Thirty-Five Years Later, A Real-Life Sugarland Express
Here, via Fox 26, is your entertaining police-chase video of the day.The station reports that HPD is investigating why it took forty patrol cars to apprehend this fiend. It was our town’s own little remake of The Sugarland Express.Check it out. This truck cruises not too quickly on I-45, followed…
Bayou Body Count: Don’t Mess With A Cop’s K-9
You don’t mess with a man’s dog. Especially if that man is a cop. At about 4:30 p.m. Friday, Houston police officer W.G. Smith made his way to an apartment complex at 7100 Renwick to check out a burglary that was supposedly going on. As Smith was heading up to…
Health Department Roundup: Chain Gang Edition
This week we round up chain restaurants cited for health code violations. First up: Houston’s own Café Express (1422 W. Gray). Who can resist its cornichon/roasted garlic/olive/crouton/caper bar? Amidst the overcooked chicken breasts and watery pasta entrées, the Café’s delicious oddments bar offers meal accompaniments better than the meals themselves…
Big Willie Style: The Red Headed Stranger at the Movies
=””> Honeysuckle Rose This weekend at the Woodlands comes one of the most prolific trios of artists to ever appear on the same bill. Bob Dylan, Willie Nelson and John Mellencamp converge on the Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion for what looks to be one of those landmark shows people brag…
It’s Not Every Day A PR Firm Offers An Interview With The Man Who has Threatened To Sue You
The Houston Press got a press release today regarding Cinergy Health, and the flack offered to put us in touch with the president, who was described as a “very smart entrepreneurial CEO.” And here’s why that’s funny: the Press just ran a cover story on Cinergy Health’s dubious marketing of “limited health…
Twitter Ticker: Updates from Solange, Chamillionaire, Young Mammals, Fat Tony, Joe Mathlete, etc.
Solange We watched our pals @JanelleMonae @ofmontreal_fans tear up the stage before…and after…all sang “my jamaican guy” like we had one. 2:08 AM Jul 27 there was also a 4 year old glow-stick rave going on with Julezie & some other kids with Gracey dancing with a mannequin as the…
Houston 101: Magnolia Gardens — Houston’s Rockin’ Little Riverside Beach
It may not look like much today, but back in the ’50s and ’60s, Magnolia Gardens was the place to be if you liked country music and rockabilly. The open-air dance hall/bandstand on the banks of the San Jacinto River was in a resort-like setting, with a restaurant or two…
Chocolate Éclairs and Careme
The chocolate éclairs at French Riviera Bakery on Chimney Rock are an expensive addiction at $3 a piece. My main purpose in going to the bakery is to purchase the large unsliced farmhouse loaf, which is our house bread. I inevitably also bring home two chocolate éclairs in a white…
Catfish Reef: The Rise of Swishahouse
[Note: this is the second in a series on the origins of Houston rap, to go along with this week’s feature on wayward star Mike Jones.] As a local hip-hop writer and radio host, Matt Sonzala (also a former Houston Press Music Listings Editor) did what he could to promote…
KBR Wins A Victory In One Of Its Iraq-Electrocution Suits
Sometimes it’s not enough to simply bring in billions from no-bid contracts from in Iraq; sometimes a company needs a hug.And that’s what KBR got from federal judges in Houston and Florida, the company announced late yesterday.Judges dismissed two lawsuits stemming from the electrocution death of a U.S. soldier in…
Stirred and Shaken: Hugo’s Malinche
Last week, I found myself sitting in my car angling the a/c vents so they would shoot down my shorts. What can I say, it’s effing hot. When it’s this blazing and you don’t have a pool, your outdoor options are few: (a) fill your trash can with ice and…
Houston Is Epicenter Of Big Medicare-Fraud Sweep
Houston is at the center of a big sweep against Medicare fraud announced today by the feds. A grand jury here issued indictments involving more than $16 million in fraud, and agents went out today and arrested 32 people in Houston, New York, Boston and Louisiana.Sayeth the feds: The Strike…
Artist of the Week: The Tontons
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. Each week when we write the Artist of…
The Fine-Dining Options At The Courthouse Have Gotten Slimmer
Tough times have hit the employees, the lawyers, the defendants and the hangers-on at the Harris County courthouse complex — the cafeterias have been shut down.On Monday, people strolled up to get their morning coffee and bagel and found only locked doors. On Tuesday there was a sign asking them…
Bouncin’ Back: Songs for Survivors
Last Wednesday evening’s positivity-ruining shootings at TSU’s “Trae Day” block party were a fine example of how ignorance and violence can crash even the most uplifting party, but also of something else: Sometimes we get lucky (or blessed, depending on your theological viewpoint). In three separate incidents involving gunfire and…
Catching Up With The Aeros’ Play-By-Play Guy
There are some strange ways to spend a honeymoon. Houston Aeros play-by-play voice Joe O’Donnell spent a part of his in Houston, interviewing for the Aeros job.Then he got out of the city just before Hurricane Ike hit, returning with a brand new job with the Aeros as Houston recovered…
A Cafe Bites Nibble
Rick Staley, one of the owners of the new Ricky’s Italian Ice (1413 S. Voss, 713-784-4885) along with his partner, Rick Hedreen, told Café Bites about the difference between a Philly-style Italian ice, a Slurpee® a snow cone and a raspa, which is the Hispanic equivalent. “Italian ice is where…
MP3 of the Day: Ghost Mountain
Rocks Off had heard a lot of great things about Ghost Mountain, but until the Buxton 7-inch release party, the Baytown-based electro duo’s merit had yet to be proven. When the two high-schoolers took the stage, we thought it was some kind of joke. No way could tracks like “Good…
Produce Company Sues HISD, Alleging Bid-Rigging
Who gets to provide HISD with this year’s supply of turnip greens, spinach and potatoes is at the heart of a lawsuit in Harris County District Court.Plaintiff Schoenmann Produce Company alleges that the school district engaged in bid-rigging when it awarded the year’s $3.75 million-dollar produce contract to rival Third…
Ra Sushi’s Second Location at City Centre
The just-opened Ra Sushi at Interstate 10 and Beltway 8 is a little tough to find. Even though the address is 800 W. Sam Houston (a better address might be 12860 Queensbury), it takes a certain amount of determination and a sharp eye to find the right turn at Queensbury on…
The Ike Baby Boom That Wasn’t
Whenever a city suffers a blackout for any extended period of time, you can be sure that journalists will trot out the old story about a “baby boom” happening nine months later.It’s definitely been enough time for any local Ike babies to get themselves out into the big ol’ world,…
Bayou Beat: JavaJazz and Meridian Merge
Rocks Off has learned that Northside all-ages coffeehouse and music venue JavaJazz has shut down and moved all its shows to the Meridian downtown, and that the two venues have merged into one operation. “All Javajazz shows have moved to Meridian,” says Javajazz’s Mike Kelly, who is taking over as…
Metro Still Has To Prove To The Feds It’s Not Screwing Low-Income Riders
The Federal Transit Administration released its final report on Metro’s compliance — and non-compliance — with federal civil rights laws, and according to the report, Metro is still deficient in two areas, including not being able to prove that its November 2008 fare increase or recent service eliminations did not…
Hmmmm….The Gallery Furniture Fire Arrest Seems Awfully Solid
All you Mattress Mack conspiracy-theorists who were speculating he might have had the big fire at his warehouse set himself can relax — a suspect has been arrested. Robert Gillham, 66, had been fired by Gallery Furniture and was pissed.Or can you relax? From the description given at an afternoon…
This Week In Beyonce: Did Kelly Clarkson Bite “Halo”?
