UH Cougar Gets Owned by a Duck. That’s Right. A Duck.
It wasn’t bad enough that the UH Cougars got their butts whipped by Oregon in the season opener. Now they’re facing mascot shame. Shasta, or at least the mascot version of him (Do they still keep the drugged real-life Shasta in that air-conditioned cage by Lynn Eusan Park?), got his…
Houston Has One Helluva Job Market. In Other News, We Quit.
Dear Houstoned Reader, Are you having murderous feelings toward your boss, your co-worker, or your client? Going postal is certainly an option. But may we suggest simply quitting? After all, you are living in Houston, one of the top ten job markets in the USA, according to a recent study…
Drenched In Blog: Just Can’t Quit You Baby
Former Honeydrippers frontman Robert Plant and frequent Diddy/David Coverdale collaborator Jimmy Page have decided to reform their earlier group, Led Zeppelin; you may remember their music from several car commercials and films. The one-off set, scheduled for November 26 at London’s O2 arena with Pete Townshend, Bill Wyman & the…
This Just In: Activists Call for Investigation into Why Neil Bush Is Receiving Federal Education Funds
A citizens activist group today asked the U.S. Department of Education’s Inspector General’s Office to investigate why federal No Child Left Behind Act funds are being spent on educational software sold by Neil Bush’s company – a person, they point out, with absolutely no education background. Citizens for Responsibility and…
Longhorn Fan Almost Castrated by Sooner Fan. No Joke.
You may have heard by now about the UT fan who was nearly castrated for wearing a Longhorns T-shirt into a Sooners bar in Oklahoma City. The incident occurred back in June. With a story such as this, it’s sometimes easy to scan the headline, wince for a moment and…
What’s Craig Biggio Got to Do with Paula Marshall? Not Much, But Hear Us Out.
I’m watching the Astros battle the Cubs last night, and Jim Deshaies and Bill Brown start talking about how Cecil Cooper’s not playing J.R. Towles in the games against the Cubs because he doesn’t want to mess with the dreaded integrity of the game. You see, the Chicago Cubs, unlike…
US Army Sgt Omar Mora Dies in Iraq
U.S. Army Sgt Omar Mora, of Texas City and the 82nd Airborne, gained fame a few weeks ago when he was one of seven front-line soldiers to sign onto an op-ed piece in The New York Times that injected some reality into the rosy scenarios the Bush Administration was pushing…
Get Lit: Iggy Pop: Open Up and Bleed, by Paul Trynka
As Iggy Pop, he was (and is) one of rock’s wildest wildmen; a performer who might abuse the worst kind of drugs imaginable, bloodily mutilate himself on stage, or launch himself into a frenzied audience that might just as easily part like the red sea as catch him safely. As…
Miss Pop Rocks: When Good Girls Go Bad, Vanessa Hudgens Edition!
You know who I don’t feel the least bit sorry for? Vanessa Anne Hudgens. Now I know this little cutie pie and star of “High School Musical” recently found herself in quite a pickle when nude shots of her were leaked to (where else) the Internet. And I’m sure right…
Joseph Zawinful, R.I.P.
There have long been a handful of songs I assumed could have only been written by angels, not men. “Amazing Grace” tops that list, even though I know it was written by a self-loathing slave-trader. One of the others is “Mercy, Mercy, Mercy,” a standard first recorded by Cannonball Adderley…
Radio Houstoned: Remembering 9/11 with Dom Irrera
Cick the LISTEN button below to hear Olivia Flores Alvarez talking with comedian Dom Irerra about being funny in a post-9/11 world…
Harris County Curfew Extended. Tailpipes to Remain Free of Bananas.
