Fifth Circuit Upholds Abortion Law, Most Clinics in the State Could Close
When states like Texas are taken to court over laws that restrict access to abortion – like Texas’s House Bill 2, which passed the Legislature in 2013 despite Wendy Davis’s midnight filibuster – they have to argue a couple of points: first, that the regulations are “reasonably related” to a…
Daryl Morey Gets Bored on Flight, Cracks Vagina Joke During Twitter Q&A
“Long flight to D-League Showcase with wifi, if you have a question I would be happy to answer it,” Rockets GM Daryl Morey told his Twitter followers while en route to Santa Cruz today. After about an hour answering questions ranging from how he picks players to his thoughts on…
Long Live the King — King Tuff, Ex Hex, Young Mammals at Walter’s, 01/13
“Girls and boys come from outer space and so does music too/I learned more workin’ at the record store than I ever did in high school.” Many pupils of Marc Bolan understood how to play and perform glam better than their instruments. Siouxie and the Banshees covered “20th Century Boy”,…
Open-Carry Activists Get Kicked Out of Lawmaker’s Office on First Day of Legislative Session
Anti-gun lawmakers in Texas are like anti-cheese members of the Wisconsin State Assembly. Both are breeds of politician that don’t really exist in their respective states. We’re a gun-totin’ constituency here, and, when you consider background checks submitted to the feds for gun-purchase applications every year, it looks like we…
This Week in Food Blogs: Old Favorites and Private Parties
Tag Sale Tastes is back from holiday break with a new Retro Dining post. This one is on Star Pizza, an old Houston favorite. Even after all these years, the $9.25 lunch buffet is still one of the best lunch deals in town. Blog post bonus: there’s some funny commentary…
In New Ad, Bank of America Will Reward You…if You Have $23,586 in Your Checking Account
Ad campaigns are conducted for specific reasons. Businesses often want to appeal directly to a very specific target market. Not only do these advertisements tend to be more effective, but because they are so focused, it is typically easier to track the return on the investment. Enter Bank of America’s…
Chef Chat, Part 1: Paul Lewis of Paul’s Kitchen
Paul’s Kitchen is the new concept from restaurateur Paul Miller, who also grew Union Kitchen to three locations. The name of the new place really works, especially since the chef is also named Paul–in this case, Paul Lewis. In Part 1 of this Chef Chat, we’ll get to know about…
“Arranging Family:” First Solo Exhibit by Carlee Fernandez
Photographer and sculptor Carlee Fernandez uses the central theme of family – and how the past intersects with the present and gives hope for the future – to demonstrate her centeredness and strength. According to Ernest Becker’s Denial of Death, to live a truly authentic and genuine life, a person…
Spencer Sotelo Talks of the Juggernaut That Is Periphery
In the world of progressive metal, few names stand above Periphery these days. You’ve got your legends, of course, like Dream Theater, who will forever tower over their peers. But for a young vital band making original and relevant music, look no further than Periphery. On January 27, they’ll release…
Taste-Testing Snap Kitchen’s New Winter Menu
With new locations in the Heights and the Museum District, Snap Kitchen is making it very hard for Houstonians to avoid eating healthfully while eating out. And, after the never-ending food binge also known as “the holidays,” that’s probably a good thing. The grab-and-go cafe offers a diverse line of…
The New Marilyn Manson Is Shockingly Good
This week Marilyn Manson will release his ninth studio album, The Pale Emperor. For those of us who grew up in the shock rocker’s heyday, it’s sort of insane that he has made it this far. Though his relevance and “shock value” is no longer intact, that he has fans…
Houston Ladies Classic Coming to Sam Houston Race Park and Benefiting Komen Houston
When we think of fashion at the races, the Kentucky Derby immediately comes to mind. But, Houston women need not book a flight to Louisville in order to strut their stuff at the track. Sam Houston Race Park plays host to the Houston Ladies Classic on January 24 and the…
UPDATED Investigators Seeking Owner of Starved, Dead Horses in Acres Homes
Update, Jan. 16: Necropsies of the horses show they were starved to death, according to a press release from Crime Stoppers of Houston. If you have information on this case or any other felony crimes, please call Crime Stoppers at 713.222.TIPS(8477). You may be eligible for a reward of up…
Try These Five Awesomely Outrageous Mac & Cheeses in Houston
Every sound minded individual loves mac’ and cheese. Hell, even Easy Mac could make do in a pinch. But we say if you’re going to eat a bowl of cheese, fat and carbs, you may as well go all in. Here are 5 Outrageously Delicious Mac’ & Cheeses To Try…
The 14 Best Houston Rap Tapes of 2014
At present count, over 3,600 words have been given towards looking back at 2014’s year in Houston rap. Even if the year just ended a week ago. To sum, Houston rap not only added two radio stations in 2014, it saw a vast increase in radio play from some of…
Android Genius Plays With His Listeners on New EP
Listeners are Android Genius’s playthings. He toys with sensory experiences in the same manner mischievous scientists experiment with poor, unsuspecting rodents. Imagine a bright white, pink-eyed PetSmart-purchased mouse donning ear buds traveling in a circular maze. Hypothesis: the mouse will only make it to its destination if Android Genius permits…
