Ask a Rapper: Bun B on His Thanksgiving Food Drive

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It Only Hurts When I Cry: Dwight Plays Arena

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Deer Tick Remembers Lightnin' Hopkins at Warehouse Live

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Bayou Beat: More Live Nation Ticket Deals, I.J. Gosey at Discovery Green, Bob Fuldauer Leaves Meridian, Tony Campise In Serious Condition

By Chris Gray in Bayou Beat, Playbill, This Just In
Wednesday, Oct. 21 2009 @ 10:57AM
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farm1.static.flickr.com/
I.J. Gosey
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  • We have a winner in our Live Nation "Club Passport" photo contest - we think - but are still awaiting a judge's ruling. Stay tuned.

  • Live Nation has expanded its "No Service Fee" promotion once again, to include pretty much every show coming to House of Blues or Verizon Wireless Theater: Mat Kearney, Hanson, Peaches, Three 6 Mafia/Rakim, Stryper(!), Bob Saget, Raphael Saadiq, Cafe Tacuba, Anvil, O.A.R., Regina Spektor, 311 and our pals the Pogues, to name a few. Tickets range from $10-30; see www.livenation.com to purchase and for more information.

  • Houston guitarist and onetime Peacock Records session player I.J. Gosey plays this week's installment of "Blues and Burgers" noon today at Discovery Green. Free.

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Bayou Beat: Half Price Live Nation Tickets, Last Call for Photo Contest, First Call for Poster Exhibit, Final "They, Who Sound" (For Now) This Sunday

By Chris Gray in Bayou Beat, This Just In
Wednesday, Oct. 7 2009 @ 1:47PM
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Live Nation's weekly Wednesday "No Service Fee" ticket offer is pretty stiff this week: Buy one ticket for dozens of shows at House of Blues or Verizon Wireless Theater - such as Alice Cooper, O.A.R., Jewel, Goodie Mob, Bob Saget, Drive-By Truckers, Hanson, Peaches, Stryper, Zappa plays Zappa and many more - and get another one free. Or buy two and get 'em both at half price. (And they tell us we sucked at math in school.) As always, today only; more information at www.livenation.com.

Speaking of Live Nation promotions, we're still looking for pictures of our dear readers and their favorite rock stars - or just the rock stars who happened to be around - so we can give away these two "Club Passports" that sort of obviate the above item because they'll get you in to every non-sold-out HOB show from now 'til New Year's Eve. Email your photos (please include name and phone number) to chris.gray@houstonpress.com. These passports are burning a hole in our pocket, but we'll give you until 9 a.m. Friday and put all the entries up in a slideshow later that day.

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Bayou Beat: Win Two Live Nation Club Passports; Kristine Mills Makes First Grammy Cut; Wheelchair Bandit Menaces the Island; 12-Year-Old Houstonian Makes Largehearted Boy

By Chris Gray in Bayou Beat, Oh, What a Giveaway!, This Just In
Wednesday, Sep. 30 2009 @ 1:45PM
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www.drivebytruckers.com
Hey, any excuse to run a Drive-By Truckers photo is OK with us...
​Sometimes Rocks Off gets distracted and forgets stuff, but better late than never. Live Nation is offering a "Club Passport" good for admission to any show at House of Blues until the end of the year - provided the show is not sold out - for the low, low price of 50 bucks. (Reminds us of Bo Diddley in Trading Places: "In Philadelphia, it's worth 50 bucks.") That's Black Crowes, Drive-By Truckers, Pogues, Tragically Hip, Peaches, Queen Latifah and maybe one or two more. Live Nation is also offering single-show tickets for as low as $10; see www.livenation.com for more information on both offers.

Even better, the LN folks were kind enough to give Rocks Off two of these here passports to give away, so here's how that's going to work: If you've ever met an artist backstage, say, or in front of their tour bus - or hell, in the "20 Items or Less" lane at Randall's - we know you had 21 items and assume you had a camera, so we'd like to see the pictures. Send them to chris.gray@houstonpress.com, and we'll give the passports to the best photo. You have one week unless, you know, we decided to extend the deadline. But just go ahead and send them now.

