Pelican, with Mono
There’s no denying that music doesn’t have to be metal to be heavy. Bands like Mogwai and Godspeed You! Black Emperor are masters at weaving slow, instrumental pieces with loud, brash walls of guitar noise and feedback. But where those bands take the slower, melodic route, others opt for a…
Vaughan’s On
Though he doesn’t possess the fiery showmanship of his late brother Stevie Ray, Austin legend Jimmie Vaughan has forged his own amazing path in traditional electric guitar blues, with a little influence from the Three Kings (B.B., Freddie and Albert). He developed his tough, lean sound as both a founding…
The Art Up 45
If you live in north H-town and missed the Bayou City Arts Festival, you’re in luck. The Woodlands now has its own charity-benefiting, sprawling art festival. This weekend the Woodlands Waterway Arts Festival, along — where else? — the scenic Woodlands Waterway corridor, will be alive with 220 artists from…
Needling the Haystack
I was really beginning to hate Devers. The first time I tried to visit the school district, in a small building halfway to Louisiana, it was closed. They’d had a meeting, a woman told me across the highway. It was a few minutes to four, so there wasn’t much I…
Das Boot
The coming-out tale Summer Storm is set at a rowing camp, where teams of boys and girls from around Germany train for a regatta. One of the crews, made up of gay boys from Berlin, is called the Queerstrokes, and that’s about par for the course in terms of subtlety…
Indie Picnic
The Proletariat, which has no outdoor patio — and few windows — probably isn’t the most obvious spot to throw a picnic. But the Montrose-area dive has successfully pulled off a Proletariat Picnic for the last few years. For 12 hours today, some of Houston’s finest indie rock bands, including…
Going Horse
Hard-core gamblers and dandies, take note: Today, you can catch a simulcast of the 131st Preakness Stakes at Sam Houston Race Park. The second leg of Thoroughbred racing’s Triple Crown, it features everyone’s favorite steed, Kentucky Derby winner Barbaro. There’s even a chance Bob McNair’s Bob and John will be…
A Fallen Star Is Born
This Friday, filmmakers Mark Birnbaum of Dallas and Jim Schermbeck of Lubbock begin a sojourn they did not believe possible three years ago — or last summer, for that matter. This very week, their movie will open in Dallas and Houston, with screenings to follow this month and next in…
Shell Game
At this late date, it’s hard to tell one digitally rendered talking animal from another. Madagascar blends into Ice Age looks like A Shark’s Tale sounds like Shrek might as well be A Bug’s Life turns into Antz feels like Chicken Little could be Over the Hedge, which is really…
Jada’s Wicked
Bored with her luxurious, A-list lifestyle, Jada Pinkett-Smith — wife of superstar actor/non-cussing rapper Will Smith — recently decided to form a metal band. Wicked Wisdom, which plays Scout Bar today, cranks out spiritually minded hardcore. Their sound balances heavy riffage — in the vein of Ozzy Osbourne and with…
Drink and Walk
Fun fact: The average American lives within ten miles of an independent brewery. Better fact: If you live in Houston, you’re no exception. Saint Arnold Brewing Company, just a short commute from downtown, is celebrating the boon in local fermented beverages with the American Craft Beer Week Tour. In addition…
Lost Dog
If you’re a pet-loving Houstonian, you might have heard the tale of Harley the dog. A black Lab mix, he was found wandering around after Hurricane Rita, his back badly burned. Houston’s Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals took him in and sent him to a medical facility…
Cracked Code
Directed by . With . .
