Hubble 3D
From Galileo to Hubble, a long line of scientists and astronomers has sought to get an ever-closer look at the stars. In Hubble 3D, currently screening at the Houston Museum of Natural Science Wortham IMAX¨ Theatre, you can see some of the amazing Hubble images captured by the Atlantis STS-125…
Bobby Heugel’s Weekly Cocktail: El Diablo
Texans who love tequila are among the most passionate spirit enthusiasts in the world. Their connection to the agave spirit may at times seem overzealous, but tequila’s Texas history may explain their unbridled enthusiasm for the spirit. Several stories about tequila’s introduction into Texas exist. Despite some historical uncertainties about…
Recipe: Passover Grilled Lamb
Traditionally, many Jews eat lamb at Pesach or Passover. Instead of our regular baked or rotisserie lamb that we have been serving for years, last year, we took it outside and made it on the grill. What we got was a tender, caramelized lamb roast, and despite all the rest…
Al Edwards Takes His Vote-Fraud Allegations Against Borris Miles To Court
Voter fraud in Harris County? Could it be so?Well, State Representative Al Edwards says it is, and to try and prove it he filed a petition late Tuesday in Harris County District Court contesting the recent primary election results which put him 10 votes behind his long-time Democrat rival Borris…
Top 5 Worst Easter Candies
We’ve already professed our love for Easter candy. Now we’re willing to admit where it falls short. After all, no holiday is complete without its nasty options to complement the greatness. Without further complaint, here are our five all-time most hated Easter candies. 5. Pez In our sometimes-humble opinion, Easter…
R.I.P, Hudson & Harrigan On KILT-FM
Since time immemorial, in Houston radio terms, there has been a Hudson & Harrigan show on KILT, both in the AM days and the FM present.The people hosting under that moniker have changed, but the current team — Fred Olson and Randy Hames — have been doing it since 1982,…
Everybody Knows This Is Nashville: Runaway Sun Checks In From The Road
Rocks Off mentioned in Tuesday’s installment of Magnolia City Mixtape that Runaway Sun lead singer Andrew Karnavas and Monica Danna, the band’s publicist, are keeping track of their travels on Twitter as they make their way from New York City back to Houston. Earlier today, Karnavas emailed us with a…
Chef Chat Part 3: Dax McAnear
Dax McAnear may be leaving shortly, but his impact on Houston’s restaurants has been widespread. Working at Benjy’s, Beaver’s, Textile and now his short shifts at Yelapa Mexicana, Dax has grown with Houston’s emerging culinary community. We have had his food at various places, including a roasted Berkshire shoulder with…
What’s Japanese for “Hangover Cure”?
With nicer weather in the air — a.k.a., it’s time to sit on a patio and drink — and St. Patrick’s Day just behind us, chances are most of us may have found ourselves overindulging lately. Obviously, we’re grown-up and know how to handle such a rare occasion as a…
Game Time: Calipari Seeks His First Final Four….You Know, Because The Other Two Never Happened
The NCAA makes me chuckle sometimes. Forget about the laughable amount of time it takes them to investigate transgressions at schools where you may as well be investigating jaywalking outside Minute Maid Park on Texas Street after an Astros game. (For those of you who don’t live in Houston, after…
G.I. Blues: A Soldiers’ Playlist
Today is the anniversary of one of the truly momentous occasions in popular music: On March 23, 1958, Elvis Presley reported for induction into the U.S. Army, thus opening up a thousand alternate timelines for musical historians to formulate “What if he hadn’t?” scenarios. For the next few years, the…
HISD Looks to Hire Teachers From California
The Houston ISD is heading out to California (and later to Louisiana, Michigan and Florida!) to recruit teachers, its press office announced today.Specifically, it is looking for bilingual, secondary math and science teachers and cash-strapped California — where reportedly more than 20,000 teachers are facing the prospect of pink slips…
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. Hungry In Houston: It’s definitely that time of year again: Crawfish boils…
Don’t Start A Band, Because Sometimes You Will Be Paid In Hummus
This week, Rocks Off has decided to let our readers know that we feel your pain – we’re in a band, too. For those readers who are smart enough not to be in a band, we applaud you. For the unfortunate ones who decided to pursue this dream, though, we’re…
A Michigan Judge Does What A Texas Judge Can’t And Vacates A Plea-Bargain Deal
There’s no doubt that Texas has a lot of things going for it. There’s no state income tax, the economy isn’t totally in the shitter, and while it can get a bit hot, the weather is generally better than most other states.But when it comes to victims’ rights, there’s no…
Celestial Sandwiches – Day Three
This week we’re offering up 25 of our favorite sandwiches. Below is today’s list. And if you haven’t seen them yet, here’s Monday’s and Tuesday’s. Breakfast sandwich at La Guadalupana – The breakfast sandwich, in general, is much less popular than the breakfast taco — yet no less awesome. La…
The Rev. Billy Gibbons Scats About Old Buff Stadium And The Astros… We Think
It’s a gray day in Houston today (no pun intended), and just this past weekend, only a promotional hoodie a friend fortuitously found at our Village Voice Media party – we have no idea who or what a “Mojofilter” is; we’re just glad they didn’t make keychains this year -…
Astro Memories, Part Two: Author/ Supermodel Billy Gibbons of ZZ Top
As we mentioned earlier, today’s issue — our annual look at Astros’ Opening Day — takes what Sarah Palin would no doubt call a “hopey-changey” approach to the 2010 season.Not for us to wallow in despair; instead we asked prominent Houstonians for their favorite Astro memories.Rapper Paul Wall talked of…
Abita Strawberry Harvest Lager
Do you love strawberries? Do you love beer? If so, then you’ll love Abita’s Strawberry Harvest. Strawberry Harvest is a wheat beer made with real Ponchatoula strawberries. Some liken it to Purple Haze but with strawberries instead of raspberries. This lager is crisp and light with a subtle hint of…
An Americana “Billie Jean,” Fried-Chicken Fight And More Great Shows From The Fabulous Satellite Lounge
[Part 2 of a three-part series. Read Part 1 here.] Richard Thomspon: LOM’s brother-in-law called us on a Sunday afternoon and said Thompson was playing the Satellite that night; we’d heard nothing about it. Thompson had just released his rock record, Mock Tudor, and we went what we thought was…
East Texas Man Vies For Title As Sickest Child Molester Of All Time
You know what they say. If an offer seems too good to be true, it probably is.That was what residents or rural Jasper County thought in January of 2009, when poorly-written handmade signs started popping up along backroads offering dirt cheap babysitting services.How cheap? How about $12 for an entire…
Edge Of Twilight: The Secret History Of Forgotten UK Proggers Gentle Giant
Who Dat? Ah yes, the ’70s, fertile ground for prog-rockers of mostly English descent like Yes, King Crimson, Genesis, Jethro Tull and Emerson, Lake and Palmer. But a cult has grown around the (many would say) even more complex and experimental Gentle Giant – a quintet that, among them, could…
Local Craftswoman Hits Jackpot: An Appearance On Martha Stewart’s Show
Houstonian Claire Chauvin describes herself, on her blog poopscape.com, as “a craft-obsessed mother and photography teacher.”And if you’re “craft-obsessed,” then there are few better things than being invited to appear on The Martha Stewart Show. That little bit of heaven happens for Chauvin next week, when she will chat with…
10 Disturbing Food Advertisements From The 1970s
The 1970s gave us many wonderful things that are still culturally relevant to this day: Sesame Street, punk music, the Honda Civic and video games. However, it also marked a period in time where (much like the 1960s before it) food was marketed in perhaps the most unappealing ways possible…
Idol Beat: Miley As Mentor
There were many dark and torturous moments in last night’s American Idol. If forced to pick just one, I would have to go with the selection of Miley Cyrus as this week’s “mentor” to the singers. The mentor thing, I am gathering, is a regular feature in which a recording…
American Idol: Miley As Mentor
There were many dark and torturous moments in last night’s American Idol. If forced to pick just one, I would have to go with the selection of Miley Cyrus as this week’s “mentor” to the singers. The mentor thing, I am gathering, is a regular feature in which a recording…
The Close Losses Keep Piling Up For The Aeros
There was once a pitcher for the Houston Astros known as Jose Lima. Lima had a moderately successful career for the Astros while the team was in the Astrodome, a park ideally suited for his style of pitching, a style which often involved deep flyball outs. Then the Astros moved…
Self-Proclaimed “8 Bit Bitch” MC Router, First Lady Of Nerdcore, Talks Mad Shit About Video-Game Groupies
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 sheaserrano@gmail.com. There are a few select instances when it’s…
Stirred & Shaken: Hearsay’s Gin-Gin Mule
Anthony, the bar manager at downtown “gastro lounge” Hearsay (218 Travis, 713-225-8079), is intent on stealing Houston’s cocktail crown from Anvil. “We want to be the place for cocktails in town,” he said as he served a gin-gin mule, a classic-style concoction that originated at New York’s Pegu Club. Like…
Remembering Good Things About The Astros, Part One
As Shakespeare would have said if he was an Astros fan, there have been several summers of discontent lately, and there ain’t no son of York hanging around waiting to make them glorious.In fact, it’s a pretty dismal time to be a Stros fan. Since that big Game Seven against…
A Playoff Victory For The Ages, Or For The Want Of A Good Travel Agent A Championship Was Lost
As fans travel to Houston for the NCAA regionals, they can only hope their favorite team shows as much spunk, as much desire, as much can-do spirit as Beaumont’s Southeast Texas Mavericks.The Mavericks are part of the American Basketball Association (suggested slogan: “Not the ABA You’re Thinking Of”), and they…
Coffee Review: Intelligentsia’s El Salvador, Finca Matalapa Peaberry
We recently had the opportunity to try Intelligentsia Coffee and Tea’s farm fresh Salvadoran coffee, Finca Matalapa Peaberry. This coffee is made up of only the upper coffee berries of a single farm — Finca Matalapa — which are different from the rest of the plant because they have only…
Lakewood Church May Open a Charter School
Joel Osteen’s Lakewood Church is developing a proposal to start a charter school for autistic children that would open in the fall of 2011.Nancy Manley, executive principal in the Houston ISD’s charter and alternative schools office, mentioned Lakewood’s plans during her address to the Senate Education Committee’s charter hearing earlier…
The Shameless Chef: Chicken Tortilla Casserole
I have returned with a dirt-simple one for this week, kids. The Shameless Chef has been hitting the sauce pretty hard over SXSW and therefore it’s pretty hard to think straight. Is there any way I can have a reverse-intervention on my friends, family, and doctor to convince them I…
Game Time: The Tweet Sixteen….Readers Lament Their Brackets On Twitter
The title of my post last Friday, “My Bracket Looks Like Edward James Olmos’ Face”, actually came from one of my Twitter followers (@jamesmthomson). Like any blogger of integrity, I gave James full credit while inside hoping that you would ignore said credit and think that I was actually the…
The World’s Hottest Weapon
The world’s hottest pepper is now a weapon? Yep! According to today’s Houston Chronicle, the Indian military in now using what we know as the ghost pepper to make a type of tear-gas hand grenade. We’ve seen enough Man vs. Food episodes to know that this will be an effective…
Where Are We (Anachronistically) Peeing?
