Check Out Our Chatter
Our new music page definitely has the right stuff. ] Today’s issue of the Press features the debut of our new music page, Chatter, our attempt to bring some of the Web to the printed page. Besides a look at how New Kids on the Block spent their interregnum before…
No W. Screenings For Houston Critics
Oliver Stone’s W. opens Friday, but critics around the country have already attended screenings so they can have their reviews ready for that day. Except in Houston. Apparently, according to one local film critic, W.’s studio has decided not to have any critics’ screenings in Houston…
Alleged Aggie Assaulter Allegedly Assaults Again
Texas A&M might have some explaining to do. Eddie Helle, a cadet involved in a fight we wrote about in “Rotten to the Corps,” was arrested on Saturday for allegedly beating up another student at a tailgate party – on university property – before the Aggie football game. Helle, who…
Zombies Will Feed The Poor!
Zombies will walk the streets of Houston. No, we don’t mean the Texans’ secondary. Or the Astros’ bullpen. Or the people who pick TUTS’ musicals. We mean actual zombies, walking…on behalf of the Houston Food Bank…
Oktoberfest in Fredericksburg
Photo by Robb Walsh / Click here for a slideshow… There were a lot of Texans trying to look German in lederhosen and peasant outfits at Oktoberfest in Fredericksburg. So when I saw two young women walk in the front gate in touristy cowboy hats, I did a double take…
Aftermath: The Cardinals at Verizon Wireless Theater
Photos by Chris Gray Ryan Adams is not difficult. Not onstage, anyway. Clad in a surely unironic Dokken T-shirt, the wafer-thin Adams – who by all accounts has been clean and sober for a while, but still needs to eat something – went out of his way Tuesday night to…
Tonight: The Sian Alice Group, Also at Walter’s on Washington
True to its name, Sian Alice Group’s debut album 59.59, which came out early this year on the Social Registry, clocks in at just under an hour and marvels in the cold contours of time and space. But if the four- to six-piece London ensemble comes off cerebral at first,…
Ike Kicks Disney In His Frozen Head
Ike blew a couple of roof panels off Reliant Stadium, even though everyone was told the stadium would be able to withstand much stronger winds than that. The missing panels didn’t bother the Texans, who have played home games there. (Unless you want to blame the notorious collapse against the…
Tonight: A Place to Bury Strangers at Walter’s on Washington
On the final night of the 2008 South by Southwest Music Conference in Austin, unassuming downtown patrons filed into Cedar Street Courtyard for a casual drink. Within minutes, A Place to Bury Strangers – most recently in Houston opening for Nine Inch Nails back in August – cleared the place,…
Sam Houston, Comcast Pitchman
Comcast’s current Sam Houston campaign has made for some of the stranger local TV ads in recent memory. In them, a, um, statuesque General Houston reminisces on his life and career and touts Houston’s favorite only cable provider. [Unfortunately, or fortunately depending on your opinion, the spots do not appear…
Artist of the Week: Without a Face
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. We have a general rule that we adhere…
Reports of Nautical Antiques and Decor’s Demise Greatly Exaggerated
Put it up there with “Dewey Defeats Truman” and, we dunno, some other famous mistake in journalism. Last month we bemoaned the passing of Galveston’s Nautical Antiques and Decor, arrrrgh-uably the best place in Southeast Texas for all your porthole and compass needs. But co-owner Adrienne Culpepper recently informed us…
Don’t Ask Me No Questions
The conservative blogs in town have been a bit up in arms, rightly so, that a Houston Chronicle editorial writer has donated $250 each to Barack Obama and Democratic county judge candidate David Mincberg. Blogger Kevin Whited wrote to Steve Jetton, the Chron’s reader rep, with some reasonable questions, among…
Aftermath: Neil Diamond at Toyota Center
As I walked into the Neil Diamond concert last night, I was already bathed in decades of derision. Years of being told by popular culture that he was a corny and trite leftover from the coked-over ’70s. A sad relic of popular music history, when men could wear sequined jumpsuits,…
New Restaurant in River Oaks Shopping Center from the Vallones
Local restaurateurs Tony and Jeff Vallone have their sights set on the River Oaks Shopping Center. Don’t worry – Weingarten Realty won’t have to tear down anything this time. The as-of-yet-unnamed Italian restaurant/wine bar will go on the northwest corner of the intersection of Shepherd and West Gray, which has…
Aldine ISD Is The Susan Lucci Of The Broad Prize, Again
Remember, Aldine — it’s an honor just to be nominated. It’s an honor just to be nominated. It’s an honor just to be nominated. That’s what school district officials will have to keep repeating to themselves as once again they have been denied the $1 million Broad Prize in Urban…
McGowen Green in Midtown?
