Changes In Metro’s Bus Schedule Will Do Nothing But Increase Convenience For Riders
Metro has announced a raft of changes to their bus schedules, mostly beginning this weekend.There are far too many to detail, so look for the info relevant to you here. The biggest thing we saw was the Medical Center circulating bus will no longer be circulating.Worry not about all these…
Blogging About Anna Nicole Smith? Be Prepared For Jail Time
It’s often said that the only creatures capable of surviving a nuclear holocaust are cockroaches and Keith Richards. But Hair Balls would like to add another unkillable entity to that list: Anna Nicole Smith lawsuits.The Chron reported today the plight of Lyndal Harrington, a local blogger who was held in…
KCOH Up For Sale, But Staying Put
One of the more interesting bits of music-related legislation to come up recently is the bill known as the Performance Rights Act. Drafted as House Resolution 848, sponsored by House Judiciary Committee chairman Rep. John Conyers (D-MI) and co-sponsored by a host of legislators including Houston Democrat Sheila Jackson Lee,…
Three Hurricanes, Three Fraud Schemes
Wherever there’s a hurricane, ma, I’ll be there…Wherever a FEMA official’s handing out a form to fill, I’ll be the person scamming them…Wherever — Well, we don’t think the Tom Joad speech at the end of The Grapes of Wrath goes exactly like that, but it would if Phyllis Ann…
A Café Bites Nibble
“Stupidity,” that was the first word out of the mouth of Chuck Pritchett, the owner of Hollister Grill (1741 Hollister, 713-973-1741), when asked why he opened a restaurant. Pritchett has been in the retail business all his life – selling men’s clothing, to be precise – and this restaurant is…
For Your Own Sanity, Avoid The Galleria Area This Week
We tend to avoid the whole Galleria area as much as possible, but we are reliably informed it is a popular destination with some segments of the public.Not tonight, though.TranStar has announced the intersection of Post Oak Boulevard and San Felipe will be completely closed down from 7 pm tonight…
Dow Chemical Thankful It’s In A Pollution-Loving State Like Texas
The Dow Chemical Co. got whacked last week with a $202,325 fine for air pollution violations, but if we had to guess, we’d say the world’s second-largest chemical company thanks its lucky stars it does business in a state like Texas, where a history of violations doesn’t mean much.In calculating…
New Kellogg’s Commercial Suggests You Give Your Child Diabetes For The Summer
The crack marketing team at Kellogg’s recognized that with summer quickly approaching, a warm Pop-Tart fresh out of the toaster isn’t necessarily appealing to people in warmer climates. As a means of keeping the toaster pastry relevant during those sweltering summer months, the company has introduced a new commercial into…
The WNBA’s Houston Comets Live On — In The Courtroom
When the Houston Comets professional women’s basketball team crashed and burned out of existence at the end of last year, many of the players moved on to ball another day. As for the coaches, they claim they got screwed.After a series of ownership problems towards the end of 2008, the…
Sonidos Y Mas: Mariachi Real de San Diego’s Mariachi Classics
Mariachi music has been present in American culture as long as I can remember – I recall watching old Hollywood films set in Mexico or Southern California, where the inevitable trio would come out for a song or two. As a result, tunes like “Sabor Ami,” “Solamente Una Vez” and…
Alley Theater To Produce Yet Another Frank Wildhorn Musical; Stunned World Asks “Why?”
The Alley Theater has announced its 2009-10 season; it includes productions of recent Broadway comedies Boeing, Boeing and Alfred Hitchcock’s The 39 Steps, which should be fun.But the announcement also contains much more ominous news, consisting of just five words: Yet. Another. Frank. Wildhorn. Musical.For some odd reason, Houston has…
Texas Traveler: Stopping for Burgers in College Station
Should you find yourself hungry while passing through Aggieland, I recommend a stopover at the original Koppe Bridge Bar & Grill on Wellborn, just south of FM 2818, for a burger basket. The restaurant buys fresh-ground 80/20 chuck and has it delivered daily from a local meat market. The kitchen…
Montrose Does Its Part To Protest California’s Prop 8 Decision
After waiting in anticipation to hold either a party or a protest, the LGBT community can take another collective exasperated sigh. It’s back to the grind after Tuesday’s California Supreme Court ruled to uphold Proposition 8, but also maintain the validity of approximately 18,000 marriages that were in question.The LGBT…
Astros Keep Busy… At Sucking
Yesterday was a busy day for the Astros. Not only did they lose their sixth straight game in a row — and their second straight to the Reds — but they also had to deal with Cecil Cooper calling a team meeting to discuss the team’s poor play. There’s no…
Top 5 Cold Drinks in Hot Weather
When the air itself gets humid enough to drink, it’s time to call in reinforcements. 5. Mango lassi. At least hot weather means that mangoes are in season. This better-than-a-smoothie drink of sweetened mango pulp, yogurt, milk and a sprinkling of pistachios is tropical enough to remind you of the…
Jesus Takes Time Out From Busy Schedule To Appear On Bathroom Tile In Galveston
The Galveston County Daily News has reported that a local woman has discovered an image of Jesus Christ on a bathroom tile.The image is not always apparent to everyone else, the paper reports. And it’s little wonder why, given the woman’s description: Eight months after being displaced by Hurricane Ike,…
Did Someone Get A Little Too CRASS At The Art Car Parade?
