R.I.P “Queen of the Blues” Koko Taylor
Koko Taylor, affectionately known as “Queen of the Blues,” died today of complications from gastrointestinal surgery that took place last month. Taylor was primarily known for her million-selling 1966 hit “Wing Dang Doodle,” written by Chess Records legend Willie Dixon. Dixon discovered Taylor singing in a Chicago club and signed…
Free Press Houston Announces “Summer Fest” Line-Up
The chill dudes across town at Free Press Houston dropped an awesome bomb this afternoon, announcing their two-day “Summer Fest” shindig, set to go down August 8 and 9 at Eleanor Tinsley Park. Tickets are at $7 for each day, with the line-up spread out over those two days. The…
Texans’ Chester Pitts Vs. Idiotic Network Programmers
Chester Pitts, the offensive lineman for the Texans, took his shot at an obstacle course for a (really stupid-looking) network show called Wipeout.Pitts gets the crap beaten out of him, from the looks of this. (It’s from the Ellen DeGeneres show, for some reason we don’t really want to bother…
Another Galveston County Cursing Arrest Ends In A F***ing Whimper
That bizarre streak of cursing arrests in Galveston County is having trouble standing up in court.One guy — the guy from Queens who used the f-word — pleaded guilty to his charge, but we’re guessing he did it just to avoid having to come back down to “fuckin’ Galveston” to…
An Industrial Quesadilla with Ziploc Salsa
It was the anthropomorphic taco art that made me pull over to check out the taco truck called Industrial Tacos + Snacks at the corner of Crosstimbers and Airline. I mean, look at the smile on that taco. I purchased a half-liter of Mexican Coke and a quesadilla al pastor…
Mp3: Black Congress’ “Davidians”
Up until about three or four months ago, Black Congress had been rather reclusive. The veritable indie supergroup, made up of scene vets Roy Mata, Chris Ryan and Bret Shirley, with Dann Miller and singer Bryan Jackson from the Jonbenet, had only played a handful of shows since Black Congress’s…
What? Someone’s Coming Into The Houston Housing Market?
Even though the Houston housing market hasn’t been battered as much as the rest of the country has, we thought it’d be a while before any developer announced they had decided to enter the fray here.But the Wall Street Journal reports that “luxury builder” Toll Brothers, which has developments in…
Dining with Jim Gossen at the Boiling Crab
In this week’s Cafe review, we explore end-of-the-season deals on crawfish in the Little Saigon area of town with seafood dealer Jim Gossen. It’s hard to believe, but when Gossen and the Landry boys introduced boiled crawfish to Houston at Don’s Seafood restaurant in the 1980s, Houstonians turned up their…
Eat Your Vegetables: Windy & Carl
Michigan experimental duo Windy Weber & Carl Hultgren, on their first tour in quite some time, stop into DiverseWorks tonight. Their 2008 album Songs for the Broken Hearted was quite well-received, but to me, the work that’s key to their career is the 1998 LP Depths. Windy & Carl had…
The Only Hurricane Guide You Will Ever Need
Only through the benevolent grace of God Almighty has Houston been spared a tropical storm in the alarming gap of three days between the start of the hurricane season and the publication of our hurricane guide today.Yes, we took a chance. But we also pulled a few strings with the…
Artist Of The Week: Ilyria Guerrera
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 who isn’t awful? Email their particulars to introducingliston@gmail.com. Artist Ilyria Guerrera is an urban Spanish performer…
The Facts of LifeBag
Imagine a catastrophic hurricane has severed communication with the outside world. You’re thirsty, but the water coming out of the tap is contaminated. Society has devolved into lawlessness, and your neighbors have stolen your bottled water by torchlight. The bars are probably closed. But you’re not worried — you’ve got…
The Astrodome — The Pictures
We told you early this morning about the new documentary being put together on the Astrodome, and the search for family photos and film to go into it.Computer gremlins kept us from posting pictures the producers sent us, but that problem’s been resolved. So here are some shots from Cecil…
The Facts of LifePack
Imagine a catastrophic hurricane has severed communication with the outside world. You’re thirsty, but the water coming out of the tap is contaminated. Society has devolved into lawlessness, and your neighbors have stolen your bottled water by torchlight. The bars are probably closed. But you’re not worried — you’ve got…
The ’90s Continue Unabated At House Of Blues, Homeslice!
Seriously, what’s with the House of Blues downtown toying around with all our ’90s modern rock nostalgia as of late? In the past eight months or so since the HOB has opened, the folks on Caroline have booked almost every quasi-major alt-rock band of the last decade, that has not…
Forget Octomom & Kate Plus Eight: Here’s Five Bad Moms From The Movies
You know that we as a society have plunged irretrievably into the abyss when Nadya Suleman, a pathological baby machine with a nickname like a Marvel Comics supervillain, can criticize famed TV harpy Kate Gosselin for being “exploitative” and “superficial.” Fortunately, neither of these real-life mothers can hold a candle…
A Café Bites Nibble
Yoichi “Yogi” Ueno opened the first Kubo’s Sushi in the Village in 2001. “We wanted to expand into a fast-food restaurant serving healthy Japanese fast food with our new Cafe Kubo’s [9889 Bellaire, 713-995-4200],” he says. “Most of the Japanese restaurants in Houston are going for the high end but…
Going To Summer School At Lamar? You’re Buying A Brand-New Uniform
Lamar High School, like several HISD schools, has a mandatory uniform for its students — polo shirt with the school’s name, khaki pants or shorts. Parents are expected to pay for the clothing, although we’re sure there’s some program that helps those who can’t afford it.Some Lamar students, because of…
Playbill: The Helio Sequence, Dri Tonight at Rudyard’s
With songs bathed in lush synths and sleepy vocals, the Helio Sequence could be the thinking man’s Killers, albeit with less pop theatrics and corporate glitter. Keep Your Eyes Ahead, last year’s release on indie magnet Sub Pop was the duos first since 2004’s mournful Love And Distance. Helio dishes…
Richard Justice, Jeff Bagwell, Jose Canseco & Steroids
Richard Justice is up on his high-horse again, this time in defense of himself, his colleagues, and Jeff Bagwell. The subject, surprisingly, is steroids. And Justice is pissed that there are people out there who happen to believe that he might have known what was going on during the late-`80s,…
They’re Making A Documentary About The Dome, And They Want Your Family Keepsakes
Via the always-entertaining Bayou City History blog at the Chron we learned of a budding documentary about that quaint old abandoned building that used to be the Eighth Wonder of the World.Chip Rives, one of the producers/directors/writers of The Dome, tells Hair Balls he and his partner have done interviews…
Playbill: Mitch Jacobs Tonight At Under The Volcano
Mitch Jacobs rides that not-so-thin line between country and rockabilly that defines much of the redneck East Texas roots music scene — you know, that place where Possum Jones and Johnny Horton come from. Jacobs, formerly of the long-running local roots act Romeo Dogs, has been honing his craft in…