Oh, look at us with our fancy old-timey bicycles on the wall! You would think a bar that looks like a 19th-century funeral home would at least make the restrooms look all old-school as well. We wouldn’t mind pissing in an outhouse out back, or using a page from a…
World’s Most Underpaid Scrap Metal Thief Nabbed Again
Let’s just say that 51-year-old Donald Ray Bias of Beaumont is a man of science, not a man of art.Where one more aesthetically inclined — the sort who prices art for a living, say — might see a David Cargill sculpture entitled “The Importance of Being Mary” as being worth…
Celestial Sandwiches – Day Two
This week we’re offering up 25 of our favorite sandwiches. Here’s today’s list of five. Check out yesterday’s list here. Curried chicken salad on cinnamon raisin walnut bread at Stone Mill Bakers – Stone Mill has quietly ruled the corner of Westheimer and Kirby for years now, turning out picture-perfect…
Brew Blog: Pairing Stromboli with Tommyknocker’s Cocoa Porter
On this week’s Brew Blog, we try out a homemade pairing. We saw Tommyknocker’s Cocoa Porter at Central Market last week and took some home, the six-pack having triggered fond memories of playing drunken pool in Colorado bars and devouring Beau Jo’s pizza on the way back from ski trips…
A Few Possible Cures For Rocks Off’s Acute “Can’t Stay Home” Syndrome
Monday night, an obviously delirious Rocks Off found ourselves upstairs at the Mink’s Backroom instead of where we should have been, home in bed asleep. We enjoyed high-energy/lo-fi trio Vivian Girls, but at this point we are starting to realize we may have a problem. If you happen to share…
The Dynamo Stadium Plan Is Magic
The greatest plan ever has been unveiled.Using absolutely no public funding, the city, by April 1, 2012, will get a 20,000 seat, $80 million Dynamo soccer/Texas State Southern University football stadium that will create a new section of downtown, which will undoubtedly boom with economic growth, and the problem with…
Houston Scores Big In Fed’s List Of Cities With Energy-Efficient Buildings
Houston’s air may be a national joke, but we do score the occasional surprise good showing in environmental matters.The Environmental Protection Agency today put out its list of the Top 25 cities with the highest number of energy-efficient buildings, and Houston came in a solid sixth.The EPA counts 133 buildings…
Do You Love Macaroni and Cheese?
A local restaurant is hoping that you do, and that you love it enough to eat it on a fairly regular basis. Jus’ Mac, an all-macaroni-and-cheese restaurant, is set to open in the Heights at Yale and 26th in a few months. We first caught wind of this news on…
Yes, We Are Sick Of SXSW Too, But We Did Find (And Shoot) These Videos…
Bun B x Motion Family x SXSW from Motion Family on Vimeo. Bun B wrecks it at SXSW; video by Motion Family As the dust settles from SXSW 2010, we began scouring YouTube for clips of some of our favorite performances. We managed to capture a handful on our own,…
HISD Teacher Needs Only One More Win To Become “Groom Of The Year”
Ernie Bainbridge, a teacher at HISD’s Walnut Bend Elementary, has only one person to beat to become the “Groom of the Year” for Brides magazine.The March Madness-style bracket challenge has him facing off in the finals against a musician from Nashville. Bainbridge would be very happy if you voted for…
BARC Vet Who Helped In Controversial Case Has A Reprimand On Her Record
The Bureau of Animal Regulation and Care’s chief vet, who was instrumental in the decision to operate in-house on a severely injured dog — who did not survive surgery — was reprimanded by Virginia’s veterinary board in 2007.According to documents filed with the Virgina’s Department of Health Professions, M’risa Mendelsohn’s…
Robb Walsh Named a James Beard Award Finalist (With Disturbing Video!)
Watch the above video, and you’ll never forget it (trust us). It’s called “Robb Walsh Takes Beef 101” — and he shot it at Texas A&M for a feature story he was writing for the Houston Press, “Not So Clear Cut.” Walsh was just named a finalist in the James…
The Night BYOB-Packing Jason & The Scorchers Fans Trashed The Fabulous Satellite Lounge, And 3 Other Great Shows
[Part 1 of a three-part series.] Houston International Festival Director of Performing Arts Rick Mitchell’s recent remembrance of great shows he saw at Rockefeller’s got LOM to thinking about great shows next door at the funky old Satellite Lounge. We spent way more nights in the Satellite, our favorite hangout…
David Rogers, 21, Bayou Body Count No. 69
An alleged stick-up man allegedly pointed a gun at a police officer and paid for it with his life.(That’s a lot of allegeds, but when it comes to cops shooting and killing folks, you initially have to take the police department’s word on things).Investigators claim that a pair of robbers,…
Big Rip of Amen Recordz Breaks Down The Convenient-Store CD Economy
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…
Shhh…The Password Is Bitters
Update: To clarify, Anvil offered half off its menu of food and cocktails at the anniversary party. However, since the drink the writer ordered was not on the menu, she was charged full price. Sunday night marked the one year anniversary of Houston retro-cocktail mecca Anvil Bar & Refuge. The…
Devin The Dude Vs. Texas Board Of Education; Summerfest Prices Go Up Tonight; Rare Lightnin’ Hopkins Portraits For Sale; ZZ Top To Play Chile Benefit
The Awl writes about Devin the Dude, making fun of the dumbifying of Texas’ public-school curriculum. Today is your last chance to get Summerfest passes for the low, low price of $22.50. They go up at midnight. Prince Paul, who only produced De La Soul’s 3 Feet High and Rising,…
Great Moments In Political Debate, La Marque Style
You can have your Daniel Webster rising in the Senate to give his storied Second Reply to Hayne; the La Marque City Council has set the bar for legislative contemplation far, far higher with its epochal Argument Over A Past-Due Library Book.As noted in the Galveston County Daily News, the…
Chef Chat: Dax McAnear, a Fond Farewell
Yesterday we interviewed Dax McAnear, local chef ready to make his mark on San Francisco. Today we talk Houston with him. Eating Our Words: What has been your involvement with Yelapa Mexicana? Dax McAnear: I have only been there a few weeks, and this month will be my last. I…
The Alabama Bookstop Due To Become An Office-Supply Store? (Updated)
The Alabama Bookstore, the former Alabama Theater, the beloved Montrose icon, is going to be turned into….a Staples?That seems to be the indication from the scoop Swamplot has posted — architectural drawings the show the property’s sloped floor being leveled out by a cement pour to make one big-box retail…
Mayalino’s “We Alive Now” Video and Big Dan’s “Lentes” Video… Trailer
Mayalino, your favorite JBlock Street Gang member of Southeast’s Magnolia, just released a high-quality video, “We Alive Now,” from his Fuck These Wet Wacks album, dropping the third week of April. “The song is really real to the Mayalino contrast, rebelling against hip-hop rules, rebelling against – amongst rappers -…
New On DVD: The Blind Side And Oh-So-Classic James Brown
Well, everyone survived the frenzy of last Friday’s release of The Twilight Saga: New Moon pretty much unscathed (the second installment of the Twilight series earned a cool $295.6 million at the box office and will no doubt earn another huge heap of money of DVD sales).If you’re still in…
Exit, Tom Penders; Enter…..To Be Determined
It was rather surreal inside the Carl Lewis Auditorium at the University of Houston Athletics/Alumni Center yesterday afternoon. Let’s start with members of the Houston media actually showing up for something that didn’t involve a free buffet — there hasn’t been that large a contingent of media on hand sense…
Where Are We Drinking?
