Stalking the Elusive Urban Juggalo (Gulf Coast Subspecies)
Tonight, Rocks Off will valiantly fend off the sleep fairies and attempt to hit up his first-ever Insane Clown Posse show. We don’t know what to expect, but from what the Interwebs and close friends have been saying, nay pleading, to us we should be frightened and gird ourselves with…
ISO A Femme Fatale? Jail Babes Has The Hook-Up
Can’t find a match on Match.com? Can’t get it in tune on eHarmony? Desperate for a young hottie, but not exactly a catch yourself and unable to fly to Russia for a mail order bride? We’ve got a dating sight for you: Jailbabes.Jailbabes is just like any other dating site,…
Chatting With “Mr. Boomtown” About Directing Mike Jones, Slim Thug and More
Most people in the world of music videos may not recognize the name Nahala Johnson, but lately, they’ve recognized his nom de film: Mr. Boomtown. The Port Arthur native (he now splits his time between Houston and Dallas) is a nominee for the BET Hip Hop Awards’ Director of the Year. The…
Mr. Boomtown, On Directing Slim Thug And Mike Jones
Most people in the world of music videos may not recognize the name Nahala Johnson, but lately, they’ve recognized his nom de film: Mr. Boomtown. The Port Arthur native (he now splits his time between Houston and Dallas) is a nominee for the BET Hip Hop Awards’ Director of the Year. The…
For Flu Season: The Top 5 Comfort Foods and Drinks
It’s official: flu season is here and it’s hit with a vengeance. Television news reports deliver frightening messages from the Director of Health and Human Services while we’re forced to watch Matt Lauer get a flu shot on the Today Show, and our moms keep calling us to remind us…
John Cornyn Has KBR’s Back In Any Future Rape Cases
We’ve written several items about Jamie Leigh Jones, the local woman who is suing KBR over a gang-rape she says happened while she was working for the company in Iraq.The company put up roadblocks to her attempts to resolve the situation and her claims of rampant sexual harassment in KBR…
Paternity Suit Aside, At Least Matthew Knowles Isn’t as Bad as These Manager Dads
In news that was greeted with yawns outside of Houston – and not exactly shouted from the rooftops here – Matthew Knowles, father of Beyonce and Solange, has been slapped with a paternity suit by an actress in Los Angeles. This obviously wouldn’t be much of a story if not…
NASA’s Newest Mission, Surprisingly, Is An Homage To Mr. Show
You’ve probably seen some version of this headline: “NASA to Bomb the Moon Friday.”All we’ve got to say is, what took them so long? Mr. Show tackled this issue long ago.We doubt the event Friday will feature country singer C.S. Lewis, Jr.’s “Blew Moon” (“Look out moon, America’s gonna get…
Bayou Body Count: Mowing The Lawn Can Be Dangerous, Even If You’re Not A Character On Mad Men
Gotcha!Houston police have finally caught the gunman in a 2004 murder, hunting him all across the United States and Mexico before arresting him Tuesday in Houston.Police say that Oscar David Zamarripa, 24, shot and killed 22-year-old Alberto Rivera a little more than five years ago at 2215 Hollister. Detectives immediately…
From Rice to Potatoes: How to Switch Gears and Become a Cooking Contest Winner
Okay, so William “Trey” Smith went to Rice University, where he graduated in 2006 with a degree in economics. Following a not-unexpected career path, he enrolled in law school at the University of Oklahoma. Along the way, however, he found he liked his avocation better than his planned life’s work…
Bayou Beat: Half Price Live Nation Tickets, Last Call for Photo Contest, First Call for Poster Exhibit, Final “They, Who Sound” (For Now) This Sunday
Live Nation’s weekly Wednesday “No Service Fee” ticket offer is pretty stiff this week: Buy one ticket for dozens of shows at House of Blues or Verizon Wireless Theater – such as Alice Cooper, O.A.R., Jewel, Goodie Mob, Bob Saget, Drive-By Truckers, Hanson, Peaches, Stryper, Zappa plays Zappa and many…
Midweek Match-Up: Tom DeLay Vs. Sarah Palin In The Battle Of The Quitters
What is up with the Republican Party today? It’s become a party of quitters.First, Sarah Palin ups and leaves her job as Alaska governor for reasons only she can discern. Then Tom DeLay throws in the white towel on Dance With The Stars, even as the nation was begging for…
Aftermath: Kings of Leon, and Their “Fans,” Trying Our Patience at Toyota Center
Aftermath has seen almost every single step on the road to fame Kings of Leon have taken since their debut album Youth and Young Manhood in 2003. We heard a track off that album in mid-2003, “California Waiting,” on a radio show while living in San Diego that year and…
Win A Drag Me To Hell DVD By Telling Me Why The Hell I Should Watch It
Drag Me To Hell got some of the most stunning reviews of the year. Check out Metacritic’s page: The Los Angeles Times said the movie “does everything we want a horror film to do: It is fearsomely scary, wickedly funny and diabolically gross.” Entertainment Weekly said director Sam Raimi “has…
Bacon + Bourbon: The Next Big Thing?
If the results of Monday night’s Manhattan Experience contest are anything to go by, the answer is yes. It appears — for now, at least — that bacon hasn’t entirely jumped the shark. The winning entry in the Woodford Reserve Manhattan Experience at the Houston Museum of Natural Science featured a…
Lonesome Onry and Mean: We Are Not Ready for Christmas Music in October… or Ever, Really
Let the Madness begin. No, not March Madness, nincompoop – it’s October. Christmas Madness. Lonesome Onry and Mean doesn’t know who officially decides these things, all we know is that it’s the first week of October, Halloween hasn’t even come and gone yet, but in the past 24 hours we’ve…
Montrose Is One Great Neighborhood, Experts Say, Despite The Things That Are Gone
The American Planning Association, an organization that no doubt takes planning very seriously, has named Montrose one of the ten “great neighborhoods” in America.Says the APA: One of Houston’s original streetcar suburbs, Montrose has a sliver of everything. Eclectic and urbane, the neighborhood is a fusion of architectural styles, land…
Coogs Try To Shake Off UTEP As They Take On The SEC
Many words were said by Houston Cougar head coach Kevin Sumlin and his players at yesterday’s media luncheon. But of those many words, none captured the spirit of Saturday’s loss to UTEP better than those of cornerback Brandon Brinkley: “I felt embarrassed.”Quarterback Case Keenum talked of a bad taste left…
Chef Rick Bayless: Reluctant Rock Star
A visitor to Macy’s at Memorial City Mall last Wednesday would have been surprised at the more than 100 people — many of them young women — lined up in the Kitchen and Home area. Were the Jonas Brothers endorsing a line of tableware? No, but it was a rock…
Artist of the Week: Electro-Proggers The Live Lights Assure Us the “Sky Will Fall”
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 that isn’t awful? Email their particulars to introducingliston@gmail.com. Sometimes, you happen across a band at exactly…
Dancing With the Stars: Bidding Dazzle (and Debi) Adieu
News broke yesterday afternoon that the unthinkable had happened: Tom “Dazzle Me Dreamy” DeLay — former House Majority Leader, money launderer, and friend to the working man — would be quitting Dancing With the Stars because of those pesky stress fractures he’d acquired from his rockin’ moves. All day I…
Dancing With the Stars: Bidding Dazzle (and Debi) Adieu
News broke yesterday afternoon that the unthinkable had happened: Tom “Dazzle Me Dreamy” DeLay — former House Majority Leader, money launderer, and friend to the working man — would be quitting Dancing With the Stars because of those pesky stress fractures he’d acquired from his rockin’ moves. All day I…
Stirred and Shaken: Lone Star Saloon’s Green Demon
It was dangerously close to Tuesday morning, it was raining and I was combing the gutter outside Lone Star Saloon (1900 Travis, 713-757-1616) for a receipt I shouldn’t have thrown away. Bartender Kari was helping me look because a) she’s gracious, b) it was the merchant copy, which she needed…
I Wanna Be Your Dog (Or Cat): Fat Dogs, Happy Dogs, All-Knowing Cats
“I’ve seen things you people wouldn’t believe,” Rutger Hauer says at the end of Blade Runner, a film which Hair Balls has never actually seen in its entirety, because we’ve fallen asleep during every attempt. But in looking through this week’s batch of amazingly adoptable animals at the Bureau of…
Just When You Thought All the ACL Aftermath Was Over…
You could roam, as the B-52s put it during their early afternoon set Sunday on the AMD Stage. But as Mudstock 2009 came to a close (let the debate about the later-in-the-year dates begin) most members of the muddy-stocking clan were losing their lightness of step. Happy faces were still…
Five Things We Learned From The Memorial High T-Shirt Fiasco
Yesterday we mentioned how the Memorial-Stratford high school football rivalry had gained national attention because of an obscene t-shirt that got shown on some women’s websites like Jezebel.The t-shirt showed two Mustangs (Memorial’s mascot) having sex with a Stratford cheerleader while high-fiving.Luckily, current and former students from both schools responded…
Kings of Leon Update: OK, Maybe Only By the Night Is a Pretty Decent Record
Rocks Off is back with one final update on our continuing quest to understand/appreciate/give a damn about Kings of Leon before the Tennessee family quartet – sort of like the Statler Brothers with more Penicillin prescriptions – takes the stage at Toyota Center tonight. Doors are at 7, and don’t…
BREAKING OMG Important!! Tom DeLay Out Of Dancing With The Stars
People magazine, which has become the place to go to find news about Tom DeLay (and that says a lot more about Tom DeLay than People) is reporting that The Hammer is out of Dancing With The Stars.Stress fractures have become too painful for the wussy Republican, who cried sissy…
Heeeeeeeeeeeeere’s Johnny!: Rocks Off Presents The Shining Tonight at the Mink
At tonight’s Mink Movie Night, Rocks Off presents what is arguably the greatest psychological horror film ever made, Stanley Kubrick’s The Shining. The film opens our month of Halloween-inflected movies, with the next two selections in the series being The Exorcist and the original Jamie Lee Curtis slasher vehicle Halloween…
Bellaire High’s Dennis Quaid, As He Hopes You Don’t Remember Him
Our sister blog Unfair Park has taken note of an upcoming film festival in Dallas featuring movies that were shot there.Among them: A 1978 epic called The Seniors, starring Dennis Quaid, the pride of Bellaire High and UH.Check out this clip, which is awesome in its `70s craptacularness: The hairstyles,…
Write for Eating Our Words
Are you a regular at those Houston “throw-downs” involving pork bellies and fried chickens? Do you go to Houston festivals and try one of everything from each booth? When a hot Houston restaurant has a special event, are you the first to sign up? Do you take pictures of every…
Tonight: Anderson Fair Vet Vince Bell at Brazos Books and Under the Volcano
Vince Bell’s Houston roots go way, way back. When Anderson Fair opened its doors in the early ’60s, Bell was one of the troubadours who not only played the joint, he also lived in the Montrose. If you can believe him, he ate so many of his meals at the…
Rocks Off Is Going to Become a Kings of Leon Fan Today If It Kills Us
Rocks Off has always been a little puzzled we’re not more of a Kings of Leon fan. It definitely puts us in the minority when it comes to our social circle, because everyone from cranky music critics and their musician sons to, well, pretty much every female friend or acquaintance…
Memorial High: Staying Classy As Ever With The Stratford Rivalry
Memorial High, the west-side bastion of education for suburbanites, is riling up the women at the website Jezebel.And with good reason.Someone sent the site a t-shirt apparently produced for their annual game with Stratford: It features two horses (Memorial’s teams are the Mustangs) having sex with a woman wearing a…
Hot Hopia Baboy
If you’ve been looking for a place to get hot, freshly baked Filipino pastries, your search has ended. Sammy’s Bakery at 11331 Bissonnet St. is turning out hot hopia baboy every day. Hopia baboy is a lard crust stuffed with a sweet bread crumb and lard filling. Hopia mongo is…
What?! You’re Telling Us This Guy Sexually Abused Corpses!?!
