Fitzgerald’s Has a Long Story, One Worth Telling Over and Over
Houstonians have an attachment to Fitzgerald’s like no other nightclub or entertainment venue in the city’s history. Certainly readers of the Houston Press continually express an interest in the club disproportionate to its size, if not its history. Even something as mundane as a change in management at Fitz qualifies…
The Best Uses of “Free Bird” In Film
If you asked me to pick a song that will probably still be played 200 years from now that song would be Lynyrd Skynyrd’s “Free Bird.” That doesn’t mean I love the song, although I am fond of it. It’s just that “Free Bird,” particularly its noteworthy double-guitar solo at…
Houston’s Tanner Garza Creates a 4-Hour Ambient Classic
Tanner Garza makes music for people who prefer a contemplative state versus a frenetic environment, using the vocabulary of some of his favorite ambient-music predecessors: Brian Eno, William Basinski and Harold Budd. Clearly, his approach to crafting minimalistic vignettes appears basic: a bass guitar, 4-track recorder, and a multitude of…
Houston’s 5 Best Weekend Food Bets: A Whiskey Dinner, Margaritas & BBQ
3rd Annual Whiskey Dinner @ Brenner’s Steakhouse Friday, 7 p.m. 10911 Katy Area whiskey enthusiasts are invited to Brenner’s Steakhouse to enjoy a whiskey-fueled evening, featuring five delectable courses matched with various types of the elixir. Enjoy pairings like Honey Glazed Duck with Bastille Whisky, New York Strip & Bone…
Life Is a Bodaciously Badass Cabaret When Bridget Everett’s in the House
The set up: “So, what exactly is the paper’s policy on printing curse words or lewd descriptions of sexual acts and body parts?” It’s not a question a theater critic gets to ask one’s editor often, but when you’re handed the assignment of reviewing Bridgett Everett, these become pertinent questions…
Gertrude Barnstone: Home Movie Chronicles a Life Well Lived
It took filmmaker Jon Schwartz and his small crew just three hours to shoot Gertrude Barnstone: Home Movie. It took Barnstone 90 years to live the amazing life the essay film captures. Born in Houston in 1925, she started studying art at the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston when she…
Playful Interactions With Shadows, Light
Longtime fans of Danielle Frankenthal’s works, as well as new converts, will appreciate the nuanced changes in the light-filled pieces found in “The Space Between” exhibit at Nicole Longnecker Gallery. Her abstract paintings – rooted in the Concrete Movement – feature three layers of acrylic resin panels, each painted on…
The Muppets Does Adult Humor Right
I’ve been really enjoying the revived Muppet Show. I was born the same year the original show left the airwaves, so I mostly know it only through old DVDs and YouTube video of my favorite celebrity appearances. It’s really cool to finally be able to participate in something like The…
The Phantom of the Opera Returns in a Brand-New High-Tech Production
There’s new pyrotechnics and the iconic chandelier has added pizzazz. Dancing, lighting and set design have been updated. The story has been tweaked a bit – “We taking a more realistic approach. It’s less about a magician hypnotizing Christine and more about her making choices,” says the actress who plays…
Upcoming: City and Colour, Demi Lovato, El Trio Grande, Slim Thug, The Suffers (New Year’s Eve), Twenty One Pilots, etc.
1 Year Wonky Anniversary: Sat., November 14, 7 p.m., Free. Wonky Power Live, 3534 Navigation Blvd., Houston, 832-830-5839. Agony Within: With Await the Desolation, Black Helix. Thu., December 3, 9 p.m., $5 to $8. Acadia Bar & Grill, 3939 Cypress Creek Pkwy., Houston, 281-893-2860. The Allen Oldies Band: Thu., December…
First Look at The Durham House
After several “soft opening” dinners, The Durham House is officially ready for business. Don Schoenburg is still front-and-center as the chef (he was chef at the space’s previous existence as a Little Woodrow’s as well as the proprietor of the Gastropunk food truck). Here though, he’s putting his classical training…
Wil Wheaton and Why I Won’t Write for Huffington Post Anymore
After Wil Wheaton wrote a piece called “Seven Things I Did to Reboot my Life” for his blog he was approached by Huffington Post to possibly reprint it. Wheaton was understandably excited and asked what the pay was, only for Huff Po to inform him that they don’t pay for…
Disruption and Destruction: Should Restaurants Ban Kids?
