Visit the Scenic Woods
Save the Woods this evening, yo. In less than five minutes, Houston songstress Scenic Woods will take the stage at BET’s 106th & Park “Wild-Out Wednesday” competition in NYC. Think of it as a talent contest, with a girl from H-town representin’. (Seriously representin’ — Scenic’s name is taken from…
A Rush to Judge Fox
Twitch all you want, Mike. Rush ain’t buying it. If you listen to right-wing talk radio, then the whole Rush Limbaugh/Parkinson’s thing is old news. But if you’ve somehow missed the buzz, here’s the skinny: walking bag of crap pill popper Radio “personality” Rush Limbaugh has essentially called Michael J…
Make That Elephant a Guinness!
Photos by Steven Devadanam for HouStoned Images Ltd., Ulmtd. The Kid hammed it up for the camera, like a true star… You may have heard that the Houston Zoo is looking for help in naming its newborn elephant, whom staffers say currently goes by “The Kid.” Starting today, you can…
So It’s Govt’ Money — Don’t Have a COW
Neil Bush: Working to improve American kids’ reading skills. (Next year.) Remember when Barbara Bush dropped that “working very well for them” bomb about Katrina victims? Folks everywhere said she was harsh, even going as far as calling her a “cold-hearted bitch.” But, would you still call Mrs. Bush a…
Bill White: “They’re Dynamo-ite!”
Courtesy of the Houston Dynamo Maybe the Dynamo will teach Mayor White some soccer chants. We think he’d nail the “Ole, Ole-Ole-Oleee…” one. It’s been a common complaint among Houston soccer fan that the city don’t give soccer, er, football, no love. But that’s changing today. There’s a ceremony going…
Fly Like an Eagle
Courtesy of Fred Eaglesmith Man of the folk: Eaglesmith Fred Eaglesmith is the poet laureate of the dying breed, and for a southern Canadian he sounds distinctly West Texan on his latest, Millie’s Cafe. Much of the album works the same patch Eaglesmith has plowed a viable independent career upon:…
Think, Jeff, Think!
You know, this pic could be described as “foreshadowing.” Jeff Skilling has been pretty lucky lately. We all know what happens if Average Joe gets pulled over for DWI. But what did Mr. Skilling get when he was pulled over last month in Dallas and was accused of being under…
Shelley: Libs Suk!
www.sekulagibbsforcongress.com Shelley, if you’re wrong, we don’t wanna be write. It’s just 14 days until the elections, and early voting has begun. And congressional candidate Shelley Sekula-Gibbs wants your vote. Twice. Her “Vote Twice for Shelley” commercial is intriguing (if a little confusing). Sekula-Gibbs pops on the screen, allowing that…
“Git Your Own Daing Baby!”
Other than the whole losing-a-son- getting-sued-and-possibly-having-to-pay-child-support thing, Anna’s life is pretty dull. There’s an update to the whole Anna Nicole Smith mess. (No, not this mess, this one.) The Washington Post reports today that Houston’s favorite Playmate-turned-train-wreck is saying “hell naw” to demands that she submit her six-week-old daughter to…
HISD’s Little Computer Glitch
So the effed-up computer system cost HISD $600,000 in overtime. Hey, it’s to be expected… The Houston Chronicle front-paged a story on the Houston school board getting a briefing Thursday on just how bad the district’s new computer system is, with the assessment being “pretty fucking bad.” District employees reported…
No Manscaping for You!
Seriously, what’s the problem here? What, you think we wouldn’t have a take on the whole no-landscaping-for- gays story? Heck, we’ve got an exclusive… In case you haven’t heard (maybe you’ve been working in the garden), folks are up in arms about a local landscaping company that denied service to…
Football U: The Thugs Love Us!
John and Rich pylon Miami. Ha! Get it… pyl-on? Anyone? Friends, the only thing better than Football U. on a chilly Friday is an early three-martini lunch. Ahh… Er, anyway, this week, our pigskin pundits Richard Connelly and John Nova Lomax do the unthinkable: they agree. On Notre Dame. Hath…
Football U: The Thugs Love Us!
