“Circa 1900: Decorative Arts at the Turn of the Century”
Sure, there was no air-conditioning and horses were still the primary means of transport, but walking among the elegant vases and the refined period furniture on display at the Museum of Fine Arts’ “Circa 1900: Decorative Arts at the Turn of the Century,” one could be forgiven for wishing for…
I Do! I Do!
Love and marriage go together sweetly in Tom Jones and Harvey Schmidt’s much adored I Do! I Do! The story covers 50 years of marriage between Agnes and Michael Snow, through the yummy years of young love, the hair-pulling and hand-wringing of parenthood, and, of course, the wildness of an affair. Later…
Yankee Tavern
Steven Dietz’s mystery Yankee Tavern features a quartet of offbeat characters. There’s Adam, the bar owner; Janet, his pretty-as-a-picture fiancée; Ray, a regular at the bar who sees conspiracies around every corner; and Palmer, a mysterious stranger who seems to be a conman, a spy or a kook. The one…
An Inspector Calls
The script for An Inspector Calls might date back to the mid-century, but workers’ rights continue to be a hot topic. The story focuses on a young woman from a shoulder-to-the-grindstone industrial town. Before the stage lights come up, she’s killed herself in an especially awful way, and Inspector Goole…
The Rebecca Black Video (Bad Lip Reading, “Gang Fight” Edition)
Seemingly everyone with a forum to express an opinion has managed to come up with an angle on Rebecca Black, the 13-year-old viral sensation (as long as “sensation” is measured by “eyeballs viewed” and not “ability to carry a tune”) whose hit single “Friday” (and by “single” I mean her…
Comment of the Day
Here at Eating Our Words, we try to preach safety at all times. But we have to admit, we admire commenter Dwdickersonjr, who wrote in responding to Joanna O’Leary’s piece on eating and driving: I have been eating while driving most of my life, usually due to time constraints. Long…
Marco Wiles Divorces the Woodlands: Dolce Vita Closed
Last month, Marco Wiles told me over lunch how frustrated he had become with clientele at his satellite Dolce Vita location in the Woodlands at 1701 Lake Robbins Drive. Customers were coming in and leaving as soon as they saw that Wiles didn’t have Bud Light on draft. They were…
TV Party: Road Rage in Houston
Driving in Houston sucks, and even more so when it’s rush hour, when everyone seemingly takes their brains out of their heads and puts them in their glove compartment box. That’s why on my “Between the Lines” segment on CW 39’s Newsfix, I took a drive during the height of…
New Film Is a Feast for H.P. Lovecraft Fans
It’s a dark time for the followers of Cthulhu. Granted, that’s sort of the point of being a follower of Cthulhu, but there’s a specific gripe this time (instead of the usual, run-of-the-mill complaints about the day the elder gods rise to devour us all). The word is that Guillermo…
Forbes: Astros Value Estimated at $474 million
Back in November, it was widely reported that Astros owner Drayton McLane was looking to sell his major league franchise. Today, Forbes released its annual list of MLB Team Values and it’s good news-bad news for McLane. The good news is the team’s overall value is $474 million, up 5…
Tweens Shrug Off Influence Of So-Called Slutwave Singers
Earlier this year, Rocks Off took a curious delve into the bewildering appeal of today’s successful female pop singers. When such artists are aptly and comfortably categorized into a subgenre called “Slutwave,” it makes us wonder what affect these entertainers might be having on today’s youth, considering the very women…
Health Department Roundup
Mistakes happen. In fact, many of us are probably mistakes ourselves. Other mistakes of varying severity include falsely believing that you’re above the law; writing the wrong name on a restaurant inspection report; introducing children to endless quantities of food combinations like macaroni and pizza before they’re old enough to…
Pro Life Group Uncovers Health Problems at Clinics
Texas abortion clinics are plagued with health and administrative violations and have tons of gross medical waste, including fetal remains, in open trash bins outside their doors, according to the results of a three-month undercover study by Christian pro-life group Operation Rescue. The group filed complaints with the Texas Medical…
Chef Chat, Part I: Kristen Powell of Simone on Sunset
Drive too fast down Sunset Boulevard, and you’ll miss the new, slightly hidden gem that is Simone on Sunset. We recently caught up with Chef/Owner Kristen Powell to chat about one of Rice Village’s latest wine bars. As we find out, going just for the drinks might be a mistake…
Sick Sick Sick: Fighting The Post-SXSW Flu With Music
It was bound to happen, stuck in a dirty town with a million French bands who don’t wash their hands and drunk girls sneezing in their hands and opening the hotel lobby doors. Craig’s Hlist came down with the SXSW Sickness sometime Sunday afternoon, probably while he was driving home…
Headline Confusion: Men’s Club Dance Not What You Think
If you live in Houston, the headline in the screen capture image you see above might evoke a different kind of response than what is intended. We’re not all perverts in the Bayou City, but we do have a number of establishments that cater to…how shall we say it…gentlemen’s desires,…
Searching for a Slice: Luigi’s in Midtown
I am hunting for the perfect pie equation. Pizza pie, that is, not the 3.14159 kind of pi. I’m not looking for a single-serving artisanal masterpiece, either. I’m talking a pie here: a thin, crispy crust, cheese bubbled to a golden brown, sauce that is flavorful and applied with reason…
Your Meme of the Week: Things With Faces
Things With Faces scares me, because when I was a little kid, I used to see faces in things. And then I would imagine them eating me. Appliances like clothes dryers, dishwashers, cars, things like that. So seeing faces in everyday objects may be fun for you, but it’s all…
Off the Wall: Awesomeness at Oishii
Last week’s Off the Wall proved to be disastrous. Looking to get back on track, I turned Geri Maria Harris’s Top 5 Sushi Restaurants piece, which drew plenty of opinions on places that should have, but didn’t, crack the list. This comment from Scarwars caught my attention, “Agree on Kata…
Devo In Jail: Bassist Gerald Casale Talks 1982 U Of H Arrest
For a bunch of geeky-looking guys from the Midwest, Devo sure has a knack for trouble. In this week’s print feature, bassist Gerald Casale tells Rocks Off how the 1970 National Guard shootings at Kent State University near the band’s hometown of Akron, Ohio, “transformed me and… ended up manifesting…
Weird Science: Women’s Funding Network sex trafficking study is junk science
This week’s cover story focuses on the Women’s Funding Network and their apparently bogus study that led to the removal of classified sex ads on Craigslist.com. The story reports on how, using an Atlanta-based research group, the organization trumped up numbers of under-age prostitution and sex trafficking and testified to…
Documentary, Collage and Music
Contemporary photographer Joseph Mills utilizes a combination of documentary and collage techniques to realize his surreal street-level images. A handful of photographs recently on display at the Museum of Fine Arts Houston include images from his “Inner City” project presenting documentation and visually poetic interpretation of street life and street…
More Than Just Tequila at TQLA
I feel like TQLA — the subject of this week’s cafe review — hasn’t gotten the fairest of shakes. Yes, it’s named after a beverage that most people associate with Spring Breaks spent partly in Matamoros. Yes, it’s on ultra-clubby Washington Avenue. But despite all of these things, I find…
Mario Dean Aguilar: Alleged Rapist of Disabled Man Also Commanded Dog to Attack
According to a criminal complaint on file at Harris County District court, the goings-on at Mario Aguilar’s house on Sarah’s Lane were as horrific as the postindustrial east Houston/Northshore neighborhood in which it stands is godforsaken. The victim is a 20-year-old mentally disabled man we’ll call Robert. Aguilar is his…
The Mastersons Fly South To Familiar Territory
Chris Masterson and wife Eleanor Whitmore may live in Brooklyn these days, but like many New Yorkers, they are avid snowbirds. So much so, their new album will be titled Bird Fly South. “We’re like migratory birds, we always head down to Texas for the Christmas holidays and stick around…
Eating and Driving
While waiting at a stoplight the other day, I glanced over at the driver in the car next to me and was more than a bit surprised to see him eating sushi. With chopsticks. And, I’m guessing, with wasabi and soy sauce because he kept dipping the chopsticks into some…
Groping Guru Prakashanand Saraswati Believed to Be Hiding in Mexico
Guru Prakashanand Saraswati, founder and religious guiding light of Barsana Dham ashram near Austin, was found guilty earlier this month of 20 counts of sexual indecency with children. Three of his former female students accused him of fondling and kissing them when they were all around age 12. This, they…
Last Night: Das Racist At Fitzgerald’s
Das Racist, Fat Tony, Simple Success Fitzgerald’s March 22, 2011 With tickets at the door a surprisingly steep 18 bones, Fitzgerald’s was packed tighter than we expected Tuesday for the extensive, diverse lineup featuring Queens, N.Y. weed/joke-rap duo Das Racist. Before 11 p.m., Funboys, Simple Success, Fat Tony, B L…
R.I.P. Dame Elizabeth Taylor: A Guide To Her Essential Films
Art Attack is crying tears of White Diamonds perfume this morning at the news that Dame Elizabeth Taylor, star of some 70 films and television shows and a wife in eight marriages (two to the same man) has died. She was 79 and was probably the last surviving starlet of…
Five Things You Can Do “For Jesus” You Might Not Have Considered
The local news media has been abuzz with stories of a Spring woman teaching Christian pole dancing classes. Naturally, such a scandal has caused quite the kerfuffle amongst the local Bible thumpers, who find such outrageous behavior incongruent with good Christian values, apparently. It got us to thinking about other activities…
I’m Going On a Picnic and Bringing…
If you didn’t spend the entire weekend outside, you are doing it wrong. I spent my Sunday at Hermann Park with a good book and a picnic for some cheap, outdoorsy fun. When picnicking, I usually make my own sandwiches because I’m oddly picky about toppings and hate an overloaded…
Last Night: Surfer Blood At House Of Blues
Surfer Blood House of Blues Bronze Peacock Room March 22, 2011 Thanks to the success of their debut album, last year’s Astro Coast, Surfer Blood quickly became one of 2010’s most sought-after indie-rock bands, their catchy garage-surf-rock singles topping myriad year-end lists. Aftermath caught Surfer Blood’s set at last summer’s…
Rebecca Black: 5 Reasons We Should Have Seen Her Coming
If you’re on the Internet – and it would be tricky for you to be reading this if you weren’t – you’ve undoubtedly become familiar with one Rebecca Black. If not, allow us to acquaint you. This should do it. She’s done us one favor: She’s eclipsed Charlie Sheen as…
Wine of the Week: Franciscan Estate 2009 Sauvignon Blanc
I know what you’re thinking – “not another Sauvignon Blanc write-up” – but as I try to review every wine that is sent to me as a sample, it’s unavoidable. But, on the bright side, Sauvignon Blanc is probably one of the best wines suited for this incredible spring weather…
Comment of the Day: Ladies of Houston Media
We have some great commenters here on Hair Balls, and it’s time we paid some damn attention to them. So we’ll be highlighting a Comment of the Day each morning, from the previous day’s work. Maybe two comments, even. This will all be determined by a highly rigorous scientific formula…
Aimless Spirits Haunt Stages’ Yankee Tavern
Yankee Tavern, which just began its run at Stages, doesn’t completely hang together dramatically. Playwright Steven Dietz sends his plot spinning off in too many directions. You might say that it’s a play about two sets of ghosts, those of 9/11, and those of old, pre-gentrification New York, and that…
Chase What Matters: Higher ATM Fees and No Frequent Flier Miles
In what has got to be awkward for its marketing department, Chase has announced it will be testing a new $4 fee for users of its ATM machines in Texas and it will be cutting airline benefits such as frequent flier miles and waived baggage fees for certain debit card…
Modest Mussorgsky: History’s Most Trolled Composer
This week would have been the 128th birthday of one of Russian’s most famous composers, Modest Mussorgsky. Some of you might know him as the composer of Pictures at an Exhibition, but all of you know him for A Night on Bald Mountain (sometimes translated as A Night on the…
Sampler Plate: This Week in Food Blogs
Each week, we put together a sampler plate of the most interesting links from both local and national food blogs. Know a blog we should be paying particular attention to? Leave the address in the comments section below. Jack Tyler Dines: CultureMap writer Ruthie Johnson alerted me to this food…
NCAA Sweet 16: So, How Are Your Brackets Looking?
