Ladyheat @ Rudyard's

Went out last night to see an old friend play in his band before they depart H-town for LA. Started out at Maria Selma's for some Mexican fare, and had the ceviche (very yummy) and duck flautas, which were basically glorified taquitos, but the mole' sauce was good, and I normally can't stand mole'.

Rudyard's was not completely crowded, but close to it, and they seriously need to do something about their parking situation (unfortunately that applies to MANY places in town as well). It's a total dive, as many good places in town are. The bar was open downstairs with a good crowd on the patio (ah, the weather here in April - you can't beat it!). The bands were playing upstairs, and there was a $12 cover - a bit high I thought, but as it turns out there were three bands instead of two. The first band either did not announce themselves very loudly, or I simply did not catch it, and they weren't advertised to be there so I'm at a loss for identifying them. They had a very eclectic range, with some of the faster songs bordering on a punk sound. When they slowed it down it was somewhat reminicent of '80s Prince and The Cure. They had a very interesting set, to say the least.

Ladyheat took the stage and woke the crowd up. Blake on lead vocals has the punk swagger down perfectly, and didn't miss a beat between hanging from the rafters, writhing on the floor, grinding with the ladies, and playing jump rope with his mic cable. The punk influence on their sound is apparent, but with a modern, more melodic spin much like Jet. They do not disappoint a live crowd, nor do they skimp on audience participation. There is a fantastic energy to their show, and by the end of the first song they had the whole room on their feet.

Because I'm old like that, and because it was a freaking Tuesday night, I didn't stay for all of the Mike Watt set. His influence on the Chili Peppers is widely known, and he had the crowd jumping as I made my way out. I love a night full of good music and good food.

A Bronx Tale

I went to see A Bronx Tale last night at the Hobby Center. It's essentially a one-man show starring Chazz Palminteri narrating a semi-autobiographical story from his youth. Some may recall the movie with the same name starring both Palminteri and Robert DeNiro from 1993. I enjoyed the movie, but wasn't sure how it would translate as a one-man play. Since the story is his own, and Palminteri is a wonderful character actor, he pulls it off quite successfully. There were many funny parts, and he has the mannerisms of each character down perfectly as he switches from one persona to the next. There is a moment at the end where you could hear a pin drop in the theater, and even though you may anticipate the climactic moment, it still makes you jump in your seat. He was wonderfully warm to his audience, and even invited people to wait by the stage door for autographs.

New year, new beginnings, and Scott Weiland is the coolest!

No posts for over a month, sorry. The day after my last post was the day my dad died, and the two weeks leading up to the holidays were difficult ones for that and several reasons. The holidays were very good, however - actually just what I needed. With the beginning of a new year came the promise of good things to come, and I am hopeful now as I have not been for a while.

Over the weekend I was fortunate to see Scott Weiland (finally) after many years of somehow missing each and every Stone Temple Pilots and Velvet Revolver concert. This was my second concert at Warehouse Live, and I love the venue. It is small enough that no matter where you stand you have a good view, but large enough to support big names like him. He played a lot of his new songs, but also played to the crowd with a few STP tunes, and even some covers from bands like The Smiths. His opening band wasn't one I'd heard of, but reminded me of some early Killers stuff. Scott's new music is quite a bit more toned down than his Velvet Revolver stuff, and he seems to be having a lot of fun with the music and the band he has put together. Certain songs you can tell he enjoys doing, because it seems like they are "jamming" similar to a jazz band, and he stretched those moments out way more than when he was playing the older material. For one thing, he absolutely does not disappoint, and that is his incredible stage presence. He never stands still - he moves all over the stage, interacts with his musicians, the crowd, and the music almost simultaneously, all the while looking as cool as possible. The other puzzler is how he manages to not only smoke cigarettes in a non-smoking venue (who would tell him he couldn't, really?) but also to take a huge drag and then proceed to belt out very long notes. I hope he continues to make music for a long time to come, and that his drug issues are behind him, because he's an incredible talent and phenomenal performer.

A Snowball's Chance Where???

Houston was mesmerized by the unexpected snow flurries last night, starting as a slushy drizzle around 5:00pm, and turning into fluffy flakes a few hours later. The snow around me inside the city fell at least an inch, but places on the east side of Houston had up to 4 inches! It had mostly melted by this morning at my place, but there were several pictures from the areas east of town with snow-covered rooftops and white lawns. It was so pretty to see with all the Christmas decorations up, and it made all the Christmas music seem much more appropriate. Nothing like an early snowfall to get people in the spirit! Apparantly, snow this early in the season hasn't fallen in this area since 1944 - as reported on Channel 11 news this morning!