Houston’s Cuchara restaurant just spent $1,500 to re-plaster and repaint a wall. The damage was caused by a child. Owner Ana Beaven says that the child scratched the wall extensively with a coin. “His mother was texting at the table. We talked to her and she was almost aggressive. She…
Six Billy Joel Concerts, One Relationship
Whatever Billy Joel is as an artist, he is undoubtedly a romantic. He’s romantic about the times (“We Didn’t Start The Fire,” “Keepin’ The Faith”), parenthood (“Lullabye, Goodnight, My Angel”) and relationships (too many to count). He’s Keats on a piano, with odes to angry young men and uptown girls…
Phil Collins’s Greatest Live Performances Through the Years
Phil’s back, baby. In 2011, Phil Collins officially announced his retirement after quietly retreating from major touring some years earlier. To this day, he has not released a new album of original material since 2002′ Testify and, aside from a handful of dates in 2010 supporting his Motown covers record…
Day For Night Releases Festival Map and Schedule
Above you’re looking at a map of Houston’s newest festival, Day For Night, scheduled for December 19 and 20 at Silver Street Studios. This morning the headliners and stage times were revealed, with New Order and Janelle Monae scheduled to close the main stage Saturday. Kendrick Lamar and Flying Lotus…
Houston Hero Cats Explain Why We Need HERO
The fate of the Houston Equal Rights Ordinance will be decided at the polls on today, and we’ve just discovered a last ditch way to try and persuade people that HERO isn’t just about public bathrooms: Pictures of cats! Right now, it’s a tossup whether HERO will be affirmed by…
Daniil Simkin’s INTENSIO Is Ballet for the 21st Century
For the first half of his life, American Ballet Theatre dancer Daniil Simkin was known as “the son of Dmitrij Simkin.” He long ago stepped out of his father’s shadow. “Now he is known as ‘the father of …,” the younger Simkin tells us laughing. (Simkin’s mother, Olga Aleksandrova, was also a…
Houston Grand Opera Presents a Superb Production of Russian Fatalism in Eugene Onegin
Eons before the cellphone, Facebook or Twitter, there was a peculiar method of social intercourse called personal correspondence, a.k.a. letter writing. It involved ink and paper, a person to deliver the missive and then time to wait for a response. People in former ages used time differently from the way…
HHA Withdraws Eminent Domain Threat Against Fifth Ward Church
After a three-month legal battle, the Houston Housing Authority has voluntarily withdrawn its threat of eminent domain that had longtime Fifth Ward church leaders up in arms. Several months ago, HHA had contacted two churches, Christian Fellowship and Latter Day Deliverance Revival Church, about selling its properties so it could…
This Week in Houston Food Blogs: Feed Your Cheese Addiction
This week, we’re carb-loading with cheesy goodness and checking out a few brand-new Houston restaurants that might soon become go-to’s for a casual but delicious meal. If you need more pumpkin spice flavor in your mornings, check out these easy-as-pie pumpkin pop tarts, brought to you by Alyssa at Sugar…
Rockets Get First Win of the Season, 110-105 Over Thunder
Well, it couldn’t go on this way forever. Shockingly, a Houston Rockets team that brought virtually everyone back from last season’s Western Conference finalist and added Ty Lawson found a way to make history in their first three games of this regular season. And not the good kind of history…
Houstonians Important to American Abstract Expressionist Movement
Literally a hidden treasure at the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, the latest offering from their prints and drawings department, titled “American Abstract Expressionism: Works on Paper 1940s-1960s,” occupies the Lower Brown Corridor of the Caroline Wiess Law Building. It is, of course, the perfect intimate space to display the…
100 Favorite Houston Dish 2015, No. 43: Stuffed Pepperoncini at Anvil Bar & Refuge
Phaedra Cook is eating her way through Houston and counting down her 100 favorite dishes of 2015. It’s a collection of personal favorites that is also indicative of Houston dining. It’s a scene where a vast range of dishes coexist: highbrow and lowbrow; local and international; cheap and expensive; modern…
