The 5 Best Restaurants in Tomball
There’s been an explosion in Tomball’s growth over the past few years. There have been infrastructure improvements, such such as the 249 Toll Road and the Grand Parkway expansion, new shopping centers and, of course, new restaurants. That means that these days there are many new dining choices, in addition…
Dish of the Week: Jamaican Jerk Chicken
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 sharing a spiced-up island-style recipe: Jamaican Jerk Chicken Derived from the term charqui—a Spanish word for jerked or dried meat, jerk…
DEFCON Dining: Recalibrating Expectations at Shri Balaji Bhavan
Dining out with children is an exercise in situational awareness. Each experience is unique, with different variables leading to different possible outcomes, DEFCON-like in their escalating threat levels. Keen observation, forward planning and prior experience are critical in determining the proper strategy. Here at DEFCON Dining, we do the grunt…
The 10 Best Pancakes in Houston
As evidenced by the name of my food blog, I take pancakes seriously. So let’s start with some expectations: for this list of the 10 best pancakes in Houston, I stuck to the traditional American definition of pancakes: fluffy, stove-cooked, sweet, and typically topped with syrup. No oven-puffed Dutch babies,…
Five Burning Questions As Houston Texans Training Camp Begins
The start of football season should be an exciting time. We’ve made it through an abject failure of an NBA season, navigated the hot, football-less summer months (with some help, admittedly, from the Astros), and arrived at training camp with so much change — GOOD, FUN CHANGE — with the…
Houston’s 5 Best Weekend Food Bets: Pair Wine & Cheese
Here’s a look at this weekend’s best culinary happenings: LÜNCH @ Oxheart Friday – Sunday, 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. 1302 Nance While Oxheart closes so the team can take a break, three of Houston’s culinary elite will be teaming up for a special LÜNCH pop up (running Friday, July…
Upcoming Houston Food Events: Double Down for Lobster Friday
Mark your calendars, because you don’t want to miss these deliciously fun culinary events: As part of a national effort to bring attention to traditional New York delicatessens, both locations of Kenny & Ziggy’s New York Delicatessen and Restaurant, 2327 Post Oak and at 5172 Buffalo Speedway, will be offering…
10 Times Blink-182 Showed Their Serious Side
Blink-182 broke into the mainstream via a music video that features its three members — all grown men, mind you — running naked through a city street. The trio offers up song titles like “Apple Shampoo” and “Dysentery Gary.” Hell, dudes are in their forties now, and even lyrics from…
Ellen Page Kidnaps an Infant in Tallulah, but She Means Well
Ellen Page’s complicated onscreen relationship with children continues in Tallulah, which reverses the Juno dynamic — this time her title character wants a kid who isn’t hers. Orange Is the New Black scribe Sian Heder makes her directorial debut with the sympathetic indie, a maternal character study that loses its…
Old Comedians Mistake Criticism for Censorship in Whiny Doc Can We Take a Joke?
