Here’s to You, Little Joe Washington
Even if it wasn’t a surprise, Little Joe Washington’s death Wednesday afternoon is a shock. The Houston music community has lost one of its icons, a dynamic performer whose talents far transcended the style of music he happened to play, and whose energy made him a favorite of people generations…
UPDATED: Little Joe Washington Passes Away at Age 75
UPDATED: According to Jomonica Phoenix’s Facebook page, updated about 4:10 p.m., Washington has passed away. Rocks Off will have a longer obituary and information on memorial services as soon as we possibly can. Original Post: As of Wednesday afternoon, beloved local musician Little Joe Washington was clinging to life in…
Reality Bites: Wealth On The Water
There are a million reality shows on the naked television. We’re going to watch them all, one at a time. We recently had our AT&T U-verse receivers replaced (we’d had the old ones since 2008, au revoir 15 hours of Doc McStuffins). Naturally, I had to create a new “favorites”…
College Football Playoff Rankings v 3.0: Judgment Day Shakeout
We are three weeks into the brave, new world of not only having a road to a College Football Playoff, but having some degree of transparency on that road, and let me say that I’ve generally enjoyed the weekly release of rankings for the playoffs so far. It’s given our…
Feel Festive Feelings With One of These Awesome Holiday Sweaters
Since we’re about to get polar vortex-ed again, this message is brought to you by sweater weather! It’s going to be cold out, guys! What better time to snuggle up under a blanket with a cup of tea and go shopping for holiday sweaters all morning? There is no better…
Chef Chat, Part 1: Samuel Beier of Tony Mandola’s
Chef Samuel Beier has a tricky mission: update Tony Mandola’s cuisine to attract a younger clientele while still satisfying customers who have patronized the family’s restaurants for over two decades. I don’t envy him the task, but it is needed. Cuisine inside the 610 Loop isn’t what it used to…
HISD Police Investigating Reported Sexual Assault by Nine Students at Bellaire High School
A female student at Bellaire High School told authorities she was sexually assaulted by a group of males on campus last month, according to a report from the Houston Independent School District police department. The girl, who has not been identified, was attacked on October 13 by a group of…
Ted Flato: “Build Smart, Build Simple”
Pick up a copy of Lake/Flato Houses: Embracing the Landscape, a 300-page photography book showing some of the architectural design group’s spectacular environmentally friendly home designs, and it’s easy to sigh and say, “Well, if I had a million dollars, I could have a beautiful house like that, too.” That’s…
This Week in Food Blogs: Gearing Up for the Cold Season
Winter is coming. Well, at least what counts as “winter” here in Houston, which usually consists of blustering winds, rain and perhaps five days of freezing temperatures. Count your blessings. At least we don’t have to shovel snow. Just in time for the cold season is Zagat Houston’s list of…
Judge Drops Charge Against Officer Who Kicked Man During Traffic Stop Gone Haywire
See if you can follow this one. A Harris County Precinct 4 deputy constable out on patrol says he saw a young man blow through a stop sign on September 10, 2011 near his far north-side home, so he pulled up behind the guy and flashed the lights when the…
First Look at Radio Milano, a New Italian Concept Inside the Hotel Sorella at CityCentre
Just barely two weeks old, Radio Milano, the new new Italian concept taking over the spot that used to house Bistro Alex in the Hotel Sorella at CityCentre, is giving established Italian restaurants in Houston a run for their money. A lot of it has to do with the restaurant’s…
10 Awesome Things From the Gamer’s Edition of the 2015 Guinness Book of World Records
I don’t think I’ve owned a hard copy of the Guinness Book of World Records since I was a kid, but the new Gamer’s Edition is just too much to pass up. It’s full of things that even I had never heard, and I spend all day talking about weird…
The Music Films of Houston Cinema Arts Fest 2014
Music-related films only make up about ten percent of the programming of this year’s Houston Cinema Arts Festival, or five out of almost 50 films in all. But those five — about far-flung subjects ranging from Indonesian street musicians, graffiti-strewn subway trains (set to a killer soundtrack), a Houston Ballet…
[Video] Working Out Livers and Legs at the Brew Mile Houston
Beer and running are good friends. Sure, people may argue over the science of whether or not that post-run beer will actually help you out any, but any positive science is really just a bonus; you drink the beer because after a run you’ve earned it. As such, it should…
100 Creatives 2014: Will Ottinger, Novelist
Chances are novelist Will Ottinger won’t die on a golf course in the next five years. At least not according to his own estimate of life expectancy after retirement (which is based on a completely unscientific sampling, we’re sure). Ottinger, who had a long career in finance, tells us that…
Convicted Riverside CEO Tells His Side of the Story
It’s been two years since FBI agents burst into the Third Ward office of Riverside General Hospital’s longtime CEO, Earnest Gibson III, and accused him conspiring to scam Medicare and Medicaid out of $158 million. Judge Lee Rosenthal ordered Gibson not to discuss Riverside business or speak to Riverside colleagues,…