Ula’s on Washington Has Some Hidden Gems, but a Lot of the Menu Is Pretty Ordinary
‘Water, water, everywhere, but not a drop to drink.” This paraphrase from Coleridge keeps running through my brain as I sit at a table inside the new-ish outpost of Ula’s on Washington Avenue, wedged into the old Catalan/Coppa space in what seems like a rushed and surface-level treatment. The space…
Being an Atheist Doesn’t Make You Logical or Reasonable
These days few things make me cringe harder on Twitter than seeing a response from someone that has the word “atheist” in his or her username. Strike that, there is something that makes me cringe harder, and it’s atheists who have YouTube shows. Just to get it out there I…
#NewHoustonRap: The Gospel According to BeatKing’s ‘3 Weeks’
In the beginning, there was a drum, an instrument that created a loud thunk when hit hard. After that beginning, there was a man begot from the heavens to carry on the legacy of Juicy J, DJ Paul, Crunchy Black, Gangsta Boo and other affiliates of Memphis-based rap pioneers Three…
The Fate of HERO Will Finally Be Decided Today
Once upon a time it seemed that the seven-candidate mayoral race would be the one everyone would really watch closely on election night, but that was before Houston’s Equal Rights Ordinance ended up on the ballot as City of Houston Proposition 1. Now, election day is finally here, and it looks…
For Paul Wall and Friends, All the World’s a Slab
93.7 The Beat presents “The Salute to the Slab” House Of Blues November 1, 2015 A few weekends ago, I made my way up Interstate 45 for the “Straight Outta Dallas” show featuring The D.O.C.’s first performance in more than 20 years, along with a who’s who of the D-Town rap…
It Is Still Too Damn Early for Christmas Music
Monday I was surprised to see that “Christmas” was trending on Twitter, and substantially so, but in retrospect I don’t know why I was surprised. It seems like there used to be a few weeks of (dare I say it) normality between Halloween and Thanksgiving, and then the holidays, but…
The Eastside Sound System: Five Music Venues East of Downtown You Should Know
The trendy and off-putting nickname “EaDo” obscures what has long been one of Houston’s most culturally fertile areas. Home to the heavily Hispanic Second Ward and the original Chinatown, as well as storied bygone music venues like the Axiom, today the Eastside is either experiencing a revitalization through additions like…
Greater Church of Lucifer Opens to Protests in Old Town Spring
This weekend, religious protesters arrived on Main Street in Old Town Spring to express their dissatisfaction with the Greater Church of Lucifer, which opened on Halloween. Church leaders are adamant that they do not, as a whole, worship Satan. The church’s philosophy is more in line with the New-Age spiritual…
B L A C K I E Stars in a Confounding Devil’s Night at Fitz
B L A C K I E, Abdu Ali, Kilbourne, Biz Vicious, First Ward Sound Fitzgerald’s October 30, 2015 I’d never seen B L A C K I E perform live before Friday night, but I knew enough about the man to head into Fitzgerald’s with no expectations about what…
College Football, Week 9 — 4 Winners, 4 Losers
Before we get to a recap on the weekend that was in college football, let me get something off of my chest. We just finished up Halloween weekend, and as I sit here amidst a sea of empty candy wrappers, with a pancreas throbbing from sugar overload, I feel 100…
Miller’s Classic Takes a Disappointing Swan Dive in A View From the Bridge
The set up: Complicated family dynamics mirroring thorny cultural concerns. Is there a playwright who comes to mind more than Arthur Miller when discussing this theatrical duo? What about the notion that heroes, specifically tragic ones, are most interesting when they hail not from the upper echelons of society, but…
This Week in Houston Food Events: Time for the Houston Margarita Festival
All Month Berryhill’s Final Taco of the Month The last of Berryhill’s monthly tacos is here, and it’s called the Mother Clucker. It’s filled with some Houston favorites like fried chicken, roasted tomato salsa, pico de gallo and, of course, queso. You can find it at any Berryhill location, and,…