Latest SXSW Artist Additions Include 16 Artists from Houston
South by Southwest is a tricky animal. Each year, thousands upon thousands of submissions are sent to the Austin festival promoters and a limited number from all across the globe are chosen to represent the “official” showcases. Sure, there are probably 10 times that many bands that play in and…
UPDATED HISD History Teacher Accused of Choking Student
(See update at the end of this post) The Houston Independent School District has accused a Jane Long Academy history teacher of choking a student in class, according to a statement the district sent out this afternoon. HISD began investigating Scott Christopher Matthews — who, according to the school’s website,…
UPDATED At Least Hitler Went to Paris, Tweets Friendswood Congressman in Strange Obama-Bash
See the end of this post for an update In today’s installment of “Shit Texas Congressmen Say,” we bring you a brain-wrinkling statement that involves German-occupied Paris, President Barack Obama and Adolf Hitler. Dutifully expressing his outrage that the Obama Administration sent no one more high profile than the U.S…
Rockets Keep Winning, but Tough Road Lies Ahead
At the beginning of this oddly scheduled six game stretch — five on the road with one game at home right in between two games in New York City…thanks NBA schedulers — it appeared the Rockets would have a chance to make some hay, as they say, with a rather…
Californication: Greg Abbott’s Right, We Are Becoming California…
Governor-elect Greg Abbott is not just a shrewd politician. Texas’ soon-to-be 48th governor evidently moonlights as a fortune teller, and he’s come to warn the Lone Star State of impending doom. Abbott’s message is not about the state’s nearly 6 million uninsured residents, the anti-science and anti-history mentality that’s seeped…
Texas Real Estate Developer Charged With Trying to Overthrow Gambian Government
A former Texas housing official has been charged in federal court with financing a coup in his native Gambia. Cherno Njie of Austin, who has also developed several senior living centers in Houston, was to become the west African nation’s interim president following the overthrow of President Yahyeh Jammeh, according…
Eat This: Oysters at Punk’s Simple Southern
Although my first visit to Punk’s Simple Southern proved mediocre, the restaurant seems to have gotten its act together. Somewhat. Despite the fact that we had made a reservation 72 hours in advance, no tables were available when we arrived; the manager then set up a table approximately three feet…
Girls, Season 4: Lena Dunham Doesn’t Let Hannah & Co. Grow Up
Among many other things, Girls has always been great satire, lampooning with scolding empathy the callowness, narcissism, and insufferableness of early-to-mid twentysomethings who are privileged enough to spend their post-grad years making mistake after mistake with no serious consequences. But the HBO dramedy’s fourth season, in which Hannah (Lena Dunham)…
The Houston Texans Should Draft Cardale Jones
The confetti has fallen, the trophy has been handed out, and I think it goes without saying that the first College Football Playoff, despite two of the three games being eventual blowouts of 20 points or more, has been a rousing success. The numbers are not in, but even on…
Main Kitchen Has Much to Recommend It, but the Devil Is in the Details
The guajillo short rib tacos at Main Kitchen in the JW Marriott hotel are lovely to gaze upon. Pale crumbs of cotija cheese barely hide under a generous sprinkle of delicate cilantro microgreens. Underneath, dark pink and purple hues of pickled onion slivers and cabbage shreds peek out. The prize…
5 Craziest Bills Already Filed With the Texas Legislature
The 84th biennial Texas Legislature convenes on Tuesday, and based on recent developments — namely the sweeping Republican victories in the midterms — this session is going to see one of the most conservative crews ever to sit down and legislate in Austin. But never fear, all is not lost…
Putting it Together by Main Street Theater Soars Even if the Plot’s a Bit Thin
In the second half of the 20th century, no one revived the Broadway musical with such verve and imagination as Stephen Sondheim. When the pre-eminent collaboration between Rodgers and Hammerstein ended with Hammerstein’s death after The Sound of Music, the fate of Broadway was up for grabs. It took only…
For Houstonians Who Thought This Past Weekend Was Cold: A 200-Car Pileup in the Snow (w/ VIDEO)
Perhaps you’re one of the many Houstonians who decided to stay in this past weekend because you didn’t want to “brave the cold weather.” I am putting those words in quotes because those are NOT my words. Those are YOUR words, and by “you” I mean the Houstonian who opens…
This Week in Food Events: Wine, Mezcal and Whiskey (but Not All at the Same Time)
Tuesday, January 13 Notable Napa Winemaker Comes To Vallone’s Robert Foley, previously named as “winemaker of the year” by Food & Wine magazine and called an “ultra-cult” vintner by The World of Fine Wine, is visiting Houston and his wines will be showcased at a special five-course dinner. Wines poured…
8th Annual Texas Teapot Tournament Commences in Style
“This ain’t your Grandma’s teapot.” With apologies to the grammar police, I highly recommend visiting 18 Hands Gallery to see ceramic creations that resemble space creatures, leopard-print boots, monkey heads or something straight out of Tim Burton’s brain. Entries from the Houston-based Clay Arts Museum and Educational Organization are on…
Upcoming: Bill Medley, Curtis McMurtry, Dangerous Toys, Hamell on Trial, Mickey Gilley, Reverend Horton Heat, etc.
