades
U.S. District Judge Samuel Kent of Houston is faced with a slew of sexual misconduct charges, including aggravated sexual abuse, abusive sexual contact and obstruction of justice, for which he faces a possible sentence of life in prison and a $250,000 fine. Things look bleak for Judge Kent, but he…
The Battle Over Red-Light Cameras Goes On….And On
If you thought all the clamor over red light cameras was over, think again.So far, most of the battling has been over the release of a Rice University professor’s report, which seemingly contradicted a Texas A&M report. Then folks on both sides of the issue began squabbling about which report…
Things That Make Us Feel Old: The Year 1989
“Hey Ladies” As another year begins, record labels start unleashing commemorative editions of classic albums to take advantage of anniversaries of release dates and more importantly, yo’ money. We already got wind of the impending Pearl Jam reissues a few weeks back. Now we get word that the Beastie Boys…
Tonight: Cedric Burnside & Lightnin’ Malcolm at House of Blues
Colin McAuliffe When you first hear the first few songs on Lighnin’ Malcolm & Cedric Burnside’s 2 Man Wrecking Crew, you just can’t believe it’s just two guys playing live in the studio. But working with legendary producer David Z (Jonny Lang, Etta James, Prince), Malcolm and Burnside nailed fourteen tunes in…
The Houston Chronicle Is Responsible For Jeff Skilling’s Prison Term, Court Finds
As everyone knows, the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the conviction of Enron’s Jeff Skilling this week, although it overturned his sentence in a move that might slightly reduce it.Skilling’s most passionate local supporter in the blogworld, attorney Tom Kirkendall of Houston’s Clear Thinkers, has annotated the decision. Reading…
Houston Astros 2009 Season Preview
The Chron tried to get everybody in the mood for baseball yesterday with their story on what the 2009 Houston Astros roster looks like. If you’re not excited about the season, don’t blame the Chron because they’re not the ones who put the roster together. And folks, this isn’t a…
Houston Astros 2009 Season Preview
The Chron tried to get everybody in the mood for baseball yesterday with their story on what the 2009 Houston Astros roster looks like. If you’re not excited about the season, don’t blame the Chron because they’re not the ones who put the roster together. And folks, this isn’t a…
Lonesome Onry and Mean: The Gourds, Part 3
[Note: This is the final installment of Lonesome Onry and Mean’s interview with the Gourds’ Kevin Russell. Don’t miss Part 1 and Part 2.] John Carrico Lonesome Onry and Mean: To a lot of critics, “Steeple Full of Swallows” on Heavy Ornamentals was singled out as a new quieter, serious…
Retro Active: Remembering the Speed Trials Album
So, just in time for its 20th anniversary, the Beastie Boys’ landmark Paul’s Boutique album is gonna be reissued in a deluxe, remastered edition. As we all know, the album is masterpiece of sampling technique, unencumbered by the prospect of litigation and emboldened by a true sense of sonic adventure…
In Honor Of The Defunct Penthouse Club, The Five Best Strip Club Scenes
We at the Houston Press are pretty broken up about the closing of the Penthouse Club. Not because any of us were frequent patrons, of course (*cough*), or because we aren’t wholly convinced the City’s efforts to shutter “gentlemen’s clubs” will eliminate crime as we know it, but because the…
Food & Foreign Policy
The World Affairs Council of Houston is best known for holding public events featuring foreign policy heavyweights such as former Secretaries of State Colin Powell and James Baker III. However two upcoming programs will extend the Council’s reach into food-related subjects…
Looking Ahead to Next Week When We Name Our MasterMinds Awards Winners
Last fall we started talking about our new MasterMinds program – a way to recognize some of the best creative talent we have in the Houston area with not only praise, but a bit of money as well. We took in nominations and examples of work through the end of…
Texas Legislature Needs to Do Better By Its College Students, Or Let’s Just Keep Exporting Them to Other States
As we close in on rodeo time at the 2009 version of the Texas Legislature, education funding, as usual, will be one of the main topics. And in a dour economy, it’s no secret that the degree-of-difficulty factor has just been ramped up a couple extra notches.We caught up with…
Dryope and Iole
It’s hard to make the Great Depression funny, but playwright Nancy Kiefer manages to do to just that in Dryope and Iole. (Kiefer, theater fans will remember, wrote The Illustrated Woman.) Set in the poverty and desolation of the Depression, the play examines women’s relationships during troubled times. With humor…
