Houston’s 10 Best Bars to Drink Alone
Perhaps you had a long day and are looking to unwind with a little solo time. Maybe you love alcohol but loathe idle chit-chat. Or perhaps you’ve simply alienated everyone in your orbit. Whatever the reason, sometimes hitting the bar alone is the way to go. These are the best bars…
Desecrate the Faith Enjoy the Spoils of European Success
Recently returned from a European tour, hometown Houston boys Desecrate the Faith play the kind of music not only your mother warned you about, but your youth pastor did too. Don’t let the name scare you — their sound is both technically concise and brutally crushing. Anyone who has been…
Criticism Continues About Why Horses Had to Swim for Their Lives When Cypress Trails Flooded Again
In June 2001, as Tropical Storm Allison dumped more than 30 inches of rain on Harris County, DeDe Baxley Lanoue rushed to Cypress Trails, a horse farm near Cypress Creek that has flooded repeatedly for years. Lanoue, a horse trainer at a neighboring place in Humble, had gotten a frantic…
Five Videos That Prove The National Deserves to Headline FPSF
When many saw that The National had topped the bill of this year’s FPSF, there were cries lamenting that another boring, stuffy indie-rock band was headlining the festival yet again. While the lineup could certainly use some diversity, The National often gets a bad reputation as another unexciting indie band…
The Houston Symphony Is Going Out of This World with The Cosmos
The Houston Symphony is known for spectacular concerts, but this week, they are playing something out of this world. Literally. They will be playing Dvorak’s Symphony No. 9, From the New World, while displaying a film featuring breathtaking images of far distant galaxies, nebulae and other astronomical wonders captured by…
12 of the Most Annoying Food Words
Our dependency on food both as necessity and for pleasure means our reactions to food adjectives can be very strong. Sometimes, when writers reach for the word that adequately describes the moment, they fall short, landing in a thorny nest of jargon or falling back on the easy and the…
The Clock Is Ticking; the Cosplay of Comicpalooza Is Just Around the Corner
Houston, we’ve got a problem. With so many sci-fi and comic-inspired big-screen releases already under our belt, and more coming down the chute, how’s an über-fan to know which persona to embody when Comicpalooza dominates H-Town for Father’s Day weekend? Safe (and apropos) bets include anything Aliens-inspired, especially with scheduled…
Another Scientology Lawsuit Meets a Strange, Abrupt End in Texas
Initially, it seemed like Monique Rathbun would fight Church of Scientology lawyers all the way to the Texas Supreme Court over harassment she claims she endured at the hands of church members. But despite allegations of church operatives chasing Rathbun and her husband from the Texas Gulf Coast to the…
Finally, a Federal Conviction for Man Behind Animal Torture Videos
A Houston man convicted of state animal cruelty charges related to the production of animal torture videos has now been found guilty in federal court. Brent Wayne Justice, 54, was convicted Monday on three counts of producing and one county of producing “crush” videos in which Justice’s co-defendant, Ashley Nicole…
Parents Sue State Over STAAR Exams That They Say Are Way Too Long for Kids
On Monday, parents around the state filed a lawsuit against the Texas Education Agency, seeking to block this year’s STAAR test results from being used to punish students, teachers and schools for unsatisfactory scores. The parents were all part of a grassroots group called The Committee to Stop STAAR, and…
Working the Musical Rushes Through the Lives of American Workers
The set-up: Remember that awkward but earnest ’70s TV commercial for the International Ladies Garment Workers Union where actual union members gathered together in solidarity to sing their new anthem, “Look for the Union label, when you are buying a coat, dress, or blouse…”? Over at Main Street Theater uncommonly…
This Week in Houston Food Blogs: A State of Happiness
This week, we’ve got some bloggers’ lunch suggestions, plus a first look at a newly revised restaurant and a few dessert recipes to satisfy your sweet tooth. Revelry on Richmond, 1613 Richmond, just started serving lunch, and Gristle & Gossip thinks that you deserve to hear all about it. She…
Exxon Urges Shareholders to Vote Against Climate Change Resolutions