For years I have walked, driven, and ridden trains and buses past the so-called Midtown Superblock, the four-block long and one or two-block wide vacant swath bordered on the east and west by Main and Travis and the north and south by McGowen and Tuam. And I have always had…
Ten Possible Reasons for the Cowboys Missing the Playoffs
As if losing to division rivals Washington in week 4 and falling into a virtual four-way tie for the NFC East wasn’t bad enough, now the Dallas Cowboys are without starting QB Tony Romo for at least a month — and minus Adam “Don’t Call Me Pacman” Jones indefinitely following…
Johnny Cash Up In Da Club
That sound you hear is Johnny Cash spinning in his grave as remixers from all over the 12-inch spectrum get their mitts on “Folsom Prison Blues,” “Country Boy” and ten others on Johnny Cash Remixed, out today on Houston’s Compadre Records. Or might it be the Man in Black actually…
Guy Sues Continental Airlines over Fuel Surcharges
Pissed off about those extra bucks some airlines are forcing you to shell out in fuel surcharges? Even more ticked off when you pay extra for the plane’s gas and then don’t even make the flight? Well, Timothy Moriarty is. He’s so incensed, in fact, that he’s suing Continental Airlines…
Tonight: Awesome Color at the Mink
“Eyes of Light” Damn. Wasn’t that something? Sonic Youth’s Thurston Moore indirectly turned me on to Awesome Color, a terrifying trio from the wilds of northern Michigan. AC is one of the artists on Moore’s Universal-distributed label, Ecstatic Peace, and released the self-explanatory LP Electric Aborigines earlier this year. Seriously,…
Get Lit (or Not): A Review of The Guardians
It’s still Hispanic History Month for the next 11 hours or so, and to celebrate I thought I’d review Ana Castillo’s new novel The Guardians. What a mistake. The Guardians was actually painful to read. It’s overwrought with “Hey, hey – we’re Latin! Aren’t we cool? Aren’t we cute? Aren’t…
This Just In: Sometimes Voters Aren’t Very Informed About Candidates
Texans like the right to vote for their State Supreme Court judges, even though they know nothing about them, their judicial philosophies, or even who they are. That’s according to a statewide poll released earlier today by the staunchly conservative Federalist Society. Out of 700 people polled, 71 percent agree…
Lonesome Onry and Mean: Kiss My Ass, W
To say I’m a little miffed is an understatement – I‘m actually feeling lonesome, onry and highly pissed off. My daughter, an Air Force Tech Sgt., lifted off for a six-month tour of duty in Qatar yesterday, leaving behind my two-year old granddaughter. As her departure time got closer over…
We’re Still Looking for MasterMinds (of the Non-Criminal Variety Please)
The Houston Press is still accepting nominations for our first annual MasterMinds awards. We’re looking to give away 2,000 bucks — no strings attached — to three local geniuses. Think you or one of yours has what it takes? Nominate your favorite local artist, innovator or entrepreneur over here. Deadline…
Four Lost Neil Diamond Covers
Few musicians polarize critics like Neil Diamond, but, love him or hate him, you can’t deny his ability to write unforgettable pop numbers. Just consider how many of Diamond’s songs have become standards and then, as covers, became standards again. While trying to catalogue such a list, we discovered a…
National Cancer Organization Wants Hot Dogs Out of HISD Schools
Photo by Robb Walsh Speaking of processed meats…okay, we’ll wait a second for you to stop drooling. Done? Good. Now where were we? Ah, yes… Speaking of processed meats, the good doctors at the Cancer Project filed a federal petition last week with the United States Department of Agriculture, asking…
Aftermath: Citizen Cope at Verizon Wireless Theater
Photos by Kris Ex It’s impossibly hard to talk about Citizen Cope. His allure is rooted to his ability to remain a closed cipher. His music – old-timey folk, modern-day blues and gully street tales full of the uncounted and forgotten – is at once about nothing and everything; allegory…
Who Wants to See W.?
Over at Deadline Hollywood Daily (which just so happens to be affiliated with our sister rag LA Weekly), Nikki Finke cites an interesting Fandango poll of moviegoers who plan on seeing W., Oliver Stone’s upcoming biopic that features the infamous night when George W. drunkenly crashed a car onto the…
National Cancer Organization Wants Hot Dogs Out of HISD Schools
Photo by Robb Walsh Speaking of processed meats…okay, we’ll wait a second for you to stop drooling. Done? Good. Now where were we? Ah, yes… Speaking of processed meats, the good doctors at the Cancer Project filed a federal petition last week with the United States Department of Agriculture, asking…
State Fair of Texas: Chicken-Fried Bacon Anyone?
