Was 1971 Rock’s “Year One?” Also, the Complete Story of the Mac
Never a Dull Moment: 1971 – The Year That Rock Exploded By David Hepworth 307 pp. $30 Henry Holt Just look at this list of albums that came out in 1971 and are still staples yours (or your parents’) listening list: Led Zeppelin IV, Who’s Next, Tapestry, Aqualung, Blue, Madman…
How the Winning Strategy of Hal Mumme and Mike Leach Transformed Football
The tale of Hal Mumme and how he changed American football is a David and Goliath story with similarities to Michael Lewis’s Moneyball: The Art of Winning an Unfair Game, about the Oakland Athletics baseball team and its number-crunching general manager Billy Beane. That was a different sport and era, but…
When America Goes to Hell, I Watch Fix-Em-Up Shows
Recently, for reasons of dubious merit and despite a very inadequate supply of alcohol, I watched the big Donald Trump immigration speech. Trump’s odd, slurred, hateful and largely untrue rhetoric was the single most depressing thing I have seen in politics in my lifetime. When I find myself fondly remember…
Dinosaur Jr. Not Concerned With Its Past…or Its Future
Lou Barlow didn’t know if he’d ever record another album with Dinosaur Jr. Hell, he still doesn’t know if he’ll record another album with Dinosaur Jr. Such is life in a band that has had its fair share of twists and turns over the past three decades. “I generally try…
Rest in Peace With These Houston Funeral Homes’ Unique Services
The word “funeral” tends to conjures up some pretty specific imagery: Lots of black, an ornate coffin piled with flowers, maybe a mushy casserole or two. But, despite what the movies tell us, there’s not just one way to hold a funeral. In reality, a funeral is a lot like a…
10 Most Islamophobic Texas Politicians
If you’re anything like me, you watched French police stripping a Muslim woman of her burqini and thought, “Bigoted shenanigans by the sea? No way, buckaroos, that’s OUR job!” Texas has managed to field a rather impressive set of raging Islamophobes in our political sphere over the years, and today…
NFL Week 1: Bears-Texans — Four Things to Watch For
We’ve dedicated plenty of space here throughout the preseason and offseason to the Houston Texans, so there’s not a ton of broad, big picture analysis left to do. If you want my season-long, game-by-game cadre of predictions and snark, that dropped earlier this week here. Before we get into some…
Openings & Closings: Dry Creek Shutters, Hello Sozo Sushi
Sozo Sushi & Lounge, 1700 Post Oak, suite 250, held its grand opening on August 29. The Houston Press first heard about Sozo from CultureMap Houston back in December of 2014. The trendy sushi restaurant is located at BLVD Place above True Food Kitchen. The concept came from owners of Shogun Grill and…
Best Bets for This Weekend’s College and Pro Football Games
On paper, last weekend was maybe the greatest opening weekend in college football history — and it indeed lived up to the hype. However, unfortunately, what goes up must come down, and Week 2 of the college football season is decidedly underwhelming. In fact, it’s more than underwhelming. There are…
“Dancing. Is. Important”: Netflix’s EDM Movie XOXO Is a Transcendent Goof
Where were you when you learned that you’d be making your DJ debut at the biggest rave of the year? And that said rave was only eight hours away? Ethan, the sheepish main character of Netflix’s straight-to-streaming EDM movie XOXO, gets the news in his kitchen, where his mom is cooking breakfast…
A New Doc Charts a Course for the Heart of Spock — but Doesn’t Go Boldly
Leonard Nimoy’s 1975 memoir I Am Not Spock stirred fan outrage: How dare the actor, who was indeed Spock in the original Star Trek series, publicly dismiss his beloved half-human, half-Vulcan alter ego? According to Adam Nimoy, Leonard’s son and the director of the heartwarming but uninventive documentary For the…
London Road Offers a Thrilling Musical Tour of a Real Town’s Trauma
The techniques of verbatim theater go back decades, to at least the 1950s, when young German theater troupes would reenact complicated court cases word for word onstage. Even earlier, in the United States, the WPA paid for a form of this performance with its Living Newspapers, in which theater artists…
Double Trouble: A New Doc on the JT LeRoy Literary Hoax Settles for One Side