At this point, ExxonMobil management must be so thoroughly over talking about climate change, but alas for them, the company’s shareholders are still pretty intent on looking at global warming and how that issue may effect Exxon’s profits in the coming years. During ExxonMobil’s annual stockholders meeting on Wednesday in…
Mayor Turner Makes Personal Plea for Info on 11-Year-Old’s Killer
On Monday, Mayor Sylvester Turner called a press conference to ask the public to please come forward with any information they may have about the man who brutally killed an 11-year-old boy walking home from school. Turner acknowledged that it had almost been one week since Josue Flores, a sixth…
Five Snapchat Filters We Can’t Believe Don’t Exist
That Snapchat remains one of the most downloaded apps around should really be no surprise. Most people love: taking photos, photos of themselves and silly photos. Snapchat allows them to take silly photos of themselves and easily share them with people who want to see silly photos of them. It’s…
Five Fun, Food-centric Picture Books for Taco-Loving Tots
My two-year-old son Joshua is obsessed with five things: his cousin Ben (“Baboon”), Beyonce, announcing every single one of my farts, dragons and tacos. I’m in complete agreement with him on those last two, and likely to indulge the fascination. He has a taco shirt and a patented taco dance…
If Only Feminists Saw the New Ghostbusters, It Would Still Be a Smash Hit
The Internet is abuzz with hatred over the new, all female-led Ghostbusters film. The initial trailer is the most down-voted trailer in YouTube history, mostly because brigades of dude bros and GamerGaters are still convinced that somehow matters to people and sign in under multiple accounts to click dislike (they…
Mary’z Lebanese Cuisine Is a Worthy Addition to Washington Ave’s Culinary Renaissance
On a Saturday night at Mary’z Lebanese Cuisine, the sizable front patio fills up with adults of all ages. Some are sipping on cocktails. Others are sharing bottles of wine. They’re also sharing hookahs loaded with shisha, a type of tobacco flavored with sugars or molasses that comes in fruity…
The Questions Facing the Big XII if They Want to Stop Being Fifth Wheel
About a month or so ago, within a matter of days, the news cycle handed college sports fans another stark reminder of the growing chasm between the haves and the have-nots in collegiate sports’ power structure. On April 19, the Big Ten Conference announced a deal with FOX in which…
There’s No Need to Kick a Dog While It’s Down; Thief Takes Rescue Group’s Money
The Grinch came to Market Square Park this past Saturday, but instead of trying to steal Christmas, the thief took a money bag containing donations for homeless dogs, as well as proceeds from the sale of merchandise at the dog-centric festival, Puppies for Breakfast. This was the cruelest kind of…
The 10 Best Breakup Songs Released Since Erykah Badu’s “Tyrone”
Erykah Badu, one of the most prolific and talented artists of her era, has released a slew of hit singles and gold records since breaking onto the scene nearly 20 years ago. But to this day, none resonate quite like “Tyrone.” The single, originally a live cut that found its way…
Get a Ticket While Being Poor in Houston? Here’s How You Might Wind Up in Jail
As on most Sundays, Rosie McCutcheon enjoyed the walk home from the Highland Heights Church of Christ on March 14, 2010. When the family got back to the small house McCutcheon rented in Houston’s Acres Homes neighborhood, she went to the kitchen to grab some onions and bell peppers. She…
Sharpstown Tutor Allegedly Did Batman Roleplay Sex Stuff With Underage Student
A Sharpstown High School math tutor faces two felony charges related to an alleged inappropriate relationship with a student, according to a Houston Independent School District press release. Aldo Leiva was charged with sexual performance by a child and possession of child pornography, after the 51-year old instructor was allegedly…
10 Houston Beers for 10 Houston Bands
Last week, the Chicago Tribune ran an article that dubbed Houston “Chicago’s newfound nemesis to the south” and focused on one thing residents of both wonderful cities love — beer. According to the article, Houstonians drank more than a billion dollars’ worth of it last year. Chicago did stake its…
Here Are the Movies Worth Hoping for in the Season That Won’t Stop
There was a time when the summer movie season was a season, sandwiched between Memorial Day and Labor Day weekends. By the 21st century, the start date drifted back to the first weekend in May. This year, the superhero flicks started arriving with Deadpool’s release on February 12. Only two…