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Bayou Beat: Catch Rocks Off on Inside the Scene Online, "Troubador Tuesdays" at House of Blues, Greg Ashley Returns, etc.

By Chris Gray in Bayou Beat, This Just In
Tuesday, Sep. 8 2009 @ 2:00PM

If you missed Channel 39's Inside the Scene documentary about this year's Houston Press Music Awards, you can now watch it online here. Rocks Off, who absent-mindedly forgot to set his DVR (mostly because we don't have one), hears he came off as remarkably well-spoken and erudite, so thanks to the 39 production crew for the nifty editing job.

This evening, House of Blues and KPFT's Lone Star Jukebox are partnering up for the first in a series of "Troubador Tuesdays," happy-hour events (5-8 p.m.) with free appetizers, liberal drink specials and live music. Picking and singing tonight is "Can't Let Go" author and adopted Austinite Randy Weeks, whose 2009 CD Going My Way ("Little Bit of Sleep," "The One Who Wore My Ring") has gone a long way inside Rocks Off's CD player this year. No cover, and Rocks Off would also like to extend our condolences to Lone Star Jukebox host Rick Hayesquierdo, whose mother passed away recently.
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Bayou Beat: Come Play Beatles Rock Band With Rocks Off, Watch Us On TV, Zeppelin Lounge Goes Bye-Bye, Black Crowes Admit "Houston Don't Dream About Me," etc.

By Chris Gray in Bayou Beat, This Just In
Wednesday, Sep. 2 2009 @ 2:01PM
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​Rocks Off has managed to secure a copy of Beatles Rock Band, and because we're not selfish at all, we're inviting everyone to come play along with us at 7 p.m. next Wednesday at Coffee Groundz, 2503 Bagby. Pit your button-mashing skills against Rocks Off's house band, enjoy Beatles-themed drinks (what's in a "Polythene Pam," you reckon?) and possibly win some prizes, including a pair of KISS tickets.

Sunday afternoon, watch Rocks Off get tongue-tied as he tries to explain what makes the Houston music scene unique as the camera crew tries to locate him amid the mountain of CDs, newspapers, legal pads and unopened mail on his desk. We only wish we were kidding. The hour-documentary, Inside the Scene, features much footage from July's HPMA showcase and awards ceremony, and airs at 2 p.m. Sunday on Channel 39, KIAH. Whom we're still waiting to friend us on Facebook, by the way...

Every week it's the same thing: Live Nation says it's the last week of its "No Service Fee" Wednesday promotion, then every week they keep doing it. But this could be the last time - and by the way, Charlie Watts, we're very glad you're not quitting the Rolling Stones - so head on over to www.livenation.com and see what kind of rock-bottom deals they've got this week. You have until midnight.

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Bayou Beat: A 15-Foot Sculpture of George Jones' Head, $10 House of Blues Tickets, Free Tontons Show, etc.

By Chris Gray in Bayou Beat
Wednesday, Aug. 26 2009 @ 2:15PM
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​Heavy metal comedy troupe Steel Panther has cancelled tonight's Warehouse Live show. What's on VH-1 Classic?

Tennessee-born artist Wayne White is crafting a 15-foot puppet head in the likeness of Saratoga-born honky-tonk legend George Jones. Entitled "Big Lectric Fan to Keep Me Cool While I Sleep" - a reference to Jones' song "Ragged but Right" - and appropriately positioned on its side, asleep, the outsized bust is patterned after the flat-topped Possum circa 1950. The installation opens Thursday, September 10, at the Rice University Art Gallery in Sewall Hall, with a free reception from 5-7 p.m. catered by St. Arnold's Brewery; White will speak at 6 p.m. The sculpture will be displayed until October 18, when, like the Possum himself, it will mysteriously disappear.

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Bayou Beat: Cougars for a Cause at House of Blues, Mandy Moore Hearts Jandek, Bun B Orders Up Some PB&J, etc.