(Update: The charges have been dismissed} James Patton of Houston is headed to court next week, on charges that he had his way with dead female bodies.As DA spokeswoman Donna Hawkins told KHOU about pictures found on Patton’s computer: “I can tell you that the defendant’s male sexual organ was…
The Music of True Blood: Starting Over at the Beginning With… Little Big Town?
Alan Ball was known for his masterful use of music in Six Feet Under. He’s lost none of his touch when it comes to his current HBO series, True Blood – which happens to be set in the Louisiana swamps, not terribly far from Houston. With Season 2 just completed,…
Fotofest Crashes Into Social Media
Fotofest’s The Art of Social Media: A Conversation on Media Collision, taking place Wednesday night at 6 p.m., promises to be informative and entertaining on more than one level. Part of the title, Media Collision, sounds pretty entertaining by itself, conjuring up visions of MySpace, Facebook and Twitter crashing full-speed…
Chef Chat: Chuck Krauthamer
Chuck Krauthamer (“Craw’-tha-mer”) has returned to his hometown to become managing partner and cook at the Sabine River Café (10001 Westheimer), located in the Carillon Center shopping plaza in Westchase. With 36 years in the restaurant business, Krauthamer has placed his bets on an elegantly appointed dining room serving what…
Stimulus Money: How To Stop Homelessness In Houston Before It Happens
When Lorenzo Timmons was hurt and out of work last summer, and finally ran out of money to pay the rent, he had little choice but the unthinkable: to gather his wife, daughter and whatever he could carry and move his family into a homeless shelter. The Houston Press reported…
Ask a Rapper: Troublesum on Why There Are Always So Many People Standing Onstage
The hip-hop world is a less than sensible place – lots of times, you’re even required to clarify when bad means bad and when bad means good – so once a week we’re going to get with a rapper and ask them to explain things. Have something you always wanted…
While You Weren’t Tweeting: What, No More ACL?!
Whether you helped rip Zilker Park to shreds or you simply groaned inwardly (and rolled your eyes outwardly) every time someone gushed about Them Crooked Vultures, everyone’s got their own brand of ACL war story to propagate. But since we know that you suckers actually ruined your Ferragamos just to…
You Know It’s Bad When Losing To The Texans Isn’t As Bad As It Gets
So you’re Tom Cable and you’re the coach of the moribund 1-3 Oakland Raiders.You’ve just a lost a football game to the Houston Texans, the team which started the legend of Mark Sanchez. And not only did your team lose 29-6 to the Texans, but you were outcoached by Gary…
Overripe Mango Wrestling
Giant mangos are $11 for a box of six at the Airline Farmer’s Marketing Association. But you can pick up a box of overripe mangos for a mere five bucks. I took two boxes of the nasty-looking fruit home last weekend and showed my assistants how to cut them up…
Distant Early Warning: Cactus Music Second Anniversary, Delbert McClinton, the Marley Brothers, Mindy Smith, Queen Latifah, the Slackers, Vallejo, etc.
“Cactus Music 2nd Anniversary Party” With The Flamin’ Hellcats, DJ Joey McKeel: Fri., Oct. 30, 7 p.m. Cactus Music and Video. Arthur Yoria, Colin Lake: Wed., Oct. 28. Warehouse Live. Delbert McClinton: Sat., Dec. 26. Verizon Wireless Theater. Dir En Grey: Mon., Nov. 2. Warehouse Live. “ArrowFest 2009” With The…
Dancing With the Stars: Dazzle Me Steamy
“Tonight is Latin night, and things are about to get steamy,” Tom Bergeron intoned over the opening montage of last night’s Dancing With the Stars. Half of that statement is true. This is week three, when the contestants sack up and start showing some real fire, or in the case…
Dancing With the Stars: Dazzle Me Steamy
“Tonight is Latin night, and things are about to get steamy,” Tom Bergeron intoned over the opening montage of last night’s Dancing With the Stars. Half of that statement is true. This is week three, when the contestants sack up and start showing some real fire, or in the case…
Five Reasons Notre Dame Will Win The BCS This Year And Texas Won’t: Part 5
College football’s Top Ten this year has been a holy mess — some crummy teams have been ranked highly (Ole Miss, Cal), others haven’t (Miami, Iowa).UT has stayed steadily in the number-two spot, mostly by playing no one of any worth whatsoever. (Even UH beat Tech, and UH couldn’t even…
Where Are We Eating?
What delicacies is the woman behind the glass churning out? Whatever they are, two little girls are very eager to grab them up when they’re ready. Can you figure where they (and we) are eating this week? Leave your best guess in the comments section below…
Aftermath: Common and The Roots Crew’s Private Engagment at the Corinthian, With Special Guests (Cough, “Nite and Day”)
9:10 p.m.: We pull up to the front of The Corinthian and hand the car off to the valet. He says, “It’s $20 plus tip.” Oh, so it’s $20, then? Got it. Thanks. 9:20 p.m.: Common just walked in. He’s way more stout than we imagined him to be. His…
Pop Rocks: Zombies Vs. Vampires Is This Generation’s Beatles Vs. Stones
Zombieland topped the box office last weekend with $25 million, a respectable haul for a relatively low-budget horror-comedy whose biggest star (Woody Harrelson) hasn’t top-lined a movie in over ten years. By comparison, the first installment in the Twilight series opened a year ago to the tune of $69 million.It…
Get All Dressed Up
Michael Jackson. Trend spotters say his face will be everywhere you look this coming year, and why not? It certainly has a ghostly aspect, although one wonders how all the would-be Michaels will manage the nose. But if your idea of a good time doesn’t include wearing the face and…
Domestic Violence Cases Spike In Harris County
Harris County is seeing a big spike in domestic-violence cases this year, District Attorney Patricia Lykos’ office announced today. They also announced they’ve taken a variety of steps to handle it.Jane Waters, chief of the DA’s Family Criminal Law Division, reported that 4,900 family violence charges were filed as of…
Bayou Body Count: A Hatchet Man And A Cold Case
There is a hatchet-man killer hiding in Houston. The cops know who he is, but not where to find him.Police are hunting for Melchor Izquierdo, 29, charged with murder in the slaying of Estevan Tellez back on September 14. Tellez, 42, who worked at a foundation business at 5562 Gasmer,…
Radio Robb: Tune In Tonight and Tomorrow
Our very own Robb Walsh will be making a guest appearance on The Michael Berry Show tonight and tomorrow night at 7 p.m., discussing a range of topics so wide that it necessitated two evenings of air time. Michael Berry — who coincidentally just happened to win Best Local Radio Host in our…
ACL Aftermath, Part 2: Now That That “Dillo Dirt” Unpleasantness Is Out of the Way, How About Some Music?