Please Stop Packing Your Guns in Your Carry-On at Bush Intercontinental Airport
Not that we needed any further proof that Texans love guns, but here it is anyway, courtesy of the TSA. As of last week, the TSA had discovered a record-breaking 1,855 firearms in carry-on bags at airports across the nation, and two of the top five airports for those discoveries…
5 Tips for Telling Your Kids a Loved One Has Died
This past Friday my daughter lost her Paw Paw to a combination of Alzheimer’s and heart disease. It’s not necessarily her first brush with death. Her daycare had several class pets die and erected a little graveyard called the Garden of the Fallen Tree where they had small funerals. She…
Derek Trucks Keeps It All in the Family Band
For many a bluesman, standing at the Crossroads is a mostly apocryphal experience, the stuff of myth and legends. But when Rocks Off reached Derek Trucks at his New York hotel room last month, the myth is quite real. In a few days, he’ll take the stage with the Allman…
Try These Five Monster Breakfast Dishes in Houston
They say breakfast is the most important meal of the day. We agree…especially when it involves one of these completely gluttonous, monster-sized morning treats. From a bacon-iced cinnamon roll to something nicknamed “7 Layers of Heaven”, here they are: Warning: Consuming the following will likely result in food coma. See…
Local Musicians Unimpressed by Stars’ Outcry Over Streaming
In the September issue of Esquire, Gene Simmons declared that rock and roll was dead, slayed by file sharing and an entitled public ear. Then, in October, Iggy Pop criticized U2 for setting a standard that music should be free, not to mention forcing its latest release onto unsuspecting iPhone…
Peter Case Still Practicing “Conscious Continual Compassion”
Thrice Grammy-nominated Peter Case (the Nerves/Plimsouls) is more than a pithy icon of the punk generation who helped foster the first wave of musical insurrection in both San Francisco and Los Angeles in the mid-1970s. He’s also a deeply committed writer of songs, memoirs and poems, whose sinewy, spontaneous work…
25 Local Concerts to See Before 2015
Clear out the cobwebs of Halloween and suddenly Old Man 2014 is staring down his nose at you, anxiously looking at his watch — and you know he’s an old man because he’s wearing a watch in the first place. Now that the last of the Fun Fun Fun Fest…
Seeking MasterMind Award Nominees
Know someone who could use a $2,000 no-strings-attached check? And some recognition? In January the Houston Press will celebrate its seventh year of handing out MasterMind Awards, designed to go to three individuals or groups who are contributing a lot to the Houston area’s artistic landscape. This isn’t a Hall…
Veterans Day and the Other Holidays That People Just Don’t Celebrate Like They Used To
These days Veterans Day is simply a holiday celebrating veterans and their service. That’s it. But the U.S. version of this holiday used to be a much bigger deal, and in the days before that it was actually another holiday entirely, Armistice Day. Today some people will definitely remember and…
Mass Appeal Shows Contentment and a Full Collection Plate May Not Be Enough
The set-up: What an apt title playwright Bill C. Davis gives his gentle two-character drama. Although set in a posh Roman Catholic parish where Father Tim Farley is the beloved priest, Mass Appeal (1980) could just as easily be set at the local Wendy’s or some plumbing supply company. The…
Neon Hitch at House of Blues, 11/10/2014
Neon Hitch House of Blues November 10, 2014 Where to start with Neon Hitch? Let’s start with her name. Neon Hitch is her government name. It’s true; she showed me her passport. She is a gypsy raised on a bus after her home burned down May 25, 1986. Her dream…
The TEA Is Schooling Teachers on Boundaries by Using These Super-Creepy Videos
Well, it appears someone at the Texas Education Agency has taken the phrase “fight fire with fire” quite literally. In order to combat predatory behavior by Texas teachers, the TEA has done the only thing that makes sense: They’ve released a series of videos on teacher-student ethics that are just…
Picos Reveals Its New Logo and Plans for a Holiday Tamale Stand
It’s about to get easier than ever to pick up tamales from Picos for the holidays. The news came during the rollout celebration of a bigger, bolder Picos logo yesterday. The tamale stand will be open from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. on November 28-30, the weekends of December 6…
Review: Let Simplicity Be Your Guide at Regal Seafood House and Lounge
When a simple bowl of shrimp wonton soup grabs your attention and holds it through several meals, you take note. Opt for a bowl to begin a meal at Regal Seafood House and Lounge, the big-box-glitzy Stafford outpost from the folks behind Galleria-area gem E-Tao. Ordered as a peace offering…
19th-Century Furniture on Display and in the Light at One Allen Center
Seldom has serendipity been more opportune than it is with the exhibition of 19th-century furniture from The Heritage Society, now at One Allen Center. The furniture is normally displayed in nearby Sam Houston Park, in the historic 1847 Kellum-Noble House, Houston’s oldest surviving residence, which is being renovated. Instead of…
Bipartisan Lawyers Step up to Defend Rick Perry. Seriously.
