This Just In: Cave Singers Cancel
After Cat Power’s doctor-ordered cancellation of her Warehouse Live show (now scheduled to be made up in October), Houston’s run of bad luck with indie-folk performers continues. According to Ryan Chavez of Houston promoters Super Unison, Seattle-based the Cave Singers have canceled tonight’s show at Walter’s on Washington…
Cover Story: College Immaterial
This week’s cover story on vocational programs in today’s high schools reminds me of the old Woody Allen zinger: “Everything our parents said was good is bad. Sun, milk, red meat, college.” The idea for it came from an energetic young teacher in Houston Independent School District frustrated by all…
Monday Night: Ace Frehley at Meridian
All photos by Rosa Guerrero Better Than: The Audiobooks version of Oriental travel guide Yellow River, by Frehley’s distant relation I.P. Download: Try this YouTube clip of Frehley and KISS doing “Shock Me” at the Summit in 1977 on for size It’s hard to imagine an environment seething with more…
Family Matters: Joel Osteen Meets with Activist Jay Bakker
Jay Bakker, the biker-dude son of Jim and Tammy Faye, succeeded (sort of) in his attempt to arrange a meeting between Lakewood Church’s Joel Osteen and gay and lesbian families. Although Lakewood’s response was much more tepid than almost all the other mega-churches Bakker contacted across the country, it at…
Reverberations: Phenomenauts and Black Angels
It’s once again time for a Reverberation at Boondocks, so be there this Saturday, and be careful on the stairs. And if you’re the sort who likes to start early (and what really constitutes “early” on a Saturday?), you won’t do much better than showing up at Cactus from 1…
It’s Time to Grow Up, I Think
When is it time to grow up? 21? 30? 40? Never? Despite my mortgage and husband, sometimes I think I’m still trapped in a state of extended adolescence. Do you feel the same way? Not sure? In case you’re wondering where you stand, Miss Pop Rocks has devised the following…
Mister Beebe Goes to Marfa
It’s official, the votes are in, and David Beebe is the newest member of Marfa City Council. He won by a razor-thin two-vote margin. Anyone want to bet on how long it will be before he’s the mayor?…
$13 at Café Rabelais in Rice Village
Where: Café Rabelais, 2442 Times Boulevard, 713-520-8841 What $13 gets you: If you’re me, a profoundly dissatisfying and discomfiting meal. I steer clear of upscale restaurants because too often I end up feeling out-of-place, undeserving and just plain sad. And when it comes to ordering, it seems I always choke…
Astros-Giants: Big Puma Takes It Easy, Only Gets One Hit
Damn that Lance Berkman. The bastard only went one for three last night, and the Astros lost to the Giants 4-2 as a result. Okay, it’s not Berkman’s fault. San Fran’s Matt Cain shut the Astros down. But unlike Barry Zito on Monday night, Cain did not wilt under the…
Texas Sinkhole!
Down and down it goes, swallowing barrels, tires, vehicles and poles. Daniel Kramer headed out to Daisetta last week and brought back some Texas-sized photos of the scene around the ever-deepening pit. (Okay, actually, the photos are normal-sized, but that is one big damn hole in the ground.) — Keith…
Last Night: Scott Miller at the Mucky Duck
“Thanks for coming, I’m Joe Diffie,” cracked Scott Miller as he took the stage for his solo acoustic gig at the Mucky Duck. “I’ve got a bunch of new songs and I’m gonna do ’em and y’all can trash ’em.” Miller opened with an instrumental from his upcoming, untitled record…
Astros Farm Coach Stubby Clapp Denied Permission to Play in Olympics
Drayton McLane has always struck me as one of those sanctimonious patriotic types. One of those who demands everyone stand at attention for the anthem, or recite the Pledge out loud. One of those types who demands patriotism from everyone else, but that feels he doesn’t have to actually practice…
Lonesome Onry and Mean: An Open Letter to Ed Shane, Publisher of Best In Texas
Some time back I was honored to be roasted, along with the “sanctimonious Houston Press,” in Best In Texas music magazine for a review I had written about local songwriter Dan Crump’s album Truth Is. In a rambling full-page editorial slyly couched in terms of his deceased mother’s instruction “if…
Astros-Giants: Big Puma Still on the Prowl
Barry Zito was cruising for the San Francisco Giants last night. Going into the sixth inning, Zito was easily pitching his best game of this season, and he was arguably pitching his best game since signing with the Giants before the 2007 season. The Giants were up 3-0, and it…
Facebook Responds to the Texas Attorney General’s Office
From: Facebook To: Texas Attorney General’s Office Re: Why can’t we be friends? Hey, Texas AG’s Office, we sent you a Facebook friends request the other day, and we hadn’t heard back, so we were thinking maybe it accidentally wound up in your spam filter, or maybe you’re tied up…
