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B L A C K I E, The Goods, The Mathletes, Giant Princess, Reverse X-Rays, and Generation Landslide this Thursday at Numbers

2008-08-28T10:25:00.000-07:00

Heard B L A C K I E? Go do it now.

Also, Austin's Reverse X-Rays added to the already incredi-lux bill. (More details)

I want to break free: Have you ever quit smoking before?

2008-08-25T10:01:00.000-07:00

Man- I am sick of being a smoker. I have reached the apex of hating smoking yet continuing to subject myself to feeling like dog shit. I woke up last night with a fever and a possible ear infection. Have a success story? Gimme some inspirado!

Musical Soapbox - 10 Things not to do!

2008-08-25T08:45:00.000-07:00

Yea, verily, for as sure as Thor (right) rocks the halls of Valhalla with his mighty sword metal, will a hungover writer dispense with dubious advice. Therefore, in the place of the weekly live review, we have 10 things you should refrain from doing as a band (Link).

This Week's Music Preview - August 22nd, 2008

2008-08-22T07:42:00.000-07:00

This week we pay tribute to the only man who can sing about rainbows and still be metal! Yes, Dio is on town with his Black Sabbath mates which gets one of these \m/. That's not all though. We've got Rad Rich's birthday bash, Rudyard's birthday weekend, Jonbenet, Guitars, Something Fierce and a whole lot more. (Read more in the Music Section)

CANCELED- Something Fierce, Alkari, Television Skies, and Generation Landslide for this Recession Thursday

2008-08-21T12:49:00.000-07:00

This Thursday is gonna be a lil' different folks with Something Fierce calling for the equivalent of a house party by deciding to play in the small crawlspace on the 2nd floor of Numbers. They always put on a stellar show and this promises to ooze joy. Also on the bill are Television Skies, Alkari, and Generation Landslide.

UPDATE: Yup show's cancelled. If you must know - Something Firece would describe Steven Garcia's flu while Television Skies decided to break up. C'est la vie folks. Stay dry and maybe go see the Melvins show if you still have a live music hankering.

Axe to the brain!

2008-08-18T19:31:00.000-07:00

Music Review - The Riff Tiffs, The Wild Moccasins, and The Eastern Sea

2008-08-18T00:01:00.000-07:00

Let's go back in the way back machine to this past Friday's Warehouse party! No controversy, just awesomeness and fun. (Link)

Vicky Cristina Barcelona

2008-08-17T21:03:00.000-07:00

Some say Woody'a back. I say he never left. Vicky Cristina Barcelona ...

Kung Fu Theatre presents: The White Swan

2008-08-17T11:57:00.000-07:00

It's ain't quite up to Jackie Chan or Bruce Lee action but the White Swan's had some serious fisticuffs on Thursday night. Like any story there are three sides - one person's account, another person's account, and the truth. We make no attempt to give the third but we do have the first two for you. (Link)

This Week's Music Preview - August 15th, 2008

2008-08-15T06:37:00.000-07:00

If you are like us (and made some brilliant mistake like umm paying your car note a pay cycle early- D'OH!) and find yourself scraping a bit more than you usually would, then you are in luck. This is your week! There is a hella lot of stuff going on which will cost you not a penny in your pocket. We have Two Star Symphony, Wild Moccasins, Radio Broadcasts, Bun B, Cactus and Sound Exchange Instores, Secret Saturday shows....Houston on nigh zero dollars a day - it's possible. There's also a lot of not free stuff going down that's worth your while. So no excuses; get out of the house. (Link)

HOT OFF THE PRESSES - Houston Grindcore Band Sells Out!!

2008-08-14T12:35:00.000-07:00

OK posers, listen up! Gulf Coast Grindcore is getting some love from across the pond. One of our finest is striking a pretty sweet deal with one of the genre's most esteemed labels. Find out the scoop in our music section (Link)

Photo Uncredited from metal-archives.com (Link)

Riff Tiffs, earnie banks, Eastern Sea, !ALARMA!, Lazy Horse, Old Coyote, and Electric Attitude all play Aug.14th Recession Thursday!