Doctor Who: “The Zygon Invasion” Hits Hard
Let me get an unpopular opinion out of the way, first. I don’t like the Zygons very much. I consider shapeshifting in science fiction to be lazy, and I always thought the Axos did the whole organic tech bit much better. When the Zygons were brought back for the 50th…
Where to Dine in Houston This Thanksgiving Day 2015
Thanksgiving is right around the corner, so it’s time to make those Turkey Day plans. From casual meals to fancy five-course affairs, there are plenty of ways to let Houston restaurants do the work for you. Just check out our Thanksgiving 2015 Dining Guide: Note: Don’t forget to make reservations,…
Cougars Dominate Vanderbilt, Remain Undefeated
The Houston Cougars did the most important, necessary thing it could do Saturday night. On a wet, gray, misty, overcast night, the Cougars did to the visiting Vanderbilt Commodores what the Saturday morning storms did to the city of Houston: shut them down completely. The Cougars defeated Vanderbilt (3-5) 34-0…
Dish of the Week: Butternut Squash Lasagna
From classic comfort foods to regional standouts and desserts, we’ll be sharing a new recipe with you each week. Find other dishes of the week here. This week, we’re giving an Italian classic a makeover for fall with Butternut Squash Lasagna. Traditionally, lasagnes – a type of flat, wide pasta…
Coyote Gives Birth to Almost 50 Pups
The centerpiece of Peat Duggins’s “The Great White Whale” exhibit at Art Palace is an eye-popper. There’s no looking away from Coyote & Pups, an oversized sculpture of a female caught in mid-whelp, in a sea of already birthed pups. Not the typical three to twelve pups typical of the…
NFL Week 8: Texans 20, Titans 6 — 4 Winners, 4 Losers
So, here we are at the halfway point of the Houston Texans’ 2015 season and I think we can safely say that a few things have been established: 1. I know he says he doesn’t look back, but I’m guessing that Bill O’Brien would love to have his handling of…
10 Best Budget Restaurants In Montrose
The Montrose area has always had great restaurants, but over the last three years it’s been the epicenter of a cultural explosion. It’s the hub of a young and adventurous demographic willing to experience new cuisine. With that said, many of the restaurants considered to be the “best” in the…
The 10 Most Positive Texans-Titans Rapper Tweets
The Houston Texans’ 2015 season began with HBO’s Hard Knocks introducing the team to America at large. It took a month of filming and some fancy editing to present to the nation our sometimes thrilling and frequently frustrating NFL franchise; Home Box Office could have saved all that time and…
iPic May Ruin Going to Regular Movie Theaters for You
What if technology isn’t the solution to getting people to go to the movies? It’s not that things like IMAX, D-Box and Barco Escape aren’t interesting ideas worthy of artistic exploration, but the reality is that by and large these technological advances in cinema don’t really exist to serve the…
We Were Wolves Pounce on the Cult’s Mediocrity
The Cult, We Were Wolves House of Blues October 31, 2015 On Halloween night at House of Blues, the Cult kept fans in suspense until 10:30 p.m. It was a long wait, especially since doors were supposedly at 6 p.m. Conflicting reports flew as to when the band would finally…
Houston Fans Greet Mastodon Like Metal’s Conquering Heroes
Mastodon, Clutch Revention Music Center October 30, 2015 “You know the difference between a good show and a great show?” Mastodon bassist and vocalist Troy Sanders screamed into his microphone at the hundreds of Houston fans pressed against the stage at Revention Music Center Friday night. “The crowd!” He responded to…
Protests at Gaslamp May Lead to Another Lawsuit
Halloween revelers in midtown may have come across an unusual sight last night that had nothing to do with costumes. About 30 people stood across the street from the Gaslamp nightclub to protest alleged racial discrimination. The nightclub has been steeped in controversy since September of this year. The protest, organized…
Did Ted Cruz Just Screw the GOP Presidential Debate at UH?
