Matt Damon narrates Plan B, a documentary about our misuse of the Earth.

Last night The Progressive Forum, an organization "dedicated to enriching our democracy and culture," presented a screening of the documentary Plan B, along with a panel discussion, at the Sundance Cinema. The panel included Plan B's producers, Marilyn and Hal Weiner, as well as local environmental attorney Jim Blackburn. The documentary focuses on the work of Lester Brown, an "environmental visionary" whose mission is to warn the world of the damage we are causing to the planet, among many other things.

Before leaving for the event, I caught the last few minutes of the laughable reality show Doomsday Preppers, which is about crazy families preparing for the end of the world. I laughed slightly as a rugged dude taught a group of kids how to make clean drinking water from urine. No one needs to know how to do that!

Fast-forward to my viewing of Plan B...

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For the past year, Mildred's Umbrella theater company has workshopped new plays before an open audience for their Fresh Ink Reading Series. They solicited the works in hopes of finding a new play to produce in their next season. The plays are given a staged reading, and the audience is then asked to fill out a survey based on what they have just seen. The play that gets the best response will, ideally, be produced in 2012-2013. It's an intriguing idea, like American Idol or The Voice (I don't know the difference between the two) for theater.

Last night at Studio 101 was the final installment of the series, which totaled four readings. The play on the docket was a new work by Houston's own Greg Hundemer. Hundemer has been out of town as of late, but those familiar with Houston's underground theater should recognize his name. In 2008, his play Hot Child in Hollywood was produced by BooTown theater company, and he has had numerous other short works produced locally. Last night's reading was of his latest work, titled Simulacrum, and it was directed for Fresh Ink by Philip Hayes.

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You may know Anthony Barilla for his many, many stellar productions with Infernal Bridegroom Productions. In 2007 he left IBP to move to Mitrovica, Kosovo with his wife, and the result of his time there is a new musical called Apocalypse Town.

The show speaks with a biting hometown humor that only a Houstonian can bring to a monologue. Throughout the show Barilla's musings draw parallels between Kosovo and his hometown, such as a kind of cultural amnesia that continuously assures us that there was some better time when we were a music town and the love/hate relationship that ensures that few of us ever leave.

The music he brings back from Kosovo, adapted as needed for Western audiences and with English lyrics, might have come from some of our most hillbilly, Hank Williams moments. The point that he drives home time and time again is that the history of the region's music is the history of drinking and pretty women, and he often performs such tunes in classic country style to drive that point home. It's impossible not to sing along with the chorus of "Alcohol + Hate II."

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Warning: This article contains direct quotes from John Waters. Offense is imminent beyond this point.

If there is a Hell, then the doorman has the same grin that John Waters had when he walked onto the stage. It's a sort of half friendly welcome, half double dog dare of a thing that makes you squirm. It's intentional.

Just as he promised us, This Filthy World: Dirtier and Filthier contained material roughly 90 percent different from the DVD, though the basic framework was more or less the same. The show is much shorter on details of his film career and much longer on his current work, which, in his own words, is walking around pretending to be John Waters. Nonetheless, his commentary on the stranger corners of the world has lost none of its bite and is delivered with the precision of a trebuchet hurling flaming poo over a wall.

He's still looking for an opening act; he lamented, and wished with all his heart for the one and only Justin Bieber.

"I met him on the So Graham Norton show," he reminisced. "We were sitting together and he was just looking at me. Suddenly he said, 'Your 'stache is the jam,' and since I carry eyeliner pencil with me at all times so that people can look like me if they wish, I gave him one." Waters later admitted to having seen Bieber's 3D concert film and screamed like a little girl.

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Photos by Pete Vonder Haar

If Sesame Street's red, eternally three-year-old Muppet seems less ubiquitous these days than he did during the "Tickle Me Elmo" hysteria of the late '90s, well, he's got a lot more competition. Sure, plenty of kids still want to be shown how to get, how to get to Sesame Street, but nowadays there are more distractions than ever. And Dora the Explorer, the Cyclopean yet quirky denizens of Yo Gabba Gabba!, and dozens of other shows on a half dozen networks are all vying for your child's delicious brains, er, attentions spans.

Elmo and the rest of his Sesame Street buddies are still big enough to play eight shows in Houston over four days, however, and not a lot of his contemporaries can draw those kind of crowds. But how does the Street That Henson Built hold up after 40+ years? I headed down to opening night at Reliant Arena last night -- my two youngest in tow -- to see for myself.

And maybe to score some merch. Because my house doesn't have enough Sesame Street crap in it already.