If you’re under 16 and want to stay out past midnight, you’re still out of luck even if you’re not in Houston. Harris County Commissioners Court voted 4-1 today to extend the midnight-6 a.m. curfew for another three years. Here’s County Judge Ed Emmett’s press release on the vote…
Drenched In Blog: Kanye vs. Fiddy vs. Black Lips
I thought beefs went out with the XFL, but apparently in the rap world, they still linger. Today, two of its biggest stars, Kanye West and 50 Cent, are both releasing albums, much to each other’s chagrin. The occasion is being trumped up by the media, tearing our nation at…
Five More Strippers Arrested in HPD Bust. And Yes, We Just Said “Bust”
Houston police recently arrested five more strippers as part of Operation Those Dudes Get to Hang Out at Strip Clubs All Night. So more props to HPD for keeping us safe – safe from breasts exposed indoors. Consensually. Among adults. In a city with an increasing murder rate. — Craig…
Drenched In Blog: The Requisite Britney Spears Post
America’s cultural albatross, known as Britney Spears, slugged out on the stage to open Sunday’s 2007 MTV Video Music Awards. And there was not an ungaped mouth in the house. It’s our fault she’s still here, America. We fed this creature fame and money, catering to her every need for…
New Cartoon Chicken in Town
Latino fast food chicken is getting to be a crowded category around here. There’s Pollo Campero, Pollo Riko, Pollo Bravo, and now Pollo Feliz, The location at 9310 Westheimer looks like a slick fast food outlet and they have a pretty impressive cartoon character too. Evidently the chain originated in…
New Cartoon Chicken in Town
Latino fast food chicken is getting to be a crowded category around here. There’s Pollo Campero, Pollo Riko, Pollo Bravo, and now Pollo Feliz, The location at 9310 Westheimer looks like a slick fast food outlet and they have a pretty impressive cartoon character too. Evidently the chain originated in…
Joan Jett. Dan Patrick. Bob Costas. Craig Biggio. And Plenty More.
Before I get much further, I really want to send a message to NBC: If you’re going to adapt a Joan Jett song for your Sunday Night Football game, why not get Joan Jett to sing the song? It was bad enough when Joan Jett-wannabe Pink tried doing the song…
This is One We Actually Like …
The Houston Chronicle sure has itself a lot of blogs. Mostly, they’re nothing you’d click on. One of the good ones, though – for those of a certain bent – is Bayou City History by J.R. Gonzales. Gonzales makes terrific use of the photo files of the Chronicle, the late…
Get Lit: The New Food Lover’s Companion, by Sharon Tyler Herbst and Ron Herbst
This is the fourth edition of the book that the late Sharon Tyler Herbst began writing more than 19 years ago. It offers more than 6,700 common and uncommon cooking terms – not only in English, but in other languages (French, Spanish, Italian, Portugese, Chinese) which an English-speaking cook might…
Get Lit: The New Food Lover’s Companion, by Sharon Tyler Herbst and Ron Herbst
This is the fourth edition of the book that the late Sharon Tyler Herbst began writing more than 19 years ago. It offers more than 6,700 common and uncommon cooking terms – not only in English, but in other languages (French, Spanish, Italian, Portugese, Chinese) which an English-speaking cook might…
Call for Entries: Bandana Art Show
Hey you! Yeah, you, the one with the bandana around your neck. You should take that thing off and actually do something creative with it. Why? So you can be part of Bomit’s “Bandana Art Show” and display your work alongside the likes of national artists such as Shepard Fairey,…
Weekend College in Review
I know the worst broadcasting team in sports. I don’t know the name of the announcers, but they were working Saturday’s A&M/Fresno State tilt for Fox Sports Southwest. And I know they’re bad because during the most crucial moments of the game, they missed the most important fact. It’s the…
Astros Recap
The Astros suffered through another lost weekend, this time being swept by the NL East leading New York Mets. The Astros ended the month of August on a high-note by winning four of the last five games. Things aren’t so great for September, as the team has lost seven of…
Sex, Drugs and Rock & Roll in the NFL: Long Snaps with Bryan Pittman
www.houstontexans.com And now we present a Q&A with the Houston Texans’ long-snapper, Bryan Pittman. If you want to know the basics, check out his bio on the Texans’ Web site. For the interesting stuff, be sure to click here every Monday and Wednesday throughout the football season as Bryan dishes…
Down and Dirty with Dunta: Texans/Chiefs from the Pressbox