2008-08-14T10:05:00.000-07:00

This one is gonna be off the chain! Whatever that means! (more details )

Man on Wire

2008-08-13T12:45:00.000-07:00

Man on Wire documents what has to be the ultimate performance art crime of all time. Artist and acrobat Philippe Petit schemed and planned and surreptitiously assembled an international crew, snuck into both towers of the World Trade Center at the appropriate time, strung cable throughout the night and at daybreak walked across the span about eight times over a period of forty minutes. All this went down on August 7, 1974 although Petit had planned the walk for several years. Petit flew to New York a few times during his planning and as he tells the story in director James Marsh’s Man on Wire he was planning it like a noir crime caper. (cont.)

Penis! Vote for FPH in Houston Press awards!

2008-08-11T20:09:00.000-07:00

Okay kids! Make sure and vote for us in the Houston Press Awards under the options "Best Magazine' and Westheimer Block Party under 'Best Music Festival'! Do it mayne!

Sid Meirer's Civilization Revolution reviewed

2008-08-11T17:36:00.000-07:00

By Tyler Barber

Publisher: 2K Games | Developer: Firaxis Games | Platform: Nintendo DS, PlayStation 3 & Xbox 360 | Rating: E10+ | Players: 2-4 via Online & Wi-Fi

Final Grade: B+
In three words: Deep, Accessible & Addictive

I'm at E3, at a demo of Borderlands and BioShock, when 2K rep comes over, asking if I want a demo of Sid Meirer's Civilization Revolution.
"No thanks," I respond. "I have a meeting in 15 minutes, and I don't want to be late."
"It only takes 15 minutes," the rep quipped.
"Thanks, but I gotta get going," I said, thinking myself: "Yea, like I'm going to miss my hands-on with Fallout 3 to see the absolute train-wreck of Civilization's PC exodus to home consoles."

And my pessimistic attitude stood firm, until I got home from E3 where a review copy of CivRev was waiting for me. I felt a little bad for declining the demo at E3, so the first night I got home (even though I had my fill of gaming) I popped the disc into my Xbox 360, and gave it a try. Next thing I know it's 4 a.m., and I've just won my first campaign. CivRev is addictive in the just-one-more-turn kinda way. Each new turn meant I would have another infantry unit to defend my home base, that I'd be one more turn closer to finishing my Nuclear research. Would a great leader abandon their civilization at a time like this? Hell no.

Read the full review here.

Music reviews - Paris Falls, Wild Moccasins, and Tody Castillo

2008-08-11T00:01:00.000-07:00

We asked the bobble heads if they liked Paris Falls at Sig's lagoon on Friday as much as we did and they all nodded YUSSS! We also asked them if they'd join us at Rudz for the Wild Moccasins and Tody Castillo and they gave and agreeable nod. Unfortunately, we didn't realize they were under 21 and couldn't get in. No worries, if you missed out on one or both, we cover 'em this week in the music section (Link).

Bad motherfucker Isaac Hayes dies

2008-08-10T16:54:00.001-07:00

They say they come in threes. Well, here is the third. RIP Isaac Hayes

Budget 'priorities'

2008-08-09T12:42:00.000-07:00

This is where your tax dollars go folks..

RIP Mahmoud Darwish and Bernie Mac

2008-08-09T11:35:00.000-07:00

Poet Mahmoud Darwish (died in Houston) and Comedian Bernie Mac.....both gone today..

" I don't hate people,
I trespass on no one's property.
And yet, if I were to become hungry
I shall eat the flesh of my usurper.
Beware, beware of my hunger"

-Mahmoud Darwish

"Vanessa: You ever notice that Bernie Mac is always calling himself 'Bernie Mac'? "Bernie Mac so smart". "Bernie Mac so great". Bernie Mac just likes to say Bernie Mac.

Bernie Mac: Now wait a minute, Bernie Mac don't do that."

Tody Castillo and Wild Mocassins at Rudz Tonight (Friday the 8th)

2008-08-08T13:08:00.000-07:00

C'mon folks, it's just 3 bux! That's $1.50 a band. If they average 10 songs each that's 15 cents a songs. What a bargain!

Rudyard's
2010 Waugh

This Week's Preview for the week of August 8th

2008-08-08T12:27:00.000-07:00

Relax, this isn't another insane week of festivals but this week there's still a lot of lovely music stuff to see and do - solo tramps, nifty use of floodlights at a record store, $3 Toady Moccasins, a tribute to a Pain Teen, the return of Recession Thursday, the beginning of old fogies Wednesday, and some other nifty stuff. (Link)

Recesson Thursday is on Recess this week but will be back Next week with 7 bands!

2008-08-07T11:23:00.001-07:00

I know what you are thinking. No Recession Thursday? What the hell!