“Kid, there are only two things I want in life right now. A pack of Salem Lights and to play some goddamned Merle Haggard on the jukebox. Now get the hell out of my way or you’re gonna get a picture of my middle finger to ‘post’ on your ‘blog.'”…
Distant Early Warning: Chamillionaire & Paul Wall, Jordin Sparks, Local Natives, Passion Pit, Paramore, Toots & The Maytals, Weird Al Yankovic, Etc.
Aziz Ansari: Fri., July 30. House of Blues. Black Congress (7″ Release Show), Golden Axe, Omotai: Sat., April 10. Rudyard’s. Blue Oyster Cult, Foghat: Sat., May 29. The Showgrounds @ Sam Houston Race Park. “BuzzFest XXIV” With Limp Bizkit, Deftones, Metric, Three Days Grace, 30 Seconds To Mars, Flyleaf, Seether:…
Pop Rocks: Go F*** Yourself, Andy Rooney
Venerable windbag Andy Rooney took a break last Sunday from complaining about Hispanic ballplayers and the number of non-functioning typewriters he owns to address the problem of unemployment: Rooney understands your problem, because he’s been out of work too…though apparently not since 1949, when he first started working for CBS…
Your Brackets Already Are Blown — Start Thinking About Next Year
Face it, your NCAA brackets this year are a joke. Your Final Four of Kansas, Villanova, Pittsburgh and New Mexico didn’t turn out to be the lock you imagined.So start thinking about next year. When the Final Four is right here in Houston.The ticket application process is still open for…
The Bar at River Oaks Theatre
We recently caught a showing of Crazy Heart at River Oaks Theatre on West Gray. You know what we love about this theater? You can buy a beer here, and we don’t mean in a paper cup – you can purchase a beer like you would in a bar, Heineken…
Penders Is Definitely Not Leaving “To Spend More Time With His Family”
What has been rumored since even before the basketball season began came true today. There was a press conference at the University of Houston in which it was announced that Tom Penders would not be returning as the head coach of the Houston Cougars.There was a strangeness about the atmosphere…
Aftermath: Justin Bieber And Selena Gomez’s Calculated Preteen Pop Shuts Down RodeoHouston’s 2010 Go-Round
What kind of blog crew follows a five-day SXSW music binge with a double shot of power-pop built for those born in the second Clinton administration? Why Rocks Off, of course. Think of it as a preemptive inoculation for the two minutes or so of post-SXSW, pre-iFest/Summerfest doldrums. We booked…
Top 5 Best Easter Candies
We all look forward to various seasons. For some it’s crawfish, oyster, or softshell crab season. For others, it’s barbecue season. For us, it’s Easter candy season. After all, Easter candy is better than the candies of all other holidays combined. Oh we’ll grant you that Halloween has some winners…
Chef Chat: Dax McAnear, a Fond Farewell
Formerly of Textile, and now interim cook at Yelapa Mexicana, Dax McAnear will be leaving Houston at the end of March. We sat down with him to talk about his future, his past cooking experiences, and Houston. Eating Our Words: Where have you cooked before Textile and Yelapa? Dax McAnear:…
Shoreacres Couple Sues Over Bayport Operations
It was 12 years ago when we first wrote of residents raising the alarm over the effects of the proposed giant Bayport terminal. Now the terminal is built and continues to expand, and people continue to criticize it.A Shoreacres couple has filed suit saying the terminal has forced them to…
Aftermath: Brooks & Dunn Boot-Scoot For The Final Time (Maybe) At RodeoHouston
Saturday night, Kix Brooks and Ronnie Dunn performed their last RodeoHouston ever; after 19 consecutive years, the duo has decided to part ways and pursue different directions… or so they say. Aftermath wouldn’t be surprised to see a reunion tour in less than five years. Then again, maybe that’s just…
SXSW Aftermath: Alex Chilton Haunts A Festival Full Of His Musical Children
After the mega-shows last SXSW with Metallica and Kanye West, the 2010 version of SXSW launched struck your humble badgeholder as busier than last year, just on a smaller scale. With fewer truly dominant stars appearing this year, SXSW had a chance to return to a more organic celebration of…
Charissa Powell, 3, Bayou Body Count No. 68
Someone gunned down a 3-year-old Charissa Powell, and police have vowed to catch the killer.It all went down on Sunday afternoon in the parking lot of the Live Oak Bend apartments in north Houston. The father and his two kids — a daughter, 3, and son, 1 — were getting…
Recipe: Stromboli
In recent months we finally learned how to make Momma’s famous stromboli – that delicious turnover filled with meat and cheese. We’re not of Italian stock, but it’s a good bite. And while this should work with any white bread, we’re including a recipe to try at the end of…
SXSW Aftermath: Here’s To The Most Accessible, Personable Festival In Years
SXSW is a festival that tries to beat you down like the drip-drip of acid on the blink-blink of an eyeball, and more times than not it succeeds. But if you’re able to come out of it alive, you realize just how revelatory it is as a four-day music festival…
Game Time: “I’ve Done Some Pretty Bad Things”
“I’ve done some pretty bad things…” — Tiger Woods, 3.21.10That makes two of us, Tiger. Of course, while the bad things you did were decidedly more kinky and homewrecking than my transgressions, it doesn’t make me feel any less remorseful than you. Hey, by the way, saw your texts to…
SXSW Aftermath: The xx And Duchess Says Highlight A Cheery Bacchanalia
If we ignore some of the “real life” issues we had to contend with, Aftermath spent three excellent days in Austin for SXSW 2010. Our energy remained consistently up, mostly fueled by being constantly on the move, as we saw 40 different performances in three days. Admittedly, it’s easy to…
Houston, You Are One Hell Of A Tax-Procrastinating City
If you’re in Houston, we have a pretty good idea what you’re doing — anything but preparing your tax returns.Turbo Tax has put out a survey of the 10 Biggest Tax-Procrastinating Cities, and Houston proudly leads the list after coming in a measly second last year.Turbo Tax V-P Bob Meighan…
SXSW Aftermath: How I Learned To Stop Worrying And Get In The Groove
South by Scorsese: The festival in a single 6th St. tracking shot. Video by Craig Hlavaty It didn’t take long for Aftermath to remember you don’t have to look very hard at all for music at SXSW; in fact, we were barely even awake when it happened. After arriving in…
Celestial Sandwiches – Day One
Since picnic season is upon us, we’ve got sandwiches on the brain. Sandwiches, we feel, are nature’s perfect food. You can eat them on the go, pack them up for school lunches, or fancy ’em up for company. They work for vegetarians, pescatarians, and carnivores alike — any person, any…
SXSW Aftermath: The Texas Garage-Rock Torch Passes At The Continental Club
In February, Magnolia City Mixtape mentioned a piece in Texas Monthly about the storied history of garage rock in Texas written by Aftermath nerd-crush Michael Hall. (His reporting has gotten men on death row exonerated, and he’s in a rock band!) On Friday of SXSW, we heard a story on…
Odd Pair: Peeps and Toad Hollow Risqué Sparkling Wine
We know Easter is coming when Peeps start popping up in the grocery store candy aisle. To be honest, we think they taste pretty bad, but we still have a soft spot for these nostalgic Easter classics. Maybe that’s why they’re the bestselling non-chocolate Easter candy. What you may not…
Twilight’s Felix Hits The Kirby Borders
Preteens made a bum rush to the free Twilight-themed slap-bracelet table while waiting for an appearance of Daniel Cudmore, Felix in the movie New Moon, at a DVD release of the film Friday night. Cudmore’s appearance, at the Borders Bookstore on Kirby, was part of a nationwide Borders event where…
SXSW: Dios And The Black Angels Warm Up A Frigid Saturday Night
Saturday night was a frigid one for the last full night of SXSW, and Aftermath’s musical choices seemed to fall directly in line with the torrid temperament of the weather gods. The night before we found ourselves dabbing sweat of our brows, and exactly 24 hours later we were doing…
Which Classy Texas Congressman Shouted “Baby Killer” Last Night? (Updated)
Last night’s historic health-care vote was an emotional event on both sides of the aisle. Only one side, however, showed the class it takes to yell “Baby Killer!!” at a colleague.And all signs point to a Texan doing the deed.Anti-abortion Democrat Bart Stupak got up to speak late in the…
SXSW Aftermath: A Girl’s Guide To Rocking With Jessica Hopper, Anni Rossi And The Magic Kids
One of the bands Aftermath most wanted to see, Tiger! Shit! Tiger! Shit!, who’d been talked up relentlessly on one of our favorite literary blogs were no-shows at the Six Stages over Texas Block Party Saturday afternoon. They did have to come all the way from Italy, so maybe they…
Five Movie Couples With Worse Chemistry Than Gerard Butler And Jennifer Aniston
The Bounty Hunter earned $21 million at the box office last weekend. A respectable take, though only enough to place third — behind Alice in Wonderland and fellow opener Diary of a Wimpy Kid. The movie still looks like it’ll earn a decent haul, then again, I don’t remember seeing…
SXSW Aftermath: Shaking Off Winter With Vivian Girls, Broken Records, husband & wife And Duchess Says
Much like ACL 2009 will be remembered as the “Rain and Shit-Mud Year,” Saturday at SXSW 2010 is sure to be marked as the day when Winter decided to spit on Austin in the middle of March. As opposed to the blue skies and nice breezes that we enjoyed earlier…
A Chicago-Style Dog at the Firkin & Phoenix
We went to the Firkin & Phoenix (1915 Westheimer) last week for some pre-St. Paddie’s Day over-indulging. Hey, the day before a major drinking holiday like that, you have to stretch your stomach out. And what better to stretch out the old gut than a few beers and a hot…
SXSW Aftermath: A Chilly Reception For The Rhapsody Rocks Lineup At Cedar St.