University of Houston may not get to host a GOP presidential debate after all, and it’s all thanks to Sen. Ted Cruz. On Wednesday Cruz, a junior senator from Texas and very ambitious presidential wanna-be, dodged a question during a CNBC GOP presidential primary debate and turned it into a…
Deadline Extended for St. Joseph’s to Convince Feds Not to Pull Funding Over Shooting of Mentally Ill, Unarmed Patient
The feds granted St. Joseph Medical Center another lifeline Thursday, again delaying the date they plan to pull Medicare and Medicaid funding from the hospital unless administrators can present a convincing plan to fix systemic issues that, according to federal officials, put patients there in “immediate jeopardy.” The downtown hospital…
We Asked Some Extreme-Metal Bands If They Believe Their Own Songs
Halloween is our culture’s darkest holiday. It’s the only time of year where we openly celebrate evil in all of its gloriously disturbing forms. Yet, there’s one subgenre of metal that seemingly celebrates all that is dark and satanic every day of the year. Yes, call it what you want,…
Le$ and His Guests Feast on the Delicious ‘Steak X Shrimp Vol. 2’
Le$ is a purveyor of moods, happy feelings, clear motivations and even clearer intentions, whether on wax or when he’s supposed to be relaxing away from his day job. When he’s allowing others to preview music that’s only been available to him, a select few friends and go-to producer Happy…
It’s Official: Discrimination Suit Filed Against Gaslamp
Yesterday, attorney Brian Tagtmeier, on behalf of plaintiffs Brandon Ball, Danval (“Dan”) Scarbrough and Kennard (“Ken”) Piggee, filed a civil lawsuit against Gaslamp in federal court. The suit accuses Texas Guardian Incorporated and Ayman Jarrah, owner of the midtown nightclub, of racial discrimination in a place of a public accommodation.”…
College and NFL Football: This Weekend’s Best Bets
In the same week where the Texans fell behind in an NFL game 41-0 at the half, a nearly impossible feat in the NFL unless you’re practically trying to let the other team win that lopsidedly (and honestly, along those lines, C.J. Fiedorowicz, you’re suspect!), the Rockets lost their opener…
You’ll Get an Extra Hour in Your (Most Likely) Rain-Soaked Costume This Weekend
So, this weekend is the end of Daylight Saving Time. You know, that clock change that doesn’t suck, the one where you get an extra hour to play with instead of losing precious time. And since DST (because why not abbreviate it?) ends at 2 a.m. on Sunday November 1,…
Rep. Lamar Smith Is Fighting Climate Science. Again.