Dunta Robinson: Heart & Soul of the Texans It’s Sunday afternoon and I’m pissed. Sure, the Texans just won (by the exact margin I predicted and Mario Williams turned in a performance good enough to net him AFC defensive player of the week honors. But I can’t be concerned with…
Miss Pop Rocks: Arrest Me, Dog Chapman
How I love the Dog. Oh my word, how I love the Dog. I’m talking, of course, about Duane Lee “Dog” Chapman, The Bounty Hunter, whose adventures are captured on A&E’s “Dog the Bounty Hunter” show. For those of you who don’t know, the Dog is a felon-turned-bail bondsman who…
Drenched in Blog: Unknown Pleasures
Here’s the official trailer for Control, the Ian Curtis biopic, coming this winter, that chronicles the short life of the late Joy Division frontman. It was shot entirely in beautiful, morose black and white, the preferred milieu of director Anton Corbijn. He shot the album art and lion’s share of…
Homespun Electronic at Avant Garden
I’m endeared to local musicians who crouch over gear-stacked milk crates on oriental carpets, or who kneel and stare intently at mixing consoles with high ideals. Thursday night, locals Mirm, and Translations played Avant Garden, turning the historic Montrose house formerly known as Helios into an ultra-intimate venue for two…
Last Night: John Egan at Rudyard’s
John Egan at Rudyard’s September 6, 2007 Better Than: Winning. Download: Some nerve, then get to a live show and buy whatever Egan is selling. In the meantime, go to www.myspace.com/thejohnegan. “Little girl is leavin’ me.” I’ve seen John Egan three times, and he’s never been introduced to the audience…
What a Butthole!
Wondering what to do this weekend? You could go to the movies. Play a round of golf. Or — and obviously, this is our recommendation — step inside a big butthole. Okay, so Dan Steinhilber’s installation at Finesilver Gallery isn’t being billed as a butthole (it’s actually called Inflatable Black…
Weekend # 2
Well, welcome to weekend two of the College Football season. But first, do operator error – meaning that I’m an idiot – you only got to see the picks that I made for 10 of the 16 NFL games this weekend. Here are the picks for the other 6 games:…
A Day in the Life
As I’ve mentioned before, I used to be part of the in-house video crews for the Astros and the Texans. I thought that, with the Texans opening the regular season on Sunday, I’d give you a little behind the scenes look into a game day with the video crew. (A…
Let Me Wash That for You, Honey
If you think showers are just for, well … showering, think again. It turns out that we use the washroom for everything from a good shag to a place to stash beer. According to a recent online survey by bathroom product manufacturer Grohe, 22 percent of Americans say they do…
$13 at Gabby’s Barbecue and Ribs
Where: Gabby’s Barbecue and Ribs, 3101 N. Shepherd, 713-864-5049 What $13 gets you: A sampler plate ($9.99), a soft drink ($1.69) and your own police detail (priceless) I’ve never been to Gabby’s on a weeknight without seeing at least two cops inside. This joint must be giving the po-po some…
$13 at Gabby’s Barbecue and Ribs
Where: Gabby’s Barbecue and Ribs, 3101 N. Shepherd, 713-864-5049 What $13 gets you: A sampler plate ($9.99), a soft drink ($1.69) and your own police detail (priceless) I’ve never been to Gabby’s on a weeknight without seeing at least two cops inside. This joint must be giving the po-po some…
Knock ‘Em Dead
Let’s say you were a teenage boy in 1983, a metalhead. You plummet off your friends’ roof while playing air guitar to “Shout at the Devil” and go into a deep coma a la Terry Schiavo. Today, you finally awaken. You turn on the news to see Motley Crue bassist…
NFL Predictions
So, Jason thinks that we ought to make weekly predictions on how each week’s NFL games are going to go. I’m game. I’ll be using the point spreads that come down to me from my New York office and are used for the office football pool. This is usually the…
More Ron Paul Shenanigans Available on YouTube
Internet hype is cutting both ways for Texas’s favorite Libertarian-turned-Republican presidential candidate, Ron Paul. For a while, it looked like the netroots would be a boon to Paul’s anit-war, anti-government, anti-everything candidacy. Paul’s celebrity took off when he faced down Rudy Giuliani over the 9/11 Commission Report in a debate…
Madonna Shines Ray of Light on Texans
We could have used a different picture, but why bother? I’m a big believer in signs. I can’t help it, really. Though the logical part of my brain screams that these so-called “signs” are nothing more than mere coincidences better left ignored, my inner Shyamalan simply won’t let go of…
Hey METRO!