Traditionally, when anyone claims that a bipartisan group got together to protest anything, you can issue a snort of derision and comfortably state that if such group is bipartisan than pigs can take wing. However, in this one case Gov. Rick Perry seems to have pulled off the impossible. Yes,…
The Weirdest Photos of Fun Fun Fun Fest 2014
[jump] More photos on the next page. [page] ROCKS OFF’S GREATEST HITS The Ask Willie D Archives Houston’s Top 10 Day-Drinking Bars Hardcore’s Five MVPs Right Now 10 More Houston Acts You Should Be Listening To Houston’s Top 10 Hip-Hop Clubs Follow @hprocksoff…
Brett Hartmann Files Revised NRG Turf Lawsuit
In a sports world and news cycle that move at breakneck speed, thanks to social media and the 24-hour news cycle, maintaining relevance is a pretty competitive endeavor. It takes a concerted effort to rent space in our brains these days. That makes it all the more amazing that one…
Blogger Imani Talib of Inspiration’s Muse Celebrates Experience and Atmosphere Through Fashion
After meeting blogger Imani Talib at last summer’s Smashin Fashion stylist competition, her style blog ‘Inpsiration’s Muse’ quickly became an obsession. By employing visually arresting, photo-heavy entries using strong themes, Talib has succeeded in her goal of providing a boutique blog experience for her readers. “I want to have my…
Fountain of Youth: The Low T Industry Cashes in on Some Dubious Science
Joshua Carr is 54 and in solid shape, with a healthy weight and average build. He’d been feeling a bit tired in the days before he got his blood drawn for his yearly physical, but he didn’t volunteer that to his family doctor because he didn’t have illusions about his…
Eat This Fall Must-Have at Beaver’s
Since opening in 2007, Beaver’s kitchen has been pumping out some of most outrageous and exciting comfort food in the city. So we can only hope that, by this point, everyone has had the chance to get their mac’ on with the quirky ice house’s seriously decadent mac n’ cheese…
5 Video Game Idle Animations That Can Kill You
The other day I was hanging around Master0fHyrule’s YouTube channel watching his collection of idle animations. Now, I know that sounds like the ultimate act of laziness, but I have been fascinated with idle animations ever since I realized that my part in Chrono Trigger was yelling at me because…
Weather Week: The State of Texas Is Pretty Blue, Thanks to the Weather Map
If you spent any time last week whining about the unseasonably hot November temperatures, well, we’re blaming you for this impending arctic blast that’s about to ruin Houston’s sandal weather. So should you be one of the offending parties, just fess up now, and please start sending sweaters and/or hot…
Upcoming: Bette Midler, Bob Seger, Lauryn Hill, Napalm Death, Reckless Kelly, Seether, etc.
13th Sky: With the Freakouts. Fri., December 5, 9 p.m., $7 to $10. Mango’s, 403 Westheimer, Houston, 713-522-8903. 2014: A Backspace Odyssey: Sat., December 6, 7 p.m., $20 to $25. Fitzgerald’s, 2706 White Oak, Houston, 713-862-3838. After 7: With Lyfe Jennings, Troop. Fri., November 21, 8 p.m., $39 to $59…
5 Revelations From a Grocery Store Insider
Working at a place can make a person privy to certain things that people on the outside probably don’t know. I’ve had a lot of jobs like that over the years, and have learned a lot about other people and the hidden mechanisms of the businesses I’ve worked for. I’ve…
Love Love Love Fest: The Missed Connections of Fun Fun Fun Fest 2014
This year Fun Fun Fun Fest had an official Make-Out Spot (you can find it on the festival map). While I never actually saw it with my own two eyes, I’m sure that at least a few people used it if it was there; who among us hasn’t seen a…
All the Places to See Elvis Presley’s Ghost
Note: Rocks Off brings you this article about former U.S. Army Sgt. Elvis A. Presley in honor of the King and all his fellow servicemen and women, past and present. Happy Veteran’s Day. You’re unlikely to have anyone bother with your ghost after you die. The most us regular folks…
The Best Things Overheard at Fun Fun Fun Fest 2014 (NSFW)
“Hey do you want a Red Bull?” “No thanks.” “It has vodka in it.” “Okay.” “Let me know if you’re gonna do something stupid so I can record it and post it online for karma”…
The Owls Win Ugly, the Cougars Lose Ugly
The Rice Owls earned a sixth straight win on Saturday afternoon. The 17-7 win over UTSA improved the team’s record to 6-3 while giving the Owls a tenth straight homecoming game win. The victory also made the Owls bowl-eligible for a third straight season, something that has never happened in…
Company: An Abrasive and Comic X-ray of Marriage
The set-up: Bracing and potent as a vodka stinger, Company (1970), Stephen Sondheim and George Furth’s multiple Tony Award-winning “musical comedy” on marriage, commitment, and New York City, is the ultimate That ’70s Show. The mordant musical ushered in Sondheim as potential king of Broadway. (He had to wait until…
Jello Biafra at the Continental Club, 11/9/2014
Jello Biafra & the Guantanamo School of Medicine Continental Club November 9, 2014 As Jello Biafra abundantly proves, pioneering political punks need not go quietly into the fetid night, especially when every new government regime like “Barackstar O Bummer” and corporate hoodlums prove ripe for his combative wit. Gesticulating with…
Plans for the Controversial Freeland District Development Are Back, Sort Of
Remember those controversial plans to build a massive condominium complex in the Freeland Historic District in the Heights? Well, they appear to have been resurrected — at least in part, anyway. A bright red sign touting a “future development” from Surge Homes went up earlier this week along the south…
9 Thanksgiving Weekend Sales at Houston Stores, Avoid the Stampedes & Shop Local
Now that Halloween is out of the way, we can concentrate on the best holiday of the year, Thanksgiving. Turkey day is the best holiday because it wraps all of my favorite things, pecan pie, family time, pecan pie, TV marathons, and, of course pecan pie, into one cranberry laced…