More and more, Aftermath uses ACL more than SXSW to see which recent buzz bands are worth their salt, and of course to check on how some old favorites are doing. This year, tops on our new-to-us list were Blitzen Trapper, who managed to condense most of the late ’60s…
ACL Aftermath, Part 1: Spearhead’s “Electric Mudslide” and the Whole “Dillo Dirt” Situation
Night fell on the Austin City Limits Music Festival at Zilker Park this past Sunday under a full moon and over a sea of mud. (It wasn’t strictly mud, but more on that in a bit.) Many in the crowd, especially those in the proximity of the Dell stage, responded…
Pay No Attention To Those Military Jets Screeching Overhead Tomorrow
If you happen to look up the skies tomorrow and see high-powered military jets wildly maneuvering to intercept and possibly shoot down a potential terror threat, don’t panic.We’re not saying you would panic — you’re probably a level-headed person who would assume it was some type of exercise. Then again,…
Turning The Screw: Z-Ro, Cham, Plies, 50 Cent, The Kanye, Lady Gaga, Jay-Z, DJ Mr. Magic, Fabolous, T-Pain, The Undergods 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: “Haterz Got Me Wrong,” Z-Ro feat. Gucci Mane and C-Ward [This is another leaked single from the phantom Z-Ro…
Late Night Scene: Coffee Groundz
For such a small space, the Coffee Groundz has a United Nations-like ability to bring together a crowd of people who normally operate in different layers of the social stratosphere. The front of the bar is sparsely populated by midnight, with a few solo guys working on the laptops and…
ACL 2009: This Is Why We Can’t Have Nice Things
From the Austin American-Statesman comes word that Zilker Park, which hosted the three-day Austin City Limits Music Festival this weekend, will have to remain closed until the end of the month. Why? Because ACL more or less destroyed the park. For the next 25 or so days, the City of…
Dynamo Tie, But Clinch A Playoff Spot
The Houston Dynamo joined the Columbus Crew and Los Angeles Galaxy as the only clubs to clinch a spot in the 2009 MLS Playoffs. They secured their spot on Sunday with a 1-1 tie against the Kansas City Wizards.However, the result now puts the Dynamo in second place in the…
ACL 2009 Day Three: Girl Talk
Of all the bands at ACL this year, Ghostland Observatory and Girl Talk competed heavily against one another for the most visually compelling acts. But because we can see lasers down at the Pink Floyd show at the planetarium just about any old time, our vote goes to Girl Talk. Complete with…
The Daily Beast: Houston — You Are “Mildly Retarded”
The Daily Beast has ranked the IQ of each of America’s 55 metro areas with populations over a million. Here is how they arrived at the concept of a municipal IQ.They measured how many residents had bachelor’s and graduate degrees, nonfiction book sales, the ration of institutions of higher education,…
Goodbye Gourmet
Gourmet, a magazine of “almost biblical status” in the food world, went under this morning after 68 years in print. My editor there, Jane Daniels Lear, brought the magazine most of its Southern writers. I met her at a Southern Foodways Alliance symposium in Oxford, Mississippi. She encouraged me to…
ACL 2009 Day Three: Spin the Black Circle
It only took one song in to Pearl Jam’s Sunday night closing set at the Austin City Limits music festival for it to dawn on Rocks Off that for way too long this band has been forsaken by back-handed hipster discount and radio-influenced apathy. No band from the grunge-era is…
The Richmont Square Apartment Complex Is Harshing The Menil’s Mellow
The Richmont Square apartment complex, where lots of college kids got their first taste of dorm-free living, don’t appear to be long for the world.Ever since the Menil Museum started talk of expanding their footprint in Montrose, people have been speculating that the dowdy — but serviceable and certainly conveniently…
90-Year-Old Cupcakes
Hostess Cupcakes celebrates its 90th anniversary this year. But you wouldn’t recognize the original chocolate cupcake that came out in 1919 — the signature seven squiggles and cream filling weren’t added until 1950. Americans currently consume more than 600 million Hostess CupCakes every year, making it the world’s largest-selling cupcake…
Aftermath: John Legend (Pre-ACL) at Verizon Wireless Theater – Hey, Better Late Than Never
[Ed. Note: We temporarily interrupt our postmortem ACL coverage to bring you this review of John Legend’s show at Verizon Wireless Theater last Wednesday.] 9:03 p.m.: So we’re here at Verizon Wireless Theater for the show. Going to a concert where you’re not allowed to stand and move around freely…
Friday Night Lights, Houston Style: Six-Man Football Isn’t Just For Tiny Towns
Since Hair Balls started covering high school football, we’ve been itching to check out a six-man game, because after all, the supposedly big-time games in recent weeks have been somewhat of a letdown. But on Friday night, we found a true football mecca: the Rosehill Christian School. Along a tree-lined,…
At Long Last, Texans Play According to Plan
For a franchise that has spent its entire existence searching for signs of turning a corner, the Texans on Sunday showed as many as they ever have. On the field, the Texans did what they never seem to do – win big in a game they’re supposed to, routing the…
Roasted Pig Snout
When the chefs at Feast, Richard Knight and James Silk, opened their nose-to-tail dining establishment on Westheimer in mid-2008, the response from many Houston diners was “What’s nose-to-tail?” The technique of using every part of the animal in dishes, often involving “offal” or entrails, has since been thoroughly documented by…
ACL 2009 Day Three: Pearl Jam With Special Guests Ben Harper and Perry Farrell
Pearl Jam closed out this year’s ACL with aplomb, the audience stretching nearly the entire length of Zilker Park to see Eddie Vedder and the seminal band while nostalgically recalling large portions of the 1990s as songs like “Daughter” and “Evenflow” washed over the crowd. Halfway through the concert, Vedder brought…
ACL 2009 Day Three: Live Shots
As we wait for the final day of ACL coverage to roll in, enjoy some of our favorite shots from the festival below…
ACL 2009 Day Three: Aftermath
So, what happens to freshly laid grass in a public park after a day full of rain and thousands of people walking back and forth across it at the same time? Well, as anyone who was present for Day Three of Austin City Limits Festival 2009 (ACL) could tell you,…
The Week in TV: “I’ll Have…A Birthday Cake!”
It was a pretty fun week in TV Land: Most of the fall programs are beginning to settle in, the CW continued its inexplicable existence, and David Letterman hit it with some employees. Insert your Worldwide Pants jokes here, and let’s get to it! • I won’t go into much…
Snackshot: The Great Pumpkin(s)
Today’s seasonal Snackshot comes to us courtesy of mockbird and a pumpkin patch: From the photographer’s description: “Pumpkins.” (She’s apparently a woman of few words.)…
ACL 2009 Day Three: Clutch Is Just That
Ain’t nothing like barn-burning metal and mud to begin your day, as Clutch began their blues metal assault at 2 p.m. just as most people were showing up to begin their dingy journey. Gotta love a man and his beard. It’s like a Lassie that doesn’t run away.More photos from…
Texas Traveler: Spaghetti Warehouse
Texas Traveler has never been much of a believer, nor have we ever been much for re-heated frozen fake Italian food. But after we heard that the Spaghetti Warehouse downtown was named one of the most haunted buildings in America, we decided to have a look for ourselves. See, Texas…
ACL 2009 Day Three: Heartless Bastards
Fresh off a gig in Houston on Thursday night, the Heartless Bastards won the hearts (see what we did there?) of the ACL crowd on the Dell Stage. More shots from the show below…..
Scientists Unsure Whether Huge Reading Indicates Giant Tsunami, Or Coogs Falling To Earth
In retrospect, what happened to the Houston Cougars on Saturday night in El Paso shouldn’t have been that much of a surprise.Yes, the team was coming off of a last-minute win against Texas Tech. And yes, UTEP was 1-3 and coming off a humiliating defeat to the Texas Longhorns.But the…
ACL 2009 Day Three: Arctic Monkeys Are All Growns Up
Just weeks after the release of their new Humbug, the Arctic Monkeys hit the AMD stage at mid-afternoon with a newly grungy sound reminiscent of Primal Scream and somehow, hairy period Kinks…
ACL 2009 Snapshot: Shocker!
Balloons and flags have been the method of choice for identifying your party at ACL. Some have been bland (“I’m underneath the rainbow flag!”) and some seasonal (“We’re under the giant Ghostbusters balloon!”). And then there was The Shocker.The addition of mud to the pinky finger was a subtle if…
ACL 2009 Snapshot: Whose Responsible This?
That’s…uh…a snazzy look you’ve got there, guy. What are those, Y-fronts? Did you dye those yourself? Because the pink really highlights your nipples.We’re afraid the dude behind you doesn’t quite agree with us, though. But who is he to judge? He’s wearing white after labor day. At least you’re safe…
ACL 2009: Best Tweets Of The Weekend
Armed with our sort-of handy cellphone we were able to Tweet from ground level at the festival, with sometimes hilarious and vulgar results. Mostly the latter, because we are foul people. Over time, our Twitter updates devolved into angry rants, as you will see below.@hprocksoff sez:Oh god they really did…
ACL Day Two: Deadheads Rejoice!