Rumor has it that METRO was supposed to throwing an ‘appreciation dinner’ for some of its employees. Trouble is somebody couldn’t spell appreciation, so instead the announcement said ‘apprciation dinner.’ Hey METRO – how exactly do you ‘apprciate’ someone? Does it involve Vaseline? — Olivia Flores Alvarez…
Miss Pop Rocks: Memo to Larry King: Retire
So I’m probably going to get totally hated on for this one. But does anyone else out there think the retirement alarm is going beep beep beep for Larry King? And I’m not just saying it because of his many gaffes, like the recent interview with Ringo Starr in which…
You. Can’t. Be. Serious.
I can’t help but notice that one of the newest Rockets, Justin Reed, was arrested for possession of marijuana. And I can’t help but wonder if he just happened to be over by the offices of the Houston Astros, because that’s the only explanation I can arrive at for why…
Get Lit: Stalin’s Ghost, by Martin Cruz Smith
Travelers at a late night subway station report seeing the ghost of Joseph Stalin. It is not possible, of course, but the idea has a certain attraction for Russians tired of the new world order. Stalin has rebounded in the polls; his deadly excesses overlooked. Much against his will, Inspector…
Rotation: Heaven and Hell (CD); Live at Radio City Music Hall (DVD)
Look out!! With all due respect to the Police, Van Halen, and Genesis (okay, maybe not Genesis…), the only classic-rock reunion of the year that mattered, especially to serious headbangers, was that of Black Sabb…er, I mean Heaven and Hell. Don’t sue, Sharon Osbourne! The Dio Years anthology, featuring three…
Radio Houstoned: Mark Gimenez
Listen to Mark Gimenez discuss his latest book The Abduction with Night & Day editor Olivia Flores Alvarez on Radio Houstoned. Mark Gimenez is nothing if not modest. The author says his first debut novel, The Color of Law, “did well.” Ah, Mark, it was a New York Times bestseller,…
“Fall” by Dominic Walsh Dance Theater
Six years is a long time to survive the mean streets of contemporary ballet, but the Dominic Walsh Dance Theater isn’t just staying alive, it’s thriving. And to celebrate its big number six birthday, Walsh and his dancers are performing “Fall,” a fabulous (and free) concert of some of the…
9-11/9-11
9-11/9-11 is a tale of two cities, of two tragedies. The animated short film jumps back and forth between the September 11 attack on New York City’s Twin Towers in 2001 and the U.S.-supported military coup against Chilean President Salvador Allende in 1973. Artist and creator Mel Chin weaves together…
Whistle Down the Wind
Theatre Under The Stars presents Andrew Lloyd Webber’s musical Whistle Down the Wind. The story follows some children who find a mysterious wanderer holed up in a barn and mistake him for Jesus. Of course, all hell breaks loose. Is he really the Messiah? Or is he an escaped convict?…
Michael Chabon
In the September 2007 issue of Details magazine, Pulitzer Prize-winning author Michael Chabon tells a story about his best friend trying to set him up on a blind date. Chabon’s friend explained, “I told her I knew a Jewish guy who would give her head.” The “her” would eventually become…
“Array”
For “Array,” Heimir Björgúlfsson uses birds to relate his fish-out-of-water feelings. The Iceland-born, now L.A.-based artist’s collages introduce fowl (mostly from his native land) to the mean streets of Hollywood. Much like Björgúlfsson had to adapt to his surroundings, so do his birds, which are superimposed into photographs of L.A…
Buford at the Strand Theatre
Dave Erwin never saw any ghosts or tried to murder his uncle while he was growing up in East Texas, but somehow Hamlet seemed very familiar to the playwright, sort of like home. So what did Erwin do? He reworked the play as Buford, setting it in the Lone Star…
Luis Fernando Roldan
Sicardi Gallery presents “Drawings,” a new exhibit by Luis Fernando Roldan. (Houston art lovers might remember Roldan from the 2006 group exhibition at Sicardi Gallery, “Marked Pages.”) “Drawings” includes work that at first glance seems to be simple patterns or even random lines, but further inspection reveals an unsuspected complexity…
Syndromes and a Century