7th Annual Houston Press Artopia: With New York City Queens, Purapharm, BLSHS, DJ Ceeplus Bad Knives, CHNNLZ., Sat., January 24, 8-11 p.m., $45 to $100. Winter Street Studios, 2101 Winter, Houston, 713-862-0082. Alan Haynes: Sat., January 31, 8 p.m., $5. The Big Easy Social and Pleasure Club, 5731 Kirby, Houston,…
6 Things to Do Around Houston on a Tight Budget
One of the awesome things about living in or around the great city of Houston is that there are always things going on for people looking for fun stuff to do with their spare time. Of course, a lot of activities can be expensive to indulge in, but fortunately, Houston…
Tim Miller Thinks He Knows Who Killed His Daughter, But Is He After the Right Monster?
Shortly after Tim Miller’s teenage daughter Laura went missing from her League City home in September 1984, he had a feeling he wasn’t really searching for Laura but for her body. Six months earlier, a dog had dug up a human skull in a pasture off Calder Road in League…
Chateau Owners From France Visit Houston for a Huge Wine-Tasting Event Featuring More than 60 Bordeaux Wines
If you’re a lover of old world wines, specifically Bordeaux wines from France, you’ll want to pay attention, because next week, on Tuesday, January 20, a delegation of more than 45 Bordeaux producers — many of them owners and winemakers — will be coming to Houston for an extravagant tasting…
Mikey and the Drags Come Roaring Out of the Garage
A couple of months ago at downtown’s Discovery Green, Mikey Drag sat behind a merchandise table near the big lawn. This was after his band, Mikey and the Drags, had played a blistering set of garage rock as part of a Thursday night concert series to listeners whose mode of…
Mac Sabbath Is McMetal for the Masses
I don’t know why, but novelty tribute bands melt my butter. It’s not enough for me that four guys learn reasonable facsimiles of the Townshend-Daltry songs to fumble through them at Concert Pub or Sherlock’s. No, I want them to do more, like dressing in New Orleans Saints gear, singing…
Periphery Preview New Double Album, Debut New Sound
For the last few years, Periphery have been virtual figureheads of the progressive and technical metal scenes, growing in popularity and notoriety over time. They practically invented the entire “djent” subgenre, but just as quickly as the sound has picked up steam, it seems they’ve jumped off the bandwagon. Instead,…
College Football Playoff Title Game: Predictions and Prop Bets
It’s been forecast that Monday’s College Football Playoff title game could be the most watched game in college football history. It most certainly will be the most wagered upon game in college football history. The hype and attention the game has received with little to no backlash for overload has…
Theatre Under the Stars Unveils New Logo and Takes On a New Mission
Deciding that after six years, its logo could use a little dusting off, Theatre Under the Stars commissioned a redesign which is unveiled today for the first time. Along with it, there will be a new website in the spring and perhaps most importantly, there are plans to mount a…
5 Reasons Thief Was My Favorite Game of 2014
When Square Enix dropped its reboot of the Thief franchise it was met by a pretty solid wall of “meh”, including from yours truly. As a reboot goes it wasn’t the near-perfect work that Tomb Raider had been for SE and mostly the game just felt like a slightly less…
The Craig Biggio Memory Tour Brings Us to Art Howe
Craig Biggio’s election to the Baseball Hall of Fame got me to thinking about Biggio’s early years in the majors, and the switch he made from catcher to second base. Art Howe was the Astros manager at this time, and he was the one tasked with implementing general manager Bill…
NASA Made the Coolest “Vintage” Exoplanet Posters Ever
After years of hunting with NASA’s Kepler spacecraft, researchers announced last week they’d discovered the most Earth-like other worlds yet. Of course, we have no way of getting to any of these other worlds with the current technology — though the Johnson Space Center work on a Star Trek-esque warp…
Best Mystical Votive Candles You’ll Find In Houston
You don’t have to be into Santeria to run into some Afro-Carribean spiritual products here in Houston. After all, while thousands in the city practice the religion — which, yes, can include sacrificing small animals like chickens or goats — this form of mysticism has caught on in a major…
Gil Scott-Heron’s Legacy May Not Be Televised…But It’s Written Down
Gil Scott-Heron: Pieces of a Man By Marcus Baram 320 pp. St. Martin’s Press $26.99 Like pretty much every other musical genre, rap and hip-hop have many musical “fathers,” with various groups and individuals claiming full (or partial) paternity. DJ Kool Herc, Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five, Melle Mel,…
J. Todd Allison’s “Conversations from the Satellites” Exhibit at G Gallery is Otherworldly
There is an argument that the qualities attributed to schizophrenia – the inability to filter out irrelevant information – may be beneficial for creativity, allowing the individual to see connections others may not notice. J. Todd Allison, drawing inspiration from his father’s struggle with this disease, has unleashed a futuristic,…
Dish of the Week: Pasta e Fagioli
From classic comfort foods to regional standouts and desserts, we’ll be sharing a new recipe with you each week. Find other dishes of the week here. This week, we’re keeping things warm and cozy with the classic Pasta e Fagioli. Literally meaning “pasta and beans”, pasta e fagioli is a…
Are You Finally Ready for New Ion Dissonance?