Yes, of course, you deserve an explanation and we here at the Free Press, being beholden to you the reader, owe you an honest explanation*. So, while I didn't want to go out and say the reason, I feel I have no choice but to come clean. You see, what started out as a drunken and drug induced tryst involving Carolyn Farb and FPH illustrator Tim Dorsey (one that ended with a blood sacrifice of one of our staff members to Satan) has clearly gotten out of hand. Said Dorsey, "I mean sure it was fun at first - the sex, the drugs, the blood...I mean, who doesn't enjoy that every once in a while - but after a week of it...well, Farbi just couldn't let me go. I tired to let her down easy. You know explain to her that I have other obligations - I work for an internationally famous publishing empire and I have my responsibility to Angelina Jolie and our newborn child but it seemed that, whenever I talked, all she would do was to check out my ass. Anyhow, to make a long story short, the restraining order doesn't kick in until next Thursday and since she blames Omar I had to ask him to cancel this week if only to assure his safety. Hey, you're not recording this are you?"

When asked for comment Mrs. Farb (through a spokesman) denied any of this though she does concede that Dorsey does in fact have a "fine ass."

Don't worry, Recession Thursday will be back next week at Numbers with a whole lotta kick ass bands including Alarma, Lazy Horse, Eastern Sea, and a whole lot more.

*but you're not getting one so I'm just gonna bullshit.

Almost a true story..

2008-08-06T07:34:00.001-07:00

Her Satanic Majesty, Carolyn Farb who is our 2007 Worst of Houston 'Worst Philanthropist' and so called 'First Lady of Philanthropy', took FPH illustrator Tim Dorsey and I out for a night of debaucherous worship of the malevolent demigod Sabeoth. After a chance meeting at one of the various and sundry Red Bull Art of can parties, she lured young Dorsey and I back to her lair where we engaged in dark rituals and drunken shenanigans till the wee hours of the morning. We drank the blood of the innocent from infant skulls and danced to Wagner in various states of undress. I must say, that despite her 143 years of age, her stamina exceeds that of a teenager. After an evening of exhausting and near tortuous licentiousness, we grew hungry and decided to hit up La Tapatia. She had the Verde Enchiladas whereas Timmy and I shared a Burrito. Bewildered and still reeling from our first blood rituals, she dropped Tim and I off at home and bid us farewell.

This just in from the National Weather Service - Edouard not up to Bogle standards!

2008-08-05T12:39:00.000-07:00

TROPICAL STORM EDOUARD INTERMEDIATE LOCAL STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LAKE CHARLES LA
153 PM CDT TUE AUG 5 2008

...EDOUARD MOVING FARTHER AWAY FROM THE AREA IN SHAME...

.AT 100 PM CDT...THE CENTER OF TROPICAL STORM EDOUARD WAS LOCATED NEAR LATITUDE 30.0 NORTH...LONGITUDE 94.8 WEST OR ABOUT 40 MILES WEST OF BEAUMONT TEXAS.

EDOUARD IS MOVING TOWARD THE WEST-NORTHWEST NEAR 10 MPH...AND THIS GENERAL MOTION IS EXPECTED TO CONTINUE OVER THE NEXT DAY OR TWO...TAKING EDOUARD ACROSS CENTRAL TEXAS.

MAXIMUM SUSTAINED WINDS HAVE DECREASED AND ARE NOW NEAR 50 MPH WITH HIGHER GUSTS. ADDITIONAL WEAKENING IS FORECAST AS EDOUARD CONTINUES MOVING FARTHER INLAND.

ERIC BOGLE DECLARES EDOUARD “TOTAL BULLSHIT.” HE ADVISES RESIDENTS THAT EDOUARD “FUCKING SUCKS” AND THAT “IT’S BARELY EVEN RAINING”. FUTHERMORE, IT IS NOTED THAT MR BOGLE WANTS “SOME DESTRUCTION” AND IS PERPLEXED THAT HE “STAYED HOME FOR THIS SHIT!”

photo by Dr. Murphelz

Awesomeness - April5K of Alarma and Guitars blogs Secret Saturday Festival for Us!

2008-08-04T13:33:00.000-07:00

As if being in kick-ass bands like Alarma and super-group Guitars isn't enough to have under her belt of awesomeness. April5K was cool enough to share her Secret Saturday Festival Blog with us. Lots of pictures and lots of awesomeness! Check it out in the Music section. (Link)