$13 at Charlie’s Restaurant & Catering in Missouri City
Where: Charlie’s Restaurant and Catering, 8817 Highway 6, Ste. 900, Missouri City, 281-778-5222. What $13 gets you: Your choice of basic American comfort food and a dessert. Portions are substantial, and the food is served hot and fairly quickly. Charlie’s is sparkling-clean, with friendly service and not a lot of…
UT’s Mack Brown Visits The Troops, And Complains Endlessly
Mack Brown, along with a handful of other NCAA coaches, is making a goodwill visit to the troops in Germany, Iraq and Kuwait. (He’s following in the footsteps of a coach at an actual good football school, Notre Dame’s Charlie Weis, who visited the Middle East earlier this year.)Brown’s to…
Lonesome Onry and Mean: Don Mahoney’s Kiddie Troupers
Growing up in West Texas, Lonesome Onry and Mean didn’t see his first TV show until 1955. But Houston got television about the time LOM was born, and one of the first TV personalities young Houstonians became enamored with was Don Mahoney. Television came to Houston on January 1, 1949,…
Gun-Control Advocates Revel In Their Texas Triumph
The folks at the gun-control organization The Brady Center are crowing over their victory in Texas. All you gun-loving yahoos couldn’t pass a bill allowing concealed weapons on college campuses, the center all but said, and nyah-nyah-nyah-nyah.”Common sense is alive and well in Texas,” said Paul Helmke, President of the…
All-Time Great Headlines, Part VXII
KHOU has a story up about their interview with Astros pitcher Brandon Backe, who was cleared by a Galveston grand jury last week of any charges stemming from a wedding brawl he was involved in.The headline? “Backe Talks About The Minutes He Spent Behind Bars.”And you thought Papillon was a…
The Whole Wide World: Vieux Farka Touré’s
The son of the late, great Ali Farka Touré definitely does not live under his father’s shadow. After his impressive self-titled debut two years ago, he emerges with Fondo (Six Degrees) , a disc that explores and expands Malian blues with a more global perspective. Since his first disc came…
Lone Star Culinary: You’ll Think You Died and Went to Spice Heaven
Visit the new Lone Star Culinary/Flores Spice Company store behind El Bolillo on Airline across the street from Canino’s, but go when you have some time for shopping. I was so overwhelmed to see all the stuff I needed in one place that I didn’t even buy anything. The bulk…
Bayou Body County: Killed While Cleaning Up Some Beer Cans
After less than three months of investigating, the Houston police think they’ve finally got their man. Investigators have charged 23-year-old Kermit Ladell Johnson with murder for allegedly killing man in a parking lot in March.Police accuse Johnson of shooting 39-year-old Steven Torres several times in the upper body early in…
Democratic National Committee (Of Course) Plans To Hold Its Next National Meeting In a Traitorous State That Hates America
It stands to reason that when a socialist, fascist-dominated communist organization plans a big meeting, they’re going to hold it in a place that so hates America its governor has expressed a desire to leave it.No, not Alaska — it was the governor’s Husband, not the governor, who belonged to…
Stingaree Music Festival and Texas Crab Festival in Crystal Beach, Texas
Two of the biggest annual events at Crystal Beach on the Bolivar Peninsula east of Galveston are the Texas Crab Festival and the Stingaree Music Festival. In its 24th year, the Crab Festival traditionally has occurred on Mother’s Day weekend and celebrates everything culinary and cultural about those tasty Gulf…
Disgraced Judge Kent Gives Up Quixotic Fight To Keep His Pension
US District Judge Samuel Kent, who’s going to prison for his role in drunkenly forcing his charming self on helpless female employees, has finally seen the light when it comes to his idiotic attempt to keep collecting his healthy federal pension.Kent faced impeachment in the Congress, as outraged members of…
This Just In: Kings Of Leon To Hit Toyota Center In October
In the course of five years, Kings of Leon has managed to go from playing a Camel-sponsored show at the Meridian to possibly selling out the Toyota Center. KOL was just in Houston this past fall for a sell-out at Verizon Wireless Theater, and we thought the show was middling…
Update: Seeing Graffiti Not Worth A 911 Call
Hair Balls was very excited to read this morning’s press release from City Councilwoman Sue Lovell about the War on Graffiti.Lovell, who’s also vice mayor pro-tem, developed www.houstontx.gov/graffiti in order to educate folks about the different kinds of graffiti (Did you know that some tags are “satanic”?), its effect on…
Jolynn’s Crawfish: Bite My Tail
At least half a dozen new Asian crawfish joints opened this spring. Jolynn’s Crawfish on Beechnut, a few blocks West of Beltway 8, has the best prices on mudbugs I’ve seen. They’re selling for $5 a pound at the moment, and they’re available in lemon pepper and garlic butter flavors…
Happy Birthday Charlie Watts!
Charlie Watts, drummer of the Rolling Stones, turns 68 years young today. The “Wembley Whammer” has been drumming for the Stones since 1962, when he was recruited from his day job at a London advertising firm to play for a group of nicotine-stained, drunken, blues-obsessed teenagers. Watts doesn’t get much…
No Bitching This Time: Aeros Earn A Good-Guys Award
It seems like I usually use this forum to bitch and moan about sports. So today I thought I would do something a little different. The Houston Aeros are being honored by the City and by the Anti-Defamation League this afternoon at City Hall, and I just thought I would…
One Day Only: Buy a Potbelly Sandwich and Get Free Zapp’s Chips This Wednesday
Potbelly Sandwich Works, with 10 stores in the Houston area, is handing out free Zapp’s potato chips with the purchase of a sandwich this Wednesday from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Carl Segal, senior vice president and “Potbelly Food Dude,” as he’s known at the company, says that while Zapp’s…
The Most Dangerous Game: Man Vs. Metro
Photo by Mike GiglioLomax, keeping to his strict warm-up regimen for the big raceIt was to be the ultimate contest between man and machine. Hair Balls announced in earnest at this afternoon’s staff meeting its plans to sample the new 402 Quickline Bellaire, which was unveiled by Metro on Friday. The…
Phil Spector Sentenced To 19 Years In Prison
Phil Spector, preeminent music producer and architect of the famed “Wall of Sound” made popular by such artists as The Ronettes, The Righteous Brothers and John Lennon, was sentenced to 19 years in a California jail this past Friday for his alleged part in the death of ladyfriend Lana Clarkson…
What Will The Menil Museum Do With The Richmont Square Apartments?
What is this — some kind of Rorschach test? Or maybe a very bad card from the BB-gun shooting range at the rodeo?No — it’s the area around the Menil Museum, as illustrated by UH’s Gerald D. Hines College of Architecture.. And that big blank area marked by an asterisk…
Distant Early Warning: Roky Erickson, Arc Angels, Flo Rida, Quintron and More
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”;} A-Trak, Rye Rye, Treasure Fingers: Sat., July 11. Warehouse Live. Arc Angels: Fri., July 10. Warehouse Live. Asleep At The Wheel:…
Where Are We Eating?