This past weekend we took a trip to Big D for the Texas State Fair where we discovered or were reacquainted with various facts such as that Big Tex casts a tall shadow, Oklahomans can be really sad when their team unexpectedly loses to UT and in Dallas, Fried Food…
Hef and His Lady Split (Or, The Most Pathetic Story Ever)
Okay, so eightysomething Hugh Hefner and his twentysomething girlfriend number one Holly Madison have apparently called it quits because he refused to allow her to weasel her way into his will so she could be supported for the rest of her life. I’m sorry, I phrased that wrong. I mean,…
The Uber Dog in Hallettsville
On my way to Oktoberfest, I was driving through Hallettsville when I saw a sign raving about the sausage at Janak Country Market. It was only 10:30, but since sausage is my favorite breakfast food, I pulled over. After browsing the aisles of hickory-smoked sausage, ham and bacon, I ended…
News Chopper Crash Shows The Dangers
KTRK has released the names of the two men killed in this morning’s helicopter crash in Montgomery County. The victims were pilot John Downhower and photographer Dave Garrett. Today’s tragedy serves as a stark reminder of what can go wrong every time a news organization puts a reporter or photographer…
Rocks Off, Press Seeking Music Writers
outofordercomix.blogspot.com Do you like to talk about music? Sometimes when there’s no one else around? Are you comfortable using the words “coruscating,” “plangent,” “seminal” and “self-indulgent,” preferably all four, in a sentence? Do you like getting in to shows for free? If so, there might be a place for you…
BOIs Make A Comeback In Galveston
If you know Galveston, you know what “BOI” means — it means “Born On the Island,” and it means you’re better than all those poor johnnie-come-latelys who come from the mainland. Since Ike, though, there hasn’t been a BOI. Until today. Jennifer Ramirez-Hernandez, a healthy seven pounds, eight ounces, was…
This Just In: Barack Obama Loves Pie
— Robb Walsh…
State Fair of Texas: Chicken-Fried Bacon Anyone?
This past weekend we took a trip to Big D for the Texas State Fair where we discovered or were reacquainted with various facts such as that Big Tex casts a tall shadow, Oklahomans can be really sad when their team unexpectedly loses to UT and in Dallas, Fried Food…
Obama Ads On The Air In Houston?
Houston television viewers have been getting a bit of a shock lately — they’ve been seeing advertisements for Barack Obama. As Joe Biden might say, that’s like seeing TV ads back in the day for Eugene V. Debs. Paul Burka of Texas Monthly has had reports of the ads playing…
Tonight: Margo & the Nuclear So and So’s at the Mink
Quick, name three musicians or bands from Indiana that do not contain the words “John,” “Cougar” or “Mellencamp.” Still thinking? Well, that list would include jazz guitar great Wes Montgomery, Deniece “Let’s Hear It for the Boy” Williams and pop-punk “Boys of Summer” the Ataris. Don’t forget that Axl Rose,…
The State Of Texas Offers Marriage Advice
Are you and your significant other planning on getting married? Do you want to save $60 on the marriage license and waive the 72-hour waiting period? Well, the Health and Human Services Commission of Texas has got your back, yo! Thanks to a law enacted Sept. 1, the state is…
Ike Can’t Stop Parker Elementary’s 50th Birthday
You’re an elementary school celebrating your 50th anniversary, you have such proud alumni as Beyonce, and what happens? Ike knocks your damn sign out. Parker Elementary in Westbury is a magnet school specializing in music, and it’s long been known as a great school. (Even if other schools claim Beyonce…
Turning the Screw: D. Rose, Rap City, Beastie Boys, Marilyn Manson, Paris, Lil Kim, Ice Cube 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 “A Blues For Trust,” D. Rose Wire to Wire Turns out more than a few organizations weren’t necessarily heartbroken…
“World Day Against The Death Penalty” Passes Quietly In Houston
On the World Day Against the Death Penalty, here in the state-sanctioned-execution capital of the nation, you might expect an elaborate protest or demonstration, like in Japan or India where protesters wore black execution hoods with nooses around their necks and shirts that said “Save Me.” There wasn’t anything like…
The Busiest New Airline Route Is In Houston
Airlines across the plant added almost 2,100 new routes last year. Which new route was the single most popular? It was right here in Houston. The new Hobby to Big Spring route drew tens of thousands of travelers, which is especially strange because it uses a one-prop plane. Actually, the…
Over the Weekend: Pearl Bar, Los Tios, Escalante’s and Houston Aeros
Greetings. Hope yours was as good as ours. Let’s compare notes. 12:45 a.m. at Pearl Bar Bill Olive prowled Washington and came back with some pics of ping pong, solid-color shirts and lots of cocktails…
A Tale of Two Taco Plates
I recently entertained an out-of-town food writer who had been contracted to write on Tex-Mex in San Antonio and Houston. Although he was very personable and fun to hang out with, I knew of his notoriety of writing really negative reviews about things that others held dear. When we met…
Aeros-Wolves: Say Hello to Dane Crowley and Krys Kolanos
Krys Kolanos tips in a laser shot from Morten Madsen for the win / Photo by Fred Trask The story of game one of the Houston Aeros 2008-09 season is about the new guys. Sure, Nolan Schaefer turned in a stellar performance between the pipes. And Marco Rosa and Peter…