Houston Taiko Festival

Since this weekend was GORGEOUS, and the city seems to be getting back on its feet again, I thought it was a good opportunity to get outside with my fellow Houstonians and catch the Taiko Festival at Miller Outdoor Theater. The show was cool - lots of martial arts, dancing and drumming. There are some videos on my You Tube page. It's one of my favorite things to do in the city when the weather is nice. The park is really lovely since they have done all the updates, and its a great place to hang (for free) with the kids, the dogs, etc. All the Miller Outdoor Theater shows are also free, and it is much like the Woodlands venue, where you basically claim your spot on the hillside, and you can pack a picnic while you enjoy the show. Of course, it can get a bit noisy as the little kids are winding down and the adults are imbibing adult beverages, but it's a great way to spend a lovely fall evening.

Ike = Sauron... it fits!

see famous look-a-like faces

Aftermath of Ike

My storm story is a mild one compared to some of the people I came across in San Antonio and since I've been back in Houston. We made it out of Houston early Friday morning (9/12) with no traffic delays at all. All the people who got out earlier on Thursday evening had to deal with lots of delays and an extra day of hotel expenses. The weather in San Antonio was wonderful, and I was even feeling a bit guilty when we stayed up watching all the horrible news from back home. It almost made it worth it to see Geraldo Rivera falling down in the 100+ mph wind played over, and over, and over...

We stayed in a pet-friendly hotel (Red Roof, for anyone who wants to know) - or at least, they claim to be. There was no room service, so you have to leave to get food. We came back on Saturday after being gone for about 3-4 hours during the middle of the day to a handwritten note on the door about leaving my dogs in the room unattended. Considering the loud children who kept playing in the hallway, the ear-piercing smoke alarm that went off unprovoked in our room TWICE, and ALL the other people who had dogs in the hotel that did not get nasty little notes on their doors, I don't think I'll be going back there again.

We did meet up with several people from all over the Southeast Texas, Houston, and the Gulf areas. There were lots of people who lost almost everything, and most who just didn't know when they could return or what they'd be returning to. My prayers go out to all those people, and it made me feel quite lucky considering what could have been.

Many people returned to Houston on Sunday, same as us - despite the urging on the cable news shows not to. I knew my route into town was clear, otherwise I might not have attempted it. We passed convoys of supply trucks, debris removal trucks, ambulances, and other various disaster relief vehicles heading into town. Kudos to those I saw getting out of those vehicles' way, and shame on those who were not letting them in or riding their bumpers, not allowing those of us who pulled over back on the road. Gas was already getting scarce on the way into town. We filled up 100 miles west of town, and there was only premium left at the one station open.

Life in town is slowly getting back to normal as people are going back to work and clearing debris. Most of us are without power (me included), but we've seen none of the craziness like the Katrina fiasco. There was one shooting in Pasadena over gas, there has been some looting here and in Galveston, and some FEMA confusion over where to get food, ice and water. Mostly people seem to be helping each other out, and dealing with the situation with a positive outlook. The unseasonably cool weather helps everyone tremendously, and I hope it sticks around long enough to see most of us through the widespread power outage. All things considered, it could have been MUCH worse.

Rain, rain go away...

Ugh. Let's hope it stops by September...

Sunset Before Dolly

Hurricane season is good for one thing - beautiful sunsets!

Eddie Izzard, Stripped

I saw Eddie Izzard at Jones Hall last night in downtown Houston, and he was hilarious! I enjoyed the show more than some of his most recent stuff, and I hope this one ends up on DVD. Eddie usually does his shows in drag, since he is a "card-carrying transvestite", but I suppose being in the land of Bush he decided to dress more conservatively - with jeans and a tuxedo coat with tails! His topics cover history, and this one went all the way back to the Stone Age. He came out for a brief encore at the end, and encouraged Americans to vote in the upcoming election. I've been a fan of Eddie's for years, and turned several people on to his stand-up act. I'm really glad to see he is reaching a wider audience now, and it was such a thrill to see him live!

Food, food, food...