She’s Back, Baby
After taking some time off to focus on her two infant children, Gina Miller, the petite lead singer and keyboard player for the Kimonos, returns to the stage today at The Mink. “I was really starting to think the only thing I was good at was changing diapers,” says Miller…
Meet a Real Renoir
Though it’s now an art staple, impressionism hasn’t always been so popular. At its inception in France during the latter 1800s, its practitioners turned well-established “art rules” upside down by utilizing visible brushstrokes, vivid color and nonrealistic depictions in their work. Artists such as Monet, Renoir, Toulouse-Lautrec, Cezanne, Cassatt, Leroux…
Letters to the Editor
Food with Attitude Loved it, blah, blah, blah: I freaking loved your article on John Katsimikis at Bibas [“Houston’s Food Nazis,” by Brian McManus, May 4]. I thought I was the only one who knew! One time I brought a girlfriend who was from New Zealand in for a meal…
Capsule Reviews
The Chalk Garden Enid Bagnold’s The Chalk Garden is an old-fashioned English yarn about a governess with a dark secret who’s hired by an eccentric grandmother (Jeannette Clift George) to care for a smart-mouthed, teenage granddaughter (Kacy Smith). After many scenes that involve a wacky houseman (Chip Simmons) and lots…
Figaro A-Go-Go
Mozart never had to slave away in a cubicle, but he still knew how fun it is to stick it to the Man. His opera The Marriage of Figaro is so full of potshots at the ne’er-do-well Count Almaviva that the ruling emperor Joseph II initially banned it in Vienna…
Two Days, One Flick
Waiting around for Ben and Matt to Project Greenlight your film is hopeless. You wanna make your masterpiece? You got two days, pal. Your sleepless weekend starts today with the 48 Hour Film Project. You and a team will write, shoot, edit and score an original flick. Contest organizers will…
Image of the Week
Even after six hours of putting on your outfit and makeup, there’s always that one last touch to make it just right especially if you’re a perfectionist like Rasmi Raj, a dancer from Bangalore. She was in town for an Indian dance performance at the Hobby Center. Click here to…
Art Remains
You might remember Maria Fernanda Cardoso from her amazing “Flea Circus” at the Contemporary Arts Museum Houston some years back. The Colombian-born artist had a circus tent, death-defying video of flea performers and tiny props littered with dead performers. Carcasses turn out to be the constant between that campy circus…
He’s “Somebody…!”
We can thank our neighbors in the Great White North for upping their exports. Once upon a time, all they gave us was Loverboy and Corey Hart. Now, though, we’ve got hotties such as Evangeline Lilly (meow!) and funny guys, the hottest by far being comedian Russell Peters. Peters is…
Age-Old Love Story
If diplomats worked to improve relations among eras instead of nations, Dominic Walsh would be secretary of state. His collaboration with Mercury Baroque, now in its fourth year, has taken his own contemporary choreography and melded it seamlessly with the music of the 17th and 18th centuries, creating a final…
Motorcycle Madness
You can listen to these songs / Have a good time and walk away / But for me, it’s not that easy / I have to live these songs forever. — Daniel Johnston, “Peek-A-Boo” “I hope we’re not spreadin’ it too thin,” giggles Daniel Johnston over the phone from his…
Capsule Reviews
“Bringing Shadows to Light: Contemporary Argentine Photography” Addressing subjects as diverse as war, the tango and the country’s current economic crisis, the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston presents a good small survey of contemporary Argentine photography. There are pictures of a man’s crude drawings recording the torture he witnessed during…
Football and Winning?