John Royal’s NFL Power Rankings
We’re a day away from week number six of the NFL season. So let’s take a look at how the Power Rankings stand as of this moment. 1. New York Giants (1) (4-0): The offense seems to be a well-oiled machine. The defense is very good. And since they’re playing…
Westheimer Block Party Crib Notes
Free Press Houston’s Block Party goes off this weekend – if you haven’t heard by now, how’s the weather under that rock? With so many bands playing the free indoor/outdoor showcase, we thought we’d help clear the air with suggestions. Not included are the bands playing in the post-Block Party…
Kaboom Books Opens Second Location, This One “P”-Free
Kaboom Books is one Houston’s best kept secrets, unfortunately. The used bookstore run by Post-Katrina/New Orleans transplants Dee and John Dillman features a wealth of already-been-read fiction and 80+ other genre selections. The pair has had a couple of shops around the Heights area – with the longest-standing store at…
Not Everyone’s Happy Mark Twain’s “Nice White Boys” Principal Is Back
The happy days of the ’50s that were once yours and mine are still kicking over at Mark Twain Elementary, where Principal Joyce Dauber was reinstated after being suspended for making racially insensitive comments to teachers about her grandson’s class placement. Three parents upset with Superintendent Abe Saavedra’s decision to…
Aftermath: The Walkmen, Little Ones and Young Mammals at Walter’s on Washington
Photos by Chris Gray The Walkmen look like such nice boys. They strode onstage at last night’s sold-out Walter’s show mostly clad in tucked-in button-down Oxford shirts, like they had just gotten off work – or, these days, just been fired – from some Wall Street investment bank. But they…
Black October, Set to Music
As some of you may know, Wall Street has been experiencing some turbulence of late. We know because we’ve been seeing lots of images of depressed dudes on trading floors clasping their heads. In fact, there is a whole blog devoted to these shots, complete with sardonic captions, at Sad…
Freddie Mac Helps Out Bankers (And A Couple Of Home Owners)
File this under “Since you just got your ass kicked by Hurricane Ike, we’re gonna give you a break (kinda).” Freddie Mac has ordered its servicers to suspend all foreclosure sales on Freddie Mac properties until December 31, including mortgages that were in default prior to Hurricane Ike. (Servicers, by…
How Did KHOU Miss These Horrible Halloween Costumes?
Channel 11 had a shocking report this morning about how kids’ Halloween costumes are becoming “skanky.” To back this up, they showed a lot of costumes consisting of long pants and shirts that — gasp! — displayed belly buttons , with no regard for whether they were innies or outies…
E-Voting Doesn’t Get Computer Scientist’s Vote
Just in time for Halloween and Election Night Fever, a professor at Rice is scaring the crap out of us … well, kind of. Dan Wallach, an associate professor and Director of Rice’s Computer Security Lab, is an e-voting expert who specializes in what-could-go-wrong scenarios. He’s headed to Austin Wednesday…
Can I Get Some Of My $30 Million Back?
Just a day before a new crew heads up to the International Space Station, NASA has announced the return of an old problem: The station’s toilet is broken again. The troubles involve a “gas separator” which, frankly, sounds like something you’d definitely want to be working in the toilet of…
Greek Burgers at Hubcap Grill
We included a picture of the muffuletta burger in this week’s review of Hubcap Grill. So here’s some equal time for the Greek burger. It tastes a lot like a hamburger in the middle of a Greek salad–pretty damn good if you like feta. The giant black olive slices are…
Good News for School Cafeterias from the Health Department
You might have questions as to the quality of the food your kid’s eating at school, but you should have no worries about the cleanliness of it. We looked at food inspectors’ reports for public and private schools from October 1 to October 8, and we found very few violations…
Five Spot: John McCain Don’t Need No Stinking Foo Fighters
Welcome back to 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. Those stodgy Foo Fighters are all up in arms again. Apparently, they’re pissed about “The Maverick,” John McCain, using 1997’s mediocre…
East Houston Musical Doesn’t Wow LA Critic
A campy musical set in East Houston, featuring a rebelling teen trying to deal with an emotionally distant dad who works at NASA, starring Howard Stern’s daughter — what could go wrong? Plenty, according to Variety. Earth Sucks is the name of the musical, which opened recently in LA. And…
You May Not Have Power, Galveston, But You Can Golf
Galveston may still be struggling with basic services….but the golf course is soon going to open! In fact, the driving range already is open, so people can take out their FEMA frustration on the ball. The rest of the Moody Gardens course should be open in two to three weeks,…
Book Review: Dennis Lehane’s The Given Day
Not being much of a mystery fan, I haven’t read Dennis Lehane’s best-sellers like Mystic River and Gone, Baby, Gone. But I like to rummage around in the often-sneered-at genre of historical fiction, and Lehane’s latest is squarely in that category. The Given Day takes place in Boston just after…