Can We Take a Joke? is a surprisingly self-righteous and unfunny documentary in which shelf-dated comedians spend 74 minutes misinterpreting the First Amendment to mean that behaving like an asshole should have no social consequences. The film and all of its subjects — including Penn Jillette, Lisa Lampanelli, Jim Norton…
In Gleason, an NFL Hero Faces ALS and the Loss of His Body
With unflagging honesty and compassion, Clay Tweel’s documentary Gleason charts the journey of former New Orleans Saints safety Steve Gleason as he copes with the ruinous nerve disease ALS, or Lou Gehrig’s Disease. That description, however, can’t quite do justice to Tweel’s film, which is partly built around video journals…
Brady Corbet Comes of Age as a Director in The Childhood of a Leader
Brady Corbet has emerged as the face of millennial malaise on the strength of roles in films like Simon Killer, Clouds of Sils Maria and Melancholia, but what he really wants to do is direct — and direct he does in The Childhood of a Leader, his ambitious behind-the-camera debut…
Astros’ Jose Altuve Is on a Hall of Fame Path
Sometimes greatness comes in the unlikeliest of packages at the least likely time. When Jose Altuve was first called up to the big leagues, it was during the second half of the 2011 season, which was really the first full season of the teardown that would lead to a four-year…
The Melting Pot Has Hardly Changed a Bit Since the Early 2000s
The restaurant industry is notorious for its sfickle nature. A place closing in under a year isn’t all that surprising. A restaurant that survives longer than five years is. Still, Houston has its fair share of long-lived eateries. One such staple is The Melting Pot. When The Melting Pot first…
Beat the Heat With Houston’s Coolest Hotel Pools
When it’s this hot outside, we get to thinking about ways to cool down in Texas. Here’s our take on Houston’s coolest hotel pools, and you won’t believe the last one: it’s a showstopper. Hotel ZaZa, Houston Museum District Hotel ZaZa preserved the ooh la la when they purchased the…
On the Screen, Roth’s Indignation Only Fitfully Comes to Spiteful Life
Writer Keith Gessen once said that Philip Roth wasn’t a misogynist and didn’t hate women because he spent all his time “thinking about fucking them.” But he did concede that Roth probably thought “women were a foreign country.” In James Schamus’ debut feature Indignation, an adaptation of a late Roth…
Gunn Show: The Breaking Bad Star Is a Master of the Financial Universe in Equity
Anna Gunn actually gets to do things in Meera Menon’s expansive high-finance drama Equity, which is almost reason enough to recommend it right there. The Breaking Bad co-star tears into the role of a rainmaking banker taking a Silicon Valley company public. For once it’s Gunn whose character gets to…
The Bourne Walkathon: Matt Damon’s Amnesiac Spy Ambles Intently Through a Listless Sequel
A more appropriate title for Jason Bourne might be Walking: The Motion Picture. This fifth entry in the franchise loosely (very loosely) based on Robert Ludlum’s best-selling novels brings back director Paul Greengrass and star Matt Damon to continue the tale of the good soldier-turned-amnesiac-assassin-turned-rogue agent doing battle against his…
Allison Janney Talks Tallulah, Mom and Motherhood
Allison Janney is deflecting questions about herself to proclaim the talent and intelligence of her Tallulah co-star Ellen Page, whom she already step-mothered onscreen in 2007’s Juno, when she suddenly interrupts herself. “Oh my god,” she says. “I’ve been talking since six this morning. I’m bleary-eyed from all the conversations…
First Look at Steel City Pops
Back on the 13th (713 for life), I turned 34. It’s not a milestone year by any measure, and I’m not one for such frippery as “birthday months.” Still, my family wanted to celebrate. They insisted on marking the occasion with dessert, as is tradition, leaving the details up to…
The Houston Astros’ 10 Most Important Trades in Team History
Over the next four days, Astros general manager Jeff Luhnow will try to tweak the Astros’ roster as best he can in order to head into the pennant race with the optimal baseball machine. Certainly, minor league call ups like Alex Bregman help, as do random out-of-nowhere signings like Yulieski…
With Hey! Vina, You Can Swipe Right for Platonic Female Friends
As I stood in line for coffee on Saturday, five minutes into my first date with someone new, I suddenly had a sinking feeling. Rooting around in my purse, I realized I’d broken the most important rule of first dates: I had forgotten my wallet. But while being unable to…