John and Rich pylon Miami. Ha! Get it… pyl-on? Anyone? Friends, the only thing better than Football U. on a chilly Friday is an early three-martini lunch. Ahh… Er, anyway, this week, our pigskin pundits Richard Connelly and John Nova Lomax do the unthinkable: they agree. On Notre Dame. Hath…
Sunny Day
Courtesy of Sunny Sweeney A little like Loretta: Sweeney The East Texas twang in Sunny Sweeney’s voice takes us back to Loretta Lynn’s heyday, back before regional differences had been homogenized out of country music. On her debut album Heartbreaker’s Hall of Fame, the Longview native drawls her way Iris…
A Date with Dubya’
Mamas, line up your babies now… Breaking news from the Republican Party of Fort Bend County, Texas (no Tom DeLay didn’t switch hairsprays). This, from Gary Gillen, FB’s chairman: I am very pleased to inform you that the President of the United States will visit Fort Bend County on the…
Re:Re:Re: Bachelor Bitchin’
Copyright 00A9 2006 ABC, Inc. / Bob D’Amico Expect to see more of Erica (sans tiara, we think) soon. Yesterday was an unofficial media day for the recently dumped Houston-area ladies of The Bachelor: Rome. Our favorite tiara-wearing socialite, Erica Rose, called in from L.A. while apartment hunting. Jami Matzke,…
Houston Women’s Festival
No, this isn’t just an estrogen fest — the Athena Art Project-sponsored Houston Women’s Festival is actually about great music. Great music by women like Patrice Pike, of Rock Star: Supernova fame. Before she was on TV, Pike was down the road in Austin, fronting the band Sister Seven. The…
Warfare on Washington
The latest in a long line of 100 percent certified bummers to hit the Houston music scene has, in some ways, topped them all. At least when Cactus and the Gallant Knight closed, no teenage kids got Tasered. For all three readers of this column who don’t know what I’m…
Wanda Jackson
“I’ve always liked Houston. It’s a rocking town.” Wanda Jackson ought to know — the 69-year-old Oklahoma City grandmother has been to Houston many times during her 52-year career. Called “The First Lady of Rock and Roll” by those who study these things, the groundbreaking Jackson is a member of…
What, Me Worry?
The Eli Young Band has one big problem: Just like there’s no Hootie and no Blowfish, there’s no Eli Young. There’s Mike Eli and James Young. There’s Chris Thompson and Jon Jones, but no Eli Young. It was Mike Eli, who grew up just outside of Houston, and James Young,…
Alexisonfire
St. Catharines, Ontario-based Alexisonfire epitomizes the annoying new breed of punk rockers. Check their new album, Crisis. There’s brash, guttural screaming, a melodic sing-along chorus, 4/4 time, an in-your-face attitude and slamming beats — just the kind of stuff this generation’s easily engrossed, technologically astute kids are eating up in…
Blues Dancing at the Big Easy
They’re dancing to Miles Davis,” Liz tells me as soon as we walk into The Big Easy (5731 Kirby Drive, 713-523-9999). “What?” “They’re dancing to Miles Davis,” says Liz, pointing to two adventurous couples out on the dance floor. “That’s ‘All Blues’ by Miles.” Since jazz is what Liz does…
French Confection
Drop-dead hip or cluelessly clueless? Sofia Coppola’s Marie Antoinette, a candy-colored portrait of France’s infamous teen queen, is a graceful, charming and sometimes witty confection — at least for its first hour. The famously shy Coppola may be an inscrutable personality, but her bold expos of backstage royalty opens with…
Richard Buckner
To those accustomed to Richard Buckner’s spare, haunted music, the guitar sound of Doug Gillard (ex-Guided by Voices) as it buzzes through Meadow might be disorienting. Sure, Buckner has employed electric guitars before, but the rock urgency pulsating through the terrific opening tracks “Town” and “Canyon” is something he has…
Print the Legend
A single photograph, we’re told early on in Clint Eastwood’s Flags of Our Fathers, can win or lose a war. But sometimes that photo shows us only part of the story, whether it’s the part we don’t want to see — slaughtered villagers at My Lai, tortured prisoners at Abu…
Grand Canyon
Tommy looks to be about six or seven years old. He’s running, jumping, crawling, his red baseball cap turned backwards, his sisters bouncing around nearby. He’s caught up in the moment — just like a kid should be — exploring mine shafts, scaling canyon walls, sliding down gullies. The moment…
Welcome to the Grand Illusion
If the greatest magicians never reveal their tricks, then Christopher Nolan wouldn’t make it past the children’s birthday party circuit. It’s not that Nolan has anything against the old hocus-pocus, but it’s the practical side of magic that appeals to him most — the nuts-and-bolts explanation behind the seemingly “impossible”…
Much Magic
Director Scott Schwartz has delivered a gorgeous production of Shakespeare’s Much Ado About Nothing. Now running at the Alley Theatre, this must-see confection is filled with charm, grace and sumptuous joy. Most anyone who loves Shakespeare knows the much-loved comedy about two pairs of lovers who find each other despite…
Stealing the Show
Before the first Ninth Ward gangster shot and killed another in the streets of southwest Houston, before Mayor Bill White faced a church full of livid Westside constituents screaming about mayhem on their streets, before the gang fights in the high schools, and long before Kinky Friedman claimed Houston was…