Still pissed about the whole Mario Williams/Reggie Bush thing? Don’t sweat it, Texans fans, Houston’s got another football team — one that actually wins (no kidding). Okay, so it’s “European football,” but the newest major-league team in town is still worthy of your fandom. Only one month into MLS season,…
Luscious Lobster
The “five styles twin lobsters” dish ($24.99) at Le Viet (11328 Westheimer, 281-293-8883) is likely to cause diners quite a quandary. After all, which of the five preparation methods — black pepper, garlic butter, tamarind, ginger and scallion, or the black bean sauce — to choose? On a recent evening,…
It’s a Gas
Unless you’ve been living in that same dark, clueless and ignorant place where the Texans cook up their draft strategy, you’ve probably heard something about gas prices. But if you haven’t, take our word for it: They’re high. And if you’re driving a fully loaded cargo van with five other…
This Time It’s Serious
Winter Passing (Fox) Try this, should you be inclined to rent this downer from writer-director Adam Rapp: Skip from chapter to chapter and see whether they all don’t begin with exactly the same image, accompanied by exactly the same sound. There is always someone (usually Zooey Deschanel as a would-be…
Twang Gang
Put a little honky back in your tonk at the second annual Classic Country Music Fest at Traders Village. Houston favorites Miss Leslie & Her Juke-Jointers headline at 4:15 p.m. to get you in touch with your Patsy Cline-lovin’, boot-scootin’ roots. And Johnny Falstaff, Justin Trevino and the Weary Boys…
Elite Dirty Martini
Being a native Louisianan, I’m naturally drawn to three things: alcohol, drama and politics. I’m also into romanticized symbols of the South, so walking around downtown on a recent Sunday night, I had to check out The Magnolia Hotel (1100 Texas, 713-221-0011). On the way up to the bar, which…
Angst la Mode
After perfecting my time-travel device, the Deus Ex Machina, I was ready to embark on its maiden expedition: a trip 16 years into the past to save my teenage self from the soul-crushing perils of gloomy music. Specifically, that of Depeche Mode. The destination was 1990, my freshman year of…
Our top DVD picks for the week of May 16
All You’ve Got (MTV) American Soldiers (Velocity) The Big Valley: Season One (Fox) Con Air: Unrated Extended Edition (Buena Vista) Crimson Tide: Unrated Extended Edition (Buena Vista) Doogal (Weinstein) Duma (Warner Bros.) Funny Games (Kino) Garon Stupide (Picture This) Hill Street Blues: Season Two (Fox) My Mother’s Smile (New Yorker)…
Ace in Hand
Ace Atkins! Southern noir writer! Seriously — with a name like that splayed across a mystery novel’s cover, how can you not read it? An Alabama native, Atkins has written four mysteries, most set in the Dirty Dirty, including Crossroad Blues and Dark End of the Street. With his new…
Drunk and Orderly
I’m on the phone with a Lady Friend I haven’t seen in quite a while. She’s had a rough day, and we agree that some hearty, Irish-style drinking beckons. After some back and forth about the sort of atmosphere we’re looking for, we agree on T.K. Bitterman’s (2010 West Alabama),…
Husband Wanted
These days, lots of American women would rather live their whole lives without a husband than spend their days off tending to a spouse. But 110 in the Shade, a Texas-size musical about a lonely small-town girl who aches for a husband, isn’t much concerned with modern women. N. Richard…
Can Ya Spare a Nickel?
Got some liberal guilt hanging around? Take it to Stages, where Joan Holden’s stage adaptation of the best-selling book Nickel & Dimed: On (Not) Getting By in America opens today. Centered on the depressing state of the minimum-wage workforce, Nickel & Dimed is sure to browbeat you (in a theatrically…
Bruce Springsteen
When word got out that Springsteen’s next release would be covers from the songbook of folksinger Pete Seeger, most envisioned another round of Earnest, Serious Bruce with Acoustic Guitar (The Ghost of Tom Joad, Devils & Dust). However, The Seeger Sessions just might be the shocker of the season. It’s…
The Brain Game
Publisher: Nintendo
Platform: Nintendo DS
Price: $19.99
ESRB Rating: E (for Everyone)
Score: 8 (out of 10)
Your Super Sweet Fifteen
Thanks to the terrifying teens and pushover parents of MTV’s My Super Sweet Sixteen, it’s definitely understandable if the sight of a young’un in a fluffy pink dress sends you running, fast, into a 21-plus bar. But those little bitches on MTV give other young women a bad name. The…
Various Artists