Aftermath, let it be known, doesn’t mind the cold. People, on the other hand, do. We had a plan Saturday to make a perch at Cedar St. Courtyard to catch the Rhapsody Rocks showcase, a kind of relaxing end to an obviously hectic few days; but when we got there…
SXSW Aftermath: Roll Call At Saturday Night’s Alex Chilton Tribute
Which big names played the Big Star tribute? In the wake of turmoil of the death of Alex Chilton, local media bandied names including Cheap Trick, fresh off a sterling SXSW show at Auditorium Shores, and Paul Westerberg – who had his say-so in Sunday’s New York Times – as…
The Week In TV: New Cable Shows Worth Watching
I’m confused by the weather, recovered from South By Southwest, and forbidden from re-enacting Ghost. This was the week in TV Land: • I’m a week behind on HBO’s The Pacific. This is my own fault; between this show and others, sometimes things get put on the back burner. The…
Coogs Show Sparks, But Are One-And-Done In The NCAAs
On Friday, I laid out a series of necessary keys that the Houston Cougars had to meet were they to have any chance of defeating the Maryland Terrapins in Friday night’s opening-round NCAA Tournament match. You’ve seen the final score by now: Maryland 89, Houston 77. But at the half,…
Where Are We Eating?
Is Indian food a recurring theme here lately? Perhaps, but only because Houston is so richly saturated with excellent Indian restaurants. It’s only to be expected that we want to try them all. Does the spread below look familiar to you? Think you know where we’re eating this week? Leave…
Turning The Screw: Big Pokey, Bun, Trae, Jeezy, Z-Ro, Ice Cube, Waka Flocka, Dame Grease, Jay-Z & Jack White, Lil Flip, Etc.
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. “Hey, Remember That?” Single of the Week: “Who Dat Mad,” Big Pokey, Big Steve and Big E Wire to Wire Bun B interviewed…
TUTS Will Cum On, And It Will Feel The Noize
TUTS has announced its selections for the upcoming season, and there’s a bit of a surprise.No, we’re not getting a Sondheim show. You know better than that.But among the shows is Rock of Ages, which is a campy — and loud — salute to `80s hair bands. (At the Tony…
Looks Like Penders Is Out As UH Hoops Coach
The stories are trickling out that Tom Penders will not be returning to coach the Houston Cougars next season. Penders was on thin ice for most of the season thanks more to a lack of fan support and general alumni unrest than anything he’s done coaching-wise. There were some thoughts…
SXSW Aftermath: Rachael Ray’s Party Pics
John Popper of Blues Traveler (although our favorite Popper role is as himself on the HBO series Z Rock) livened up The Cringe’s otherwise banal set at the Rachael Ray party on a cold, gloomy Saturday. And although most of the crowd wasn’t too impressed with Ray’s husband’s band, the…
SXSW Aftermath: Just Your Average, Garden-Variety Mayhem At The Continental Club
SXSW moves at such a frenetic clip that when you’re finally able to catch your breath and collect your thoughts, it’s almost over. That moment finally arrived for Aftermath at rockabilly troublemaker and Sirius/XM Outlaw Country DJ Mojo Nixon’s annual “Mojo’s Mayhem” throwdown at the Continental Club earlier this afternoon…
SXSW Aftermath: Black Joe Lewis, Raphael Saadiq and Smokey Robinson
Joe Lewis alternated between sweating profusely into his harmonica and howling into the microphone, doubled over on the stage with the pain and joy of their fourth show of SXSW, as the white-shirted Honeybears — minus keyboardist Ian Varley, who will join them for their fifth show tonight — drove…
SXSW Aftermath: Pirate Love’s Proto-Punk, Codiene Velvet Club’s Swinging Harmonies Carry The Night At Rusty Spurs
Aftermath is quite the fan of tromping across the whole of downtown Austin, moving from one day party to the next. The point of those events is to provide people with an unending stream of options so as to gain a fairly decent glimpse of what’s happening in current music…
SXSW Aftermath: Freelance Whales And Local Natives Shine At French Kiss Records’ Showcase
For as long as French Kiss Records has put on a showcase at SXSW, French Kiss Records has not dissapointed. The bands in their stable are a who’s who of up and comers along with a number of indie mainstays that have remained in the public consciousness for years. Newbies…
SXSW Aftermath: Peelander Z’s All-Ages Punk Rock Party
The best-laid plans of mice and men are no match against SXSW. No matter how bad you want to see, say, Warpaint, who seem to be playing 4 shows a day here, eventually you’ll decide to stop following your timetable and start just rolling with the flow. You can see…
SXSW Aftermath: A Night Of Ecstatic Peace, White Mice And Courtney Love Singing The Blues
Rocks Off Jr.’s fourth night of SXSW frolicking starting off groggily as we woke from a well-needed nap after what has seemed like a month now pounding the pavements of Austin, seeking out new music from club to club like soldiers kicking in doors in Iraq looking for bad guys.First…
SXSW Aftermath: Shearwater Takes Flight At Antone’s
In 2008, when Jonathan Meiburg left Okkervil River to focus exclusively on Shearwater, his bird-named band, and his ornithological career studying birds, you could see that Meiburg’s other Okker Will Sheff had big plans in mind. (That they would include Roky Erikson, well… not as apparent.)Now, Meiburg has completed his…
SXSW: Wild Moccasins Enjoy Their Day Off
Hello HP Rocks Off! This is Nick of the Wild Moccasins sending an email about our South by experience. We are staying at Will Patterson of KVRX’s apt. off the drag and he made us pancakes for breakfast which were delicious, a great start for the day.Then we had a…
A Nuclear Error, But I Have No Fear
Things we learned today: There was a “blast” at the South Texas Nuclear Plant in Bay City.Not to worry, though. A nuclear-plant blast can have “no environment impact,” is the second thing we learned. Generally, putting the words “nuclear” and “blast” together would indicate to us some type of environmental…
SXSW As It Happens: The xx Close Out The Village Voice Media Party On A Quiet Note
Brandon K. Hernsberger, 3:45 p.m.: xx fans wear dark, dark sunglasses inside with Superglue attached to their eyeballs. Brandon K. Hernsberger, 3:47 p.m.: The size of this crowd is INSANE for a day show. The xx should play rodeo venues only. Adam Newton, 4:01 p.m.: Awesome. I made it in…
This Week in Deliciousness
Welcome back to the weekly roundup here at Eating Our Words, where we’ve spent all day in the hot sun baling whipped cream out at the cheesecake farm. With a giant spork. Ah, spring break. In Texas, that means South By Southwest, the time of year when Houston huddles jealously…
What Are You Looking At?