A Shameless Night at Midtown’s Glitter Karaoke
A number of bars in and around Houston have karaoke nights, a bunch of drunks belting out “Don’t Stop Believing” or “Pour Some Sugar on Me” while half the crowd annoyingly tunes out and the other half drunkenly sings along. There’s nothing wrong with this; a bunch of barflies butchering…
The Weirdest Michael Jackson Diss Song You’ll Hear This Year
Sun Kil Moon’s Mark Kozelek is a divisive figure in the indie-rock community, and his latest effort surely isn’t going to do anything to remedy that. I’ve previously written here about Kozelek’s antics during his bizarre feud with the band the War on Drugs back in 2014. It seemed then…
Five Ways to Spot a Houston Music Fan
Houston music fans are a unique breed. We’ve been called every name in the proverbial fandom critique book, from flaky to enthusiastic and down right rude, it’s an undeniable fact that Houston fans are a rowdy bunch. And while being in a venue with several thousand crass, boorish, inebriated Houston…
The Seventh Fire Finds Reservation Life Almost Too Bleak to Bear
Jack Pettibone Riccobono’s The Seventh Fire opens on dark, grainy footage of a highway at dusk before cutting to an overhead shot of a long stretch of forest, and then to two Native American men in a canoe, harvesting worms from a quiet lake. They take the worms home, where…
Patricia Rosema’s Masterful Into the Forest Follows Life After the Power Goes Out
In Patricia Rozema’s quiet, sci-fi-lite thriller Into the Forest, the power goes out pretty quickly, but the film itself is electric. Nell (Ellen Page) studies for the SAT and chats with her boyfriend on a futuristic floating computer screen, while her sister Eva (Evan Rachel Wood) twists her body into…
Sharon Jones Won’t Let Cancer Stop the Funk
Barbara Kopple’s Miss Sharon Jones! tells the kind of true story that makes you want to kick creation itself square in the crotch. Here’s that firecracker soul singer, nearing her 60s, her boogie still majestic, her band still a tight retro marvel, her wail still the southern end of a northbound…
Online Teen Thriller Nerve Makes Little Sense but Still Zips Winningly Along
The ludicrous but amusing teen social-media thriller Nerve is committed to pinning its characters into a world we understand as ours. It opens with Skype, Spotify, Gmail and Chrome, all on the MacBook screen of a mousily beautiful teen, Vee (Emma Roberts), who you just know is one horrific adventure…
All Charges Dropped Against Anti-Abortion Activists Who Infiltrated Planned Parenthood
All charges have been dropped against the largely controversial anti-abortion activists who used fake IDs and lied about their intent in order to “investigate” the sale of fetal tissue at Planned Parenthood. Sandra Merritt and David Daleiden were charged with tampering with a government record, and Daleiden had also been…
Q. Guyton & Doughbeezy Take ‘Cold Summer’ to the Big Screen
There’s a scene in Cold Summer, the new short film written and directed by Q. Guyton, that isn’t necessarily as special as it is important. In fact, it’s the opening scene of the entire short film. Q is shirtless, punching on bamboo as a sendup of every stoic karate hero…
Day For Night Takes on a Much Different Look for Year 2
Here’s a question that seldom comes up in interviews: “Are you going to put a stage in the bomb shelter?” It did here. Day For Night, the fledgling wintertime event that tosses music and digital art into a big blender, using its surroundings and the audience to create an installation…
This Week in Houston Food Blogs: Find a New Chinatown Favorite
Looking for a new way to get your day started off right? Ellie Sharp, writing for Zagat, has a run-down of everything you need to know about Montrose’s hottest new breakfast joint, Snooze, which is located at 3217 Montrose. It’s open early seven days a week with an extensive, hearty…
Art Briles Doesn’t Deserve Another Shot at College Coaching
Since being ousted as the head football coach at Baylor in late May, a move that was first couched as a “suspension with intent to terminate,” which then became an official termination the following month with a multimillion-dollar settlement on his contract, Art Briles had been largely off the grid,…
Texas-born Kids of Undocumented Moms Will Finally Get Birth Certificates
After she gave birth to her second child in 2014, Katherine Johana Portillo brought seven different types of documents to the Vital Statistics office in McAllen, Texas, hoping it would be enough to obtain a birth certificate for her Texas-born daughter. Fleeing a violent husband, Portillo had crossed the Mexican…