The Orange Show is on the lookout, on a hard-core manhunt (womanhunt, actually) for someone who might just have been out to spoil the 2009 Art Car Parade.An attendee at the parade has commented on sites like ours about her experience: One of the members of the group C.R.A.S.S. spewed…
Artist of the Week: TroubleSum
Each Wednesday, Rocks Off arbitrarily appoints one lucky local performer or group “Artist of the Week,” bestowing upon them all the fame and grandeur such a lofty title implies. Know a band or artist that isn’t awful? Email their particulars to introducingliston@gmail.com. We first heard rapper TroubleSum’s music about a…
Purple Haze: Fresh Field Pea Recipe
How many times have you gone to a farm stand or farmers’ market, loaded up with great-looking fresh produce — and then let it sit around in your refrigerator until it turned brown? It used to happen to me all the time. So I went on a freshness campaign and…
Classic Rock Corner: Simon and Garfunkel’s Live 1969
When Art Garfunkel tells audiences on he and Paul Simon’s 1969 tour that the duo has just finished a new album, those clapping had no clue that by the time Bridge Over Troubled Water came out, the former childhood friends would have split acrimoniously and wouldn’t regularly share the stage…
Deputy Of Longtime Constable Wins Her Sexual Harassment Suit
In October 2007, we told you about a lawsuit filed by a former deputy to Constable Glen Cheek of Precinct 5, a legendary old-school lawman who, according to the suit, was not above calling his female employees “cunt” and “bitch” and making them do his shopping and cooking.Ah, the old…
Levon Helm Is 69… and Badass
Rocks Off is having a little trouble looking his “2009 Year of the Rhino” wall calendar in the eye this morning. He trusted it implicitly until Tuesday, when a friend pointed out that in saluting Stevie Nicks, Miles Davis and Hank Williams Jr. on their birthday, he left out former…
In Honor Of Your Dearly Departed…..
So you’re headed to Pearland’s largest cemetery to bury or visit a loved one. Across the road is this sign.Nothing but class, baby, nothing but class…
Aeros Stay Alive Again, The Hard Way
Normal 0 MicrosoftInternetExplorer4 st1:*{behavior:url(#ieooui) } /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:”Table Normal”; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-parent:””; mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0in; mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:10.0pt; font-family:”Times New Roman”;} “I always look at President Obama — or any president — I look at how they age,” Houston Aeros coach Kevin Constantine said…
Lonesome Onry and Mean: Living With War
To paraphrase Gen. George S. “Ol’ Blood and Guts” Patton, war dwarfs all other forms of human endeavor. In LOM’s lifetime, it seems war has been almost a constant. I was born just as the Korean War began, entered the draft for the Vietnam War in 1969 but was never…
Unknown Soldier: A Memorial Day Playlist
Now that you’ve browsed the various rock, soul, country and rap musicians who have spent time serving their country, Rocks Off thought a playlist might be apropos, something to listen to while you barbecue, watch the parade or whatever it is you do to honor fallen soldiers. We’ve selected some…
Memorial Day Rockers, Part 4: The Marines
Marines have about a million different monikers. Call them leathernecks, jarheads, devil-dogs, drunks, psychos, the list goes on. The Marine Corps is both the most revered and reviled branch of the U.S. military. This side of Rocks Off did some time in the Marine Corps, and it shaped who he…
Memorial Day Rockers, Part 3: The Air Force
The early days of the U.S. Air Force, when it was still a branch of the Army known as the Army Air Corps, were a heady time. Pilots were testing out new planes and maneuvers, while manufacturers were still working out engineering kinks in the engines, making test pilots some…
Memorial Day Rockers, Part 2: The Navy
The U.S. Navy has an equally strange list of famous musician alumni as any other branch: Two musical laughingstocks and a titan of mournful soul were former midshipmen…
Texas Traveler: Bluebonnet Wine Trail
While in Navasota lovin’ on some alpacas, Texas Traveler had a hankerin’ thirst. So we got on our trusty iPhone and found the closest winery, a funky l’il shack called the Purple Possum Winery. While in the air-conditioned comfort of the Purple Possum’s tasting room, we met a lovely couple…
Memorial Day Grilling: Cajun Stuffed Peppers
Who knew you could cook stuffed peppers on the grill? Just don’t get carried away with how much meat you put inside each one. You can make them with plain hamburger if you want, but I like to blend in different ground meats like lamb or breakfast sausage. Season the…
Memorial Day Rockers, Part 1: The Army
Today, as you crack open that precious can of Sparks and turn over the steaks on the grill, it’s important to remember the men and women who have sacrificed their lives and bodies to give you this three-day weekend. Memorial Day was first established in 1868 to honor the men…
This Week In Deliciousness
Welcome back to our weekly food blog round-up. This has been an unusually delicious week for all of you, because, like the universe, it begins and ends with me. Yes, Monday kicked off with my in-depth investigation into the roll-slowing prowess of various extreme relaxation beverages, with the conclusions that…
The Cool Art Installation THE MAN Doesn’t Want You To See
We all know artistic duo Dan Havel and Dean Ruck from their smash-hit Inversion installation at Art League Houston in 2005. Now, in conjunction with the new “No Zoning” show at the Contemporary Arts Museum Houston, they’ve created a project called Give and Take. But we’re not allowed to tell…
Happy Memorial Day Weekend from Rocks Off… and Bob Dylan
Rocks Off is going to go ahead and sign off a little early today – trust us, we’re as anxious to get started on the three-day weekend as you are. Please do come back Monday, though, while you’re barbecuing (or whatever) – we’ve got all sorts of holiday musical content…