What are you looking at here? A window pane shattered by a rock or bullet? Some kind of art project?No. You are looking at………
Good Fish Friday: Ensalada de Bacaloa con Papas y Huevos
According to my Cuban family, Easter dinner was not a particularly memorable event. They might get together and share a meal that Sunday, but there were no must-have Easter dishes. But Good Friday was a different story. Meat was not to be consumed on Fridays, so an alternate protein was…
Recipe: Lengua
Lengua is one of those foods that might gross you out just by the sheer fact of what it is. Mom used to always just coat it in barbecue sauce, so the kids never knew what they were eating and gobbled it down with rice. Today it’s still darn tasty,…
SXSW As It Happens: Superchunk – The Superheroes of the Village Voice Media Party
A series of texts from Brandon K. Hernsberger, starting at 2:46 p.m.: Lil Wayne bumpin’ the speakers. Best opener ever. Who knew Superchunk bumped to Lil Wayne? What a sight. Nobody beats Superchunk. Nobody. Except Pavement. Writers versus photographers. Who wins? Feel like starting a mutiny. Superchunk apparently recording new…
Game Time: “My Bracket Looks Like Edward James Olmos’ Face”
There is a silver lining in a plundered bracket in the year 2010, and it’s this — with the advent of Twitter, you immediately get reaction to the various buzzer-beaters, bracket-busters, and inexplicable gaffes that make up the first few days of the tournament (and there were plenty). So whereas…
Documentary On Anderson Fair Gets Thumbs-Up From Hollywood Reporter
For the Sake of the Song , the documentary on Montrose’s legendary Anderson Fair, is about to make the festival rounds; this week it had its world premiere at SXSW.The influential trade publication Hollywood Reporter reviewed the Austin showing and was enthusiastic, which is always a good thing.The doc views…
SXSW As It Happens: SXXpress, Kindles, Paradise for Little Girls and Finding Free Food
Adam Newton, 12:46 p.m.: I’m at Paradise for Little Girls, a Canadian act making Bauhaus-inspired post-punk. There are three Jewish-Canadian emcees on stage. Adam Newton, 1:00 p.m.: This is Radio Radio, out of Montreal. Fun lyrics, good day party energy and decent beats by a bro, a prep and a…
A Wunderbar Feast at “Lunch With The Germans”
More and more, organizers are mixing music with food at the industry parties that permeate the scene during the daylight hours of SXSW. This morning, I quelled my angry stomach with a full English breakfast of grilled tomatoes, Heinz beans, egg butties and tea at the British Music Embassy while…
Mark Collins, Bayou Body Count No. 67
Love is strong as death; jealousy is cruel as the grave. — BibleIt was around a quarter to 10 at night on St. Patrick’s Day when Mark Collins pulled into a motel along the North Freeway, not far from George Bush Intercontinental Airport. As he exited his car, there was…
SXSW As It Happens: Surfer Blood Makes Waves at the Village Voice Media Party
A series of texts from Brandon K. Hernsberger starting at 12:41 p.m.: I’m in line at Village Voice. Shit is CRAZY long. Most people here to see The xx. 5 in 5 out. Surfer Blood up next. Dudes are effing HUGE. I see people eating inside and I’m jealous. Next…
Aftermath: Muse On The March At Toyota Center
Who does Muse think they are?Big Rock Stars, with a Big Stage Set to go along with their Big Ideas. A Big Stage Set that can, apparently, only be photographed from 100 yards away – any closer and the British trio’s synapse-taxing lasers and jackbooted rock might have fractured a…
Cowboy Tales From The Rodeo: He’s Not A Bum On The Street
Rodeo cowboys basically live on the road, traveling with men and women crazy enough to ride, rope and wrestle live animals for a paycheck. Each day, Hair Balls is asking a different cowboy to tell us a little bit about himself and his wildest story from a life of rodeo…
Snackshot: Mr. Natural
I’m not going to lie to you. There is far, far better food to be found in East Austin — particularly along this stretch of Cesar Chavez — than at Mr. Natural (1901 E. Cesar Chavez). But for a uniquely Austin experience that you won’t soon forget, it can’t be…
SXSW Aftermath: M For Montreal, M For Marvelous
Following a rousing early afternoon of day parties, one filled with the work of from Mathias Aguayou, Yellow Fever, and others,. Aftermath spent the rest of our day chasing down even more music (because isn’t that the point of SXSW)? At The French Legation Museum, we experienced the bittersweet, ’60s-inspired…
SXSW Aftermath: The xx, Another British Buzz Band Gone All Too Soon
Hearing the opening of The xx’s single “Intro” (featured during the Olympics on an AT&T commercial with speed-skater Apolo Ohno) the broiling mass of humanity that filled the French Legation grounds in East Austin Thursday evening let out a collective sigh.The late-starting set was one of the year’s biggest buzz…
Your Chance To Purchase A Drug Kingpin’s Home!
Swamplot, which can navigate the real-estate webz better than us, has pictures of the Drug Kingpin House that you can buy for yourself next week.Located up north near Spring, the tasteful manse was the home of one Darren Odell Jones, currently housed in slightly less spacious digs after being convicted…
Robb Walsh’s 100 Favorite Houston Dishes: #76 Mac n’ Cheese at Two Saints, 12460 Memorial
Over the course of the next few months, I’m counting down 100 of my favorite Houston dishes. I chose some because they are such quintessential Houston creations, others for their cultural or historical significance, and others because they are just so damn tasty. Share your own nominations in the comments…
Rocks Off’s Rodeo Concert Guide: Actual Texans The Eli Young Band
Date: March 19Name: Eli Young BandAKA: “Who?”Genre: Up and countryBest Known Song(s): “When It Rains,” “Always the Love Songs”Key Demographic: UNT grads, people who think “fire” and “guitar” actually rhymePrevious HLSR Appearances: noneHouston Connections, If Any: Unknown, though unlike many of this year’s Rodeo acts, the Eli Young Band is…
SXSW Aftermath: Local Natives, The Only Indie Band That Matters This Year
It’s kind of hard not to notice that SXSW has become, for the most part, a festival celebrating (and sometimes setting the trend for) the past and future six or so months of Pitchfork-friendly indie music; and for the past at least five years there has been that one band…
Late Night Scene: Dollar Beer Night and Hot Dogs at Cecil’s
We recently went to Cecil’s on West Gray to indulge in dollar Lone Star Monday. We always forget that whenever a bar has cheap beer nights, the crowds are thick and it’s hard as hell to get a beer. The trick is to order six at a time (thanks Andy)…
How To Get A Rush In The Piney Woods Without Using Meth
You know what’s boring? Babysitting two kids while schlepping around your own two kids, that’s what’s boring.A gal with joie de vivre needs a little excitement at such times. What to do? Duh — You leave the kids in the pick-up truck (engine running, of course), head into the Walmart…
SXSW Aftermath: Narduwar the Human Serviette’s Bizarre Canadian Patriotism
The girl next to Aftermath at Headhunters motions to her American husband, who is pogoing like a 10-year-old in desperate need of Ritalin. “He tells me I must be the only Canadian who has never heard of Nardwuar.” Indeed, since Nardwuar the Human Serviette has made a name in Canada…
Burger Break: Frank’s Chop House
This week’s Café review is heavy on the lunch items at Frank’s Chop House. The restaurant is located at 3736 Westheimer near the corner of Wesleyan, where the Stables and Joyce’s used to be. Our apologies for leaving the address out of the review — it’s posted now…
SXSW Aftermath: Partying With Andrew WK > Sleep
Rocks Off stayed out past curfew (last call at the bars) to make our way to the Pure Volume party, just a few all too short hours ago. Headliner Andrew WK riled up the already drunken, burrito-fueled crowd with his staunchly pro-party anthems until way past 4 a.m. and right…
The Office: New Leads
The Office is a sitcom, not a serialized drama, so there’s not as much of an arc or through-line for each season. There’s an endgame, yeah, but everything between here and there is up for grabs. That’s all I could think about during last night’s episode, “New Leads,” which had…
Keiko, The Injured BARC Dog, Gets A Second Opinion
We don’t know what made them change their minds, but the Bureau of Animal Regulation and Care had Keiko, the severely injured dog we wrote about Thursday, checked out by an outside vet and opthamologist. Both agreed with the BARC vets that Keiko’s eyes should be removed, according to the…
SXSW Aftermath: Wild Moccasins Strike, Ray Davies Quakes, Deer Tick Boogie
Aftermath roused ourselves from our quick hour-long vegetative session after Thursday’s day-party frolicking to venture into another night of SXSW music, that would include a local band’s breakthrough, a legend reconnecting with his base and two indie-twang bands having a laugh at the industry.First up was Houston’s own Wild Moccasins…
Tonight: The Coogs In The Big Dance
The improbable post-season run of the Houston Cougars continues tonight as they face the fourth-seeded Maryland Terrapins in a first-round Midwest Regional match-up. It’s no secret that Maryland, which tied Duke for the regular-season championship of the ACC, is the favorite in this game.But the Cougars were the underdogs in…
Health Dept. Roundup: 77056-77063
We’re forging ahead here on Health Department Roundup, trekking through the city’s zip codes one by one. If you live, work or, more importantly, eat in 77056-77063 (mainly an area just west of the Loop and a few pockets near Aldine, the Johnson Space Center and Hobby Airport), this is…
Aftermath: The Black Eyed Peas Smell Like Entertainment At RodeoHouston
7:56 p.m.: After puttering back and forth for 30 minutes, we’re finally on a service elevator to get up to the press box. The elevator attendant says she just saw Fergie. She says she was “short and skinny.” That’s slightly different than how we would’ve described her. We probably would’ve…
Homeowners Association Wants To Buy Golf Course; Not Everyone Thinks It’s A Great Idea
Sparks are flying in Atascocita over one homeowners association’s proposal to buy a neighborhood golf course.Michele Curtis, a member of the Atascocita Community Improvement Association, told Hair Balls she believes the board is overstepping the bounds carved out in the group’s covenant by asking members to vote on buying the…
