Houston Cougars’ New Uniforms Go for the Blah Look
The Houston Cougars unveiled their new uniforms on Tuesday. The result wasn’t as disastrous as had been expected. And based on the leaked prototypes from February, that the uniforms aren’t a disaster is a rather minor miracle. The predominant colors are red and white. There’s some silver piping. And that’s…
Save on French Fare at Sweet Paris Creperie & Café, Plus Burgers, Tex-Mex and More
Just say oui to this week’s Houston Press Voice Daily Deal: half-off ($20 for $40) a special prix-fixe menu for two at Sweet Paris Creperie & Café. This deal is presented in association with The Museum Experience, and invites you to experience the French charm and gourmet flavor of Sweet…
Punk Rock and Pugs: An Introduction to Saturday’s Fuzzy Fest IV
Mike Schoolcraft is a local promoter, blogger, visual artist and musician. But maybe more than anything, he’s a student of the music he loves best; so, he knows there’s a long history of social activism associated with punk rock. From Fear to Pussy Riot, he can tell you everything that’s…
Ten Questions to Answer at the Start of Houston Texans Training Camp
It’s deep in July and it doesn’t feel like anyone should be talking about football, but thank the sports gods, training camp opens today for the Houston Texans down at Reliant Stadium. The real action begins Friday with the first workouts, but just seeing players and coaches getting back into…
Hot Roast Beef Melt: Takeout Lunch from Monarch
About a month ago, I happened to acquire $25 in “ZaZa Bucks,” the official currency of the nation of Hotel ZaZa. Although ZaZa Bucks were designed to encourage guests to “stay and play,” that is, to use said money poolside, at ZaSpa, on room service, etc., I decided to use…
More From Living Colour: “You All Are Very LOUD In Houston”
While Living Colour’s current tour celebrates the 25th anniversary of their debut — and most popular — record, Vivid, the band has also put out four other worthy studio discs – Time’s Up (1990), Stain (1993), Collideøscope (2003), and their most recent, 2009’s The Chair In the Doorway. “The newest…
The Rest of the Best: Houston’s Top 10 Tourist Attractions
Houston might not seem like much of a tourist town to locals — people come here to work or go to school, not sightsee — but it does attract thousands of tourists every year. With the conventions going on at the George R. Brown Convention Center, the rodeo at Reliant…
HPMA Showcase Spotlight: Caretta Bell, “Soulful, Sultry, Sexy, Sassy *wink*”
In the weeks leading up to the Houston Press Music Awards showcase on Sunday, August 4, Rocks Off will be profiling a handful of performers each day, mostly in their own words – part of the best top-to-bottum lineup the showcase has ever had, in our humble opinion. See the…
UPDATED Who Wants to Help Bail Scottie Out of Doggie Prison?
Photo courtesy Joe Darlak Update: SHAZAM! About 24 hours after the fund to free Scottie was set up, a bunch of generous folks donated $2,525 and exceeded the goal! Donations are no longer required — but what is required is a big, fat pat on the back to the Animal…
France Makes Coke-Flavored Wine; Americans Laugh and Start Planning Other Wine/Soda Combos
When I first read it on NPR’s food blog, I thought I’d somehow started reading The Onion without realizing it. I glanced up at the header at the top of the page. Still NPR. Oh God, it must be true… It seems it is true and also sad and funny…
Summer Break: The Best Houston Rap Songs of 2013, Part 2
Remember back in mid-May where we broke down the Best Houston Rap Songs of the Year (So Far)? It was a small sample, only five, knowing good and damn well there was an avalanche of tracks just waiting to be either heard, jammed in a large setting preferably at high…
5 Reasons This Trailer-Hoarding at Comic Con Has Got to Stop
I haven’t gotten a chance to attend Comic Con myself yet in my life, so I’m forced to view it through the lens of my fellow reporters and the footage on YouTube. Mostly I’m content with that. I’m not much for standing in line, and there is a whole lot…
HPMA Showcase Spotlight: Another Run, “Unique, Evolving, Passionate, Honest, Original”
In the weeks leading up to the Houston Press Music Awards showcase on Sunday, August 4, Rocks Off will be profiling a handful of performers each day, mostly in their own words – part of the best top-to-bottum lineup the showcase has ever had, in our humble opinion. See the…
Dynamo Have Their Own British Explosion Against Stoke City
The Houston Dynamo got to kick some British arse Wednesday night at BBVA Compass Stadium, for a charitable purpose. They were able to defeat Stoke City of the English Premier League 2-0 in the BBVA Compass Dynamo Charities Cup. To Stoke’s credit, this match was only their first in their…
Slow-Cooker Queso
High off the success of my husband’s crock pot chili, I decided to take the slow-cooker into my own hands and make something for a friend’s weekend pool party. When some people envision uses for their slow-cooker, they often dream about falling-off-the-bone pork shoulder or chicken stew. I just focus…
A Jug of Wine, a Picnic Basket, As You Like It and Antony and Cleopatra: It’s Houston Shakespeare Festival Time
Within six weeks of moving to New York City, Houston-native Brandon Dirden had a part on Broadway. He called his wife back in Atlanta, said go ahead and quit your job as a Spellman College professor, we can make it here. After his first show closed, he didn’t work on…
I’m In Love With a Married Man. Help!