Thai director Apichatpong Weerasethakul’s latest offering, Syndromes and a Century, has been making the rounds — and winning awards — on the film festival circuit. Described as “an experiment in memory” by the director, Syndromes and a Century is inspired by the lives of Weerasethakul’s parents before they became lovers…
The Red Hearts
The Red Hearts lean heavily on early ‘70s punk groups such as The Clash, The Jam and Elvis Costello. The L.A. foursome is led by singer/songwriter/guitarist Lenny Pops, who takes his cue from the stylings of those groups to create songs that force you onto your toes. Tunes such as…
“Mad Women”
Bitchiness is not a trait confined to lowbrow entertainment like Judge Hatchett, America’s Next Top Model and the political writings of Michelle Malkin. It can also be found in the world of opera, as Ars Lyrica Houston will demonstrate at today’s concert “Mad Women.” Soprano Melissa Givens and soprano/mezzo-soprano Marie…
Volvió una Noche
Ah, Argentina — the tango, the music…the ghost of your dead mother? Well, that’s what character Manuel gets in Volvió una Noche (“She Returned One Night”), the comedic play by Eduardo Rovner. In the work, Fanny (Claudia Soroka) returns from the grave to manage the wayward life of her son…
“600 sq mi: Photos from Houston”
When Jim Parsons and the folks at Houstonist.com came up with the idea for a photo exhibition on Houston, they weren’t expecting an international response. “600 sq mi: Photos from Houston” was originally meant to showcase local talent. “There were two goals. One was to show some excellent images of…
9th Annual Village Bluegrass Festival
The 9th Annual Trader’s Village Bluegrass Festival will go on rain or shine this weekend — nothing can stop those fiddlers from taking the stage. This year’s performers include the nationally renowned Missouri group The Chapmans, a family band of three brothers and their dad. They play a mix of…
Mark Gimenez
Mark Gimenez is nothing if not modest. The author says his first debut novel, The Color of Law, “did well.” Ah, Mark, it was a New York Times best-seller and a big hit in the UK. It also sold over 400,000 copies worldwide and has been translated into a dozen…
Houston Symphony Opening Night Concert
In the mood for all things Russian? Then be there when the Houston Symphony launches its new season with an all–Russian Opening Night Concert. Hans Graf will lead the ensemble through Tchaikovsky’s Piano Concerto no. 1, featuring Russian piano prodigy Denis Matsuev. In selecting a pianist to tackle Tchaikovsky, they…
Interkosmos
Serious-minded science fiction is the least doable movie genre on a shoestring budget, but recently a few filmmakers have made impressive low-fi sci-fi by using smart, inexpensive plot devices. Jim Finn’s Interkosmos depicts a low-tech space program. The film’s a mockumentary about a fictional East German space agency with plans…
Robert Jessup’s “New Paintings”
The folks in Texas artist Robert Jessup’s “New Paintings” exhibit are strong types. They don’t live in fear of carbs or fat grams; on the contrary, these are robust, colorful characters. In Couple in a Landscape, a stout, muscular woman wearing fuchsia and lavender dances with a pink and blue…
Guitar Shorty’s Birthday Party
Guitar Shorty is blues music royalty – or at least he should be. Shorty, who was born right here in Houston, was just 16 when he went on the road with Ray Charles. By age 19, Shorty was a seasoned bandleader and sideman, and on the road with Sam Cooke…
Dark Meat/Vomit Lasers Family Band/Galaxy
The only thing larger than Dark Meat/Vomit Lasers Family Band/Galaxy’s name is the band itself. The group’s 20-plus psychedelic rockers have no trouble attracting attention at the small venues where they perform. Audience members often ask, “Are you in the band?” — not because they’re prospective groupies, but because they’re…
Total Eclipse of the Heart: A Prom for Queers and Misfits
Anna Thomas doesn’t remember her prom too fondly. “Mine was at the non-commissioned officers club on [a] military base,” says Thomas, the co-curator of Total Eclipse of the Heart: A Prom for Queers and Misfits. Maybe your big night was a big flop, too. “[Maybe] you didn’t get to wear…
