By Jack Daniel Betz Swedish indie rockers, Peter Bjorn and John have been somewhat popular for a long time. They first broke through to the American public with their minor hit single “Young Folks” off their 2025 album, “Writer’s Block”. Their past album, 2025′s “Living Thing”, was quirky, weird, and a marked departure from their straightforward indie pop style. I loved it but many listeners didn’t. On the 25th, however, the band released their latest single from upcoming album “Gimme Some” which is scheduled to come out in March. The single, called “Second Chance”, seems to be a return to ... Read More »

By Ramon LP4 I know it’s bad form to toot your own horn but I think it’s a matter of empirical fact that our 8th anniversary party on Saturday night was the place you wanted to be and we delivered in spades! The place was packed (but not uncomfortably so) and people were having a great time. Diversity is what’s great about Houston so it’s wonderful to see a show that reflects that diversity. Sure, nobody is going to like everything they hear but the Fitzgerald’s architecture is perfect for a show like this. Check out one band upstairs. If ... Read More »

The Mechanic is a remake of a Charles Bronson starrer from the 70s, you know as in over 35-years ago, before Star Wars and before many people reading this were born. Let me point out right now that there are many Bronson films that should be reborn or remade if only on the principle that they were so cool to begin with. The 1972 Mechanic was admired in particular because the opening reel has no dialogue as the audience observes Bronson carrying out an assassination. In may ways the current The Mechanic, starring Jason Statham in the Bronson role and ... Read More »

Biutiful is a film of many layers. First off, the title refers to the incorrect way Javier Bardem’s character (Uxbal) spells “beautiful.” Director Alejandro González Iñárritu excels at dramatic situations and his filmography reads like a litany of great films from the last decade: Babel, 21 Grams, Amores Perros. So it’s all the more surprising how depressing and ineffectual Biutiful comes across. Bardem plays a character who finds out at the beginning of the film that he’s dying of cancer. Rather than reveal his malady to his loved ones, he hides the fact behind a façade of stubbornness. Maybe if ... Read More »

I liked Mike Leigh better when he hated everybody, but lately it seems he likes the characters that populate his movies. Leigh has the cachet of being guaranteed an Oscar nom for writing or directing nearly every time out. His latest film Another Year, up for writing honors, has earned Leigh a nom for best original screenplay. Ironically Leigh’s screenplays are collaborations between himself and his actors, with much of the narrative derived from a period of rehearsal where the artists improvise situations around their characters. Years ago Leigh was always finding fault with all his characters, like in the ... Read More »

By Jacob Calle: By the end of tonight (Temporary Residence Limited) is probably one of Texas’ greatest instrumental math rock bands. Four boys out of Alvin, Texas also home of Nolan Ryan. I guess Alvin ain’t so bad after all? BTEOT passed away three years ago and has recently resurrected from the ground to play a show. Heh, one short season of “Walking Dead” and everyone is jumping on the band wagon. Hehum…I hope At the Drive in watched it! Eh? So anyways, BTEOT will be performing one night at Fitzgerald’s March 5th not because they want to, but because ... Read More »

by Ramon LP4 Show of the Week Saturday, January 29 Free Press Houston‘s 8 Year Anniversary featuring: Bun B Grandfather Child Propain Roky Moon & BOLT Giant Princess B L A C K I E Robert Ellis The Energy Simple Success Thundercunt Fat Tony & Courier @ Fitzgerald’s Bernard James Freeman is a professor at Rice University but don’t let that fool you . Freeman also known as Bun B was half of the trillest shit to have ever come out of Port Arthur, Texas – UGK. Sure, it’s been years since the late great Pimp C left this world ... Read More »

By Jack Daniel Betz Houston local and psych blue grass fiddler Hilary Sloan is bringing her talent to Avant Garden for a series of weekly Thursday night performances. Sloan, a seductive performer and established solo artist, has worked with many other Houston musicians including Robert Ellis, Tyagaraja, and the umbrella man. Playing a wide range of genres and styles, Sloan is a member of experimental Django Reinhardt influenced Houston band I am Mesmer and will be performing alongside some of its members during her Avant Garden gigs. The I am Mesmer collective combines bluegrass, jazz, gypsy, and psychedelic genres to ... Read More »

by Ramon LP4 I made a brief stop by Saturday’s Metal Summit IV at Sound Exchange.  The show was awesome and the fans? Fucking phenomenal!!!  I only were able to catch two of the bands playing but that’s OK because I mainly wanted to catch some of the fans and just show off how cool they all were.  So consider this post just that, a celebration of the fans who keep the Metal alive – this one’s for you.     Complete slideshow: Read More »

by  Michael Pennywark A couple of weekends ago, I had the fortune to attend the opening of Stephanie Anne Clark’s exhibition “The Specter of Nature” at Spacetaker’s Artist Resource Center. Lured by the promise of free booze, I grabbed my coat and headed out to find the Winter Street Studios. As I waited patiently for the map to load on my aging iPhone, I wondered why I had never visited this gallery before. After a few moments of soul searching it occurred to me that outside of exhibitions at the Menil and the MFAH, the only time I’d visited a ... Read More »