The genres of deathcore and grindcore have had a strange, mixed evolution. They have intertwined in odd ways, seemingly died, come back bigger than ever and now are dominating the metal scene. Newer deathcore bands like Chelsea Grin and Attila have been among the top-selling metal acts in the country…
3 Reasons They Need to Stop Trying to Bring Pac-Man Back
Last year Namco released Pac-Man and the Ghostly Adventures to tie-in with the new cartoon series my daughter has recently become annoyingly addicted to on Netflix. It’s just the latest attempt to dust off the legendary early gaming pioneer and repackage him for the current generation. Which they really need…
NFL Playoffs Divisional Round Weekend: 4 Winners, 4 Losers
After last week’s mostly sloppy four game display of football, you just knew this weekend’s four NFL playoff games had to deliver more. The teams were better, the stakes were higher, all four venues were bloodthirsty and raucous. It had to be better. And it was. Starting with a see…
8 Songs Inspired by Castlevania
There aren’t a lot of games that can hold up their musical legacy like Castlevania can. It’s easily in the top five of series that were able to produce memorable soundtracks. The fun thing is that as people who were kids playing the games have grown up they’ve taken those…
Sauce Twinz Blowing Up, But Don’t Call Them Rappers
There’s a large Christmas tree in the lobby of 24 Greenway Plaza. It seems artificial, adorned with numerous ornaments spanning from crown to base and faux gifts surrounding it. As colorful as it seems, it’s not truly festive, not on this frigid November day. To get into the lobby, first…
Miranda Lambert, Eric Church, Fall Out Boy, John Legend, Pitbull Head Up 2015 Rodeo Lineup
Eric Church, Miranda Lambert, Fall Out Boy, John Legend, Ariana Grande are among this year’s Houston Livestock Show & Rodeo entertainers, the rodeo announced moments ago on its Web site. Top country acts all familiar to rodeo fans include Blake Shelton, Luke Bryan, Tim McGraw, Dierks Bentley, The Band Perry…
The Fifth Circuit Oral Arguments Look Good for Gay Marriage
Those who have been hoping to see gay marriage recognized in the Lone Star State had a very good day in court on Friday. The U.S. Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals heard oral arguments on gay marriage cases from Texas, Louisiana and Mississippi, and the responses of the two judges…
Broadway at the Hobby Center Goes for the Tried and True in Its 2015-16 Season
In what for the most part appears to be a fans’ favorites kind of approach to musical theater, Broadway At The Hobby Center announced today that Pippin, Phantom of the Opera, The Sound of Music, Cabaret, Disney’s Beauty and the Beast and yes, wait for it…..Wicked will be among its…
Kenny “Trill” Era Is Over, QB Will Transfer From Texas A&M
The big question for Texas A&M’s football program heading into the 2014 season was “What would life be like after Johnny Manziel?” We all knew that A&M’s 20 wins the previous two seasons were largely a product of the individual greatness of the 2012 Heisman Trophy winner, so we wondered…
Anti-HERO Alarmists Argue to Keep Trial in Front of Jury
Forget about dirty old men throwing on dresses and trying to seduce women and children in restrooms throughout Houston. The coalition of conservatives trying to overturn the Equal Rights Ordinance say a Harris County District Court “should not be seduced” into letting a judge — and not a jury –…
Former HISD Teacher Who Called Muslims “the Evil of the World” Sues Quanell X for Defamation
So, former HISD elementary school teacher Angela Box spouted a lot of inflammatory shit during her appearances on the local right-wing cable-access show “Tommy’s Garage.” An apparent devotee of the Ted Nugent school of public discourse, Box saved some of her ugliest comments for — you guessed it — Muslims,…
Reviews for the Easily Distracted: Inherent Vice
Title: Inherent Vice Is That Anything Like “MIami Vice?” More pot, less cocaine. And it’s 1970, so the clothes aren’t quite so fabulous. Rating Using Random Objects Relevant To The Film: Four and a half chocolate-covered bananas out of five. Brief Plot Synopsis: Stoner private investigator investigates, gets stoned. Tagline:…
A Walk Through the Alley Theatre Halfway to Its Future
Thursday was a bone-chilling walk-through day for the Houston media as the Alley Theatre showed off its progress on the first extended renovation of its building since it was built in 1968. Turns out, when you renovate a building, at some point you turn off all or most of the…
Whose Black Truffle Dish Will Reign Supreme? 20 Houston Chefs Compete in the First Annual Truffle Chef of the Year Challenge
