Who doesn’t love a survey? This one was commissioned by Chinet, the paper plate folks, and it seeks to gauge attitudes about summer. Many of those surveyed feel that certain foods taste better during the summer, including watermelon (74 percent), ice cream (68 percent) and hot dogs (54 percent). And speaking of the venerable tube steak, one third of those surveyed said that they prefer a hot dog to a Thanksgiving turkey. No big surprises there. What caught my eye, though, was that only 31 percent of the respondents felt that summer actually begins prior to June. It was a nationwide survey, so we know where some people don’t live.
Ticket Alert
Canadian rockers Three Days Grace will co-headline a fall tour with Chevelle, stopping at the Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion on Friday, October 6. The presale is in progress, and the general sale begins on Friday.
Tickets for Willie Nelson’s Outlaw Music Festival at the Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion on Sunday, July 2, are on sale, with many goods seats remaining. The bill also features Whiskey Myers and Flatland Cavalry, with other additions possible. Willie, being a man of the people, has kept prices at a reasonable level. Good on ya, Sir!
Concerts This Week
Keeshea Pratt has been favorably compared to Tina Turner, Aretha Franklin and Etta James, but she has her own voice, as shown by a win at the International Blues Challenge in Memphis. The Keeshea Pratt Band will play at the Heights Theater on Friday, with plenty of blues, soul and R&B to go around. It will be a party.
Janet Jackson is back on the concert trail for the first time in four years with the “Together Again” tour, an extravaganza that includes 38 dates across the United States. Those of us who have been around for a while will recall that Janet Jackson has a turbulent history with her performances in Houston, but so long as Justin Timberlake stays away, it should all be OK. Janet (Ms. Jackson if you’re nasty) will perform Saturday at the Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion with rapper Ludacris opening.
If Americana is your thing, there is no better place to be than at the Mucky Duck on Saturday night, when James McMurtry graces the stage. It’s a safe bet to say that McMurtry will present highlights from his deep catalogue of songs, but what is unknown is whether he will perform his song “Red Dress” in a red dress (complete with pearls, natch). That’s what he did in Tennessee a few weeks ago, supporting drag performers and protesting anti-drag laws. The situation here in Texas resembles that in Tennessee, so we may just get a fashion show.
Alt-rockers Toad the Wet Sprocket will be at the House of Blues on Monday, with original members performing the band’s greatest hits. ‘Cause Knowledge is Power: The band’s name (which vocalist Glen Phillips says is “a joke that went on too long”) comes from a Monty Python sketch featuring a news report which begins, “Rex Stardust, lead electric triangle with Toad the Wet Sprocket, has had to have an elbow removed following their recent successful worldwide tour of Finland.”
This article appears in Jan 1 – Dec 31, 2023.
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