Arms and the Man
War and love — is there any better combination for a comedy? If George Bernard Shaw is the one putting the two together, then the story is bound to be both funny and smart. Arms and the Man is an old-fashioned romantic comedy of the very best sort — it…
Polar-Palooza
Here are a couple of questions we’d like to ask the scientists at Polar-Palooza: Exactly how much Arctic ice has to melt before Houston’s flooded over? Is it true polar bears are moving down, mating with American bears and creating a monstrous hybrid? Those probably aren’t at the top of…
Elaine Bradford: “Museum of Unnatural History”
Elaine Bradford starts an evolution with her exhibit “Museum of Unnatural History.” Bradford has made a name for herself around town by giving taxidermy the crochet treatment. In the past, Bradford has created made-to-shape sweaters for deer and other species, but for this show she’s creating a whole new class…
The Apostle
The slogan for The Apostle pretty much says it all: “One man. One book. One message of hope.” It’s based on the New Testament story of the Book of Romans and features A.D. Players resident company member Chip Simmons. 8 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays, 2:30 p.m. Sundays. Through January 18…
Houston’s First Annual Magnificent Seven All Out Ice Sculpting
See ice get artistically sliced at Houston’s First Annual Magnificent Seven All Out Ice Sculpting. “Seven blocks of ice, seven hours, seven sculptors,” says Reverend Butter. The best-known Houston ice artist is hosting the competition, which features seven ice carvers from across the U.S. using chainsaws, blowtorches, hammers and chisels…
The Light in the Piazza
Some would argue that the American musical has been spoiled by producers’ desires to do nothing more than make big, tall mountains of money. Plot? Talent? Imagination? Nah, they don’t need them. Just put somebody in a giraffe suit and rake in the dough. But in 2005, The Light in…
La Rondine
See a performance of the New York Metropolitan Opera without having to take a flight to the Big Apple at today’s live broadcast of La Rondine. Part of the Met’s Opera Live in HD series, Rondine stars Angela Gheorghiu and Roberto Alagna as a kept woman and the man who…
Geraldine Brooks
Few novelists blend contemporary events with history like Geraldine Brooks. Her latest release, People of the Book, combines two plotlines. There’s the present-day story of Hannah Heath, a conservator restoring a famous volume of early Jewish writing, and her many complicated personal relationships. And there’s the historic story of the…
Ant Farm 1969-1971: Early Underground Adventures with Space, Land, and Time
Anyone who’s driven through Amarillo and been a bit surprised to find ten upended Cadillacs, graffitied to the max and buried halfway in the ground, might want to head down to Aurora Picture Show’s “Video Salon” event to see the documentary film Ant Farm 1969-1971: Early Underground Adventures with Space,…
Mrs. Warren’s Profession
At the turn of the 20th century, the Victorian world of rigid rules and manners offered no help to a poor woman who wanted to better her situation. George Bernard Shaw, one of the century’s greatest social critics (not to mention best writers), wrote Mrs. Warren’s Profession, he later said,…
Blithe Spirit
Talk about an ex that just won’t let go. In David Lean’s Blithe Spirit, a happily married novelist is having trouble with his ex-wife who, oh yeah, just happens to be dead. He’s the only one who can see her, but the trouble she causes is visible to everyone. Lean’s…
DRUMline – Live
Texans, rightfully, should consider themselves marching-band authorities, but as anyone who’s seen the movie Drumline can attest, some of our neighbors take the art to a whole new extreme. The phenomenon of drumline mania visits Houston as the Society for the Performing Arts presents DRUMline — Live, a thumping, bumping…
In Which We Serve
Screenwriter and actor Noël Coward got co-directing credit, but most consider the 1942 In Which We Serve a David Lean film. Based loosely on the true adventures of Louis Mountbatten, the rah-rah Serve chronicles life on board a fictional wartime destroyer, the HMS Torrin, which survived one torpedo attack only…
“Toast 2009”
Forget about your weight in gold, what about in toasted bread? Linda Darke Swaynons took 2,400 pieces of toast, 150 pounds in all, and created an installation for “Toast 2009,” currently at Darke Gallery. Besides the mountain of bread, there are paintings and prints of toast, a picture hunt (where…
Rafael Cauduro: “Sin Fronteras/Without Borders.”