The Maids : The Story of Violent Sadomasochists Who Killed Their Boss
In 1933, two sadomasochistic sisters who worked as maids in Le Mans, France murdered their employer and her daughter. French playwright Jean Genet’s play The Maids, which opened in 1947 is loosely based on the true story of Christine and Lea Papin and has been adapted a number of times. …
If You Go at Lunch, Crown Seafood Restaurant Can Be Spectacular
It’s pretty disconcerting when, straight out of the ballpark, a promising new restaurant underwhelms to the point that you are inclined to write it off completely based on a single visit. Doing so would be hasty — agreed — but such was the case when we tried Crown Seafood Restaurant,…
Dystopian Spaces and Societal Woes Inform HCP’s Juried Membership Exhibit
Liz Hickok plays with her food, but nothing as pedestrian as creating lava-flowing mountains out of mashed potatoes and gravy. In the past, the San Francisco-based multimedia artist would construct entire city scapes out of Jell-O, illuminate them from below, and then document the candy-colored fantasy worlds through photography and…
Nightmare Keeps Repeating for Girl in Texas Foster Care System
Less than 24 hours after state child welfare workers were warned of the risks of suddenly relocating a 16-year-old foster care child with severe medical and psychological problems to a new home, the girl was hospitalized, and her former caretakers fear for her health. The girl, who we’ll call Vanessa,…
First Look at Sub-Zero Ice Cream & Yogurt, Customizable Nitro-Spun Ice Cream in Sugar Land
It’s been a big year for ice cream in Houston. Class 502 debuted in March — the first spot to offer rolling ice cream in Houston. Lee’s Creamery debuted this past week at both Petite Sweets and Lee’s Chicken and Donuts, offering small-batch locavore ice cream made with grass-fed milk…
Upcoming: Andrew Bird, Beach Boys, Legendary Pink Dots, Rachael Yamagata, Supersuckers, Tech N9ne, Tory Lanez, etc.
Note: Events in bold reflect highly recommended shows. 30th Annual Watermelon Dance & Summer Social: With Steve Straker & the Trouble Makers, Charles Bryant, Jimmy Lee Deen Band, Chaz and the Plastik Flask, Atomic Nightingales, Tom Turner Band, Robin Kirby Band, Billy Parks, Locate, Hellina Bucket, Red Tiger, Zach Person,…
The Man Behind the Rockets’ Clutch the Bear Hangs Up His Sneakers
It promises to be a busy two weeks for Robert Boudwin. On Tuesday, he turns 42 and there is a decent chance his wife will give birth to twin daughters. But, most who know him as his more public persona were caught off guard this past week when he went…
Taco Palenque is the Best Mexican Fast-Food Spot You’ve Never Heard Of
There is comfort in consistency. While low prices certainly help, the reason that fast food restaurants dot the landscape from sea to shining sea in our country is because most people value consistency. Yes, they’ll get around to visiting somewhere fancy when a special occasion roles around and they’ll maybe…
In Defense of Book of Shadows: Blair Witch 2
If you’re a horror fan, you’ve probably already heard that the film, The Woods, actually turned out to be a surprise sequel to The Blair Witch Project thanks to an unexpected screening and announcement at San Diego Comic Con. Already the few critics who have seen it are gushing over…
Worthing High Was Renovated, and HISD Doesn’t Seem to Care How It Was Done
Part of a $30 million renovation, the new classroom building at Worthing High School, in Houston’s underprivileged Sunnyside neighborhood, is a shining, gleaming paean to progress. “The building is brighter,” the school’s principal, Duane Clark, told a group of school district and community representatives on a recent tour, according to…
The 10 Best Country Albums of 2016…So Far
Considering the past couple of years in country music, 2016 has already been a massive improvement. As the bro-fueled popularity of tailgate tunes winds down, what has come in its place has been a remarkable thing. With the arrival of artists like Margo Price, Chris Stapleton, and super producer Dave…
Paralyzed Juggalo Joe Mekan Feels the Love at His First Gathering
In the fading afternoon light, Joe Mekan sits near the entrance to Gathering of the Juggalos, smoking a Marlboro and watching his fellow Juggalos pour into the festival. He’s wearing a black tank top and black beanie; tattoos cover his arms, including a work-in-progress he’s doing himself, starting with a…
Houston’s 10 Best Bars For Brunch
To say Houston loves its brunch scene is an understatement. Every weekend, thousands from in and around the area venture out to any number of local joints in search of the best brunch in town. Many of these folks are in it strictly for the food; brunch is, after all,…