Perhaps in anticipation of the newest season of Top Chef starting this week, it was most definitely the weekend of eating out for me. Starting out on Friday night with a very filling dinner at El Rodeo Mexican restaurant in north Houston, I had a smothered snapper (everything is good covered in cheesy sauce!) and a very interesting drink that seemed like a cross between a margarita and a spicy bloody mary.

On Saturday night we had a lovely (but pricey) dinner at Smith & Wollensky. The atmosphere is nice, the service is excellent, and the food is good, but not nearly good enough to demand the high prices they do. I'm sure a lot of the price has to do with the name of the restaurant, but inflating wine prices and charging $40 for a bland cut of beef with no sides included is a bit much.

We rounded out the weekend with a bit of Korean barbeque at Seoul Garden in the Little Korea part of town. With a couple of appetizers and the thin-sliced marinated beef for two, we were stuffed! Great end to a weekend of eating... now, off to the treadmill!

Sushi Nite!

As we had cause for some celebrating last night, we decided to go out for some sushi. I tend to overlook the Miyako chain since I like frequenting the smaller out-of-the-way places, but I have to rave about our experience last night. It was very quiet, probably typical for a Monday. We sat on the Japanese-style side, taking our shoes off and the whole bit. They had a few choices of unfiltered sake, which is sometimes unavailable at many places. We decided to go with the sui mai, seared ahi tuna special, a crunch roll and some assorted sushi. Everything was wonderful, especially the tuna and crunch roll. We were stuffed, and the price was fairly reasonable considering the quality of the food and the fact that we had sake with dinner as well. Next time we're going out for sushi, I won't be so quick to dismiss Miyako's!

Finally saw the Toadies...

After my last final of the semester last night, I joined a group at Hard Rock Cafe for some drinks and appetizers before the Toadies concert at Verizon Theater. Our waiter was very nice, but it does seem like they purposefully hire people who look like they are in a band to wait tables there, and whomever the bartender was - he was awful. The drinks were poorly mixed, took forever (the food came out before the drinks did) and one of them came out in a glass so cracked we were afraid it would shatter at the table.

As for the show, I was glad to have the opportunity to see them live, since I missed them prior to their break-up, and also the farewell tour earlier this year. They do play a very good live show, and the fans were eating it up. Lots of moshing, lots of crowd-surfing; some songs incited some lighter-waving, and LOTS of people were singing along. It was good to see the fan appreciation - hopefully it will encourage them to work together again in the future. Anyway - a really good show, but it seemed like the two brief encores were a little forced. I would go see them again - if they manage to get back together.

Dane Cook at Toyota Center

Had some very good seats to the Dane Cook show at the Toyota Center on Friday night - 17th row on the floor! I had no idea his following was so pronounced, and it was my first time to hear his live act. A few problems I had - the tickets said 7:00 pm, and he didn't take the stage until about 7:45. Although there were a lot of people still trickling in, it would have been nice to have at least an opening act to entertain us if he didn't plan to come on stage until almost an hour after we'd been sitting there. Also, does every venue absolutely have to scalp you on everything? I had already shelled out a pretty penny to be there, and the Toyota Center has the gall to charge $7.00 for a lousy Miller Lite? I so enjoy taking it up the rear from corporations...

As for the act - it was very good. I like his storytelling style, and he has a really honest perspective of the inner workings of the pseudo-adolescent male mind. It is really good insight on what your boyfriend/sig. other is thinking about at any given time. Although I did hear from several people there that he used some old material, he apparently had a lot of new also, and combined his best stuff for about a 1 1/2 hour set (encore included).

After the show we dropped by my friend Matt's for his yearly Christmas party and drank some really good beer. Now if I can just finish my Christmas shopping...

Caught a couple of new flicks this weekend. On Friday we took in a fabulous steak dinner at Texas Land & Cattle, and then headed over to the Alamo Drafthouse Cinema to watch American Gangster with Denzel Washington and Russell Crowe. Although the movie was very good, we made the mistake of going to the late show, and this film is LONG. We were falling asleep by the end of it, and didn't leave the theater until after 1:00 am. It seems they tried to make it a little of everything: cop movie, action movie, drama, love story, etc. It ends up feeling a little like overkill by the end, and you end up just waiting for it to end. It also didn't help that the movie cut off twice and we had to wait for them to turn it back on, but we did get free movie passes out of the situation.