Maria Bamford’s Netflix Series Doesn’t Measure Up to Maria Bamford
Let’s break the bad news this way. Maria Bamford’s new Netflix series isn’t a disaster. It’s sometimes funny — it’s got comic genius Maria Bamford in almost every scene! — but only its finest moments bear the stamp of sensibility. Too often, this fitful, clamorous show feels Bamford-flavored rather than…
Alice Goes Through the Looking Glass Into a World of Formula
The guiding principle of Lewis Carroll’s classics Alice in Wonderland and Through the Looking-Glass is that logic does not exist. You tumble down rabbit holes and into mirrors willy-nilly, and you try to survive, feeling what you feel, having fun when you can — oh, and try not to drown…
As Game of Thrones Nears Its Endgame, the Pawns Are Taking Over the Board
Something troubling is afoot in Westeros: The heroes are beginning to outnumber the villains. The sixth season of Game of Thrones has already seen Jon Snow’s return from the dead, Arya Stark’s vision restored and — courtesy of two Stark children’s long-awaited reunion — the show’s first-ever tears of joy…
Fight Over Texas Bullet Train — and Eminent Domain — Heads to Washington
In the four years Texas Central Railway unveiled plans to link Dallas and Houston with the country’s first bullet train, officials with the private company have talked a lot about how quickly the line will whisk travelers between two of the country’s largest fastest-growing urban areas, about how darn Texan…
Thousands Enjoyed Smoked Meat From the Tame to the Exotic at the 4th Annual Houston Barbecue Festival
More than 2,000 attendees enjoyed everything from brisket to whole smoked alligator at the Fourth Annual Houston Barbecue Festival on Sunday. It takes dozens of volunteers and many hours of preparation to put on the festival. Twenty-seven barbecue vendors participated this year. Some crews arrive at the Green Lot of…
Who Needs Doctors When a Texas Group Is “Licensing” God’s Health Care Workers?
Good news for people suspicious of “medical doctors” and their over-reliance on, uh, “medicine”: NPR reports that a growing number of charlatans true believers are getting health care licenses from the only authority that matters — God. According to the story, the Irving-based Pastoral Medical Association gives out ‘pastoral provider licenses’…
A Shy Ellie Goulding Still Lights Up Toyota Center
Ellie Goulding Toyota Center May 21, 2016 Toyota Center felt like a bit of an odd place to find Ellie Goulding on a Saturday night. Although the British-born songstress has a nice string of hits to her name, she hasn’t quite ascended to the household-name status of Madonna, AC/DC or…
Dish of the Week: German Potato Salad
From classic comfort foods to regional standouts and desserts, we’ll be sharing a new recipe with you each week. Find other dishes of the week here. This week, we’re gearing up for the long weekend with German Potato Salad. German potato salad puts a spin on the mayo-based varieties you…
Big Fish the Musical Has a Sterling Cast and Crew but the Plot Falls Short
Why is it that after sitting through Stages Repertory Theatre’s four-star musical production of Andrew Lippa and John August’s Big Fish, I feel as if I’ve been pelted by marshmallows? Get this goo off me! It’s not that the show isn’t affecting, isn’t performed by a sterling cast, isn’t intelligently…
At Anti-Muslim Rally, White Supremacists Say They’re Totally Not Racist
On Saturday, Ramon Mejia, a Latino Muslim, stood across the street from a bunch of people wearing Confederate flags and white power shirts, people who say they don’t believe that the religion Mejia credits with saving his life is even a real religion. Mejia had driven all the way down…
This Week in Houston Food Events: Wine Not?
Monday, May 23 De Proef Collaboration Series Beer Tasting Visit Flying Saucer Draught Emporium, 705 Main, at 6:30 p.m. to participate in this beer tasting, which features brews made by De Proef and various collaborators, including Port Brewing, Surly Brewing and Hair of the Dog Brewing. Light bites will also…
Preacher Is Here, But It’s Not Faithful, at Least Not to the Comics
Preacher, along with Sandman, was one of the series that turned me back into a comic fan. My then-girlfriend-now-wife had an incomplete set of the trades when we started dating, and helping her round off her collection was my go-to birthday/Valentine’s Day/Christmas gift for a good couple of years. I’d…
Third Ward Was Once a Bustling, Vibrant Area; What Will It Take to Return to Glory?