Last Call For Art: Shows Closing this Weekend
The Gothic comedy The Miss Firecracker Contest closes on Sunday. Pulitzer-Prize winner Beth Henley’s play is about Carnelle, a young woman with a less-than-perfect past who has entered the local beauty pageant in order to restore not only her reputation but her self-esteem as well. She’s getting a little help…
Upcoming Events
Memorial Day is upon us and – aside from a day off – the pickings are pretty slim for activities. Traditionally a weekend for grilling, pool parties or trips to the beach, the holiday isn’t particularly celebrated down South or in Texas for a variety of reasons. But that doesn’t…
School’s Out For Summer: Travis Elementary Closes For Rest of School Year
Travis Elementary, the school where one kid after another was coming down with or thinking he was coming down with swine flu, was supposed to open next Tuesday to finish out the year in some sort of style. That’s not going to happen now, Norm Uhl, spokesman for the Houston…
Fire Hits Montrose Complex, No One Hurt
Cecelia Johnson smelled smoke in her second floor apartment shortly before 1 o’clock this afternoon, and she walked to her bedroom window to see what happened. Johnson’s complex wasn’t on fire, but just outside her window, the West Alabama Place Apartments had turned into “a huge, billowing cloud of smoke.”…
The Gallery Furniture Fire, As Twittered
As you no doubt know by now, the Gallery Furniture warehouse went up in a four-alarm blaze early this morning. We’ve had our differences with Mattress Mack in the past, but this is the time only for good wishes for a comeback for someone who is undeniably a Houston icon…
Things I Saw at Einstein Bros. Bagels That Make Me Question Humanity
The Einstein Bros. Bagels shop at Kimberley and Beltway 8 is attractive to me for many reasons. It’s literally right across the street from my house; the Sumatra coffee is strong, dark and delicious; and the chopped onion bagel with salmon cream cheese is exactly the savory kick I like…
Great National Publicity For Main Street Theater’s Awake and Sing
It’s pretty good when you get a rave review in the Houston Press; it’s even better when the Wall Street Journal flies in to see your performance and rhapsodizes over it. Terry Teachout, the well-respected Journal critic, turns out to be a fan of Clifford Odets’ Awake and Sing. The…
Slideshow: How-To Albums, Part 2
More practical two-step advice from the bizarre mind of Bizarre Records’ Nick DiFonzo. Get up to speed on Part 1 here…
An Interview With The New Head Of BARC: This Time, Things Really, Really Will be Fixed. Really
As BARC’s new bureau chief, Ray Sim has his work cut out for him. He now heads an organization that has historically resisted change and ostracized volunteers who have made claims of cruel conditions, with the full support of an administration and city council that believes the best way to…
Customized Cupcakes
Apparently one new way to show your business has really arrived is to have its logo, or a symbol of the type of work it does (think oil derrick), made into a roller image that can then be ironed into every fondant placed atop the cupcakes at your reception or…
Crusty, Cynical Guy Performs Good Deed For Amnesia Victim
If you work on loading docks long enough, you develop an eye for the rhythms of a parking lot. You learn whose car is there daily, of course, but you also learn who’s living in their car, and how to spot a dumped stolen ride. After 15 or so years…
Lonesome Onry and Mean: R.I.P. Vern Gosdin
“Don’t you think you should’ve called To tell me you were coming down Oh, you look so out of place On this troubled side of town” – Vern Gosdin, “Do You Believe Me Now” Lonesome Onry and Mean has been lax in his duties, not reporting that one of the…
Texas Spider-Man Fans: You Could Be A Broadway Star! (Or, Maybe Not)
Spider-Man geeks, rejoice!! You may not only get to live out your fantasy — being Peter Parker and his alter ego — but you can be a Broadway star!! Or, on the other hand, you can participate in a huge publicity stunt. They’re making a musical out of Spiderman, complete…
Racism and Cecil Cooper
Apparently I’m a racist. I didn’t know I was racist, but it seems that because I think Cecil Cooper is an idiot I’m a racist. At least that what’s Jose de Jesus Ortiz blogs over at Chron.com. But here’s the catch, Ortiz is responding to people accusing him of being…
Mongolian Hot Pot
It’s so refreshing to find a place that isn’t afraid to keep the heat in their Mongolian hot pot, spicy version. Here are two excellent places where you can test your tolerance. I had Mongolian hot pot with a group of Houston Chowhounds at the wonderful Sichuan Cuisine (9114 Bellaire…
Aftermath: Brave Combo at Discovery Green
And whether tykes in diapers, broughams in “Czech This Out!” T-shirts or silver foxes well past AARP age, few in the audience were shy about dancing (or could withstand Combo spokesman Carl Finch’s relentless hectoring to come down front). No doubt aided by the free polka lessons given right before…
Saturday: Tim Easton at Cactus Music
I first encountered Tim Easton about five years ago at a New West Records South By Southwest party. It was a hot day at an outdoor stage. I felt the presence of someone moving up beside me and saw from his name tag that it was Michael Corcoran, longtime music…
For Memorial Day, Part 3: Five Best War-Movie Deaths
Memorial Day is more than just a holiday to remember the over one million American men and women who have given their lives in service to their country. It’s also a time to commemorate Hollywood’s love of war. You’ll have no problem finding marathons of Tora! Tora! Tora! and Sergeant…
For Memorial Day, Part 2: One Vet’s Journey Back To Pearl Harbor