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Photo by Eric Kabik

Joshua Bell

It was Brahms and bad manners Friday night at the Joshua Bell and Sam Haywood concert. We'll get to the bad manners in a bit, so let's start with the Brahms: It was glorious. Thanks to Bell, we fell in love with Brahms all over again. Bell, who still has a boyish mop of hair that he tosses around as he plays, found the dramatic dynamics of the piece and played a wonderfully stormy Allegro; the Adagio was full of longing and yet, wasn't mournful; Bell gave the audience a triumphant Presto agitato.

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Inky Improv, courtesy of Spacetaker

Last night, Art Attack stopped by the Spacetaker studio to watch some improvisational artists put pen to paper (or to computer). "Inky Improv," which made its debut last year around this time, combined the forces of drawing team Sketchy Neighbors and flash fiction writers Nano Fiction.

It was a bit confusing at first. We were expecting something like "Pictionary" or Win, Lose or Draw; a fellow attendee told me that he thought it was going to be like Whose Line Is It Anyway? We were both wrong. "Inky"-goers were asked to write down a short, five-sentence phrase and drop it in a bucket. Each sketcher and writer then pulled a phrase to use as a starting-off point for their on-the-fly masterpieces. After ten minutes or so, the artists handed their work off to the writers and vice versa. The opposing discipline would then use the sketch or written piece as their own inspiration. Make sense?

It all came to a fascinating and fun fruition once the pieces were read aloud by each author while the sketch was projected on a large screen against the front wall. Once the combined work was absorbed by the audience, the original phrase was revealed, which, in most cases, made everything that much more hilarious.

Sketchy Neighbors get their draw on.

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Photos by Marco Torres

Fat Tony poses with wooden relief carving of Pimp C by artist Shambay.

​To see more photos from this show, check out our slideshow.

The premise is a simple one, although many times simple is the hardest thing anyone can do well. Add one part art exhibition, two parts music, and top it off with free drinks, and the results produce the Art, Beats, and Lyrics series that hit Warehouse Live this past Friday night. The event was sponsored by Gentleman Jack, which is a whisky touted as the more refined big brother to its collegiate sibling Jack Daniels. The organizers took every measure possible to ensure a successful, albeit simple, warehouse party.

The crowd showed up early, and the venue was filled to capacity for much of the night. The setup spanned both the spacious ballroom as well as the more intimate studio of Warehouse Live. Most concerts that I shoot at this venue don't attract this much attention. The vibe was both cool and welcoming, which was necessary due to how little personal space one was left with after entering. The lines at the bars were especially crowded, so we did our best to avoid them and enjoy the art.

The "art" freaks come out at night!

The music performers included the Houston Press Music Awards Nominee Jack Freeman, who wooed the ladies with his silky voice and charming confidence. Mr. Freeman provided tunes from his recently released effort called "Lynnie's Juke Joint." Fellow HPMA nominees and Best Rap Group winners The Nice Guys also performed to the appreciative crowd.

The art in question ranged from photography, sculpture and graffiti to traditional paint on canvas. But the topics were far from traditional, including an urban departure from the "wine and cheese" gallery shows, and focusing on the four elements of Hip-Hop (MC-ing, DJ-ing, Graffiti, Break-Dancing). Figures such as the Notorious B.I.G. and local legend Pimp C were immortalized and displayed on the maze of walls erected in the center of the cavernous space.

Electronic spray paint is less messy than traditional spray paint.

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Tags:

art, Fat Tony, Houston Press Music Awards, Jack Freeman, marcofromhouston, music, Pimp C

www.stuarthinds.com

Stuart Hinds

At first, Christie Blizard's centerpiece installation from her "from the tipi project" exhibit at Lawndale Art Center seemed to be a fitting three-dimensional backdrop for Thursday night's Stuart Hinds concert.

Hinds, a musician and composer, is as an overtone singer whose repertoire includes Native American ritual songs.

However, a closer examination of Blizard's canvas-constructed shelter -- dotted with bold, graffiti-like spray paint designs -- coupled with a few moments spent with Hinds's music, yielded a severe contrast between the two artistic accomplishments.

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Photo by Meredith Deliso

A man is pulled into the hypnotic repetition of "Versailles" by Jean-François Rauzier.

Today, any Joe Schmoe with a decent camera and ability to download Photoshop can manipulate photographs to some eye-catching results. Still, having the right tools doesn't necessarily mean the skill or creativity is there (for an example, see Exhibit A). It's the difference between a photo that catches your attention for a few seconds and one that you, well, hang on a wall.

The photos in "Magical Realism in Photography," which opened last night at the Houston Center for Photography, are of the latter persuasion. It's admittedly a small show taking on a big topic -- and doesn't pretend to be anything more than that, either -- but one that's completely manageable and not overwhelming, which most group shows can easily become.

The seven photographers all employ different techniques and styles that make them stand out from each other, with some manipulating their photographs and others not, but all result in vivid, surreal, engaging imagery. They're the types of works where left is right and up is down.

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