This coming Monday, there’s a one-of-a-kind event — the first ever in Houston — that you’re not going to want to miss. Titled the Truffle Chef of the Year Challenge, the friendly competition pits 20 of Houston’s best chefs against each other in a battle for the best dish featuring…
In All of the Craig Biggio Talk, Let’s Not Forget About Bill Wood
That moment for which Houston sports fans have been eagerly awaiting ever since Craig Biggio was thrown out trying to stretch his 3,000th hit into a double has finally arrived. A player from the Houston Astros is finally being inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame. Biggio, unlike Joe Morgan…
10 Not-So-Long Shots for the Rodeo’s 2015 Lineup
This Monday at 12:05 a.m., the Houston Livestock Show & Rodeo will announce its 2015 lineup, which it is rolling out alongside a switch to hopefully smoother ticketing system, axs.com. In just a couple of months’ time, this spark becomes the roaring bonfire of civic pride that is this 20-day…
NYGE’s Debut Album, 12, Has the Hooks
Nigel Bologna, better known by his handle NYGE, is dropping into the Houston music scene this week with a debut album appropriately titled 12 for the 12 tracks that make up its run time. For a first attempt, it’s definitely worth a listen, with a few strokes here and there…
Hotel Icon Threatens to Sue Guest Over Bad TripAdvisor Review
Part of managing a business’ image in the age of online comment boards and social media is having to navigate the virtual battlefield of the internets, dealing with trigger-happy trolls along with customer criticism around every corner. Amy’s Baking Company — an Arizona bistro that, a couple of years ago,…
The 5 Best Things to Eat or Drink This Weekend: Galveston Restaurant Week Begins
Food Truck Friday @ Houston Press Friday, 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. 2603 La Branch Our Food Truck Fridays continues with POCKet to me. The pita truck will be offering a craveworthy lunch — think falafel, hot sausage and fried shrimp pockets — outside of our offices from 11 a.m…
5 Hidden Shopping Gems in Almeda Road Corridor
Almeda Road isn’t just the street just west of Highway 288 running between Downtown and the Museum District. It is also a cultural and commercial center poised for revitalization. In fact, it is that centralized location near Downtown and the museums that makes Almeda an area to watch and people…
Feral Future Feasts on Fury at Mango’s
Sure, Austin has a roster of contemporary punk bands that have gained notoriety the last half-decade, from nitro-fueled Total Abuse to artful wranglers Coma in Algiers, but the skin of now-punk in the capital trembles with the likes of Feral Future, who keep one foot planted in the scavenged past…
[Video] Flying Without a Plane at iFly Indoor Skydiving
When it comes to superpowers, flying is right up there with invisibility when it comes to powers that most of us wish we have. While man has conquered mass flight, personal flight is another story. Sure, we have jetpacks and other devices that can make us fly, but pulling off…
Upcoming Events: Charitable Eats and Chili on the Strand
This month, Peli Peli kicked off its new charity-of-the-month program, where a set amount of each prix fixe brunch and dinner sold throughout that month will be donated to a select charity. This month’s charity is The Sunshine Kids Foundation, a Houston-based non-profit organization that is committed to providing positive…
AFC and NFC Title Game Best Bets
We are down to the final eight teams in the NFL playoffs. In a league that is quarterback-driven, generally speaking, this is the round where you need a minimum of a “plus-level” quarterback to get into the club. So if this weekend is “the club,” then next weekend is the…
Houston’s 10 Best Monday Night Bars & Clubs
AVANTGARDEN Come visit this converted turn-of-the-20th-century house in Montrose on Monday nights starting at 7pm for “They, Who Sound,” a weekly showcase where local and visiting musicians perform experimental sounds, noise, improvisational music, and pretty much whatever else they feel like. Nick Cooper’s jazz ensemble, Free Radicals, are back every…
The 5 Best Things You Can Do in Houston This Weekend: Diavolo, Hot Box Girls and More
Jacques Heim’s Diavolo dance company has an unusual tagline: “Architecture in Motion.” The phrase eloquently describes Heim’s fusion of industrial set pieces with concert dance. In town on Friday for a one-night stand courtesy of the Society for the Performing Arts, Diavolo has two dramatic works on the bill, Fluid…
Openings & Closings: Good-bye Dua; Hello Mala Sichuan!