Although plenty of restaurants (and probably even shopping malls, nail salons and dentist’s offices) in Houston serve the ubiquitous margarita, this place is special for a few reasons. Can you figure out where we’re eating this week just from the margarita below? And bonus points to the lucky person who…
Miss Pop Rocks: American Apparel — The Units Of Our Day
Could a young, twentysomething hipster please explain to this 32-year-old crotchety senior citizen what exactly is American Apparel’s appeal, puhlease?My problems with the chain of clothing stores are many.First of all, Dov Charney, American Apparel’s CEO, is a known perv who once masturbated in front of a reporter. And while…
After Three Tries, Homeless Advocate Gets His Day In Court — And Loses
It was the trial of the century! Well, err, maybe not … but to Nick Cooper it felt like it took that long to finally get the right to fight a traffic ticket in Houston’s municipal court.In early May 2007, Cooper was handing out apples to a group of homeless…
Roger Clemens’ Former Flame To Be On Rehab Reality Show
Roger Clemens unsullied march from adored pitcher to worshipped Hall of Famer continues unabated.If the steroids thing hasn’t tarred him — and really, who is not gonna believe Roger against the word of just about everyone else in the world? — it’s his penchant for great publicity that will make…
Playbill: Bryan Adams Tonight At Cullen Theater
Bryan Adams has an almost sadistic talent for creating pop masterpieces that, like them or not, get stuck in your brain like a government-implanted homing device. Since venturing south out of Canada in 1980, the man has been leaving his indelible stamp on pop music at large. “Summer Of ’69″…
Texas Traveler: Tex-Mex in San Antone
My old friend Bud Kennedy from the Fort Worth Star-Telegram e-mailed me this morning. Since his favorite Tex-Mex joint in San Antonio, Karam’s, is out of business, he wanted some suggestions on where to go in San Antonio for old-fashioned enchiladas. I told him that Blanco Cafe was my favorite,…
Houston Is The Villain In Nasty Newspaper Fight In Albany
Houston Chronicle editor Jeff Cohen came to town from Albany, where he was the editor of the Times-Union, another Hearst paper.He brought some people with him, and still runs movie reviews by Amy Biancolli, who still works in upstate New York.The Times-Union is, like many Hearst papers (and papers everywhere)…
Good Morning, America Hits Galveston With All The Fury Of Ike Itself
Good Morning America’s Robin Roberts reported today on the first day of hurricane season from a fitting place — Galveston. Standing amid the detritus left behind by Ike, and set to a soundtrack of plaintive acoustic slide guitar, Roberts expertly delivered the mandatory post-storm platitudes, such as “People here refuse…
Snackshot: Say Cheese!
Today’s savory Snackshot comes to us from aynsavoy and Café Rabelais. From the photographer’s description: “I don’t remember the exact names of the cheeses, but one was like an Emmenthaler, one was like brie, and one was almost bleu in taste. Very good in all, and the fruit and nut…
Lost Tuneage: April Wine
Who ‘Dat? The Canadian rockers formed in 1969 in Nova Scotia with the original lineup of brothers David (guitar), Richie (drums) and cousin Jim (bass) Henman, with Myles Goodwyn on lead guitar, keyboards, and vocals, as well as the main songwriter. Debut April Wine came out in 1971, and Jim…
Aftermath: No Doubt, Paramore, and The Sounds at Cynthia Woods
Any returning mega-band thinking of mounting a huge reunion tour to drain poor folk of their cash (cough Blink-182 cough) need look no further than No Doubt’s current tour and sold-out set last night at Cynthia Woods to see how it should be done. For the bands that were fortunate…
June 1: And So It Begins……
NEWS FLASH!!!!!!!!! (MUST CREDIT HAIR BALLS!!!!!) Today is the beginning of the hurricane season.While the rest of the so-called mainstream media will ignore this important milestone simply because writing or airing stuff about hurricanes in Houston results in cheap increases in ratings and clicks, you can depend on us to…
Bayou Body Count: Shootout On The North Side
David Samuel Sepeda, 24, had decided to spend Saturday afternoon with his 13-year-old younger brother. They were washing Sepeda’s car at the Apache Springs Apartment at 400 North Vista, not far from Bush International Airport, when suddenly they noticed that two African-American men watching them, according to the Harris County…
Segari’s U-10 Shrimp 2-Ways
The late Sam Segari was nuts about shrimp. His restaurant, Segari’s on Shepherd, is run by his daughter now. But the shrimp dishes are still made with U-10s, the largest Gulf shrimp available. The cryptic code means “under ten to a pound” — the actual average size is close to…
The Whole Wide World: Dengue Fever’s Sleepwalking Through The Mekong
Dengue Fever is the name of a potentially deadly tropical disease that is transmitted by mosquitoes. There have been several epidemics around the world, specially in third-world countries where sanitary conditions are less than desirable. It is also the name of a Los Angeles-based indie rock band that plays Psychedelic…
Turning The Screw: Jay’Ton, Bushwick, Nas, Akon, Dre, Diddy, DJ Hero, Grandmaster Flash, The Kanye, T.I., Three 6 Mafia, Bubba Sparxxx, and more
Welcome back to Turning the Screw, Rocks Off’s weekly rap post. It probably won’t rhyme, at least most of the time. E-mail tips to introducingliston@gmail.com. Thanks, homies. Single of the Week: “We Here,” Jay’Ton feat. Trae and Yung Quis Wire To Wire: Nas is not a fan of Canada. Akon,…
Stimulus Funds Helping Houston Firm Give Out Free Home Fixes
Photo courtesy Sheltering ArmsPeople are sometimes suspicious when one of Scott Pool’s inspectors calls. The offer — to weatherize one’s house for free — sounds too good to be true. “We have to convince them that, really and truly, nobody’s going to charge them,” says Pool, the weatherization director at Sheltering…
Who’s Leaving First: Ed Wade, Cecil Cooper or Roy Oswalt?