The Japanese were bombing Pearl Harbor, and Nicolas Maershbecker’s ship was stuck. Maershbecker was an engineer on the USS Perry, a high-speed minesweeper, and responsible for starting the boilers in the engine room. He couldn’t, though, because the ship’s smokestacks were still blocked by their canvas covers. “I could not comprehend what…
Texas Traveler: Bryan
Messina Hof Winery makes some of the best wines in Texas. In fact, their “Angel” late-harvest Riesling won the Best in Texas award at the Rodeo several years in a row. The winery offers tours for the public and group tours by reservation. There’s a tasting room where you buy…
Morning MP3s: Two From the Watermarks’ Free Thoughts Like Bombs EP
Houston electro-rock quartet the Watermarks was kind enough to allow Rocks Off to post a couple of tracks from its brand-new Thoughts Like Bombs EP, which you can download for free on the band’s Web site. To us, “I Used to Be Your Rock n’ Roll” sounds like Black Rebel…
Five Spot: DJ Vlad Co-signs Kyle Hubbard
Welcome back to Five Spot. Every Friday, we’ll examine a recent bit of music news and, albeit sometimes awkwardly, tie it to a bit of Houston rap. You can five videos and occasional cussing. Send tips to introducingliston@gmail.com. Back in November of last year, we co-signed the dopeness of rapper…
For Memorial Day, Part 1: Hot Chicks In Swimsuits With Food
We know the poolside cookout is a permanent fixture of the Memorial Day weekend, so to celebrate, here are some attractive ladies in swim gear eating, playing with, preparing, or otherwise enjoying food. We hope it enhances your holiday. Michelle and Her Popsicle In this clip from Showtime’s Californication, Michelle…
Don’t Start The Long Weekend Too Early
Yeah, we know tomorrow is the Friday before a three-day weekend. You’ll hardly have finished your granola bar and first coffee before you begin making plans on an early cubicle exit. If you make it until noon without coming up with some decent excuse for “needing to work outside the…
Feds Say Metro Has Violated Civil Rights Laws (Without Specifics)
We reported yesterday on things looking up for Metro, but today Hair Balls learned that our transit authority is violating the federal government’s definition of civil rights. According to a letter dated April 27, the Federal Transit Administration conducted a Title VI Compliance Review of Metro earlier this year, which,…
Slideshow: Albums Inspired by Literature
It might not seem like it, but some musicians are actually pretty smart. And they read. Sometimes they’ll even tackle a book or two and come away so inspired they have to translate it to their own medium. Iggy Pop’s new Preliminaires is only the latest. Here, then, are some…
KUHT Hopes June Will Finally Put Ike In The Rear-View Mirror
KUHT, the city’s PBS affiliate, is still struggling with hard times that started with Ike and have worsened with the economic downturn.The station’s impressive eight-year-old studios got hit hard by Ike, and the insurance claims for the almost $1 million in damage are still being hashed out, KUHT’s Julie Coan…
$7 at Putty’s Pizza
Where: Putty’s Pizza, underneath One Allen Center, 500 Dallas St., 713-951-9369 What $7 gets you: A greasy slice of pizza and any item from a menu that would make any bar proud. Unfortunately, Putty’s doesn’t serve booze. The lunch options in the downtown tunnels are diverse, but unless you’re hungry…
Local Album of the Week: Low Man’s Joe’s Where I Stand
Before “Wanted Dead or Alive,” before “It’s My Life,” before Jon Bon Jovi went off to Hollywood and took the Lost Highway through Nashville in 2007, Bon Jovi was a pretty decent hard-rock band. Poppier than most, definitely, but Jon’s Springsteenian tales of boardwalk knockabouts and Richie Sambora’s streetwise riffs…
Who Outed Wayne Dolcefino’s (We Think) Confidential Source? Let The Courts Decide
Paige Hewitt, a local investigative journalist, has sued KTRK-Channel 13, saying she was fired in February on the false pretense that she outed another reporter’s confidential source. The lawsuit doesn’t name the “particular investigative reporter,” but Hair Balls wonders if it’s a certain someone whose name rhymes with Shmayne Shmolcefino.Hewitt…
Mostly Metal: Isis vs. Mastodon
As you might read in the print edition of this week’s Press, the experimental metal band Isis will be at the Meridian tonight. All of Isis’ albums since 2002’s Oceanic have explored similar territory: long, unhurried songs that blend doom-metal with the noodly, spacey guitar work characteristic of post-rock. Isis’…
San Angelo Mayor Springs A Hell Of A Surprise On His Town
Out there in West Texas, they know how to do things right. Like spring surprise mayoral resignations.The mayor of San Angelo, J.W. Lown, abruptly announced his resignation just days before he was to be sworn in for his fourth term as mayor, the San Angelo Standard Times reports.Surprise Number One:…
Openings and Closings
In addition to the plethora of ethnic cuisine available in Houston, we now have a new entry on the ever-expanding list: Australian food. While Oz isn’t exactly known for its culinary heritage (Vegemite aside), Trios Downunder is looking to change that. The new fast-casual restaurant at 10535 Westheimer offers a…
Tourism To Houston Is Somehow Strong, According To One Indicator
Houstonians can pat themselves on the back, according to Mike Gallagher, president of CityPass. A pre-paid package of passes to local attractions such as Space Center Houston and the Houston Museum of Natural Science, CityPass is one way to measure H-town’s tourist trade. And even with Hurricane Ike effectively shutting…
Bayou Body Count: Grandmother Stabbed To Death
Houston police on Monday arrested a man in the stabbing death of his girlfriend. Harold Chester Amburgey, 48, is accused of killing Donna Baeza, 48, who was found dead in her apartment in the 1700 block of Wirt Rd. May 17.She suffered a stab wound and was pronounced dead at…
Houston Press Music Awards: And The Nominees Are…