(Listen to “Halo” here) Texas’ two biggest pop divas are currently embroiled in a feud only the media could love. It seems Kelly Clarkson’s latest single from her album All I Ever Wanted, “Already Gone,” sounds a lot like Beyonce’s recent Top 5 smash, “Halo.” Turns out there’s a good…
This Week’s No Reservations: Rust Belt
This week Anthony Bourdain headed to Baltimore, Buffalo and Detroit, or, as he called them, “fucked up cities I kinda love.” The episode was light on snark and heavy on pathos and snowscapes of abandoned structures. For some much-needed comic relief, Bourdain invited along his friend Zamir, the hard-drinking Russian…
Milo, Maine Gets More Federal Stimulus Cash For Cops Than Houston
We’ve been reading all day about how Houston got stiffed on the latest handout of federal stimulus money for cops and were kinda blase about it.Houston, after all, has gotten its fair share of Homeland Security cash because of the port and our target-rich refineries. Besides us, New York, Seattle…
MP3 of the Day: Umbrella Man
For the cultish followers of JFK Assassination lore, the “Umbrella Man” was a shadowy figure along the parade route in Dallas. The character’s story purports that he either was involved in the killing of President Kennedy by using his umbrella to signal the shooters to fire – or even stranger,…
Oil Industry Leaving Houston? It Could Happen, Some Analysts Say
A Houston without an oil industry? Why, that’s like Dallas without assholes.But it could happen, according to speakers at a panel here today. (The Houston part, not the Dallas part.)The RMI Oilfield Breakfast Forum featured dire warnings that Obama’s tax policies might encourage oil companies to locate in friendlier countries…
Ask a Rapper: Soulbrotha
The hip-hop world is a less than sensible place – lots of times, you’re even required to clarify when bad means bad and when bad means good – so once a week we’re going to get with a rapper and ask them to explain things. Have something you always wanted…
Obscure Wine Grapes: Carignan
You know about Rhone and Rioja reds, but you may not have heard of the grapes that many of these wines are made with, Carignan, Mourvedre and Grenache. These grapes are seldom seen on wine labels, but they are all pretty common in the Rhone region of France as well…
Distant Early Warning: Al Jarreau, Butthole Surfers, The Mars Volta, The Tragically Hip, etc.
Al Jarreau: Fri., Dec. 11. Arena Theatre. Ben Danaher: Wed., Sept. 30. Dosey Doe Coffee Company. Benjamin Wesley, Prairie Cadets: Sun., Aug. 16. The Mink. Black Crowes, Saving Abel: BEAUMONT., Sun., Oct. 18. Ford Park. Bone Thugs-N-Harmony: CHANGED Sun., Aug. 23. House of Blues. Brother Ali, BK-One, Evidence, Toki Wright:…
Hey Old Man, Show Me Some ID If You Want A Beer
So we got out to Minute Maid Park this weekend to watch the Mets kick the crap out of the Astros. We learned Hunter Pence is angling to wear the crown vacated by Jeff Bagwell for providing Least Useful Home Runs, with a shot to make it 10-3 in in…
Your One-Stop HPMA Showcase Link
Rocks Off is just about recovered from Sunday’s HPMA showcase mayhem, or as recovered as we’re going to get. Despite some bitching on Hands Up Houston – what else is new? – everybody we’ve talked to had as much of a blast as we did. But in case you missed…
Bayou Body Count: A Cold Case Solved
After 15 long years, Houston police detectives believe they’ve finally found their man. Michael Deshawn Winfrey, 36, has been charged with capital murder for allegedly shooting a man who was protecting his son at a pay phone at 6603 Fuqua on April 24, 1994.Police say Jeffrey Brown, 30, was driving…
Snackshot: Fresh Tomatoes at Froberg Farm
This week’s summery Snackshot comes to us courtesy of Erika Ray and Froberg Farm. From the photographer’s description: “My friend Jon and I visited Froberg Farm in Alvin last weekend to pick up some goodies. It was so much fun and such a great Saturday-morning activity. I hope this is…
Lonesome Onry and Mean: Joey Harris & the Mentals
From the first bars of ripping blaster “Little Boy,” Joey Harris and his Mentals explode like Elvis’s heart after a fried banana sandwich. The Mentals don’t even bother with a title for this one. It’s clear from the Rolling-Stones-in-a-barroom stomp of the opening track that the ethic and spirit of…
Move Over, Ron Paul: There’s A New Nut In The Texas Congressional Delegation
Be proud, Lufkin: Your Congressman is a nut.We’re not talking even Ron Paul nuttiness; U.S. Rep. Louie Gohmert has left even that far behind.Gohmert appeared on the Alex Jones radio show last week. That sentence should be enough to prove nuttiness; Jones (a native Texan! He’s appeared in Richard Linklater…
The Last Roundup: Decemberists, Giant Battle Monster, the Hates, Ghost Mountain, etc.