The Best & Worst of Fun Fun Fun Fest 2014
THE BEST BOYFRIEND New Orleans rapper Boyfriend knows how to command a space, even when that space is a wrestling ring. As she danced, stomped and rolled her way around the space, tossing gifts out in to the audience, occasionally borrowing hats and sunglasses and getting up close to sing…
Paul’s Kitchen: From Biscuits to Beef Tartare and Beyond
In the beginning, there were biscuits. Dense with butter flavor and lightly toasted, both were served with a mild red pepper jelly more sweet than spicy and lighter-than-air unsalted whipped butter. We dug in and wanted to request another serving, but held back, because, well you don’t go to Paul’s…
Run the Jewels at Fitzgeralds, 11/8/2014
Run the Jewels, Despot, Ratking, The Outfit Fitzgerald’s November 8, 2014 “No bullshit: Three songs in, this is already my favorite fuckin’ show so far,” El-P told he sold-out crowd at Fitzgerald’s on Saturday. “Y’all may actually be too fuckin’ hyped.” Too hyped? Hey, that was the knock on Run…
Dish of the Week: Arancini
From classic comfort foods to regional standouts and desserts, we’ll be sharing a new recipe with you each week. See the complete list of recipes at the end of this post. This week, we’re learning about the Southern-Italian street food, arancini. Meaning “little oranges” in Italian, arancini are balls of…
Former Kroger Worker Sues Grocery Chain, Says Managers Ignored Sexual Harassment
Months of unanswered complaints about disturbing sexual harassment by a coworker led a local man to file suit against a Texas grocery store chain last week…
4 Insane Theories About Five Nights at Freddy’s
No game in recent years has been quite as bone deep terrifying as Five Nights at Freddy’s, and they’ve already teased an equally scary sequel with the above trailer. If you haven’t played it I suggest you go pick it up on Steam, iOS, or Android and make sure that…
Rockets Recap: How They Have Managed Their Surprising Start
If someone had told you that after the first two weeks of the season the Rockets would be missing Patrick Beverley and Terrence Jones to injury and Dwight Howard to the flu, you would probably think this would be a miserable start to a season that began with one of…
UPDATED: This Week in Food Events: A Food Fight Against Cancer
Monday, November 10 Drink Some Wine; Save Pets’ Lives This is happening tonight, so jump on this if you want in. Chef Danny Trace of Brennan’s of Houston is collaborating with Bruliam Wines for a charitable wine dinner. Bruliam is a unique wine producer–they donate 100 percent of their profits…
Doctor Who: It Wibbles, It Wobbles, But It Doesn’t Fall Down
There are spoilers contained within this review, so be warned. First off, let it never be said that Steven Moffat is a man who is unafraid to take chances with Doctor Who. Love him, hate him, or just be thoroughly confused by him, he is not afraid of the change…
Bastille at NRG Arena, 11/7/2014
Bastille, Ella Eyre NRG Arena November 7, 2014 As a writer, I try and keep up with the times by brushing up on Top 40 artists as much as I can, but like anything else in life, not everything is going to stick. For me, Bastille hadn’t stuck, but it’s…
Romeo and Juliet Complete With Tattoos and a Skateboard
The setup: This tale of star-crossed lovers was written toward the end of the 16th century by William Shakespeare, and has captivated audiences ever since. The titular roles in Romeo and Juliet have attracted and challenged actors over the centuries as well, leading to the witticism: “By the time an…
Triniti Offers Us Sanctuari — and Great Cocktails
The only people busier than the bartenders at last week’s opening of Sanctuari Bar at Triniti were the valets. Were there more people pouring through the front door than cocktails into glasses? It’s entirely possible — by 8 p.m., after our media preview had ended, the new bar space was…
5 Signs the Cruz-pocalypse Is Upon Us
It’s finally happening. The time of the Cruz-pocalypse is nigh. We tried to pretend it wasn’t going to happen. After all, the Republicans gained control of the Senate and kept control of the House there was talk that Congress might actually do things going forward, instead of just constantly fighting…
A Tale of Two Bottles: Saint Arnold Pumpkinator 2013 Vs. 2014
I have a habit of accidentally cellaring beer. I see something interesting, bring it home, and forget about it amid all the other interesting things I bring home. Sometimes, I just keep “waiting to drink it,” looking for some nebulous “right time” that doesn’t really exist. Sometimes, it doesn’t work…
The Changing Face of Houston – Meyerland
In the postwar years of the early ’50s, Houston was experiencing enormous population growth and a surge in development. Americans were in love with their cars, and new subdivisions and planned communities were being constructed further and further away from the city’s downtown and the neighborhoods immediately surrounding it. It…
College Football Week 11 Recap: We Were So Close to Utter Chaos!
Before we get to a recap of the weekend that was in college football, a brief PSA on whose opinion to listen to and whose to ignore when it comes to the expansion of the College Football Playoff from four teams to eight teams. (SIDE BAR: It’s hilarious that we…
The 10 Best Texans Bye Week Rapper Tweets
Ryan Mallett is now the starting quarterback for the #Texans READ: http://t.co/yMFlMn5hOv pic.twitter.com/VfxXlIofLn— Houston Texans (@HoustonTexans) November 5, 2014 The 2014 Houston Texans have a new coach, new players, new hope and the same dedicated fan base of Houston-based rappers. As in years past, they took to Twitter on the…
Modest Mouse at Bayou Music Center, 11/7/2014
Modest Mouse Bayou Music Center November 7, 2014 It’s no question that Bayou Music Center was packed to the gills Friday for the Modest Mouse show. Heck, it’s been nearly a decade since the band last hit a Houston stage. A long decade at that, for both the band and…
The Five Best Concerts in Houston This Week: Atmosphere, Rich Hopkins, Merle Haggard, etc.