An unexpected guest showed up yesterday afternoon at the Austin Ventures Stage with Austin-by-way-of-Louisiana slide guitar hotshot Papa Mali. The Grateful Dead’s Bill Kreutzman was backing up the dreadlocked Mali on drums…
ACL 2009 Day Three: Life Inside the Media Tent
Media “tent” is misleading, actually. Part of the Rocks Off team has spent the better part of the three days of ACL inside the media area, attempting to identify smaller, more unknown bands as they traipse through like Roma, wrapping our laptops inside garbage bags to guard them from the…
ACL 2009 Day Three: Everybody Knows What Black Joe Lewis’ Name Is Now
It was almost like being back in Houston: Sunday was sticky and steamy as Rocks Off arrived at Zilker Park around noon, and the only way we knew we could make it through was with a stiff straight shot of Southern soul. Luckily, Black Joe Lewis & the Honeybears were…
ACL 2009 Day Three: In Which We Fall In Lurve With White Dress
White Dress opened for the Heartless Bastards on Thursday night in Houston, while we were at Them Crooked Vultures in Austin. We finally got to catch them just a few minutes back and sweet mama was it nice. The Austin-based band, led by the raven-haired Arum Rae, kicked the mud…
ACL 2009 Day Two: When Life Gives You Rain, Make a Slip ‘n’ Slide
Of the many Twitter updates coming in from ACL over the weekend, this one in particular caught our eye: @keepaustinwierd: ~Trash Bag $2 ~Poncho $5 ~ACL 3 day pass $180 ~ Ridin’ a Slip n’ Slide made of trash bags at ACL ~ PRICELESS! The update came with the following…
ACL 2009 Snapshot: Thanks, But No Thanks
Yeah, we appreciate the offer – especially the tasteful way you’ve written it on a giant cardboard penis – but we think we’ll tastefully decline today. Good luck at the festival though, dude…
ACL 2009 Day Three: Mud!
At this point Rocks Off is so jaded from mud, rain, bro-dudes, and janky taxi-cab politics that Eddie Vedder himself could be standing before us and we wouldn’t know him from Adam Lambert. As Willem Dafoe said in Platoon “The worm has turned for you, my friend.”Yesterday was a barrage…
ACL 2009 Day Two: Ghostland Observatory
One word: LASERS. Enjoy the spectacle below…
ACL Day Three: Hey, Dude. Maybe Think About Putting Your Shirt Back On
We’re just saying. The shirtless look really isn’t for everyone. And while you’re at it, broseph, tell you girlfriend to pull up her board shorts so we don’t all have to look at her asscrack while we’re trying to jam to Black Joe Lewis. Thanks. This goes for the rest…
ACL 2009 Day Two: The Decemberists, Dapper and a Little Dangerous
If there’s one band Rocks Off didn’t envy during Saturday’s ACL downpour – seriously, Zilker Park smells like a stable today, moreso because the staff just finished seeding the mud-splattered grounds with hay – it was the Decemberists. The Portland collective closed out Saturday on the Dell stage clad in…
ACL 2009 Day Two: Levon Helm, Muted but Masterful
Levon Helm’s doctor must have the patience of a saint. The former Band drummer underwent surgery to remove polyps in his throat barely a week ago, but instead of canceling Saturday’s ACL appearance, he ceded vocal duties to several members of his plus-size band, including leader Larry Campbell, keyboardist Brian…
ACL 2009 Day Two: Aftermath
Was it something we said or did? Aftermath openly gushed about how great the weather was on Friday and how it seemed that maybe, just maybe, we were going to finally attend an Austin City Limits (ACL) that didn’t consist of heat and dust. Well, it seems that the powers-the-be…
ACL 2009 Day Two: I Am Mulletron!
Look twice, that’s actually a fake mullet. Homeboy has a patent on this item, which is actually a sweatband with hair woven into it. With his head-to-toe camo gear we just figured he was another red-blooded Son Of The Nuge with a characteristically questionable style. One more photo of the…
ACL 2009 Day Two: Who’ll Stop the Rain?
That was the question on Saturday, when downpours tested the drainage properties of the newly laid Zilker Park sod to test. Curiously, with the air still warm, the crowd seemed to take the growing swamp in stride, but you have to guess that with all the muddy-buddy action (Woodstock 40,…
ACL 2009 Snapshot: Better Than Nothing, We Suppose…
This is all the female companionship some people at ACL are going to get, but at least this guy’s friends won’t have any trouble finding him. If he has any, that is…
ACL 2009 Day Two: Live Shots
The second day of the festival was so busy (and so rainy) that we barely had time to get back to our laptops and card readers to upload photos. So – one day late – enjoy our favorite shots from Day Two of ACL, featuring Bon Iver, Citizen Cope, Grizzly…
ACL 2009 Snapshot: Best. T-Shirt. Ever.
We could not agree more…
Live From ACL: Buckets of Rain, and a Bright Spot or Two
The streak is over. In eight years, Austin City Limits has seen plenty of days of unbearable heat, but hardly any rain. The most significant time was during Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers’ headlining 2006 set, but even that was more of a lighting show than an actual shower.All that…
ACL 2009 Day Two: !!! & Neon Indian Before The Rain
Denton-area band Neon Indian came in at the last minute to cover for the absent Danish garage-gloomers The Raveonettes. We really dug these kids, which includes members of Ghosthustler and and VEGA. They only played for about forty minutes but it only took the first half for us to draw…
ACL 2009 Snapshot: “I’m Wearing A Goofy Hat”
“So, if you see me at the show I’m wearing a Goofy hat. Nah, not a funny hat. A Goofy hat. The dog dude from the Mickey Mouse movies. Remember that movie we watched in driver’s education? That guy. I’m wearing his head on my head. Yeah. That Goofy.”…
ACL 2009 Day Two: Flogging Molly Brings a Little Bit of Ireland to Austin
Okay, so between the Guinness and the pissing-down rain, Flogging Molly actually brought a lot of Ireland to Austin today. Lead singer Dave King wasn’t phased by the weather, proclaiming that it was just like being at home. The band then proceeded to put on a belter of a show,…
ACL 2009 Day Two: Phoenix, Robyn Hitchcock and Them Crooked Vultures
The quality of the grass at ACL on Charles Attal’s apparent birthday blow out (if projections for “Feliz Cumpleanos” were to be believed) was nothing to sniff at. The great lawn of Zilker Park was emerald and ready to absorb the dance steps of a sold-out crowd with happy feet…
ACL 2009 Day Two: Braving the Rain to See !!!
California dance band !!! must have found conditions at Emo’s last night slightly more favorable than today’s rainy conditions, but neither the rain nor the lack of climbable surfaces stopped them or the fans from enjoying the day. More photos of the fun are below the cut…
ACL 2009 Day One: Them Crooked Vultures. Duh.