The bad news: another Montrose eatery is closing. The good news: as with La Casa Del Caballo, it’s being replaced by another restaurant. Dua (1201 Westheimer) originally made a name for itself as Mo Mong, a classic Montrose hangout for Asian food and lowbrow cocktails. That was before the neighborhood…
UPDATED: There’s a Chance the U.S. Supreme Court Might Decide to Take on Gay Marriage Today
UPDATED 3:55 p.m. Friday: Those hoping the U.S. Supreme Court was going to finally make a move on gay marriage were heading for a letdown on Friday. The Supremes held their Friday conference but they didn’t issue any orders or grant review of any of the five pending cases regarding…
Carlos Santana Searches for the “Universal Tone” in Life and Music
The Universal Tone: Bringing My Story to Light By Carlos Santana with Ashley Kahn and Hal Miller 544 pp. Little, Brown $30 Legendary guitarist and Rock and Roll Hall of Famer Carlos Santana vividly remembers when he realized a particular power of the instrument in his hands. It was when…
10 Metal Shows to Get You Through the Bleak Midwinter
The temperature is dropping, the Texans are regrouping and the Trans-Siberian Orchestra has come and gone. It’s really winter now, folks. Not exactly the greatest time of the year for live music, since the weather keeps most of the biggest acts off the road. Takes most of the fun out…
The Five Best Concerts in Houston This Weekend: Ronnie Milsap, Mineral
Ronnie Milsap with Risa Alexander Dosey Doe 2014 Country Music Hall of Fame inductee Ronnie Milsap has sung so many hits, he could not only fill this weekend’s stand at Dosey Doe with No. 1 country singles alone, with no repeats from one night to the next, but add a…
Houston Bus Drivers Strand Kids on Coldest Day of the Year
While nearby Katy ISD has struggled unsuccessfully to attract enough bus drivers to handle its routes under its present schedule, Houston ISD had its own special set of problems Thursday morning when some aggrieved bus drivers there stayed home — stranding hundreds of students in the cold. As protests go,…
Texans Fire Offensive Line Coach Paul Dunn
In any line of business, including professional sports, hiring might be the most important skill in any layer of management. Surrounding oneself with capable people is key. As a first time head coach in the NFL, we knew that Bill O’Brien’s ability to assemble a staff would dictate a large…
More Katy ISD Students Might Have to Walk to School if the District Can’t Find More Bus Drivers
Being a bus driver can suck. Just ask the Baines Middle School driver who, fed up with some loud kids on her route, stopped her bus in traffic, gathered her things and walked off the job earlier this year. Plus, in Houston’s boom-town economy, there are still plenty of jobs…
American Horror Story: Freak Show: The Magic of Neil Patrick Harris
Right before the holidays American Horror Story unleashed not only one of the greatest episodes in the series’ history but simply put one of the best episodes in television history. Naomi Grossman’s story as Pepper the pinhead was a textbook example of what television can do that no other medium…
Clutch – Unapologetic Rock and Roll at the House of Blues
Clutch has been creating bluesy stoner rock and gathering fans for over two decades. Fans religiously know their lyrics and guitar riffs. There does not seem to be a half-hearted Clutch fan. This is the kind of band that brings old friends together when they roll into town for a…
My Name Is Asher Lev: When Talent and Faith Collide
The set up: No art form more succinctly captures the pressure-filled expectations a Jewish parent has for their child than the tongue in cheek Jewish Haiku. For example: Beyond Valium, the peace of knowing one’s child is an internist. While we can’t know for sure if American author, artist and…
Lawsuit Claims Houston Attorneys Threatened to Out Former Mob Boss Living in Witness Protection During Strip Club Deal
The saga of a Westheimer strip club and the former mob boss who used to run it has taken another strange turn. First, a little background: Lisa Hansegard bought the now-shuttered Baby Dolls strip club from the estate of Aris Mylonas, the father of her child, after Mylonas died in…
Rice Crew Coaches Want a Boathouse on the Bayou, So They’re Going to Row the Atlantic to Fundraise
It’s the day after Christmas, and David Alviar and Michael Matson are pissed. Matson and Alviar are coaches for the Rice University crew team. They’ve come on Dec. 26 to a part of Buffalo Bayou on Houston’s East Side to check on the team’s boats, and upon opening their storage…
Doctor Who: Dear BBC, Please Ignore the Big American Ratings
All the tallies are in and Pater Capaldi’s first season in the Tardis was a ratings success both in England and in the United States. Especially the United States, where “Deep Breath” was the highest-rated season premier yet, and last year’s “Day of the Doctor” shattered records. The American ratings…
MasterMinds 2014 Revisited: Apollo Chamber Players
As we come up on our MasterMind Awards 2015, part of the Houston Press Artopia bash, we take a minute to update you about last year’s winners. First up, the Apollo Chamber Players (Matthew Detrick and Anabel Ramirez on violin, Matthew Dudzik on cello and Whitney Bullock on viola.) The…
Siembra Azul: An Affordable Tequila Good Enough for Sipping
Last time I wrote, I was at the Pastry War, trying a special batch of Saint Arnold 20th Anniversary Ale that had been aged in a Siembra Azul tequila barrel. I’m more familiar with whiskey than tequila, so I wanted to get an idea of the flavors the tequila would…
Ranking the NFL’s Hard Knocks Candidates (Including the Houston Texans!)