The Astros were able to actually win a series this weekend, defeating the Pittsburgh Pirates in two of three games. And the good news is that they should be able to win a couple of games this week as their next four games are against the Colorado Rockies, another losing…
$13 at Kitchen Kreations
Where: Kitchen Kreations (but the sign outside still says Milburn’s Café), 8601 MLK Blvd. & Reed Rd., 713-738-3011 What $13 will get you: A euphoric food coma that lasts well into the evening. Doors are open from 6 a.m. to 8 p.m.; lunchtime saw a grown man giddily jumping and…
Aftermath: No Doubt, Paramore, The Sounds at Cynthia Woods
Our review of last night’s epic No Doubt reunion show out in the Woodlands is coming. We still have the cheers and screams of thousands of women in our ears, so we are a tad wobbly. For now, here’s a taste of Mark C. Austin’s camera-wielding skills from last night…
Local EP of the Week: Glasnost’s Great Divide
Glasnost Great Divide EP www.myspace.com/glasnostmusic Since the ’80s, bands that have dared to cross-breed rock and dance music have been all too happy to let their synthesizers do the songwriting for them – even the most successful ones like the Faint, the Bravery and the Killers. On its debut EP,…
George Lucas Comes To Space Center Houston, Sorta
Science fact and science fiction come face-to-face at the “Cinema of George Lucas” and “Live the Adventure” exhibits currently at Space Center Houston. Comprised of the personal memorabilia of filmmaker George Lucas (much of it never seen before in public), and an interactive center, the exhibits have been drawing large…
Texas Traveler: Forbidden Gardens
At first glance, Forbidden Gardens, the odd miniature tribute to the wonders of China located just east of Katy, looks shabby and weathered. Paint peels on the tiny model of the emperor’s summer home, pigeon shit covers the Forbidden City, and fiberglass cracks and peels from the statues of horses…
Tasting Bluebell’s New Flavors
Three flavors, which one will come out on top? Our little Texan creamery sends out rotational flavors — each made for three months before being replaced — alongside the year-round lineup. Sometimes old seasonal flavors make a comeback; sometimes the flavors are completely new. So how does a Bluebell fan,…
Lonesome Onry and Mean: John Doe & the Sadies’ Country Club
Lonesome, Onry and Mean likes him some country music done right, so it was with considerable delight that we listened to Country Club by X bassist/singer John Doe and the Sadies. An L.A. rocker and a Canadian alt-country outfit seem like unlikely musical bedfellows, but Country Club works from the…
Morning MP3s: The Jonbenet’s “The Sun”
The dudes in scorched-earth hardcore crew the Jonbenet found time recently to record two new tracks and a re-record another, the tour chronicle “Memphis Blues.” The three hellish blasts hit the band’s MySpace just this past week, and we have “The Sun” right here. The band turns six years old…
Social Distortion: Did Shallow Social Media Sink Susan Boyle?
You probably had no idea who the hell Susan Boyle was seven weeks ago. And if you’d seen her mugshot, you probably wouldn’t have cared. ‘Twas easy to judge the homely, have-not warbler by her cover – ’til she opened her mouth, that is. In a flash, The Woman Who…
Ladies & Gentlemen, Your Ron Artest!!
Here is the Rockets’ Ron Artest, responding to….somethingAll we know is that “there was nothing hood about my tone” when he said it, and he did not “speak corporate.” Oh, and 12-year-olds maye selling dope instead of thinking about getting to the NBA, but he’s not going to disrespect them.Or…
Topol Likes It Hot: Fiddler On The Roof Puts On The Sizzle For Two Weeks In Houston
The most amazing thing in seeing the national tour of Fiddler on the Roof now at the Hobby Center is when 73-year-old Topol comes out on the stage at the start to huge applause and somehow keeps going for the next three hours — singing and dancing as he plays…
This Week In Deliciousness
Welcome back to Eating Our Words’ weekly round-up, where we try to put the week in some kind of perspective for you, before you go out on the weekend and obliterate it all. Monday was Memorial Day, also known as National Cookout Day. Robb Walsh paid tribute with his study…
Album of the Week: Girl in a Coma’s Trio B.C.
It’s so nice to type the words “Girl in a Coma” for something that has nothing to do with the San Antonio trio’s March altercation with some off-duty Houston police officers at Chances, which landed two band members a weekend in jail and a court date later this summer. It’s especially…
Last Call For Art: Discounts, Evolutions And A Slut
Pay-what-you-can ticket prices to theater productions have become pretty common, but those are for single performances. The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston’s Pick-Your-Price membership is good for a whole year! On Saturday, you can buy an MFAH membership, up to the family level, for a little as $10. (That’s a…
TPWD Says “Great Outdoors Day” Is Coming: How To Celebrate It With Your Teen-Ager
You knew this, of course, but June 13 is National “Get Outdoors” Day. We knew this because the Texas Parks & Wildlife Department just sent out the news.”As a part of the second annual GO Day, more than two dozen Texas state parks are joining federal agencies, nonprofit organizations and…
Upcoming Events
This weekend marks the end of the nearly week-long Wine and Food Week in The Woodlands. And since most people haven’t been able to attend the events that took place during the week, it’s a sure bet that the Waterway will be packed to the gills with food and wine…
Houston’s Better Business Bureau Has No Love For Conn’s, Despite What Conn’s Implies
Yesterday, when we told you about Texas AG Greg Abbott going after the Conn’s appliance chain for deceptive practices, we included the company’s response.Conn’s said “a current measure of our dedication to customer service by our more than 3,200 employees is our Better Business Bureau rating. We currently receive the…
Tonight: Cordero At Under The Volcano
Brooklyn-based indie rock en-espanol-ers Cordero will be torching Under the Volcano this evening. Owner Pete Mitchell has been working to get Cordero to the club ever since he saw them two years ago at South By Southwest. Mitchell, who is married to an Argentine and speaks fluent Spanish, says, “I…
Almost 250 Arrested In That Memorial Day DWI Crackdown
The final count is in from the Harris County Memorial Day Weekend Catch-A-Drunk-Driver crackdown: 247 nabbed, 51of those people on their second or third offense.The DAs office set up mobile blood-alcohol testing labs (“BATmobiles”), staffed with nurses and judges who could issue immediate warrants for anyone refusing to take a…
Another Extension, Another Show
Another day, another happy announcement about a Houston stage production extending its run due to popular demand.Yesterday it was Stages and Grey Gardens; today it’s Main Street Theater’s Awake and Sing.Main Street has announced additional performances of the Clifford Odets classic, which, as we noted last week, got a rave…
Shuck Daddy and his Half Shell Hotties
Shuck Daddy’s is Houston’s newest oyster bar, located in the former Mak Chin’s location on Shepherd just south of I-10 near the Cadillac Bar. At first I thought they called the waitresses “Half Shell Hotties,” but the provocative T-shirts are supposed to promote a menu item by the same name…