Rocks Off saw Them Crooked Vultures a little less than twenty-four hours after their pulverizing set at Stubb’s on Thursday night. It was the same setlist, just harder and Grohlier. Meaning that Dave Grohl was seemingly taking out his demons on his drum set. John Paul Jones pulled out some…
ACL 2009 Snapshot: “It Was Flavored Tobacco, Mom”
“Look, Mom. You and Roger always said ‘no pills and no powders’ so what’s the big deal? You don’t think I smelled the backyard after that barbecue? The one where all of Roger’s geeky college buddies showed up and listened to Temple Of The Dog all night on repeat and…
ACL 2009: The Green Scene
The freshly-planted grass isn’t the only thing that’s green in Zilker Park this year. Since we’re in super hippie fun land Austin, after all, it only makes sense that there’s a huge emphasis on the environment at the festival. From a display on raising chickens at home to a giant…
ACL 2009 Day One: The Yeah Yeah Yeahs Freak Us All Out
Between the giant all-seeing eye, the fountain-like water spitting (although it’s a step up from the more traditional beer-spitting) and the costume changes that included a face mask eerily reminiscent of the Jigsaw mask from the Saw movies, the Yeah Yeah Yeahs put on one hell of a show last…
ACL 2009 Day One: John Legend Sexes Up the Crowd
Opening with Bob Marley’s gorgeous “Redemption Song” from a raised podium in the middle of the crowd, John Legend immediately captured everyone’s attention yesterday before launching into a set of smooth, slightly 70s, superbly sexy songs that had his adoring female fans hanging on every note.See more of our favorite…
ACL 2009 Day One: Kings Of Leon Rage Against The Fame
Funny thing happened last night. It was the same thing that happened to U2 in 1987 in the wake of The Joshua Tree, and the same thing that killed Kurt Cobain in 1994. Fame has finally overtaken Kings Of Leon, leaving their core boots ‘n flannel crowd in the proverbial…
ACL 2009 Day One: Video Killed the Radio Star
Although audio-visual equipment isn’t technically allowed inside the festival, that doesn’t prevent kids armed with iPhones and Flip cams from capturing their favorite shows from the crowd. Below are some of our favorite crowd-captured videos from ACL so far. The Yeah Yeah Yeahs…
ACL 2009 Updates From the Field: Yes, It’s Raining
The weatherman was (unfortunately) right this time: it’s not yet noon and it’s already raining at ACL. The forecast for tonight shows the chance of rain at a rather intimidating 100 percent. But that isn’t stopping the Dexateens from rocking out on the BMI Stage right now and it shouldn’t…
ACL 2009 Updates From the Field: The Raveonettes Cancel Apperance
We’ve just received notice this morning that Danish pop-rock duo The Raveonettes couldn’t get out of Copenhagen and had to cancel their appearance, and we mean they literally couldn’t get out. The American Embassy in Copenhagen is apparently swamped this week and was unable to help the band get the…
ACL 2009 Day One: Karen O Doesn’t Swallow, She Spits
The Yeah Yeah Yeahs threw one hell of a party last night on the AMD Stage at ACL. Karen O came out dressed in what looked like a giant hipster Snuggie, her head and face mostly obscured by its fabric, while the stage itself housed an enormous eyeball and at…
ACL 2009 Day One: Coheed & Cambria Prog Out With Their Fro’s Out
Mid-afternoon on Friday, prog-metallers Coheed & Cambria hit the stage for an hour of guitar histrionics and lead singer Claudio Sanchez’s trademark Geddy Lee-style banshee’s wail. With a signature sound that usuals coats the walls of any indoor venue the band plays, C&C’s clamor was lost somewhere out in the…
ACL 2009 Day One: In Which Rocks Off’s Black Heart Is Melted And We Meet Vinnie Testaverde
With another ACL comes another chance for us to sharpen our snarkening knifes and go out hunting the wilds of Zilker Park searching for only the best in surreal public displays and the fancifully misguided and miscalculated public faux-pas. On with the show! These two chill-ass dudes made us wish…
ACL 2009 Day One: Eddie Vedder Bangs Along With Kings Of Leon
Rocks Off was making the death march out to his hotel and missed this piece of ACL history. This is Kings Of Leon being augmented by Pearl Jam frontman Eddie Vedder on “Slow Nights, So Long”. We should have a more detailed review of the boys’ set in the morning…
ACL 2009 Day One: Aftermath
Before we start discussing the great music we heard yesterday, we would like to take time to thank the Gods Of Rock for blessing Day One of the Austin City Limits Festival (ACL) 2009 with an amazing afternoon and evening of weather. Anyone who has partaken of this three-day jaunt…
ACL 2009 Day One: Night Falls
Photo by Katharine ShilcuttGoodnight moon!The sun has nearly set over ACL, the fields of Zilker Park filled with the smell of fresh grass (of several kinds…), happy bodies and the oddly soothing sounds of a cacophonous mixture of Andrew Bird, Reckless Kelly and Them Crooked Vultures. (Although from where we…
ACL 2009 Day One: Live Shots
The artist lineup on day one of ACL was massive to say the least. And we caught as many of the bands as our fleet feet allowed as to. As we wait for the reviews to roll in, enjoy some of our favorite concert shots from the day so far…
ACL 2009 Day One: Festival Fashions
From the sublime to the ridiculous, there’s no shortage of unique outfits at ACL. Below are some of our favorite fashions (no bikinis included this time) from the field so far…
Guilty Pleas From The Sisters Who Dared To Defraud FEMA And Oprah
This summer we told you about two locals who had not only been accused of defrauding the federal government, but something far, far more powerful: Oprah Winfrey. Sisters Darlene McGruder Poole and Lashone McGruder Victor were charged in August with filing false information to FEMA in order to get rent…
ACL 2009 Day One: Devil Horns and Bikinis
Every festival should have a fashion trend of its own. And while we’ve seen plenty of tie-dye, dreds and even some Hulk Hands, nothing beats the timeless duo of devil horns and bikinis (whether or not the girl should really be wearing one…). Enjoy some of our festival photos below…
We’re Not That ACORN, Dammit
They say that any publicity is good publicity, so since KTRH-AM spends 15 hours a day talking about ACORN, it must be a good thing to have a business in Houston named Acorn International, right?Apparently not.Acorn International, which is a consulting firm, has posted a new message on its website:…
This Week in Deliciousness
Welcome back to the weekly roundup here at Eating Our Words, where today we’re bitterly sniffling at the fact that everyone else from the office is at the Austin City Limits festival. It’s cool! There’s lots of fun stuff to do in Houston, too, you know! Bastards. We hope you’ve…
Live from ACL: Blitzen Trapper, Hopelessly (and Happily) Stuck In the ’70s
ACL was barely three hours old, and we already have a winner in the “New(ish) Band That Totally Sounds Like 1972” contest. It’s our new Portland friends Blitzen Trapper, whose heavy folk-rock harmonies, atmospheric Led Zep slow blues (we half expected John Paul Jones to join them, but apparently he…
ACL 2009 Day One: Hi, Diet Coke. How Are You?
Here’s Daniel Johnston pouring himself a glass of non-demon tainted Diet Coke. Which is weird because we always thought he was down with the Dew, as in Mountain. Not the band Mountain of “Mississippi Queen” fame. The gross-ass faux energy drink, the one that hillbillies but in their babies bottles…
Last Call For Art: “No Zoning,” Oliver!, Il Tabarro And Pagliacci
Opera in the Heights is presenting its final performance of Il Tabarro and Pagliacci this Saturday. The shows, by Giacomo Puccini and Giuseppe Adami respectively, premiered in the 1890s but still have a heck of a punch. Houston Press arts writer D. L. Groover said of the shows, “Puccini and…
Live From ACL: The Gospel Silvertones – Our Soul Is Saved; We Can Pretty Much Go Home Now
Usually Rocks Off waits until Sunday to check out the ACL gospel tent, because we’re tired, our soul is weary, etc. But we found ourselves just wandering around the grounds shortly after we got set up in the media tent, and there wasn’t anything else to do, so we figured…
A Chat with John Stanley of Hans’ Bier Haus
“I don’t really work here anymore,” says John Stanley at Hans’ Bier Haus as he pours me a beer. “I’m hopefully just picking up tonight. This is only the second time I’ve set foot in here in about a month, as a bartender, at least. I worked here about a…
ACL 2009 Day One: TwitPic Games
If you aren’t following us on Twitter at @HoustonPress or @hprocksoff, you’re not only missing breaking ACL coverage, you’re also missing fun and games – whether you’re at the festival or not. From the relative comfort of the media tent, we’re taking surreptitious and slightly creepy photos of the bands…
Random Notes from ACL: The Grass Is Always Greener…
The grass is especially sweet at this year’s ACL festival. The new turf at Zilker Park is nice too.Now we are in the media tent, surrounded by friends and family: Rocks Off’s Austin Chronicle mentor (and Lucinda Williams wedding date) Margaret Moser is here, Trail of Dead and Jonathan Tyler…
The Aggies Know Great Architecture When They See It, Especially If It’s Done By An Aggie
Texas A&M University created an architectural award this year, the Spirit of Place medal, “envisioned as becoming one of the world’s premier built-environment awards,” according to a press release from the school.The university wants its new award to be “viewed in the same light” as the Stirling Prize, awarded by…
ACL 2009 Day One: The Knux Rock Our Sox
Waking us up out of our Sixth Street-induced coma were The Knux from Los Angeles, by way of Nawlins on the Xbox 360 stage. The hip-hop trio were decked out in leather and spat out grimy Wu-Tang style rhymes with intermittent old-school Cure riffs thrown in for sick measure. Our…
ACL 2009 Day One: John Paul Jones Sitting In With Sara Watkins
Here is former Led Zeppelin bassist and current Them Crooked Vultures member John Paul Jones sitting in with Sara Watkins on the Austin Ventures stage. With his masterful set last night with TCV at Stubb’s, is Mr. Jones making a comeback of sorts? If you played on “Kashmir” you can…
The Last Of The Mayoral-Ad Premieres: A Review