Houston Aeros Face Off Tomorrow Against Chicago Wolves in First Game of Season
The Houston Aeros begin their 15th season this Saturday against the Chicago Wolves. On Wednesday, they had a media day session for all of us hockey folk – and it was nice to see the guys from Channels 13 and 39 and 790 The Sports Animal; where were you last…
Laurie Anderson: “The World Has Turned Itself Inside Out in the Last Few Weeks”
For almost three decades, Laurie Anderson has been America’s most recognizable performance artist. Some of this no doubt stems from the fact that, with Lou Reed, she’s been half of New York’s No. 1 art/rock power couple for about that long (the two officially married in Colorado earlier this year)…
Houston Pavilions Almost Ready For its Close-Up
There are some strange new lights piercing the night downtown near where Dallas intersects with Fannin and San Jacinto. They’re the “sky rings” that are to be a signature of the new Houston Pavilions development, which will begin opening next Thursday. The lights were supposed to be unveiled in a…
Selling Kids to HISD
And all this time we thought HISD Abe Saavedra’s outreach to dropouts was just in the kids’ best interest. Turns out, it can be a money maker as well – or at least that’s the pitch made in a July 31, 2008 letter to the superintendent from a local attorney…
Some Bylines Be Gone
We’ve already noted that Houston Chronicle DC blogger Julie Mason and film critic Eric Harrison are no longer with the paper. Other reported victims of the voluntary buyout/layoff purge at 801 Texas whose bylines you might recognize: DC staffer Bennett Roth, metro writer Rad Sallee, classical critic Charles Ward, longtime…
Top Five Beatdowns in Houston Sports
More details are emerging about Brandon Backe’s recent dust-up with Galveston’s Finest and the news isn’t good for the GPD. Witnesses said Monday that police needlessly beat, Tasered and pepper-sprayed wedding guests who were trying to comply with police commands during an incident in which officers arrested 10 people, including…
The John Royal College Football Top 25, Week Six
Another week of college football by the wayside, so it’s time for another version of my Top 25 College Football rankings. You can find the rankings from the Associated Press and USA Today here. 1. Oklahoma Sooners (1) (5-0): Baylor didn’t stand a chance last week as Sam Bradford tuned…
Book Review: The EELS Guy Speaks Out
We sure miss the innocent days of 2000, before we went to war and the economy tanked, when song lyrics were what people worried about. Mark Oliver Everett, also known as E or A Man Called E – his band is the EELS – had the surreal experience of his…
The Disappearing Local Film Critic
The demise of the film critic has been reported in media sources from the august to the obscure. The butcher’s bill from the last few years reads like a Reviewer’s Hall of Fame: Nathan Lee (The Village Voice), David Ansen (Newsweek), Stephen Hunter (Washington Post), Jonathan Rosenbaum (Chicago Reader). Hell,…
Project Row Houses Salutes Lightnin’ Hopkins
Project Row Houses, the nationally acclaimed Third Ward-based artists’ collective, honors the lasting impact of another Third Warder of note, Lightnin’ Hopkins, in its new installation THUNDERBOLT SPECIAL: The Great Electric Show and Dance – Commemorating Sam Lightnin’ Hopkins. After the opening reception from 4-7 p.m. Saturday at the El…
Art Rock: Devin the Dude CD Release Party at Venue
Note: email info@jmgemag.com to RSVP…
UT Students Disciplined Over Obama Signs (Updated: Victory!)
Students at UT have learned a powerful political lesson: Supporting Obama will get you in trouble with The Man. We’re sure UT officials would say supporting McCain would get you in trouble, too, but apparently sure-as-shootin’ mavericks are not as prevalent on the 40 Acres as Obama fans. Two UT…
Accused Of Faking A Forgery? Has To Be An Ex-Enron Exec
A New York City art gallery is accusing a former top-dog at Enron — and Houston patron of the arts — of being so broke that he’s been trying to extort money from the gallery by falsely claiming a painting he bought with Enron money more than a decade ago…
ABC to Premier Dancing With The Guards
Reby Sky (on probation for resisting arrest) is an early favorite. It’s no secret that ABC’s primetime ratings suck. It’s also no secret that one of their biggest hits is the reality show Dancing With The Stars, which features C-list celebrities, actors, singers and jocks doing ballroom dancing. And ABC…
Banned: A Practice We Had Never Heard Of
File this under Trends We Were Not Aware Of: apparently Texans pay to have fish nibble their feet. But not anymore! The Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation, which covers a ton of industries including cosmetologists, has banned the practice of “fish pedicures.” “We decided it doesn’t meet our health…
Westheimer Block Party Map and Stage Schedule
Click through for scheduled performers and stage times…
MLB Playoffs: Dodgers, Phillies, Rays and Red Sox
The next round of the baseball playoffs gets underway today, and as much as this is probably going to shock some of you, the Houston Astros are still not playing. The teams still left are the Philadelphia Phillies and Los Angeles Dodgers in the National League, and the Tampa Bay…
How Depressed Do You Have to be to Want To See Nights in Rodanthe?