“Any sins that I committed, I have to answer to God,” raps Anthony Alvin Hodge, the 22-year-old Marine corporal who rhymes as Amp. Out of context, Hodge’s sentiment is a near clich of tough-guy military-speak, but 19 tracks into Voices from the Frontline, a compilation of hip-hop and R&B by…
Pure Bliss
If you think the name is long, try the line. The queue at the counter of Shri Balaji Bhavan Pure Vegetarian Restaurant often includes children in sequined outfits from the fabric store next door, utility repairmen in jumpsuits, businessmen in starched collars, college students in T-shirts and grandmas wrapped in…
Kat Not Included
As Tom Cruise hops around the country promoting M:i:3, showcasing his own special brand of placenta-chomping craziness, it’s easy to forget what made him one of our favorite movie stars. But head to Stewart Beach on Galveston Island today for a special summer drive-in screening of Top Gun. There, you’ll…
Jolie Holland
The good folks at the Anti label sure know how to pick ’em. But while labelmate and fellow flame-haired vixen Neko Case gets all the attention from horndog rock writers the world over (“She can sing and I’d do ‘er!”), the enigmatic, sometimes disturbingly intense Houston expatriate Jolie Holland threatens…
Chill with Ice
After watching Ice Cube star opposite two children in last year’s family flick Are We There Yet?, it’s hard to remember that deep down, he’s a bona fide gangsta rapper. Sure, during this decade, the South Central Los Angeles-raised Cube has been more visible on the silver screen than on…
No Acid Necessary
Anyone who has spent a good hour in the underground light tunnel at the MFAH knows that light and color — when fused properly — can have an effect akin to any cocktail of mind-altering substances. Well, the light tunnel is getting an even trippier cousin: At the nearby Rice…
The Allen Oldies Band
This will be the only time this statement will be made by someone not high on weed: The Allen Oldies Band is a lot like the Grateful Dead. That is, it’s well-nigh impossible to capture the true sound and spirit of one of their gigs on CD, whether recorded in…
Pages of Resistance
In 1960, Scott Kellner abandoned his naval post in Germany to look for his grandparents. Assuming they were Nazis, Kellner was prepared to forgive them in exchange for the joy of meeting them. But to his surprise, the parents of his estranged father had nearly lost their lives speaking out…
Bolly Good Time
Which country leads the motion picture industry in terms of both number of films produced each year and tickets sold? If you answered the United States, for shame! It’s the Hindi language-based dream factory centered in India’s bustling city of Bombay, a.k.a. Bollywood. Bollywood films often combine many different genres…
The Business, with Roger Miret and the Disasters
It’s been 25 years since the Business made worldwide headlines when riots broke out at a show at the Hamborough Tavern in Southall, London, during Britain’s “summer of discontent.” The venue was fire-bombed, and when the smoke finally cleared, the Oi! subgenre of punk had been tarred and feathered by…
He’s Ours, Dammit!
There’s a temptation to call this matchup “The Battle of 45,” or the “I-45 Shootout,” or something. But let’s call today’s game between our Houston Astros and the Texas Rangers what it really is: the $20 Million Showdown. Twenty million bucks is what it will take to get hometown ace…
Royal Treatment
Yeah, Dre, Diddy and Pharrell make it look easy. But what’s it really like to be a studio producer? If you’ve ever dreamed of a life in front of the sliders, you should check out today’s Red Bull Music Academy. Philly decknician and producer extraordinaire King Britt will host an…
MC Lars
MC Lars is the smartest MC on the planet, and he’d like you to know it. Rapping about Hermann Melville, Jean-Paul Sartre and the difference between postmodernism and regular ol’ modernism, he can barely hide the fact that he went to Stanford. How else to explain the song “Space Game,”…
Up to the Tiësto
When the Netherlands-based trance DJ Tiësto (real name: Tijs Verwest) comes to Warehouse Live today, there will be no question as to why he’s ranked the No. 1 DJ in the world — his mixes speak for themselves. In the last decade, he has upended the dance world with marathon…
Ones and Twos and 54
The hipsters at Rich’s are looking to throw a glam party. So what better source of inspiration than the ’80s glam/blow/celeb fest, Studio 54? Today, the club will morph into an H-town version of the fab NYC nightclub that housed the era’s hottest stars — and enough drugs to keep…