There’s a scene in the movie Apollo 13, while the astronauts are floating treacherously in outer space, where their command module is rapidly filling up with carbon dioxide and if they don’t find a way to filter the noxious gas out of the command module, they will all die. So…
Best of Houston: Top 10 Houston Scream Queens
Houston produces plenty of great actors and actresses. We also produce a lot of horror movies and when the two meet, we end up with a gallery of wonderful thespians that can embody silver screen terror. Today we take a look at the scream queens that have graced our fair…
Chef Chat, Part 2: Arnaldo Richards of Picos
This past December, I found myself standing in line at the tortilla trailer in the parking lot of Arnaldo Richards’s Picos. It was about noon, there was a line and there were more people parking and getting out of their cars to join the throng. It was only a few…
Mineral Learns the Power of Un-Failing
Note: this article was written by Eric Grubbs of our sister paper, the Dallas Observer. Come Friday night, this might be your only chance to see Mineral play in Houston. Winding down a reunion tour that began last August, the Austin four-piece plays here and then Dallas, but after that,…
Texas Abortion Law Hit the Fifth Circuit (and the Fifth Hit Back)
The U.S. Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals heard oral arguments for House Bill 2, the controversial Texas abortion law, on Wednesday. Two of the three judges on the panel have already ruled in favor of the law. From that standpoint, the hearing went about as expected. Specifically, the Fifth heard…
Long Lost DVD Recovers Bob Marley’s Final Uprising
Bob Marley: Uprising Live! 115 mins. $24.98 1DVD/2CD $14.98 DVD Eagle Rock Entertainment By the time he and his band were filmed for this German concert on July 13, 1980 for the legendary “Rockpalast” TV show, Bob Marley was at the peak of his powers. The first “Third World Superstar”…
I Didn’t Mean to Say “I Love You.” Help!
Welcome to Ask Willie D, Rocks Off’s advice column where the Geto Boys MC answers reader questions about matters, in his own words, “funny, serious or unpredictable.” Something on your mind? Ask Willie D! I DIDN’T MEAN TO SAY I LOVE YOU Dear Willie D: This girl that I kick…
Their Name Was Treason Vox Jeremy Kilgores’s Top Five Desert Island Discs
Here on Rocks Off, we ask local heroes for their top five absolute desert island discs, the records that made them the musicians they are today. This week; Jeremy Kilgore, vocalist and guitar player for Their Name Was Treason. Nirvana, Nevermind The five albums that influenced me the most would…
My Name Is Asher Lev
Theater LaB Houston’s production of My Name Is Asher Lev, the theater adaptation of Chaim Potok’s poignant novel about a young Jewish painter in post-WWII Brooklyn, finds Lev torn between familial expectations, religious tenets and artistic aspirations. Winner of the Outer Critics Circle award in 2012 for Outstanding New Off-Broadway…
Best Thing in Taken 3: The Way Liam Neeson Says ‘Bagels’
All you need to know about Taken 3 is that Liam Neeson survives an explosive car crash — twice. Director Olivier Megaton even rewinds the second blast to show us how his hero escaped. It still doesn’t make sense. But who cares. The Taken franchise is rooted in implausibilities, specifically…
Don’t Talk to the Actors
Playwrights dream of making it big and getting their work on Broadway, but in Tom Dudzick’s semi-autobiographical Don’t Talk to the Actors, that dream turns into a nightmare. It’s the story of a playwright and his fiancée who are new to the theater world, where self-involved actors and actresses will…
Beer & Brass
“Every brass player loves beer,” Alecia Lawyer tells us. We don’t have any scientific proof of that, but we’re willing to take Lawyer, founder and artistic director of the River Oaks Chamber Orchestra, at her word. The group’s annual Beer & Brass event, held at Saint Arnold Brewing Company, will…
Diavolo – Architecture in Motion
Jacques Heim’s Diavolo dance company has an unusual tagline: “Architecture in Motion.” The phrase eloquently describes Heim’s fusion of industrial set pieces with concert dance. In town for a one-night stand courtesy of the Society for the Performing Arts, Diavolo has two dramatic works on the bill, Fluid Infinities and…
Popovich Comedy Pet Theater
Usually, when someone lets a dozen cats loose on a stage, it’s chaos. Usually. At the Popovich Comedy Pet Theater, it’s award-winning family entertainment. Gregory Popovich, a fifth-generation circus performer, leads the clowns, jugglers and acrobats who make up the human component of the troupe. The animal component is made…
Welcome to the Leighzahood
Houston-area playwright and actress Leighza Walker’s new show, Welcome to the Leighzahood, is a one-woman performance in which she hopes to share herself truthfully and honestly with the audience. Welcome to the Leighzahood is the third one-woman show in Walker’s recent series following her previous performances of Declaration of a…
The Hot Box Girls