Mark Williams
Like many artists, Mark Williams developed some of his most useful techniques by accident. And many of the pieces in his Houston debut at Wade Wilson Art feature one of his favorite accidents: many layers of different colored paint. In previous work, Williams found that if he didn’t use enough…
DiverseWorks’ 25th Anniversary
Cake will be, well, the icing on the cake today at the opening of DiverseWorks’s 25th Anniversary. Rachel Cook’s “We Are the Perfect Combination” is a performance piece that includes the baked good, herself, decorated plates and you. “It’s a wedding cake because I’m celebrating a wedding and an anniversary…
The Secret Garden
Sweet English orphan Mary Lennox is at the center of the gorgeously gothic tale The Secret Garden. After Mary’s parents tragically die in India, the poor child’s sent to live with a strange uncle in England, where she encounters oddball friends and, eventually, some lovely, lovely secrets. Frances Hodgson Burnett…
The Merry Widow
Should we marry for love or money? In the romantic comedy The Merry Widow, the answer depends on who you ask. It’s Paris, 1905, and poor Hanna (Barbara Bears) has been left 50,000 francs by her late husband. Baron Zeta, from the impoverished nation of Pontevedro, launches a scheme to…
Souvenir
It’s a tale our reality-television culture is all too familiar with: the hack who becomes famous purely by virtue of a lack of talent (William Hung, anyone?). Turns out this phenomenon is not a new one, as shown in Stages Repertory Theatre’s performance of Stephen Temperley’s play Souvenir. It tells…
Mail Call
Houstoned Ballz blog readers respond to “Sure, Phil Garner and Tim Purpura Are Out, and Cecil Cooper and Tal Smith Are In, But None of That Matters So Long As Drayton McLane Is Still Around…” by John Royal, August 28 Fan site: Nice photo of Drayton and Garner. Didja pull…
Getting Medieval
Funny how gaming’s most epic genre — the role-playing game — often feels the most limited in scope. After all, how many times can we traverse a medieval land, defeat the orcs, rescue the girl, save the world, and level up along the way? Never enough times would be the…
Seasons in the Sun
The Office: Season Three (Universal) After a shaky first season and a better-with-every-episode second, The Office proved itself one of the most consistent comedies in the history of the medium. The show has long since escaped the shadow of its BBC forebear and boasts an ensemble from which you could…
Concierge Care
Dr. Shannon Ray Schrader has been a visible and, at times, inspiring presence in the fight against AIDS in Houston. So why are a lot of AIDS patients pissed off at him now? It’s because they’re feeling abandoned. Schrader has notified his 1,500 or so AIDS patients that he’s making…
Greyhound Racing
Ferd West isn’t a sentimental guy. He’s a self-made businessman with a car dealership who grew up on a watermelon and peanut farm with 14 siblings in rural Texas. “When you come off a watermelon farm, everything else is easy in life,” he says. Still, West can wax nostalgic about his…
Mexican-American Culture
Dear Mexican, A new line of Speedy González clothing came out earlier this year. As a black vendor in a predominantly Mexican market, I immediately thought about selling some of these items. I am 35 and, although I remember the cartoon coming on when I was a young kid, I…
Shoot ‘Em Up
There have already been critical rumblings about the extreme violence in Shoot ‘Em Up, but it’s hard to get too worked up about a film whose very title announces its maker’s intent, and which opens by raking the New Line Cinema corporate logo with machine gun fire (a gesture long…
Knock on Wood
This past July 21 marked the end of an era, but perhaps the advent of another. Around 1 a.m., three police cars arrived outside an unassuming house in the Heights, responding to a neighbor’s noise complaint. It wasn’t the first time. Clad in a sparkly disco-ball shirt and a black…
This Is England
Scene by scene, This Is England gets the job done. Drawing on memories of a specific place and time — England in the early ’80s — writer-director Shane Meadows sketches with a keen eye for detail and the contours of experience. He nails the look and feel of a shabby…