New Nominees For Metro’s Board — Including A Blogger — And Frank Wilson, That Bell Is Tolling For Thee
To hear Mayor Annise Parker tell it, it’s only a matter of time before Metro’s president, Frank Wilson, is gone. At a press conference yesterday where the mayor announced her nominees for new Metro board members, Wilson was the hot topic. Parker had just returned from Washington, D.C., where she…
SXSW As It Happens: Riot Grrrl Royalty, Bloody Drums, SXSW Parable, Portajohns And Quasi Kicks Ass
Brittanie Shey, 5:03 p.m.: “I’m at Kill Rock Stars, and if she weren’t too cool for school my inner 15-year-old would be freaking out. Riot grrrl royalty everywhere.” Brandon K. Hernsberger, 5:03 p.m.: “At Ms. Bea’s, Todd P’s party. Quasi playing, drummer from Sleater-Kinney, guitarist from the Jicks, used to…
Robb Walsh’s 100 Favorite Houston Dishes: #77 Tesar’s “Magic” Burger, Woodlands
Over the course of the next few months, I’m counting down 100 of my favorite Houston dishes. I chose some because they are such quintessential Houston creations, others for their cultural or historical significance, and others because they are just so damn tasty. Share your own nominations in the comments…
Happy Hour Scene: McElroy’s Pub
The woman wearing green devil horns on her head was trying to answer our question, but we could barely hear her over all the noise in McElroy’s Pub. We had seen the woman dancing outside a few minutes earlier, and she was dancing with a man wearing a green Dr…
Some Judicial Action In Those Bad-Faith Worker’s-Comp Insurance Cases
In 2008 we wrote about the problems with Texas Mutual Insurance, a company accused of bad-faith dealings with people who had filed worker’s comp claims through them.Two recent court actions have advanced things a bit, including what could be an important showdown at the Texas Supreme Court.The first action was…
SXSW As It Happens: The French Legation Is Pretty Much Where It’s At Today – Sure Ain’t North Lamar
Craig Hlavaty, 4:05 p.m.: “Fader is hella packed for Neon Indian. These are Dallas’ babies.” Adam P. Newton, 4:09 p.m.: “I’m heading to Eastbound and Down to meet @clickwindrepeat and see Danielson.” Newton, 4:14 p.m.: “So I decided to go to the French Legation Museum for a great two-stage lawn…
Top 5 LAN Party Foods
LAN parties are something of a dying breed. Players can now get the extreme multiplayer experience through online play subscriptions without the hassle of carting TVs, game systems and cables over to their friend’s houses. But diehards still enjoy LAN parties, and they’ve created their own distinct food parameters -…
SXSW As It Happens: Antlers Go Down In Flames, A Bait And Switch At Red Fez And A Lawn Made Of Weed?
Adam P. Newton, 3:04 p.m.: “I’m here at Red Fez, ready for No Age.” Craig Hlavaty, 3:05 p.m.: “Huge ass line for Dillinger Escape Plan at Red 7 day party. I may just have to come home early to see them at Wired Live on Sunday night.” Newton, 3:29 p.m.:…
Cowboy Tales From The Rodeo: A Big Win In San Antonio
Rodeo cowboys basically live on the road, traveling with men and women crazy enough to ride, rope and wrestle live animals for a paycheck. Each day, Hair Balls is asking a different cowboy to tell us a little bit about himself and his wildest story from a life of rodeo…
March Madness, Baby!
March is upon us. The birds are singing, the weather’s nice, and your favorite team is *surely* on the verge of the greatest Cinderella run in the history of collegiate sports. As long as they’re not a 5 seed. Now that tournament time is here, you’d better double-check that all…
Game Time: We Interrupt March Madness For This Earl Thomas Interview
By the time this post is up, March Madness will have tipped off, so I hope everyone was able to glean enough “infotainment” (a word my good friend WWE Hall of Famer, Jim Ross, loves to use) to mentally and psychologically prepare you for the next few weeks. If you…
SXSW As It Happens: Advice From Smokey Robinson, A Hunch About Surfer Blood, Minor Disagreement Over Antlers And Our First Courtney Love Sighting
Dan Oko, 2:00 p.m.: As in Las Vegas, at SXSW day and night swirl together as the ever-strong throngs dive in and out of showcases all day and and all night. The gamble is whether you will hit the jackpot by sticking around, or crap out by leaving a day…
New On The Net: Scorn For NASA Having A Little Fun
What’s hot on the web today? Making fun of NASA for goofy mission posters.Gizmodo got its hands on mission posters made for internal NASA use — they’re on the web at the agency’s Space Flight Awareness page — and went to town.”NASA Mission Posters Are Hilariously Painful,” reads the headline,…
SXSW As It Happens: We’ve Gotten Into The Liquor… And Jeff The Brotherhood, And Those German DJs
Adam P. Newton, 1:05 p.m.: “I just had a great chat with Hannes Hesse of popcuts.com.” Craig Hlavaty, 1:09 p.m.: “Meeting Kim Fowley was awesome. He’s godhead. History, man.” Newton, 1:14 p.m.: “My inner class warrior feels bad for those folks working and serving others as I enjoy myself.” Newton,…
Wine of the Week: Trimbach Riesling
Spring is here. And that means one thing: White wine is back. As the days get longer and warmer, we find ourselves drinking more white than red. Of course, there are always exceptions. But for the most part, we like to sit outside and soak up the sun with our…
Anderson Fair Documentary Premieres At SXSW; Hits Houston Worldfest April 10
One of the cinematic highlights of SXSW was yesterday’s world premiere of For The Sake of The Song: The Story of Anderson Fair. Produced by Houstonians Bruce Bryant and Jim Barham, the film documents the forty year history of one of the most storied Texas music venues. The old spaghetti…
A Dog With Horrible Eye Injuries Creates BARC Controversy
With a history of mismanagement, reckless disregard and outright abuse under its belt, the Bureau of Animal Regulation and Care has its work cut out for it when it comes to righting wrongs.Houston’s devoted and vocal animal rescue community has been integral in instituting a change in command — and…
Butterfly Explosion at SXSW: Irish Shoegaze in a Basement Rec Room
Butterfly Explosion March 17 Habana, Austin, Texas When you go see a band because they’re labeled “shoegaze,” you get a smile on your face when you see them set up 19 different foot pedals on the stage. You don’t need to double-check your SXSW schedule. You know you’re in the…
SXSW As It Happens: Missing Alex Chilton, German Dubstep DJs, J Mascis Stuffing His Face…
Welcome back to Rocks Off’s minute-by-minute, hour-by-hour breakdown of SXSW’s afternoon parties and activites as they happen (almost). Today we’ve got human Energizer bunny Craig Hlavaty back for more abuse, and we’re happy to have Dan Oko, Jonas Brothers hater Brandon K. Hernsberger and Dryvetyme Onlyne’s Adam P. Newton joining him…
Rocks Off’s Rodeo Concert Guide: Black Eyed Peas, Purveyors Of Humps
Date: March 18 Name: Black Eyed Peas AKA: “Fergie and Three Other Guys” Genre: Crap-hop Best Known Song(s): “Where is the Love?,” “My Humps,” “Check Out Our Singer’s Cans” Key Demographic: The tone-deaf, confused Fugees fans, victims of poisoning without ready access to Ipecac Previous HLSR Appearances: none Houston Connections,…
Erasmo Segundo, 22, Bayou Body Count No. 66
Augustin Cabrera is about a month and a half in on a year-long jail sentence for stealing a car with a bunch of guys. But it looks like the 20-year-old could be facing a lot more time behind bars.Police charged Cabrera with murder on Wednesday. He is accused of killing…
Food Fight: Battle Creamed Spinach
Creamed spinach hasn’t been an everyday menu item since it reached its pinnacle in the 1970s, but the retro side has been making a comeback in months past. While you’ll almost always find it on the list of sides at high-end steakhouses, these days it’s also popping up alongside chicken,…
SXSW Aftermath: Mexican Spazz-Punk, Sulky Broken Bells, Spoon In The Pocket
We stopped off Red River at Barbarella to see Mexico City’s Hong Kong Blood Opera, decent Blood Brothers-style spazz-punk, buoyed by electrics and plenty of howling by the band’s co-singers. If anything, they engaged the crowd and we hung around for a few cuts. Spoon and the brand-new Broken Bells…
Soon-To-Be-Sorry Pilot Buzzes Bolivar Beach
If you’re having a nice little get-together with fellow Jeep enthusiasts on a beach, the last thing you expect is to get your head almost taken off by some pilot who decides it’d be fun to bizz the beach.But that’s what happened last weekend on Bolivar Peninsular, the Galveston County…
Unidentified Man, Bayou Body Count No. 65
It was a little before dawn on Monday when gunshots rang out into the early morning quiet behind a 24-hour Mexican restaurant in southwest Houston. A body fell to the ground in the parking lot. Someone called 911.When police arrived at about 4:30 a.m., they found a man, whose name…
SXSW Aftermath: The Broken-Hearted Passion Of Frightened Rabbit’s Deafening Drums; Basia Bulat Is Simply Beautiful
Aftermath assumes that the people who perpetuate the myth that SXSW is put on by and for record label so-and-sos who pay no mind to the music lovers who are just dying to keep it pure are those people who have either never been or feel slighted by the price…
Snackshot: Mozart’s
Shiny black ducks bob in the placid water of Lake Austin, just above the dam that creates Lady Bird Lake (nee Town Lake) just below the immense concrete barrier. They dive underneath the water every few minutes or so, catching minnows while they wait patiently for a kind patron at…
The Daily Show Takes On the State Board Of Education
The Daily Show With Jon StewartMon – Thurs 11p / 10cDon’t Mess With Textbookswww.thedailyshow.comDaily Show Full EpisodesPolitical HumorHealth Care Reform You knew it was coming: The State Board of Education’s latest circus has provided tasty fodder for Jon Stewart and The Daily Show.The Founding Fathers, Stewart said in the introduction…
SXSW Aftermath: A Spry Wanda Jackson And Our Friends Mariachi El Bronx
As the first night of SXSW 2010 got underway a pall came over the crowd, at least from those who had been glued to their smart phones by the news of the passing of Big Star lead singer Alex Chilton in New Orleans. The influential power-pop band was due to…
UH, Rice Football Schedules Offer Some Intrigue, But Will They Attract Fans?