Here they are, folks. You nominated ’em, we mulled ’em over and sorted out the stuffers, and now the 2009 Houston Press Music Awards ballot is set. Normally Rocks Off would say something cute like read ’em and weep, but since we’ve been listening to almost nothing but ’80s hard…
The 2009 Houston Press Music Award Nominees
Here they are, folks. You nominated ’em, we mulled ’em over and sorted out the stuffers, and now the 2009 Houston Press Music Awards ballot is set. Normally Rocks Off would say something cute like read ’em and weep, but since we’ve been listening to almost nothing but ’80s hard…
Kiko’s Mexican Cafe
Just like mom used to make it. When was the last time you ate at a restaurant and said that to yourself? Probably not very recently. Lots of restaurants advertise “authentic, home-cooked” meals because they use the original recipes from the owner’s family, but they’re still usually cooked by a…
Texans Almost As Bad At Hitting Home Runs As Astros, Charity Event Reveals
Videos and photo by Craig HlavatyThe guys who get paid to do it aren’t exactly tearing the cover off the ball — the Astros currently rank 24th in the majors in home runs. So it’s nice to see some fresh meat in the oddly-shaped confines of Minute Maid Park, even…
The New Y — You’ve Seen It From Above, Now See It From Inside
Yesterday we showed you what the new YMCA looks like from above as it’s being built. The good people at Swamplot, the real-estate blog of Houston, have got their hands on what the place will look inside.Here’s a couple; for the rest head to Swamplot. The entrance area: Slightly different…
Cue The Bee Gees: The Aeros Are Stayin’ Alive
The Houston Aeros were down three games to none to the Manitoba Moose, and they were one game away from the end of their season. So yesterday morning, hours before their game with the Moose, I sought out Tony Hrkac, the grizzled old veteran who joined the team in March…
Bacon vs. Tofu: The Battle That Never Was
The Feed, the food blog at Time Out New York, has had the enviable task of judging a series of home-cooked meal competitions lately. Chili Takedown, Curry Takedown, Bacon Takedown and – most recently – Tofu Takedown are just some of the competitions that have been presented. After the popularity…
Sonidos Y Mas: Marcio Local
Marcio Local Says Don Day Don Dree Don Don: Adventures in Samba Soul www.luakabop.com During the late ’60s and early ’70s, Brazilian songwriters like the late Tim Maia and Jorge Ben became increasingly frustrated with the creative limitations of samba, and also felt out of place within the rock movement,…
The Mean Streets Of Houston’s Suburbs
Want to feel safe these days? Get youself out of those crime-ridden suburbs and move to Houston.That seems to be the message in the latest annual wrap-up of Texas crime stats put out by the DPS.Overall, the major-crime rate in Texas dropped three percent, and officials were crowing.”The reduction in…
Houston Press Music Award Nominations Announced Today
But not just yet. Ha. We’re going to make y’all sweat a little bit longer. Check back on Rocks Off at high noon for the complete list of this year’s nominees. Good luck and happy nail-biting!…
Why Does Memorial Day Suck In Houston?
If you’ve ever lived outside of Texas or the Deep South, you can find yourself asking a simple question: What the hell happened to Memorial Day?Up north and back east, it’s a huge event. Every little town has a parade, there’s a ceremony, people really, really look forward to it…
Get Lit: Bill Bruford: The Autobiography by Bill Bruford
As the “godfather of progressive rock drumming,” Bill Bruford has done stints on the road and in the studio with many of the genre’s biggest bands. He was a founding member of Yes, spent years with King Crimson, and also thumped skins for Genesis, Gong, and U.K. before forming his…
Review: Texas BBQ
Texas BBQ is a new book of photographs from University of Texas Press by photographer Wyatt McSpadden, a longtime contributor to Texas Monthly and a verifiable barbecue fanatic. McSpadden was on the SXSW barbecue panel with me a couple of months ago, and we signed books afterward and talked for…
Flannel File: Primus
Primus circa 1998, Copenhagen, DenmarkAs the title of this feature might suggest, ’90s nostalgia is in full swing, and one of the orders of the day is reexamining the aesthetic reputation of bands we liked when we were teenagers but of whom we subsequently became embarrassed, swapping them in our…
Idol Beat: The One
Mea culpa: Yi. I typed this entire post – then accidentally closed the Mozilla Firefox window and lost everything. Let this be a lesson to every blogger out there: compose in Word. For real. American Idol winner Kris Allen practices his “Who, me?” showbiz face. Let’s not belabor this: Kris…
In Honor Of The Terminator: Five Old-School Killer Robots
It’s easy these days to get taken in by the visual awesomeness of modern killer robots like Transformers and T-1000s, but it’s just as easy to forget that personal touch you only get from getting hunted and murdered by stop-motion models, guys in foam suits, and Yul Brynner. While you’re…
Alex Reymundo
Comedian Alex Reymundo is a Hick-spanic. The Mexican comedian invented the term to define the merging of his south-of-the-border heritage with his Kentucky upbringing (his family moved there when he was a boy). His comedic stylings further this persona, as Reymundo switches from English to Español while he gives audiences…
Naya Daur (New Age)
It’s man vs. machine in B.R. Chopra’s classic 1957 Bollywood film, the social comedy Naya Daur (New Age). To be absolutely accurate, it’s horse vs. machine, as poor but honest horse-cart driver Shankar (played by Indian superstar Dilip Kumar in full photogenic mode) battles against inevitable progress when a bus…
Sisters in Crime Group Signing
Looking for trouble? Head over to today’s Sisters in Crime reading and signing. Mystery novelist Susan Rogers Cooper will read spine-tingling tales of ne’er-do-well Texans and Okies from two of her newest books, Romanced to Death and Shotgun Wedding. If the latter sounds like something straight out of a small…