There’s still a chance I sit courtside next to Ashley Judd at the Final FourAs we prepare for the Sweet 16, here are some of the things we learned from the first weekend of games of the NCAA Tournament: 1. Maybe Seth Greenberg’s supporters should have been bitching about too…
App of the Week: Are We Over-Sharing?
Normally, each week we’d reserve this space for some awesome mobile app or cool Web site that would help improve your mobile experience. This week, instead of an app, we have a question: Are we, as a society, over-sharing? When skimming over new apps to use for this column the…
UPDATED: HISD: Will Apollo 20 Become Apollo 60?
Update:Hair Balls needs to clarify that when Trustee Anna Eastman was talking about endorsing a longer school day and year in HISD, she was talking about schools both in and out of the Apollo 20 program. And, after listening to more of yesterday’s Senate session, we’ve added comments from some…
Spring Cleaning: Let the Sheriff’s Office Help You Shred Your Documents
It’s almost April. The air is warm with the hint of summer weather to come. Birds are chirping. Trees are blooming and that annual rite of passage is upon us: spring cleaning. For most of us, that means cleaning up around the house, maybe gardening a bit or even taking…
William Shatner’s Greatest Hits: The Man Transformed
Rocks Off would like to wish a very happy 80th birthday to the one and only Mr. William Shatner. He may not be the best actor out there, or the best singer, but he is without a doubt the best William Shatner there ever was or ever will be. The…
The Sophisticated Sounds of Songs From a Room
Houston’s third installment of Songs from a Room went off without a hitch Monday night at the apartment of David Cordua on the cusp of East Montrose and Midtown. The concept-concert series, started in London by Twilight heartthrob Robert Pattinson, has become a “movement” that (according to its website) “brings…
Comment of the Day
Today Katharine Shilcutt reported that it may be the end of the line for the Tavern on Gray. And you guys began to wail, rip out your hair and beat your breasts. Just kidding. Said Kyle: Don’t really want another apartment complex in the area, but I do fantasize about…
My Madden 2012 Cover Ballot
I’ve said it before, I’m a total sucker for lists. “5 Best This.” “8 Worst That.” “9 Reasons So-and-so Boned Such-and-such.” List it and I’m in. Some will criticize this, and call it a sign of a lazy mind, that I need my world assembled in some subjective yet quantitative…
Sprinkles’ Efforts to Help Japan
With the recent disasters that have occurred in Japan, we’re all looking for a way to help out however we can. There are numerous benefits and texting campaigns that have successfully raised money for relief efforts. Today Sprinkles Cupcakes is selling Red Cross Red Velvet cupcakes to benefit the Japan…
Houston 101: A Rare, Perhaps Unique Tale of a Human Killed by a Texas Alligator
Over the weekend I took my son out to Brazos Bend State Park. That’s him in the foreground of the photo after the jump, sitting on an embankment about ten feet away — and four feet above — an alligator that looked to be about ten feet long. Brazos Bend…
Duke/Peacock Records To Get Historical Marker Next Month
On the heels of the Lightnin’ Hopkins Historical Marker last fall and the news that historic Third Ward jazz/R&B venue the Eldorado Ballroom will dedicate its own later this spring, Rocks Off learned today that the Texas Historical Commission has approved another blues-related marker for Houston, this one to be…
Fresh Fresas: Strawberries from Mexico
Octaviano Magaño Ortiz is sitting across from me in blue jeans and a simple chambray shirt, his hands gnarled and his face weathered. Magaño Ortiz, president of the Consejo Nacional de la Fresa — or the Mexican National Strawberry Council — has been picking strawberries in Zamora, Michoacán since 1957…
NFL Rules Change Could Benefit the Texans
Assuming we actually have an NFL season in 2011, the league made a few rule changes, one of which could directly affect the Houston Texans. We don’t mean the ban on changing the color of the turf without league approval. The Texans have grass in their stadium, though I’m sure…
TUTS Announces Nominations for 9th Annual Tommy Tune Awards
Today, Theatre Under The Stars announced the nominations for the Ninth Annual Tommy Tune Awards, named of course for the lanky, Houston-native Broadway legend, and created by TUTS in 2002 to recognize exceptional high-school musical theater talent. During the 2010-2011 school year, a team of Houston-based theatre professionals evaluated 45…
Garden Fresh: Green Hot Chile Peppers
The hard part of moving to Houston from Albuquerque was getting cut off from an endless supply of Hatch green chiles, the best peppers in America, or so I thought. Like Chuy’s, nearly every restaurant in New Mexico has a pepper item, and I once saw a tray of green…
Creepy Crawlies: Medical Conference Looks into Morgellons Disease
If you’re one of the thousands of people, mostly from Texas, who believe weird, freaky fibers are wiggling out from under their skin, then you may want to check out the fourth annual medical conference on Morgellons Disease in Austin April 2. Our sister paper in Dallas wrote about the…
Guitarist Brian Robertson Loves Thin Lizzy, Texas Women
As one half of Thin Lizzy’s legendary “twin guitar” classic lineup in the mid- to late ’70s, Scottish guitarist Brian “Robbo” Robertson started to make an impact on classic-rock history while still a teenager. That’s him shredding on the legendary break in Lizzy’s most popular (and, alas, also most overplayed)…
Ticket Giveaway: Jane Eyre
English literature majors: No need to answer an obscure trivia question about Charlotte Bronte for this one. (Although we know you live for that shit.) Simply put, we have a slew of free passes to tomorrow night’s screening of Jane Eyre, and you’re welcome to them. Stop by the Houston…
An Even Crazier 4Loko Coming Soon from the Mexican Drug Cartels
Caffeinated beer is for amateurs. The really powerful stuff appears to be just starting to seep across the Mexican border right now. Saturday night U.S. Customs and Border Protection working the McAllen-Hidalgo-Reynosa International Bridge found a case of 1.2 liter Coronas in a green Pontiac minivan driven by 19-year-old Carolina Avila. Along with…
Brew Blog: Rogue Morimoto Soba Ale
I needed a break after last week’s Brew Blog. It’s not that I don’t love darker, heavier beer, it’s just that I drank quite a bit of the stuff last week. So I went in search of the lightest, most easy-drinking beer I thought I could swing without earning eternal…
Are You an Arts & Culture Editor?
UPDATE: We have filled the position. Check back later this month for our announcement. Are you cultured, web-savvy, thoughtful and fast? Our Arts & Culture Editor Troy Schulze is leaving us to pursue a few endeavors (and make a little art himself in the process). And while he’ll continue to…
When Rappers And Blogs Feud, Who Wins?
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. Something you always wanted to…
Notes from the Burger Underground: Tasting the Elite 8
Yesterday, our commenters demanded to see expressed a polite interest in seeing our judging teams’ tasting notes for the 2011 Burger Bracket. Only one team sent in tasting notes, one of which we ran (for Lucky’s Pub), while the other burger judges remained stoically silent about their notes and decision-making…
TV Party Tonight: Between the Lines with Me
For the past two months I have been filming short two-minute clips for KIAH’s “Newsfix,” their new nightly news and entertainment hour at 9 p.m. The first edition of “Newsfix” aired on Saturday night, and my first segment aired on Sunday night just as I was returning home from SXSW…
It’s Not Easy Being Green: Houston Ranks Seventh in Energy-Efficient Buildings But Also in Ozone
No one would ever accuse Houston of being the most environmentally friendly city in the world. We have long commutes, stagnant atmospheric conditions during the hottest months of the year leading to increased ozone, and more than our fair share of refineries surrounding us, which is why it is never…
100 Creatives: David Eagleman
(Part of our ongoing series profiling 100 Houston-area artists. No rankings; no order. Check back every Tuesday and Thursday for another edition.) What he does: By day, David Eagleman is a neuroscientist at Baylor College of Medicine in the Texas Medical Center. By night, he writes what he describes as…
Ingredient of the Week: Tempeh
What is it? Due to my self-imposed hiatus on all things derived from animal products (for Lent), I’m in previously uncharted territory when it comes to cooking and eating. One fateful discovery making my journey much more enjoyable is tempeh, a fermented soybean cake that originated in Indonesia. While initially,…
Hottest Houston Media Women Tourney Boasts Cuties and Some Controversy
Dear, Kelly Kelly, How does it feel to only be the 17th hottest woman in Houston media? During yesterday’s J&R show on Sports Radio 610 AM, the two hosts, Josh Innes and Rich Lord, unveiled the winner of the “play-in game” in their Hottest Houston Media Women Tourney. The single-elimination…
Peter Gabriel Coming To Houston June 16
It’s been eight years since former Genesis front man and mainstream avant-garde pop artist Peter Gabriel has performed in Houston, and on June 16 he will remedy that with what is sure to be a sold-out affair at the Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion. Last Saturday on his official Web site,…
Ubisoft’s Rocksmith: The Next Guitar Hero?