A decade after the fact, the scandal of JT LeRoy — the HIV-positive, young male (though gender-fluid) writer adored by scores of global alt celebrities who was revealed to be the creation of a woman named Laura Albert — is relitigated in Jeff Feuerzeig’s queasily absorbing documentary Author: The JT…
State Board of Education Member Wants to Nix Mexican-American Textbook
Creating a Texas State Board of Education-approved Mexican-American studies textbook must have seemed like a great idea at the time. Board member Ruben Cortez spearheaded the movement a couple of years ago, but has now changed course. On Tuesday Cortez announced that the committee of teachers, professors and experts he…
Ranking the Houston Texans 2016 Road Trips
A few seasons ago, before I was offered the chance to cohost the Houston Texans’ postgame show starting in 2014, my girlfriend Amy and I had made it an annual ritual to attend a couple of Texans road games each seasons. In 2012, the team’s best season in franchise history,…
Yuliya Lanina Channels the Dark Side of Children’s Fairy Tales at Redbud Gallery
Fairy tales – or at least the original, unsanitized versions – are full of dark, menacing and downright disturbing stories of family homicide (Beauty and the Beast), child abandonment (Hansel and Gretel) and self-mutilation (The Little Mermaid, Rumpelstiltskin). Austin-based multimedia artist Yuliya Lanina channels the dark side of children’s lit…
Upcoming: The Bluebonnets, Everclear, Kellie Pickler, Layzie Bone, Paul Thorn, Stevie Nicks, Trudy Lynn, Ugly Beats, etc.
Note: Events in bold reflect highly recommended shows. Allison Fisher: Sat., September 10, 9 p.m., $5. The Big Easy Social and Pleasure Club, 5731 Kirby, Houston, 713-523-9999. Amorphis: With Swallow the Sun. Sun., April 16, 7:30 p.m., $23 to $60. Scout Bar, 18307 Egret Bay, Houston, 281-335-0002. Another Run: With…
SweetCup Delivers Unique, Approachable Gelato
Jasmine Chida didn’t dream of opening a gelato shop. In fact, she had never tasted gelato before her honeymoon trip to Italy in 2010. But SweetCup, her self-owned and operated gelato shop tucked next to Woodbar on Montrose seems like a natural segue when Chida talks about her passion for…
Life’s a Drag – and That’s What Makes It Fun!
It’s time for these queens to lip sync…for their life! A handful of seasoned drag performers will sashay and chante – purse first, no less – for Houston audiences at Wortham Center’s Lillie and Roy Cullen Theater on September 15 as cast members from RuPaul’s Drag Race Season 8 slay the crowd. Bob…
Shows of the Week: Keeton Coffman Releases Confident Debut, Killer Eyes
KEETON COFFMAN Dosey Doe Music Cafe, September 9 More than six years after esteemed Houston pop/rockers The 71’s folded, ex-front man Keeton Coffman has firmly established himself as one of the area’s most charismatic and industrious singer-songwriters. He has now released four EPs while habitually haunting local stages like both…
The All-Over-the-Map Legacy of American Idol
American Idol is akin to that relationship that overstayed its welcome. At first, it was something new and magical. Good times were had. Memories were made. But as time wore on, so too did the relationship. You grew tired of one another. Those little quirks transitioned into faults. Every day…
Come What May Makes the Invasion of France a Soaring Tribute to Cliché
Christian Carion’s refugees-on-the-march World War II drama Come What May is the kind of old-fashioned war movie that’s crafted not just to emphasize history’s horror and brutality. Yes, Carion stages the occasional slaughter with heartsick brio, and sometimes can’t resist taking pleasure when the violence goes against the bad guys,…
Demon‘s Artful Horror Digs Into Poland’s Past — and Slowly Overwhelms
Horror has in recent years been so informed by found footage, smartphones and Skype that a trend toward folklore was probably inevitable. Far from trying to capture the moment, arthouse movies like The Babadook, It Follows and now Demon aspire to a kind of timelessness — what was old has…
Demon’s Director Committed Suicide. Now a Wife/Producer Perseveres
What happens when a director takes his own life before he’s able to see his work open in theaters? In the case of Marcin Wrona and Demon, his mesmerizing Polish art-horror film, Olga Szymanska, Wrona’s producing partner and wife, has pressed on. She has traveled with the film, watching the…
Eastwood’s Sully Continues the Director’s Interrogation of American Heroism
