Pearl Jam
It’s a shame that Pearl Jam is a great album. Not because there’s anything wrong with Pearl Jam’s putting together a pop-rock album with fire and vigor; the first three songs, particularly the radio-perfect “World Wide Suicide,” showcase a screaming, off-the-walls Pearl Jam that sounds straight out of the mid-’90s…
Our top DVD picks for the week of May 23
Africa Screams (Image) April’s Shower (Liberation) Back Door to Hell (Fox) Bloodrayne (Uwe Boll Productions) The Closer: The Complete First Season (Warner Bros.) Deadwood: The Complete Second Season (HBO) The Devil’s Miner (First Run) The Dirty Dozen: Two-Disc Special Edition (Warner Bros.) The 4400: The Complete Second Season (Paramount) Game…
How About Them Apples?
After graduating from Princeton in 1958, 22-year-old Frank Stella moved into a cramped apartment in New York’s SoHo district. Jackson Pollock, Jasper Johns and Robert Rauschenberg were already internationally known artists, and NYC was where the most exciting modern art was happening. Stella would become a major star of the…
T.I.
Anyone disputing T.I.’s claim to the title “King of the South” should be summarily silenced by the pageant King’s release. The self-proclaimed Dick Cheney of rap showcases many styles: He drapes himself in Tupac’s sensitivity for “Live in the Sky” (with Jamie Foxx) and harks back to Lord Jamar’s wryness…
¡Party en el Patio!
Salt doesn’t stick very well to the rim of a plastic cup, so you might say my margarita was “lightly salted.” Otherwise, it was a pretty average lime-green machine-made frozen margarita in a dinky container. But nevertheless, it was a historic cocktail: the first margarita ever served on the new…
Got Plywood?
Brace yourself: The 2006 hurricane season is almost under way. Sure, you can wait till Dr. Neil Frank tells you when to hide in the bathtub. But you can prepare yourself for evacuation hell this year by getting in the know at the 2006 Hurricane Workshop: Lessons Learned for the…
Dixie Chicks
From downtown Dallas street corners to round-the-world street fights, it’d be understatement by half to claim it’s been a strange and surprising trip for sisters and Chicks founders Emily Robison and Martie Maguire, especially since it’s the latecomer lead singer who got the band into trouble in the first place…
Classic Cuban
Classic Cuban: The masitas ($14.95) at El Meson (2425 University Boulevard, 713-522-9306) aren’t cookies, though in some Hispanic cultures, that’s what the word means. Instead, the dish is masitas de puerco, a.k.a. carnitas. Chunks of pork tenderloin are pan-fried in olive oil with almost as much garlic as pork, along…
Finding Wonderland
Here’s something to bring the rabbit-chasing kid outta you: “Alice’s Wonderland: A Most Curious Adventure.” The new exhibit at the Children’s Museum of Houston lets visitors experience Alice’s journey in the classic Lewis Carroll novel. Once kids scamper “down the rabbit hole,” a series of rooms introduce math, science and…
Pinmonkey
Along with Big Blue Hearts, Pinmonkey has a shot at taking something cool into the continually maligned country music mainstream. Relying on Michael McReynolds’s reedy vocals, airtight, saccharine-free harmonies and well-written material sans schmaltz, only radio seems to stand between Pinmonkey and much larger gigs and audiences. Like Buddy Miller,…
Gator Aid
Two years ago, at a busy Fort Bend County baseball diamond, Little Leaguers swung for the outfield. Runners at second and third weren’t the only ones hoping the right fielder might soon be chasing a pop fly into the brush. In an overgrown drainage ditch beyond the base line, a…
Drum Up Some Grub