The concept of Ubisoft’s upcoming Rocksmith video game is simple enough to explain to someone: Imagine Guitar Hero with a real guitar. And now that Guitar Hero has shuffled off this mortal coil and into cold storage until another generation’s irony-hungry hordes pick it up, Rocksmith should pick up the…
OMFG! Alief Taylor High Students Ditch School and Score a Killer Prom!
For the second year in a row, Alief Taylor High School students are totally going to have a sick prom. All the school had to do was make students ditch their schoolwork and 86 part of their spring break to stuff the virtual ballot box. The public high school, an…
Tavern on Gray Could Soon Be an Apartment Complex
You may have often fantasized about living at the Tavern on Gray (I haven’t, but understand the industry nights and crawfish at the place are pretty wicked). And you may soon get your chance to do so. We received an anonymous tip yesterday that the longstanding pub changed hands in…
The Aliens Should Have Kept Sammy Hagar
Judging by the headline, you already know where Rocks Off stands when it comes to Van Hagar versus a David Lee Roth-fronted Van Halen. We love to hate Sammy Hagar, almost to the point where we actually like him a little bit. We can’t even explain that feeling. It’s like…
New On DVD: How Do You Know, The People I’ve Slept With, Skyline, The Tourist, Yogi Bear
(Capsule reviews by Melissa Anderson, Aaron Hillis, Michelle Orange, Nick Pinkerton and Ella Taylor.) How Do You Know A brave, odd duck of a romantic comedy from James L. Brooks, How Do You Know strays as far from a barrel of laughs as a writer-director formed by network television can…
On the Menu: Quizno’s Chipotle Prime Rib Sandwich
I was recently invited to try out one of Quizno’ s new prime rib sandwiches, choosing to go with the chipotle mayo. It had been years since my last visit to the sandwich giant, so I did a little Google search for the closest location, and headed there for lunch…
Upcoming: Charlie Sheen, Jamey Johnson, Jane’s Addiction, Etc.
Average White Band: Thu., June 16. House of Blues. Born Liars, Talk Sick Brats, Disfrutalo: Sat., April 16. Lee & Joe Jamail Skatepark. “Buzzfest” With Jane’s Addiction, Social Distortion, Seether, Puddle Of Mudd, Dirty Heads, Flogging Molly: Sun., May 1. Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion. Cage The Elephant, Manchester Orchestra, Sleeper…
Jessica Tata Brought Into Custody
The long strange trip of the woman wanted in connection with the deaths of four children in a daycare fire in February is over as Jessica Tata was escorted to Harris County jail early Tuesday morning. Tata was the owner of Jackie’s Child Care, located in a residence that caught…
Pop Rocks: By the Dumb’s Early Light
There’s a scene in The American President — Aaron Sorkin’s pre-West Wing exercise in wishful liberalism — when President Shepherd (Michael Douglas) describes America as “advanced citizenship.” It’s a nice thought, especially in the fantastical context of a sitting Chief Executive publicly extolling the virtues of the ACLU and calling…
Pre-Fame Celebrities in Commercials
We all have to start somewhere, whether it be flipping burgers or flipping burgers in burger commercials. Just as not everyone is an immediate success in the real world, not all actors start doing blockbusters right after acting school (or blowing Michael Bay at a party). Sometimes you have to…
What the Hell Is a Churkey?
What has the body of a chicken, the head of a turkey, and is bred for its skills in magic? Okay, so that last one’s a rip on Napoleon Dynamite, but there really is such a beast, originating in the far corners of Eastern Europe. Recently scientists at the Roslin…
Pop Rocks: And The Home Of Inane
There’s a scene in The American President — Aaron Sorkin’s pre-West Wing exercise in wishful liberalism — when President Shepherd (Michael Douglas) describes America as “advanced citizenship.” It’s a nice thought, especially in the fantastical context of a sitting Chief Executive publicly extolling the virtues of the ACLU and calling…
SXSW 2011: Videos and Photos Galore
What the @#$% happened last night? A City Pages SXSW recap of 3/17 from MPLS.TV on Vimeo. Want to experience SXSW 2011 but have a short attention span? Then check out the above video compiled by our sister paper City Pages which features several big-name performers plus highlight footage from…
Comment of the Day: Rodeo Sissy Edition
We have some great commenters here on Hair Balls, and it’s time we paid some damn attention to them. So we’ll be highlighting a Comment of the Day each morning, from the previous day’s work. Maybe two comments, even. This will all be determined by a highly rigorous scientific formula…
Unidentified Males, Bayou Body Count No. 36 and 37
Two unidentified men were shot dead around 2 a.m. Sunday, March 20 at 6200 West Bellfort. Police report the victims were in the parking lot of an apartment complex waiting for the suspect to return a phone to him. The phone was found at a convenience story in the 11100…
Where Are We Drinking?
This downtown destination does happy hour every day of the week, not just Mondays through Fridays. And from 2 to 7 p.m., it’s fairly generous too. Think you know where we’re sipping this margarita? Leave your best guess in the comments section below…
Stephon Sadler, 22, Bayou Body Count No. 35, Suspect Arrested
Houston police have arrested and charged James Earl Mason for the murder of Stephon Sadler, 22, who was allegedly shot multiple times by Mason in the parking lot of the Rancho Verde Apartments at 6000 Sunforest about 11:55 p.m. Friday, March 18. Witnesses stated there was an argument between the…
Last Night: Jason Aldean At RodeoHouston
Jason Aldean Reliant Stadium March 20, 2011 You can tell everything you need to know about Jason Aldean by looking at his steel guitarist’s forearms Sunday. First, he had a steel guitarist. Of the handful of Rodeo acts Aftermath saw this year, not everyone had a fiddle, but everyone except…
Unidentified Male, 30-35, Bayou Body Count No. 34
HPD is investigating a fatal traffic accident at 4400 South MacGregor Way around 7:25 p.m. Friday, March 18. The victim, a 30 to 35-year-old male, is currently unidentified. According to the incident report, the victim was driving a tan Jeep Wrangler eastbound on South MacGregor Way when it struck a…
Archel Burrell, 44, Bayou Body Count No. 33
Rachel Burrell, 44, of Houston was found dead Friday, March 18 around 7:30 a.m. near 600 Altic. Initially, officers were uncertain as to the identity of the victim and the cause of death, but have since ruled it a homicide. The deceased was found in a shallow ditch just off…
RIP Pinetop Perkins: Blues Legend Dead At 97
Ralph Mooney, former Waylon Jennings steel guitarist, also dies Legendary multi-Grammy-winning blues pianist Pinetop Perkins has died at his home in Austin, according to his Web site. Perkins, who was part of Muddy Waters’ band for years, was 97. No cause of death was given. Less than two months ago,…
Comment of the Day
Today Kevin Shalin named his Top 5 Sandwiches, and some readers wanted us to clarify whether he was speaking for himself or everyone at Eating Our Words. Commenter TC got it right: Anyone who reads this blog with regularity knows these lists are the opinions of the writers (bloggers) and…
NCAA Days Three and Four — Winners and Losers
Well, I’m guessing that this past weekend of basketball is not how the money people behind the Final Four’s coming to Houston drew it up on the chalkboard. In a tournament that already had last year’s regional darling Baylor on the outside looking in, the only two Texas teams with…
Eating Our Words Burger Bracket: The Elite 8
The judges have spoken and some upsets have ensured that the Elite 8 in our 2011 Eating Our Words Burger Bracket will create cause for some serious burger discussion. Team Thomas Family judged the Fast Food-Style bracket and sent in a video of their adventures, wherein they spent their entire…
It’s International Jorts Day
Jort it up, Houston. Today is International Jorts Day, and as one of the city’s biggest supporters of cut-off-jean shorts, it’s my pleasure to welcome one and all to the jorted community–on the first day of spring nonetheless. See, it’s been about two years since I first took scissors to…
State Rep Introduces Antidiscrimination Legislation for Intelligent Design Proponents
A Dallas-area state representative has introduced legislation aimed at preventing anyone from discriminating against those who want to research intelligent design in Texas. Rep. Bill Zedler of Arlington sponsored House Bill HB2454 because he believes that colleges are keeping important research into the controversial theory from happening. “It appears there…
Katharine Shilcutt Nominated for a National James Beard Award
Houston Press food critic Katharine Shilcutt has been nominated for a James Beard Award in the Multimedia Food Feature category for “Designer Meats” and the accompanying video “Butchering 101 with Chris Shepherd.” The story describes how Houston chefs are curing and preserving their own meats, allowing us to devour salami,…
Texas Repertory Theatre’s I Do! I Do! Can’t Overcome Feeble Script, Music
The Setup: Once your first musical, The Fantasticks, runs for 42 straight years — that would be an astounding 17,162 performances — making it the universe’s longest-running musical, you are forever cursed. Rich, but cursed. You can never top it. Harvey Schmidt (music) and Tom Jones (book and lyrics) followed…
SXSW: The 10 Best Of The Fest This Year
This SXSW wasn’t a pretty one by any means, with a camera boom falling on fans at Stubb’s before Orchestral Manoeuvers In the Dark, Ben Weasel lashing out physically at unruly fans, the Death From Above 1979 police party, and the massive crowds seemingly dwarfing the numbers from the past…
Hindu Ashram Cancels Major Holiday After Its Spiritual Leader, Guru Prakashanand Saraswati, Is Found Guilty of Molesting Young Girls, Then Flees
Yesterday was Holi, the most exciting, powder-slinging holiday known to Hinduism. It’s one that the enormous Barsana Dham ashram outside of Austin celebrates every year with relish. But not this year. Earlier this month, the ashram’s spiritual guru, Prakashanand Saraswati, was found guilty of molesting young girls who grew up…
Rodeo Houston Sets Attendance Records
The Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo set an attendance record this year with 2,262,834 total visitors including a single-night record of 150,948. That same night, the rodeo recorded its third highest paid attendance of 73,825 to see Brad Paisley. The World’s Championship Bar-B-Que Contest set its own record with 244,184…
One Cocktail, Please, Heavy on the Garnish
When I became interested in cocktails, especially rarer and more creative varieties of mixed drinks, I focused almost entirely on flavor, strength and composition. I judged cosmopolitans on their icy smoothness, sidecars on their subtle orange notes, and corpse revivers on that little whiff of absinthe. Recently, however, I have…
Rappers: Is It Better To Be Rich Or Respected?