Students and faculty at the University of Houston recently completed a project that compared Third Ward’s past with its present, adding graphic and type treatments to oversized map pins for select businesses, then photographing the pins at the sites. In the joint venture between the School of Art’s Graphic Design…
Helping Kids Make Sense of a Senseless Death: A School Remembers Josue Flores
On Friday, sixth grader Angel Nario stood at the podium on Marshall Middle School’s outdoor stage before a sea of hundreds of white shirts, and he asked the question that no one knew the answer to. He said, “I just think to myself, Why did it have to be him?…
Johnny Manziel Kicked Out of Vegas Club After Scuffle (w/ VIDEO)
I’ll fully admit it — at this point, I’m watching the Johnny Manziel train wreck solely for two purposes. First, I want to see how many more little “douche bro” notches he can add to his bed post, because it seems like lately Johnny is trying to singlehandedly win the…
Why This Song Sucks: Justin Timberlake’s “Can’t Stop the Feeling!”
Let’s get this out of the way early. Justin Timberlake’s “Can’t Stop the Feeling!” is going to be the most unavoidable song of Summer 2016. It will own weddings, graduations, and any public outing where there are a ton of people who want to dance like Mary Katherine Gallagher. It…
Shows of the Week: Sik Mule, Catch Fever and La Sien Seize Their Moments
SIK MULE Raven Tower, May 27 Texas has no shortage of paleo-rock bands a la Honky or Amplified Heat, but there’s always room for one more. Enter Sik Mule, the Houston trio (by way of Chicago and San Antonio) that has been stomping a mudhole in local stages since late…
Charges Dropped Against Man Originally Suspected in 11-Year-old’s Murder
Charges have been dropped against the man arrested for stabbing an 11-year-old boy to death in north Houston. Josue Flores was on his way home from Marshall Middle School around 4:45 Tuesday when a man originally suspected to be Che Calhoun fatally stabbed him for no identifiable reason. Aided by…
Motion City Soundtrack Say So Long, Farewell in Style
Motion City Soundtrack Numbers May 19, 2016 Thursday night, droves of pop-punk, emo, and indie music fans packed into Numbers to celebrate the catalog of Motion City Soundtrack. Formed in Minneapolis in 1997, MCS has enjoyed consistent success and an ever-expanding fan base. Even so, after almost 20 years of…
What Houston Pro Wrestling Looked Like in 1979
Professional wrestling wasn’t always the glossy product you see on Monday nights with the cinematic video packages, pyro and constant references to social media. It also wasn’t quite as gritty and smoke-filled as some revisionists would have you believe either. If you’re over the age of 30, you probably have…
After 15 Years, the Alabama-Coushatta’s Casino Is Open for Business
The Alabama-Coushatta aren’t officially opening their casino, located on the tribal reservation just outside of Livingston, until June 2, but the tribe gathered this week to sing songs and say prayers before a soft opening of the place. On Monday night about 300 tribe members gathered at the casino, now…
Attack of the Meme: No, Hillary Clinton Is Not Just Winning Confederate States
One of the things I do for fun here at Houston Press is exploring and debunking memes currently making their way around the internet. In fact, I somehow managed to find myself in a Wikipedia article on the subject, which is one of the more dubious honors I’ve accrued. The…
WWE Mainstream Crossover Goes Next Level, John Cena to Host the ESPY’s
In a vacuum, professional wrestling has always been treated as an entertainment genre that’s a little bit different, oftentimes figuratively placed on its own shelf for its fans to defend its uniqueness and for its detractors to point at and poke fun. But every genre of entertainment and sport at…
Houston’s 5 Best Weekend Food Bets: Houston BBQ Fest & a Magical Dessert Pop-Up
Here’s a look at this weekend’s best culinary happenings: The Taste of New Orleans @ Jones Plaza Saturday, 1:30 p.m. to 10 p.m. 600 Louisiana Celebrate the rich culture of New Orleans at this 2nd annual festival, which features live zydeco and brass bands, plus the best of food and…
Group Sues Harris County Over Bail System That Keeps People in Jail Just Because They’re Poor