Atmosphere House of Blues, November 10 Atmosphere’s rather successful label, Rhymesayers Entertainment, has steadily churned out rappers from all around Minnesota and the surrounding Midwest including Aesop Rock, Freeway, MF Doom and many others — basically a bunch of smart free-thinkers who have serious talent in the flowing department. DJ…
College and Pro Football: This Weekend’s Best Bets
The Texans are on a bye this weekend, so in addition to taking a little vacation time in Chicago to see my kids, normally I might take a day off (and weekend off) from dropping my “recreational purposes” football knowledge on all of you (knowledge which would have emptied your…
Best in Beauty Holiday Edition: Best 5 Gift Sets to Buy Now
Now that Halloween is over, we can safely begin the Christmas dialogue: Where are we going, what are we doing, and what are we buying? Right now Sephora VIB customers should have a 20 percent off coupon in their well-manicured little hands, good through Monday, November 10. (In stores, or…
Reviews for the Easily Distracted: Big Hero 6
Title: Big Hero 6 Based On A Marvel Comic, Yes? Any Cameos? You won’t see Dancing Baby Groot anywhere, but there is a post-credits scene. Rating Using Random Objects Relevant To The Film: Three Mummenschanz (Mummenschanzes?) out of five. Brief Plot Synopsis: Kid programs killer robot to avenge brother’s death…
Death From Above 1979 at Warehouse Live, 11/6/2014
Death From Above 1979 Warehouse Live November 6, 2014 Don’t get me wrong; reviewing and shooting concerts is an awesome gig. I get to see the bands that I want to see up close and also get the best souvenirs – my photographs of the artists. Obviously some shows have…
Comedian W. Kamau Bell Tackles Oh, Everything
There’s no telling what topics comedian W. Kamau Bell will tackle during his Houston show on Sunday night. That’s probably why he called the tour Oh, Everything. An acclaimed standup comedian, writer, actor and television host, Bell often comments on politics, race relations and pop culture. Exactly what aspect of…
The 5 Best Things to Eat or Drink This Weekend: Food Trucks & a Christmas Pub Crawl
Houston Food Truck Fest @ Stereo Live Saturday, noon to 5 p.m. 6400 Richmond Head to Stereo Live to catch local vendors, live music, and art showcases alongside 20 of Houston’s baddest food trucks. Look out for Phamily Bites, The Waffle Bus, and more (see the complete lineup here). And…
Thanksgiving Prep: Glamping Big Bend National Park
Camping and luxury are not mutually exclusive, and “glamping” is more than just a funny word–it’s a legitimate travel craze. There are dozens and dozens of websites dedicated to glamping, or “glamour camping.” The travel industry is capitalizing on the concept by offering people an alternative somewhere in between tent/car…
Lyft Is Leaving November 20, But Will Apparently Be Operating Illegally Until Then
Bro. Do you even Lyft? Should your answer still be yes, you may want to get legal with the city. While Lyft may not be leaving Houston until November 20, that doesn’t mean their drivers can continue to operate. Not legally, anyway. Not without complying with the new city regulations…
Upcoming Events: Beer-aoke & a Whiskey Dinner
On Wednesday, November 12, K-9 Angels Rescue and Karbach Brewing Co. are teaming up to bring you the K-9 Angels Pints for Pups Fall Fundraiser. The event, held at Karbach Brewery from 6 p.m. to 10 p.m., features all you can drink Karbach beer, BBQ dinner, and desserts. All proceeds…
100 Creatives 2014: Greg Starbird, Theater Lighting Designer
As a theater lighting designer, Greg Starbird does a lot of planning. He analyzes the show’s script. He meets with the show’s director and other designers to determine a communal approach. He creates a light plot of his initial ideas and tweaks it as he goes along. “In smaller theaters,…
Eight Can’t-Miss Acts at For the Community 8
The eighth edition of the always free and musically packed For the Community festival runs from Saturday afternoon into early Sunday morning. Once again, promoters Visionary Noise and Houston Free Thinkers have assembled a lineup of artists, poets and musicians representative of our city’s diversity. Last Concert Café and Eastdown…
Listen to NASA: 4 Best Houston-centric NASA Audio Moments
If you’re looking for a quick audio overview of NASA’s history, the space agency just released about 60 short clips that give us enough historic soundbites and out-of-this-world sounds — “Earth’s Song” is particularly beautiful — on Souncloud to cover more than 50 years of history. However, while the Souncloud…
The 5 Best Things to Do in Houston This Weekend: From Marilyn Monroe to Otello
Our first suggestion for Friday is the short-run exhibit “Marilyn Monroe: The Lost Photos of a Hollywood Star.” Many of the images seen in the collection “The Lost Photos” were, in fact, literally lost. Mischa Pelz’s photos, taken in 1953, were found by his former assistant after an earthquake damaged…
An Unfiltered Chat With Jello Biafra
For more than three decades, Jello Biafra has remained the brassy conscience of punk rock, willing to knock down the sacred cows of politics and rock and roll. First honing his diatribes in the Dead Kennedys, next dabbling in film and spoken word, and ultimately joining forces with DOA, NoMeansNo,…
Openings & Closings: The Washington Restaurant Exodus Continues
This past Wednesday marked the third restaurant closing on Washington Avenue in a month. It started with Coppa Ristorante Italiano on October 4. Polovina followed on October 30 and on November 5, TQLA joined the list of the fallen. A partner in TQLA, Scott Lindsey, told the Houston Chronicle that,…
10 Possible Houston Rap Tourism Destinations
Despite the flood of people arriving here for the first time every day, Houston has never been a tourist town. Ask anybody: the skiing sucks, the mosquitos are packing heat and the traffic is stressful enough to put one off the very concept of travel for life. As an added…
JW-Jones Is No Blues Nazi
Going out of — hell, just trying to get out of — the box in blues is hard. Purists, traditionalists, blues nazis, or whatever you want to call them built the box and they are proud of the box. The box has its advantages: it’s comfortable and doesn’t require much…
The 10 Best Concerts in Houston This Weekend: Modest Mouse, Olivia Newton-John, etc.