While there, we discovered they were showing a sneak peek of The Golden Compass the following night, so we decided to come back. This time we ate in the movie, and it was yummy. Watching this film reminded me of Stardust, Narnia and Eragon. It seems like they are searching for the next Harry Potter with this new crop of fantasy movies derived from popular children's novels. It also doesn't help that it is being touted as an athiest movie because of the author's beliefs. Children are smarter than we give them credit for, and if you attach your agendas to something to try to make them swallow it, they will resent you for it. That being said, and looking at the movie in a strictly objective way, it fell short for me. The girl was very good in her role, and the scenery was fantastic, but sometimes the CG animals were way too CG, and they could have made the story feel more complete rather than preparing you for the inevitable trilogy that MUST follow any moderately successful movie nowadays. Frankly, it makes me as weary to wait for the next installment as it did to watch the end of Eragon.

Happy Thanksgiving and all that stuff...

Wow, long weekend, lots of stuff happening. Started out with the holiday, of course. Lots and lots of food and hanging out with the family. Probably put on a few pounds, but whatevs. Friday we headed over to the Marq'E to see Beowulf in 3-D, and the early show was sold out, so we killed some time at the Dave & Buster's that used to be Jillian's. The entire shopping center over there looks like a cemetary of shops that once were. It's disappointing that they put so much money into that center, and it seems that nothing can stay open except Cafe Adobe and the Cinema.

Let me start off by talking about the Dave & Buster's. It is not located very far from the other, bigger, and better location on Richmond. You would think they would provide excellent service to ensure they will remain open. However, each employee we came across was rude and indifferent. I'd rather drive to the other location and get a better experience. It is nice that they have lowered the price on the games, and the tickets you win on some of the midway games can be conveniently counted and put on the same card you have for gameplay.

Next we headed to Cafe Adobe, a place that I have had bad experiences at before, but usually at the other Westheimer location. This time was fine, but I can't figure out how they run their service. Our waiter seemed to be overloaded with tables, and he had a team of lesser-experienced people running food out for him. Why not train everyone equally, and have good service for each table without the long wait? We only ordered drinks and an appetizer, and we were there over an hour and a half.

Now for the movie: I was very pleasantly surprised. I was skeptical because previous all-CG movies I have seen have left me wanting, but this one, perhaps partially because it was in 3-D format, worked beautifully. The characters were not as wooden as I expected, and the creatures were extremely intense. The Grendel character was a surprise, and you really feel for him as you do for Gollum in the LOTR movies. If you are debating on seeing this movie, go see it in 3-D before it is gone from the theaters. You won't be disappointed.

On Saturday morning we headed out to the Renaissance Festival once more on the last weekend, but it was very cold, very wet, very muddy, and not very fun. The folks that work there were doing their best to put on a cheerful face for the few that showed up, but it wasn't working to keep the crowd there.

Yesterday evening was full of merrymaking for our friends Betsey and Mandy who were having a dual birthday celebration. We started off the night at Chuy's Tex-Mex restaurant on Westheimer, and it was crowded as usual. The service was good, but the poor girl was so overworked that she kept forgetting drinks and such. It took a very long time to order, but the food came out in a reasonable amount of time, and it was good. They do need more servers for their busy nights, though.

After dinner, it was on to the Mezzanine Lounge, a sports bar that has numerous large flat-panel TVs, and several lounge areas. Our group settled in an upstairs lounge, and we were so very Texan and boisterous that we offended some Kansas fans who were trying to watch a football game in peace and quiet... at a sports bar. Well, I can't say we felt very sorry for them, and they looked a little silly waving their stalks of wheat around anyway. Since our group was large, we were treated to some free drinks, and the birthday girls got some huge fishbowl birthday drinks. I actually got one too because the bartender made an extra, and they handed it to me since my birthday had been fairly recent. We had jello shots and cupcakes courtesy of the birthday girls, and watched Kansas and Missouri battle a close game.

Finally we ended the night at Etro Lounge, a bar just off Montrose that specializes in retro music. The club is decked out very cool, and it isn't too big or too small, and if you like 80's music, the DJ is terrific. We had a great time dancing, drinking and hanging out. Hope everyone had a great weekend!