Expect to sit onstage when the Hot Box Girls present the Houston premiere of their musical Crown Jewels. In town for a one-night two-show run, the group was founded by native Texan Rebecca Greenstein. Originally performing in operas and musical theater, Greenstein started the burlesque troupe after a stint in…
Flashdance The Musical
The 1983 movie Flashdance was a smash hit; the Broadway show Flashdance — the Musical brings the film’s exhilarating dancing and music score to the stage. Like the film, the stage production centers on Alex Owens, a young and beautiful woman who spends her days working as a welder in…
Big Screen Classics: Seven Samurai
Considered a landmark film, Akira Kurosawa’s Seven Samurai follows a group of warriors that have been hired to protect a village from ruthless bandits. Takashi Shimura, Isao Kimura and Yoshio Inaba star. Sun., Jan. 11, 6 p.m., 2015…
“Organized Love: Ideas on Non-violence”
The civil rights movement in Texas, particularly in Houston, was markedly different from the movement in the rest of the country. The city had its own civil rights leaders — Barbara Jordan, Mickey Leland and the Reverend Bill Lawson among them. There were, however, no landmark events — no March…
Martin Scorsese Presents Masterpieces of Polish Cinema: The Hourglass Sanatorium
Wojciech J. Has’s 1973 allegorical movie features Jan Nowicki as Joseph, a man that’s visiting his father in a sanitorium. Screens in Polish, Yiddish, Hebrew and Latin with English subtitles. Sun., Jan. 11, 4 p.m., 2015…
“Texas Abstract: Modern/Contemporary”
It’s a bit of a drive to see “Texas Abstract: Modern/Contemporary,” on display at the Galveston Arts Center, but it’s worth the trip. The exhibit is curated by Michael Paglia and Jim Edwards and based on their book of the same name. Paglia and Edwards hold that while historic Texas…
Martin Scorsese Presents Masterpieces of Polish Cinema: The Illumination
Krzysztof Zanussi’s 1972 coming of age story follows a physicist who thinks science has the answer to the meaning of life.Screened in Polish with English subtitles. Sun., Jan. 11, 6:30 p.m., 2015…
Big Screen Classics – Rear Window
Before she was the Princess of Monaco, Grace Kelly was a “Hitchcock blonde” (like a Bond girl, but in better movies). She stars in Hitchcock’s Rear Window,a whodunit played out in a claustrophobic backyard of an apartment complex. James Stewart plays Jeff, a photographer with a broken leg who passes…
Steve Tyrell
Steve Tyrell has 15 tracks on his upcoming CD, That Lovin’ Feeling, an unusually large number of tunes for a contemporary release. (The CD is made up of classic R&B songs from the early 1960s.) “I had wanted 16,” he tells us, laughing. “There are just so many great songs…
East & West Transcended
The Apollo Chamber Players, winners of a 2014 Houston Press Masterminds Award, present “East and West Transcended.” The concert showcases the French Impressionist movement and the reaction it sparked in Japanese music. “One of the ideas we wish to explore in this program is how composers from different countries —…
Bartee Halle: Murder Most Texan
According to lore, everything’s bigger in Texas. According to author and historian Bartee Haile, that includes murder and crime. Haile discusses and signs his new release, Murder Most Texan, today at Brazos Bookstore. The book covers 16 of the most gruesome, bewildering murders in the state’s history. There’s the Diamond…
The Elders of Country Music
The recent passing of 94-year-old Grand Ole Opry star Little Jimmy Dickens, along with the late 2014 death of the Cajun Cowboy, Jimmy C. Newman, gave us pause to consider the dwindling list of country music elders. Below are the oldest remaining nationally known country music performers. Dr. Ralph Stanley…
Real Latinas and Mexicans Up North
Dear Mexican, I’m in college and I’m taking a class called Latina Pop Culture. I thought it would be educational and informative about the rich Latino/a culture, and I was eager to learn. But the moment I entered the class, it was evident that I, as a white girl, would…
Ava DuVernay’s Urgent Selma Speaks to the Now
Describing Ava DuVernay’s quietly remarkable Selma to a friend, I caught myself referring to the Civil Rights Era as a historical event, a thing of the past, and then backtracked. The killing of Michael Brown, Eric Garner and Tamir Rice at the hands of police officers — not to mention the…
Paul Thomas Anderson Reclaims His Loose, Wiggy Side in Inherent Vice
Paul Thomas Anderson was making serious movies long before he started making “serious” movies, ponderous works of certified art like There Will Be Blood and The Master. His earliest pictures, like Hard Eight and Boogie Nights, and even the later Magnolia, were wily, imperfect, vibrating with life like yeast springing…
Capsule Art Reviews: January 8, 2015
The Lillie and Hugh Roy Cullen Sculpture Garden There is a hidden treasure tucked away next to a parking lot, a remarkable collection of majestic sculptures by internationally famed artists, on display behind attractive stone walls in an open-air park; it is the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston’s Lillie and…