Like American Sniper (2014), Clint Eastwood’s Sully is a movie of nightmares. In Sniper, Chris Kyle (Bradley Cooper) sits rigidly in the living room, imagining the gunfire, roaring helicopters and wailing bystanders of Fallujah playing out on a turned-off television as his children race through the house. In Sully, Chesley…
Cougars Jump to 6th in New AP National Rankings
After beating third-ranked Oklahoma on Saturday, the University of Houston football team jumped nine spots in the Associated Press national rankings on Tuesday, landing at No. 6. Alabama, Clemson, Florida State, Ohio State and Michigan round out the first five spots. The Cougars had been ranked 15th in the AP’s…
Pete Tong’s Poolside Jams Are the Perfect Labor Day Refreshment
Pete Tong Cle Day Club September 4, 2016 Houston’s EDM fans had several decisions to make on the day before Labor Day, as several big names were playing in town. Pete Tong and Fedde LeGrand had club sets at Cle Day Club and Proof Rooftop Lounge, respectively, while Knife Party…
Low-Cost Vet Clinic Emancipet Set to Open Permanent Location Soon
Great news for pet owners and less-great news for dogs and cats who don’t want to part with their parts: Emancipet, the low-cost spay-neuter and veterinary care service that’s been operating from a fancy trailer in the East End is getting its first Houston brick and mortar clinic. The clinic,…
College Football, Week 1 — 4 Winners, 4 Losers
The greatest college football opening weekend of all time — that’s what everyone was calling it. Did it live up to the hype? For the most part, yes. In the state of Texas, it absolutely did. The Oklahoma-Houston game was an incredible atmosphere and a program-elevating win. The Aggies and…
The 2016 Houston Press Arts Guide: Literary Listings
Ready to snuggle up with a good book? How about going out on the town to meet one of your favorite authors? Here’s what’s coming up in the news several months in Houston: September 12, 19, 26 Community Write-In Writespace 713-516-5679 | writespacehouston.org September 7 Todd Moss Murder by the…
NASA’s Asteroid Sampling Mission Is Still a Go to Launch
NASA is set to launch its first asteroid-sampling mission from Cape Canaveral Air Force Base this Thursday despite the explosion of SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket on a nearby launchpad last week. After all, NASA scientists have an asteroid to rendezvous with. On Thursday evening, NASA is sending the Origins, Spectral Interpretation,…
The Cast of The Revolutionists Gives It Their All
In the “special thanks” section of Main Street Theater’s playbill for Lauren Gunderson’s new play The Revolutionists, whose world premiere occurred last February at Cincinnati Playhouse, among such acknowledgments to United Airlines, Houston Arts Alliance, the Alley Theatre, and Mildred’s Umbrella Theater Company, you will find a tip of the…
The Must-Win Games of the 2016 Houston Texans Season
As the Houston Texans limped off their home field back on January 9, victims of a complete playoff football ransacking at the hands of the Kansas City Chiefs, it was nearly impossible to see the forest for the trees. In the moment, in the midst of the miserable aftermath of…
Purists May Scoff, but Stoked Tacos & Tequila Gets a Lot Right
Walking into Stoked Tacos & Tequila feels like stumbling onto a film set — the set of one of those ’80s beach movies in which neon-pink, yellow and blue clothing from Ocean Pacific was considered fashionable. A pink and white Volkswagen bus is the biggest prop in the front of…
Inhalants — The Easy to Acquire but Deadly Drug That Nobody Talks About
Ever since he was a kid, Steven Allen liked to take things apart, see how they worked and put them back together again. “He made a computer for his little brother, just by spare parts that people threw out, one year for Christmas,” recalls Nellie Hencerling, his mom. He was…
Galveston Musicians Want Greater Recognition of Their Budding Scene
A few weeks back, the Houston Press interviewed Galveston Island music promoter Julian Zamora about his efforts to encourage original artists in the Island’s local scene. From there, it was a short leap to thinking about how other musicians on the Island fare in a city that caters to cover…
10 Can’t-Miss Rock Concerts In Houston This Fall