Second City at UH Homecoming

If you were one of the lucky few to catch the (free to students) $5 show at U of H last night, then you were treated to some excellent entertainment by the Second City touring company. Second City is based out of Chicago, and is a mostly improv group that began some of the great comedic talents like Bill Murray and Tina Fey. I had the honor of being friends with one of these multi-talented people, and was able to catch the show after my evening class. Unfortunately, it wasn't given the advertisement it should have, so there were a lot of empty seats. The only reason I knew about it was from my friend in the show. The show was part of the UH Homecoming celebrations all week, and only got a blurb of a mention on the website.

But what a great performance! I take my hat off to these guys who throw themselves out there with skeleton scripts and audience prompts to determine what course their skits will take. A few of the skits had some stumbling blocks, but for the most part they had the audience rolling with their antics. If you ever get a chance to see these guys live, GO! It is like watching a live episode of "Whose Line is it Anyway?". Just hilarious. And a shout out to my friend Anthony who rocked his performance!!!

Ren Fest Almost Over...

I always like to attend the Texas Renaissance Festival at least once every year, because it is such fun to people-watch all the interesting folks who dress up. This year, I was one of them, and had it not been slightly hot and muggy, it would have been excellent! The fair has been enjoying terrific weather this year, so the crowds have been large. At the midpoint of the day, it even became difficult to walk through the wide pathways due to all the people. As usual, there were the bar wenches with their cleavage cinched up to their chins, and there was the occasional fairy, barbarian, pirate, and especially kilted Scotsmen, since the theme for the weekend was Scottish Highlands. Only two weekends left for the fair for those who haven't been yet this year - next weekend is the barbarian theme, and Thanksgiving weekend lasts Friday through Sunday with a Christmas theme. I highly recommend the boysenberry mead, located at the Greek Agora, as well as their wonderful gyros, and I can't go out there without munching on a turkey leg! The wine tasting is a lot of fun, and there are several terrific shows besides the joust and the impressive fireworks show at the end of the day.

Happy Halloween!

We went out on Saturday night to the annual Halloween Bash, held this year at BUS, the bar across from Minute Maid Park. It was definitely Halloween, grown-up style, with a $25 cover charge which included draft beer, jello shots, and some concoction I did not sample called "witches' brew". Just about everyone there comes in costume, and there are the standard costume contests, but they also do couple and group themes, so it gets interesting to see how creative people have been. There were a group of smurfs, some Pac-Man characters, lots of pirates, firemen/women, pimps, witches and vampires. The most interesting guy costume had to be the 8 foot tall tampon (painted red, of course) who was carrying around a bucket of regular-sized tampons to give out. The ladies, although less outlandish showed more skin, so it was a chilly walk through downtown. I like the way this party is advertized, with the emphasis on safety - they suggest close accomodations, they list cab companies on the web site, and offer free non-alcoholic drinks to all designated drivers. We had a great time, and I hope to go again next year!

Venting about The Cure and Toyota Center

I had 14th row floor tickets to see The Cure at Toyota Center last night. Perhaps it is my own fault for my over-utilization of my Ipod (due to the fact that Houston has crap radio stations playing the same mundane bull over and over), that I somehow missed the news that the concert, and moreover the entire North American leg of the tour, had been postponed. It was only after searching the web for the directions and opening act that I happened to find the news posted on a random goth blog, and then on The Cure's own website accompanied by one of the lamest excuses I have ever heard to cancel a tour: to tweak their upcoming album. So here I am sitting at home after skipping class, and my fiancee has requested off work, to go to a concert that is not happening. What ticks me off most is that despite the fact that I spent a large amount of money on these tickets, I was not informed by anyone via e-mail or otherwise, that the event had been cancelled and how to go about being reimbursed. When Coldplay was scheduled to play at the Woodlands back in the fall of 2005, and we were hit by Hurricane Rita, the concert was rescheduled to a reasonable later date, ticket buyers were contacted even in the midst of a city evacuation about reimbursement, and they smoothed it over with much finesse. This situation was handled poorly by the band, the Toyota Center, and the ticketing agency. The concert is rescheduled for June of next year, and I have no intention of going to see them again. Too bad since I have been a fan for so many years, but this is no way to treat loyal American fans. Only by reading the fine print on the band's web page did I find that reimbursement can only be attained until November 1st - not much help to those who bought tickets for the end of October, and are not notified of the cancellation. So I have to navigate the red tape of both of these companies to even get my money returned. What a pain in the ass - wish I had a cure for that.