Some rappers happen to be thoughtful, intelligent people. Every Monday (that isn’t a national holiday) Rocks Off will have some of them hear discussing issues relevant to their culture. This Week’s Panel: Eskabe, Kyle Hubbard, KDogg, Dice, O.N.E., UZOY, Show, Undergravity, D-Risha Not Invited: Rich and famous rappers; poor(er) but…
Glasstire.com Repaired and Rolling Again
Our go-to site for all things visual art in Texas, Glasstire.com, is back online (and with a new design) after an attack on its server a month ago did some damage that took quite a while to correct. Also, the new design looks great; navigation’s easy; and we’re happy to…
Two Stoners, One Race: Lessons from Last Weekend’s Warrior Dash
Two stoners, two very different results at this weekend’s Warrior Dash near Conroe. (View the Warrior Dash slideshow) The event, a three-mile obstacle course/run that Red Frog stages across the country, encourages participants to unleash a kind of inner viking while climbing cargo nets, sliding down muddy hills and jumping…
Ben’s Beans: A New Downtown Coffee Shop Coming Soon?
While walking to the farmers’ market at Discovery Green this weekend, I spotted this little bit of construction work going on next door to Reserve 101 on Dallas. An occupant called Ben’s Beans has applied for a slew of permits at 1302 Dallas, all for a remodel of the old…
Yoga Fuel: Tacos A Go-Go on Main
It might seem weird to go to a taco joint for salad, but that’s how good the salads are at Tacos A Go-Go. When factoring in size (they’re huge), freshness (crisp iceburg!) and TAGG’s proximity to my favorite hot yoga studio (YogaOne), it’s a total win for my pre- or…
[UPDATED] Man Dies from Roller Coaster Fall at Rodeo Houston
A man fell 28 feet to his death from the HiMiler roller coaster in the waning moments of the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo season. The 46-year-old was given CPR at the scene before being taken to the hospital, where he was pronounced dead. In addition, the man fell on…
Saturday Night: Peter Murphy At Numbers
Peter Murphy Numbers March 19, 2011 The way the main man of a solo act walks out onto the stage says a lot about the kind of show you’re going to get. Some beg for accolades, some are utterly indifferent. The word that came to mind as Murphy took center…
Gallery Scene: Opening This Week
This Thursday, the much-anticipated “Bayou City Noir” opens at the Museum of Printing History, and we’ve got a pair of recommendations each for Friday and Saturday. Bayou City Noir: The Photographs of Marvin Zindler In the early ’50s, when Houston was the nation’s murder capital, famous Houstonian Marvin Zindler was…
Zelko Bistro, Little Bitty Burger Barn and Beaver’s Take the Food Network
Local favorites Zelko Bistro, Little Bitty Burger Barn and Beaver’s will be the first of three restaurants to represent Houston on the Food Network, as more Bayou City joints get spotlighted by the channel in upcoming shows. Meat & Potatoes will feature the three restaurants in upcoming episodes that will…
Dynamo Lose Regular Season Opener 1-0 to Philadelphia
The Houston Dynamo had a successful preseason, going 8-1-3 against all competition. A squad with 10 new players at times looked like a team that was capable of winning a third MLS Cup. The Dynamo’s preseason form, however didn’t translate into their regular season opener as they fell 1-0 to…
Saturday Night: Ryan Bingham At House Of Blues
Ryan Bingham & the Dead Horses House of Blues March 19, 2011 Ryan Bingham is the kind of musician you can’t help but love. The music he and his band play is infectious, and his scratchy vocals make all their songs sound as if years of heartache and bad luck…
What a Crock: Cream of Portobello Barley Soup
Sure, it’s getting warmer outside, but I’m a firm believer that there’s never really a bad time of year for a good bowl of soup. Let’s see how this Cream of Portobello Barley turned out. The rundown I think you’ll find that most of the ingredients for this recipe already…
Mark Taylor, UH Swimming Coach (1961-2011)
Mark Taylor, who helmed University of Houston’s swimming program for nearly a decade, died Friday evening of an apparent heart attack in Austin, according to the University of Houston Athletics Department. He was 50 years old. “This is a sad and difficult day. We lost a family member today,” said…
Saturday Night: Brad Paisley At RodeoHouston
Brad Paisley Reliant Stadium March 19, 2011 Aside from the fireworks, there was no grand entrance for Brad Paisley, who practically ran to the stage later than usual for a Saturday night at RodeoHouston. He had no time for chit-chat as he dove right into “Water” in his signature white…
Rodeo Houston a Bit Too Highfalutin for the Wall Street Journal
The Wall Street Journal on Friday ran a story about the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo containing two things we thought we would never see. First, we never thought anyone would accuse the rodeo of being erudite. Second, we never imagined it would be a paper from New York City leveling such…
Top 5: Sandwiches
Narrowing down a list of five, top-notch sandwiches proved to be a difficult task, but one I was up for. 5. The Club from Cedar Creek A friend recently introduced me to this glorious sandwich. This isn’t your typical Club. Gone is the sliced processed deli meat. In its place,…
Friday Night: Snoop Dogg At House Of Blues
Snoop Dogg House of Blues March 18, 2011 11:08 p.m.: Just walked in. Snoop just stepped onstage a second ago. This place is packed. The ticket lady said that there were already over 1,400 people inside, likely with a couple hundred more to follow soon. Should be fun. 11:10: Bam…
A Breakfast Torta from Otto’s
I’ve been a fan of Otto’s since my days at St. Thomas High School, when the original Memorial Drive location was a popular spot for off-campus lunch. That had as much to do with the fact that a St. Thomas I.D. scored you a free drink as it did with…
Top Five Cowboy Moments at RodeoHouston
We’ve spent the past few weeks inhaling the smell of urine-soaked haybales, watching cowboy balls get trampled by bulls, and fielding accusations that we only picked the sexy cowboys to interview. (We didn’t. All cowboys are, by definition, sexy.) But alas, our fling with the Houston Rodeo is finally over…
The Week In TV: Small Victories
Some great comedies get to stick around for next year, and I totally get the fascination with Li’l Sebastian. This was the week in TV Land: • Victory is mine, victory is mine, great day in the morning, victory is mine: NBC, its back against the wall, has renewed Community,…
Friday Night: Blue Oyster Cult & Marshall Tucker Band At Arena Theatre
Blue Oyster Cult, Marshall Tucker Band Arena Theatre March 18, 2011 An odd co-headlining bill on the surface had the Marshall Tucker boys opening Friday’s show. Though only singer Doug Gray remains from the classic lineup, the rest of the group are all crack players, in particular guitarist Rick Willis…
Comment of the Day: Whataburger Edition
We have some great commenters here on Hair Balls, and it’s time we paid some damn attention to them. So we’ll be highlighting a Comment of the Day each morning, from the previous day’s work. Maybe two comments, even. This will all be determined by a highly rigorous scientific formula…
Aeros Rush Past Rampage, Make Final Playoff Push
John RoyalDrew Bagnall is pushed away as the action gets dirty on SaturdayThe Aeros could feel it Saturday night. It’s been a long season. They’ve been in a tough playoff race, playing playoff-caliber hockey since Christmas. Nightly they’ve been facing off against the other teams in their division, all teams…
Where Are We Eating?