The Wayback Machine
(Rooting through yellowing copies of the Press, I found the following listings from ten and 15 years ago) 15 years ago in Houston music: The Boredoms and Brutal Truth opened for Pain Teens at Emo’s…Then-Press music editor Brad Tyer highly recommended readers to go see Jason Nodler’s play In the…
Steroids and Roger Clemens: Mindy McCready’s Roommate Enters the Picture
Just a little update on the current happenings in Rocket World. Despite Mindy McCready not disputing any aspect of the original New York Daily News story about her affair with Rocket, a woman, Jennifer Ryan Sirbaugh, claiming to be McCready’s roommate at the time states that Mindy was 17, not…
Attn: Dwayne Edward Wright
Yo, Dwayne. You still searching for that wallet you lost in the mid-1970s? Looks like Patricia Calhoun, the editor for our sister paper up in Denver, has finally tracked it down. Talk about service journalism. While doing yard work yesterday in Conifer, Colorado, Calhoun’s brother happened upon an old wallet…
Joe Nick Patoski’s Willie Nelson biography signings
Joe Nick Patoski is heading to town to sign copies of Willie Nelson: An Epic Life, his new biography of the Red-headed Stranger. This Thursday Patoski will appear at Brazos Books (2421 Bissonnet) from 5-7 p.m., whereupon he will head down the street to Under the Volcano (2349 Bissonnet) for…
The Sole of Houston: Working for You
Looks like David Beebe and my expose on the epidemic of stray shopping carts is bearing fruit. Here’s what the Chronicle says H.P.D. is doing about the problem: “’There are more shopping carts than bushes out there,’ said Lt. Richard Zajac of the Houston Police Department’s South Central Patrol Division,…
Houston Art Car Parade
This quintessentially Houston event deserved tons of coverage, and we like to think we delivered. Here’s a roundup of images from this weekend (and weekends past). First up, we have a big fat slideshow of art car images from Saturday…
Is It Wrong to Watch “Intervention” When I’m Drunk Off My Ass?
Is it? Is it wrong to drink Miller Lite after Miller Lite as I watch meth heads struggle with the decision to go into treatment? Maybe it is. But if it’s wrong, I don’t want to be right. I got sucked into the A&E program about addicts facing a make-or-break…
Over the Weekend: Art Cars, Rice Village and Astros, Astros, Astros
First off, we’d like to express sympathy to the friends and family of Tom Jones, photography curator for the Art Car Museum, who tragically was killed after this year’s parade. It was a shitty end to what is always a wonderful event. Houston Art Car Parade We’ll have more photos…
Astros-Dodgers: All Hail Big Puma
On Sunday, Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Hiroki Kuroda figured out the way to do what the pitchers for the Washington Nationals and the Dodgers couldn’t: shut down Lance Berkman. His solution was simple: for 6.2 innings, he no-hit the entire Houston Astros squad. But by the time the eighth inning…
Get Lit: The Candy Bombers: The Untold Story of the Berlin Airlift and America’s Finest Hour, by Andrei Cherny
World War III almost happened three years after World War II. Germany had been divided into four sections (governed by the US, Soviet Union, British and French), and the capital city of Berlin, deep in the Soviet sector, was itself divided four ways. In 1948 the Soviets blockaded the city,…
$13 at Nam Vietnamese Cuisine Restaurant on Fondren
Where: Nam Vietnamese Cuisine Restaurant, 2727 Fondren, 713-789-6688 What $13 gets you: A delicious, healthy, heartwarming meal – followed by a firm slap in the face That was my experience, anyway. I wandered into Nam not knowing what I was getting into. It’s located in a charming little mall just…
HouTube: The Best Music Video of All Time
Well, that’s the way my dad put it when he sent it to me, and damn if I don’t think he might be right. What we have here is the sedate majesty of pop-soul king Brook Benton, teamed up with a bevy of apparently benzedrine-addled go-go girls, that long-bearded guy…
nelo CD release
Austin newcomers nelo’s press kit helpfully points that the sextet’s names rhymes with “hello.” A much better homophone would be “mellow,” because their self-titled debut is about as chill as an October afternoon in Wisconsin without any long underwear on. Saturated in acoustic guitars, breezy horns and silky come-ons, nelo…
Mp3: Arthur Yoria’s “The Libyans”
Houston pop-rock king Arthur Yoria is giving away a new song called “The Libyans.” As usual, it’s catchy as hell, but Yoria’s skillz in the studio continue to develop. The spare, skeletal intro blossoms into something as spacious, big-sky and vaulting as Indian classical music. More after the jump…..