Welcome to Ask Willie D, Rocks Off’s advice column where the Geto Boys MC answers reader questions about matters, in his own words, “funny, serious or unpredictable.” Something on your mind? Ask Willie D! MY HEART’S IN IT Dear Willie D: I might sound crazy but I have been in…
HPMA Showcase Spotlight: The Grievous Angels, “Harmony. Humor. Hell of a Good Time.”
In the weeks leading up to the Houston Press Music Awards showcase on Sunday, August 4, Rocks Off will be profiling a handful of performers each day, mostly in their own words – part of the best top-to-bottum lineup the showcase has ever had, in our humble opinion. See the…
Houston Bucket List — 100 Things to Do in Houston Before You Die: Bring on the Guacamole
The Houston Press is presenting a series of posts leading up to a feature story in the print edition of the 100 Things to Do in Houston Before You Die. Each blog post contains one of our top 10 bucket list items along with nine others in the top 100…
Pop Rocks: MTV’s Catfish Is the New Barnum Sideshow Spectacle
MTV’s Catfish is now deep in its second season, and this week’s episode caused something of a poop storm. If you are not familiar with the show, it follows two “documentarians,” Max Joseph and Nev Schulman, who find people in fake Internet relationships and after some digging and confrontation, the…
The Rocks Off 100: Tessa Kole, PuraPharm’s Voice and Vice
Welcome to the Rocks Off 100, our portrait gallery of the most compelling profiles and personalities in the far-flung Houston music community — a lot more than just musicians, but of course they’re in there too. See the entire Rocks Off 100 at this link. Who? Every once in a…
GO TEXAN Restaurant Round-Up Meal at Eleven XI Restaurant and Bar
It’s GO TEXAN Restaurant Round-Up and that means restaurants throughout the state are serving up meals that showcase the wonderful ingredients and products from the Lone Star State. I decided to check out the new kid on the block, Eleven XI, which is serving a four-course Texas tasting dinner for…
The Alamo Is Under Attack! (It’s Not Ozzy This Time)
Texans don’t screw around when it comes to the Alamo. We’re raised to talk about the “13 days of glory” with misty eyes and a defensiveness along the lines of how the Brits talk about the Queen. Once Ozzy Ozbourne was caught urinating near it – he was peeing on…
Copy Cat Recipe: Coppa’s Barrata Arancini
To know me is to know that I’m freaking obsessed with Italian food. So when I first dined at Coppa Ristorante Italiano, with its brick-oven pizzas and freshly made pastas, it was love at first sight. I had many amazing dishes that faithful night, but my favorite had to be…
Because of Disney, We’ll Never Have a Monkey Island Movie
If there is any game in the history of gaming that you know for an absolute fact would end up making a good movie that could end up as a family classic that game would definitely be any one of the Monkey Island games. The LucasArts and later Telltale Games-run…
The Craziest Musical Gambles That Paid Off
Every year it’s a guarantee that someone will grouse about record labels and musicians never taking risks anymore, and never producing anything exciting or unique. While that’s probably true to a certain extent, so far it hasn’t been totally empty in 2013. For instance, first there was Kanye West’s Yeezus…
Tropical Storm Dorian Way Out There, But Worth Watching
On Wednesday, the National Hurricane Center designated the system they had been watching way out in the Atlantic as Tropical Storm Dorian, our fourth named storm of the hurricane season. Dorian is way the hell out in the Atlantic just off the coast of Africa, making it a Cape Verde…
“Club Apple” Rocks Applebee’s Late Night Around the Country, But Not in Houston…Yet
If you’re one of the connoisseurs of fine cuisine people who eats at Applebee’s on a regular basis, you might have noticed that they remain open until 2 a.m. all over Houston. Why would a family dining establishment stay open that late? Because at night, Applebee’s transforms into a lively…
10 Best Artwork of Hitler on Etsy (NSFW)
Hitler is unique in the world in that he is both almost universally regarded as the worst human being in written history, but also serves as a kind of buffoonish pop-culture supervillain. Between the snazzy outfits, distinctive mustache, and the fact that his entire reign over Germany resembled a plot…
Every Metal Subgenre Began as a Black Sabbath Song
Some people out there argue that heavy metal was not invented by Black Sabbath. These people are wrong. To be sure, the Led Zeps and Deep Purples of the world certainly had their metallic moments, but it wasn’t until Tony Iommi sheared off his fingertips in a metal stamper and…