On Wednesday, 22-year-old Maranda O’Donnell was driving to her mom’s house to pick up her four-year-old daughter. Then she got pulled over, and she never made it there. O’Donnell was hauled off to jail after being arrested for driving with an invalid license. She couldn’t afford her bail amount set at…
Baylor Football’s Sexual Assault Epidemic Continues Unabated
Patrick Dennehy’s body was located in a Waco gravel pit on July 29, 2003. The Baylor basketball player was murdered by his teammate Carlton Dempsey. The response of Baylor’s head basketball Dave Bliss was to accuse Dennehy of being a drug dealer. Baylor (and Bliss) was then under a NCAA…
Jury Convicts Road-Raging Cop Who Shot Woman in the Head
Yesterday, a jury found a former Harris County Precinct 6 constable who decided to shoot a woman in the head during an extreme road rage episode guilty of aggravated assault. That former cop, Kenneth Caplan, faces up to 20 years in prison. Back in 2014, Caplan was off duty and…
Reviews for the Easily Distracted: The Nice Guys
Title: The Nice Guys Describe This Movie In One Simpsons Quote: Homer: “John, you seem like a perfectly nice guy and all, just stay the hell away from my family.” Rating Using Random Objects Relevant To The Film: Four bottles of Yoo-hoo out of five. Brief Plot Synopsis: Unlikely allies unite to solve porn-adjacent…
Upcoming Houston Food Events: Get $1 Pizzas, Brews & Bellinis
Mark your calendars, because you don’t want to miss these deliciously fun culinary events: Bollo Woodfired Pizza, 2202 W. Alabama, is putting a stamp on its one-year anniversary with a series of $1 specials on Wednesday, May 25. The neighborhood pizzeria – which serves Neapolitan-style pizza made with premium ingredients…
Introducing the Friday Free For All
“Friday is my day,” the great 21st-century poet Google Autofill once said. “Friday is here.” Damn straight it is. The end of the week calls for transitioning into the weekend as gradually and painlessly as possible, so we picked our staff’s brains to see what’s been rubbing them the right…
The Five Best Things to Do in Houston This Weekend: Puppies for Breakfast and More
Truth is sometimes stranger than fiction, and good examples can be found in our pool of presidential candidates (D.L. Hughley’s in town for some skewering) and in the very strange ten-part Netflix documentary Making a Murderer (Steven Avery’s defense attorneys can answer our questions). This weekend includes free performances of Puccini’s Tosca…
Openings & Closings in Houston: More Tacodeli, More JINYA and More Peli Peli
Midtown Barbecue, 2708 Bagby, is now open; the restaurant is a joint effort from former Corner Table chef Eric Aldis and pitmaster Brett Jackson, who will get their raw materials from Black Hill Meats. The new bar at Harold’s Restaurant, Bar & Terrace, dubbed Harold’s Tap Room, is also ready…
Exclusive: Polyamorous Producership floods Provide Some “lustre”
The beauty of good electronic music is it can put the listener anywhere. Submit fully to the carefully orchestrated sounds and suddenly you’re floating like flotsam on a lonely sea or in a nebulous universe in a breakdance battle with Cthulhu or maybe back here on Earth, trampolining along the…
[UPDATED] Man Accused of Killing 11-Year-Old Escaped Arrest Just One Day Earlier
The day after 11-year-old Josue Flores was stabbed to death while walking home from school, Acting Police Chief Martha Montalvo said what most Houstonians who saw the news were likely already thinking: that this case was so horrifying not only because Flores was an innocent bystander, but an innocent child…
“Community Outreach” Director for Houston City Councilman Doesn’t Want Muslims in the Republican Party
Trebor Gordon, the director of community outreach for a Houston city councilman , was caught on video earlier this week attempting to block a Muslim man from serving in the Republican Party on the basis of his religion, the Washington Post first reported yesterday. During a meeting for the Harris…
10 Ways to Make Free Press Summer Fest More Exciting
Those of us who have been around Free Press Summer Fest since the beginning are still having a little trouble wrapping our heads around the fact that the festival is almost a decade old. In that time it’s become a massive success by almost any yardstick — by some estimates,…