WTF, Meat Loaf and Tiffany Got Married!?!
Okay, so I was chillin’ on the couch mindin’ my own per usual when this new ad for AT&T’s GoPhone came on. I instantly recognized Meat Loaf in the role of overbearing dad who may or may not buy his son a GoPhone, and I admit I was equally tickled…
Astros-Nationals: Berkman Still on a Roll, But Is It Lima Time?
The Astros vaunted offense collected ten hits last night. Unfortunately, they only converted those ten hits into three runs. Even worse, Brandon Backe once again fell apart in the sixth inning, and with Oscar Villarreal once again failing in his attempt at being a pitcher, the Astros found themselves losing…
Unaccompanied Minors Allege Beatings at Immigrant Detention Center
The Texas Department of Family and Protective Services is busy determining what to do with all the kids from the FLDS, but meanwhile, another group of children under TDFPS care is alleging abuse. Eight immigrant youths from the Hector Garza Treatment Center, a facility for unaccompanied minors, have filed a…
Mother’s Day Brunch Ideas
Mother’s Day is this Sunday – have you made reservations for Mom? Cru: A Wine Bar (9595 Six Pines Dr., Suite 650 in The Woodlands) is putting on a three-course brunch, with offerings including brown-butter poached sea scallops, eggs Benedict, pan-seared ahi tuna and roasted duck breast, not to mention…
This Just In: Madonna Squeezes the Juice Box
According to Idolator, Madonna will play her first Houston concert since 1990’s Blonde Ambition tour November 16 at Minute Maid Park. Ready for this, Uncle Drayton? – Chris Gray…
My Morning Jacket Announce Fall Tour
My Morning Jacket have announced their fall tour. Check the dates after the jump, and let the wailing and lamentations begin…..
Astros-Nationals: Lance Berkman Is on Fire
The Astros won last night, 4-3, on a lucky Carlos Lee single in the ninth with Kaz Matsui on third base that Washington centerfielder Lastings Milledge gave up on. I’m not going to make many fans here, but damn, if there’s any team that deserved to win this game last…
Overnight Express: In Case You’re Not Sick of Me Going on About Tom Petty…
I know, I know, I have a problem. I’m seeking help, I promise. OK, I’m not. But if you worship at the church of rock & roll, Tom Petty makes a decent bishop. This week’s discovery, courtesy of Wolfgang’s Vault, is a full-length Heartbreakers concert recorded at Houston’s own Music…
Q&A with Daryl Morey: What’s Next?
You knew we couldn’t let the Rockets’ season come to a close without hearing from Daryl Morey one more time. So what is the Rockets GM up to now that the team has been eliminated? Is Tracy McGrady really the best passing wing in the NBA? And does Morey still…
Cover Story: Mental Anguish at Texas West Oaks Hospital
Amanda Lilley was 6 years old when she went to Texas West Oaks Hospital in Houston, broke her arm in her room and although medical personnel knew she’d hurt herself, no one in the private psychiatric facility realized her arm was broken until she was picked up days later by…
Community Education Partners — Why It’s No Better for Atlanta Than It’s Been for Houston
The Houston Press has dedicated a lot of time and space to looking at Community Education Partners. Recently, the American Civil Liberties Union’s Racial Justice Program in New York City went into Atlanta, decided the CEP there was pretty much worthless and filed suit charging it with not educating any…
The Five Worst Broadcasters in the History of Houston Sports
Nothing ruins a sporting event more than some hack who won’t give the score, or keeps screaming, or gets facts wrong. Here are Houston’s five worst offenders. 5. Clyde Drexler was one of the greatest basketball players the city of Houston has ever produced. As a broadcaster, well, let’s just…
Two Hoots and a Holler
Rick Broussard knows his rock and roll iconography — the cover of his long–running Austin band Two Hoots and a Holler’s self-titled 2005 CD utilizes the same composition (black-and-white images, pink and green lettering) as Elvis’s 1956 RCA debut LP and the Clash’s London Calling, not coincidentally providing a substantial…
“The Old, Weird America”
“The Old, Weird America” harks back to the days of old — sort of. The exhibition blends traditional images and techniques of American folk art with the harsh realities of modern life. Using photography, sculpture, video installations and other mediums, 18 contemporary artists from across the country have drawn historical…
Art Car Block Party