Friday Night Noise: Caldera Lakes, Wolf Eyes, Cop Warmth
Welcome to the inaugural edition of Friday Night Noise, a weekly Rocks Off column in which I’ll take you by the hand and lead you through the often unpredictable, harsh, and (perhaps surprisingly) varied netherworlds of noise music. Noise-rock. Noise-pop. Noise-core. Droning noise. System-shutdown noise. Ultra-minimal noise. Experimental noise. Sample-heavy…
Pruning The Twitter Tree
(Note: We’re starting a new occasional feature on social media and its emergence in both business and personal relationships. And the blogs themselves will be much more entertaining than that description, we promise.) It all started out so innocently. “We’re from the same hometown!” “We made a real connection at…
Please Come Home, Nolan Ryan: All Is Forgiven, For God’s Sake
There’s not much discussion of the Texas Rangers down in these parts — except for when they’re beating the asses of the Houston Astros, which they seem to do quite often. So Tom Hicks announcing now that he’s willing to sell a majority interest in the franchise normally wouldn’t generate…
Mostly Metal: The Mighty Anvil, In Their Own Words
In the early ’80s, Anvil was on the verge of being Canada’s leaders of metal mania. Frontman/guitarist Steve “Lips” Kudlow and drummer Robb Reiner were the Toronto outfit’s masterminds, writing songs like “Metal on Metal” and “Hot Child” that helped them influence a multitude of young bands coming up at…
Midtown’s, er, Houston’s Favorite Shots
The last time I can recall doing a shot, I was in college at a townie bar called Tom Cat’s. The shots were being passed around in test tubes – a very novel idea to a 20-year-old who’d never consumed alcohol outside of Waco, Texas. I slugged back two Buttery…
Support Your Local Drag Queen, Houston
Houston may not be getting the Super Bowl again for a while, but we’ve got a shot at the next best thing: home of America’s Next Drag Queen Superstar.Self-titled Bayou City Bitch Anita Bump, who performs weekly at the totally-not-gay-bar Rich’s, has tossed her boa into the ring for a…
Bayou Body Count: Fight To The Death Over A Window Frame
Houston police have arrested a man on suspicion of stabbing a good Samaritan to death. Roy Lee Powell, 60, is charged with allegedly murdering 33-year-old Burt Lee Hopkins late Wednesday. According to police, Powell stole an aluminum window frame from a resident on the 4700 block of Russell. The homeowner…
For This Year’s Graduates: Five Memorable Ceremonies
Class of 2009, as you go out into the real world, you’ll be welcomed by a sputtering economy, rising consumer debt, and increased threats from abroad. It’s just like the 1970s, except you’ll have the added fun of spending the next 30 years paying off your student loans. Congratulations! Here…
Lazy Man’s Homemade Kosher Pickles
As I mentioned, I bought some fresh pickling cucumbers at Dilorio’s farm stand on Monday. I made homemade Kosher pickles with them. Kosher pickles are fermented — there is no cooking or canning involved. You put the cucumbers in a brine and let them ferment in a dark place. That’s…
Classic Rock Corner: Living Colour’s The Paris Concert
Living Colour One of the most criminally underrated rock bands of the ’80s and ’90s – remembered by too many just for their Day-Glo outfits, painted guitars and big hit “Cult of Personality” – Living Colour has been steadily (and quietly) playing and recording since its 2000 reformation. But there’s…
Ford Honcho Tells Houstonians The Domestic-Car Market Ain’t Dead Yet
Mark Fields, the flashy young head of Ford’s Americas division, ran through the many woes of the auto industry before a group of mostly white-haired local car dealers who gathered for a luncheon yesterday at the Galleria Westin Hotel. There were the massive stock dips and job losses, the government…
Five Spot: Flying the Mddl Fngz
Welcome back to Five Spot. Every Friday, we’ll examine a recent bit of music news and, sometimes awkwardly, tie it to a bit of Houston rap. It’s five videos and occasional cussing. Send tips to introducingliston@gmail.com. Mddl Fngz is a hard hitting (and totally texter-friendly) rap group that formed in…
Nobel Prize Winner Gets Hassled At Bush Intercontinental Airport
Mairead Corrigan Maguire thought the hard part was over. Along with fellow Nobel Laureates Rigoberta Menchu of Guatemala, American landmine activist Jody Williams, and Iranian Shirin Ebadi, she had been in Guatemala, where the women had just co-hosted a three-day conference on democracy, human rights and peace that had attracted…
Houston’s Fun With the Hamptons Continues: Stages Extends Its Run Of Grey Gardens
Stages Repertory Theatre has just announced it has extended the Houston premiere of the Broadway Musical Grey Gardens, the musical account of Jackie Kennedy Onassis’s nutty relatives, “Big Edith” Bouvier Beale and her adult daughter ‘Little’ Edie, who were found living in a crumbling mansion in East Hampton. Originally the…
Galveston’s Hendley Market Finally Reopens (Kinda) After Ike
Hendley Market, Galveston’s destination shopping place on The Strand for knick-knacks, sweets and other things you never knew you needed, is finally reopening after fixing its Ike damage.”We are back in business after getting rid of that bad old Ike hangover,” their announcement says.They also note what Alanis Morisette would…
Another Perspective on the Performance Rights Act
Wednesday, Rocks Off spoke with KCOH general manager Mike Petrizzo, who voiced his concerns about the financial hardships the proposed Performance Rights Act – which would compensate performers when their songs are broadcast on terrestrial radio the same way songwriters and publishers are – could potentially impose on his and…
Bayou Body Count: Absolute Nightmare For Some Kids
The Portillo children walked into a nightmare. They were coming home from school Wednesday afternoon. But when they entered their southwest Houston home at 12706 Corona, they found their parents, Antonio and Rosa Portillo, dead. Houston police say both parents had gunshot wounds. They were pronounced dead at the scene…
Openings and Closings
Ah, the circle of life. Every new beginning comes from some other beginning’s end. And other cheesy songs… When one restaurant in Houston closes down, it seems that another, eerily similar restaurant is waiting in the wings to take its place. 55 Degrees Wine Bar (7316 Louetta) closed this week,…
Houston Leads Nation In Bending Over And Taking It, Study Finds
The nation is learning something new about Houston today: We’re a bunch of bottoms.Well, we are if we are gay.Gawker has an item citing a report by a website called The Sword that compiled data on Craigslist ads for steamy M2M sex, analyzing which posters were likely to describe themselves…
Listening Room: Neil Young’s Fork In the Road
Ya gotta love Ol’ Shakey. Even moreso than fellow cantankerous classic rocker Bob Dylan, he goes where his muse leads him, everyone else be damned. Acoustic rock? Heavy rock? Country? Blues? Rockabilly? Unintelligible vocoders and synthesizers? He’s done them all – and even been sued by his record company for…
Did Video Games Really Kill Generator-Using Ike Victims?