Modest Mouse Bayou Music Center, November 7 Nearly capsizing after 2007’s We Were Dead Before the Ship Even Sank baffled most of the latecomer fans who arrived with 2004’s unlikely Top 40 single “Float On,” idiosyncratic Washington State indie-rockers Modest Mouse have stayed on the road and out of the…
UPDATED: Sheriff’s Office: Local ’60s Legend Frank Davis Is Missing
UPDATE (Friday, 1:30 p.m.): Mr. Davis was found by Harris County Sheriff’s Department Thursday evening and has been returned to his home. Rocks Off received a heads up in the past hour that Frank Davis is missing. Davis, whose ties to the Houston music business go back to Walt Andrus…
Here’s Proof that Driving an SUV Through a Restaurant Is a Bad, Bad Idea
Well, there’s finally cinematic proof that driving a gas-guzzling SUV into a crowded restaurant may not be the best way to get quick service. The accident happened at Dimassi’s Mediterranean Buffet in a strip center near NRG Stadium on Kirby at 1:55 p.m. Wednesday, and left a number of restaurant…
Angel Olsen at Fitzgerald’s, 11/5/2014
Angel Olsen, Lionlimb Fitzgerald’s November 5, 2014 Angel Olsen has a gaze so piercing that watching her even from far away makes you feel like you are being stared down by a friend, a lover, and an enemy all at the same time. Watching her perform, and I mean really…
10 Strangest Houston Lawsuits
If you’ve been following the news lately you’ll know that the City of Houston and several churches are having a gay old time with a lawsuit revolving around a group of pastors who were unable to muster enough signatures to get the HERO initiative on this year’s electoral ballot. Hard…
Chef Chat, Part 2: Frédéric Perrier of Aura, Hoggs N Chicks and Coco Pazzo
When we left off on Part 1 of our Chef Chat with Fréderic Perrier, he’d just relocated Aura from a small, quaint, New England-style shopping center to modern, bustling, trendy Sugar Land Town Square. While all the old favorites menu items are there, the experience is different now–not better or…
Texas Girl Was Taken Away From Parents Because They Smoked Pot, Only to Be Killed in Foster Care
Little Alex Hill would have been turning four-years-old this Friday. But rather than celebrating their child’s birthday, the toddler’s parents have only the bitter consolation of seeing a judge in Milam County hand Alex’s foster mother a life sentence for murder. The life sentence is a small victory in the…
If the Harris County DA Calls You About Your Loan, Don’t Worry. It’s a Scam.
So, apparently criminals impersonating the Harris County District Attorney’s office staff are calling residents and asking questions about loans in order to gain…well…we’re not sure what they’ve managed to gain, but it’s definitely a scam…
Christopher St. Leger’s “Mass and Void” Exhibits Amazing Watercolors
The immediate impression on seeing the amazing watercolors by Christopher St. Leger is that this artist loves architecture, cities, and watercolors, and uses his talents to create vistas of shimmering beauty. This is a large and impressive exhibition, so a viewer in immersed immediately, and surrounded, by cityscapes so enticing…
From Dangerous to Delightful: Uchi’s Moss Dish
The string of text messages began with a photo. It was a plate of lovely, unidentifiable green puff balls accented with slices of mushrooms, grilled so precisely that there were criss-cross grill marks, just as one might see on a steak. The photo and subsequent message were from an exuberant…
American Horror Story: Freak Show: The Rhythm of Fear
There comes a time every season where I feel the need to point out that the show faces a near impossibility in what it does; you simply cannot make a 13-hour horror movie. No one would watch that. At least, no one that you would want to sit next to…
Dirty Dancing on Its Way to Houston in Short Run
Jenny Winton grew up dancing ballet, including time with the San Francisco Ballet and five years with the Joffrey Ballet in Chicago when a casting agent trying to fill roles in the stage version of Dirty Dancing gave her a call. “They were looking at pictures of different ballerinas from…
10 Reasons to Look Forward to Fun Fun Fun Fest Every Year