Inner Engineering
Feeling a bit frazzled these days? Check out Inner Engineering. A five-day intensive program taught by visiting yogi Sadhguru Vasudev, Inner Engineering uses ancient yogic methods as an antidote to the stress of modern life and is open to people at all skill levels. 6:30 to 9:30 p.m. Wednesday through…
Going Dark
Houston Press MasterMind Award winner Nova Arts Project presents the world premiere of Going Dark. The play by Houstonian Elizabeth Keel focuses on a new student’s arrival at a small school, a place “where emotions are a science and occasionally a weapon.” Some people at the school welcome the student’s…
Behind the Metal
And now for the story of Lips and the dildo. Back in the late ’70s, before Guitar Hero III or Rock of Love 2 or even VH1, a jolly Canadian guitarist named Steve “Lips” Kudlow formed a thrash band with his high school best friend, drummer Robb Reiner (no relation…
Tattoo and Body Art Expo
Freshen up your ink or work on becoming holier than thou at the Tattoo and Body Art Expo. More than 200 tattoo and piercing artists — including Gil Montie, Nate Beavers, Mike Chambers, Dan Martin and Chicken Wing — will set up shop at the Reliant Center to exhibit their…
Summer Sounds
Summer concert season is upon us once again in Houston. We can look forward to ungodly sunburns, severe chafing and mild heat exposure, and that’s just from walking to your car. It’s a necessary evil for those of us who plan to brave the Gulf Coast elements and enjoy some…
Gene Baur
It all started with a trip to the stockyard. After rescuing a discarded, still-alive sheep from a pile of carcasses — the first of many animals saved — Gene Baur decided to dedicate his life to exposing the cruelty of factory farms, the nightmarish facilities where that delicious burger once…
Out of the Park
It seems longer than three and a half years ago that Astros fans flooded downtown to celebrate the club’s first National League pennant. Since then, the team has spent plenty but failed to develop a foundation of solid young players. Even when the club made late runs at the playoffs…
Sullivan’s Travels
In Sullivan’s Travels, it’s the 1940s and John. L. Sullivan (Joel McCrea), a young Hollywood director, is tired of making superficial comedies. He longs to make a serious, weighty film about the downtrodden. In order to better understand their plight, Sullivan decides to spend some time living as a hobo…
Hit Hermann
If you’ve been to Hermann Park in the last few years, then you know that as mid-city oases go, it’s never been all that, well, splendid. Yes, it offered green space and easy access to the Houston Zoo and Miller Outdoor Theatre, but amenities in the park itself were few…
The Story of Burford, Category 5
Imagine that a Category 5 hurricane lands a direct hit on Galveston, cutting a new ship channel all the way to Houston. It’s the stuff of nightmares for Bill White, but comedy fodder for Radio Music Theatre with The Story of Burford, Category 5. Longtime troupe members Steve and Vicki…
Road Trip!
Driving Texas is all a matter of perspective. Anyone who’s ever rolled across the state with purely pragmatic intentions knows the pain of realizing that, after hours in a near-featureless wasteland, you’re still hours outside of the middle of nowhere (rough Spanish translation: “El Paso”). But things improve when you…
Evita
Here’s the perfect plotline for a Broadway musical: Slut becomes a saint. We’re talking about Eva Perón, former first lady of Argentina, and the classic 1978 pop opera Evita, written by Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice, of course. In 1979, the show opened on Broadway for its enviable run…
Summer of Salvation
The cinema is not a slice of life but a piece of cake,” Alfred Hitchcock once said, and if that’s true — and who are we to dispute the Master? — then summertime is when we gorge. Unhealthily, most of the time, on ear-splitting smash-’em-ups and nerd-filled sex comedies. This…
Girl Shy
The Two Star Symphony revives Harold Lloyd’s 1924 silent comedy Girl Shy with a live performance of an original score during today’s screening. The film chronicles the antics of a socially naive bachelor who falls in love with a rich girl who’s set to marry someone else. Today’s presentation is…
The Man, The Myth
Jim Jarmusch’s anonymous antihero hitman (French-Ivorian actor Isaach De Bankolé), identified in the credits of The Limits of Control as the Lone Man, exists only in terms of his unspecified mission. The Lone Man is introduced in an overhead shot doing tai chi in an airport toilet stall, then taking…
An Evening with Gwendolyn Zepeda
Fortune-tellers, interracial relationships and plain old female frustration are the topics on hand today at the Houston Public Library’s An Evening with Gwendolyn Zepeda. The author of the humorously titled Houston, We Have a Problema, Zepeda was raised in Houston and has won two Houston Arts Alliance literary fellowships. During…
Fiddler on the Roof
These days, we can all sympathize with Tevye, the philosophizing Jewish father at the center of Fiddler on the Roof. He longs for the pleasures that a wealthy man must enjoy — “all day long I’d biddy biddy bum, if I were a wealthy man!” he sings. He wants stability…
Veggie Heaven
There was a time when Houstonians on the prowl for farm-fresh produce were limited to produce stands on the side of country roads or to the vast lots behind Canino’s Produce on Airline, which is composed primarily of food flown or trucked in from other areas. The recent proliferation of…
“Terra Cotta Warriors”
You’ll be awed when you come face-to-face with the terra cotta warriors that were created by China’s first emperor, Qin Shi Huang. Meant to protect the emperor’s spirit after he died in 210 B.C., 14 of the warriors, which ride chariots, wield weapons and stand in battle-ready poses, have left…
Awake and Sing!