Well, we have to hand it to Rep. Lamar Smith: The dude is consistent. Since becoming chair of the House Committee on Science, Space and Technology, the good congressman from San Antonio has been doing his best to use his new subpoena powers to push his anti-climate science views as far as…
Reviews For The Easily Distracted: Our Brand Is Crisis
Title: Our Brand is Crisis Describe This Movie In One Simpsons Quote: Kent Brockman: “I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again: democracy simply doesn’t work.” Rating Using Random Objects Relevant To The Film: Two-and-a-half David Johansens out of five. Brief Plot Synopsis: Burnt-campaign operative ignores own advice in order to get…
Titans-Texans — Four Things to Watch For
Every Sunday during the NFL season, CBS and FOX have a pecking order with their announce teams in which the top of the list pairings get the best game, and so and so forth down the list until they run out of games. On any given Sunday, you’re talking about…
The Texas Oyster Season is Starting with a Whimper
Oyster season is almost upon us, but it looks like a lot of the state waters won’t actually be open when the public oystering season starts on November 1. On Thursday afternoon the Texas Department of State Health Services issued a release stating that Christmas Bay and parts of Galveston…
Houston’s 5 Best Weekend Food Bets: Halloween Eats & Treats
The Masque of the Red Death @ Prohibition Supperclub & Bar Friday & Saturday, 7 p.m. – 8:30 p.m. and 9:30 p.m. – 11 p.m. nightly 1008 Prairie It’s dinner and a show! The Moonlight Dolls are getting naughty during this immersive theatrical experience based on Edgar Allan Poe’s immortal…
Upcoming Houston Food Events: Eat Local, Give Back
What better way to celebrate Houston Restaurant Weeks’ news of raising a record-breaking $1.9 million for the Houston Food Bank than by continuing the trend? The Woodlands Restaurant Week – where diners can enjoy award-winning cuisines from more than 20 local restaurants and bistros while benefitting the Montgomery County Food…
B L A C K I E Returns to Rapping with Black Blades
If you’re just joining those of us in Houston who have been following B L A C K I E (All Caps With Spaces) since the beginning, let us catch you up. After starting off with several hardcore noise-rap records, he diverged into totally disparate genres, mixing his screams over acoustic,…
If Not for Kelvin Sampson, UH Basketball Wouldn’t Get Any Promotion
Here’s the thing when you sign on to coach at the University of Houston. You’re not signing on to coach at a school like Texas or A&M or Notre Dame or LSU. It’s not a huge money-making operation. There’s iffy fan support. The school’s not in a power conference. There’s…
UGK/B.B. King Mashup ‘The Trill Is Gone’ Is as Awesome as You Think It Is
Amerigo Gazaway is a chemist. In the land of mashup albums and projects, the Nashville-based producer is currently the king, assuming the crown in 2013. In the vein of Danger Mouse and a host of others, Gazaway has made it a personal mission of his to tinker with work by…
The 5+ Best Things to Do in Houston This Weekend: Halloween Fun and More
This weekend, Houston’s haunted houses are going to be jumping … and screaming … and super-busy, so take a few minutes to plan out your visit . We suggest you get a head-start on the fun and try Friday night for slightly less overwhelming crowds. Houston does haunted houses exceptionally…
What the Anti-HERO Backlash Has Done to Transgender Houstonians
All Celeste could do was roll her eyes when the woman she had just seen in the bathroom stood at the podium before City Council and described her as a sexual predator. Earlier, she had waited as long as she could to get up and pee, waiting until she was…
Openings and Closings in Houston: The City’s Oldest Bar Is Back
The much-anticipated reboot of Leon’s Lounge at 1006 McGowen is almost here; Houston’s oldest bar began its soft opening a few weeks ago, and the grand opening is coming soon. Keep an eye on the Facebook page for updates. Eight Row Flint is preparing for an opening in mid-November, according to…
Houston’s 10 Best Bars to Watch UH Football
With the Houston Texans’ hopes of a winning season crashing down before our eyes, it’s time to start appreciating a football team in town that is actually doing well — the University of Houston Cougars. The Coogs are undefeated at 7-0 and are currently ranked No. 18 in the AP…
