The Man of Many Face
It has often been written of Chris Guest–or, if you prefer, Fifth Baron Christopher Haden-Guest, son of diplomat Peter Haden-Guest, who could once vote in Parliament–that he has the demeanor of cold stone and the temperament of the dead. He possesses, one often hears, an impenetrable façade, that of the…
Bardscape
The lobby is packed. Elbow to elbow, wine glass to wine glass, Alley patrons mill about, dressed to the nines. All the usual suspects are present: bone-thin socialites, scrappy local actors, hunkering critics. It’s all stiff stuff until a smarmy fellow with burnt-orange hair and a velvet smoking jacket swaggers…
Letters
Heaven’s Gates Chances are: Having grown up in a strict fundamentalist religious household, I wanted to thank Brad Tyer for writing a fair and balanced article on a difficult subject [“A Father’s Retribution,” October 5]. It was refreshing to see two sides to this story. I do know this: The…
The Spirit of ’76
Al Gore isn’t the first presidential candidate to be labeled a bore. In fact, this year’s Democratic nominee is in some heady company, if you can believe Sherman Edwards and Peter Stone’s rousingly patriotic 1776, about the signing of the Declaration of Independence. Apparently the great founding father John Adams…
Calendar Editor Gets Read
Cinda Johnson, a woman experienced in the art of siang mein, or face reading, studies our features. The calendar editor’s nose is narrow at the bridge and widens at the bottom, indicating we like to share feedback. The narrow triangular jawline from cheeks to chin means we solve mysteries. The…
Death Knell
In his multifaceted show at Lawing Gallery, Mel Ziegler completes a critique of art institutions that he developed in traffic-stopping fashion at the “Out of the Ordinary: New Art From Texas” exhibition at the Contemporary Arts Museum (see “Everyday Art,” by Kelly Klaasmeyer, August 24). Ziegler placed a light board…
Quantum Critique
Karen Shepard’s debut novel, An Empire of Women, brings to mind that age-old quantum uncertainty principle: Does an artist change the nature of what she observes? The main character, Celine, a renowned photographer, has a rendezvous with the granddaughter she made famous through a series of provocative photos she took…
Fish Stories
Speaking off the toque: John Zotos, known to staff and customers as Chef Righteous, presides over St. Petes Dancing Marlin [300 Main Street, (713)227-1511], a new downtown seafood restaurant. He was asked a question many local diners have wondered about in recent years. Q: Houston is so close to the…
The Apple Martini Tour
In the low cool light of the glowing Plexiglas squares behind the bar, the black-clad bartender doesn’t appear old enough to drink. But he says he knows how to make an apple martini. It’s seven o’clock on a Wednesday night at Dish, and I am the only person at the…
Tailspin
Longtime customers have stormed La Colombe d’Or [3410 Montrose, (713)524-7999], demanding that the luscious lobster cardinal ($14.95) hightail it back to the menu. Their cries, thank goodness, have been heard. This flaky puff-pastry appetizer features slices of lobster tail and baby asparagus, but the pièce de résistance is the sauce,…
One Waiter to Go, Please
Charles Dickens began his Tale of Two Cities with the lines It was the best of times. It was the worst of times. Many Houston restaurateurs can sympathize: These days, trends are pulling them in similarly opposite directions even if they didnt major in English lit. The local economy is…
Stirred and Shaken
At the long wooden bar near the entrance, a blond in a red jacket (Chanel?) and knee-high black boots is laughing hysterically at something her girlfriend in the cream-colored suede pants and cashmere sweater just said. Carrabba’s [3115 Kirby Drive, (713)522-3131] is a singles zoo on Thursday night, and everybody…
Against the Tide
When Jason Moran attended Betty Carter’s Jazz Ahead workshop a few years ago, the young pianist was required to write and perform an original composition for the notoriously demanding vocalist and instructor. Before debuting his piece, Moran heard the work was creating a stir among his peers, and not a…
Fringe Dwellers
Permanently underground, that’s what hardcore is. At least one representative of every other aggressive fringe genre has flirted with the mainstream: Slayer made proto-death metal a platinum commodity; Ministry did the same for smack-fueled industrial; and both rap-metal and pop-punk have crossed over so many times now that they have…
Out of Townes