Lost amidst the hoopla of the upcoming NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament was the release on Tuesday of the football schedules of the Houston Cougars and the Rice Owls. And knowing Cougar fans the way I do, I’m sure they’re already starting to form their excuses for failing to sell out…
SXSW Aftermath: Distant Relatives Nas And Damien Marley Do The Riddim Thing
Sometimes SXSW screws even the badge-holders; many of whom waited an hour for this show. By the time the levels were set and rapper Nas took the stage, unfortunately, half the showcase time had burned away. Still, with what remained Nasty Nasir Jones and Damien “Jr Gong” Marley – pursuing…
Brew Blog: Brother David’s Triple
Our historical excuse for sampling a beer this week comes from March 17, 1916, which the governor of North Carolina declared Belgium Day (it sounds happy but was meant to spur donations after the devastation of World War I). Anyway, we’re always suckers for a domestic Belgian imitation. This variety…
Idol Beat: Later, Lacey
Last night was my first real elimination round of American Idol. Sure, they’ve been thinning the ranks for weeks, but that was a rapid-fire bloodletting that sent home four bad singers a week. This is the big show, the top 12, with more lights and makeup and more prominent guest…
American Idol: Later, Lacey
Last night was my first real elimination round of American Idol. Sure, they’ve been thinning the ranks for weeks, but that was a rapid-fire bloodletting that sent home four bad singers a week. This is the big show, the top 12, with more lights and makeup and more prominent guest…
Surveying the Scene on La Grande Wheel at the Rodeo Carnival
La Grande Wheel — a fancy name for the Ferris wheel — is a nice break from the more psychotic rodeo rides. It’s a chance to regroup, relax and meditate on the vast sea of cars nearby, the expanse of colorful rides below, and the Astrodome and the Med Center…
Chef Chat, Part 3: Jin Ham
We recently interviewed Jin Ham, owner of Shrimp Galley. His small seafood house is very clean. When an establishment takes that much care, we generally trust them a little more with our food. And when we first saw the Shrimp Galley’s hand-painted menu, we really could not believe our eyes…
Y’all Musta Forgot: Odd Squad’s Fadanuff Fa Erybody
Houston’s history is dotted with albums that, fairly or un, have been swept aside. We’ll examine them here. Have an album that you think nobody knows about but should? Email sheaserrano@gmail.com. Odd Squad, Fadanuff Fa Erybody (1994, Rap-A-Lot/Priority) The Odd Squad is what The Coughee Bros., noteworthy for being Devin…
Win Passes To Hot Tub Time Machine, And Learn Of Strange Things From The `80s
Hot Tub Time Machine takes us back to a simpler time; a time before every nano-second of our lives needed to be tweeted; a time when all a gal needed to fit in with the cool kids was a bitchin’ pair of leg-warmers.Here’s a list of some 1980s icons we’d…
Rice Getting Plaudits For Teaching Video Game Design
Photo by Hallie JordanRice senior Giacomo Ferrari with his game Box WarsComputer gaming–usually a top procrastination activity — has landed Rice University a spot in the Princeton Review and GamePro magazine’s top 50 schools for computer game design.Computer science professor Joe Warren started the program ten years ago with the…
The Bug
A character asks one simple question in Richard Strand’s play The Bug, and the walls of Jericho come tumbling down – Jericho, Inc., that is. The comedic farce starts as frustrated worker Dennis Post goes uninvited to his company’s administrative offices. As soon as poor Dennis opens his mouth, everything…
“Ladies First”
Lauren Kelley usually works with video, but her contribution to the “Ladies First” group exhibit at Art Palace is a photographic still from a video work. Kelly, who has received the Artadia Houston Prize and was a fellow in the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston’s Core Program, says, “[I’m] trying…
American at Heart
Singer Bobby McFerrin, most famous for his 1988 tune “Don’t Worry, Be Happy,” teamed up with cellist Yo-Yo Ma on a 1992 album called Hush. That music became the soundtrack for a quirky, comic ballet by Christopher Bruce, in which he tells the story of a family of performers. Hush…
“Allison Hunter: Zoosphere”
With her current show at nonprofit DiverseWorks, photographer/videographer Allison Hunter was freed up from the pressure to show sellable work. So Hunter decided to try something new. “I thought, why don’t I just go for something really different?” She didn’t want to do prints this time. “Why spend so much…
Randy Wayne White: Deep Shadow
Doc Ford and his two friends, boat bum Tomlinson and Native American teen Will Chaser, have a plan in Randy Wayne White’s novel Deep Shadow: They’re going to find a downed cargo plane loaded with the art and money Batista looted from Cuban museums and the treasury just before his…
“Ed Wilson: Architecture of Death”
Ed Wilson knows how to create beautiful sculpture, but his “Architecture of Death” exhibit won’t let you forget the terrible inspiration for his work. The Houston-based artist’s pieces are steel representations of scenes he photographed at decades-old concentration camps (now memorials) around Germany. For the Station Museum show, they’ll be…
Before there were cowboys, there were …
The whole town is in the rodeo spirit, and Casa Ramirez is joining in by hosting “Vaqueros y Rancheros”, a special exhibit spotlighting the Mexican contribution to the history of cowboys and ranchers. Artifacts, Mexican saddles, and historic photographs (many from Casa Ramirez owner Macario Ramirez’s personal collection) will be…
BBVA Compass Tour de Houston
Houston’s new mayor Annise Parker is still getting used to her duties as the city’s head honcho. While we’re sure some of the things on her to-do list aren’t entertaining (such as increasing city services while lowering costs), she’s sure to find today’s BBVA Compass Tour de Houston a lot…
Yves Klein, la révolution bleue
French artist Yves Klein had a love affair with the color blue. As we see in the outdoor screening of the documentary Yves Klein, la révolution bleue, he was so intensely passionate about it, he invented his own shade, International Klein Blue (known as IKB). It was a glowing radiance…
Spacetaker’s Apocalypto
PRICE CORRECTION: See below. Spacetaker and 800 of its closest friends are honoring organization founder David Brown’s eight years of service at Spacetaker’s Apocalypto, a party with a Mad Max theme. If the schmoozing doesn’t take up all your time, there are also plenty of performances and art to see:…
Letters You Wrote
“I inherited some clothing from the ’50s and early ’60s about the same time that I was lamenting the fact that people don’t write letters anymore,” Dancepatheatre Artistic Director Sara Draper explains. And so she collected letters from the postwar era and choreographed “Letters You Wrote,” a series of mostly…
True West
In 2004, when a small theater in New York put on Sam Shepard’s story of brotherly rivalry, True West, with an all-female cast, the acclaimed playwright’s agent contacted the group and demanded they shut down the show. The reported reason? Because Shepard would “never allow women to do the play,”…
Ralphie May
A veteran of the first season of Last Comic Standing, comedian and Houston native Ralphie May started his comedy career as a teen when he entered a standup competition and won the chance to open for Sam Kinison. Like fellow rotund rollers Gabriel Iglesias and Bruce Bruce, May makes jokes…
Tracy Kidder
In his latest nonfiction book Strength in What Remains, Pulitzer Prize-winning author Tracy Kidder chronicles the escape of Deogratias Niyizonkiza, a young man, from the war and genocide of Burundi to the safe haven of America. Once here, he goes from homelessness to college to medical school. Years later, Deogratias…
Jamie Richards
Jamie Richards closes out the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo as the final performer at The Hideout. His latest CD, Sideways, will be released April 6, so listeners can expect to hear lots of those tunes. Previous releases Between theses Lines, Drive and No Regrets, established him as part honky-tonk…
