Static
Raves and wave-offs… You may have noticed lately that local hippies are getting less passive and more pushy. Sure, Houston may not foster as definitive a shrine to self-centered ’90s bohemia as, say, Austin’s Ruta Maya coffeehouse — where service is commonly rendered with a grunt and a disaffected frown…
S R O
The Sound of Music Infernal Bridegroom Productions, that sassy alternative theater troupe that has, over the past three years, thumbed its nose at stuffy theatrical conventions, has taken a bold new turn in scheduling its 1997-98 season: musicals. Company directors Jason Nodler and Greg Dean will take on three musicals:…
Loungette
In 1994, an East Coast act called Combustible Edison got caught up in a wave of hype that was either enviable in the extreme or a terminal drag, depending on your level of tolerance for shoveling quip quotes to the trend-wary heavyweights at Entertainment Weekly, Newsweek and the New Yorker,…
Man’s Best Friend
To write a play in which a dog is a pivotal character and then to have that dog played by an actor is either very brave or very stupid. In the case of A.R. Gurney’s Sylvia, it’s a little of both. Premiering last spring on Broadway, Sylvia is a nutty…
Combustible Vegas
Former Las Vegas denizen Peter Cudahy rates the casino-circuit greats: * Neil Diamond: “I don’t know what happened to Neil Diamond; I think it has something to do with his systematic repudiation of his Judaic heritage. I wonder what his family thinks of that Christmas record? ‘Neeeil, have you forgotten?’…
The Politics of Cool
Bill Maher’s Politically Incorrect is no more about politics than MTV’s The Real World is about the real world. And watching Politically Incorrect for a discussion of newsworthy events of the day makes no more sense than watching The Real World for life lessons. You watch these shows for TV…
Pedigree Counts
Just ask the Freudians: The strongest human urges are the need to eat and the drive to reproduce. It’s a textbook case of psychology in action: As soon as a clientele convinces a restaurateur that they just love his or her food, the proprietor starts looking for new venues and…
An Off Night
After the rowdy cacophony of Baz Luhrmann’s turbo-charged Romeo & Juliet, the prospect of a more traditional Shakespearean adaptation is more than welcome. And yet there is something curiously wan and not-quite-satisfying about Trevor Nunn’s film of Twelfth Night. The movie offers a distinguished ensemble cast, handsome production values and…
Partners in Crime
Palookaville is an engaging trifle about three unemployed buddies who are just desperate enough to consider larceny as a means of temporary employment. “I’m not talking about a life of crime here,” one of them says during a brainstorming session. “I’m talking about a momentary shift in lifestyles.” Even before…
Gayland’s Choice
The evening of January 12, 1994, was not the first time Nancy Rodriguez and Gayland Randle faced each other in the courtroom of state District Judge Brian Rains, and it wouldn’t be the last. The occasion was certainly the most unusual, however, and one they each remember with particular clarity…
In the Blessed Name of Elvis
In essence, the solution to Barry Capece’s legal troubles boils down to four letters and a tacky piece of side-of-the-road art. If he wanted to, the owner of the Velvet Elvis nightclub on Richmond Avenue could end his two-year squabble against the almighty Elvis Presley Enterprises Inc. with a pair…
The Insider
Custer at the River Texas Democratic Chairman Bill White is nothing if not optimistic. Shortly before voters returned most GOP incumbents to office and gave a resounding victory to Bob Dole in the state and Harris County, the former Energy Department undersecretary issued a statement declaring that Election Day would…
Good Work If You Can Get It
Michelle Quin is not a cheap date. Over three years, Chris Kumpf, an official of a New Orleans law firm, paid the attractive topless dancer almost $250,000 to keep him company any time he came to Houston. “I made myself available to him,” explains Quin. “I put my life on…
Champions!
Yeah, I voted for Proposition One — closed my eyes, held my nose, crossed my fingers and then baaaaaa-ed like the pathetic sheep I am. I guess when it came right down to it, I didn’t want the Astros to go, and I’m not that much of a baseball fan…
Letters
Support Your Local Production Why is it that no one in the media is willing to support local productions? Randall Patterson’s article on Entry Level Male [“Dr. Schlock’s Adventures in the Cineplex of Doom,” October 10] did well to explain the difficulties of independent film production, but putting it down…
Press Picks
thursday november 14 Up from the Underground — From the Streets to the Stage After the Extreme Games skateboard events on ESPN2, this is your best chance to see teenage boys doing something difficult and interesting. Hip Hop Arts, an urban dance group, features dancers who work to hip-hop and…
Out of a Dead Planet
“Is this going to be a story about Planet Shock! or Aftershock?” It’s an innocent enough question. Yet when Aftershock guitarist Ray “Bone” Herrera poses it, he does so with a hint of finality — his polite way of implying, “We’re through with that unnerving chapter of our existence. Let’s…
Rotation
Linda Perry In Flight Rockstar/Interscope “Simplify, don’t amplify” is Linda Perry’s mantra these days. On her solo debut, In Flight, Perry leaves behind her platinum success story, 4 Non Blondes, and sets out to create a headphones-friendly CD along the lines of Pink Floyd’s Dark Side of the Moon. She…
A Fine and Funky Odor
Exhaust fumes, soul food, freshly mowed hay, good sex and great music have a defining common denominator — smell. Without their essential, earthy bouquets, they lose their potency and ability to inspire. In the case of music, the large number of bands that fail to transfer the energy of their…