The Weather Sure it makes me sound like a curmudgeon, but I hate summer festivals. Oh sure, the music is great, but the heat, good lord the heat. It’s just exhausting. Even ACL runs the risk of getting mighty uncomfortable if October decides not to play nice. By the time…
Whole Foods Market Previews Its Post Oak Store With a Tour and a Party
I love grocery stores. The Clash’s “Lost in the Supermarket” isn’t describing some stoner nightmare to me; I could be quite content spending an evening or two wandering around, examining the sheer visual spectacle: the modern orderliness of the shelves packed with items in symmetry; the visual brilliance of the…
Backstory: The Fifth Circuit Wasn’t Always the Most Conservative Court Around
These days the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals can generally be counted on for issuing decisions that are so far right they’re practically left. They’ve made headlines numerous times in the last three months for their decisions on abortion law alone. There are conservative courts in the United States, but…
For Sale: One Model of Lola’s Ladies’ Room
There are some diorama-worthy candidates among the modern architectural masterpieces which have been erected in Houston. The Astrodome. Johnson Space Center. The Beer Can House. All are perennial subjects and all are, at least for the short term, behind the current, most bitchin’ leader of the pack, the “Lola’s Ladies’…
The 5 Best Happy Hours in Rice Village
If you love happy hour as much as we do, you’ll love this new series. We’re taking a look at the best happy hours in town, ‘hood by ‘hood. To narrow it down, we’re focusing on the spots with the best deals on not only drinks, but eats, too. From…
Four Houston Rap Producers You Should Hear Now
To a small extent, Houston’s musical sound jumps around time periods. Cultures. Genres. The spastic rhythm of zydeco mixes like watercolors when met with the hard bass guitars and screeching, amplified wails of rock. The blues drones on in sorrowful hints and glimpses of emotional reprieve. And Houston’s rap scene?…
Danse Macabre: The Constant Companion
From the warped minds of 14 Pews artistin-resident Two Star Symphony, and its dark puppetmaster counterpart, Bobbindoctrin Puppet Theatre, comes the despairingly funny black comedy Danse Macabre: The Constant Companion. It’s the tale of Sid, a man who wallows in hopelessness and despair, eventually resolving to kill himself. “He seeks…
National Theatre of London on the Big Screen: Of Mice and Men
Tony Award® nominee Chris O’Dowd stars as simple-minded Lennie Small, while Golden Globe® winner and Academy Award® nominee James Franco plays the intelligent George Milton in the Broadway revival of John Steinbeck’s tragic Of Mice and Men. It’s the story of two farmworkers who are able to face adversity and…
Stuart Neville
Some secrets are more dangerous than others, as seen in Stuart Neville’s latest crime thriller, The Final Silence. The story centers on Rea Carlisle, who has just inherited a house in Belfast from a long-lost uncle. Among the things she finds in the house is a catalog of victims, a…
Gulf Coast 2014 – 2015 Reading Series: November, 2014
Don’t call this a poetry reading — at least not in the traditional sense. The Gulf Coast 2014-2015 Reading Series features a slew of fantastic poets and a number of jaw-dropping creative writers from the University of Houston’s acclaimed graduate program in creative writing. Today’s program includes poets Luisa Muradyan…
“Fangs, Feathers, and Fins: Sacred Creatures in Ancient American Art”
Today’s cat ladies have nothing on ancient American societies!”Fangs, Feathers, and Fins: Sacred Creatures in Ancient American Art” currently on exhibit at the Museum of Fine Arts,Houston, explores the role animals played in ancient American cultures, helping those societies navigate the world around them. “Ancient Americans didn’t see animals as…
Remembering François Truffaut: The Story of Adele H (L’histoire d’Adèle H.)
The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston’s tribute to one of France’s most loved filmmaker continues with Remembering François Truffaut: The Story of Adele H (L’histoire d’Adèle H.) The drama tells the story of Victor Hugo’s daughter Adele, a poet and composer, as she follows a British officer around the world…
My New Man Is a Player. Help!