Woman Dies in Huntsville Jail After Failing to Post Bond for Two Weeks
The Texas Rangers are investigating the death of a young African American woman who was held in a Walker County jail for two weeks, after her car rolled over on I-45 and state troopers arrested her for possession of cocaine and providing false identification. She was apparently unable to post…
Eagles Of Death Metal Deliver Pure Rock and Roll Magic
Eagles of Death Metal, Thelma and the Sleaze House of Blues May 18, 2016 I imagine there’s some hesitation or bowel-loosening fear for a writer when they claim in a review that a performance was one of the best they’ve ever seen. Because, hey, let’s face it, only so many…
UH Battle With Hofheinz Family Over Arena Name Change Continues
Yesterday, the University of Houston released a detailed statement countering allegations made by the family of the late judge Roy Hofheinz, which filed a lawsuit earlier this month alleging the university’s plan to rename Hofheinz Pavilion at the request of a benefactor who donated $20 million toward a $60 million…
5 Things I’ve Learned From Owning Rescue Dogs
About 18 years ago I got a dog. I’d grown up living in the country, and we’d always had them, but the little guy I brought home in a shoebox was the first I’d had in probably 15 years, and the first dog that I brought home as an adult…
After Trekking 150 Miles Through Houston Parks, These Are the Coolest Views
We’ve all had fun with Google’s Street View feature; it’s a great way to check out famous or obscure cities across the planet and virtually visit landmarks and natural wonders that might not be on our travel bucket list. Sure, there have been some blips along the way – a…
Dos and Don’ts for Incoming Texas Southern University President Austin Lane
Earlier this week, Texas Southern University announced that Dr. Austin A. Lane, a Lone Star College executive vice chancellor, is slated to become TSU’s 12th president starting in early June. He’ll replace Dr. John Rudley, who announced in December that he would be stepping down at the end of the…
The Hottest Restaurants in Houston for May 2016
Well, there’s a 100-percent turnover this month in our hot list, with no carryovers from April. Welcome to Houston’s dynamic food scene, where all of us avid diners are struggling just to keep up. Another change this month is that the Heights finally relinquish its firm domination of the list,…
Ranking the Weirdness of the New Shows Coming to Network TV This Fall
For TV junkies, Upfront Week is one of the most exciting weeks of the year. You mourn/celebrate what got renewed, you mourn/celebrate what got cancelled, and you wait for the trailers of what’s new to hit the internet. These trailers are when the networks get their first chance to sell…
10 Acts That Would *Really* Piss Off White Oak Music Hall’s Neighbors
The Lawn at White Oak Music Hall is pretty much the hottest music venue in town right now — and not just because oh dear God it’s summer again. Temporary stage or not, it’s the only place around to catch the Lumineers on Saturday, and even if you don’t have…
Trump Says He’d Consider “Tweeter Laureate of Texas” for Supreme Court Nomination
It seems to be rather fitting that impulsive tweeter Donald Trump would pick a guy officially named the “Tweeter Laureate of Texas” as one of his potential U.S. Supreme Court nominees, should he be elected president. That guy is Texas Supreme Court Justice Don Willett, a respected conservative judge in…
Houston Just Got a New Master Sommelier: David Keck of Camerata Passed the Test
David Keck, sommelier and co-owner of Camerata at Paulie’s, is now one of only two master sommeliers in Houston—and only one of eight in the entire state of Texas. (Paul Petronella of Paulie’s next door is Camerata’s other owner.) Only three from across the United States were awarded the title…
Man Found Dead Outside City Hall’s Basement Windows
On Wednesday morning, a man was found dead at City Hall, lying 13 feet below ground level just outside the building’s basement windows. Police say that contract workers for the city, working in the basement to check the irrigation system, spotted the body around 10:20 a.m. They believe that the…
Central Market in Houston Reveals Plans for 10,000-Square-Foot Expansion