The Decemberists are coming! The Decemberists are coming! Aren’t people supposed to play golf and mow their lawn when they go into retirement? Giant Battle Monster finished recording over the weekend. The Hates are playing at Gallery M. Ghost Mountain: the latest to hit Joe Mathlete’s Living Room…
Five Things To Change About Baseball
Chron.com’s Anna-Megan Raley had a posting last week dealing with what five changes you would make to baseball were you to become the commissioner. Then she lists the changes that would be made by Roy Oswalt, and Oswalt provided a somewhat decent list: decrease interdivisional matchups, shorten spring training, dump…
Dim Sum Seafood Specials
It’s the seafood that makes the weekend dim sum service at Fung’s Kitchen special. Tender baby conch in curry, and succulent clams in black bean sauce were among the seafood delicacies available at the dim sum steam table this weekend. You have to get up from the table and walk…
Turning the Screw: Chamillionaire & Z-Ro, UGK, Slim Thug, Trae Day, Chris Brown, Meth & Red, Diddy, MCA, O.G. Style 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: Chamillionaire feat. Z-Ro, “Denzel Washington” Wire To Wire Slim Thugga cut off his braids. Not sure how we feel…
Allen Stanford Deserves A Better Jail Cell, Dammit
Allen Stanford, the alleged Ponzi-schemer who led a billionaire’s life allegedly on the alleged backs of allegedly bilked investors, doesn’t like his jail cell.It’s got no air-conditioning, it’s dark, it’s crowded. In other words, it’s a lot like Houston in the weeks after Ike. But we’re guessing Stanford didn’t stay…
Houston 101: A Convention Center Built In 64 Days
In 1928, Jesse Jones — grand poobah of Houston, Lord of Suite 8-F — was determined to bring national glory to his town by hosting the 1928 Democratic convention. Cleveland, San Francisco and Detroit also wanted the prize, but Jones took a $200,000 check to the bidding committee and got…
Our Milkshake Brings All the Blogs to the Yard
We’ve had many requests over the weeks since we first started our weekly Food Fight feature. Egg rolls, breakfast tacos, donuts, fried calamari (oddly specific, that one)… But the most resounding has been for milkshakes. Whether it’s the heat of the summer or the cool comfort found in its sweet, frosty…
Aftermath: Jonathan Tyler & the Northern Lights at Warehouse Live
Grace, class and maturity are not words typically used to describe rock stars. But somehow, they all define the music of Jonathan Tyler and the Northern Lights – a band of true musicians in an era of entertainers. Yes, there is a difference. At Sunday night’s intimate performance in Warehouse…
The Octomom Belongs In Jail
I am not kidding on this one. Nadya Suleman, the mother of five billion children, belongs in jail. Why? Because she recently signed a deal to have a reality show made about her life. Her moneymakers, including the world’s only surviving octuplets, will get paid about $250 a day.This woman…
HPMA Aftermath: Elaine Greer, Dixie Trahan, Mitch Jacobs, Small Sounds, Katie Stuckey and Los Skarnales
Elaine Greer played a nice set of harmless poppy folk songs at Red Cat, and it was quickly apparent she isn’t quite ready for HPMA – her guitar playing is extremely basic and she has occasional rhythm issues. It didn’t help that she played this set as a duo; drums…
Exoneration Of A Sort In One HFD Incident
The beleaguered Houston Fire Department got some support today from a vice-president of the local chapter of the NAACP, who said in a press conference that he accepted that a noose-like rope found in a station locker was not intended to be a racial symbol.Reverend D.Z. Cofield said he had…
The Meaning of Mojarra
After more than a week of fishing in Arkansas, I headed for Taqueria Jesus Maria as soon as I got back to town. I had Tex-Mex in mind, but I skipped the enchiladas when I saw the special on a whole fried mojarra. I love to eat the crispy fried…
HPMA Aftermath: MELOVINE, the Snake Charmers, LL Cooper, Peekaboo Theory and Buxton
It was hot as hell when the Houston Press music staff met up at the Flying Saucer ordering different shades of exotic beers and several different kinds of cheese. Bands were divided up between writers, and pretty much everyone got to go see the Tontons but us. Aftermath has never…
Metro V-P Charged With Sending Porn To A Kid
A Metro vice-president was arrested and charged with sending indecent images to an underage boy, Channel 2 has reported.William Murphy Madison, who deals with infrastructure for the agency, sent at least 10 pornographic images to a Missouri City kid. Unfortunately for Madison, but fortunately for the kid, the victim’s mom…
HPMA Aftermath: Dominique, Karina Nistal, Chango Man, the Mighty Orq and Sideshow Tramps
It’s hard for Aftermath to believe it’s been a year since the last Music Awards showcase. Thanks to the “old-person-friendly” in-stores at Cactus Music, we’ve been able to keep up with the scene better than usual in the past year, and can truthfully say that in the 19 years we’ve…
BARC Puppy Literally Washed Down The Drain
A stray puppy at BARC was placed in the wrong cage and washed down the drain last Thursday night, Health and Human Services Spokeswoman Kathy Barton confirmed today. She would not give the name or position of the person who placed the puppy in the cage, but said the person has…
Late Night Scene: Chez Beignet
At night, the glowing red signs in the oversized Chinatown parking lot where Chez Beignet (10623 Bellaire Blvd) sits have an ominous quality. But with vibrant yellow umbrellas over the patio tables and strands of miniature icicle lights surrounding the doorway, Chez Beignet exudes a warmth lacking in its neighbors…
HPMA Aftermath: Ozeal & the Eulypians, Nosaprise, Benjamin Wesley, Tha Fucking Transmissions, Kristine Mills, Peekaboo Theory, Versecity and Spain Colored Orange
Five hours is not a long time. It is if you’re driving from Houston to Texarkana or Uvalde, maybe. But when hopscotching all over downtown trying to take in as much of the Houston Press Music Awards showcase as you can until your feet and your ears cry uncle, those…
Longhorns Once Again Distinguish Themselves Nationally. For Partying
The Princeton Review’s newest edition of school rankings is out, and the state of Texas is well-represented. Whether some of the schools want to be represented so high in some of the lists is another matter.UT once again makes the Top 10 Party Schools list, coming in at seven. (As…
HPMA Aftermath: Peekaboo Theory, Sideshow Tramps and the Afterparty at Mosaic
With all the bright promise of this year’s HPMA showcase, it’s a damn shame that Aftermath could only make two sets. What we saw both depressed and encouraged us, in that I missed so much and in that there was so much to miss. Peekaboo Theory manages to thrill us…
In the Little Stalls Behind Canino’s: Ayocote Negro
Ayocote negro, or black runner beans, are one of many rare and unusual “heirloom beans” you can buy in the stalls behind Canino’s. They aren’t cheap — I paid something like $5 a pound. I also saw mayocoba beans, cranberry beans, and black and white vaquero beans there. But I…
Be Sure To Check Out Our Coverage Of The Houston Press Music Awards
Like everyone else with any sense of self-worth, you spent part of your weekend at the crazy circus known as the Houston Press Music Awards.Check out sister blog Rocks Off for constantly updated reviews and reports; click here for a collection of slideshows documenting the action…
HPMA Aftermath: Heptic Skeptic, Runaway Sun, the McKenzies, B L A C K I E, the Tontons and Spain Colored Orange
5:08 p.m.: About two weeks ago, vocalist Kammera Franklin broke her ankle. It has not stopped her hustle. Sunday, she sang for Heptic Skeptic, Umbrella Man and every single other band on the HPMA schedule. 5:27 p.m.: The Skeptics, who have always been a little more soulful than the average…
Nationwide Survey On Driving Habits Reveals Houstonians Lie To People Taking Nationwide Surverys On Driving Habits
TomTom is a company that makes one of those GPS gizmos for your car; they’ve just put out a survey assessing the driving habits in seven U.S. cities.One of them is Houston, although it’s not any Houston we’ve ever heard of or dealt with on the road.According to TomTom, Houston…
HPMA Aftermath: Born Liars, Ryan Scroggins and the Trenchtown Texans, B L A C K I E, Metavenge and Buxton
This member of Rocks Off has never felt so proud of his city, especially after last night’s Houston Press Music Awards showcase. He was wont to call it “his” city just a few years back, commuting back and forth into the Inner-Loop breach to review show after show from the…
KTRH Listeners Speak Out, Inanely
If you’ve been listening to Rush, Glenn Beck or Sean Hannity, you know that President Obama has called every single police officer in the nation “stupid,” and that he has absolutely no respect for them.It’s not because he’s black, it’s because….he’s not Republican?We’re not sure. Sometime it’s hard to follow.At…
HPMA Bombshell: Kim Is NOT Asli
During yesterday’s HPMA festivities, our resident Rocks Off Wonder Woman Kim Douglass was mistaken for the Tontons’ Asli Omar at least twice on the street. Here is definitive proof that they are two different people. Upon seeing this picture, both women looked at each other in a sort of weird…
Forno a Legna Pizza in Italy
Pizzerias in Rome are like Tex-Mex joints in Houston — they’re ubiquitous, they have basically the same menu, and, on average, they serve a pretty tasty meal. In Rome, there are basically two types of pizza — pizza rustica, which is a chewy/crunchy crust with a myriad of possible toppings…
HPMA Aftermath: Glenna Bell, Beetle, Fat Tony, Free Radicals and Plump
A good way to kick off the HPMAs is to see a musician who makes you daydream about cheese grits on a holiday, preferably one that takes place in wintertime. Or reminds you of riding a horse at sunrise alongside your best friend John Denver. Glenna Bell, you made it…
Aftermath: Judas Priest and Whitesnake at Verizon Wireless Theater
Rust never sleeps, and metal never ages. Not when it’s being worked over by Judas Priest’s hammer and tongs, anyway. Friday night at Verizon, the Birmingham blacksmiths smelted a sold-out, juiced-up, colors-sporting crowd – metal bands always have the best merch – with all of 1980’s British Steel and a…
St. Miguel Tejada, Patron Saint Of Lying
Apparently Fox Sports Houston did a documentary on Miguel Tejada which aired this weekend. I didn’t see it, but listening to Bill Brown and Jim Deshaies talk about Tejada and the documentary during the games with the New York Mets, I couldn’t help but reach the conclusion that Miguel Tejada…
HPMA Aftermath: That Just Happened
Stay tuned to Rocks Off all day for extensive coverage of Sunday night’s HPMA showcase (and a few other shows that rolled through town this weekend). For now, enjoy these pictures from B L A C K I E’s showcase at Dean’s. We think they sum up Sunday’s insanity rather…
Social Distortion: Surf’s Up, Go Catch the (Google) Wave
Remember how you once clamored to be one of the first to have a Gmail account, way, way back in the mid-2000s? Well, dust off your longboard, gremmy, ’cause the Google surf’s up once again, dude. Ever the splash-maker, Google announced this past week that on September 30th, they’ll invite…
Where Are We Eating?