Welcome to Ask Willie D, Rocks Off’s advice column where the Geto Boys MC answers reader questions about matters, in his own words, “funny, serious or unpredictable.” Something on your mind? Ask Willie D! THE GUY I LIKE IS A PLAYER Dear Willie D: For the past month I have…
Houston Heights Tour
Get a tour of the Heights from an area expert when you join historian and preservationist Bart Truxillo for the Houston Heights Tour. The schedule includes visits to three of the most beautiful homes in the Heights, including Truxillo’s own completely restored historic home. The group travels by shuttle bus…
“Marilyn Monroe: The Lost Photos of a Hollywood Star”
Many of the images seen in the “Marilyn Monroe: The Lost Photos of a Hollywood Star” collection were, in fact, literally lost. Mischa Pelz’s photos, taken in 1953, were found by his former assistant after an earthquake damaged the storeroom where they were being kept. Cinematographer Thomas “Doc” Kaminski, who…
Houston’s Ebony Opera Guild Annual Opera Gems Concert — Opera in the Black 2
There’s only one performance of Houston’s Ebony Opera Guild Annual Opera Gems Concert — Opera in the Black 2. A showcase of Houston’s African-American opera singers, the program includes musical highlights from Carmen, Porgy and Bess, West Side Story and others. Jason Oby, artistic director of the Houston Ebony Opera…
W. Kamau Bell
There’s no telling what topics comedian W. Kamau Bell will tackle during his Houston show. That’s probably why he called the tour Oh, Everything. An acclaimed standup comedian, writer, actor and television host, Bell often comments on politics, race relations and pop culture. Exactly what aspect of those topics he’ll…
“HJ BOTT: Scribble Morphings”
The scribbles over the acrylic on canvas paintings that make up “HJ BOTT: Scribble Morphings” document that HJ Bott has a sense of humor, and refuses to take himself too solemnly, though this in no way questions his seriousness as an artist. The press release undermines the light-hearted tone, going…
“The Resolution of Doubt”
Earl Staley is not only a prolific artist, he is also a most inventive one, either re-inventing himself or tackling new approaches in his art, exhibition by exhibition. His recent showing at Jung Center, “Reconstructions,” combined traditional portrayals of Greco-Roman legends with abstract over-painting to create a wondrous method for…
Footloose, the Musical
It’s a mixed cast of professionals and students appearing in Footloose, The Musical. A production of Bayou City Theatrics’ education program, bctEDU, Footloose features students Taylor McWhorter as Ren, a newcomer to the rural community where the show is set, and Mia Coyle as Ariel, the local girl he falls…
2014 Houston Cinema Arts Festival, Everybody Street
The clothes, cars and hairstyles seen in the documentary change from one decade to another. What doesn’t change is what the people are doing. Cheryl Dunn, the street photographer and filmmaker behind , says, “People say, ‘Oh, the characters aren’t the same on the street now as they were before,’…
“Best Laid Plans – Art by Russell Prince”
The current show at the Jung Center of Houston is “Best Laid Plans – Art by Russell Prince.” This is the second solo show for the Houston-based emerging artist, who uses found materials to create collages. His work is difficult to characterize, although there are obvious cubist and Dada influences…
“Traditions Transfigured”
The Asia Society Texas Center presents work from a one-of-a-kind artist in its current exhibition, “Traditions Transfigured.” Bridget Bray, curator and director of exhibitions at the center, tells us, “We wanted Houstonians to have an understanding of contemporary art in Japan. Yamaguchi is a unique artist. No one else is…
Sister’s Christmas Catechism: The Mystery of the Magi’s Gold
It’s become a tradition for Stages Repertory Theatre audiences, Sister’s annual holiday visit and catechism/comedy. This year it’s Sister’s Christmas Catechism: The Mystery of the Magi’s Gold. Denise Fennell reprises her role as the ruler-whacking, no-nonsense Sister. She’s on the search for the Magi’s gold given to Christ in Bethlehem…
Inprint Margarett Root Brown Reading Series: Michael Cunningham
Novelists are often told, “Write what you know.” Michael Cunningham, the Pulitzer Prize-winning author of The Hours and this month’s featured speaker for the Inprint Margarett Root Brown Reading Series, seems to have done just that with his newest novel, The Snow Queen. The story of Tyler, a drug-addicted musician;…
The 10 Best ’70s Monster Rock Riffs
What? No Stairway? Denied! Nah, we’re totally lying. There’s plenty of “Stairway” below, because bitchin’ rock riffs are precisely what we’re looking for. Ladies and gentlemen, whip out the Ben-Gay and prepare yourselves for some injuries to your air-guitar arm, because with Deep Purple and Nazareth on this Throwback Thursday…
Laggies Gets Adult Loneliness and Cross-Generational Friendship
It’s an unwritten rule that we’re supposed to feel most in step with people our own age, as if sharing the same cultural and historical references somehow enables our ability to look into each other’s hearts. So why do we sometimes tumble into deeper friendships with people who are ten…
Language and Fantasy Football
Dear Mexican, I’m a half-Mexican more American than Mexicant (although to Cockasians, I’m sure I’m just another brown spot on their white carpet). I don’t speak Español nor do I care to, not because I’m ashamed but I just don’t feel the need. If I lived in another county I…
It’s Conservationists vs. Oil and Militias in the Stunner Virunga
Here’s a question the rest of us are lucky never to have had to think about: How many people does it take to bear away the corpse of a grown gorilla? Early in Virunga, Orlando von Einsiedel’s stunning heartbreaker of a doc, we see men, a dozen or so, carrying…
Christopher Nolan’s Interstellar May Be Grand, but It Doesn’t Connect
There’s so much space in Christopher Nolan’s nearly three-hour intergalactic extravaganza Interstellar that there’s almost no room for people. This is a gigantosaurus movie entertainment, set partly in outer space and partly in a futuristic dustbowl America where humans are in danger of dying out, and Nolan — who co-wrote…
Capsule Art Reviews: November 6, 2014
“Earl Staley: The Resolution of Doubt” Earl Staley seems to be forever reinventing himself, and his latest exhibition at Zoya Tommy Gallery includes a number of approaches. His Wonderer suggests the chaos present as the physical world was formed; a vertical sliver of red controls the center against a background…
Birdman Gives Michael Keaton a Role Worthy of Him
Before there was a Birdman, there was a Batman — several, in fact, though the best was played by Michael Keaton in the two Tim Burton films in the late ’80s and early ’90s. Since then, Christian Bale’s somber strutting and muttering, as seen in Christopher Nolan’s Batman movies, has…
Capsule Stage Reviews: November 6, 2014
Così fan tutte If you want to know all about sex, why read Masters and Johnson when you can go to the opera and hear Mozart. What better primer than Così fan tutte (1790), the third collaboration between Mozart and urbane librettist Lorenzo Da Ponte. The masterpieces Marriage of Figaro…