Carlos Beltran’s in Town, So Let’s Act Like Adults
The Astros start an important three-game series against the New York Yankees tonight. The Astros are incredibly hot, rapidly gaining ground on the first-place Rangers. The Yankees are fading, but are still on the periphery of the Wild Card race. There should also be lots of scouts in the stands…
Dish of the Week: Succotash
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 sharing a recipe perfect for summer: Succotash. Succotash is a dish that marries sweet corn and lima beans, often combined with…
Assessing the Impact of J.J. Watt’s Back Surgery
Texan fans woke up Friday morning to a harsh reality and a cold, new world — a world in which J.J. Watt is now viewed as possibly football-mortal, having undergone back surgery earlier in the week for a herniated disk. If you thought that watching Watt limp off the field,…
Pitbull Brings His Familiar High-Energy Set to The Woodlands
Pitbull, Prince Royce The Woodlands July 23, 2016 If there’s one thing I truly love in this world, it’s eating a good plate of tacos, from the warm earthiness of the tortilla to the juicy and flavorful meat filling, topped off with a spicy and perfectly complementary green salsa. There’s…
Texxxas Adult Expo Booted From Hilton, Will Move to New Venue [UPDATED]
The promoter of a the Texxxas adult entertainment expo says a Houston hotel reneged on a deal to hold the event there — after a sexual exploitation advocacy group raised concerns about what it says is an increase in sex crimes linked to such events. John Gray, the organizer of…
This Week in Houston Food Events: An Oxheart Pop-Up & Super Tuscan Wine Dinner
All Week Long Wine & Cheese Week at Pappas Bros. National Wine and Cheese Day is this week, but Pappas Bros. Steakhouse is celebrating all week long with unique cheese pairing offerings at both locations. The location at 5839 Westheimer is featuring Croation Paski Sir cheese with off dry German…
Big XII Texas Schools Express Support for University of Houston to Big XII
I don’t know that I can think of a business endeavor where there are more educated, “book-smart” intelligent people, that looks like the work of a bunch of high schoolers hepped up on caffeine pills than collegiate sports conference realignment and expansion. Consider for a moment that roughly a week…
The Third Annual Her Universe Fashion Show Showcased Legos and Disappearing Maps, Among Other Things
Now in its third year, The Her Universe Fashion Show, held at the Manchester Grand Hyatt during San Diego Comic-Con, brought people of all ages, colors and sizes to the runway to celebrate the fashionable potential of pop culture. Out of hundreds of entries, 27 would-be professional clothing designers were…
4 Reasons to Go Watch Stranger Things Right Now
Right now, many of my friends are obsessing over a new eight-part Netflix series named Stranger Things, and there’s a lot of chatter about it on Facebook. I rarely get excited about TV series, even really good ones, but I took a chance on Stranger Things, and became an instant…
Keep Cool at These Four Popular Asian Sweet Spots in Houston’s Chinatown
Located in the Dun Huang Plaza at Bellaire and the Sam Houston Tollway are four dessert joints that should be added to this summer’s stay-cool hit list. On the menu are the more traditional sweet treats like ice cream and gelato, but jump outside of the box and go for…
Protestors Demand Police Reform at Site of Alva Braziel Shooting in Houston
Two weeks ago to the day after Alva Braziel was shot to death by police, the Houston man was laid to rest. But many Houstonians still have questions about what happened the night that Braziel died – and on Saturday, hours after Braziel’s funeral, they made it clear that they…
Sadly, Steve Miller Band Was Underwhelming Saturday Night
Steve Miller Band Revention Music Center July 23, 2016 The Steve Miller Band took the stage around 9 p.m. on Saturday night at Revention Music Center, performing for a mostly older crowd, made up of a lot of couples; the younger people in attendance were majority female. The band predominantly…
The Best Things We Overheard at Gathering of the Juggalos
Note: Our friends at L.A. Weekly hung out at the 17th annual Gathering of the Juggalos in Legend Valley, Ohio, this weekend, and sent us this report. Whoop-whoop! Juggalos are hilarious. All weekend long, if you could hear them over the boom of fireworks and horrorcore rap, Gathering attendees were…
Are Non-Juggalos at the Gathering Allowed to Paint Their Faces?