Yes, those are pierogies. No, this isn’t Poland. Can you guess where in Houston we aquired these treats in this week’s Where Are We Eating? Leave your best guess in the comments section below…
Aftermath: Rod Stewart at Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion
Ageism has always pissed off Aftermath immensely. There’s something awfully arrogant and defeating about shamming older cats for still wanting to rock out, even if they are edging dangerously close to seventy years of age, as Rod Stewart is. No one begrudges B.B. King or Leonard Cohen for still shilling…
Texas Traveler: Lavenderfest
Long after the bluebonnets have shed their petals, another lilac flower blooms in the Hill Country of Texas. Lavenderfest, August 8 in Chappell Hill, is devoted to the 2,500-year-old herb that is used in everything from cooking to aromatherapy to fragrance production. The Chappell Hill Lavender Farm, about eight miles…
Inquiring Minds: Trae tha Truth on the Trae Day Shootings and More
As you no doubt have heard, this past Wednesday’s Trae Day, a celebratory day established last year by the city of Houston recognizing rapper Trae tha Truth’s work with at-risk youth, was sullied by post-festivities gunshots. Rocks Off was able to steal a few minutes out of Trae’s day Friday…
This Week In Deliciousness
Welcome back to the weekly round-up here at Eating Our Words, where we have gravy on tap. To start off with, Mike Giglio out-spent Robb Walsh $13 to $7, because Mike is a fancy man of top-shelf tastes. He seemed impressed by the food, ambience, and air conditioning at Fadi’s…
Big Weekend for the Tontons
This is a good time for local music. From a fan’s vantage point, albums have been dropping left and right. It’s hard to find artists willing to take the time to write a solid full-length album rather than have five great tracks and seven fillers. For local musicians, step your…
Rap Vixen And Houston Radio Host Tangle To The Death
Quick, who’s Karinne Steffans?You’re supposed to know that. At least, according to her you are.Steffans, massive internet research reveals, is a former model and moneymaker-shaker in videos who wrote a tell-all book about her high-flying life called Confessions of a Video Vixen. (Among the people she claimed to have had…
Last Call For Art: Circuses And Murderous Old Ladies
Who knew Houston was such a big circus town? Along with a couple of plays closing this weekend, a trio of circuses are folding their tents (so to speak). If you can only see one show this weekend, make it Rêver by Sol y Luna Dance Company. Speaking with us,…
Things to Do This Weekend If You’re (Almost) Broke: Showcase, People, Showcase
Jeez, is it Friday already? Seems to be, according to the calendar. Before Rocks Off runs down the rest of the weekend, we’re going to put in one last giant plug for Sunday’s Houston Press Music Awards showcase, with more than 50 of this year’s nominees spread out over 8…
Openings and Closings
It’s the Belgian invasion! The news that’s been making the rounds this week is that Catherine Duwez has become a permanent fixture at the Broken Spoke (1809 Washington Avenue). While the city waits for Jeannine’s Bistro to open, they can get their Belgian beer and mussels fix over at the Broken…
If The Unemployment Rate Is So High, Why Are Houston Companies Still Using Foreign Workers?
Unemployment in Texas has more than doubled since last year, causing one former oil-industry worker to ask: Why can companies continue to sponsor work visas for foreign workers?”It’s not like we’re talking about people picking fruit in fields,” Rick Everinghim, who designs refineries, along with petrochemical and nuclear plants, tells…
Friday Night Noise: B L A C K I E and Talk Normal
B L A C K I E, “Pink and White Ice Cream Trucks”: Noise-rap? Sure, why not? Acid-rap, electronic-rap, and rock-rap are all pretty well-established – if not equally, universally respected – so there’s no reason MCs shouldn’t be dropping magma-hot 16s into distortion vortexes and bottle-rocketing the results out…
Breaking Up Is Hard To Do When Your Girlfriend’s Wearing Brass Knuckles
No man really wants to hear “We have to talk” from his girlfriend, really. But he especially doesn’t want to hear it if that girlfriend is wearing brass knuckles.The website Fort Bend Now tells us of the case of one Natalee Stewart, 23, from Humble, who sensed somehow that things…
Inquiring Minds: Judas Priest’s Rob Halford
Tonight, Judas Priest, led by the inimitable metal god Rob Halford, hits the stage at Verizon Wireless Theate less than a year since the leathermen last graced Houston. They came to the shed out in the Woodlands last August, headlining the “Metal Masters” tour with Motorhead, Testament and Heaven &…
A Chat with John Sheely of Mockingbird Bistro Wine Bar
Since opening in 2002, Mockingbird Bistro Wine Bar (1985 Welch) has garnered props from The New York Times Magazine, Southwest Spirit Magazine, Bon Appetit and Esquire. Mockingbird’s French-bistro-inspired menu changes with the seasons to guarantee fresh flavors and also to allow for innovation in the kitchen. Eating Our Words caught…
Daniel Silva Talks About The Defector
Novelist Daniel Silva’s coming to Houston on Sunday to read from his latest thriller, The Defector. Fast-paced and intense, the book follows former Israeli operative Gabriel Allon, a frequent Silva character, as he searches for a Russian defector who’s gone missing. Silva spoke to Hair Balls about the thriller and…
Lonesome Onry and Mean: Grant Langston’s Plastic Honky-Tonk
California, we have a problem. It is much the same problem we encounter with the whole Texas music phenomenon championed endlessly by Best In Texas music magazine: calculated, paint-by-the-numbers music and writing. This was one of LOM’s chief criticisms of L.A. tonker David Serby’s latest effort, and the next case…
Breakfast Row on Westheimer
Personally, I am pretty fond of the under $3 breakfast specials at Houston taquerias like Jesus Maria on Spencer Highway or Kiko’s on Fulton. But when I have to entertain visiting grandparents at breakfast time, I head for the stretch of Westheimer just east of Beltway 8 near the Hilton…
A Cool, Calm Discussion Of Possible Racism In The Fire Department
You know what the Houston Fire Department racism mess needed? Some more stirring of the pot.Luckily, we have city councilwoman Jolanda Jones, who is a Sheila Jackson Lee in training when it comes to publicity, and Jeff Caynon, head of one of the local firefighters’ unions, who also knows how…
MP3 of the Day: thelastplaceyoulook
Damn, Houston. We even do massive indie modern rock like a boss. Recent Artist of the Week thelastplaceyoulook, buoyed by lead singer Justin Nava’s mammoth vocals, have been mainstays on the H-Town rock scene for the past five years. It’s chest-pumping heartfelt modern rock that outruns all the garbage that…
Astros Are Red-Hot…For Now
Is it actually possible? Is it actually possible that the Houston Astros could climb into first place of the NL Central this weekend? Can it really be that we’ll wake up on Monday morning and discover that the Astros will be in a position to actually start pulling away with…
He Said She Said: Songs for Getting It On, Part 2
[Ed. Note: Here’s Web Editor Katharine Shilcutt’s top 10 picks for baby-makin’ music. Now it’s the boys’ turn.] 1. Ryan Adams, “Come Pick Me Up”: This has to work, because it shows vulnerability and warmth. It tells her you are the kind of guy who will be the one to…
Obscure Wine Grapes: Forgiarin