Finally, Gene Locke has got a TV ad. The last of the three major candidates to hit the air in these tough-to-raise-cash times, he will be up soon with this 30-second piece of art. (Although, as with the other candidates, there’s no telling just how often he’ll buy time to…
Sell-By Date, Schmell-By Date: Where to Find the Cheapest Groceries in Town
Eating Our Words recently became acquainted with and enamored with Capital Sales, a “scratch-and-dent” grocery store on the corner of Almeda and Binz. The sign out front declares discounts to 30 to 60 percent on a wide variety of goods, and once inside, you discover it’s no lie. We love…
Anneliese van der Pol In Meet Me in St. Louis And The Runaway House
Anneliese van der Pol was a big star on You’re So Raven. If, unlike my teenage daughter but like me, you never watched that particular Disney Channel TV sitcom, the news is something of a so-what. Stage musicals and plays love to bring in names from TV or the movies…
Facebook Poll Says Killing Obama Isn’t Okay
Cyber stalkers, prolific e-haters, overzealous blog followers, Facebook poll developers and authors. Fine, fine company indeed, wouldn’t you agree? But more notably, what do they all have in common? They’re all enough to put a seriously debilitating quiver in your nether regions, and no, not the kind following a night…
Songs By ACL Artists That Should Be Covered By Other ACL Artists
Isn’t it fun to imagine all your favorite bands are best friends? And that when they spend time together, as so many of them are doing right this second at the Austin City Limits festival, they would inevitably learn each others’ songs? Here are some songs by ACL bands which…
Sourdough Pizza in a Bread Machine
Here’s another way to use up that sourdough you have to get rid of every day if you have a culture going. Thanks to reader LW, who suggested Betty Sue as the name of my new sourdough. Betty Sue is looking real good lately. Especially in this bread machine pizza…
Get Tickets For Paranormal Activity, This Decade’s Blair Witch Project (Hopefully Not In Terms Of Career-Killing)
Paranormal Activity is this century’s Blair Witch Project — a horror movie whose budget couldn’t even afford shoestrings, a horror movie with no stars to speak of, but one that is winning great reviews.Why is this important to you? Because you can see it before it becomes a cult hit…
Friday Night Noise: Murex and Noveller
Murex “Eventual Railways”: Houston’s Murex has some sorta connection to the larger In The Land of Archers axis. If we can take “Eventual Railways” as a guide, though, Murex – man, woman, vegetable, some combination, we dunno – prefers a waaaay less ninth-circle-of-Hades approach. Have you ever seen one of…
Lonesome Onry and Mean: Sideman Supreme Rick Shea Hits the Mucky Duck
Rick Shea is one of the most in-demand sidemen in the Los Angeles area. Seven years on the road with Dave Alvin certainly boosted Shea’s profile outside the L.A./SoCal scene, but the Alvin gig is only one of many. Shea cut his teeth in the truck stops and roadhouses in…
It’s Hockey Season? Apparently So, And Here’s Your Preview
As hard as it might be to believe, hockey season starts tonight. And for the Houston Aeros, this season starts in the same place that last season’s ended. In Winnipeg, Manitoba.The 2009-10 Aeros are going to be a rather different looking team than what you saw on the ice last…
Ruggles’ Triple Delight Jumbo Cookies
The decorate-a-cookie-for-free option available to little kids at Ruggles Bakery has always made us jealous. Luckily, now we can make our own. These chewy, toffee, chocolate, coconut cookies are one of the special Dessert of the Day selections that come around from time to time. They’re big enough to share…
They Keep Doing It Right At The Office
“The Promotion” was one of the meatiest eps of The Office in a long while, and it’s a testament to the strength of the writers and actors that they can keep the story feeling fresh in its sixth year. The cold open was great, too, since it introduced the day-to-day…
FlashForward, If You Must
FlashForward is basically Lost for people with learning impairments. The show’s still got a great premise and some fun execution, but sweet fancy Moses do they go out of their way to make sure you don’t go five minutes without a brain-crushing reminder that this one guy was totally in…
Aftermath: Grupo Fantasma at Discovery Green
Grupo Fantasma found their way back to Houston last night to “rock the green” for the third installation of the Capital One Bank Thursday concert series at Discovery Green. Billed as “hip-shaking, horn-blaring, Grammy-nominated Latin funk at its best,” Grupo didn’t fail to live up to their reputation. Even the…
Aftermath: Them Crooked Vultures at Stubb’s in Austin
Just a few short hours ago Aftermath saw the rock world’s newest supergroup in action as Queens of The Stone Age’s Josh Homme, ex-Nirvana drummer/current Foo Fighters helmer Dave Grohl, and Led Zeppelin bassist John Paul Jones took the stage at Stubb’s in Austin for a warm-up gig before this…
The Buc-ee’s Backlash Begins (Finally)
The Heavens parted and we heard Angels singing…And on the eighth day, God created Buc-ees. And He saw that it was good.– Testimonial on the blog at Buc-ee’s official Web site. For what is, in the end, merely a chain of roadside truck stops that don’t even allow trucks to…
Five Spot: Whatever Happened to Z-Ro’s New Album? Well, We’ll Tell You…
Welcome back to The Five Spot. Every Friday, we’ll examine a recent bit of music news and list five reasons why it’s either brilliant or dumb-assed. Send tips to introducingliston@gmail.com. Okay, let’s get you all caught up. Back at the end of the summer, word spread that Z-Ro had been…
Milo Hamilton, Not Quite R.-ing I. P.
Those of you who are still bothering with following the Astros, and who are still bothering to follow the Houston Chronicle’s Jose de Jesus Ortiz’s reporting on the Astros, were probably shocked the other day to read Ortiz’s announcement that Astros broadcaster Milo Hamilton was suffering from cancer.Shocked because Hamilton’s…
Look Who’s Getting Back Into The Journalism Business
The Texas Tribune, the new non-profit journalism operation headed by former Texas Monthly editor Evan Smith, had some big news yesterday: They’d received a $500,000 donation from the Houston Endowment.The gift will go a long ways toward — Say what now? The Houston Endowment is getting back in the journalism…
The Feds Stage A Blitz On Illegal Gun Sales In Houston, And Rack Up Numbers
For most of the spring and summer, a souped-up squad of 100 ATF agents was running all over Houston and South Texas doing everything possible to slow the raging river of guns illegally flowing into Mexico.Agents followed up old leads, tracked down new ones, made scores of arrests, confiscated hundreds…
Some Good News Comes Out Of BARC
Some awesome news coming out of the Bureau of Animal Regulation and Care today: The City has secured $3.3 million to vastly improve the dilapidated buildings that process more than 20,000 animals each year. But that’s not all — BARC’s also planning the construction of a new facility, complete with…
ACL Fest Preview: Five Outdoor Music Festivals That Could Have Gone a Lot Better
The 2009 Austin City Limits Festival kicks off Friday, and many of you are no doubt devising parking strategies and grappling with various permutations of ‘How will I make it from the [a] set at [b] stage in time to catch [x]’s set at the [y] stage?’ It’s a serious…
Newest Family-Violence Stats Are As Grim As Ever For The Houston Area
The numbers are out on family violence in Texas and they aren’t good.According to the Texas Council on Family Violence’s 2008 report, released today, 136 women were killed in the state by an intimate partner last year. The youngest was 14 (she was killed by her 15-year-old boyfriend) and the…
Top 5 Cocktails Guys Can’t Order In Public
You’re a man. You like beer. In fact, hurray, beer! But just because you are a virile male doesn’t mean that you can’t glance over at the girl holding a beverage with a delightful fruit skewer and think, “Gee, that looks fun and refreshing, I’ll order that next!” Right? Wrong!…
Houston Woman A Star (Unfortunately) In The New Michael Moore Movie
Michael Moore’s new movie, Capitalism: A Love Story, expectedly serves up a quick and dirty glimpse at the consequences of unfettered corporate corruption and exploitation. But the most disturbing story of corporate greed in the film, unfortunately, comes right from our own backyard.Houston widow Irma Johnson makes her silver-screen debut…
“It’s Hard to Kiss the Lips at Night That Chew Your Ass Out All Day Long” and Other Funny Country Titles We Found
Rocks Off has been a fan of Robert Earl Keen since we heard 1994’s Gringo Honeymoon, and we’ve really been a fan since we heard his previous album, A Bigger Piece of Sky, shortly thereafter. We got Keen’s latest album, The Rose Hotel (Lost Highway), in the mail this week,…
Now The Teabaggers Are Coming For The TV Stations
We told you earlier this week that yet another Tea Party event was coming our way. Now we learn that the teabaggers will be taking steps to make sure they get the coverage they (think they) deserve.There are plans to picket the Houston affiliates of ABC, CBS and NBC (Fox?…
Breakfast in BissBeechistan
My friend Jay Francis refers to the neighborhood west of Beltway 8 between Bissonnet and Beechnut as BissBeechistan because of the excellent Pakistani restaurants found in the area. La Sani is the most famous of the bunch. But Francis is extremely fond of King’s Chicken on Beechnut for the fried…
Halloween Countdown Part 1: The Seven Most Cliched Costumes
Halloween is coming, and that means many, many costuming mistakes will be made by normally sane adults. To help stop this scourge, each Thursday we will be offering tips and analysis of what to avoid, or possibly what to do. It seems that every year Halloween becomes less and less…
Lonesome Onry and Mean: R.I.P. Amy Farris
Fiddler Amy Farris, an Austin native who played most recently with Dave Alvin’s Guilty Women band, died last weekend in Los Angeles. Information is still sketchy at this point, but a press release from Yep Roc Records Wednesday stated that Farris had passed away Sept. 26 “after battling a long…
Lone Star Scorecard: Texans Never Cry, Except the Ones on the Football Field