If you’ve been looking to add some rhythm to your circle of friends, hit up Fridays Alive in the Garden! The weekly dinner meet and earth-music gathering features SunShine and the dancers of Ecstatic Dance Houston, Baba Alaafia of D.R.U.M. and the Kongo Square Drum Circle…and you. Bring drums, friends…
The Duke Spirit
The Duke Spirit’s lead singer, Liela Moss, is an audacious howler and an alluring presence on the microphone. She deserves a place in the femme-vocal pantheon next to Patti Smith, PJ Harvey, Mazzy Star’s Hope Sandoval, and Sonic Youth’s Kim Gordon, all of whom have proved that women don’t have…
It’s Urgent
The members of 2004 Houston Press Best Indie Rock winners Ume, who play Rudyard’s today, have been pretty productive, considering they’ve been split up. While lead singer-guitarist Lauren Langner-Larson and her bassist-vocalist husband, Eric Larson, pursued graduate degrees in Pennsylvania, drummer Jeff Barrera stayed in Houston. “It was always a…
Well “Worn”
It looks like any old weathered TV that you’d find in a Heights antique shop. But look in the screen, and you’ll find red feathers where the tubes should be. Push the button on Patrick Medrano’s assemblage, Arsenic Vision, and an exhaust fan lifts the feathers and creates a red…
DJ Chicken George
For those who miss the shit out of DJ Chicken George from back when he used to share record-spinning duties with DJ Sun and DJ Melodic on KPFT’s Soular Grooves or their various weekly residencies (my favorite was when he and Melodic would spin at the long-gone Caf Compliq in…
All Aboard
The San Francisco quintet Train has all the edge of, say, Matchbox 20. But edginess has never really been the band’s calling card. Their sound can be summed up as music for the well-adjusted, I’m-just-fine-thanks set. Boring? Maybe. But even if you’re not a fan, you’d be surprised how many…
That Katt’s Pimped
Ever since he donned the pimp cape in Friday After Next, comedian-actor-rapper Katt Williams has been struttin’ — taking his portrayal of Money Mike and turning the slicked-out pimp into a franchise. So when the rap group Young Gunz called him a “fake-ass pimp” in a throwaway line, he hit…
James Hunter
Who says retro musicians can’t sound fresh and new? James Hunter certainly does. None of the elements from his new CD, aptly titled People Gonna Talk, would have sounded out of place on the radio in 1965, but there’s an appealingly novel air to all of them. Take the title…
Rub-a-Dub
Ah, New York City: The bars and clubs stay open two hours later than our rather lame 2 a.m. cutoff, and the record shops teem with rare musical gems. It’s no wonder DJ Ayres, Cosmo Baker and DJ Eleven of the Brooklyn-based DJ collective The Rub have created one of…
Fruits and Hicks
The next time you’re in the grocery store struggling to find a fruit or vegetable that isn’t bruised, overripe or doused with pesticides, take a page from the folks at 2915 Delafield and start a garden of your own. The nonprofit Bill Hicks Resurrection Collective grows organic produce in their…
Lucky XIII
When kids of all ages discuss comic books and superheroes, inevitably one question comes up time and again: If that one guy and that other guy had a fight, who would win? Comics companies occasionally indulge these debates with special issues pitting Thing against Hulk, or Wolverine versus Spider-Man, but…
NOMO for You
Detroit-based NOMO kicks out phat instrumental jams that sound a little like Ozomatli meets Ornette Coleman. Mixing African polyrhythm and free jazz, the eight-member act serves up raucous, gritty numbers that throb with heavy bass lines and rock with peppy horns and percussion. (Who needs lyrics?) Pushing their fresh disc,…
Hey, Beer Man!