The weather is slowly beginning to cool, school is back in session and football season is (finally!) back. Summer is but a memory; it’s time for fall. And while that means more tolerable weather, as well as football aplenty four nights a week, fall also signifies a new season in another…
Walter Suhr and Mango Punch! Celebrate 25th Anniversary
Walter Suhr and Mango Punch! mark a quarter of a century in the music business with a showcase concert. “Basically, it’s 25 years of Mango Punch! in two hours,” Suhr laughs. The winner of multiple Houston Press Music Awards, Suhr is keeping specifics about the set list under wraps. “There…
Love and Resentment Run Deep in New Bee Gees Bio
Tragedy: The Ballad of the Bee Gees By Jeff Apter Jawbone Press, 272 pp., $19.95 Really, did any act in the rock era have a bigger comeback than the Bee Gees? The mere mention of the band’s name, of course, instantly conjures up the all too familiar white suits, chest hair, and…
Cinemax’s Crime Drama Quarry Mines Familiar Territory With Rare Feeling
Eight minutes into the pilot episode of Cinemax’s new crime show Quarry — an uneven but largely rewarding translation of Max Allan Collins’ crime books into emotionally challenging, character-driven television — Marine Lloyd “Mac” Conway, Jr. (Logan Marshall-Green) returns home a day early from his second tour in Vietnam. By…
Kicks is Almost the Coming-of-Age Sneaker-War Drama of Your Dreams
Here’s a gorgeous and audacious slice of East Bay life that’s dreamily attentive to Northern California sun and concrete, to the shambled beauty of a street couch under a BART station, to the slow thump of cruising stoned with hip hop bumping, to the way suburb-city edges into city-city and…
A Toast to the Epic Dada Madness of The Eric Andre Show
Before The Eric Andre Show came along, I always thought acting like a complete lunatic on television was mostly a white-people thing. As a culture, African-Americans generally frown upon the idea of being unabashedly clownish for the masses — black folks call it “showing your ass.” All those years of…
Dish of the Week: Nashville Hot Chicken
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 spicing up a Southern classic with Nashville Hot Chicken. Also known as simply hot chicken, Nashville hot chicken is a variety…
The 2016 Houston Press Arts Guide: Dance Listings
Put on your dancing shoes. Or at least get your binoculars in order. Here’s some of the upcoming dance events in Houston’s 2016-17 season. September 4 Bollywood Blast — Kaleidoscope Indian Performing Arts — Samskriti Miller Outdoor Theatre 832-487-7102 | milleroutdoortheatre.com September 8, 10, 11, 16-18 Director’s Choice: American Ingenuity…
Houston 33, Oklahoma 23 — 4 Winners, 4 Losers, #HTownTakeover Edition
In a journey that dates back to November of last season, and whose multi-layered storylines would serve HBO just as well as they’d serve ESPN, here is the highest compliment that I can pay to head coach Tom Herman and the University of Houston Cougars in the wake of the…
This Week in Food Events: A $99 Wine Dinner for Two
From wining and dining deals to some special Labor Day events, here’s a look at this week’s hottest culinary happenings: All month long $99 Wine and Dine for Two at Brennan’s Beginning Tuesday, September 6 and running all month long, the legendary $99 Wine and Dine returns to Brennan’s, 3300 Smith…
Julieta Venegas Enthralls a Private Acoustic Showcase
Riding in an Uber and listening to ’90s R&B on my way to the AT&T Compaq Store off U.S. 59, just across the highway from the old Summit, I felt nostalgic and transported to my youth, remembering life at a simpler time. “R&B is dead,” the driver interrupted my daydream…
Drake’s Pop-Up Shop Becomes a Hub of Houston Appreciation Weekend Activity
Pop-up shops are starting to become the norm in regards to hip-hop fashion. Whether tour merchandise or exclusive pieces, hip-hop’s fashion mind has moved well beyond just screen-printed T-shirts. Two weeks ago, Kanye West had his own pop-up shop in the Galleria with high-priced T-shirts and a rather limited amount…
Dear Stoner: Does Marijuana Help With Depression?
Dear Stoner: Does marijuana help with depression? Searching Dear Searching: Unfortunately, the answer is not a simple yes or no. There’s such a wide range of studies on the subject that trying to wrap your head around it can make your hair fall out — or leave you more depressed…
Dear Stoner: What If You’re Allergic to Marijuana?