Note: Our friends at L.A. Weekly hung out at the 17th annual Gathering of the Juggalos in Legend Valley, Ohio, this weekend, and sent us this report. Whoop-whoop! When I told my wife I wanted to go to Gathering of the Juggalos, she had one simple request: “You have to…
Shows of the Week: A Visit From One of Today’s Leading Ladies of Soul
JILL SCOTT Revention Music Center, July 27 By successfully updating the classic sounds of her native Philadelphia, Jill Scott stands as one of today’s leading ladies of soul. Sponsored early on by Roots drummer Ahmir “?uestlove” Thompson, Scott debuted with 2000’s Who Is Jill Scott? Words and Sounds Vol. 1,…
25 Things Every Houston Musician Should Know
Houston is truly blessed to have a music scene that enjoys an abundance of talent and an enthusiastic fan base. For such a big city, this seems like it should be obvious, but it’s really not — local musicians can struggle to be properly appreciated in a town that often…
Life Is Terrible. Go See a Dog Show.
Since 2016 lumbered into existence it seems like we’re trapped in a freakin’ nightmare. Artistic geniuses are falling like flies. We’ve seen some of the worst mass shootings of all time in a period of months. Fascism is somehow on the rise in a time when Captain America movies are…
10 Things You Can Buy From Random Strangers at Gathering of the Juggalos
Juggalos know how to hustle. At their annual Gathering, just about anything you could ever possibly need to have a good time, from drugs and booze to more, uh, creative fare, is available for purchase from wicked clowns advertising their wares via hand-lettered cardboard signs. Here’s a small sampling of…
Donald Trump Accepts the Republican Nomination With No Mention of Ted Cruz
When Donald Trump stepped onto the stage at the Republican National Convention on Thursday night and accepted the Republican nomination for president, it seemed certain that something interesting was about to happen. After all, the night before, on that very same stage in Cleveland, Ohio, Trump’s fiercest fellow presidential wanna-be,…
Houston’s 5 Best Weekend Food Bets: Get a Five-Course Crab Feast
Here’s a look at this weekend’s best culinary happenings: Ex-CRAB-Aganza Fridays @ Brennan’s of Houston Friday, 5:45 to 10 p.m. 3300 Smith Every Friday evening in July, chef Danny Trace and his team serve up a five-course, crab-centric tasting menu to showcase the crustaceans during peak season ($65, plus tax…
The NCAA Seeks to Bring Some Semblance of Order to the Chaotic Bowl Season
The Rice Owls defeated Fresno State in the 2014 Hawaii Bowl to go 8-5 on the season. Fresno State’s defeat dropped its record to 5-8. That same season saw 6-6 Texas face off against 6-6 Arkansas in the AdvoCare Texas Bowl in one of the most boring bowl games ever…
Reviews For The Easily Distracted: Star Trek Beyond
Title: Star Trek Beyond Describe This Movie In One Simpsons Quote: Raphael: Whoa, whoa! A fat, sarcastic, Star Trek fan! You must be a devil with the ladies. Rating Using Random Objects Relevant To The Film: Two-and-a-half bottles of Saurian brandy out of five. Brief Plot Synopsis: Maybe this “boldly go” philosophy wasn’t such a…
Pro Football Focus Position Group Rankings: How Do The Texans Stack Up?