Prepare to be wowed when you walk into the Canal Street Gallery’s exhibit Rafael Cauduro: “Sin Fronteras/Without Borders.” The Mexican muralist and painter is considered among the best living artists in his homeland, and “Sin Fronteras” shows us why. Just 56, Cauduro has managed to advance muralist traditions, blending social…
Remembering Anson Jones
People always remember “firsts” — their first kiss, the first man on the moon, the first black president. But “lasts” are usually forgotten, so we won’t blame you if you don’t know who Anson Jones was (he was the last president of the Republic of Texas). Of course, after today’s…
Cheech and Chong
Cheech is funny. Chong is funny. Together Cheech and Chong are funny2. After their start in the late 1960s (they did skits in a strip club in Vancouver), the comedy duo went from doing stand-up to doing films together. From there they each went solo for a while, doing stints…
Kimberlie Dykeman
Motivational speakers are everyone’s favorite target. Just don’t put down 33-year-old Austin-based dynamo Kimberlie Dykeman, because she’s likely to think about kicking your ass — and probably could. Some time ago, the motivator/personal trainer/TV correspondent created a weekly e-mail blast for clients and friends called “The Monday Soapbox” in which…
Stellaluna
Poor Stellaluna. The baby bat lost her mother in an owl attack. Now her new stepmom, a nice bird who took her in, insists Stellaluna give up her bat ways. No more hanging around upside down or sleeping all day. And definitely no drinking blood. Stellaluna tries to fit in,…
Mindy Kober: “Politics and the Weather”
Gouache on paper — that’s what little girls are made of in the latest works by Mindy Kober. Baby Police is a simple beige-and-maroon painting of two little ladies at play. One is dressed up in a police dress and directing another who’s pushing a baby carriage. In Destructive Tendencies,…
Oliver!
There’s plenty of fun and lively music in the Broadway musical Oliver! Full of familiar tunes such as “Consider Yourself at Home” and “Where Is the Love,” Oliver! is the story of a boy who runs away from a London orphanage and finds a new family in a ragtag group…
J.T. Ellison and Laura Bendict
Don’t you just hate it when that old, long-forgotten X-rated film you made years ago gets dragged up again? In J.T. Ellison’s The Judas Kiss, just released this week, Nashville homicide investigator Lieutenant Taylor Jackson is investigating the murder of a beautiful and pregnant suburban housewife, who was savagely beaten…
The 19th Wife
David Ebershoff’s novel The 19th Wife caused quite a stir when it was released last summer. Now you can take a deeper look at the book, examining its two parallel stories. One recounts the life of Ann Eliza, Brigham Young’s 19th wife, who was expelled from the Mormon Church and…
Golden Globes Awards Party
From the red carpet to the post-award show, you can see it all on a big screen at the Golden Globes Awards Party. There’ll be plenty of champagne (and quite a few pitchers of beer, we suspect) to toast the winners and losers. See if the foreign press makes the…
Cirque Montage
The incredible performance feats of the Cirque du Soleil have become so popular that perhaps a bit of the novelty has worn off. But as soon as you see a young woman balanced on one hand swing her foot over her shoulder, the magic comes back (as well as the…
Metropolis
If the country’s financial woes are bringing you down, lighten your spirits by attending Rice Cinema’s screening of Fritz Lang’s Metropolis. The 1927 silent sci-fi film is set in 2026, when Republic-like societal divisions keep the exploited masses toiling beneath a magnificently envisioned Art Deco city-state for the sake of…
Michael Guidry: “Stranger in Paradise”
Michael Guidry gets bent out of shape in “Stranger in Paradise.” For the exhibit of his latest round of acrylic works on canvas and panel, the artist took photographs of himself in various settings and then turned them into geometric shapes. Guidry stretches each self-portrait beyond recognition. Skies, horizons, trees,…
“4 Scenarios”
A quartet of Houston artists have come together for “4 Scenarios” — Miguel Avila, Ryan Geiger, Lillian Warren and Gabriela Trzebinski. Avila lives and works in Houston now, but he lived for many years in Mexico. That influence is clearly seen in his work, with images of Mexican food and…
C.J. Box
We’re going to give author C.J. Box a break and assume he wasn’t thinking about Miss Jolie when he put together a plot about someone named Angelina, an adopted baby and a powerful, distant father. Actually, the similarities end there. In Box’s new stand-alone thriller Three Weeks to Say Goodbye,…
Snow Sports 101