Lebanon, Snake Trap
If anywhere on Earth ought to produce turbulent, conflicted music, it’s that arid region known in the Bible as Canaan and Judea, by most people nowadays as Palestine, and by Jews, Muslims and Christians alike as home. The four young Tel Aviv natives known as Lebanon knit such contradictions into…
Lil’ Brian and the Zydeco Travelers
“We don’t wanna be traditional, we just wanna jam.” So runs the refrain of Lil’ Brian’s “Jam Y’all,” and it could serve as this album’s title. Much as his mentor Buckwheat Zydeco once did, Barrett Station’s Lil’ Brian cuts his Creole sounds with contemporary styles, most notably hip-hop. Rap’s conventions…
Max Stalling, blacktopGYPSY
Since giving up his corporate day job two years ago, Max Stalling has hit the road hard and built a loyal following well outside the narrow confines of Pat & Cory World. His style owes more to Hank Williams and James Taylor than Jerry Jeff’s redneck mothers or Robert Earl…
The Engine Room
A woman in a hospital gown is spread-eagle on a makeshift bed with a fake doctor between her knees. She feigns a push. Her face wrenches. The doctor steps back, and a load of confetti blasts from between her legs and covers the stage full of drag kings, who begin…
Terry Allen
If you think Uncle Tupelo, the Jayhawks and their ilk invented alternative country, get better headphones — and a history book. Way back in 1979, Terry Allen released Lubbock (On Everything), an album that stood the straight-music world — particularly the moronic, pasteurized country world — on its ear. Compared…
Maserati
The first part of Athens, Georgia instrumental quartet Maserati’s career drew heavily on the echo-filled post-rock developed by Mogwai and Godspeed You! Black Emperor, yielding long, midtempo, echo-filled works that could be momentarily arresting, but ultimately failed to go much of anywhere. They shared these traits with Explosions in the…
The Rentals, Copeland, Goldenboy
The Rentals, bassist Matt Sharp’s side project during Weezer’s rise to fame, are basically everything you love (or hate) about that band and then some. Sharp carries over a lot of Weezer’s pop sensibilities, slowing the tempo a bit and adding heaping helpings of Moog and female harmonies. It is,…
Rilo Kiley
Jenny Lewis, honey-voiced Rilo Kiley lead singer and the closest thing indie rock has to a Maxim cover girl, never claimed to be innocent. She dropped F-bombs all over the L.A. quartet’s 2002 LP The Execution of All Things and warned potential suitors “Baby, I’m bad news” on “Portions for…
Wendy Colonna
Wendy Colonna is hot, no question, but the Austin singer-songwriter’s considerable musical talents make her sassy sexuality secondary — perhaps an even greater achievement. With smoky vocals that call to mind Norah Jones or Joan Osborne, Colonna’s expansive musical domain encompasses rock, soul, jazz and blues, making her something of…
T-Beaux
The oysters T-Beaux ($9.49) is a signature dish at T-Beaux (5050 N. Highway 6, 281-345-4478). Six fresh oysters are topped with crabmeat cooked in a creamy white sauce with a good amount of Parmesan cheese and lots of white wine. Then they’re cooked under a broiler, which turns the cheese…
Arthur Alexander
It’s impossible to listen to John Lennon without hearing a direct connection to Arthur Alexander — provided you know who that is. Consider pop music’s Mount Rushmore: The Beatles, the Rolling Stones, Bob Dylan and Elvis Presley. The Alabama-born singer, an early country-soul practitioner who died at age 53, is…
Carnal Knowledge
For a good six or seven years, you could put Los Skarnales up against any bar band in America. The ska-punk-rockabilly-Tejano boogie vatos were a bundle of contradictions, simultaneously tight and loose, fresh and traditional. Fun and dangerous are not opposites, but Los Skarnales had both of those attributes as…
John Vanderslice
John Vanderslice opened for Burning Airlines here on September 7, 2001, four days before they tied with I Am the World Trade Center for the world’s worst band name. Almost six years later, he’s one of the few musicians still making real attempts to parse 9/11’s emotional aftermath. Emerald City…
What Else Is New?