According to the “Italian Flavor” website, Forgiarin is one of four native grapevines that have survived in the Northern Italian wine region of Friuli, thanks to the efforts of Emilio Bulfon. (Piculit Neri is one of the others.) I picked this one up along with several other Emilio Bulfon rare…
Houston 101: The Smallest Cemetary, Right Next To The Tire Store
Way out Long Point, at the corner of Pech Road in the heart of greater Spring Branch, there stands one of the most surreal sights in a city full of them: a tiny Old German cemetery tucked in the corner of a Bridgestone mechanic’s shop. For over 100 years, 80…
Aftermath: Jessica Lea Mayfield at Walter’s on Washington
After a long day of pretending to work hard and getting caught in multiple showers, there seemed like nothing better to do than seek shelter at a local watering hole and take pleasure in the coming weekend. Opening act M.A. Turner and R. Clint Colburn Cross brought back memories of…
Bayou Body Count: They’re Finding Dead Bodies Everywhere, Including The Jail
A 33-year-old man was driving southbound along the North Freeway near Patton when suddenly a hail-storm of bullets rained through his car. Police say the man drooped over into the passenger seat, losing control of his car as it smashed into a concrete barrier wall. The car then lost its…
Dear Social Media Swami: Hey, Facebook Friend, Who Are You Again?
Dear Social Media Swami, People try to contact me on Facebook, we become friends, yada yada. I assume that it’s just the “we went to the same college” thing and think nothing of it. Then they write me messages like we know/knew each other and I literally have no recollection…
A Chat with Emily Grymes of Fleming’s
Ah, the steakhouse: full of red meat, dark wood and, traditionally, men. So upon meeting Emily Grymes, the crackerjack barkeep at Fleming’s, we have to ask if she felt like a girl in a boys’ club. “In certain restaurants I’ve worked at, if you were a bartender, you were a…
He Said She Said: Songs for Getting It On
[Ed. Note: While we were off watching Night Ranger videos or something – which should tell you all you need to know about our own sex life at the moment – Rocks Off No. 2, Craig Hlavaty, and Web Editor Katharine Shilcutt started going back and forth about how men…
The Color Purple Comes Back To Finish Its Ike-Shortened Run
Last year, one of the casualties of Hurricane Ike was The Color Purple’s national-tour stopover in Houston. It was supposed to be here for a two-week run, but that was halved thanks to the post-storm conditions (no electricity). On August 18-23 the show will be back for a return engagement…
Aftermath: Tremoloco at Under the Volcano
Los Angeles roots band Tremoloco brought Doug Sahm-type Mexican soul to an enthusiastic audience Wednesday night at Under the Volcano. After warming up with a brand-new song called “Old Man,” the band sucked the eager crowd in with a stellar country version of Warren Zevon’s “Carmelita,” and it was all…
Chron’s Matt Stiles Lands On His Feet, Next To Texas Monthly’s Evan Smith
Matt Stiles, one of several high-profile Chronicle reporters who survived the spring job cuts only to quit the paper, has landed on his feet.The former City Hall and Austin-bureau reporter will be on the staff of the Texas Tribune, which describes itself as “a non-profit, nonpartisan public media organization whose…
Strange Liquid Falls From Sky; It Appears To Resemble The “Rain” Oldtimers Talk About
Downtown Houston is dark, lightning is striking (and occasionally killing our computers here at the Press) and the wind is blowing trees around.But that’s not the weirdest thing.There is some sort of liquid-y material that is dropping from the sky. As in, it is somehow escaping from clouds and falling…
Aftermath: Trae Day (Pre-Shooting) at TSU Stadium
[Note: These are the notes from Trae Day prior to that whole pesky “six people getting shot” thing. For more info on that, check out our reports here and here.] Aftermath and hip-hop blogger Rizoh from The Rap Up arrived nearly two hours after Trae Day was supposed to start,…
Food Fight: Battle Chicken Fried Steak
A contentious battle if there ever was one… Chicken fried steak (or CFS, for short) is up there in the great pantheon of Texas foods alongside cheese enchiladas, brisket and chili. But just because a food is inherently Texan doesn’t mean you can always find it done well in Houston, and…
Houston 101: An Earlier Time When Shots Rang Out At TSU
On May 17, 1967 racial tension and misinformation led to a riot on the Texas Southern University campus.At the time, Houston, like the rest of the country, was struggling with race relations. Herman Short was chief of police under Mayor Louie Welch; Short was especially disliked by Houston’s black community…
Cutout Bin: Oscar Zamora y Don Chema
As mentioned a few weeks ago in this blog, Cutout Bin has a special affinity for ventriloquist records. The whole idea of ventriloquism is a visual one… an illusion that the puppet is speaking. When you have an audio-only medium like a record, the odd result seems to be just…
Complain About BARC, Find Yourself Charged With A Crime
The Harris County District Attorney’s Office has charged a BARC volunteer for filing a false police report regarding animal abuse he said he heard while at the city’s animal control facility. Shelby Kibodeaux was charged July 1 with the class B misdemeanor, which carries a penalty of 180 days in jail and/or…
MP3 of the Day: Miss Leslie & Her Juke Jointers
It seems for every great female country singer, there’s a man who has invented a new way to break her heart, be it by leaving or simply not returning her desires. The latter is the case on Miss Leslie’s HPMA-nominated This song will make your heart ache. This is traditional…
Health Department Roundup: Westheimer Edition
Here’s this week’s roundup for restaurants on what is debatably Houston’s most iconic thoroughfare. A pre-opening inspection of the new Aloft (5415 Westheimer), a hotel for the techno-geek that looks like IKEA on steroids, turned up changes in the proposed layout of the kitchen work area not shown in revised…
The Onion, Under New Chinese Management, Analyzes Yao Ming
Ever since the shocking news came that The Onion had sold itself to a Chinese company that also sells fish by-products, we’ve been waiting for it. The Yao Ming story.Today it came. The entire world population confirmed Friday that Houston Rockets center Yao Ming is the greatest athlete in the…
Flashing Back to the Heyday of DJ Screw
Ed. Note: To go along with this week’s feature on Mike Jones, Mike Giglio takes a look at the origins of Houston rap’s once and future calling card, “screw music.” Wearing corn rows, a wife beater and green courdoroys, and holding a bottle of windex, Bird washes the glass doors…
From Spring To New York And Back To Stages
Casey Burden, one of the lead actors in The Andrews Brothers! now appearing at Stages, started working out extra hard to get ready for his role as one of the stagehands who slaps on a wig and takes over when the Andrews Sisters can’t make the USO show because of…
Slide Show: Trae Day at TSU Stadium
Once upon a time, before it was a shooting gallery, national news and the talk of Twitter, the first annual Trae Day celebration was just a rap concert and family festival. Bun B, Rick Ross, a newly shorn Slim Thug and Houston mayoral candidate Peter Brown all came out to…
Bayou Body Count: Another Round Of Self-Defense, Texas-Style