Okay, so I’m not saying that my marriage is the world’s greatest or anything. Mr. Pop Rocks and I have our bitter moments, our mean-spirited spats, our drunken fist fights. (Just kidding about the mean-spirited spats part.) Anyway, what I’m saying is we’re certainly not perfect. But here is my…
Family Fun Workshop: Day of the Dead Sugar Skulls
People often equate Dia de los Muertos/Day of the Dead sugar skulls with voodoo, devil worship and all things satanic. They miss the whole point – they’re skulls, and they’re made of sugar! How cool is that? And anyone can enjoy them, even if you don’t get the whole back…
Salome
You may not feel much like helping out the New York City economy right now (seeing as how your tax dollars are already doing that), but there’s still reason to support one of its finest cultural institutions – the Metropolitan Opera, which today transmits a performance of Salome live and…
“American Civil War Field Notes: Sketches from Cairo to Columbia”
If you think snapping a photo when bullets are flying is hard, try perfecting the shading on a musket with pad and pen in a fire flurry. During the Civil War, newspapers employed “Special Artists” to sketch battlefield scenes for their front pages. The work of these embedded illustrators is…
Robin Wright
In our new global economy, information is key. But in the age of the Internet, culling the credible from the crap feels almost impossible. Today, the World Affairs Council of Houston offers a rare voice of insight from one of the nation’s most informed journalists. Robin Wright has reported on…
Jon Scieszka
Noted children’s author Jon Scieszka – the wonderfully warped writer responsible for The Stinky Cheese Man and The True Story of the Three Little Pigs – recently took on perhaps his most absurd subject to date: his childhood. Knucklehead, the recent autobiography from the first-ever National Ambassador for Young People’s…
Stephen Hunter
Any author who writes with a “pack-as-much-unrelated-stuff-in-there-as-you-can” style and somehow makes it work deserves some notice. Night of Thunder, Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and film critic Stephen Hunter’s fifth Bob Lee Swagger novel, features (try to keep up here) an ex-Marine sniper/Vietnam vet (Swagger), his journalist daughter in a coma, a…
“Lo-Fi No-Brow Folk Show: New Works”
Glen Gips and Jon Read use simple methods to create complex compositions for the “Lo-Fi No-Brow Folk Show: New Works.” “As the name suggests, we are pairing artists who have an outsider art aesthetic, without being actual folk artists themselves,” says ArtStorm’s Chris Cascio in an e-mail. “Both artists are…
“Exit Saigon, Enter Little Saigon: Vietnamese America Since 1975”
The photographs in the Smithsonian’s exhibit “Exit Saigon, Enter Little Saigon: Vietnamese America Since 1975” capture the desperate journey more than one million Vietnamese refugees made to the United States when Saigon fell in 1975, and the hope they found when they got here. As their country crumbled around them,…
“Perspectives 163: Every Sound You Can Imagine”
Jazz not only changed the way we hear music – it changed the way we see it. The genre’s free-form, improvisational delivery inspired a new notation system. “Perspectives 163: Every Sound You Can Imagine” examines the rise of experimental notation and reveals its later influence on visual artists. Among the…
“The Beauty of Disposable Things”
You may have noticed that “green” is kind of a hip concept right now, having made Al Gore (of all people) cool, bottled water a public enemy and tossing an aluminum can in the trash practically a felony. But the artist Allison Merriweather has taken the concept of recycling to…
Monsieur Verdoux
Charlie Chaplin put his Little Tramp to rest for Monsieur Verdoux, the story of Henri Verdoux, an earnest if slightly sociopathic unemployed banker who takes to marrying and then killing off wealthy widows in order to support his family. (It was based on an idea by Orson Welles, who in…
Fresh Fridays Presented by the Fresh Arts Coalition
The beauty of Shakespeare’s many masterpieces is that a hundred years from now, or, hell, 500 years from now, innovative artists and troupes around the world will still be finding new and exciting ways to interpret them. To wit: Today at Discovery Green’s Fresh Fridays Presented by the Fresh Arts…
The Walkmen
The Walkmen’s first three releases suggest the group has a decidedly descriptive moniker. The New York City-based indie rock quintet’s occasionally murky, melodic sound may remind you of listening to a second-generation tape of a pop record on a portable device not quite fit to provide an optimal listening experience…
Akimbo
Akimbo would put any longhaired mane in a tangle. The Seattle threesome pounds out riff-heavy, rhythm-conscious tunes meant for head thrashing and fist pumping. The trio’s blend of metal and rock caught the attention of Jello Biafra (Dead Kennedys) back in 2006, and since then the group has called the…
Splendid China III: New Discoveries
Fourteen members of the internationally applauded Shanghai Dance Company are bringing Splendid China III: New Discoveries, a program of Eastern treasures, to Miller Outdoor Theatre. Making its Houston premiere today, the Shanghai Dance Company will perform works that depict the fearless warriors of the Qin Dynasty, the elegant and fragile…
Hearts of Animals