A Halloween Weekend Full of Musical Tricks and Treats
Do we all know someone who is excited to take their kids trick-or-treating in a neighborhood other than their own this weekend? If you stupidly ask why, you’ll be informed that the preferred neighborhood has the good stuff. You know, M&M’s, Butterfinger and Fun Dip. At home, the neighbors might…
Women Detained at Texas Immigration Lockup Launch Hunger Strike
Eighteen women jailed at the T Don Hutto immigrant detention center in Taylor sent letters to activists this week announcing a hunger strike inside the embattled immigration lockup, which is run by a for-profit prison company. According to activists with Grassroots Leadership, an Austin-based nonprofit that was sent the letters…
At Debate, Ted Cruz Brilliantly Dodged a Tough Question
After all this time, the great debater showed up, and Sen. Ted Cruz seem like a real presidential option for the Republican party. We’ve been hearing about Cruz’s formidable debating chops for ages now, but we hadn’t seen him really bringing those skills to the GOP presidential candidate debates. Until…
Anthony Bourdain Is Returning to Houston for a Special Scotch Event [UPDATED]
Scotch brand The Balvenie has selected Houston for their big stop in Texas this year. The event series is called “The Balvenie Rare Craft Collection.” In prior years, the event series has visited Austin and Dallas, but this time it’s the Bayou City’s turn. Anthony Bourdain, who currently stars in…
Ben Hall Sues Over Radio Ad That Isn’t Nice to Ben Hall
Wouldn’t it be great if political candidates could actually be held liable in court if they lie during an election? Of course, elections would grind to a halt, and our political system as we know it would crumble, and we’d revert to cave-people fighting over scraps of armadillo roadkill after…
T.J. Yates Returns to the Houston Texans
Well, this isn’t how Bill O’Brien drew it up on the white board. Not even close. In a perfect world, the Texans would have a young quarterback that they’d have already begun building the offense around. In the world O’Brien drew up in the offseason, partially out of necessity and…
Silent Sky: Exploring Outer Space When You’re Not Supposed to be Out at Night
The women aren’t allowed to use telesopes. It was considered unfit for them to work late at night in the dark. But in the early days of the modern era of astronomy, just after the turn of the century in 1900, women brought something special to the science: they were…
He Fought The Law: The Strange Mysteries Surrounding Bobby Fuller’s Death
When Bobby Fuller was found dead on July 18, 1966, the details around his death and a hasty investigation left many with more questions than answers. The sad story of the young singer from Texas has spawned conspiracy theories and rumors almost from the moment his body was discovered slumped…
No Critical Thinking About God in KISD Junior Highs, By God
In the best of all possible worlds, why couldn’t a teacher ask students trying to learn critical thinking skills about whether belief in God is an “opinion,” a “factual claim” or a “commonplace assertion?” And the answer is: We don’t know. But in present day, 2015 Katy, Texas it’s because…
Lady Lavender Brings High-End Desserts and Persian Flavors to Houston
Shekoh Moossavi has spent more than 20 years honing her craft at Ritz Carlton Hotels, in her own restaurant and bakery in California, more than two years in Paris at École du Grand Chocolat Valrhona in Tain l’Hermitage, France and at École Chocolat in Vancouver. After she arrived in Houston,…
Adele’s “Hello” Is a Smash Hit. But Why?
According to a few press releases this week and the usual Internet chatter, Adele’s new single, “Hello,” was played more than one million times per hour in the two days following its release last Friday. The question is…why? The query shouldn’t be read with the snark that has become a blog-thing…
The Six Best Kanye West Covers
Covers of rap songs are a relative rarity simply due to the nature of hip-hop; so much of the genre centers around originality and crafting your own rhymes. Biters are derided, even when they’re mostly paying tribute to the original artists. One artist, however, has transcended this. Kanye West is so…
My Male Friend Wants a Relationship. Help!