For a few hours yesterday, the lead story at Chron.com gravely warned Houstonians on the dangers of mixing generators and video games. Researchers at the University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston evidently found that this happened often in the blacked-out weeks in the wake of Hurricane Ike, and…
Jellyfish Salad at Que Huong
When the weather turns hot, my mind turns to jellyfish salad. The hot and spicy Vietnamese summer concoction is also known on Houston-area Vietnamese restaurant menus as “Seafood Delight” or “Summer Delight.” It contains crunchy jellyfish, cucumbers, onions and greens. Other seafood might include shrimp, surimi, mussels, squid or fish…
Five Songs For That Glorious Last Day Of School
As Alice Cooper once sang, “School’s out for summer.” And we’ve heard that song played again and again and again on the radio on the last day of school ad infinitum every year since. And I’m sure we’ll here it today, somehow, someway, somewhere. And just as you can’t really…
Continental Airlines, Like Foreigner, Wants To Know What Love Is
Eminem and Kim Mathers could do it. So could Pamela Anderson and Tommy Lee. Richard Burton and Liz Taylor elevated it to an art form. Of course, we’re talking about revolving-door couples; putting cyanide in each other’s wine one minute, dancing to “Endless Love” the next. Wash, rinse, repeat.And as…
Lonesome Onry and Mean: Long Live Country Dick Montana and the Beat Farmers
When LOM returned to Houston from India in 1987, former Chronicle music critic Marty Racine became near-religious reading for me. I couldn’t wait for his Thursday “Critic’s Picks” column so I could plan my musical weekend. I learned about all kinds of below-the-radar bands from Racine: Mojo Nixon, Storyville, The…
Five Songs For That Glorious Last Day Of School
As Alice Cooper once sang, “School’s out for summer.” And we’ve heard that song played again and again and again on the radio on the last day of school ad infinitum every year since. And I’m sure we’ll here it today, somehow, someway, somewhere…And just as you can’t really avoid…
Hot Lunch Tip: Spicy Fish at Shanghai Cuisine
“Spicy Fish” is an awesome lunch if you like hellishy hot seafood. Tilapia medallions are stir-fried with dried red peppers and slices of fresh jalapeño chile and served with steamed rice. The bottom of the plate is covered with bright orange oil, just in case the other peppers aren’t spicy…
Conn’s Uses High-Pressure Tactics To Dupe Consumers, AG Says
Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott has taken on a big local retail chain today, charging that Conn’s Appliance stores have used high-pressure tactics to force consumers to buy defective products and then refused to live up to their warranties.”According to the state’s enforcement action — and information contained in more…
GG Allin Lives On In Bobblehead Form
It’s no secret to daily readers of Rocks Off how much we love and treasure the late GG Allin. The infamous scum-punker continues to mystify and disgust almost 16 years since his well, we guess, timely death. A new Internet start-up called Aggronautix has created this limited-edition bobblehead of the…
Light-Rail Will Be Limited In Downtown This Weekend
Metro’s announced they’ll be doing track maintenance this weekend, so if you’re planning on cruising the light rail through downtown, think again.There will be no service between the Downtown Transit Center and UH-Downtown from 5:30 am til 2 pm on both Saturday and Sunday, Metro’s Carolina Mendoza says. Instead riders…
Stuckey’s: The Travel Center That Time Forgot
Summer travel season is here, and soon Mom, Dad and the kids will all pile into the family truckster and head out on the open roads for two weeks of familial bliss. Unlike yesteryear, when kids had nothing more than a game of “I Spy” to keep them occupied, kids…
20 Reasons Why Cecil Cooper Should Be Updating His Resume
The Astros lost again last night, 6-1, to the Cincinnati Reds. And the rumblings about manager Cecil Cooper’s job are growing louder and louder. Now Cooper has seemed to be a bit oblivious to the obvious in his two-plus years as manager, so here’s a little list for him to…
Aftermath: Bob Log III at Meridian
Photos by Craig Hlavaty About a quarter to midnight Wednesday, 45 minutes into Bob Log III’s set, Aftermath sent the following text message to a friend: “Somebody’s top’s coming off tonight, and it ain’t gonna be mine.” Log’s pants had long since come off, leaving the Tucson one-man band clad…
Eyeballin’: Muddy Waters Live at ChicagoFest
Pressed to name a classic bluesman, most people will mention B.B. King. The No. 2 slot would probably belong to the man born McKinley Morganfield (1915-1983). Through his incredible work for Chess Records in the ’50s and ’60s, he helped create the blueprint for electric blues before settling into elder…
HISD Getting A Big Batch Of Teach For America Kids This Fall
Teach for America, the non-profit group that sends elite college grads to teach in inner-city schools for two years, is setting up to have a banner year this fall in Houston.The organization says it will place 250 new teachers in the Houston area this year, a record, bringing the total…
Morning MP3: “Welcome 2 Houston”
There’s just something undeniably likeable about compilation rap tracks. They’re great. That feel-good one from the early ’90s where Eazy-E was walking through a playground, talking about not gangbanging or something, was actually one of our first favorite songs. (Right along with the one about the Ninja Turtles, by Vanilla…
Alleged Scamsters Tell How To Avoid Alleged Scams
Here’s one from our unofficial Irony Department: We occasionally get e-mails from folks who have been contacted by a company called TCMI, which charges around $5,000 to help find folks find lucrative jobs through the help of a sort of super-secret-double-probation database. These folks usually Google TCMI and find this…
Battle Michelada at Anvil Bar & Refuge
If ever an odd trio was to compete in a culinary competition, this would be it: a pastry chef, versus an executive chef, versus a bartender. But last weekend, those three people — three of the city’s best talents, as well — gathered at Anvil Bar & Refuge to duke…
Flannel File: Voodoo Gearshift
Voodoo Gearshift was a little-known and surprisingly not-that-short-lived (’87-’97*) grunge band, originally from Iowa City but mostly active in Seattle. VG’s claim to “fame” is Glue Goat, a 1992 CD on influential Seattle label C/Z. Unlike Sub Pop or Touch and Go, C/Z probably didn’t put out any of your favorite…
Miss Pop Rocks: Things I Learned From Television
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Photo Day at the Zoo
Houston Zoo residents spend their early morning hours being fed, bathed and entertained — activities visitors almost never see. But during Photo Day at the Zoo, you’ll be able to capture those images and many more. The morning light, lack of crowds and special keeper-assisted photo opportunities guarantee shutterbug visitors…
Nature Trekkers
Kids will watch thousands of free-tailed bats fly through the sky at dusk, turn junk mail into art and learn how to identify hawks this month at the Houston Arboretum and Nature Center. Week-long Nature Trekker camps are for kids five to 12 years old. One-time events for families and…
2009 NWS Hurricane Workshop
Water? Check. Batteries? Check. Personal meteorologist? Che…wait a minute, personal meteorologist? Well, if you attend the 2009 NWS Hurricane Workshop, you’ll be able to check that off your list, too. Local government agencies, businesses and nonprofit organizations have joined forces to provide Houstonians with the latest information on evacuation routes,…
Evenings on a Farm Near Dikaníka
Filled with traditional Ukrainian characters and culture, director Alexander Rowís Evenings on a Farm Near Dikaníka mixes live action with animation. Sure, it’s a little out of its season; the 1961 classic Russian comedy film is based on Nikolay Gogol’s The Night Before Christmas; but its charm is intact nonetheless…
21st Annual Young Inventors Showcase