You’ll find everything you need to become a well-equipped ski bunny at Snow Sports 101, a combination workshop-gear show. Snowboarding, ice skating, tubing, skiing and even ice biking are all on the schedule. So is a little pre-ski trip schmoozing with other cold country athletes. 7 to 9 p.m. REI,…
The Sorcerer’s Other Apprentice
Chip, Chip, Chip, what are you doing? You’re The Sorcerer’s Other Apprentice, not the sorcerer. But not to worry, master wizard Merwyn has planned a trip that should teach you a lesson or two. Now, pay close attention, because if the dragon doesn’t get you, the uppity princess will. The…
Gallery Talk — Perspectives 164
Connect the dots between ethnic newspapers reduced to blocks of color, tourist photos taken from the Internet and re-formed into tiny 3-D scenes, and ordinary rocks impersonating pieces of the Berlin Wall during today’s Perspectives Talk with Cindi Stauss, curator of modern and contemporary decorative art and design for the…
Single File
Evan Miller, “Or from a Tree Descending”: Miller’s electro-acoustic guitar strums out a thoughtful, or one might say inquisitive, pattern: several quick discursive paces that result in a brainstorm flourish. “Descending” doubles as a clinic on these pensive “Eureka!” moments, revisiting that base ponderous structure with minute variations and making…
Gabachos, Compadres and Midgets
Dear Mexican, A lot of gabachos, including myself, are learning how to salsa dance and getting pretty good at it. What’s your take on gabachos going to Latin dance clubs and tearing up the dance floor? In general, are Mexicans okay with this? Or, should we gabachos just stick to…
Brie Good at Cafesito Cocina Mediterranea
This queso isn’t that gooey yellow substance served with tortilla chips. Instead, the irresistible queso con ajo ($5.75) at Cafesito Cocina Mediterranea (3750 S. Mason Road, Katy, 281-717-4875) is made with brie. A small, whole round of brie lies on top of cloves of roasted garlic that are as soft as…
Huntzville’s School-Shooting Song Raises an Even More Disturbing Issue
Hard to believe it’s been 20 years since gangsta rap went overground with N.W.A.’s Straight Outta Compton, which riled the powers that be enough for the FBI to send the L.A. rappers and their record company a letter advising them they were under surveillance. And, of course, sold enough records for…
Gas Station Delicacies at Ekko’s Greek-American Deli
Classic Greek moussaka is made with layers of fried eggplant slices, ground meat in a tomato sauce seasoned with cinnamon and herbs, and a thick topping of béchamel. The excellent version at Ekko’s on Richmond has all that and more — there’s also a stratum of delightfully soft potatoes in…
Britney Spears: Circus
In pop music, audacity pays the bills. Britney Spears knows that much, but her reach is often more awkward than it is effective. Take “If U Seek Amy,” the most talked-about three minutes from her new album, Circus. What begins as a rare third-person verse for Britney (“Have you seen…
Forgiven in Gran Torino
Walt Kowalski growls a lot — a dyspeptic rumble that wells up from deep inside his belly when he catches sight of his midriff-baring teenage granddaughter text-messaging her way through her grandmother’s funeral, or when his good-for-nothing son and daughter-in-law suggest that he sell his house in a gang-infested corner…
The Haunting on Revolutionary Road
No writer ever gazed deeper or more despairingly into the prison of middle-class American conformity than Richard Yates, which may explain why none of his books sold more than 12,000 copies in his lifetime and why it’s taken more than 40 years for one of them to reach the big…
Hurricane Ike’s Wake
Sean Penn did not patrol Galveston’s streets in an airboat. Kanye West didn’t offer unscripted barbs about George Bush’s opinion of black people on live TV. Since Galveston has no native-born analogues to people like Dr. John or Harry Connick Jr., there were no televised musical specials. Glen Campbell’s “Galveston”…
Tambersauro: Theories of Delusional Origin
Tambersauro is one of the most inwardly motivated and intelligent indie-rock bands in Houston, which, considering it’s up against the likes of Motion Turns It On, By the End of Tonight and Balaclavas, is really saying something. Theories of Delusional Origin is the math/prog trio’s most subdued recording thus far…
Pasadena Napalm Division
This blast from the past is likely to singe the hairs on your mohawk. Stitched together from three of the most legendary names in Houston’s hardcore/metal annals, Pasadena Napalm Division — the most excellent name the five members chose after debuting as Krud Krudder last fall at Meridian — unites…
Cedric Burnside & Lightnin’ Malcolm
