By Jacob Calle As of 9pm on 31 July the Shark Week frenzy has begun! Since 27 July of 1988 Discovery Channel has dedicated a full weeks worth of television programs to our favorite chondrichthyes! Yes, that’s right! Sharks! Over 72 countries right now are celebrating this bloody holiday! [youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bFWjrWHecGk[/youtube] With Shark Week being the longest running program on cable it’s no wonder that last year’s ratings were at it’s max with 30.8 million viewers. Andy Samberg has the honor of hosting the week long event in which he will travel to the Bahamas to swim with sharks off the ... Read More »

I’m not going to waste too much time here with an introduction because I have a lot of bands to cover here so let’s get right to it shall we? LLORNA Kicking things off was Llorna.  They came, they played, I found myself checking my watch.  They weren’t bad but there was nothing really unique enough to grab onto and hold my interest.  Next. J.W. AMERICANA As if in sharp contrast to the openers, J. W. Americana came in and showed people how it’s done.  Sure you could argue that J. W. American isn’t breaking any new ground but they ... Read More »

Let’s just say the crowd was intimate for Friday’s show at Rudyard’s. That’s kind of a shame because as far as the music was concerned each band on stage came and delivered the goods. First up was Dead Mineral which is likely Houston’s must underrated instrumental band. One minute they can groove like the most menacing Jesus Lizard track and the next be as spacey as the best shoegaze band. When they are at their best the dual guitar attack is a wonderful juxtaposition of melodies and rhythms that play off each other in a way that makes you forget ... Read More »

Crazy Stupid Love has a pedigree and a purpose. The duo directors Glenn Ficarra and John Requa have made a sophomore film as idiosyncratic in its comic structure as their first film I Love You Phillip Morris. CSL plays like a movie movie, where nearly everything is a cliché and yet it’s original cliché. The only bar we see in the movie where Steve Carrel (Cal) and Ryan Gosling (Jacob) meet reeks of every pick-up bar that ever existed in cinema. It’s stone walls and colorful arrangement of bottles constantly look different and busy. There’s some confusion of motives between ... Read More »

A Little Help needs some love and attention. This is a limited release dramady that holds your attention and provides a great payoff but could easily get lost among a ton of bigger advertised fare this week. At first glance a movie starring Jenna Fischer and helmed by a television producer (Michael Weithorn) would appear to be a comedy, and a wacky one if you were to pre-judge A Little Help against Fischer typical movie roles as the hot albeit older chick in wacky films like Hall Pass or Walk Hard. A Little Help is anything but. Fischer plays Laura, ... Read More »

This Week’s Featured Show Saturday July 30 Roky Moon & BOLT! (album release) with sIngs Tax the Wolf Fat Tony listenlisten Young Girls Llorna JW Americana @ Fitzgerald’s  Good Gravy, as if Roky Moon and Bolt headlining to celebrate their new album isn’t enough then they have to throw together this insane line up of bands?  That’s just overkill if you ask me!!!  Oh and if you missed our interview with Roky Moon and Bolt’s Mike Hardin earlier this week, you should check it out here. Thursday, July 28 Handsome Ransom, Brent Nettle, AThousandColours, The Fox Derby @ The Mink ... Read More »

It’s okay to put the mind on cruise control and let a popcorn movie roll over you like melting Parmesan cheese smothering an ever-expanding tomato. Yet there is such a thing as a movie that that shouts importance; important in the sense that when you view it the film’s wearing a tuxedo. I’m talking about films that are good for the spirit. I’m talking documentaries that try to deal with real issues that make a difference. There are literally over a dozen such docs that have been released theatrically in the last few months but only two have managed to ... Read More »

I know it’s nitpicking to point out flaws in an action film when we’re dealing with aliens and shit. Cowboys & Aliens while made for teens should still observe some laws of dramatic construction. What starts out as a high concept summer tent pole rapidly devolves into a ludicrous sci-fier that’s less watchable than the average super hero movie. For instance Bond, er Daniel Craig playing a 19th century man in the West with no name has like 30 guns trained on him and his posse. Craig shoots the leader with his alien wrist gun (don’t ask – it’s in ... Read More »

By Jacob Calle: Like Hot Lixx Hulahan said before, “Being an air guitarist is having your cake and eating it too.” You may laugh and poke fun of it, but over 20 air guitarists were flown into Chicago to compete to see who takes the belt and win the US Championships of air guitaring. Yes, we pretend to play the guitar, but there is one thing that we are not pretending, having fucking fun! The US Air Guitar Association has created a family from California to New York. We meet once a year and we party very hard. While walking ... Read More »

Roky Moon and Bolt have been one of Houston’s best and most singular bands.  Taking the musical ideas of 70′s glam rock as a starting point, Mike Hardin and company have chipped away at the genre to create something that is at once familiar yet unique.  RMAB isn’t a one man band though; RMAB takes Hardin’s vision and siphons it through a strong cast of supporting characters like guitarist Aaron Echegaray who plays guitar like David Lean made epic films and keyboardist Cassie Hargrove whose melodic flourishes are the rug that tie the room together.  It’s less a band than a symbiotic organism. Sure Hardin might be the center ... Read More »