A homework machine. A little-brother defense mechanism. A flying skateboard. Most of us spent time as children imagining the many gizmos we’d love to invent, but the participants at today’s 21st Annual Young Inventors Showcase at the Children’s Museum have done much more than imagine. Stroll through the museum and…
Alan Bradley
Houston is one of only three stops author Alan Bradleyís making during his publicity tour for his debut novel The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie. Set in an English village during the 1950s, the comedic Sweetness features an 11-year-old protagonist, Flavia de Luce. Her world is turned upside…
Max Juren
Max Juren is vying for YouTube stardom. Granted, this means he’s competing with sleep-running dogs, kids getting kicked by breakdancers and a guy named Old Gregg pursuing a hipster. (By the way, if you haven’t seen these, Google them now, ‘cause they are hi-lar-i-ous). But Juren holds his own. Under…
2009 Big Range Dance Festival
Since most dance companies center their seasons around spring and fall productions, the summer can seem a little slim (even by dancers’ standards). But that’s not the case in Houston, thankfully, as the 2009 Big Range Dance Festival offers up nine nights of choice local dance. The event features three…
Slant 9: Bold Asian American Images
Slant 9: Bold Asian American Images, Aurora Picture Show’s ninth annual film festival, breaks a few stereotypes with 11 quirky shorts. There’s Waiting for a Train, Oscar Bucher’s hybrid documentary about Tokyo cowboy musician Toshio Hirano; Machine With Wishbone, Randall Okita’s delightful live-action-but-looks-like-stop-motion film; Survivors, Soham Mehta’s 13-minute zombie movie;…
Jerry Seinfeld
Jerry Seinfeld is still the master of the observational stand-up domain. Creatively, he has nothing left to prove — he could spend an hour on stage reciting Seinfeld quotes, as safe and familiar as a neighborhood coffee shop, and still thrill three-quarters of his audience. But the man who dared…
8½
8 1/2, Federico Fellini’s 1963 masterpiece — and Oscar winner for Best Foreign Film — did more than just make actor Marcello Mastroianni an international movie star. It made its director a legend. Already famous for the influential La Strada and La Dolce Vita, Fellini became a household name with…
Om Shanti Om
You’re sure to lose count of the Bollywood stars that appear in comedy Om Shanti Om (there are more than 40), but don’t let all those famous faces distract you from the story at hand. It’s the 1970s, and Om (Shahrukh Khan) is a bit player in India’s film industry,…
Defending the Caveman
It’s the longest solo play in Broadway history, and if you watch the clips on YouTube, it’s pretty easy to see why. Rob Becker’s Defending the Caveman is a grin-inducing retelling of the battle of the sexes. In the show, the guy at center stage reexamines contemporary male/female relationships by…
Astrodome Cinema
Don’t get us wrong — Minute Maid is a lovely park. But Houstonians gazing at its polished scoreboards and high-tech sunroof might feel a twinge of longing for the weird and wild Astrodome, which still sits forlornly south of downtown. Sate your nostalgia with Astrodome Cinema, a pair of documentary…
“Existed: Leonardo Drew”
You certainly can’t accuse artist Leonardo Drew of neglecting his recycling responsibilities — his work frequently contains animal carcasses and hides, shoes, discarded objects and a whole lot of rust. At “Existed: Leonardo Drew,” now open at the Blaffer Gallery, you can see one of the Brooklyn-based artist’s most recent…
“Light as Air”
Beach balls, inner tubes and kiddie pools: It seems that all of summer’s good things are inflatable. This includes “Light as Air,” the art exhibition at Discovery Green. Stop by to admire the 50-foot, waving black stalks of Susan Robb’s Warmth, Giant Black Toobs, a reference, Robb has said, to…
Inprint Summer 2009 Writers Workshops
Most of us know Inprint for its reading series, but the nonprofit doesn’t just present writers — it trains them, too. During the Inprint Summer 2009 Writers Workshops, local writers will spend eight weeks working with some of Houston’s most prestigious authors, playwrights and poets to learn how to turn…
Found Magazine’s Denim and Diamonds Tour
Forrest Gump had it wrong. Life isn’t like a box of chocolates; it’s like a rancid trash heap of discarded junior high diaries, ‘80s prom photos, and scrawled-on Post-its that tell the strange, hopeful, heartbreaking and hilarious stories of riotous characters we’ll never meet. Having documented these found relics both…
“Washington Avenue: Forgotten to Gentrified”
Washington Avenue’s been many things over the years. A market road, an immigrant enclave, low-rent bar row, club haven and, in the near future, townhouse alley near downtown. Photographer Robert Sennhauser’s show “Washington Avenue: Forgotten to Gentrified” documents the current transformation of the area as nondescript town homes and condos…
The Beauty Queen of Leenane
Martin McDonagh is the latest Anglo-Irish darling of the theater. His often gruesome plays are funny and real as they bring to life all sorts of monstrous and all-too-human behavior. The Beauty Queen of Leenane, which was nominated for a Tony in 1998, tells what happens to a spinstery virgin…
Tim Brown: “Generations”
Is Tim Brown a pack rat or a historian? For his installation “Generations,” the artist stocked a faux flea market booth with relics from his childhood. Glass cases and spinning display racks are filled with old toys, magazines, photographs, notebooks and more. Each item is cataloged in a printed guide…
“Of an Era”
With “Of an Era,” its spring repertory program, the Houston Ballet focuses on a very important time in dance: today. The evening features three works by living choreographers, beginning with the somber Jardi Tancat, Spanish choreographer Nacho Duato’s work about farmers working desolate land, a narrative brought to life with…
East Meets West
For East Meets West, award-winning Chinese choreography represents the East, and works by a quartet of local companies represent the West. Dance of Asian America, a mix of international and local dancers, will perform a repertoire that includes classical, contemporary and cutting-edge works from China. Revolve Dance Company and Wyld…
“Wendy Wagner Whimsies”
Hunting Prize-winner Wendy Wagner has been having a good year, with successful exhibits at the New Gallery and the Contemporary Arts Museum Houston. Her latest show is “Wendy Wagner Whimsies.” Made up mostly of new ceramic pieces and soft toys, “Whimsies” shows Wagner’s sense of humor and lightheartedness. 10 a.m…
“Louisiana’s Most Wanted: Charles Barbier and Hunter Roth”
Mexican movie posters, skeletons and vintage pinups provide the aesthetics for “Louisiana’s Most Wanted: Charles Barbier and Hunter Roth,” a collection showing, among other things, vibrant scenes of life on the Rio Grande border. The exhibit’s centerpiece is Wanted Alive, a poster showing the late Tom Jones, former director of…
“Wendy Wagner Whimsies”
Hunting Prize-winner Wendy Wagner has been having a good year, with successful exhibits at the New Gallery and the Contemporary Arts Museum Houston. Her latest show is “Wendy Wagner Whimsies.” Made up mostly of new ceramic pieces and soft toys, “Whimsies” shows Wagner’s sense of humor and lightheartedness. 10 a.m…
Re-Birth-Day Celebration
Galveston’s Re-Birth-Day Celebration is a party crawl with a purpose. After Hurricane Ike sent a ten-foot wave crashing through the island’s historic Strand District, the downtown/waterfront area was devastated. Less that a year later, the district is reopened and ready for business. And, just in case there was any doubt…
“Painting the Cosmos: Science and the Art of Frederic Edwin Church”
In the mid-19th century, American artists were considered inferior to their European counterparts. Then 33-year-old Frederic Edwin Church came along with The Heart of the Andes, an idealized, detailed landscape that reflected the start of a new era in American art. Cotopaxi, a painting from the same series as The…