Dear Stoner: Do marijuana allergies exist? If so, what happens if you’re allergic to marijuana and smoke it? Mick Dear Mick: Marijuana can cure many ills, but like pollen, peanuts or grass, it’s also capable of making some people swell up and turn red. According to a story in U.S…
Drake Makes His Latest Houston Show a Memorable Marathon
Summer Sixteen Tour Feat. Drake, Future, dvsn, Roy Wood$ Toyota Center September 3, 2016 Drake rolls with the winners. When he makes his own hits, those sterling, almost ridiculous punches of pop domination mixed with unassured cocksure swagger, he becomes the team to beat. When he comes back to his…
In Rout of Oklahoma, Cougars Make Convincing Case For Big XII
Tom Herman couldn’t have been any clearer on Saturday. Houston’s 33-23 win over Oklahoma was not a statement game according to the Cougars head coach. The Cougars, he said, weren’t sending any messages. A team doesn’t have to when it trains and expects to win every game. But it doesn’t…
The 2016 Houston Press Arts Guide: Visual Arts Events
Houston is heavily populated with museums, almost everywhere you look. Here’s some you should plan on strolling through in the next months. Continuing Through September 3 Charlotte Potter, “Glass Armory” Houston Center for Contemporary Craft 713-529-4848 | crafthouston.org/exhibition/glassarmory Through September 3 Karen Rips and Paula Chung, “A View Within” Houston…
Some Jerk Stole a Beloved Heights Jewelry Store Sculpture
You’d think a person would be able to leave a 450-pound, eight-foot steel sculpture outside your door for a few days without anyone stealing it, but you’d be wrong. At least that’s what Cody Reaves and his wife, Sondra Evette, learned when the giant, freakish logo for their jewelry store,…
Precinct 4 Destroyed Evidence Leads to 142 Dismissed Cases (So Far)
Harris County District Attorney Devon Anderson laid bare the havoc a missing evidence scandal in Precinct 4 has caused within her office: 142 dismissed criminal cases to date, a list that grows longer each week. “It’s so critical that this gets under control,” Anderson said at a Friday morning news…
Houston’s 5 Best Weekend Food Bets: Bacon, Beer and Kolaches
From Saturday-only kolaches to a Labor Day burger-grilling session, here’s a look at this weekend’s best culinary happenings: BrewMasters Craft Beer Festival at The Moody Gardens Hotel, Spa and Convention Center Friday through Sunday 7 Hope Boulevard The seventh annual BrewMasters Craft Beer Festival is going down all weekend long…
Montrose Blood Drive Hopes to Raise Awareness for FDA Limits on Gay Donors
Advocates who want the FDA to remove restrictions on gay men’s ability to donate blood are holding a blood drive September 4 at Numbers. Organizers Banned4Life and Revive Church, which operates out of the Montrose night club, hope the blood drive will encourage public input on the FDA’s review of its recommendations, which…
It Might Be a New Season, but It’s Still the Same Old Rice Team
It may be a new football season, but so far, it’s the same old Rice Owls. And that’s a bad thing. The Owls journeyed to Bowling Green, Kentucky last night to do battle against the Western Kentucky Hilltoppers. The Hilltoppers finished 12-2 last season, won Conference USA, and finished ranked…
William Reece Indicted 19 Years After Deaths of Cain, Smither
Nineteen years after two girls disappeared from Friendswood and Tiki Island, the man long suspected of being responsible for their deaths has been indicted on murder charges. A Galveston County grand jury indicted William Reece Thursday, not long after human remains belonging to Jessica Cain were discovered in a horse…
There Are No Winners in the SportsRadio 610 – Tom Herman War
The Houston Cougars open the season against the Oklahoma Sooners tomorrow morning. It’s perhaps the biggest season opening game for the Coogs since the days when Bill Yeoman was roaming the sidelines as head coach. If the Cougars, ranked 15th, pull off the win in a sold out NRG Stadium…
Sassy Mamas at Ensemble Turns the Tables on Expected May-December Roles
In 2014 Detria Ward was a finalist in the Best Actress category of that year’s Houston Theater Awards for her role in The Old Settler, the World War II era story of woman a few years past 40 who has remained unmarried and takes in a young male boarder so…
Lace Up Your Heaven’s Gate Nikes and Get Ready to Rhumba
The Music of Martin Scorsese, Performed by Sign-Spinners Chekhov once described a late meeting with Tolstoy in which the famous novelist, then in his golden years, but as forceful of mind and prolix as ever, bragged of an essay he was writing. Chekhov had a great fondness for both the…
Muddy Belle Invites Houston’s Listeners to Come On In