It’s time once again to shut down Allen Parkway in the name of ridiculous rides. The Art Car Parade will make its way down the thoroughfare tomorrow, but you can sneak a peak at the flower-shaped, cigarette-laced, George Clinton-inspired and other themed-automobiles at the Art Car Block Party. After many…
9 Star Hotel
9 Star Hotel hits close to home with a story about a far-off place. Israeli filmmaker Ido Haar chronicles the life of Palestinian men who cross the Israeli border every day in search of construction work. The illegal journey is filled with disappointment, joy and the constant fear of being…
“Shoot from the Hip”
The photographers showcased in “Shoot from the Hip” use unconventional methods to produce their images. Chuck Ivy’s stark black-and-white pics look like something easily produced with a digital camera, mouse and screen, but they were made using a pinhole camera — if you think Photoshop can be tricky, try your…
The Death Head
Roller gals with killer bods, B-boys with crazy moves, skaters with sick tricks and DJs with mad beats all get new heads from The Death Head. The Mexican-born artist infuses themes of the Mexican holiday Day of the Dead with his punk rock sensibility, crowning his dudes and dudettes with…
Foreclosures, Multiple Personalities, and Swampy’s
Who was it? Great article [“The Dirt on Foreclosures,” by Paul Knight, April 24]. But it irritates me no end that (most) media for some reason refuse to identify the real culprits in news reports. For example, they never give the name of the apartment owner when reporting on decrepit…
“It Took the Night to Believe”
For “It Took the Night to Believe,” Patrick Phipps took his canvas and crumpled it up. The painter-by-trade created ambiguous papier-mâché sculptures using plaster bandages, newspaper, drawing paper, masking tape, acrylic paint and more. Each piece defies definition, as Phipps’s main purpose was to produce amorphous pieces that aren’t representational…
Tell the Truth and Run: George Seldes and the American Press
George Seldes believed retirement to be the dirtiest ten-letter word in the English language. The investigative reporter and press critic worked well into his late nineties, taking on everything from the tobacco industry to fascism in the face of death threats and McCarthy-era suppression. Rick Goldsmith’s Academy Award–nominated documentary Tell…
The Public Enemy
You remember the moment: Gangster James Cagney is sitting at the breakfast table with his girlfriend. When the conversation doesn’t go his way, he shoves a grapefruit into her face. It’s the most famous scene in The Public Enemy, a film about hip, glamorous gangsters engaged in a violent power…
“The Suburbs of the Emerald City”
“The Suburbs of the Emerald City,” on view at Lawndale Art Center, brings up another housing crisis: monotony. Artist Joshua Smith examines the effects of home development trends with his manmade geodes. Clear, plastic Monopoly houses fill each rock to create a near-spitting image of the natural wonders, which normally…
Tig Notaro
Tig Notaro likes her name, so she’s keeping it. In one bit, the comedian talks about how she would never lend her name to a product like Jenny Craig, an illness like Lou Gehrig’s Disease or anything else. “I wouldn’t want to be driving down the road one day and…
The Gershwins’ An American in Paris
The Alley Theatre earns another world-premiere point with The Gershwins’ An American in Paris. The musical comedy imagines a behind-the-scenes love story taking place during the making of the legendary film. When the hottest superstar in Paris, Michel Gerard, goes MIA during filming, the head of the studio sends his…
Strike 3 Percussion
Clap your hands, stomp your feet and maybe learn a thing or two. Strike 3 Percussion beats a lesson into its lineup of West African folk, classical and original tunes, meant to show off the trio’s drumming abilities. In between numbers, the threesome (Strike 3 isn’t just a clever name)…
“Tales”
Local artist Constance Braden shows fairy-tale images with heavy undertones. Six of the Victorian-ish images included in her exhibition “Tales” were made to match the story-poems of Outgrown, by Braden’s friend and local author Stella Brice. Another two take a semi-gothic view of the Biblical story of the Annunciation. Braden…
Bryan Mealer
For his latest book, Texas-born journalist Bryan Mealer went a long way from home — all the way to the west coast of Africa. Mealer left a cushy job in New York to become a foreign correspondent in Congo, covering one of the most brutal, and forgotten, wars in recent…
Saw Workshop
What’s the hardest thing about learning to play the saw? “I think it’s just finding a bow,” says Geoffrey Muller, also known as Uncle Tick from the Sideshow Tramps. He says that so far, most students have shown up unprepared for his Saw Workshop, but no worries, he’s willing to…