HOW DO I TELL MY MALE FRIEND HE WILL NEVER STAND A CHANCE WITH ME? Dear Willie D: I’m a 32-year-old career woman living in Houston. I have a male friend I’ve known for some time now. We attended high school together, but because of our careers we now live…
Texas Is Fighting to Save an Endangered Species: The Death Penalty
Bexar County sheriff’s Sgt. Kenneth Van was stopped at a red light on May 28, 2011 when Mark Anthony Gonzalez pulled up and fired more than 25 rounds from an assault rifle into the officer’s cruiser. At his trial last month, a friend told jurors that Gonzalez chuckled when he…
Soulfly Leaves Nothing Untouched at Scout Bar Marathon
Soulfly Scout Bar October 27, 2015 When arriving to a show, there are always signs of how entertaining an act will turn out. And during a band’s sound check, fan reaction is always a good indicator of how energetic a show will be. Are fans standing around, arms crossed, waiting…
UberEATS Starts Delivering in Downtown & Midtown Houston Tomorrow
At a swanky press release party at the Historic Heights Fire Station last night, Uber Houston general manager Sarah Groen announced that the company will start offering its UBEREats food delivery service to limited areas in central Houston starting tomorrow. Drivers for the service will delivery freshly-packaged meals from Uber’s restaurant…
“Study”: Houston Sucks at Halloween
For some people, going bar crawling during a torrential downpour might still sound like a totally fun thing to do this Halloween. But if we’re being objective about this, then according to one study, Houstonians are in for one of the top 10 worst Halloweens in the country this year…
10 Songs Too Haunting for Halloween
There’s always been something a little unsatisfying about Halloween music. Sure, it’s always fun watching drunk people attempt the “Thriller” dance in a paper-thin, rayon costume that was not designed with those hips in mind, but “spooky” has never really been a mood that pop music has executed well. Most…
KUU and Artisans Get New Pastry Chefs
In the past, Japanese restaurants weren’t known for their exquisite pastries. Some citrus might show up at the end perhaps, or maybe there would be green tea ice cream. However modern Japanese restaurants are just as interested in serving top-notch desserts as, say, a French restaurant. Along those lines, KUU…
SXSW Invites GamerGate to Hold Panel, Results Predictably Terrible
GamerGaters have been up to their old tricks once again, and this time they’ve involved SXSW in the misery they spread wherever they go. Even worse, SXSW through a combination of poor management and a fundamental misunderstanding of everything that has gone on over the past year seems completely oblivious…
Another Day, Another Anti-Abortion Sting Video
On Tuesday a group calling itself the Center for Medical Progress released yet another sting video in which activists posing as workers for a tissue procurement company strike up a blunt, at times disquieting conversation with abortion providers about fetal tissue donation. The undercover footage, the latest in a series…
Space City Rocker Jeremy Hart Makes Mix CDs For His Kids
Adam P. Newton recently became a father for the first time, so he has decided to explain the entirety of post-WWII Western pop music to his new daughter, “Fig”…one genre at a time. Every other week, he also chats with child-rearing Houston musicians. Good morning, Fig! In this week’s interview,…
Houston Texans Release QB Ryan Mallett
If ultimately there is an undoing for Texans head coach Bill O’Brien and his tenure as head coach of the team, it will likely be his haphazard and very questionable handling of the quarterback position, from eschewing a franchise quarterback in the 2014 draft to his arbitrary flip flopping between…
Our Brand Is Crisis: Sandra Bullock Embraces the Political Dark Side
David Gordon Green’s Our Brand Is Crisis is a horror film wrapped in fast-talking political comedy. Watching Sandra Bullock, as ruthless campaign manager Jane, flog her uncharismatic candidate for Bolivia’s next president, I snickered at her knowing quips. Asked by an offscreen TV interviewer (the film’s awkward framing device) to…
Truth Traces the Journalistic Misdeeds That Brought Down an Anchor Rather Than a Bush
The most effective scene in James Vanderbilt’s brisk, outraged Truth is one that will be familiar to anyone who has ever sat in a room where editors and reporters are breaking down an investigative story. The reporters — here, 60 Minutes researchers played by Dennis Quaid, Elisabeth Moss and Topher…
Restaurant Drama Burnt Is Dead on the Plate
Before Anthony Bourdain published Kitchen Confidential in 2000, mere mortals who simply eat in restaurants had little idea about the drinking, debauchery and drug use rampant among the folks responsible for getting their fettuccine alfredo to the table. The book was eye-opening if true, and a rambunctious, vicarious pleasure even…