Jerry Gonzales, aka Gonzo, front man and percussionist for Muddy Belle, might be the quintessential Bayou City musician. He’s an artistic hustler, hip yet charming, an inspiring musician and a damn fine dresser. You’ll rarely find him without the proper pants, suspenders, pressed shirt and hat. When he talks about…
Troubled Airbag Company Sued Over Texas Truck Explosion
A truck driver injured after the tractor-trailer he was driving exploded on August 22 is suing an airbag manufacturer, whose components he was hauling, and whose defective parts have been blamed for deaths and injuries around the country. The explosion in the border town of Quemado also killed a woman…
The Five Best Things to Do in Houston This Weekend: Coffee, Cars and a Crooner
It wasn’t easy, but the Houston Symphony snagged Seth MacFarlane for a one-night-only cabaret-style evening of crooning this Sunday. But before that all goes down, we’ve got a full weekend of fun in Houston, beginning with a dethroning and a few beheadings on stage at Main Street Theater. The fun…
Upcoming Houston Food Events: Burgers for a Cause
Mark your calendars, because you don’t want to miss these deliciously fun culinary events, including a chance to see what the sommeliers are sipping and a 75th anniversary celebration: Throughout the month of September, Arnaldo Richards’ Picos, 3601 Kirby, will debut a limited-time menu in conjunction with Dress for Success…
Sturgill Simpson Sticks It to Nashville Hypocrites Over Merle Haggard Award
He’s generally a little more subtle about how he feels about the wretched state of the country-music industry, but Sturgill Simpson sure set the tiny corner of the Internet occupied by country-music fans on fire this week. In a statement posted to Simpson’s Facebook page, the modern-day outlaw ripped the…
Sunoco, Sued After August Pipeline Fire, Has a History of Safety Violations
At about 9 p.m. on August 12, contractors employed by Houston-based company L-Con were working on one of the main lines in Sunoco Pipeline LP’s Nederland terminal when crude oil burst through a plug that was supposed to hold the oil back in the pipeline and ignited, according to lawsuits…
The Houston Press Monthly Mixtape: September 2016
For music, this September is electric for Houston. A wild coterie of artists are coming to town, blessing the monthly mixtape with their forays into the digital music space. The Kills (September 9, White Oak Music Hall) have turned down their bass on their latest album Ash and Ice, while…
A Cranky Fan’s Guide to Music Festivals
There’s nothing like hearing that your favorite band is going to be performing somewhere nearby, especially if they almost never play live shows, or are coming out of a long retirement. Those sorts of announcements can excite a rock fan in ways almost nothing else will. Of course, sometimes there’s…
SpaceX Explosion at Cape Canaveral Deals Setback to Johnson Space Center
An explosion rocked the SpaceX launchpad at NASA’s Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida at 9 a.m. Thursday morning, according to the Associated Press. The blast occurred during a routine rocket test as part of plans to launch a communications satellite. No one was injured but the Falcon 9 rocket and the…
Police Say Houston Man Killed Family — Then Made Up Self-Defense Claim
Houston police have arrested a man they say shot and killed his wife and daughter at the family’s home back in June — and tried to convince investigators he acted in self-defense. Michael Ratliff, 43, faces a capital murder charge for the slayings, police said. After police responded to the shootings…
Houston S.L.A.B. King’s Sentence Commuted By President Obama
On “Tops Drop,” Fat Pat’s 1998 hit that became a posthumous reminder of what a talent he was, the heavy baritone squelched and boomed with glee. His idea of joy, outside of rapping to his heart’s content was hanging with his best friend, Corey Blount. Blount, known to many Screwed…
Four-Packs of Tickets Now on Sale for Houston Press Brunch Event
Having brunch with friends and family is a great way to celebrate a week well spent. With the specially-priced four-pack of tickets for “The Morning After, A Houston Press Brunch Event,” it’s easy (and economical) to bring along three favorite people. The ticket packages are called the Brunch Squad Pack and…
Houston Press Arts Guide 2016: Film Listings
Here’s what’s coming up in the next year for film enthusiasts in Houston: Through January 8 Andy Warhol: Sunset The Menil Collection 713-525-9400 | menil.org September 2016 Movies Houstonians Love Museum of Fine Arts, Houston 713-639-7515 | mfah.org/films September 1 Totally ‘80s Sing-Along Alamo Drafthouse Vintage Park 832-559-5959 | drafthouse.com/houston…
HISD Says It’s Really Over This Time to Chief Auditor Richard Patton [UPDATED]