It’s the right of any Texan to defend himself in his own home with deadly force. That’s more than just an ethos, hell, the law says so. And this past week, according to Houston police, that right was put into action. On Tuesday at around 2 a.m. at 6024 Doulton,…
Jake’s Philly Tex-Mex
Cheez Whiz would be redundant on the fajita Philly at Jake’s Philly Steaks on Chimney Rock — the Philly-Tex-Mex sandwich comes with chile con queso. What’s the difference between Cheez Whiz and chile con queso? I asked the owner, Robert Ginn. “Cheez Whiz comes in a jar, Velveeta comes in…
The TSU Shootings in Twitterese: “Stay Classy, Houston”
Video by nosvideocrew Looks like things in the Trae Day shootings are about where they were last night. The Houston Police Department’s homicide unit is involved — although no one was killed — but letting TSU detectives handle the investigation. Hair Ball’s Shea Serrano spoke with an official at TSU…
The TSU Shootings in Twitterese: “Stay Classy, Houston”
Video by nosvideocrew Looks like things in the Trae Day shootings are about where they were last night. The Houston Police Department’s homicide unit is involved – although no one was killed – but letting TSU detectives handle the investigation. Rocks Off’s Shea Serrano spoke with an official at TSU…
A Lottery Winner And A County Judge Candidate Equals A Reprimand
Oopsie, Peggy Sue, you’ve got some ‘splaining to do. Brazoria County judge wannabe Peggy Sue Bittick, a family court attorney in Pearland, violated a Texas State Bar rule when she failed to return more than $7,000 to a client who had paid her in advance to represent him in a…
Texas Traveler: Luvianos in Kyle
On a recent tail-between-legs retreat from a rough weekend in Austin — sunburnt from a long float down the river, broke and dehydrated — the Texas Traveler wanted only two things: free water and cheap sustenance.Luvianos in Kyle had plenty of both. Water-filled bags hung around the comfortable patio, supposedly…
Aftermath: Coldplay at Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion
Coldplay carries with them almost every major defect available to make it possible for someone like Aftermath to hate them. Bandleader Chris Martin prances on the stage like a marionette detached from his strings for one, his gee-whiz smile notwithstanding. Just like the its music, the band’s audience is lily-white,…
Artania Isn’t Easy In Texas, Russian Troupe Finds Out
Artania, a Russian horse-show, has certainly had its ups and downs in Texas.Their first shows in April, at Sam Houston Race Park, ran into the kind of severe weather we have here every spring.Then, as we reported back in April, the trick-riding show, which got extravagant praise in Europe, opened…
The Texas Bowl Grows Up, Bit By Bit
Well, Houstonians, our bowl game has grown up. That’s right, the Texas Bowl is going big time and this year will be joining ESPN’s Capital One Bowl Week lineup. The game will be played on New Year’s Eve this year, and kick-off will be at 2:30 pm.Did I mention the…
Max’s Wine Dive’s Texas Haute Dog
The Texas Haute Dog is a signature dish at Max’s Wine Dive, where the American classics are given some of those gourmet touches we’re so fond of. Like Grandma always said, the secret is in the venison chili (or was it the onion strings?). The recipe, after the jump…
Inquiring Minds: Is Houston the New Austin?
But more importantly, do we want it to be? And, God help us, what if it already is? When Rocks Off polled a cross-section of Houston music insiders for his “dead-tree” column this week – thanks for the term, Jeremy at Space City Rock – he was forced to omit…
Oh My God, How Did I Not Know Gwyneth Paltrow Has A Stupid Website?
I am such a Johnny-come-lately to this party, I fear. But then again, perhaps it is for the best that I did not realize any sooner that Gwyneth Paltrow has what has to be the most self-indulgent, ridiculous website ever, and it’s named — for some reason — Goop (with…
Jo Koy
Comedian Jo Koy’s observational comedy hits close to home. His mother and son are frequent targets (we’ve noticed Koy’s smart enough to leave his wife out of most of his routines). His mom is a mild-mannered, soft-spoken Filipino woman who confounds him with her joy in humiliating him during Wii…
Behind-the-Scenes Tour of “Terra Cotta Warriors: Guardians of China’s First Emperor”
Master docents will give you insight into one of the country’s most touted exhibits during today’s Behind-the-Scenes Tour of “Terra Cotta Warriors: Guardians of China’s First Emperor.” Found in the necropolis of China’s first emperor, Qin Shi Huang, the warriors are life-size, exquisitely crafted terra cotta figures created more than…
Ascenseur pour l’échafaud (Elevator to the Gallows)
The French “new wave” loved the Hollywood crime movies of the ’40s, with their perennially wet streets, shadowy velvet cinematography, antiheroic leading men and amoral leading ladies. In 1957, Louis Malle, fresh from directing oceanographer Jacques Cousteau’s startling documentary Silent World, shook the water out of his ears and made…
Big River
Country music fans knew Roger Miller as the singer/songwriter behind “King of the Road.” Musical theater fans knew him as the talent behind the Tony Award-winning score to Big River. The show’s title refers to the Mississippi River, the escape route Huck Finn and his friend Jim, a runaway slave,…
Saturday Night Fever
According to Saturday Night Fever, New York in 1977 was a more innocent place, a place where enough hairspray and some fancy dance moves made you a king. The film features a young John Travolta as a hottie with a thick Brooklyn accent and a talent for dancing. Donna Pescow…
The Producers
Success comes in many forms. In The Producers, it comes along as the worst Broadway musical ever seen. When producer Max Bialystock and accountant Leo Bloom figure out they can make more money from a flop than a hit, they set out to mount the biggest flop they can. Everything…
Steve Hockensmith: The Crack in the Lens
Here’s a twist on Sherlock Holmes – Otto “Big Red” Amlingmeyer is a 19th-century Kansan cowboy who uses Holmesian methods to solve crime in the Wild West. You can learn about Big Red, a “cowboy/scribe/junior deducifier/character,” today when the Houston Public Library welcomes his creator, author Steve Hockensmith. The novelist…
Footloose
It might seem unimaginable to today’s teens – a city where dancing is illegal – but that’s the case in the musical Footloose, presented today by Playhouse 1960. A new kid in town, Ren, wants to shake things up (literally), but he faces a showdown with the local pastor, who…
Houston Center for Photography Family Day
Get some old-school knowledge at the Houston Center for Photography Family Day. The event will awaken your inner artist as you go back to the basics with the 19th-century art of cyanotypes. Using just sunlight and a few items from the local drugstore, everyone will create these famous blue-and-white X-ray…
Daniel Silva: The Defector
The adventure starts when Israeli operative Gabriel Allon receives a note from Grigori Bulganov, a Russian defector and former colleague. It reads: “If this is in your possession, Ivan has taken me.” Bulganov saved Allon’s life in a previous escapade. In return, the Russian dissident asked simply: “Promise me I…
El Franco Lee II: “Visual Harassment”
The son of a Houston County Commissioner and nephew of a Black Panther, El Franco Lee II has both politics and protest in his blood. This is apparent in the University of Houston- and Yale-trained artist’s small but powerful paintings, on display in “Visual Harassment,” in the Project Gallery at…
The Blue Planet Live!