Comedian Nick DiPaolo is a heavy hitter on the stand-up circuit. He’s a regular guest on Howard Stern’s show. He’s got cush gigs, such as the role of Baby Nick in Comedy Central’s animated show Shorties Watchin’ Shorties. So what the hell is he so pissed off about? Listen to…
The Bad Seeds
Trotted out like ol’ Trigger whenever there’s a movie with saddles and six-shooters, the term “revisionist western” would surely be a clich if there were enough westerns to warrant its use more than every few years. Fact is, any movie in a genre as depressingly out-to-pasture as the western is…
Willis with Us
Singer-songwriter Kelly Willis has been busy lately. And unfortunately for her fans, she’s been more occupied with diapers than with music. But we doubt the new mommy is worried about going off anyone’s radar. Though the alt-country warbler hasn’t released an album since 2002’s Easy, Willis has been practically fighting…
Face Time
We get them in the mail every week: little blue cards displaying the faces of lost children. But do we ever really look at them? If you live in an apartment building, a stack of lost kids accumulates next to the mailbox until someone takes it upon themselves to trash…
Image of the Week
How many tries does it take to hit the chemically bloated body of San Francisco Giant Barry Bonds? If you’ve got the accuracy of the typical Houston Astros pitcher this season, it’s going to take more than you’d think. Russ Springer finally got the job done on his fifth attempt…
Blowing Smokey
“You ain’t nothing but a hound dog, crying all the time.” Man, oh man, now that’s a great pop lyric. It’s one of those unforgettable lines that lives way past the generation that made it famous. But then that’s the way it is with lots of the great tunes created…
So, What Is It?
A funny thing happens when you download acoustic folk/chamber quartet Picastro’s disc, Metal Cares, on iTunes. What pops up under the “genre” field? Not indie folk, acoustic or classical — but “unclassifiable.” Of course, the Toronto-based band, which comes to the Proletariat today, lists gypsy field recordings, Greek and Russian…
Junction Jog
At least in our book, there’s almost no good reason to get up at the crack o’ dawn and jog — unless you’re an Astros fan. Today, anyone who completes the fourth annual Astros Race for the Pennant 5K Run/Walk gets two free tix to an upcoming home game, plus…
Letters to the Editor
For Your Information Teacher’s pet: Well done, and with a nice flair [“Needling the Haystack,” by Keith Plocek, May 18]! I’ve read more of these than you care to think about, as I run the National Freedom of Information Coalition at the Missouri School of Journalism, and let me tell…
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…
Musical Acrobatics
Nothing quite says “feats of strength” like classical music. This seems to be the odd but inspired logic behind Cirque du Symphony, in which the Houston Symphony, conducted by Michael Krajewski, teams up with circus performers. The feats of strength will be provided by Jarek and Darek, two Cirque du…
Classic Chrome
Okay, chances are you don’t have the oldies station as the first preset on your car stereo. But classics can be cool, as evidenced by the seventh annual Houston’s 107.5 Classic Car Show. If you’re chillin’ in Galveston for Memorial Day, head to the Strand and check out the classic…
Fly Like an Eagle
Eagles of Death Metal appear Saturday, May 27, at .
Curtain Call
The first time I saw “Joseph Havel: A Decade of Sculpture 1996-2006” at the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, I’d wandered into the middle of a dance performance. Havel’s bronze sculptures were fenced by black stanchions, and a modern dance troupe was emoting around them in an event co-sponsored by…
Yeah, We’ve Seen Her
Hard to believe that it’s been ten years since the WNBA was announced and the Houston Comets were born. It was easy to shrug off a women’s pro basketball league — especially in a place such as Houston, where we had our Rockets, thank you very much. But then Cynthia…
You’ll Want Mo
Yep, it’s time for another “Heatwave” to rock Houston. But this isn’t your typical summer inferno. It’s the tenth anniversary of “Dancin’ in the Street: Motown & More Revue” at Miller Outdoor Theatre. Along with the BACE All-Star Orchestra, a cast of emerging singers and dancers will be re-creating Motown…
Just Say Ho
Talk about little accidents of grace — the first time I heard the new, cryptically titled Scott Miller song “Say Ho,” I was on my way to work and had just boarded the light rail at the Hermann Park/Rice station. As the lines “Reading Homer to some Cherokee maidens /…
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…
Hang the Rock Star
From Carlos D to Madonna to Hilary Duff to Perry Ferrell, musicians are scoring DJ gigs at the country’s hottest dance nights — no matter how badly they mix. But this won’t be the case today at the Rock Stars Are Not DJs party at Scout Bar. DJs Henry Chow…
Pacific in the Gulf
Though the word “dame” left us long ago for vocabulary Neverland, the show that sang it the loudest is still alive and well — and living in Houston. South Pacific, the Rodgers & Hammerstein musical-turned-movie-turned-TV-special-turned…well, everything but a rap video, finds another life tonight through the Masquerade Theatre. The show,…
Four Dudes Walk into a Bar
Tonight’s objective is simple: Ride El Toro, the mechanical bull. Now, El Toro isn’t just any old mechanical bull of the sort so common at fairs, festivals and cheesy honky-tonk theme bars. No, El Toro is the real deal. The first of its kind. The O.G. El Toro, complete with…
Where’s the Gratitude?
