Not Local Love: Slow Motion Rider
I would love to think that I was overselling this album, except for the fact that everyone I know who’s heard it feels exactly as I do. The overall feel is that everything is immediate. It’s immediately listenable, immediately likeable, which results in never waiting for a “killer” track. …
Taking Away The Fire: The Best of The Week
I’d be lying if I said that I didn’t have to perform a web search on what a Brony is. For those of you unfamiliar to the term, it’s basically a male fan of the TV show, “My Little Pony.” The bronies have their own convention that’s coupled with cosplay & lots of other things that I’ll never understand.…
Stand Up and Deliver: Get Good & Get Out
t wasn’t until I saw good comics and bad comics, and when I figured out what a real comic was, that I realized that I didn’t belong in the back room with the better comics. I had left theater because I liked the honesty of stand-up.…
A Wasteland Companion: The Best of The Week
Every so often, a week comes along that’s really jam packed with so many options that you don’t know which event you should make. This week is one of those where I can only report the news to you. Here’s how you should attempt to navigate your free time.…
Local Love: Brian Zeolla
I’ll be honest when I say that I was a little freaked out when Zeolla told me that he was going to make this album. It’s not because he isn’t funny, because he is funny, and it’s not because he couldn’t fill the time, because he can. It’s more because it came off as one of the ballsiest things I’ve seen in a long time.…
The Dream’s In The Ditch: The Best of The Week
There’s really only one show worth making it out for with the insanely talented sounds of Rhode Island’s Deer Tick. I can’t make you go, but they are seriously worth making it out for. I’ve been singing their praises since Matt Brownlee from Houston’s Bring Back The Guns handed me a copy of their album “War Elephant.”…
Happiness Is Not Interviewing Taking Back Sunday
Emo and emo core are just buzz words. Like grunge or now psyche, these are just labels that people who interview and people who market music place on bands. But, the way I feel about second wave acts like Days Of The New to grunge, is how I felt about second wave emo acts like Thursday or Taking Back Sunday.…
Sing To The Moon The Best of The Week
It’s going to sound confusing, but the Houston Ifest is four days long, but not consecutively. The first two days begin on Saturday the 26th, and will host a myriad of internationally renowned and local acts. One of the standouts this year is England’s Laura Mvula, performing at 6:30, and definitely worth the confusing schedule. Her 2024 album, “Sing To The Moon” was one of vocal prowess mixed with a rhythmic vibe that’s hard to ignore.…
Comedy Crusaders: Jeromy Barber
The most beautiful part in a city like Houston, is that it’s filled with so many different types of people with so many of the same types of goals. If you look at Jeromy Barber from Beta Theater, you might be intimidated by his seaworthy beard and intelligent demeanor. He looks like that professor that flunked you for not trying hard enough in college. However, anyone who’s met him would find that he’s far from intimidating, and the desire to create, to entertain, and celebrate the art of the performance is what he’s all about.…
The Balls On This Guy: Todd Barry Works the Crowd
If for some reason, you can find a way to differentiate your act from every other act out there; you stand the chance of “making it” as a stand up. Enter Todd Barry. Barry has impeccable comedic timing, he’s been in movies like “The Wrestler,” shows like “Dr. Katz,” and done stand up on pretty much every late night talk show.…
Top Notch: The Best of The Week
I don’t think I’m exaggerating when I say that I know at least twenty people who are 100% amped for the Manchester Orchestra show at House of Blues on Monday, the 21st. Hot on the heels of their very recent release ”Cope,” the band is rocking their way into town. This can only be matched by seasoned opener Kevin Devine and The Goddamn Band. Devine released two amazing records last year, and his show at Fitzgerald’s proved that he brings his “A” game when he plays.…
Comedy Crusaders: Andrew Youngblood
For fans of comedy and the comedians themselves; the people who book these rooms, are comedy crusaders. One of those “crusaders,” is Andrew Youngblood of Warehouse Live and Youngblood Booking. In just the span of about six to eight months, he’s managed to get one of the city’s more successful open mics off the ground and book some of comedy’s biggest names.…