Hearts of Animals is high-quality lo-fi. The one-woman band starring Mlee Marie features gentle layers of fuzz-treated guitars, beats and keys. The compositions are placed behind Marie’s lullaby-licious vocals for a dreamy synth-pop sound. Hearts of Animals plays perfectly in an intimate club setting or over your stereo as you…
Laurie Anderson
Performance art can be an intimidating thing, bringing to mind weird piercings, mass nakedness and the kooky antics of David Blaine types. But one artist in particular has been embraced by the masses: Laurie Anderson, whose eclectic, impassioned musical compositions are made all the more compelling by her intimate stage…
ScreamWorld
ScreamWorld continues to live up to its name. The haunted house was beefed up this year with movie-set quality scenes to ensure you strain your vocal cords. The newly added farmhouse, tomb and outdoor graveyard sites are packed with zombies, monsters, chainsaw maniacs and other terrifying things that go bump…
Wayne Brady
It’s a little odd to think of Wayne Brady fronting the Houston Symphony. Sure, the actor/comedian/dancer/singer was a stand-out lyricist and vocalist on the hit series Whose Line Is It Anyway?, but our hipster department remembers him more fondly for his hilarious roles on the Emmy Award-winning sitcom 30 Rock…
Time Will Tell
Musiqa, Houston’s eclectic classical music ensemble, continues its mission to bring Bach and Beethoven to the forefront of the city’s cultural landscape by joining forces with the ubiquitous Travesty Dance Company for Time Will Tell. The world premiere dance choreographed by local talent Karen Stokes, who’s founder of the Center…
“Einstein”
Sure, it’s easy to remember that he had a big brain and even bigger hair, but tough to recall the specifics about Albert Einstein’s scientific theories – especially if you spent high school physics scribbling song lyrics instead of field equations. Fortunately, the Health Museum is offering up “Einstein,” an…
Westheimer Block Party
Alongside iFest and the Houston Press’s own Music Awards Showcase, Free Press Houston’s semiannual Westheimer Block Party is easily one of Houston’s signature musical happenings — not least because it’s absolutely free. April’s installment drew more than 5,000 people to the swath of Westheimer between Numbers and Avant Garden, and…
The Walkmen: You & Me
With the exception of “The Rat,” from the Walkmen’s 2005 sophomore album Bows + Arrows — and maybe one or two other songs — the New York band has been conducting studies in the unmarketability of unhooky, sustained-chord guitar noise, churchlike organs and stretched-to-the-limit solo vocals. At their worst, as…
A Two-Point Plan to Save Gaming News
Two weeks ago, I described the links between one of gaming’s biggest PR companies, TriplePoint PR, and a small gaming news and review site founded by TriplePoint’s General Manager and founder Richard Kain (see “A Slave of Two Masters” at www.JoystickDivision.com, September 25). Though the site — GameCyte.com — was set…
Don’t Miss Wayne DeHart in Radio Golf
Sit back, put your feet up (figuratively) and get in the groove as the Ensemble Theatre takes you to places you’ve never been — except perhaps in another August Wilson play. Set in 1997, Radio Golf is the final work in Wilson’s epic ten-play “Pittsburgh Cycle” — his mammoth, electrifying…
Cory Mo: Still Payin’ Due’z Vol. III
The litmus test for a Cory Mo album is the amount of “…nice” moments it contains. Put simply, a “…nice” moment occurs when something happens in a song, be it a clever punch line or unexpected snare, that makes you go “…nice.” Lil’ Wayne has ridden his aptness for such…
Todd Snider: Peace Queer
At one point during Peace Queer, Todd Snider addresses his audience, explaining how his friends have remarked his songs are getting more and more opinionated lately. “I did not do this to change your mind about anything, I did this to ease my own mind about everything,” he explains. It’s…
The Game: LAX
On LAX, The Game aims to achieve the status of the plethora of rappers he references in his rhymes. While this pursuit of greatness is admirable, the Compton-bred MC is still misguided on how to pull off such a feat. What started out as harmless homage on his first two…
Ronald Taylor Is One of Perhaps Hundreds of Innocent People Harris County Has Sent to Prison
Ronald Gene Taylor’s long night began one morning 15 years ago when he was awakened by the sound of police kicking in the neighbor’s door. Taylor was 33 years old at the time — a black man who had dropped out of high school, served time in prison for cocaine…
Ike’s Biggest Art Casualty Tries to Dry Out
The smell was indescribable,” says Galveston Art Center Director Alex Irvine, describing her first post-Ike visit to the GAC, on the Tuesday before the island was opened up. “It was just horrible, it was heartbreaking; the walls were covered with mold, and the floors were buckling. The whole downstairs was…
Muffuletta Burger at Hubcap Grill
The new king of burger joints in downtown Houston sports a crown of shiny hubcaps. “Welcome to Hubcap Grill,” reads a sign in the entranceway, “hand-formed, crafted burgers, never frozen, 100% fresh ground chuck with homemade toasted buns.” The Hubcap Grill is tiny. Or maybe it just seems tiny because…
Capsule Art Reviews: “Houston Collects: African American Art,” “Indifference Personified,” “Lo-Fi No-Brow Folk Show,” “RADAR EYES”