Who lives in a pineapple under the sea? SpongeBob SquarePants, of course. But a lot of his aquatic neighbors have more traditional homes and ways of life, as chronicled in the popular BBC/Discovery documentary series The Blue Planet. George Fenton was hired to create original music for the series, which…
An Evening with Lamar Smith
Spend An Evening with Lamar Smith as he discusses his book There’s More to Life Than the Corner Office. The story of a young, ambitious investment banker and an older, wiser CEO who meet by chance, Corner Office reminds readers what’s important in life. (Here’s a hint: It has to…
“Miles and Miles of Texas: The Lone Star State Through the Eyes of Buck Schiwetz”
Get a rare look at the works of one of the most renowned Texas artists at the exhibit “Miles and Miles of Texas: The Lone Star State Through the Eyes of Buck Schiwetz.” Trained as an architect, he worked as an artist from the late 1920s to the early 1980s…
Yelp Eats
Attention, foodies — have dinner at some of Houston’s hottest restaurants for a mere $25 during Yelp Eats week. Now through Sunday, eateries such as Perry’s Steakhouse & Grille, Gravitas and Mia Bella Trattoria are offering special three-course Yelp menus for diners who ask for them when booking reservations. At…
Crush for Fun
Your feet will get purple, but that’s just part of the experience at today’s Crush for Fun, the Pleasant Hill Winery grape stomp. There’s not as much of a chance for stained appendages at the other Crush events, such as tours and wine tastings (kids can sip on grape juice…
Charlie Ferguson: “Street Impressions”
A cursory look at Charlie Ferguson’s photos, shot in countries ranging from India to Nepal to Brazil to Spain, might make you think that the Houston-born photographer leads a jet-setting, voyeuristic life. But closer inspection – and a peek at his personal story -reveals a studied intimacy as well as…
Dirty Dealings in Dixie
Get ready to boo and hiss each time the evil Carlton Creepstone takes the stage in the melodrama Dirty Dealings in Dixie. As the Civil War rages, Creepstone is chasing the young and innocent Charlotte O’Mara, who is hoping Bret Butler will come along and save her (apologies to Margaret…
The Tamarie Cooper Show
Be happy, Houston – our lady of the beautiful red hair has risen once again and she’s bigger (as in, very pregnant) and better than ever. That’s Tamarie Cooper, for those poor souls who’ve never seen one of the grande dame’s grand musicals. They always happen in the summer, and…
The PlayDate
Navigating the singles scene isn’t child’s play, but it will certainly seem like it at today’s PlayDate, where scoring takes on a whole new meaning. Instead of the usual cruise-or-lose atmosphere you find at most singles’ bars, PlayDate offers a more casual setting where the focus is on having fun…
Zulu Creative’s 3rd Birthday Celebration and TOMS Style Your Sole Shoe Designing Party
It’s an easy concept – at Zulu Creative’s 3rd Birthday Celebration and TOMS Style Your Sole Shoe Designing Party, you buy a pair of blank, white TOMS to decorate in any way you like. In exchange, TOMS donates a pair of shoes to a needy kid. You get some cool…
Noche Colombiana
Join the Institute of Hispanic Culture in Noche Colombiana, a celebration of Colombian independence (they’re creeping up on 200 years of freedom). Enjoy live music with Jorge Ahualli, traditional foods, dancing and more. 7 p.m. El Gaucho Cafe, 3820 South Gessner. For information, call 713-528-1492 or visit www.ihch.org. $25. Sat.,…
Not So Final Frontier
There are Star Trek fans, and then there are people who spend thousands of dollars and hours creating authentic-looking spin-off versions of the popular ’60s sci-fi series. Aurora Picture Show’s Not So Final Frontier involves the latter. “We were going for the original ’60s show – not The Next Generation,…
Carl LaBove
Comedian Carl LaBove’s life is inexorably linked to legendary comic Sam Kinison’s. As LaBove stepped off the stage from his first-ever performance, Kinison was the first to shake his hand and offer encouragement. (That’s a good story.) Kinison later fathered a child with La Bove’s wife, who hammered LaBove for…
“Oneself by Oneself”
At the age of 18, painter Stephanie Toppin moved to England and began chronicling her life one wooden panel at a time. Four years later, the Houston native is 64 panels deep into “Oneself by Oneself.” “It just started happening, and it’s become an obsession,” Toppin says of her abstract,…
Josh Sneed
Comedian Josh Sneed has a low-key style that seems innocuous but actually has quite a bite. On his ex-girlfriend: “She was noisy and bulimic. I was always telling her to keep it down.” On Bob the Builder’s lack of super powers: “My little cousin says, ‘I wanna be like Bob…
Deadgirl
What would you do if you and your slacker high school friend (Shiloh Fernandez from Gossip Girl and Noah Segan from Cabin Fever 2) discovered an apparently dead girl, naked and tied to a rusted gurney in the farthest, dankest parts of a long-ago abandoned mental institution? Would you go…
Outlaw Prophet
The audience is split on Outlaw Prophet, the low-budget brainchild of writer/director/star David Heavener. The film is either a fresh, original look at evangelical Christianity, wrapped up in an homage to B-movie science fiction, or it’s a scrambled mess devoid of plot or meaning. You can decide for yourself today…
How to Look at Contemporary Art, Part 1
Can’t tell the difference between a Picasso and a pork chop? Maybe you’ve tried to get into today’s art scene, but you can’t tell what anything means (it’s got to mean something, right?). Fear no more: The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston has put together a crack team of experts…
Dillinger Is Dead
Death and dying abound in Marco Ferreri’s Dillinger Is Dead. Considered a masterpiece of Italian art-house cinema, Dillinger stars Michel Piccoli as a disenfranchised man who finds a gun tucked away in a kitchen cabinet. (The gun is wrapped in a newspaper that has a headline announcing the death of…
(A Few) More Details in the TSU Trae Day Shootings
Slowly, sketchily, we are finding out more about what happened surrounding the shootings at the conclusion of TSU’s Trae Day concert and festival that sent several people to the hospital Wednesday evening. Happily, from what we have been able to piece together so far, no one seems to have been…
The TSU Trae Day Shootings: A Near-Eyewitness Account
Rocks Off just got off the phone with our man Shea Serrano, reporting from the Trae Day afterparty at Galleria-area nightclub the Roxy. He found an eyewitness – or at least someone who was close enough to the action Wednesday to have the living shit scared out of him -…
Sahm Does Sahm
It doesn’t seem like a decade since Doug Sahm left us. The Westside San Antonio native and musical/literal Texas Tornado was the State Musician of Texas long before the Legislature ever created such a position. Sir Doug, felled by a heart attack in November 1999, has remained with us because…
The Tontons