The working class has made a comeback in American culture; extravagance just isn’t cool anymore. And so there couldn’t be a better time to revive Clifford Odets’s Awake and Sing! First produced in 1935, the seminal work introduces us to a struggling family soldiering through the Great Depression. According to…
Dancin’ in the Streets…Motown & More Revue
Motown was more than a record company, it was an era. At today’s Dancin’ in the Streets…Motown & More Revue, you can enjoy hits from the 1960s, including chart-toppers from the Supremes, Marvin Gaye, the Temptations and the Jackson 5 with the 23-piece BACEMENT Soul Orchestra providing the musical “wall…
Screen Plays
At left, you’ll see SF Weekly music editor Jennifer Maerz’s assessment of Anvil! The Story of Anvil, director Sacha Gervasi’s documentary about the Canadian metal band with considerably more enthusiasm than album sales. Anvil! has been rapturously received by both audiences and critics — winning awards at the Chicago and…
Cracker: Sunrise in the Land of Milk and Honey
People either love Cracker or find David Lowery’s post-Camper Van Beethoven outfit wearily obtuse and trying-too-hard ironic. Sunrise in the Land of Milk and Honey does have its share of obtuseness — not everyone writes linear love ditties, although just in case you thought they couldn’t do it, “Darling One”…
Shanghainese, If You Please
“Pork with preserved vegetables” sounds boring. But Jay Francis kept tapping on this item on the menu at Shanghai Cuisine and insisting that I try it. A friend of his from China had recommended the restaurant and the dish, so we ordered it. We also ordered something called “bean seedlings”…
Heads of State
If you were there that Friday evening in 1997 when the reunited New Edition came to town and performed at the long-gone arena known as The Summit, there’s a good chance you were disappointed by the whole affair. Apart from the group taking an hour and a half to start…
Clever, Funny and Disturbing
Ever since Richard Linklater’s 1991 film Slacker defined Austin, Texas, as a mecca for eccentrics and people more interested in “living life” than advancing up the career ladder, the city has experienced an identity crisis. Eager to wear the weird costume while cultivating a professional reputation in the entertainment and…
Capsule Art Reviews: Bryan Wheeler: The Souls of Texans Are In Jeopardy In Ways Not Common To Other Men, “Casual Encounters”, Round 30: Home. Space. Place.
Bryan Wheeler: The Souls of Texans Are In Jeopardy In Ways Not Common To Other Men These nine works by Bryan Wheeler, the younger of the Wheeler Brothers who curate the annual “Ulterior Motifs” show in Lubbock, display the lexicon of motifs that folks instantly recognize as the Texan’s signature:…
Cattle Decapitation
On the title track of Cattle Decapitation’s 2004 album Humanure, vocalist Travis Ryan growls the line “Here’s to your health.” But don’t get the wrong impression, as he isn’t exactly trying to foster a warm and fuzzy feeling. In the same song, he invites the listener to “defecate upon the…
Capsule Stage Reviews: Awake and Sing!, Antigone, Dangerous Corner, Rock ‘N’ Roll, The Third Side
Awake and Sing! Clifford Odets’s Awake and Sing! is more relevant than ever in Main Street Theater’s emotionally charged performance — and it was first produced in 1935, during the Great Depression. The famous play attacks everything from petty bourgeois desire to heartless capitalists ready to crush the little guy…
Heaven & Hell: The Devil You Know
When Black Sabbath 3.0 got back together to record new material for 2007 anthology The Dio Years, the three resulting songs were shockingly good. The band must have thought so as well, embarking on two years of worldwide touring to large, hungry audiences — billing themselves as “Heaven & Hell”…
Paul Wall: Fast Life
Did high gas prices kill off Paul Wall? Not really — that’s just a coincidence. Rather, the H-Town artist known for his candy cars and diamond grills has suffered from being too closely identified with a regional sound that is no longer fashionable. Just as Chingy stopped selling records after…
Man Drive Car
At 73, the Memphis-born actor, stuntman, former U.S. Marine and Golden Gloves boxer Red West has the stoic, leathery repose of a barfly on a John Ford or Howard Hawks saloon wall. He doesn’t talk much, and when he does, reveals even less, but there’s an abyss of longing and…
Isis, Pelican, Tombs
Isis’s 2002 album Oceanic is perhaps the central text in the history of the young branch of experimental heavy music called post-metal; in the stark and immense simplicity of its ideas, it comes closer than perhaps any other record to the young genre’s Platonic ideal. Judging by the L.A. band’s…
India.Arie
When India.Arie first debuted her music to the world on 2001’s Acoustic Soul, she was seen as a welcome change within the music industry. Existing slightly inside of the neo-soul box but far away from the pillow-talk R&B of the time, Arie’s songs spoke of black love and self-love in…
Indigo Girls
After the Indigo Girls left Hollywood Records (and the major-label game altogether) last year, the duo channeled their feelings toward recent events regarding the legality (or not) of same-sex marriage into new album Poseidon and The Bitter Bug. “Fighting for the Love of My Life” points an accusatory finger at…
Two Houston newsmen take different paths
POLITICAL ANIMALS Revolving Door Works Again He covered the sheriff, now he’ll spin for him Richard Connelly Alan Bernstein, the longtime political reporter for the Houston Chronicle, is quitting the paper to join the staff of Harris County Sheriff Adrian Garcia. Bernstein ended his 29 years at the Chron May 15…
Anvil! The Story of Anvil
An old-school metal band’s dramatic epic is about to hit movie theaters. This is a group that started in the early ’80s and influenced rock legends like Slash, Lemmy from Motörhead and Scott Ian of Anthrax. It’s an act that still tours around the globe. These musicians allowed filmmakers complete backstage access — which…
A Child’s Word
When the victim showed up at the door, on a fall morning in 2006, nearly everyone wanted to help her. She was 14 years old and told the guidance counselor at the Ninth Grade Center in Pearland that “she just did not want to be here,” that “it was too…
Save Yourself!