You know the drill by now: each week we sift through the literally thousands of songs about Texas (if not necessarily by Texans) and – through weeks of rigorous analysis using supercomputers owned by the five richest kings of Europe – determine how accurately they represent our great state. The…
Suggestions for the Bill White Oral History Project
Four former Houston mayors, an ex-U.S. Secretary of State, a racecar driver, and even Houston’s most well-known homosexual are all included in the Mayor Bill White Collection, part of the Houston Oral History Project. But project head Marie Wise says it’s Frances “Poppy,” Northcutt, a scientist who worked on NASA’s…
Chef Chat: Ryan Hildebrand
Houston native Ryan Hildebrand graduated from the Culinary Institute of America and apprenticed with Chez Nous in Humble. Hildebrand is now Executive Chef at both Bistro Provence (13616 Memorial Drive) and Bistro Don Camillo (6510 Del Monte), which feature cooking inspired by the Nicoise region, the borderland between France and…
Listology: Buxton’s Chris Wise Chooses His Funeral Playlist
Wilco, “Spiders (Kidsmoke)”: Like I do when I go to a bar with a digital jukebox, I play this to annoy. I love the song, at 10:46 [minutes] I just imagine my grandma being confused, and wondering what happened to her grandson that she presumed still jammed out to Roy…
Just Another Night At The Marijuana Factory
Marijuana: Always ready to live up to its cliche.Let’s take the following scenario, from Santa Fe. Dude chokes his wife, she calls the cops.She calls the cops, apparently forgetting that her home features a nicely organized pot-growing operation, complete with a notebook documenting production.The guy gets taken down to the…
Dynamo Come Up Short, Put Themselves In A CONCACAF Hole
The Houston Dynamo squared off against CF Pachuca of Mexico on last night, a game that had major significance for both teams. The home team fought bravely at Robertson Stadium but fell 1-0.With the victory, Pachuca (4-1-0) moved to first place in Group A of the CONCACAF Champions League with…
Cutout Bin: School-Hating German Teen Idol Heintje
Heintje Heintje (Ariola-Eurodisc, 1968) Dein Schönster Tag (Ariola-Eurodisc, 1970) You may have heard of Heino, Germany’s top pop singer of cheesy-listening “schlager” tunes. But unless you lived in the land of lederhosen at the time, you’ve probably never heard of Germany’s other major 1960s sensation… teen star of song and…
Don’t Forget: The Astros Still Suck, And Will Continue To Do So
I know that with the horror that is the Houston Texans, many of you have forgotten that the horror that is the Houston Astros is still playing games. Yep, they still have four more chances to lose this season.Several weeks ago, with the team limping toward the finish line, several…
Openings and Closings: September 2009
This month saw a flurry of activity as dozens of new restaurants welcomed customers and just as many shut their doors for good. Below is a (nearly) comprehensive list of all the restaurants that opened and closed for September. If we missed any, feel free to let us know in…
The H-Town Countdown, No. 17: South Park Mexican’s Never Change
Roughly 84,000 rap albums have been released in Houston since 1989. We’re counting down the 25 best of all time every Thursday. Got a problem with the list? Shove it. Just kidding. Friendship. Email it to sheaserrano@gmail.com. South Park Mexican Never Change (Universal, 2001) A few months ago we interviewed…
Glee, Episode Five: Rachel Encourages Self-Immolation
I’m choosing to view last night’s Glee — “The Rhodes Not Taken” — as the end of a rocky first chapter and the turning point into something a bit more streamlined and specific, like the pilot promised. (Damn right I mix metaphors.) The whole episode was kind of a wacky…
Yes, Toyota, It’s The Floor Mats That Cause Your Pruises To Accelerate Wildly
Yesterday Hair Balls wrote about a Toyota recall of 3.8 million vehicles, including all Priuses made since 2005, because the cars’ floor mats are being blamed for unintended acceleration after a crash killed four people last month, including the driver, an off-duty California highway patrolman. Not everyone, including loyal Prius…
Pumpkin Beer
Many thanks to Ted, who commented on my post about cooking with pumpkin. Ted wrote: “If you like cooking with pumpkin you should try drinking pumpkin. Pumpkin beers are some of my favorite seasonals and a true American style of beer.” Shortly after reading Ted’s advice, I ran across a…
What Happens When Music No Longer Defines Who You Are?
When did it happen? How did it happen? What happened? Let’s start with that last one. Unless you are one of an elite few or have a prodigious amount of time to crawl through music-blocking sites, iTunes, podcasts and blogs, at some point in your adult life you look up…
Pop Rocks: Present At The Creation (Of Crap)
The last twelve months have been a great year of “firsts” for yours truly: I saw my first midget wrestling match, broke my (left) leg for the first time, and — finally — saw the first episode of a TV show so bad I knew it wouldn’t survive its first…
“Texas Masters Series: Rachelle Thiewes”
Jewelry artist Rachelle Thiewes has said that her creations are “designed to engage and challenge the wearer, making them an active participant; an initiator of sounds and body rhythms.” Jewelry that challenges you? This might bring to mind too-tight chokers or ten-pound bangles. But for Thiewes, it translates to bright,…
Virsky Ukrainian National Dance
Seventy years ago, classical ballet master Pavlo Virsky took a group of traditional Ukrainian folk dancers, melded the two styles and created a professional dance company unlike anything ever seen in his country. Now the Virsky Ukrainian National Dance Company has performed all over the world. Eight-five members strong, the…
Lone Star College: “Día de los Muertos”
Get an early start on your Day of the Dead celebrations with the art exhibit “Día de los Muertos.” The show features works by Lisa Hernandez and Lizbeth Ortiz (the official artist of the 2008 Latin Grammys) in a variety of media, reflecting their avant-garde takes on the holiday, when…
The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari
Definitely one-of-a-kind, Robert Wiene’s 1919 The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari has always been listed near the top of filmdom’s finest. At its release, Caligari was so bizarre in its expressionism that it scared off all competition. (Not many filmmakers wanted to tackle the angled doorways, cockeyed rooftops and painted Cubist…
“The Chronicles of Narnia: The Exhibition”
Step into C.S. Lewis’s fantasy world at “The Chronicles of Narnia: The Exhibition.” The interactive displays transport visitors to the films’ famed settings. Visitors enter the exhibit through a wardrobe in an attic (just like in the movie), stepping out into a Narnian winter, complete with snowfall. There’s also the…
Kate Cambor: Gilded Youth: Three Lives in France’s Belle Epoque
Kate Cambor’s Gilded Youth: Three Lives in France’s Belle Epoque centers on a trio of young celebrities, more famous for who they’re related to than for anything they’ve done. The novel, based on history, chronicles the intertwined lives of Jean-Baptiste Charcot (his dad, Jean-Martin Charcot, was Sigmund Freud’s mentor), Léon…
Wineapalooza V
Of all the -palooza events out there, none taste better than today’s Corkscrew’s Wineapalooza V. The annual wine-tasting festival will feature more than 120 kinds of wine to sip on, lots of food and music. Only the first 400 people get in, and tickets go fast, so reservations are suggested…
Horse Head Theatre: Red Light Winter
When twentysomethings hit 30, things can spin all out of whack. Such is the case in Adam Rapp’s Red Light Winter, about a struggling playwright who can’t quite fulfill his youthful promise. Watching over him is his fabulously charming and often cruel ex-college roommate, an editor who’s made it big…
Target Free First Sunday: To the Moon and Beyond
When professional magician and theater producer/director Georges Méliès saw a moving picture demonstration in 1895, he was thoroughly enraptured and dedicated the rest of his life to the new art form. (One could make a convincing case that Méliès, invented stop-motion photography, the split screen, dissolves and fades.) One of…
First Thursdays at Dean’s: Miguel Alvarez
Give Miguel Alvarez a few minutes, and he’ll give you a feature-length film’s worth of feeling. The writer and director will screen two of his outstanding short films and a work in progress for today’s First Thursdays at Dean’s event. In Kid (12 minutes), the UT grad student tells the…
Asian Film Festival: The World
With one fifth of the world’s population, the People’s Republic of China literally has billions of stories to tell. Rice University’s Asian Film Festival investigates four of them. China’s latest film darling is Jia Zhangke, whose underground films The Platform and Unknown Pleasures drew international acclaim. He’s represented at the…
The 43rd Annual Original Greek Festival
Walk around Montrose this week, and you might feel distinct vibrations in the ground, or hear the vague hum of stringed instruments. Both are signs the massive 43rd Annual Original Greek Festival is underway. That pounding, of course, comes from hordes of dancers (kids in the afternoon, adults in the…
A Disaster Begins
Move over, Katrina. The greatest natural disaster in U.S. history was Galveston’s Great Storm of 1900. The hurricane roared onto Galveston Island during the night, and by daybreak, the then-largest city in Texas had been flattened. Officials estimated that between 6,000 and 8,000 people died in the storm. (There were…
8th Annual Books on the Bayou
Zora Neale Hurston’s Their Eyes Were Watching God is the featured title for the Houston Public Library’s 8th Annual Books on the Bayou. The acclaimed author is seen as a talented and influential writer today, but in 1960, she died in penniless obscurity – her grave was unmarked until Alice…
Meet Me in St. Louis
It’s 1904, the turn of the century in St. Louis and the biggest show in town is the World’s Fair — that is, unless you count the daily drama going on with the Smith family. Theatre Under the Stars’ debut production of Meet Me in St. Louis features Anneliese van…
Houston Museum of Natural Science: “Everyday Religion in China in the Third Century B.C.”