In a press release today, Central Market, which is owned by H-E-B, revealed it is embarking on a $10 million-dollar expansion of its existing store at 3815 Westheimer. The project will add an additional 10,000 square feet to the store. Among the improvements is a new, brighter façade for the…
Advocacy Groups Ask Gov. Abbott to Study School Officers’ Use of Force
Last month, a San Antonio middle school police officer was fired after a video showed him using excessive force on a 12-year-old girl. The officer, intervening in a shouting match, had picked her up from behind—then body slammed her onto the concrete floor, face-first, and cuffed her. Kids can be…
Florence + the Machine Bring Raw Talent to The Woodlands
Florence + the Machine, Grimes Cynthia Woods Pavilion May 17, 2016 It’s often said that stars are born and not made, but this is certainly less than accurate in today’s music landscape. In 2016, just about anything can be created in a lab, but just like synthetic hair feels like plastic and…
5 Other Franchises That Could Benefit From Gender-Swapping the Leads
For a certain subset of people out there, Ghostbusters 2016 may be the ultimate example of being careful for what you wish for. For as long as I can remember on these here internets, there have been people with their fingers crossed that the day would come where a new…
Vince Staples Charges Up Warehouse Live, Asthma and All
Vince Staples, Rocky Banks Warehouse Live May 17, 2016 Vince Staples commands most of his shows like a mixture of Lenny Bruce and a rock artist on the verge. His talent is too big for him to play small venues yet his sound feels like it’s perfectly conditioned to exist…
JINYA Ramen Prepares To Take Over the World — Or At Least Houston’s Suburbs
Jim Wang, proprietor of the Houston-area JINYA Ramen Bar location, announced to the Ramen In Common Facebook group that there are three more locations in progress, all in suburban areas. The new restaurants are planned for Sugar Land, Katy and Champions Village. There are two existing locations. The first, in…
Hatsune Miku Is the Most Normal Singing Hologram You’ll Pay Money to See
Hatsune Miku, Anamanaguchi NRG Arena May 17, 2016 Seeing a singing hologram is weird, but not quite as weird as you might think. Hatsune Miku isn’t real, at least not in the way that Tupac or Selena were real. She’s an instrument, one that anyone can purchase and use, and…
Cómo Le Haré?: Mourning Tejano Sensation Emilio Navaira
Every year, around the time RodeoHouston rolls along, I ask one question: “Is Tejano Music completely dead?” With a lack of new Tejano acts on the horizon, Tejano radio on the airwaves, and very little new music from its surviving legends, its easy to argue that yes — Tejano is…
Feds Arrest 16, Including UH-Victoria Professor, for Giant Synthetic-Pot Trafficking Operation
On Tuesday, the U.S. Attorney’s Office announced that it has charged 16 people—one who is a University of Houston – Victoria professor— in what it called “one of the largest synthetic cannabinoid trafficking enterprises in the country.” These 16 charges for fake-pot trafficking follow a lengthy, creepy-sounding investigation called “Operation…
Attorneys Say HPD’s “Code of Silence” Led to Retaliation Against Harassed Officer
Eight years after 24 Houston police officers first sued HPD and the city for discrimination and retaliation, the case has finally come to a close—ending at the foot of the U.S. Supreme Court door with one of the original plaintiff’s sons. At a press conference Tuesday, Sgt. Chris Zamora’s attorneys…
Group Wants Voters to Decide if Retail Beer and Wine Sales Should Be Allowed in The Heights [UPDATED]
In a press release today, a group called the “Houston Heights Beverage Coalition” announced their intent to collect at least 1,500 signatures on a petition to get the issue of beer and wine sales in The Heights on the ballot during the upcoming elections in November. The group has 60…
New Festival Highlights Houston’s Embarrassing Lack of Rock Radio (Again)
Houston rock fans learned the (almost) complete lineup of the Houston Open Air festival at high noon on Monday. With nearly 40 acts spread over three stages September 24 and 25 at NRG Park, HOA (as we shall now refer to it) tunes in nearly every wavelength of the hard-rock/metal…