Tamler Sommers
Who’s hotter – Drew Barrymore or Catherine Zeta-Jones? What happens if you throw Pam Anderson into the mix? Is Texas justice the same as justice in the Amazon? Or is justice fluid, particular to the time and place in which the crime occurred? What did the abuses of Abu Ghraib…
Babes on Boards
It’s a day of girl power at Babes on Boards, a strictly BYOBH (bring your own board and helmet), females-only day of skating with local girls of every age and skill level. Top women skaters from around the country will be on hand to sign autographs, take pictures and maybe…
Speech & Debate
Get a look at a modern teenager, with all the dramatic, hormone-induced insecurity moving from childhood to young adulthood requires, in Speech & Debate. Written by Stephen Karam, the play follows outsiders Howie, Solomon and Diwata as they move from being online pals to founders of their high school’s first…
The Country Playhouse New Play Reading Series: Curbs by Dennis Porsnuk
Ashley’s parents may have misunderstood the idea behind tough love in the Dennis Porsnuk play Curbs, part of the Country Playhouse New Play Reading Series. Instead of throwing the troubled teen out on the streets, her mom and dad join her Ñ at a distance, of course. Dad takes a…
Nightfly: All Mixed Up
Isabelle Mandela, 23, is shimmying her way up toward the top of a ten-foot-tall stripper pole for the second time in the last ten minutes. Once she gets there, she secures a strong two-handed grip, stabilizes herself, parts her legs wide and then begins spinning down from the heavens. “I…
Capsule Stage Reviews: Fault Lines, The Most Fabulous Story Ever Told, The New Century
Fault Lines The second show from Horse Head Theatre Co., one of Houston’s newest homeless troupes, takes place in downtown bar Brewery Tap, which turns out to be a clever venue choice since the play, Stephen Belber’s Fault Lines, is set in a bar. It tells the story of two…
Meat and Potatoes
The chicken-fried steak at Frank’s Chop House (3736 Westheimer, 713-572-8600) is house-breaded and expertly fried to order so that the tenderized meat arrives covered with a crunchy blanket of golden batter. I got the cream gravy on the side. I like to cut off pieces of the battered steak and…
Dish: Bobbie Que’s Rib Shack
What does a guy from Akron, Ohio, know about barbecue? “I get asked that question a lot,” says Bobbie Patterson, owner of the new Bobbie Que’s Rib Shack (3602 Scott, 713-842-7625). Patterson started his culinary career as a cook in the army, went to culinary school and taught others to…
Brooks & Dunn
This year’s Rodeo Houston performance by Brooks & Dunn is their 19th since 1992 and also looks to be the boys’ last go-round on the trademark revolving stage. (This is “The Last Rodeo” tour, after all.) The multiple award-winning, platinum-selling country duo is hanging up their saddles at the end…
News on the March
Close musical kin to their good friends Buxton, with whom they now share guitarists Austin Sepulvado and Jason Willis, News on the March’s poppy flower-power Glory Be! EP positioned them as the Byrds (or maybe the Beach Boys) to the more ragged-sounding Buxton’s Buffalo Springfield within Houston’s burgeoning young Americana…
Chatter: All in the Family
Grandchildren of American music icon Woody Guthrie, Sarah Lee Guthrie and her siblings have teamed up with father Arlo for “The Guthrie Family Rides Again” tour that chugs into Hermann Park Tuesday evening. Both Sarah Lee and Arlo have recently released new albums Go Wagaloo and Tales of ’69, respectively…
Dillinger Escape Plan
Optional Paralysis, the Dillinger Escape Plan’s newest album, which hits stores March 23 (that’s Tuesday), is shaping up to be the loudest and wildest of the band’s now 13-year career. First single “Farewell, Mona Lisa” is a manic five-minute mash of screams and spaghetti-western riffs, and second leaked track “Chinese…
Playbill: Muse
For those of you who would like to slag Muse as simply a dollar-bin Radiohead, ask yourselves: Has Thom Yorke ever been awarded an honorary doctorate, by anyone besides the magical woodland nymphs living in his electrical outlets? Well, Muse’s Matthew Bellamy (vocals), Christopher Wolstenholme (bass), and Dominic Howard (percussion)…
Stirred and Shaken: George’s Raspberry Cordial
Even as a straight guy, it’s hard to tell the difference between gay bar George (617 Fairview, 713-528-8102) and any other neighborhood establishment (besides the complete absence of females and the open male-on-male affection, of course). My friend Craig and I had been thinking about a place to grab a…
Miike Snow
Is it premature to call Miike Snow’s “Animal” a ready-made hit? Breathy and quivering, the song’s pop fluency and offhand reggae vibe have already inspired four remixes. (Snag them for free with the original at RCRDLBL.com.) More telling, though, is that the project combines Downtown Records producer Andrew Wyatt with…
Hair Balls: $10K Down The Drain
POLITICAL ANIMALS $10K Down The Drain State rep takes donation, then quits race By Richard Connelly Terri Hodge was a state rep from Dallas for 14 years; earlier this year she faced a tough re-election fight. Hodge sent out a desperate plea for help, and among those answering was Houston…
Vivian Girls
You know that thing about punk rockers not being able to play their instruments but having a lot of, er, emotion? Yeah, that applies to Brooklyn (via New Jersey) act Vivian Girls. This Crystals-on-codeine three-piece has a way of creating violent reactions: They’re either criminally overhyped — the off-base Joy…
Silly Alley
Never underestimate the august Alley Theatre. Houston’s preeminent theater company is usually known for its classy renditions of classic dramas; it’s the place to see a definitive Albee, a gangbuster O’Neill or a knockout Shakespeare. But if you want silly, the Alley can do silly with the best of them…
Long Way Down
For almost a decade, Black Rebel Motorcycle Club has released sharp, musically atmospheric records weaving through a variety of genres from hard rock and goth to country, gospel and psychedelia. Yet they’ve never managed to quite break through to a wider national audience. With the band’s fifth studio record, Beat…
Enchanted Evening, Indeed
One of the milestones in all musical theater, this Rodgers and Hammerstein (and Joshua Logan, too) classic from 1949 is so amazingly fresh and vibrant that it seems to have been newly created. There’s not a cobweb in sight in South Pacific. Presented by Theatre Under the Stars, this award-winning…
SPECIAL SAN DIEGO EDITION
Dear Mexican, By now I’m sure you’re aware of all the hate crimes against Hispanics in the last few years. By now I’m sure you’re thinking that this is ¡Ask a Mexican!, not ¡Ask a Hispanic! But let me tell you that all the hate crimes against Hispanics have been…
Incoming: A River Oaks Tale
A River Oaks Tale Online readers respond to “Teflon Man,” by Craig Malisow, March 6: Thanks: This is one of the most insightful and interesting articles I have read in a long while. The insights into River Oaks society are fascinating and certainly explain why these grifters get away with…
Simply Scrumptious
The salt & pepper shrimp at Fins Seafood Sushi & Grill (2810 Westheimer, 713-750-9483) are available either as an appetizer ($7) or as a main dish ($21). Either way, they’re tossed in salt and pepper and stir-fried with thin slices of onions and scallions and tiny strips of ginger. Six…
Capsule Art Reviews: “2010 Glassell Core Exhibition”, “Francesca Fuchs”, “Iron: Forged, Tempered, Quenched”, “McKay Otto”
“2010 Glassell Core Exhibition” It’s rare (and maybe impossible) that an annual Core Exhibition fires on all cylinders. There’s always great anticipation and excitement leading up to the opening, followed by a kind of anticlimactic dud. But perhaps that’s the nature of the Core program. It’s a wide spectrum of…
Blog Stars
How things have changed. In 2004, the Houston Press profiled Matt Mullenweg, the founding developer of WordPress blogging software and a student at the University of Houston. At the time, a blogging community was developing in Houston. But blogs were still relatively new — not everyone understood what they were,…