Both warning and advertisement, the Terminator films are technophobic teases, selling tickets by promising this decade’s model of killing machine: the classic V8 1984 Schwarzenegger; the bullet-streamlined, liquid-metal ’91 Robert Patrick of T2: Judgment Day; Kristanna Loken’s 2003 T-X (with burgundy pleather upholstery). Terminator Salvation, a departure in many ways,…
Dans la famille
Throughout his career, festival favorite Olivier Assayas has alternated between meta-pop, sometimes lurid, neo-new wave genre flicks and their antithesis — genteel, talk-driven ensemble dramas. With Summer Hours, the 54-year-old director brings it all back home, staging a tactical retreat from the Edge City hookers, junkies and media sharks of…
Extra Golden
Here’s a heartwarming story: Cross-cultural collaboration makes good, endures death of original member, overcomes visa troubles courtesy of then-Senator Barack Obama and helps relatives endure political maelstrom in Kenya through fan donations. Extra Golden, formed in Nairobi while American guitarist Ian Eagleson studied Kenya’s benga scene, has evolved into a…
Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell
In 1993, Bob Haslanger received a letter from his high school alma mater, St. Stephen’s Episcopal School in Austin. It seemed that Haslanger, who was living in Seattle, had been designated a “never-giver,” which, as the label suggests, is a category of alumni who have never donated to the school…
Soderbergh’s True Character
Steven Soderbergh has no particular stylistic signature, and one of the most uneven oeuvres imaginable. But he does have interests. The essence of cine Soderbergh is the application of the filmmaker’s intelligence to a specific problem. In Che, it was the nature of a historical actor; in The Girlfriend Experience,…
Candye Kane
Singer, mother, former kid shoplifter, ex-porn actress, bisexual sex activist, cancer survivor — Candye Kane’s life is more fascinating than most of the bawdy blues songs she sings. No telling why the buxom, consistently brassy California girl hasn’t been the subject of her own big-screen biopic yet, except maybe no…
Defending Bob Dylan and the Mac Guy
C List What’s the difference? I find it interesting in your article “Craigslist Declassified ” [by Bradley Campell and Matt Snyders, May 7], you write about the Connecticut Attorney General pressuring Craigslist to get rid of its erotic service listings. I wonder when the Texas Attorney General will do the…
Bob Log III
Softcore slide-guitar maniac Bob Log III loves him some boobs, live and on record. Forever clad in a motorcycle helmet, the Tucson native makes female (and sometimes even male) mammaries the stars of his show. Whether he’s belting out “Clap Your Tits” with the crowd’s fleshy accompaniment, or drinking some…
New Noodles
Jenni’s Noodle Shop has had a cult following ever since Jenni Tran-Weaver opened her first location on Jefferson Street eight years ago. That restaurant was shuttered; she opened up a new one on Shepherd; and now she has expanded to another location, at 2027 Post Oak Blvd. (713-621-4200). The new…
Modern-day piracy, Mexican style
Dear Mexican, My wife and I have an argument going on about pirates. And since you are the source for all things Mexican, I’d thought I’d ask: While I know there were Spanish and Portuguese pirates back in the early 1600s and 1700s, were there ever any Mexican pirates? Not…
Ciara: Fantasy Ride
On the strength of Jazze Pha and Lil Jon productions like “Goodies” and “1, 2 Step,” Atlanta singer Ciara rose to fame in 2004 as crunk’s queen. But five years is an eternity in contemporary R&B, and so, after sanitized ’07 follow-up Ciara: The Evolution, the modern-sounding Fantasy Ride apes…
Hot Mess
Hot Plate has discovered a new savory snack: the bourekas ($.85 each) at Super Pita Bakery & Deli (9806 Hillcroft, 832-576-2692). They’re savory pies made with puff pastry in various shapes — some triangular, some rectangular — topped with sesame seeds. Super Pita makes spinach, mushroom and potato versions, but…