The grandson of late guitarist R.L. Burnside, Mississippi-born drummer Cedric Burnside has been collaborating with guitarist Lightnin’ Malcolm as the “Juke Joint Duo” for quite a few years, and the chemistry they have developed is evident on sophomore CD 2 Man Wrecking Crew. Together, they combine the punch of old…
Common: Universal Mind Control
Despite his status as a happy, respected old-timer, Common has to rap about something, and his eighth album, Universal Mind Control, is a hodgepodge effort. It contains would-be club bangers full of metaphysical mumbo-jumbo such as the title track (“Charismatic / Asiatic / I hustle for mathematics”) and would-be seduction…
Restitution, Mental Illness, DNA Evidence, Oysters and White People
No Restitution An online reader responds to “Crime Doesn’t Pay(back),” by Chris Vogel, December 4: Wow: What a major undertaking and what a fantastic result. Let’s hope this might lead to a major overhaul of the victims’-rights statutes, and a more realistic enforcement by state authorities. Keep up the good…
A Musical Guide to Navigating the Economic Crisis
These are tough economic times, what with the housing-crisis-driven recession and skyrocketing unemployment. In such a climate, it’s damn near impossible to enjoy or even splurge on our hobbies and passions. Who can afford those New Kids on the Block tickets or iPods packed with Killers tracks when they can’t…
Capsule Art Reviews: “Blind Lines,” Hot and Grounded
“Blind Lines” In the 19th century, locks of hair from the living and the dead were considered sentimental mementos. In the 21st century, collected strands of hair are more often than not associated with DNA analysis for a crime lab or paternity test. Mexican artist Gabriel de la Mora uses…
Remembrance of Demons Past in The Unborn
For as long as it forges ahead without explanations, The Unborn works in its way, as a series of snap-cut gotchas introducing each new contestant in its pageant of cold-sweat set-pieces. Often, this involves starlet Odette Yustman approaching some obscured, inevitably terrifying figure from behind, very…very…slowly. Yustman plays Casey, a…
Capsule Stage Reviews: Black Comedy, A Fertle Holiday
Black Comedy It takes a scene or two for the cast to settle into Theatre Southwest’s production of Peter Shaffer’s Black Comedy, but once it does, the farcical story about a night in England when a starving artist manages to destroy both his love life and his career is a…
The Gourds land a real Haymaker!
“Literate roots party music” is how Kevin “Shinyribs” Russell describes the Gourds: “We’re Bill Burroughs meets Jerry Lee Lewis at the funeral of Robert Johnson on the Millennium Falcon piloted by Joe Strummer and Neil Young.” The Gourds have been around since the summer of 1994 when members of Picket…
Peter Cetera
Now here’s a man who will fight for your honor. Peter Cetera has even had to fight for his own once in a while — in the late ’60s, the former Chicago bassist/singer and Cubs fan got into a scrap with some marines at Dodger Stadium. He had to have…
The Murderers’ Defender
In the 179th Criminal Court, in the courtroom of Judge Michael Wilkinson, it had become a matter of record that a Continental Airlines manager, picking up his two-year-old son from day care last January, noticed something “a little different” about the boy. “John” was ordinarily vibrant and friendly, it was…
Junior Brown
To my consternation, in high school my daughter was caught up in the end of the whole disco/techno dance-club thing and chin-deep in what was to me a bewildering, developing new music: rap. Imagine my surprise when she came home from college that first time and, scrounging through my CD…
Cielo Mexican Bistro and Collin’s Chop House & Whiskey Bar
Youssef Nafaa just opened two new restaurants on Main Street. In the space that used to house St. Pete’s Dancing Marlin, 300 Main, there’s now Cielo Mexican Bistro (713-229-9500) and Collin’s Chop House & Whiskey Bar (713-229-9504). This puts Nafaa’s restaurant count at seven. Opening one is tough enough, but…
Ram Herrera
Somebody forgot to give singer-songwriter Ram Herrera The Official Tejano Music Handbook. First, he leaves a super-successful group, David Lee Garza y Los Musicales, to go solo. (Big risk.) Second, he strays from the usual Tejano polka and cumbia rhythms. (Did we say usual? We meant tired.) Herrera’s polkas sometimes…
Pretty Poison Girl
If for some reason you’re young, Houstonian and not familiar with Poison Girl (1641 Westheimer), know this: It’s not a titty bar. That’s the gist of a cell-phone conversation Nightfly intended to butt in on because, as everyone knows, anytime the terms “titty” and “bar” are used in conjunction with…