Albina Shagimuratova
In the opera world, it’s rare for a vocalist to establish much of an international presence before middle age — this is especially true for sopranos. This is partly because the best voices take training and maturation, and partly because of opera’s institutionalized celebration of older, established diva-types in its…
Golden Axe
Forget Obama and Hillary — the issue truly dividing Americans today is real metal vs. hipster metal, which Spin said last month is the “tastes great/less filling debate of our generation.” That may be the case — does anyone who grew up listening to Slayer and Saxon own a Sword…
Madame Butterfly
Madame Butterfly is the classic tale of a love gone terribly wrong, which is kind of a bummer. But Houston Ballet is presenting the tragic story of the delicate Japanese beauty and her American husband for free, which is pretty cool. When Cio-Cio-San (Madame Butterfly), an innocent 15-year-old, marries the…
You Can’t Take It with You
Cinemaphiles fondly recall 1938’s Academy Award-winning You Can’t Take It With You, though plenty might consider the tale itself to be something of a fusty old relic. Still, once you’ve seen the opening act of the Texas Repertory Theatre Company’s production of the play, it’s likely that you’ll be reminded…
One Shot
One Shot is a ballet based on the legacy of Charles “Teenie” Harris, whose work is currently on display at the University of Houston. The legendary photographer — also known as One Shot — captured African-American life in Pittsburgh from 1936-75 with his photos of everyday life, sports teams, jazz…
John Witherspoon
We’re not sure if John Witherspoon tells jokes exactly, but we do know that the bowtied entertainer is very animated. To begin his recent Showtime special You Got to Coordinate, Witherspoon danced onto the stage screaming quotes from some films he’s made cameos in, including Friday and Next Friday, yelling,…
The Wedding Singer
The Broadway version of The Wedding Singer might just be good enough to be made into a movie…again. The stage show, which garnered many Tony and Drama Desk nominations, is the spawn of the ‘80s-themed film about a lonely wedding singer, played by Adam Sandler, in love with a girl…
Armin van Buuren
Like ’90s country artists making their bid for pop play, post-millennial European trance DJs increasingly are pushing their artist albums (as opposed to the innumerable mixes they typically author) into commercial territory. Like Paul Oakenfold’s A Lively Mind and Tiësto’s Elements of Life, Van Buuren’s latest, Imagine, soft-pedals trance’s stereotypical…
Nuevo Inca-Mex at Inka South American Cuisine
The borrego al pebre at Inka South American Cuisine, the new South American restaurant on Westheimer, is a rack of lamb served over an olive oil and pepper sauce. The rack I got on my most recent visit was cut into two double chops. The meat was crusted with spices…
Sex at Rice University, Indicted Politicians, McGrady vs McCready
Quacking, Lamely How lame can a lame duck get? Borris Miles is finding out. Miles has three strikes against him: 1) He’s a freshman state representative, one who has pissed off some colleagues with his brashness; 2) He lost his re-election bid in the primary; and 3) He’s been indicted…
Corleone Bar & Grill
We like it raw: The hockey-puck-size beef tartare ($15) at Corleone Bar & Grill (813 Jackson Hill, 713-863-8223) comes with a raw quail egg sitting on top of the raw meat. Usually, a chicken egg is served with this dish, but that’s not the only difference between Chef Ryan Hildebrand’s…
High Speed Chases and Blue Roses
Dear Readers: The paperback version of my book is out in stores now, cheap enough so that even a Guatemalan can afford it. Buy, por favor! Now, on to the preguntas… Dear Mexican, Whenever I see the television show COPS, the white folks pull over and hope no one searches…
Ashes to Africa is a stretch for the theater
Everything from death to sexual dysfunction troubles the Henderson family. Grandma’s about to kick it, Mom’s overworked, Dad’s got his nose in girly mags and Junior’s hooked on video games. Such are the family struggles in Mark Clayton Southers’s sitcom-style Ashes to Africa, now on the boards at The Ensemble…
Capsule Stage Reviews: Billy Budd, The Heiress, One Flea Spare, Time of My Life
Billy Budd Throughout Houston Grand Opera’s Billy Budd (1951), an unseaworthy mechanical gizmo spins on stage — it’s an annoying mechanical platform that’s supposed to be the deck of the English warship Indomitable. The thing never stops moving, even during composer Benjamin Britten’s most impressionistic scene changes. But if you…