The countdown is on—you can almost smell the football in the air. Minicamps are over, as are OTA’s, and soon (Monday, to be exact) rookies will report for training camp. A week later, the veterans will all report. There will be a slight adjustment for many of us who became…
Upcoming Houston Food Events: Get the Best of the Wurst This August
Mark your calendars, because you don’t want to miss these deliciously fun culinary events: Get the last taste of July’s Jerk Chicken and Punch at Eight Row Flint, 1039 Yale, on Tuesday, July 26. Starting at 5 p.m. until the eats sell out, Coltivare line cook Jacob Pate will be…
The Five Best Things to Do in Houston This Weekend: Bats, Black Lights and Spiders
Only in the Bayou City is it possible to celebrate bats, brews and spiders all in one weekend. There’s also a rainbow-colored theme going on, from the outrageous dog grooming competition at the Houston World Series of Dog Shows, to a black light run that seems more party than race, to the…
Suicide’s Alan Vega Left Behind a Template For a Riot
Alan Vega confronted rock music’s establishment by appealing to their own consciences. In turn, they greeted him and Martin Rev, the duo forever immortalized as Suicide, with bottles, boos and spit. No guitar, no bass, no drums. Two guys armed with first a Wurlitzer, and later a Farfisa organ with…
Openings & Closings in Houston: A Drive-Through Banh Mi Eatery Finally Opens
Oui Banh Mi, the new drive-through banh mi concept from Les Girvals Kahve and Oui Desserts owner Qui M. Ly, is open at 1601 Richmond after about two years in the making. The sandwich shop will feature a dessert case from Oui Desserts, as well as a walk-up window, and it…
In the Face of Police Violence, African-Americans Move Their Money to Houston’s Black-Owned Bank
Several black rappers opened up bank accounts on Tuesday at Unity National Bank in Houston’s Third Ward as part of an effort to support black-owned businesses in the wake of high-profile police violence against black men. The rappers aren’t alone – in fact, over the last few days, many African-Americans…
Five Houston Music Landmarks Out-of-Towners Should See
Let’s face it: for all its many virtues, Houston can be a lousy tourist town. The Ship Channel and the Med Center don’t quite scream “fun family vacation,” and the Galleria can burn through any visitor’s travel budget in a hurry. So when company comes a-calling, Houstonians are often left…
Premiere: MNYNMS’s ‘Rite of Passage’ EP Plumbs Poignant Electropop Depths
Electropop’s tent revival may have moved on to other mutated microgenres, but MNYNMS (pronounced Many Names) have not lost their faith. Their new EP, Rite of Passage, reaches deep into the core of personal experiences to create a poignant and atmospheric homage to electropop’s sweetness and light in four deceptively…
Friday Free For All: Texas Me, Alex Chilton, Carpool Karaoke, Sisters of Mercy, etc.
The Friday Free For All relays albums, artists, videos and vibes the Houston Press Music staff has been grooving to over the past week. “TEXAS ME” Anyone who works around music, especially in the media, is likely to wind up with a lot of stuff. Promotional swag, be they records,…
Alva Braziel Videos Released by Houston Police Only Show Aftermath of Shooting [UPDATE]
Mayor Sylvester Turner on Thursday made good on his promise to release videos of the July 9 fatal police shooting of Houston man Alva Braziel. At a midday news conference at City Hall, Turner said he hopes the videos will dispel rumors that Braziel was unarmed and had his arms…
I Think I’ve Been a Juggalo My Whole Life and Just Didn’t Know It
Have you every ghosted a subculture so completely that later, when you shine a light on it, you realize it was your tribe all along? Here in Thornville, Ohio, for the 17th Gathering of the Juggalos, where the wicked clowns are here to — and I’m quoting a Juggalo —…
Why Juggalos Are the New Ravers
Of all the ways I thought I would be describing my first Gathering of the Juggalos, “like my first rave” was not on the short list. But after less than 24 hours among the fans of Insane Clown Posse, that’s how I’m feeling. It’s like I’ve traveled back in time…
Getting Weird With the Weird Al Fans of Houston
Every fanbase is a little different, each full of their own quirks. From sports teams to politicians to music acts, when people find other people that are passionate about the same thing as they are magic happens, even if that magic seems a little weird from the outside. I’ve said…
The San Jacinto River Waste Pit Superfund Site Was Abandoned According to Plan
These days, everyone knows about the San Jacinto River Waste Pits Superfund Site. The toxic pits have been nestled in the ground for years now. But it’s easy to forget that this mess was deliberately created more than 40 years ago. Back in the 1960s, International Paper’s predecessor company, Champion…