I recently fell in love with the grilled oysters at this restaurant, topped with a coltish amount of ginger sauce and a few wilted scallions each. Does this dish look familiar to you? Think you know where we’re eating this week? Leave your best guess in the comments section below…
Owls Baseball: Pitching Is a Beautiful Thing
John RoyalShortstop Derek Hamilton charges in to make the play on Saturday afternoonIt’s been a tough season for the Rice Owls baseball squad — far tougher than they bargained for. Anthony Rendon has spent much of the season at DH because of shoulder issues. Outfielder Michael Fuda has been on…
SXSW Photos: Diddy, Lil B & Odd Future Wreck Fader Fort
Diddy dropped on the Fader Fort Saturday night for the closing concert of SXSW 2011 featuring a rare live appearance by Oakland “based God” Lil B and not-so-rare appearance by the L.A. troublemakers on everyone’s lips this year, Odd Future. The Bad Boy for Life introduced Lil B, who sang…
SXSW Last Night: LL Cool J Knocks Out Red Bull Thre3style
The largest party of this year’s SXSW included eight world-renowned DJ’s, one legendary hip-hop group, a rap pioneer, and more than 10,000 screaming fans who took over a entire city block of Austin’s Warehouse District Saturday night. Fueled by Red Bull and love of the turntables, both the artists and…
BREAKING SXSW NEWS: Death From Above 1979 Reunion Show Mayhem
It was a music nerd’s dream, one of your favorite bands of the past ten years reuniting. Even though the titanic-sounding Canadian bass and drums duo Death From Above 1979 only released one LP, one EP, and a remix album, they managed to cultivate a following of rabid punks, indie-rockers,…
SXSW: Festival Approaching Suitably Chaotic End
UPDATE: According to Pitchfork Media via Twitter, Kanye West went onstage around 2:30 a.m. SXSW’s pattern of general mayhem – brawls, collapsing cranes, gate-crashing, performers jumping off of roofs and assaulting audience members – does not seem to be letting up as the festival nears the end of the official…
SXSW Last Night: Men Without Hats Dance If They Want To
Men Without Hats Club de Ville March 18, 2011 Every year at SXSW, Aftermath scans the schedule of hundreds and hundreds of bands and always has the same reaction: “They’re still around?” This year it was Canadian synth-pop safety dancers Men Without Hats. Since Aftermath was already going to be…
SXSW: Fat Tony Stops By Headhunters For A Quick Day Set
Houston’s own Fat Tony hooked it up at Headhunters this afternoon for a quick day set ahead of his showcase show tonight at Karma Lounge at 10:15 p.m. He just opened up for Snoop Dogg last night at the House of Blues in Houston. Someone is having the best weekend…
SXSW: Bun E. Carlos Chills At Club De Ville
When someone offers you a chance to talk to the hands behind the driving rhythms of “Surrender” and steady swing of “I Want You to Want Me,” you take it. So Friday night, Rocks Off found ourselves in the “chill room” of Club de Ville with none other than Cheap…
SXSW Saturday: Hot Sauce Hawker Billy Gibbons Smokes Elmore James At Rachael Ray Party
Billy Gibbons sat in with The Cringe at Rachael Ray’s Feedback Party at Stubb’s just after lunchtime for a cover of Elmore James’ blues standard “Dust My Broom.” The ZZ Top guitarist also mentioned his BFG hot sauce line, of which he had a bottle in his back pocket…
SXSW Last Night: (UPDATED) Screeching Weasel’s Ben Weasel Hits A Woman At The Scoot Inn
The incident is still just hours old, but the Internet is steaming over Screeching Weasel frontman Ben Weasel hitting a woman and another unidentified person during his band’s set at the Scoot Inn on Saturday night. There’s no “alleged” to be found in this situation. It was all caught on…
SXSW With LOM: Gourds Kill, Grandfather Child Wins, Candy Golde Shines
Day Two found Lonesome Onry and Mean at the Vanguard Records day party, where the label was intent on showcasing several of its newest acts. While Viva Voce may not be the best band name ever, the Pixies-ish Portland duo charmed the early crowd. We’d been anticipating our first time…
SXSW: Shina Rae, Social Butterfly
Despite how it may appear to even our closest associates, Rocks Off is not in the business of accosting random women on the street. We don’t think we could even if we wanted to. So when we saw Shina Rae and a friend crossing the street near the giant tent…
SXSW Tour Diary: The Niceguys, Day 2
Rocks Off has asked Houston artists The Niceguys to write up their experience as performers at SXSW. Day 2 at SXSW was awesome, a great day for The Niceguys. Thursday started off in the afternoon with the big homie Hustle Simmons “Hustlepalooza” showcase at Cielo’s Nightclub, which might I add…
SXSW Video: Dum Dum Girls Evoke Oohs And Ahhs At Red 7
Video by Marc Brubaker For the wristbandless/badgeless masses, getting into an official night showcase at SXSW can be a bit tricky – sure, we could’ve tried to bluff our way into Bear Hands and Tapes N’ Tapes gig at Rusty Spurs, but we just didn’t have the energy to put…
SXSW: Wiz Khalifa, Trae Turn Fader Fort “Black & Yellow”
Even his Afro was “Black & Yellow.” Wiz Khalifa, the blunt-smoking leader of the Taylor Gang, kept it 100 at the Fader Fort late Thursday night with a performance that proved to be everything you might expect: fun, hazy, and energetic. With a grin as big as the Congress Avenue…
SXSW Video: Odd Future’s Roof-Jumping Antics At The Scoot Inn
Friday was Rocks Off’s last day in Austin and it couldn’t have gone any better, even if we had put on sunscreen. While free day parties are great and have tons of free beer and swag – another term for “free promo merch” when it’s not used to describe Odd…
Last Night: Alan Jackson At RodeoHouston
Alan Jackson Reliant Stadium March 18, 2011 Friday night was Alan Jackson’s 19th performance at RodeoHouston. For two decades, he’s managed to maintain his status as a country music icon, and last night’s performance only furthered his image, if that’s even possible. Jackson is genuine and all about the simple…
SXSW: Hunx Shows Off His Junk At Red 7
It’s a proud day when we can write a headline like that, especially for a band as fun as Hunx & His Punx, who played a cherry mid-evening set as Red 7 on Saturday night. During a SXSW that has seen us walk out of many venues after hearing way…
SXSW Last Night: Birthday Boy Bun B & Erykah Badu Team Up For Noisey.com Launch Party
Bun B celebrated his 38th birthday last night at the launch of Vice magazine’s new music site, Noisey.com, at Austin warehouse district club Kiss & Fly…
BREAKING SXSW NEWS: Camera Boom At Stubbs Injures Fans Before OMD Gig
Rocks Off is still working on the details, but according to massive Twitter reporting by fans at Stubb’s off Red River, a camera boom injured about four fans on Saturday night before a set by Orchestral Maneuvers In the Dark. Updated: According to a Rocks Off follower who was at…
SXSW Live Pics: Tyler The Creator’s Ripped Abs & Odd Future At The Fader Fort #SWAG
Rocks Off has these exclusive pics from Odd Future’s set at the Fader Fort, just hours ago. It was an insane hour of hysterics from Tyler The Creator and his group of full-contact loudmouthed young hip-hoppers. SWAG!…
SXSW: The Kills At Stubb’s SPIN Party Friday Afternoon
Even though the beginning of their set was fraught with technical issues, the Kills turned in a heated set, in more ways than one, under the big top at Stubb’s for SPIN magazine’s annual day party…
SXSW Fashion: WTF Animal Hats?
It’s almost 90 degrees here in Austin and kids of all ages are wearing these hats and models just like them all over town. These top out at around $150, according to the booth at the convention center selling them…
This Week in Deliciousness
Welcome back to the weekly roundup here at Eating Our Words, where for just one week out of the year, we allow ourselves to remember that yeah, as much as we love Houston, we kinda love Austin, too. And we know a bunch of you feel the same, so we’ve…
Rep. Charlie Howard of Sugarland Is Named Most Flamingly Red Member of the Texas House
Out of all the politicos in all the towns in all of Texas, Sugar Land’s very own Rep. Charlie Howard has been recognized as the most conservative member of the Texas House. Ultimate Fort Bend reported the news after Rice University’s James A. Baker III Institute for Public Policy released…
Omar Pizano: Felony Charge After Police Claim He Was Drunk on Horseback
Sure Omar Pizano is only 19 and thus (allegedly) drunk illegally at 6 a.m. Wednesday morning. But some would say he did the right thing when he had to go home. He set down his car keys and picked up the reins to his horse Muneca, slurred out a “Giddy-up”…
Comment of the Day
Lauren Marmaduke reported this morning on the eastward move of California’s famous In-N-Out Burger chain, where it’s expected to open at least half a dozen of its burgers stands in the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex. Houstonians weren’t bothered by this “snub,” to say the least. Take commenter Wuwu’s response to the…
“Screamin'” Gus Johnson Videos
As play-by-play announcers go, nobody in any sport has as big a cult following as CBS’s Gus Johnson, the screaming, cackling, (at times) seemingly psychotic, mid-card voice of college basketball and NFL football. If you’re reading this, you probably live in Houston, which means you know full well who Johnson…
SXSW With LOM: French Rockers, Free Tequila And MXMW
So we’re checked in and we’re on the way up to the room. Who’s in the elevator with us? John Popper from Blues Traveler. In person, he looks like a cartoon character, something waxy and a bit spooky about his motel tan. He’s all effusive, wanting to make sure everyone…
Austin Men Jailed After Skateboard-Whipping Photographer for Mohawk Shot
You’d think Johnathan Washburn would dig it when strangers snapped his picture. After all, his unusual triple-Mohawk hairstyle seems like little more than a 24-7 “look-at-me” adornment, or possibly even a cry for help. According to this American-Statesman report, that was decidedly not the case earlier this week in downtown…
Eddie Trunk, Ultimate Metalhead, Writes Metalhead’s Bible
Eddie Trunk’s Essential Hard Rock and Heavy Metal By Eddie Trunk Abrams Publishing, 240 pp. $19.95. If hard rock and heavy-metal journalism have their own Eddie Murrow, it’s Eddie Trunk. Via his web site, as a co-host of VH1 Classic’s That Metal Show, and his programs on both terrestrial and…
Openings & Closings
Two long-awaited Houston restaurants are finally ready for their close-ups. El Real Tex-Mex Cafe, which will open for dinner service tonight, and Mai’s, which will open next month after a 14-month closure due to a devastating fire. All week long, the parking lot has been undergoing final renovations and the…
The Five Reasons the Dynamo Will Be Back in the Playoffs in 2011
The Houston Dynamo kick off their 2011 campaign this Saturday at 7:30 pm, when they host the Philadelphia Union. The Orange look to rebound from an abysmal 2010 season, where they missed the MLS Cup playoffs for the first time since coming to Houston. The team did have a busy…
SXSW: Local Band Makes Good, A Wild Flag, DJ Quik & A Witch
Marc Brubaker: For Rocks Off, sometimes SXSW isn’t about seeing new bands or drinking until Sixth Street becomes a blurry swath of humanity. It’s nice to check in with our hometown boys and see how they are received by the ears and arms of the masses in Austin. So we…
Long Live the Houston Press, Be It Dead or Alive
The New York Times is all over our radar these days. Whether it’s the Cleveland gang rape story, the former Chronicle employees’ wedding announcement or the paper’s new subscription service, the Old Gray Lady has been more relevant for the Houston area than usual lately. But, we didn’t expect this…
Shiftwork Bites: Pork Tagine with Dried Apricots
I love dishes that do double duty. I’m not talking about something you make once and eat twice, repurposing left-overs into an entirely new dish. I’m talking about dishes that are also dishes. You know, like how “casserole” means not only the dish you’re eating, but the dish in which…