Dear Mexican, Why don’t Mexicans have enough gratitude for America to learn to speak English? Are they too stupid? Too lazy? What — they can’t learn two or three words a day? Is this asking too much? Took Four Years of Spanish in High School Dear Gabacho, The United States…
He’s a Peach
Poor James Henry Trotter. His parents just died tragically (or is it hilariously?) in a rhinoceros accident, and now he must live with his tyrannical aunts. But in A.D. Players’ production of James and the Giant Peach, adapted from a novel by Roald Dahl (author of Charlie and the Chocolate…
Trouble at Home
Wendal Bailey is a badass jazz musician and the prodigal son of an upstanding African-American family. Things are going great for him — until he’s diagnosed with AIDS. Suddenly, the beloved jazzer has to come clean to his conservative black family, and come out, too. Local director Reginald Edmund hopes…
Partners in Rime
In February, computer-savvy fans of the Los Angeles hip-hop duo called People Under the Stairs were psyched to discover what appeared to be a leak from Stepfather, a project not to be released until April. But those who downloaded it probably wondered if the group should change its name to…
Next Big Things
Yet another Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) has come and gone, and this one was the biggest yet. Exhibitors know all too well that a strong showing at E3 — an event heavily covered by both industry and mainstream press — can turn a great product into a blockbuster and a…
Indy Film Night
Sandwiched between Raiders of the Lost Ark and The Last Crusade, Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, screening tonight at River Oaks Theatre, has one thing that neither of those admittedly better movies has: Jonathan Ke Quan. Playing Short Round, Ke Quan stole the show with his endless stream…
Going to the West Side
Yes, we know you, hipster extraordinaire, were jamming to Moby’s “Everything Is Wrong” in 1995 and totally stopped listening to him when he let Volkswagen use “Porcelain” in an ad. Well, cut Houston Ballet some slack — to produce something like this weekend’s “Moby in Motion,” they had to shake…
The Raconteurs
To spectators of the Rust Belt garage-rock revival, the Raconteurs must seem like a dream come true. For Detroit darling Jack White, the band is the perfect chance for him to ditch his lubberly sidekick, Meg; for his Motor City counterpart, Brendan Benson, it’s a way to grab some sack;…
Your Show of Shows
Boston Legal: Season One (Fox) David E. Kelley’s latest legal drama is nothing more than a TV show about TV shows; hence the casting of Captain Kirk and Murphy Brown, with guest shots by Diane Chambers, Golden Girl Rose Nylund, and Alex Keaton. It’s like a Nick at Night mash-up,…
Run, Duma, Run
Duma is a heartwarming boy-and-his-pet story on par with Lassie. Except Duma is not a dog; he’s a full-grown cheetah, raised from a cub by young’un Xan (pronounced “Zan”). Duma and Xan are inseparable. But even in the wilds of Africa, having a 140-pound wild cat for a pet is…
Coco Loco
Despite three years’ worth of Spanish classes and three years of life in Texas, I still speak horrible Spanish. The only thing I can really say with any confidence en español is ¿Cuánto para el cartel de Lita Ford? (“How much for the Lita Ford poster?”) To make matters worse,…