The Black Donnellys: The Complete Series (Universal)Chill Out Scooby-Doo! (Warner Bros.)City of Violence (Weinstein)Delta Farce (Lionsgate)Desperate Housewives: The Complete Third Season (Buena Vista)Disney Princess Enchanted Tales: Follow Your Dreams (Disney)Georgia Rule (Universal)Gumby Essentials (Classic Media)Its Always Sunny in Philadelphia: Seasons 1 & 2 (Fox)Mr. Magoos Christmas Carol (Classic Media)Nip/Tuck: The…
Common
Chicago MC Common, the veteran backpacker favorite now making steady mainstream inroads, has always held his own as a lyricist, and considering eight out of his new album’s 12 tracks are produced by longtime pal Kanye West, Finding Forever ought to be solid. It is, but that’s it. It meets…
The Best Man
Any American who votes knows the upcoming year promises to be a wild and woolly political ride. The folks at Main Street Theater have already buckled in. Their season opener, The Best Man by Gore Vidal, is a political drama filled with the sort of emotional wreckage that hard campaigning…
Art Capsule Reviews
City Glow Self-styled Pop Art star Chiho Aoshima emerged out of the “factory” art group founded in Tokyo in the late ’90s by Takashi Murakami. Her computer-generated images reference manga comics and anime cartoons, with wide-eyed characters and line drawings. Like Murakami, Aoshima believes in the contributions pop genres have…
MF Doomed
The afternoon of August 15, Allen Scott, co-owner of San Francisco nightclub the Independent, got a call from underground rapper MF Doom’s agent, saying the masked MC was likely too sick to make his scheduled performance that evening. Later the agent called back and said Doom was good to go…
Feature Photo
Surrounded by a sea of orange-painted men with Che Guevara banners, a blond woman looks to be somewhat anxious about what’s happening. But maybe that’s because the Dynamo are losing. Because this isn’t taking place on some heat-blasted plaza in a South American capital, it’s at the University of Houston’s…
Reef
The “crispy skin snapper” at Reef, the hip new restaurant on Travis, was served in a bowl on top of a bed of sweet and sour chard. There was a sauce of “tomato brown butter” on the side. A dab of the tomato butter gave a slick, rich zing to…
Stage Capsule Reviews
Late Nite Catechism You don’t have to be Catholic to love Late Nite Catechism, the “one-sister” show running at Stages Repertory Theatre, though it probably wouldn’t hurt. No matter your denomination, there are plenty of laughs, even if you’re one of those unfortunate “publics” whose parents obviously didn’t care about…
Local Motion
Sig’s Lagoon 3710 Main, 713-533-9525 1. Big Robert Smith w/ the El Orbits and Friends, Live at the Continental Club 2. Ian Moore, To Be Loved 3. Budos Band, Budos Band II 4. Porter Wagoner, Wagonmaster 5. Derailers, Under the Influence of Buck 6. Ryan Scroggins & the Trenchtown Texans, Ryan…
“Nexus Texas”
At a group exhibition called “Nexus Texas,” featuring works by artists who currently reside and work in the state, you might expect imagery soaked in Lone Star iconography and mythology, or works that generally name-check the soil on which they grew. That’s thankfully not the case at the new Contemporary…
3:10 to Yuma
Puffing and puffing to resuscitate a long-moribund genre, James Mangold manages to imbue a 50-year-old western with the semblance of life. Mangold’s remake of 3:10 to Yuma isn’t as startling a resurrection job as his Johnny Cash biopic, but it does send a saddlebag full of western tropes skittering into…