Last Night: Best Rapper In Texas March Finale At Midtown Lounge
Best Rapper In Texas March finale Midtown Lounge March 17, 2011 10:38 p.m.: Tonight is the March finale of the Best Rapper in Texas competition, a now monthly event that takes place in two segments. Rappers sign up, work their way through a preliminary and then end up here. Ten…
SXSW Find: Valerie June At The 18th Floor Hilton Garden Inn
Each year at SXSW, there are certain artists that you find either by sticking around after the artist you came for, or coming to the venue early, for said artist you came for. Memphis’ Valerie June is our first and best find so far this year, coming directly after Buxton…
Drunken Wee-Hours Whataburger Drive-Thrus: A Proud Texas Tradition
Shamefully, all too many of us have been there: out in the bars since happy hour, it’s now a quarter-past closing time. We stagger to the car and suddenly remember we haven’t eaten a thing other than beer nuts since lunch. Hunger cuts through the fog of drunkenness, but what’s…
Fish Sandwich Fridays: BB’s Cajun Café
In honor of Lent and in an attempt to revive my own (lapsed) Catholicism, I will be reviewing a fish sandwich (loosely defined) each Friday from a local Houston restaurant. Sorry, Mickey D’s fans: no Filet-o-Fish. Feel free to send in your suggestions even if you’re not a Fish Eater…
Zach Tate Band: Google Tested, Texas Approved
Zach Tate isn’t your run-of-the-mill cowboy. While his lyrics and twangy vocals definitely give his music a country feel, the backing tunes are heavily influenced by the Southern strain of classic rock. Although Tate isn’t even from the South, his music makes us glad that he finally made his way…
SXSW Report Card: Killer Mike, Mistah F.A.B, Tech N9ne, Chiddy Bang
Wednesday night at the Vibe House featured a hip-hop lineup for every taste bud: Mistah F.A.B. for the Bay Area rap flava, Killer Mike for the lyrically inclined, Chiddy Bang for the college kids, Tech N9ne for the weird and wonderful. Here’s how they fared at Venue 222. Mistah…
Video Picks: An Internet-Comedy Cheat Sheet
Since we started sharing our video picks, we’ve seen a rise in comedy on YouTube. Sites like Second City Network, Improv Everywhere and College Humor are creating web-specific content that’s already made television obsolete. (Of course, the Real Housewives of Atlanta is an exception. Shout out to Nene!) This week,…
New York Times Launches Subscription Service
The New York Times announced the parameters of its much-anticipated digital subscription service to subscribers via e-mail. Beginning March 28 in the United States (Canada gets a ten-day head start to act as guinea pig), anyone who is not a home-delivery subscriber will be allowed access to up to 20…
Texas Stars Shine Bright at Last Night’s Rising Star Gala
“We didn’t know what we were going to find in Houston,” said Antoinette Bruno last night at the Four Seasons Hotel. Bruno, the CEO and editor-in-chief of Star Chefs admitted to being “really ignorant of the Houston dining scene” before a Twitter campaign orchestrated by Jenny Wang and Chef Randy…
SXSW Tour Diary: The Nice Guys
Rocks Off is asking a handful of Houston artists to write about their experiences performing at SXSW. Day 1 of SXSW went pretty well, we got on the road to ATX at about 9 a.m. The moment we arrived in Austin we were busy, went straight to the convention center…
The Miracle of Giraffe Birth: Video of Baby Giraffe Being Born from Houston Zoo
As Don Henley once said, “There’s a new kid in town” or, in this case, a calf in the form of a baby giraffe at the Houston Zoo. A couple years ago, everyone oohed and ahed over photos of another newborn giraffe at the zoo, but we wonder if your…
The 2011 Houston Underground Rap Awards, Part 1
Going in, everybody understood that, regarding underground rap in Houston, 2011 was going to be all sorts of reckless. There were just too many people doing interesting things for it not to be mayhem. And thus far, it’s mostly lived up to the billing. So rather than wait until the…
Lighter Fare Abounds on Max’s Wine Dive Spring Menu
Although many of the classics have remained on the menu at Max’s Wine Dive (i.e., the Texas “Haute” dog, Southern fried chicken, gator beignets), Chef Michael Pellegrino has updated his selections for the spring to include many lighter, refreshing options. “My goal was to create a menu that is gourmet…
The Week In Art Photos
It’s time again to check out the Houston Press Flickr Pool and see what kinds of art shots our talented photographers have added. If you think you’ve got a good eye, drop your pictures in the pool and we’ll post the most eye-catching shots. (Be sure to enable the HTML…
NCAA Day One — Winners and Losers
Yes, you read that headline correctly — yesterday was “Day One” of the NCAA Tournament. Not Tuesday! Despite what the NCAA propaganda machine will tell you, the greatest single two-week period of sports during the calendar year is not and will not be tipped off in Dayton, Ohio, between North…
Ghosts of SXSWs Past: Justice, Glasvegas, Monotonix…
This year marks the fourth year Craig’s Hlist has covered SXSW in Austin for the Houston Press, from the days when we had to shoot all of our own shows, had neither Facebook nor Twitter, and slogged through the day mostly drunk. It’s a far cry from now, when we…
First Texas In-N-Out Location to Open in May
The OC Register described In-N-Out Burger’s latest business move as “a giant leap into uncharted territory.” Honestly, you’d think they were pitching tents on the moon. But in this case, they’re referring to the beloved California burger chain’s decision to fast track an eight location expansion into a “beef-savvy” land…
There’s Just Something About That Snoop Dogg
Recently, Rocks Off’s sister had a baby. That, of course, means that we were required to travel to the city where the child currently lives in, Corpus Christi, and comment on his specific attractiveness. Now, this is hardly an inconvenience; we were amped to see King Roman, the teeny tiny…
Puke-Tastic “Animal Abuse” Flick to Be Shown Outside Schools, Malls
It’s probably safe to say that this film won’t garner a G rating. Mercy for Animals (MFA), an animal-rights organization that has exposed some of the behind-the-scenes goings-on in factory farms, has recently released the film Farm to Fridge – The Truth Behind Meat Production. MFA prides itself on going…
Odd Pair: Pop Rocks and Veuve Clicquot Brut Yellow Label
Lauren Marmaduke dispelled the urban legend involving pop rocks, death and soda, which got me thinking about a potentially even deadlier combination: pop Rocks and Champagne. Now, I love my inexpensive bubbly wines, but when I’m pairing it with a culinary behemoth like Pop Rocks, I spare no expense. Veuve…
Community: “Custody Law and Eastern European Diplomacy”
For all its wacky trimmings — Ken Jeong as Ward Cleaver, kidnapped kids, the mere presence of Malcolm-Jamal Warner — last night’s Community was all about how growing up usually means giving someone a second chance. It’s not that the episode was overly sentimental or cheesy, merely that it made…
Comment of the Day: Rebecca Black, One-Hit Wonder
We have some great commenters here on Hair Balls, and it’s time we paid some damn attention to them. So we’ll be highlighting a Comment of the Day each morning, from the previous day’s work. Maybe two comments, even. This will all be determined by a highly rigorous scientific formula…
Last Night: Zac Brown Band At RodeoHouston
Zac Brown Band Reliant Stadium March 17, 2011 Only the Zac Brown Band could write an upbeat song about falling in love with a woman as she’s walking away from you. Sure, we’ve all been there – falling for someone of the opposite sex who has lost or never had…
Bartender Chat: Sherrel Lemon-Williams of Eddie V’s
As I walked into the new Eddie V’s at West Ave on a late Wednesday evening, I felt transported to another time. The place was in full swing that night: all bar seats full, everyone dressed up in their finest and live, old-school jazz providing just the right volume of…
SXSW Last Night: The Strokes At Auditorium Shores
Of all the free shows going on around Austin this week, the biggest ones can be found over at Auditorium Shores. They may not have free finger foods and booze galore, but they do have some pretty stellar acts most of the time. Case in point, last night’s sundown set…
March 12-18: The Week in Photos
Each week, we take a dip into the Houston Press Flickr pool and see what our talented photographers have been up to. We want to see your springtime pictures. Just drop them in our photo group right here. As always, for more information on a subject or photographer, just click…
How Much Damage Has Twilight Done To Goth?
In our last meeting, Gothic Council member Paul Fredric of Asmodeus X said the following… As a gothic union or lobby we’d definitely have a large stake in all things vampiric. How about a class-action lawsuit again the Twilight movies and novels for trying to misrepresent vampires as GQ nice-guy…
SXSW: Human Eye Wants To Have A Pizza Party
Detroit fuzz-punk-psych rockers Human Eye caught our ears as we walked down 8th Street last night, leaving TV On The Radio at Stubb’s. First the sound reeled us in, naturally, and then the live show had us planted in front of them for the rest of their 1 a.m. set…
Upcoming Events
Vic & Anthony’s is continuing its popular series of beer dinners by partnering with Texas’ own Real Ale for its next evening, which takes place on Friday, April 8 starting at 7 p.m. For $85 a person (tax and tip not included), Chef Carlos Rodriguez will prepare a six-course meal…
Cowboy Diaries: Isaac Diaz — Brokeback Floridian
True cowboys and cowgirls are hard to find, but not at the Houston Rodeo. Life on the road leads them here this time every year for the biggest rodeo in the world, where they’ll ride and wrangle livestock for cash and glory. Each day, Hair Balls will spotlight one person…
Houston Aeros and the Twin Twins
John RoyalSay hello to Kristen and Kirsten, or is it Kirsten and Kristen?The Houston Aeros have ten games remaining in the regular season. As of today, they are one point out of first place. However, they’re just five points out of fifth place, and finishing in fifth could mean they…
UPDATED: Wild Flag, Wu-Tang, Erykah Badu and Yelawolf: Liveblogging the Village Voice Media SXSW Showdown
UPDATE: Now with video of Wu-Tang Clan and Erykah Badu after the jump, and lots more pictures to be seen in our slideshow. The doors didn’t open exactly at 5 p.m., but that didn’t stop the Austin Music Hall from filling quickly just before Austin-by-way-of-Houston locals Ume took the stage,…
Comment of the Day
When we found out that Gordon Ramsay’s Kitchen Nightmares is coming to town and casting for Houston restaurants this week, we wanted to know which restaurant you’d nominate for a good walloping. While a few more serious nominations were proposed, commenter Matthew suggested a Houston ‘cue institution: i nominate thelma’s,…
Revival Market to Open Monday, Offer Texas Products, Produce and Meat
“This thing was a wreck last night,” laughed Morgan Weber as he gestured toward the now-spotless interior of Revival Market this morning. The long-awaited butcher shop / grocery store / coffee bar is scheduled to open this Monday, March 21, at 6:30 a.m. Weber is one of the partners in…
Unidentified Male, Bayou Body Count No. 32
An unidentified male of unknown age was shot by an off-duty Houston Police officer Wednesday night. Officer S. Bryant, a 15-year veteran of HPD currently assigned to the Narcotics Division, was working an extra job at the Emerald Bay Apartments (6767 Bennington) when he witnessed two men in a car…
Good-Bye, Guinness; Hello, Stout
St. Patrick’s Day, or at least its observance in America, is not very Irish. The modern manifestation of the Saint’s feast bears some resemblance to its original tradition – a respite from the Lenten fast being one example. But while the Irish take March 17 (or the appropriate offset date…
Remember The Ballaticians’ Full Course?