Possessed of both a wild streak and a wry sense of humor, Rex “Wrecks” Bell would seem the perfect candidate to lead his own band. Yet for most of his career, the bassist has been content to play the role of sideman and impresario. He dutifully served as right-hand man…
Death of a Family
The commode didn’t work, so Lee Brewer moved in with her twin sister while her husband finished remodeling the bathroom. After he installed a new sink, medicine cabinet and lights, Pete called Lee and told her to come home. She said she wanted to stay with her sister a little…
Emmylou Harris
With pop music, the transcendent moment comes when a song helps you make sense of your life. As you get older, it seems that pop music provides fewer and fewer of those moments. It’s uncertain whether this is a function of the state of the industry, although our suspicion is…
Graven Images
April Day is 25 years old and, on the phone at least, as perky as her name. She enthusiastically describes how she’s been a member of Zion Lutheran Church since she was born; her family has long been going to the 86-year-old church, which is tucked away in a northeast…
Sonny Boy Terry
Ever since Sonny Boy Williamson and Little Walter entered the scene in the early ’50s, the harmonica has been synonymous with the blues. In the hands of a good musician, this crude little instrument is capable of earthiness, grit and a surprising sophistication. The good blues harp players use it…
License to Steal
Um uh That was um Joan of Arc with “As Black Pants Make Cat Hair Appear” and uh before that we listened to some klezmer music from 1908 and um there was Cyber Zen with something off of their self-released Sound Engine Moonscapes and uh I think Mice Parade. Ahh…
Duke Robillard
Rhode Island-born Duke Robillard was just 19 when he co-founded Roomful of Blues in 1967. The succeeding 33 years have seen Robillard wander far from that original blue Room, but no matter where he roams, the versatile guitarist with the elegant licks always finds a welcome place to lay his…
Affairs of the Cart
The scene of the crime: Rice University. The object of the criminals’ affection: small electric golf carts Rice uses for maintenance and cross-campus trips. The debate: Who’s the smarter criminal? Smarty-pants Rice kids with staggering GPAs, or local punks with some misdemeanor know-how? The whodunit began innocently enough the week…
The Amazing Crowns
The rockabilly resurgence has been slow to earn complete commercial acceptance. Despite this, a handful of acts have plundered the genre effectively enough to turn neophytes on to the twang ‘n’ bop sound that defines rock’s earliest moments. Among those is the Rhode Island quartet the Amazing Crowns (formerly the…
Green Horns
David Cobb is a Nader man, no question. Thirty-seven years old, white, socked and Birkenstocked, gray-bearded, thoughtful lenses riding in Pacifica rims, jeans and a stars-and-stripes rugby shirt, Green Party button pinned over his heart. He’s smart as a whip, freak-proud, bug-eyed with intensity and charismatic with mission. On a…
Paid In Full
To put it mildly, it is uncomfortable and embarrassing to have one’s cynical ass whipped by a huge, hulking Hallmark card, and this is exactly the sensation one takes away from Mimi Leder’s Pay It Forward. Not that the near-total emotional submission isn’t preceded by a knock-down-drag-out battle for one’s…
Blocking Shots
If the blitz on behalf of the downtown basketball arena is in any sense a grassroots campaign, label it 100 percent Astroturf paid for by the Houston Rockets and manufactured by corporate homeboys Enron and Reliant Energy. At least that’s the impression from perusing the latest campaign contribution report. It…
The Malcolm X Files
Let’s be honest: As much as people may complain about Spike Lee’s public pontifications on race, or his controversial stances, or his being a rabble-rouser, that’s the way we like him. What first comes to mind when you hear his name mentioned? Certainly not Girl 6 or The Original Kings…
More of the Same
When you think of television news in Houston, one thing that probably doesn’t cross your mind is “Gee, there’s just not enough of it.” The media giants have heard your prayers, even though you haven’t uttered them. Get ready for a whole bunch more local news on the tube. A.H…
On Its Toes
The setting of Stephen Daldry’s uplifting comedy Billy Elliot, about a working-class boy who wants to be a ballet dancer, is a beleaguered coal-mining town in the north of England, circa 1984. A coat of grime covers the squat brick row houses, laundry flaps sadly in the breeze, and the…