It was a trial reconciliation that was never going to work and late yesterday, the Houston Independent School District made it official: Chief Auditor Richard Patton is out of a job. Sent home in March after his audit team issued a report critical of the district’s oversight of construction projects,…
Family of Slain Houston Motorist Says Video Contradicts Police Account
Tommy Barnes paced back and forth on along Franklin Street in front of the Harris County Criminal Justice Center on Wednesday evening, gazing occasionally at the dozen police officers standing on the opposite sidewalk. “The police murdered my son,” he said between drags from a cigarette. “(The officer) opened the…
Taco Bell’s New Core Burritos Are a Mixed Bag
Taco Bell’s latest creations are the Core Burritos. They’re kind of like meat and rice burritos stuffed with a three-cheese burrito. Cheesy Core Burritos are available in two styles, “crunchy” and “spicy,” which contain “red strips” and jalapeno peppers, respectively. Either can be customized with a protein of choice—steak, chicken…
Indie Texas Country Artists Racking Up Major-League Sales
In February of 2015, the corporately-controlled world of commercial country music suffered quite the shock when Aaron Watson’s The Underdog debuted in the Number One spot on Billboard’s Top Country Album chart. That announcement came only a few days after Gary Overton, then the CEO of Sony Music Nashville, ignorantly proclaimed…
Survivors: 8 Restaurants in Houston That Endured — Even When It Wasn’t Easy
Last week, we published an article that revealed that in only five years, 60 percent of our picks for the best new restaurants of 2011 had already closed. That’s a depressing statistic. A reader asked, “Why not write an article about the successful ones?” and that seemed like a terrific…
The Houston Press Fall 2016 Arts Guide: Music
The arrival of Fall in the Houston area can be difficult to detect using the calendar, tied as it is to our ever-oppressive climate, or the retail sector, who would have you believe that Halloween comes directly after the Fourth of July. Look instead to the area’s fine-arts organizations, on…
I Want to Seduce My Sister’s Man. Help!
Dear Willie D: I’m 25, and I have a crush on my sister’s 28-year-old boyfriend. I don’t want to steal him from her, just borrow him for sex and send him back. I have caught him looking at me on more than one occasion, so I know he would be…
Don’t Worry, Baylor Fans — Receiver Who Beat Dog Will Play in Big XII Opener
Baylor University on Tuesday announced it had suspended wide receiver Ishmael Zamora for three games for beating his dog, two weeks after video of the incident became public. The games Zamora will miss comprise the team’s non-conference schedule: Northwestern State, SMU and Rice. He’ll still suit up for Baylor’s Big XII…
Houston Police Officer Accused of Threatening Wife With Gun
A Houston police officer faces several charges after police say he threatened to kill his wife at least twice — most recently after surprising her at her workplace. Police said Pedro Gonzalez, 45, showed up at his wife’s work on August 25 and told her he would kill her and…
Will Houston’s Building Boom Ease Pressure on Rents?
Houston will build more new apartments this year than any other metro area in the United States, a real estate research firm projects — but will the new stock ease pressure on rents? Rent Cafe estimates about 26,000 new units from 95 projects will come online this year, outpacing larger…
Houston-Area Restaurateurs Struggle With Yelp’s Business Practices [UPDATED]
Yelp proved a long time ago to be a successful outlet for consumers to speak their minds about restaurants and other kinds of businesses. However, the consumer reviews displayed on a Yelp page is sometimes a skewed by the “Yelp Sort” algorithm. Even basic facts, like whether a business is…
Former Governor Rick Perry to Get Down on This Season of Dancing With the Stars
Rick Perry once hoped to spend this fall winning the hearts and votes of Americans across the county. And, in a way, he still will be – but instead of campaigning as a presidential candidate, Perry will join the upcoming 23rd season of ABC’s reality show Dancing with the Stars,…
People’s Champ Paul Wall Defends QB Colin Kaepernick Despite Controversy
I’m on the phone with Paul Wall, and he has lots to say about the world he lives in. I originally called the People’s Champ to speak to him about the free grill pieces he and his partner Johnny Dang have offered Olympic gold medalists to congratulate them on their…
State AG Ken Paxton Sues Waller County Over Courthouse Gun Ban
Well, Texas Attorney Gen. Ken Paxton certainly doesn’t mess around when it comes to open carry. After warning Waller County officials that he’d make them get in line with state law if they didn’t do so of their own volition, on Tuesday morning Paxton followed through. He filed a lawsuit…