Houston’s history is dotted with albums that, fairly or not, have been swept aside. We’ll examine them here. Have an album that you think nobody knows about but should? Email sheaserrano@gmail.com. The Ballaticians Full Course (Self-released, 2010) The Ballaticians are a new-ish rap group. They’re made up by rappers Dista…
The Top Five Biggest Blights on the Houston Skyline
Houston gets a lot of negative publicity for things like sprawl, pollution and other problems common to urban areas short on zoning and long on business interests. Notable, however, is the downtown skyline, which, for all the issues our city faces, is one of the more distinctive features Houston has…
SXSW: A Happy Brother And A Sh*t Horse
Rocks Off arrived in Austin Wednesday with just enough time to get in a quick nap and free Olive Garden from the hotel before departing for downtown. By the time we got there, it was already dark and we immediately went to see if we could get into the just-announced-via-Twitter…
Call This Number and Do What You Want
When we last heard from the Art Guys, they delivered a “final statement” regarding their beef with filmmaker Morgan Spurlock over his alleged plagiarism of their SUITS project. “There is nothing more to say and we are not interested in spending any more of our time with this issue as…
Robin Jeanette Jordan: Sole Arrest So Far in Raid on Fort Bend Cul-de-Sac Cathouse
Apparently, pecans weren’t the only nuts hanging in the Richmond, Texas suburb of Pecan Grove. Authorities based both there and here in Houston say that 37-year-old Robin Jeanette Jordan, a.k.a. “Lianna,” has been involved in an Internet-based prostitution ring out of a home there for several months at least. Cops…
Lluther: Inside The Mystery Of The Extra “L”
It’s a well-known fact that most band names are essentially gobbledygook, but here at Rocks Off we’re trying hard to find meaning in the oddest monikers. Rock is dead, but every once in a while Rocks Off likes to diddle the corpse. The subject of our latest necrophilia is an…
Crawfish Season Is Here, Contrary to What Some People Think
Although the word on the web (our web) is that crawfish season has not officially started, I’m calling bullshit. Unlike hunting season or football season, there is no hard start date to crawfish season. The trickling beginning of crawfish season typically starts around the same time as Mardi Gras season…
Top Five Animals Who Probably Deserve the Lethal Injection
We reported today about how the state of Texas is considering using the same drugs used for euthanizing animals to carry out lethal injection executions of humans. While we take no side on the issue, there are certainly a lot of criminals out there who many feel deserve to die…
SXSW: Bob Geldof, Master Of The F-Bomb
Leave it to Sir Bob Geldof to turn the SXSW keynote address into a 45-plus minute combination elaborate cultural history of the past 60 years with rock and roll at the center, personal narrative of how rock and roll (“pop with a hard-on”) shook loose his inner social activist, and…
Cleveland Gang Rape Story: District Attorney Mike Little, Only One Authorized to Talk, Takes Week’s Vacation from the Office
When Liberty County’s District Attorney Mike Little gagged anyone involved in the Cleveland gang rape case — in which an 11-year-old girl was allegedly raped brutally by multiple men and boys — from talking, you’d think he’d hang around as the singular voice for his muted county. Instead, it appears…
Five Things I’d Rather Do With a Guinness (Other Than Drink One)
While it may seem blasphemous to speak ill of a beer on this day, the most high and holy of drunken holidays, I simply cannot stand Guinness. I want to love it, I really do. A proper Guinness pour–billions of tiny bubbles rising slowly through the blackness–is truly food porn…
Last Night: Miranda Lambert At RodeoHouston
Miranda Lambert Reliant Stadium March 16, 2011 Shucks, ma. Our lil’ ol’ East Texas gal done all growed up. Sugar and spice and definitely everything nice, unless you piss her off, Miranda Lambert is a different kind of crossover act. A rocker at heart and pop singer by trade, Lambert…
Doug Supernaw: Yet More Sad News for Troubled Former Country Star
UPDATE: Since writing this article, we’ve discovered what very much looks like Doug Supernaw’s real Facebook page. You can assess his state of mind for yourself here. About three weeks ago, we reported that Doug Supernaw, the Houston native and erstwhile country music chart-topper turned mentally-troubled, frequent drug-and-alcohol-fueled arrestee, had…
SXSW: The Best Things Come In Small Packages
See scenes from Sixth Street and beyond in our slideshow. If we’d been playing SXSW bingo yesterday, Rocks Off would have scored multiple squares for animal hats and “more badges than clothing.” We spied a guy in a Borat swimsuit (sooo 2007, brah) and had the pleasure/pain of riding our…
On the Menu: Central Market Appetizers 101
I recently took part in one of Central Market’s cooking school classes called Spring Bling Appetizers. Central Market offers a variety of classes for aspiring chefs. I thought this would be a perfect session to check out. Six fairly healthy and somewhat light appetizers were on the menu: Grilled Tuna…
SXSW Live Pics Last Night: B L A C K I E
We started our SXSW Wednesday night by supporting Houston’s own B L A C K I E at underground venue Barcelona, where he scared unaware college gals and converted a slew of SXSW badgeholders…
Cleveland Gang Rape Story: Chron Handles Latest Allegations with Kid Gloves
Last week, we wrote about the tragic Cleveland gang rape story, but, more specifically, the coverage from both The New York Times and Houston Chronicle that sparked angry blog posts and cries of racism. In a strange and unfortunate turn of events, the controversy over the coverage of the story…
How Much Do Local Bands Get Paid At Shows?
Most of us go to concerts, stand in the crowd and gaze in awe at performers onstage. While we’re there, we might even become a little green with envy. Lights, cameras, confidence and everyone’s attention – who wouldn’t want that? Rocks Off, however, would like to point out that it’s…
Restaurant Lawyer David Jordan on Tip Pools and Illegal Immigration
David Jordan is a partner in the Houston office of Littler Mendelson, an international law firm specializing in labor and employment law. Before he was a lawyer, Jordan worked in the restaurant industry for several years: flipping burgers at Burger King when he was in high school; working in TCBY’s…
What Is It? Suchu Dance Premieres New Work
When Suchu Dance premieres its new work Masters of Semblance next week at Barnevelder Theater, it might look as if the audience has been invited to a celebratory reception. Or not…or maybe. (Never mind that opening night, March 24, includes an actual reception with pre-show food and drink; that’s beside…
Marshall Tucker Band Singer: “This Ain’t A Jerk-Off Contest”
While they were often tagged strictly as “Southern Rockers” after starting out in the early ’70s, the Marshall Tucker Band also freely incorporated blues, jazz, country, and other sounds into their music. They had a flute player, for chrissakes! Led by guitarist and chief songwriter Toy Caldwell, the group’s classic…
Irish Whiskey: Keep It Simple for St. Pat’s
Don’t gild the lily tonight when you’re celebrating St. Patrick’s Day. That’s the advice of whiskey connoisseur and former front-of-house man for Branch Water Tavern, the effusive Evan Turner. “Keep it simple. Drink it neat. Those products are best consumed straight,” he said on the phone yesterday afternoon about Irish…
LaShwanda Allen: Four Loko-Addled Toddler Brings Child Endangerment Charge
If you really, really must drink Four Loko, keep that high-alcohol crap away from your kids. On the afternoon of February 21, police were dispatched to a ramshackle apartment complex on Yale near the corner of Tidwell in response to a child endangerment call. Once there, cops found a girl…
100 Creatives: Anna Sprage
(Part of our ongoing series profiling 100 Houston-area artists. No rankings; no order. Check back every Tuesday and Thursday for another edition.) What she does: Anna Sprage is a painter, but that’s a fairly recent designation. Most of her early adulthood revolved around the music scene in Los Angeles, playing…
SXSW Panel: “Juggalos To Phish-Heads”
This is the first year we are attempting to forgo the day parties, full of free booze and music, to take in some of the informative panels offered by SXSW in the Austin Convention Center. It’s not easy walking past day parties foisting beer and burritos on you, but we…
Pop Rocks: No One to Blame for Rebecca Black but Ourselves
The Internet is a strange place. Its most dominant and pervasive bandwidth hogs are spam and porn, both completely voluntary (people actually open those Nigerian money request e-mails or they wouldn’t still be sending them). It drives news cycles, turning what was, just 25 years ago, something we got from…
Top 5 Bachelorette Party Picks
Bachelor parties are usually a bit more straightforward than the bachelorette version. Get some steak or wings, find cheap drinks, then hit a strip club. While women could certainly do the same thing, we tend to have less fun filling ourselves up with fatty foods and then getting lap dances…
A Musical History Of The Color Green
It’s St. Patrick’s Day, and as many of you have discovered, it is the only day out of the year when our normally free and enlightened society requires you to wear a certain color lest sudden and shocking violence be inflicted upon you. Every year on March 17, pinch-related emergency…
Comment of the Day: West U Tuba Player Edition
We have some great commenters here on Hair Balls, and it’s time we paid some damn attention to them. So we’ll be highlighting a Comment of the Day each morning, from the previous day’s work. Maybe two comments, even. This will all be determined by a highly rigorous scientific formula…
Food Fight: Battle Fish Tacos
Fish tacos are another hot-button food topic in our great city. And when you speak, I listen. The Food Fight entry has been criticized in the past for not including enough participants. How does four sound? Four is better than two. Three places are from reader suggestions, and the fourth,…
SXSW: Jack White’s Mobile Third Man Record Store
If you felt like booking it to the parking lot next to Frank at 4th and Colorado on Wednesday afternoon, you would have been treated to a quick acoustic set from Jack White and the Texas debut of his Third Man Rolling Record Store…
Earline Garcia: Attempted Petty Orajel Theft Leads to Felony After Employee Narrowly Escapes Getting Run Over
Come on, people. Do we really need to give you a refresher course on how to shoplift? Apparently so. 1. If you really have to steal stuff, keep the value of the items you swipe under $50. That way, if you get caught, it will only be a Class C…
30 Seconds With Lords Of Acid’s Praga Khan
Rocks Off sat down with Praga Khan of Belgian techno band Lords of Acid to see what we could learn about the controversial and critically acclaimed sextremist in 30 seconds. Rocks Off: What is the worst song in the world? Praga Khan: “Ice Ice, Baby” because fades and parachute pants…
SXSW Last Night: Queens Of The Stone Age At La Zona Rosa
Rolling Stone magazine surely knows how to throw a showcase, bringing forth Dinosaur Jr.’s J. Mascis, Mini Mansions, and Black Angels to open for a reinvigorated Queens Of The Stone Age on Wednesday night. Every band on the bill coalesced with each other beautifully and succinctly, preying on almost every…