J.D. Herman’s Matagorda Island Discs
In this week’s installment of Matagorda Island Discs, we have a little twist. J.D. Herman, former guitarist/frontman for punk-y trio Hayflick Limit and currently in the same role in new band the Castabouts, presents us not with the music he would take to Matagorda Island, but the music he did…
Speed Racer Is a Fast Track to Nowhere
Converting a fondly remembered cartoon series — one of the first Japanese animes syndicated on American TV — into a prospective franchise, the Matrix masters, Larry and Andy Wachowski, have taken another step toward the total cyborganization of the cinema. Even more than most summer-season f/x fests, Speed Racer is…
Mental Anguish at Texas West Oaks Hospital
Amanda Lilley was only six years old and could be loving, sweet and delightful, requiring hugs of any visitors before they left her house. But when she was out of control, tables would be flipped, chairs smashed and the kittens she loved needed to run for cover. She once took…
Still Lapping It Up with Mario Kart Wii
This year marks the 16th birthday of Mario Kart, the landmark Nintendo franchise that consists of eight identical racing games and legions of fans who buy every one of them. And 16 years later, nobody really has a problem with this. True to form, Mario Kart Wii offers no significant…
Pam Robinson Fights Back
Walter’s on Washington owner Pam Robinson just can’t catch a break. Seven years ago, when she was Pam Arnold, she managed Walter’s Icehouse on Durham. After it had been in business for seven years, a Dallas couple named Murphy bought a condo nearby and began a campaign of harassment with…
A conversation with Mohammed Al-Farra of Palestinian Rapperz
As a hip-hop quartet originating in perennial battleground the Gaza Strip, Palestinian Rapperz are currently serving as the archetype for a simmering Middle Eastern rap scene alongside scene patriarchs DAM, a Palestinian trio birthed in the slums of Lod, a small city in the state of Israel. And with a…
BIG WOODROW’S SEX WITH AN ALLIGATOR
The NBA playoffs are a blast to watch, no matter what team is playing. And one of my favorite places to take in a game is Big Woodrow’s (3111 Chimney Rock, 713-784-2653). The service is usually top-notch, and the busboys wear T-shirts imprinted with “shy guy with a big woodrow,”…
Analog America: A Four Course Meal of Found Sound
At Hollow Earth Radio’s basement digs in north Seattle, station co-founder Amber Kai Morgan keeps a stash of answering machine cassettes in a Mason jar marked “beans.” As self-proclaimed salvagers of prerecorded sound, Morgan and her boyfriend, Garrett Kelly, are junkies for this stuff. When the two launched their Internet…
Capsule Art Reviews: “Apertura-Colombia,” “How Artists Draw,” “John Alexander: New Paintings and Drawings,” “Miguel Angel Rojas: FotoFest 2008,” “Perspectives 160: Dawoud Bey”
“Apertura-Colombia” This survey of Colombian photography and video at the Station Museum of Contemporary Art far outshined the official FotoFest exhibitions of contemporary Chinese photography. The Station is at its best when it deals with art and politics, and this show is no exception. Angel Rojas shows Caquetá, his video…
Bayousphere
Christo, the artist whose art installations include wrapping the Reichstag, apparently failed miserably with this latest effort in Houston. Use double-ply plastic next time, dude. What we really want to know, though, is the story behind that car halfway up the pile on the left. 1950s two-tone in the back,…
Dark Meat with Quiet Hooves
Folk-flavored Seattle trio The Cave Singers feature bassist Derek Fudesco (also of Murder City Devils and Pretty Girls Make Graves) and Peter Quirk, the gloomy frontman of post-punkers Hint Hint. At times, the Cave Singers’ rootsy, haunted sound suggests a more Celtic-minded 16 Horsepower, more Pete Seeger than Peter Murphy. While…
Pennywise and Strung Out, with Authority Zero
Change gets the hype, but most things stay the same. Two decades ago, Hermosa Beach [California] H.S. grads Pennywise represented something new, drawing on a still underground skate punk sound and its blend of chunky thrash guitar, shout-along anthems and machine-gun tempos. Poised to capitalize on the early-’90s punk success…
Dale Watson, with the Derailers
No one can accuse Dale Watson of not being country enough. The Austin-based, Pasadena-bred singer-songwriter, supported on this bill by Jim Dalton and Tony Nascar, has a bottomless barroom voice, a wonderfully baroque delivery and a pronounced ornery streak he proudly displays on “Country My Ass,” in which he attacks…