It’s only a matter of time before everyone in Houston will have an “I knew them when” story about the Tontons. Now that the local indie-rock quartet is releasing its first full-length CD, The Tontons, the clock is ticking. The term “breakout potential” gets thrown around all too easily —…
Papermoons
We live in a time when the music scene is missing out on diversity. Although many unsigned artists out there are talented, they lack that ability to stand out from their competition. Former Houston duo Papermoons has all the components to be exactly the same as the rest — acoustic…
Loaves and Fishes
There was a fried mojarra on display on the front counter as we walked in the door of Taquería Jesus Maria on Spencer Highway. One look at the big fish changed my mind about what to order for dinner. I was eager to eat some Tex-Mex after being out of…
Zaika Indo-Pak Restaurant
“Zaika means ‘taste’ in Hindi and Urdu,” says Rahim Karowadia, one of the partners in the new Zaika Indo-Pak Restaurant (16556 Southwest Fwy., 281-313-0123), located where Shiva used to be. The restaurant is serving both Indian and Pakistani cuisine, and the chef is Pakistani, with more than 25 years’ experience in…
Capsule Art Reviews: “Carlos Cruz-Diez: Crosswalk,” “Carlos Runcie-Tanaka: Fragmento,” “Perspectives 166: Torsten Slama,” “Toil and Trouble”
“Carlos Cruz-Diez: Crosswalk” You only have to drive past the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston to see some of the hippest public art in Houston. The 86-year-old Carlos Cruz-Diez, a pioneer of optically kinetic art, has created an amazing street installation for the MFAH’s crosswalks along Bissonnet/Binz Street. Cruz-Diez’s vibrant…
Indian quesadillas at Red Lion Pub
What better place to get Indian fusion food than at a good old British pub? Rumor has it that the baked tandoori chicken quesadillas ($13) at the Red Lion Pub (2316 S. Shepherd, 713-782-3030) are about to be featured on an upcoming episode of the Food Network’s Diners, Drive-ins and…
WASHINGTON AVE. DRINKERY’S WAD SHOOTER
If I may, let me try to describe the scene I witnessed when I walked into the Washington Ave. Drinkery (4115 Washington Ave., 713-426-3617) on a recent Friday night: A girl was doing some sort of rodeo cowboy move on the dance floor; there was double P.D.A. happening at the…
Back to the Dead
Richard Ramirez isn’t just a member of Houston’s Black Leather Jesus — he is, with Jovan Hernandez, the co-founder of the not-quite-annual Dead Audio Music Festival. The event celebrating experimental and noise music will be held for the third time, and first since December 2002, this weekend at Super Happy…
Fur Sure
According to FreeDictionary.com, a mink is a furry, weasel-like creature. Strangely enough, except for a couple of guys in tiny vests and big sunglasses scurrying about, Midtown scenester hangout The Mink (3718 Main) seems to be entirely weasel-free. Its name still seems to fit, though, evenif nobody seems to understand exactly…
Mike Jones! Who?
They say that Mike Jones fell off, but I’m so on in my city — Mike Jones in “Swagger Right,” from The Voice The parking lady at the Arena Theatre is hating on Mike Jones. “I don’t like that hip-hop, now,” she says. “Especially when it don’t make no sense.”…
Capsule Stage Reviews: Best Little Whorehouse in Texas, The Phantom of the Opera, Ps and Qs: the ABCs of Manners, Sherlock Holmes and the Crucifer of Blood
Best Little Whorehouse in Texas If Country Playhouse listens to its audience, the theater will cancel the rest of the season and play this 1978 musical nonstop. There’s real appreciative whoopin’ and hollerin’ goin’ on. A recent packed house didn’t want to leave. This Tony Award-winning musical, created by an…
Jessica Lea Mayfield, Castanets
There’s an arid, sweltering ache about Jessica Lea Mayfield’s music that recalls Will Oldham’s early material. Darkness creeps from the corners and desperation pools beneath her leaking heart, but she doesn’t shrink from it. Her smoky croon has a rich grain she doesn’t mind going against, while roots-rock warmth spreads…
Set to Explode
Kathryn Bigelow’s Iraq War drama The Hurt Locker is a full-throttle body shock of a movie. It gets inside you like a virus, puts your nerves in a blender and twists your guts into a Gordian knot. Set during the last month in the year-long rotation of a three-man U.S…
The Secret Handshake
The Secret Handshake is that band that played at the venue two blocks from your house. The one that got to be rock stars for only one Saturday night, then on Monday turned back into frogs waiting for social dissection come Biology class. Releasing three full-length albums, Antarctica, One Full…
Love Hurts
On the surface, (500) Days of Summer really is no different from, oh, let’s say The Proposal, in which Ryan Reynolds and Sandra Bullock spun box-office gold from romantic comedy’s refrigerator fuzz. Former music-video maker Marc Webb’s feature debut is as conventional as any made-for-cable rom-com, down to its soft-indie-rock…
The English Beat
2-tone deserved better. Otherwise known as the second wave of ska — the first being the reggae-tinged ’60s Jamaican scene that produced the Wailers, the third the rock-tinged form that ruled the mid-’90s — this late-’70s strain originated from an English label whose roster included the Specials, Madness and Bad…
Ron Paul and KBR Struggle with Female Staffers, in their Own Special Ways
Political Animals Ron Paul Aide Too Sexy for the Net Press secretary on the hunt for fun By Steve Olafson Question: How sexy are Ron Paul-style Republicans? We intended to post a YouTube video that might have addressed the above question, but before we did so, we decided to place…
Readers push back against George Bush’s library and Cesar Chavez’s exclusion.
Pushed Out Hello! Hello! Last time I checked, SMU was located in Dallas — spelled D-A-L-L-A-S — not Houston — spelled H-O-U-S-T- O-N [“Getting Schooled,” by Matt Pulle, July 2]. Bush has been out of office for more than five months, and your liberal rag just can’t stop the bashing…
Sotomayor and cojones vs huevos
Dear Mexican, The mainstream media is making big noise of Sonia Sotomayor likely being the first Latina Supreme Court justice, and that all Latinos should be proud. But Puerto Rican ain’t Mexican! The Supreme Court won’t have a shade of brown until a Mexican is among Roberts and Scalia. What…
Men of Steel
Judas Priest’s classic album British Steel turns 30 years old this year. To celebrate, the legendary metal gods are touring the world playing the LP in its entirety — to crowds where many may not have even been born when it first hit the shelves back in 1980. In fact,…
52 Pick-Up
Scattered between Bayou Place, lower Main Street and the Toyota Center district, you could say Sunday’s Houston Press Music Awards showcase is as big as downtown Houston itself. Your feet will be thanking the god of your choice for the free rides between venues provided by SuperShuttle; ours already are…
Progress Report
Pardon us while we get all Bill Cosby for a second. Ya seeeee, the Houston Press Music Awards showcase is this Sundayyyy — 52 nominees (including four DJs) spread over nine downtown venues and 11 stages for ten bucks. Musically speaking, for our money, there’s not a better (or a…