Cowboy Diaries: Dusty Tuckness — Bullfighters Are More Athlete Than Clown
True cowboys and cowgirls are hard to find, but not at the Houston Rodeo. Life on the road leads them here this time every year for the biggest rodeo in the world, where they’ll ride and wrangle livestock for cash and glory. Each day, Hair Balls will spotlight one person…
Your Worst Kitchen Nightmare: Gordon Ramsay Coming to Houston
The more tolerable (but only by a sliver) of Gordon Ramsay’s “reality” television shows, Kitchen Nightmares, is coming to town. Get your earplugs ready now. A casting call went out this week from Jen Apploff, casting producer for the show, in search of Houston restaurants that are in dire need…
Texas to Put Humans to Sleep with Animal Drug
Pretty soon, in-deep-doo-doo Texans will be able to exit the planet in the same style as deaf, blind and arthritic-ridden Fidos and Fluffys. As was recently reported by the Wall Street Journal, the state of Texas has opted to change its lethal-injection formula to include pentobarbital. The sedative is the…
Pin Oak Charity Horse Show
Can you tell an American Saddlebred from an Andalusian or a Lusitano? You’ll certainly be able to after attending the Pin Oak Charity Horse Show. During the two-week event, spectators, from novices to experts, will see plenty of finely tailored riding jackets, carefully braided manes, lots of top hats and…
Swimming Upstream
Relive the power of hurricanes Katrina and Rita in Swimming Upstream: A Testimony, A Prayer, A Hallelujah, An Incantation. Directed by the formidable Eve Ensler of Vagina Monologues fame, Swimming Upstream is a wonderful collection of tales written by women who lived through the two landmark storms. The episodic Swimming,…
Pops Knockouts
In Pops Knockouts, Houston Symphony Principal Pops Conductor Michael Krajewski brings together some of classical music’s most recognizable tunes from Tchaikovsky, Pachelbel and Rossini, along with excerpts from Fiddler on the Roof and even the Star Wars movies. (Expect renditions of the 1812 Overture, Op. 49, the soundtracks to several…
“Chicome-Xochtli’s Children”
You don’t have to brush up on Aztec history in order to enjoy “Chicome-Xochtli’s Children” at Art League Houston, but it wouldn’t hurt. The title of the show refers to the Aztec god of the arts; each of the show’s four participating artists lives in the Gulf Coast region, the…
Geri Allen
Acclaimed pianist and composer Geri Allen has performed with a who’s who of jazz musicians, including Clark Terry, Dewey Redman, Betty Carter, Marian McPartland, Billy Taylor and Meshell Ndegeocello. She makes her debut with Da Camera’s jazz series today when the Geri Allen Trio with Gary Bartz takes the stage…
Bill Solley
After stints at the University of New Orleans and Juilliard, guitarist Bill Solley has moved to Houston. We’re glad he did, because his unique blend of funk and jazz, with traces of classical music thrown in, is an exciting addition to the local scene. Solley plays with what seems to…
Movies Houstonians Love: Nothing But a Man
Michael Roemer’s Nothing But a Man (1964) is a forceful treatment of the rural black experience after segregation, but the film fell into the art-house circuit and never achieved proper critical or popular recognition. Rick Lowe, founder of Project Row Houses, has deemed this movie his favorite film for the…
Taylor Stevens: The Informationist
Few debuts make the splash that Taylor Stevens’s The Informationist did, especially in the crowded field of thrillers. The Texas-based author hit all the right notes with her story of Vanessa Michael Munroe, a woman who specializes in selling information about developing countries to corporations. Booklist called the novel “dazzling,”…
Traditional Irish Breakfast & Brunch
Get an early start on your celebrating with a traditional Irish Breakfast and brunch at Brian O’Neill’s. The doors open at 8 a.m. with food service until noon. Murder the Stout gets the party going with The Dead Rabbits rocking out in the parking lot at 3 p.m. The Slags…
4th Annual St. Patrick’s Festivities – The Big Party
The biggest party of the day ist at Lucky’s Pub. Doors open at 6 a.m. for breakfast; bar service, including green beer, starts at 7 a.m.; bagpipers, Leprechauns, and live broadcasting from 94.5 The Buzz radio goes on all day. There are 12 bands and 4 DJs, so wear your…
The 46th Annual St. Patrick’s Day Festival
You don’t have to wait until nightfall to start celebrating the patron saint of Ireland. Lucky’s Pub will be opening its doors bright and early for the St. Patrick’s Festival 2011. Starting at 6 a.m., there will be a hearty Irish breakfast, with bar service starting just an hour later…
SXSW: Drooling Over Jewel…
So we walked into a songwriting panel, and spied a full and tanned lady talking about her craft with younger strummers, in a high, breathy voice…..
Heights Art Heist Update
COVER STORY Heights Art Heist Update Lawyers loom, tempers flare By John Nova Lomax Developments continue in the story of H Gallery, the Heights art gallery that is alleged to have been ripping off artists for the past several years. (See “The Great Heights Art Heist,” March 3.) Recently, H…
Scam Artists
Scam Artists Not One-Nine: Just a slight correction to your excellent article [“The Great Heights Art Heist,” By John Nova Lomax, March 3]: You state that Gallery 19 was West 19th’s first art gallery, but in fact there was a co-op gallery named Gallery One-Nine on 19th in the mid-’90s…
Exactly How Safe Is Juarez?
Dear Mexican, Why is it que cada vez that I talk to a Hispanic (not many Mexicans in New York, yet), it seems that they have a fantasma that they think lives in their house? I know that Carlos Mencia has used this in his material, but I wonder if…
Get Some “Answers”
British collaborative duo John Wood and Paul Harrison’s videos look like work made by artists under house arrest. All of the videos take place in simple interior spaces, almost always painted a sterile white. Their bodies (clothed — it’s not that kind of art) are often the primary subject matter…
Capsule Art Reviews: “Bjørn Båsen: Tainted Tales,” “California Cool,” “Heimir Björgúlfsson: The Classical,” “Tony Smith: Drawings”
“Bjørn Båsen: Tainted Tales” Bjørn Båsen’s “Tainted Tales” at Anya Tish Gallery presents surreal paintings of antique china objects so odd and distorted, they look like a 19th-century housewife’s laudanum-fueled daydream. And speaking of laudanum, Lewis Carroll is another influence here. In Taffel I (Wonderland) (2011), blue and white, delftware-like…
Weary Boy
Alt-country phenom Ryan Bingham’s career has been meteoric. From ground-zero singing at livestock impresario Jim Bob Altizer’s rodeo events for fun and a later side trip to Europe, where he worked in a Wild West show outside Paris, Bingham scored a record deal with Nashville super-indie Lost Highway. Last year…
Capsule Stage Reviews: Gone Missing, Or, OVO, Sleeping Beauty
Gone Missing Experimental, yes, but still entertaining — talent will out. Gone Missing is based on actual interviews with real people, conducted by The Civilians, a journalistic acting troupe headquartered in New York City, and carved into theatrical shape by Steven Cosson, the group’s founder. Theater LaB has mounted its…
The Cold One
For more than a decade, DJ Mina has run the venerable bastion of goth at Numbers known as Underworld. Saturday, the monthly event celebrates its 12th anniversary by hosting the man who can honestly be said to have made the entire genre possible. That man is Peter Murphy, the pale,…
Chilling Spree
Here is the comprehensive list of things cooler than a xylophone: Um…everything. Sunglasses, cheetahs, an old cell phone, vacuum cleaners, poetry, picture frames, poetry about picture frames, lightbulbs, A League of Their Own on DVD, whatever. They’re all better. Nobody has ever said, “You know what would make this situation…
Mike Watt & the Missingmen
Mike Watt just released the third album in the “punk opera” series he began with 1997’s Contemplating the Engine Room. This year’s Hyphenated-Man follows 2004’s The Secondman’s Middle Stand, turning the run into a trilogy now until Watt makes another album. Today Watt is something of a punk-rock treasure —…
The Civil Wars
Boy-girl duo The Civil Wars come to the table with not only the seal of approval from none other than country titan Taylor Swift, but also with a brand-new album, the already critically adored Barton Hollow. Young superstar Swift has been gushing about the Civils in most every recent interview,…
Gladys Knight
With Diana Ross just here and Smokey Robinson on the way, Houston’s Motown Spring continues Saturday with, in our opinion, Hitsville U.S.A.’s most underrated singer. Gladys Knight is hardly an unknown — “Midnight Train to Georgia,” anyone? — but the Atlanta native and her Pips were somewhat lost in the…
Omar Rodriguez-Lopez
As the brains and guitar brawn behind The Mars Volta and their legendary El Paso precursors At The Drive-In, Omar Rodriguez-Lopez has influenced a greater part of the impressionable ears of young America to turn on, tune in and get cosmic. The guitarist’s Pink Floyd/Santana influences didn’t come to the…
Breakfast with Botero
To see photos of Macondo’s cheerful, busy dining room and its equally busy kitchen, check out our slideshow. On a dreary, rainy Saturday morning, the last thing I expected to find at a restaurant on a quiet downtown street was a packed house. But that was exactly what greeted my…
Surfer Blood
Less than a year after inception, Surfer Blood was high on the hype list — The New York Times sang the band’s praises, and a Reading Festival appearance was on the horizon — but it’s those big steps that often spell disaster for a baby band. Instead of imploding on…
Suck the Head!
It’s not officially crawfish season yet. Exhibit A: Danton’s, my go-to for serious Cajun food, isn’t stocking them. Exhibit B: Neither is BB’s Cajun Café or Goode Co. Seafood. And it won’t be until at least the end of the month, if not next month. But the fact that it…
Das Racist
If you pegged the Brooklyn-via-Wesleyan duo Das Racist’s shtick as simple joke-rap, perhaps based on a little existential cartography lesson called “Combination Pizza Hut and Taco Bell,” you would’ve been half wrong: Das (pronounced like a crude “that’s”) Racist’s shtick is extremely complicated joke-rap, a hyperliterate hodgepodge of hipster irony,…
Made in Texas
See photos of the distilleries brewing bourbon in Texas in our slideshow. The dozen or so drinkers who show up for Ranger Creek Brewing & Distilling’s free Saturday afternoon tours in northeast San Antonio don’t have much in common, save the ability to find the industrial park building that looks…
Planet of the Aping
Paul, it should be noted up front, is not the third installment in the so-called Blood and Ice Cream Trilogy featuring Simon Pegg and Nick Frost, though there are indeed servings of both. Note the one key missing element: Edgar Wright, who directed and co-wrote with Pegg both the 2004…
Valley of the Dolls
A gleeful celebration of nonstop doping, Limitless offers up a dim Better Living Through Chemistry fantasy that refuses to rain on its own pill-popping parade. With long, disheveled locks and matching facial scruff, novelist Eddie (Bradley Cooper) struggles with writer’s block until he runs into his ex-brother-in-law, Vernon (Johnny Whitworth)…