“Houston Collects: African American Art” In 1865, a North Carolina father built a desk for his little girl, who was learning to read. Such a desk may not seem noteworthy, as it is rough-hewn and made from mismatched scraps of old furniture, with some pieces painted and others written upon…
Missing Vowel at Luigi’s Pizzeria
Bruce Ward, proprietor of Luigi’s Pizzeria (3700 Almeda, 281-793-3333), seems an unlikely person to open a pizza place. After all, if you don’t have a vowel at the end of your name, what do you know about cooking Italian? But while he may not be Italian by birth, he is in…
Bayousphere
“We are SO going to kick Colt ass today!! Whooo!! I am talking a 17-point lead with five minutes to go!!! But I gotta leave early, so I hope I don’t miss anything in those last five minutes.” Arturo Murillo, a.k.a. El Toro Loco, was probably a little more loco…
Get Some Tail at Under the Bridge
When you order the smothered oxtail ($12.99) at Under the Bridge (6202 Highway 6 South, 281-564-0202), you may not be able to clean your plate. In fact, it’s not a plate but a platter. But it’s not quantity that makes it special, it’s the rich flavor. The oxtail pieces have…
We Can Believe In Body of Lies
A new kind of war movie for a new kind of war, Body of Lies is about the War on Terror as it is being waged on the ground, in the air, but most of all in cyberspace. Directed with terrific verve by Ridley Scott (coming after the listless American…
Smells Like Teen Spirit
The Gloryhounds are onstage right now at a Surfside bar and, truth be told, they’re not great. Matter of fact, they fall firmly into the “middling bar band” category and play mostly covers you’d expect of such a group: Cheap Trick’s “Surrender,” Cowboy Mouth’s “Jenny Says,” “Hazy Shade of Winter”…
Hitler’s Desk, Death of a Bookstore, and Premium Problems
Houstonian Jack McConn has a desk set he wants to sell. It’s not just any old desk set, mind you. It’s the one Hitler used to sign the Munich Pact back in 1938. (For those of you who skipped history class that day, the Munich Pact was an agreement by…
New North Heights Hipster Hang: Big Star Bar
Why is it that whenever someone is driving around an unfamiliar area looking for an unfamiliar building, they turn the radio down? We don’t understand. As far as we can surmise, there seems to be no real correlation between increased radio volume and decreased navigating capabilities. There was this movie…
Meanwhile, Back at the Ranch…
Apologize: Hurricane Ike was an S.O.B., but Eisenhower was not a bastard [“You Bastard!” by Richard Connelly, September 18]. He was truly a great American hero and deserves respect and honor, especially from an organization that benefits from the rights he preserved and protected — freedom of the press. An apology…
Wabs and Mexican Guatemalans
Dear Readers, I don’t like to rerun columns ’cause it makes me look like a lazy Mexican, but I realize that, as my column invades foreign terrain (Chattanooga! Columbia, South Carolina! Steamboat Springs, Colorado!), new readers might not understand some of my commandments. Following, then, are the two most-frequently asked…
The Greatest Texas Rock Album of All Time
Song for song and pound for pound, what is the greatest Texas rock album of all time? Well, grab a Lone Star or three and let’s discuss. Old-timers would no doubt cast their ballot for something like the Thirteenth Floor Elevators’ Easter Everywhere, Sir Douglas Quintet’s The Sir Douglas Quintet…
Chrome/Helios Creed
Chrome was one of the most influential experimental bands, presaging the harsh, angular, mechanistic songwriting that would become industrial music. The act’s paranoid vision of a dystopian world expressed itself in sounds that recalled the late-’60s psychedelic rock of the Thirteenth Floor Elevators shot through with a dark, sinister electricity…
Tito & Tarantula
It is almost impossible to separate Tito & Tarantula from the Robert Rodriguez movies, Desperado and From Dusk ‘Til Dawn, that made the band cult-level famous. And it’s not surprising that Back to the Darkness, its first album in five years, is perhaps a tongue-in-cheek play on FDTD’s title. With…
Paul Winstanley & Nameless Sound
In certain Houston circles, the words “Lexington Street” are spoken in the hushed, reverent tones reserved for other bohemian enclaves like San Francisco’s Haight-Ashbury or Chicago’s Wicker Park. For several years in the early to mid-’90s, the leafy avenue in Lower Montrose (near the 59 spur) was home to a…
ROLL-N SALOON’S SOCO AND LIME
When HPD and the good folks down at the Mayor’s office finally lifted the citywide curfew, I had a chance to reflect on how the “forced bedtime” had played havoc with my double life as a drinks columnist. Case in point: I’m pretty sure that the last time I visited…
Capsule Stage Reviews: All I Really Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten, Electile Dysfunction, Madama Butterfly, Rumors, To Kill a Mockingbird
All I Really Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten Robert Fulghum’s feel-good nostrums about life and how best to live it have become a worldwide phenomenon ever since the publication of his first book of pithy essays, which has now been adapted into a play by Ernest Zulia, with…
The Cardinals
As skipper of the Cardinals, Ryan Adams has made some moves like another noted Redbird: St. Louis baseball manager Tony La Russa. Adams tools with the group’s lineup and modulates the game plan due to each player’s strengths, though some of his methods can be confounding. Some incarnation of the…