Capsule Reviews
Blithe Spirit In Nol Coward’s delightful drawing room ghost comedy, martinis are mixed, characters dress for dinner, dead wives materialize and the battle of the sexes rages on, whether the participants are alive or not. A deft, almost throwaway touch is necessary to keep this thoroughly entertaining wisp of a…
Veh-Ree Theen Pancakes
Real men don’t eat quiche. Or crepes. At least, that’s one of the seminal messages in that erudite cinematic examination of NASCAR, Talladega Nights. As those who’ve seen this provocative opus know, a pivotal plot point concerns the heroic refusal of one Ricky Bobby, an American race car driver (played…
Capsule Reviews
“Patrick Renner: Trepanned” In the past, Patrick Renner’s work has been about visual appeal and craftsmanship. He’s created massive wooden sculptures by patchworking together multicolored pieces of old painted wood. But in his latest show, Renner is trying, in fits and starts, to be more conceptual, with work about remembering…
WALTER’S ON WASHINGTON
There’s a sticker on the fridge at Walter’s on Washington (4215 Washington, 713-862-2513) that reads “Beer: It’s Cheaper than Therapy!” Sure, it’s semi-funny in that Spencer Gifts sort of way, but this little nugget of wisdom pretty much sums up the vibe here: For less than 20 bucks, you can…
Cold as Ice
Publisher: 2K Sports
Platform: PS2, Xbox, X360
Price: $20-$60
ESRB Rating: E 10+ (for Everyone 10 and older)
Score: 7 (out of 10)
Whistling Mexicans
Dear Mexican, I have very, very light skin because of my Scandinavian heritage. Around Halloween, someone asked me if it was white-face makeup. Why is it that Mexican men find my pallor so fascinating? Fair Maiden Dear Gabacha, BECAUSE YOU’RE WHITE. Mexicans love gabachos even though you’ve fucked our country…
Took a Shot
American Dreamz (Universal) Till this, Paul Weitz had a stellar filmography, a career in ascension: American Pie (good), About a Boy (great), In Good Company (absolutely perfect). But this, er, satire about a dumb American president (Dennis Quaid, channeling whassisname) trying to get smart, a cynical wannabe singer trying to…
Ask Another Mexican
While Houston rapper Carlos Coy, aka South Park Mexican, sits in a Texas Department of Corrections prison serving a 45-year sentence for the sexual assault of a nine-year-old girl, his family and friends are mounting a Free SPM campaign. The charges are bogus, they say. The accuser was just out…
Our top DVD picks for the week of October 19
Alfred Hitchcock Presents: Season Two (Universal) Anytown USA (Film Movement/Repnet) Behind Enemy Lines II: Axis of Evil (Fox) The Big Black Comedy Show (Fox) Big Love: The Complete First Season (HBO) The Break-Up (Universal) Clean, Shaven: The Criterion Collection (Criterion) Feast: Unrated (Weinstein) Frankenhooker (Anthem) Charmed: The Complete Sixth Season…
Great Gift
The pappardelle with braised rabbit and root vegetables ($18) at Trevisio (6550 Bertner Ave., 713-749-0400) is like a present. The leg of rabbit comes gift-wrapped in inch-thick ribbons of pappardelle pasta. The meat is soaked overnight in a red wine-and-rosemary marinade, then braised in it the next morning until the…
Spooky Spotlight
Don’t look now, but that noise behind you is growing louder — and closer. It’s the season to jump at every shadow and run from every black cat. You can drown your fears in drink or amuse yourself by scaring the naive around you. Whether you want to dress like…
Make Believe
Tim Kinsella and company have left meandering, experimental soundscapes behind for a more focused post-rock assault with their most recent incarnation, Make Believe. And focused is certainly the key word here. The group, consisting of Kinsella (vocals), his brother Nate Kinsella (drums), Bobby Burg (bass) and Sam Zurick (guitar), began…
Bunny Hop
Sunlight from a large hotel window casts a warm glow on Natalie’s lithe, nude body. She slowly crosses her arms over her chest. Facing the window, she leans her head back, letting her chestnut brown hair fall on her bare, tan shoulders, exuding a sense of young-girl innocence. “Yeah, that’s…
Damien Jurado
For over a decade, Seattle-based singer-songwriter Damien Jurado has flown under the radar as this generation’s Nick Drake. Jurado has a hushed, fragile vocal that’s a pleasant complement to his minimal instrumentation. But what sets him apart from his deceased ’70s counterpart Drake is how well he crafts a string…
Letters to the Editor
Best Of Issues Credit is due: I appreciate your acknowledgement of the Old Jeff Davis Hospital renovation [Best Renovation, Elder Street Artist Lofts, Best of Houston 2006]. However, it is a bit misleading. The location of the building is along the periphery of the First Ward, not the Sixth Ward…
Pit er Pat
The trio that comprises Pit er Pat has created a genre of their own — let’s call it post-twee. With Fay Davis-Jeffers on keyboards, Butchy Fuego on drums and Rob Doran on bass, Pit er Pat’s songs have a childlike, wide-eyed feeling, due in large part to Davis-Jeffers’s appealingly meandering…
Dark Star Rising
Jenny Lewis is in a bit of a quandary. “We’re planning to do a children’s show in a couple of days, and I was asked which song I would like to play for this kid’s show. I started going through the songs on the record, and with every song it’s…