Low Man’s Joe: 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…
Grounded
First of all, Up is not a movie about a cranky old coot who, with the help of a roly-poly Boy Scout, finds his inner child during a series of magical adventures experienced from the front porch of a dilapidated manse held aloft by hundreds of helium-filled balloons. Such, of…
Camaro
Dan Castillo is one of Houston’s most prolific and rock and roll poster artists, illustrating shows for most every venue in town, but most often Warehouse Live, Meridian and Boondocks. Last fall, under the paper-thin DJ guise of “Mr. Castillo,” he began a Thursday-night residency at Boondocks, spinning classic hard…
Perverts, Beware
Crime, Political Animals PERVERTS, BEWARE Senator’s bill may or may not do something to you by Craig Malisow Sometimes legislative bills don’t seem to be written in plain English, so it’s always best to go straight to the bill’s author to find out what’s up. But a bill authored by…
Dexter Romweber Duo
The madman behind Flat Duo Jets, Dexter Romweber is back with Ruins of Berlin (Bloodshot), an amalgam of voodoo muzak and croony cosmopolitan country — imagine Marty Robbins meeting Screamin’ Jay Hawkins in a back alley for a murky tango. Joined on drums by his low-key sister, Sara (Snatches of…
Kill Bill
Kill Bill Online readers respond to “Bill Would Keep Sex Offenders From Doing Something, Maybe. It’s Hard To Tell,” Hair Balls blog, By Craig Malisow, May 18: SOP: More often than not, legislators have no idea what’s in the bills they attach their names to. Am I surprised by her…
No Doubt
The Blondie of Generation X, No Doubt came out of Orange County in 1995 wielding elements of third-wave ska, surf punk and bubblegum pop like broadswords to decimate a music industry still mired in grunge. Soon, lead singer and pinup gal Gwen Stefani became a style icon for a whole…
For Their Own Good
George awakes scared and confused. He’s had the dream again, the one where he is living back at home, where he can wander into the kitchen at any hour to down a glass of milk or fix himself a bowl of his favorite cereal. He’d had dreams like this before,…
Windy & Carl, Golden Cities
The ambient/drone/ psych/shoegaze/dreampop/minimalist/experimental/space-rock duo Windy & Carl may garner comparisons to Brian Eno and M83, but they are most like Houston natives and Kranky labelmates Charalambides: a married couple that makes spacious, desolate, largely instrumental music based on guitar processed heavily with reverb and delay. Of the two groups, Windy…
Samurai Gaúchos
Cupim is an unusual cut of beef that’s highly prized in Brazil. It comes from the hump of Brahma crossbred cattle, and it’s reportedly as marbled as the best Kobe beef. When I was told that Pradaria was serving it, I immediately went to the new churrascaria and ordered some…
Lissy Trullie: Self-Taught Learner
There’s a dry, tomboyish cool to Lissy Trullie’s brand of songwriting — the same quality she brings to her modeling work. She’s emotional, but neither excessively or academically so, fetching without being overtly flirtatious. Debut EP Self-Taught Learner rolls along with a decidedly offhand imperviousness: guitars jostle casually, rhythms pulse,…
Numero Dos
Mention the word “enchilada” in Houston, and people think “Sylvia.” Sylvia Casares, often referred to as the “Queen of Enchiladas,” has produced a video and cookbook, and she’s been named one of the best chefs in Houston, as well as one of the top ten Latino chefs in the U.S…
Dale Watson: The Truckin’ Sessions: Volume Two
Rife with character-heavy narratives and big-sky imagery, country music has always been an ideal soundtrack for driving. We’re reminded of that on Dale Watson’s second album of highway songs, following 1998’s The Truckin’ Sessions. With lots of fiddle and a clear love of the road, Austin’s inveterate Watson elevates these…
Curry in a Hurry
The flavors of India: On a pizza? Why not? ZPizza (4010 Bissonnet, 713-432-7219), a franchised chain, specializes in exotic, fresh and healthy pizzas. The chicken curry and yam “rustica” pizza ($8.95) has an oval-shaped, thin, crispy crust brushed with olive oil. Tiny cubes of curried chicken sit next to yams…
Cordero: De Donde Eres
Ani Cordero and her band are all about mood. Forget all the clichés about Latin music, the spicy this, the fiery that, because none of that cuts it with this Brooklyn indie outfit that just happens to operate in Ani’s native tongue rather than Engish. Take the vocals out of…
Where the Boys Are
Guava Lamp (570 Waugh) is indeed a gay bar. Most of the time, informing someone the place they’ve just wandered into is a gay bar is about as necessary as letting them know their facial hair is on fire. For example, at Montrose’s Ripcord (715 Fairview), there’s a giant outline…
Phone Home Page
Every Tuesday night, Jasper-born Houstonian Charles Forward, also known as poet and spoken-word artist SCEF (which stands for his full name, Shane Charles Edward Forward), gets on the phone with his friend, local poet and singer Selah Kumani. The two lazily engage in some peculiar conversations and play some music…
For Their Own Good: A Chance at Rehabilitation
If a juvenile who’s been certified as an adult is found guilty of a crime, there is a procedure in Texas that would seem to give both the teen and the prosecutor the best of both worlds: the rehabilitative environment of a juvenile facility plus long-term incarceration in a state…
Heaven Can Wait
Sam Raimi wants to go home again. Often a drifting virtuoso in the years before finding his Spider Man gig, with Drag Me to Hell Raimi defaults to the horror romps that made his name (namely, the Evil Dead trilogy), bringing the old barreling camera and viscous ickiness back and…
The Con’s on You
Writer-director Rian Johnson fashions a universe in which time is a fluid thing — where everything takes place in a familiar today and an otherworldly yesterday, where the audience is at once agreeably comfortable and inexplicably unsettled. When his characters don’t look out of place in their derbies and dusters,…
Advanced Mexican Studies
Dear Mexican, My question is simple: Can you please confirm the fact that there are doctors, lawyers and other professionals living in Mexico? I’m a Mexican-American woman living in Chicago who had a heated discussion about that topic. My friend who is a teacher at a local school was of…
Running the Numbers
In the end, all you’re left with is the numbers. Sifting through and counting up the nomination ballots for this year’s Houston Press Music Awards, the raw material for the ballot you see below and may begin voting on in July, the bottom line is that somewhere around 3,400 people…
Capsule Art Reviews: “Casual Encounters,” “Literally Figurative,” “New Art in Austin: 20 to Watch”
“Casual Encounters” Named after the infamous Craigslist category, this show explores the dangerous, ugly and surreal world that exists just on the other side of that risky line one crosses when placing or answering such an ad. From Derek Albeck’s flawless graphite portraits of hapless, stoned fools to Will Boone’s…
Magical Gardens
“All women become like their mothers. That is their tragedy.” —Oscar Wilde (The Importance of Being Earnest) Grey Gardens, currently mesmerizing all at Stages Repertory Theatre, achieves a theater coup worthy of Houdini. In the 2006 musical about two eccentric and destitute relatives of Jackie Kennedy, the actress who plays…
Capsule Stage Reviews: Antigone, Awake and Sing!, Rock ‘N’ Roll, The Third Side
Antigone Classical Theatre Company’s rendition of Sophocles’s Antigone, directed by John Johnston, doesn’t seem to have found its center. He has a strong cast of actors who are not used to their full potential. Two of the city’s most interesting, including Bree Welch in the title role and Greg Dean…
Her Way
With her wide eyes, shy demeanor and devastatingly adorable giggle, you’d think Elaine Greer would welcome musical input with a warm smile and how-do-ya-do. “Oh, no, I’m not very good at it at all, actually,” laughs the local singer-songwriter. “Most of the time I give [my bandmates] the recording and…