Until recently, we didn’t have it quite right when it came to understanding the religious practices of China in 200 B.C. But Dr. Donald Harper, a professor at the University of Chicago, is here to set the record straight during today’s installment of the Distinguished Lecture Series “Everyday Religion in…
Brazos Books: Rich Levy
Rich Levy, the executive director of local literary arts organization Inprint, explores his various real-life roles as husband, father, executive and artist in his debut poetry collection, Why Me? Poems. We see his arts executive side, ever worried about building audiences, in “Shrew Al Fresco,” in which he contrasts seeing…
You Gotta Stand Up: The Life and High Times of John Henry Faulk
The REEL Culture Film and Speaker Series continues with You Gotta Stand Up: The Life and High Times of John Henry Faulk, a reading and performance by Chris Drake. An author and history professor, Drake draws on his book of the same name to detail Texas-born Faulk’s incredible career as…
Winter Street Studios’ 5th Annual Artists Exhibition & Open Studios Reception
Talk to more than 50 artists, see their work and enjoy some music at today’s Winter Street Studios’ 5th Annual Artists Exhibition & Open Studios Reception. You’ll see work in a variety of mediums, from sculpture to photography, pottery to mixed media. (If you can’t make the reception, check out…
Alley Theatre: Our Town
Every high school drama club and community theater can claim a production of Thornton Wilder’s 1938 Pulitzer Prize-winning Our Town. That’s partly because of the enduring Puritanical power of Wilder’s poignant story about the workaday denizens of Grover’s Corners, New Hampshire. Without fancy sets or elaborate costumes, the deceptively simple…
Da Camera: The Romantic Spirit
Da Camera Artistic Director and pianist Sarah Rothenberg joins the Juilliard String Quartet for The Romantic Spirit, a program that includes works by Beethoven, Mendelssohn and Schumann. (This year is the 200th anniversary of the births of both Mendelssohn and Schumann.) This will be the first opportunity Houston audiences will…
“Paper & Ink”
The first annual exhibit of the new arts organization Print Matters, “Paper & Ink,” features the work of the group’s five founding members – Vivian Hordes, Ann Johnson, Cathie Kayser, Ruth Shouval and Andis Applewhite. Print Matters promotes nontraditional printmaking, so it’s no surprise that the show features lots of…
Bride of Frankenstein
Love can be a bitch – just ask the monster in Bride of Frankenstein. A sequel to the 1931 horror film Frankenstein, the 1935 Bride features Boris Karloff in all his creepiness as the monster and a very young Elsa Lanchester as the bride who rejects him (a fatal error…
Arctic Monkeys
UK overnight stars Arctic Monkeys’ first two albums, 2006’s Whatever People Say I Am, That’s What I’m Not and ’07’s Favourite Worst Nightmare, were as wired as a speed freak after a night mainlining caffeine and diet pills. Furthermore, although it’s normally a little difficult to imagine anything associated with…
Tody Castillo
After considerable buzz and a slew of nominations and awards for his 2005 self-titled release, Tody Castillo kind of dropped off of Houston’s collective radar. Thankfully, marriage and fatherhood didn’t stop the now Austin-based musician from writing new songs, which he’ll feature when he returns this weekend to celebrate the…
Eric Roberson
Eric Roberson loves all his fans. Well, all of them except for us, apparently. Not too long ago, he asked all his fans online to send him photos of them to include in the booklet for his just-released CD, Music Fan First. And sure enough, the booklet is padded with…
White Lies
When everybody and their blogger was talking about White Lies at this past SXSW, we were like, “Eh, we’ll go see ’em when they come back.” We figured a Walter’s, House of Blues or Warehouse Live date was on the not-too-distant horizon; we didn’t think the West London band would…
The Shredder Returns
MyDolls: First-wave Houston femme-punks jolt the monthly H.U.S.H. happy hour with Perseph One and Guitars. (Thursday, Rudyard’s) Titus Andronicus: Big-sounding Jersey indie boys anticipate Festivus with LP Airing of Grievances. (Thursday, Mango’s) Heartless Bastards: Heavy, but not heavy-handed, roots-rockers bring The Mountain to the Bronze Peacock. (Thursday, House of Blues)…
Capsule Art Reviews: BIG LECTRIC FAN TO KEEP ME COOL WHILE I SLEEP,” “Carlos Runcie-Tanaka: Fragmento,” “Second Seating”
“BIG LECTRIC FAN TO KEEP ME COOL WHILE I SLEEP” Wayne White’s installation at Rice Gallery is a stunning example of contemporary art with a heavy Southern accent. White, widely known for his incredible sets and puppets for Pee-wee’s Playhouse, is originally from Chattanooga, Tennessee. You can take the artist…
Thrilling Tharp
What the heck took so long? That’s the question that comes to mind after seeing Houston Ballet’s current repertory evening “Without Boundaries.” The three-ballet production ends with the company’s first Twyla Tharp work, In the Upper Room. This company rocks Tharp. The dancers look born to her movement, and they…
Who Was Roland Carnaby?
Who Was Roland Carnaby? Justified shooting: Your “Spy Story” [by Chris Vogel, September 17] puzzled me. On the cover, you assert that Roland Carnaby wasn’t supposed to meet his death on a Houston highway. Why not? This was clearly an irrational, dangerous individual who put the public in harm’s way…
Alamo Heights
The West Side of San Antonio is where rock and roll met Mexican music courtesy of the Sir Douglas Quintet, whose legacy lives on today in another Alamo City band, the Krayolas. Houston-born brothers Hector and David Saldana formed the Krayolas in the mid-’70s, and the group’s blend of catchy…
SPECIAL, ANNUAL CANADIAN EDITION
Dear Mexican, As a Mexican-American, I’ve lived in St. Louis for about 17 years and have seen a substantial influx of my brethren. Nevertheless, I’m for border security — against the no-good, godless Canadians. I hate Canadians! Funny accents and cold weather — ha! Why is America not closing the…
Magna Charter
She put on the belt, the black one with her initial on the buckle. She made gang signs. “I just did like symbols with my hands.” She talked back to teachers, didn’t work in class and hated math with a passion. Her cousin, who’d been in a gang, was in…
Capsule Stage Reviews: Southern Rapture, Night of the Giant, Oliver!, Seven Guitars
Angels in America In 1996, a regional theater in Charlotte, North Carolina produced Tony Kushner’s Pulitzer Prize-winning drama Angels in America. Little did they know that the relatively small-town production and the national trouble it caused would become the inspiration for yet another play, Eric Coble’s Southern Rapture, a satire…
Lingering Over the Linguine
It was a cool evening, one of the first of the season, so we were eager to sit outside on the patio at Giacomo’s (pronounced JOCK-a-mo’s), the new Italian cafe on Westheimer. It drizzled now and then, but the big umbrella over our table kept us dry as we drank…
Half-Truth
The Invention of Lying’s plot hook sounds like a pileup of Jim Carrey-Tom Shadyac concept comedies. The assumption is that there isn’t much crossover between the Liar Liar and Ricky Gervais fanbases. Gervais’s fuzzy parable exists in an alternate universe where nobody has made a word for “truth,” because nobody…
Ciao Bello
Ciao Bello (5161 San Felipe, 713-960-0333) is Tony Vallone’s new, moderately priced neighborhood place, just west of the Galleria. “This is an Italian restaurant, not an American-Italian restaurant,” says Vallone. “We either make everything in premises, like our fresh pasta, or we import only the finest ingredients from Italy, like…
The Awful Truth
The ushers at a packed screening of Michael Moore’s latest movie, Capitalism: A Love Story, came proudly decked out in T-shirts bearing slogans like “Make Love, Not Capitalism” and “Capitalism, We Have a Problem.” The shirts and the movie are brought to you by those filthy Reds: Overture Films —…
Heavenly Fries
The b7 frites ($5) at Block 7 Wine Company (720 Shepherd, 713-572-2565) come in several shades, from yellow, to golden, to orange, to dark brown. The hand-cut, skin-on, thin fries are also a variety of textures, from soft and supple to firm and crisp. They’re doused with a good helping…
Banning Books in HISD… Plus: Metro cop involved in fatal shooting kills himself
Edumacation, Political Animals Book-Learnin’ They’re still banning books in HISD By Richard Connelly The Texas chapter of the ACLU, perhaps the most socialistically communistic group outside of the Obama administration, has released its annual report on attempts to ban books in schools. The bad news: Houston Independent School District tied…
SAWYER PARK SPORTS BAR’S COURTNEY COX
The new Washington Avenue scene is advancing eastward, and I went to issue a front-line report at Sawyer Park Sports Bar (2412 Washington Ave., 713-398-8442). Upon entering the brightly lit, sterile downstairs area, I began to miss the dirty old days when the Pig Stand used to, uh, stand where…
Is and Always Was
Daniel Johnston is an iPhone app. As bizarre as that might sound, it’s completely true. Hi, How Are You, the game, is kind of like a bizarro-world blend of Sonic the Hedgehog, Super Mario Bros. and Tetris, with Johnston’s fantastical drawings rendered as 3D puzzle-solving mutants, all set to Johnston’s…
Club Dead
Esther Saenz didn’t want to go to work the night she died. According to the April 2009 Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission report that outlined the last few hours of the 18-year-old’s life, Saenz did not want to strip at D.B. Cooper’s Mansion the night of October 14, 2008. But she…
Meridian Primed
You’re probably gonna wanna sit down for this. The Roman Catholic Church, the governing religious body for about one-sixth of the world’s population, is a sham. Yeah, we know — crazy. Turns out it’s little more than a self-serving super-entity that revolves mostly around power and money. And who has…
Fall In
One night last week, an increasingly rare evening when Houston’s musical cupboard was relatively bare, Noise and a friend were talking about fall. There was a chill in the air we hadn’t felt since April (at least), one of the main reasons autumn is our favorite time of year in…
Windsor Drive
Windsor Drive is moody, but in a good way. The finely crafted indie-pop the band practices is a bit on the emotional side, but not necessarily mopey. But they do, you know, feel stuff; their songs have nothing to do with cleverness, hipness or the making of statements. These are…