This Year’s Houston Shakespeare Festival Concentrates on Battles Large and Small
She’s a young woman who never wants to get married and spends a lot of time verbally sparring with a male friend, until, of course, they recognize what everyone already knows. He’s a young man, known for a somewhat dissolute youth, suddenly thrust into the top job in his kingdom…
In Unprecedented Move, Mayor Turner to Release Alva Braziel Shooting Videos
In a bid to dispel what he called a false social media narrative spreading throughout Houston, Mayor Sylvester Turner on Wednesday pledged to release videos of the fatal shooting of Alva Braziel by city police on July 9. “Let me be very clear: At 12:38 a.m. on that Saturday morning,…
It’s About Time: Milo Yiannopoulos Permanently Banned from Twitter
Odds are, gentle reader, you’re either cheering like your team won the championship game, hammering out a comment calling me a beta cuck, or asking, “who the trump is Milo Yiannopoulos?” Let’s address the third group, first. Yiannopoulos is an English-born journalist who first rose to prominence as a controversial…
In Primetime Speech, Ted Cruz Snubs Trump and is Booed From RNC Stage
For a moment there it looked like Sen. Ted Cruz was going to pull it off. There he was onstage at the Republican National Convention at 8:30 p.m. Wednesday. After name-checking Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump exactly once, Cruz was working his way through a remarkable speech about freedom —…
Late-’90s Rock Was More Important Than It Gets Credit For
Everyone has a fad in their past, something they once supported but of which they’re no longer proud. This holds true for anything from pogs to Dane Cook to Pokémon Go (give it time; it’ll get there). For many, this is the case with late-’90s rock. It’s an era that,…
Katy Perry’s “Rise”: Why This Song Sucks
This is an argument for whether or not Katy Perry’s “Rise” sucks. The question of something sucking derives from a distaste, a general feeling of ill repute and something that creates undesirable feelings within you. A breakup, getting beat in your favorite game by far inferior competition, the 1986 New…
I Flirted With My Girl’s Mom. Help!
I’M IN TROUBLE WITH MY GIRL FOR FLIRTING WITH HER MOTHER Dear Willie D: My girl’s mother came to visit us the other day, and I complimented her on her beauty. I told her that she looked great, and could give any 20-year-old a run for their money (she is…
Federal Appeals Court Rules Against Texas Voter ID Law
The Texas voter ID law discriminates against minority Texans and violates the Voting Rights Act, a federal appeals court ruled Wednesday. The U.S. Fifth Court of Appeals decision affirmed three previous, lower court rulings which also ruled that the 2011 law does not comply with the Voting Rights Act, which…
Texas Central’s Houston-to-Dallas Bullet Train Line Is a Texas Regulatory Problem, Federal Regulator Says
Despite the best efforts of Texas Central Partners to get federal regulators involved in the project, the proposed Houston-to-Dallas bullet train line will be almost entirely a Texas issue. And that may work out just fine for Texas Central, the company we wrote about in last August’s cover story, “On…
White House Seeks Supreme Court Do-Over in Texas Immigration Case
Do-overs, as they should, conjure memories of childhood. The dog runs through your kickball game? Do-over. Ditto for flunking a science test. But in the stoic chambers of the Supreme Court? Not so much. Yet, a do-over is precisely what the federal Department of Justice is proposing for a crucial…
5 Reasons Gov. Greg Abbott Should Be Thrilled He Missed the Republican National Convention
Last week, Gov. Greg Abbott announced he would not be attending the Republican National Convention this week in Cleveland, Ohio, due to the second- and third-degree burns he sustained while on vacation with his family. Abbott got the burns from scalding hot water and has since received skin grafts and…
The Texas Lottery Needs to Step Up Its Spotify Game
Did you know the Texas Lottery has its own Spotify profile? Neither did I, until I wanted to listen to some old Love & Rockets albums last week and discovered that the Lottery is also a Spotify advertiser. That part at least makes sense. But the state agency has also…
This is What a Houston Pokemon Get-Together Is Like
There will, now and forever, be things that catch on that leave many of us scratching our heads. From pet rocks to planking, things enter the pop culture zeitgeist and for a moment in time you cannot escape them, even if you have no idea why this thing is suddenly…
The Full Something Wicked 2016 Lineup Is Here
It feels, in a way, only fitting that Something Wicked would end up dropping the full lineup to their dance extravaganza this year as the west side of the city was getting pummeled by a thunderstorm. Nine months ago the rains came and refused to stop, the result being a…