By Chris Gray in Bayou Beat, Playbill
Wednesday, Aug. 19 2009 @ 3:15PM
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​Want to help fight breast cancer and possibly get pawed by some of Houston's hottest older ladies? Boy, is this the right weekend for you. Sugar Ray, pimping its new album Music for Cougars, headlines House of Blues' "Cougars for a Cause" show Saturday night with Austin power-pop heroes Fastball, Green River Ordinance, Aimee Allen and Kate Voegele in tow. Don't look at us - Rocks Off didn't come up with that name, but we do like it a lot better than Mix 96.5's "Bosom Bash." A portion of the proceeds benefit the Susan G. Komen Foundation. Fastball also plays a free Cactus Music in-store Saturday at 2 p.m.; Rocks Off will have more musical fun with cougars later in the week.

Because being married to former alt.country enfant terrible Ryan Adams isn't weird enough, Mandy Moore has set her sights on stick-thin Houston eccentric Jandek. The former teen-pop queen turned legit singer-songwriter announced her crush on Twitter (where else?) Sunday morning: "jandek?? who are you?? i'm utterly fascinated. this grey sunday am is fitting for a bit of his dissonance. off to find out more...."

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Bayou Beat: McKenzies Break Up, Live Nation Goes for (Almost) Broke, New Discovery Green Season, etc.

By Chris Gray in Bayou Beat, This Just In
Wednesday, Aug. 12 2009 @ 1:45PM
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Chris Gray
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Unfortunately, Houston power-pop prodigies the McKenzies (above) announced after Free Press Summer Fest they have broken up, for the usual reasons. "It's all on good terms," the band said via email. "It's just been really hard to do anything... everyone has personal things to do - school, jobs, schedules, you know, things of those sorts." The McKenzies' last show is August 29 at Mango's with Tax the Wolf and Young Mammals.

For this week's "No Service Fee Wednesday" promotion, Live Nation has knocked ticket prices for its remaining summer amphitheater shows, including Def Leppard and Creed in Houston, down so far they could (almost) qualify for Rocks Off's weekly "Things to Do If You're (Almost) Broke" list. Until midnight, tickets are $15 for some reserved seats and $10 for general admission. See www.livenation.com for more details and to buy tickets.

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Bayou Beat: Method Man on His Pellet-Gun Aim, The Debut of HUSH, Local Bands Vying for ACL Spot, Thee Armada MySpace Finalist, etc.

By Chris Gray in Bayou Beat, This Just In
Thursday, Aug. 6 2009 @ 1:44PM

Above, Method Man talks about his pellet-gun accuracy, which was a little off the night he allegedly shot Houstonian Mary Anderson, who is now suing him on several counts including assault. Besides playing House of Blues Friday with Redman and Ghostface, looks like Meth will spend some time in Houston meeting with lawyers as well.

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​This evening is the first installment of the Houston Underground Social Hour, or HUSH, Matt Brownlie of Bring Back the Guns' monthly event offering late-night-style entertainment at a more civilized hour. Benjamin Wesley, the Takes and a special appearance by Muzak John will provide the tunes, while Rudyard's is providing drink specials and a $5 taco bar. The suggested HUSH donation of $5 goes to a different charity every month; this time it's Planned Parenthood of Texas.

Several Houston artists have entered the annual "Sound and the Jury" contest, a sort of write-in campaign for a slot at October's Austin City Limits Music Festival. So far, locals Runaway Sun, Low Man's Joe, Shina Rae, Peekaboo Theory, Cavernous, the Small Sounds and Espantapajaros have entered the contest. Voting in the first round is open now and continues through August 28, when a panel of industry types will evaluate the top 100 finishers and narrow the field down to 20. See more information and vote for your favorites here.

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Bayou Beat: Three Fantastic on NPR, Beyonce Leads MTV Noms, Rocks Off Seeking Intern, More Live Nation Deals, etc.

By Chris Gray in Bayou Beat, This Just In
Tuesday, Aug. 4 2009 @ 1:45PM
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Mark C. Austin
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Congratulations to Houston's Three Fantastic, whose "Hot Summer Day" was chosen as NPR's "Song of the Day" Wednesday. Comparing it to "one of those half-remembered Sugar Ray hits from a decade ago," NPR's David Browne is a little taken aback by the band's idea of a "glorious summer day": "As the music revs up, the litany of environmental disasters continues," he writes. "Trees burn to cinders and oceans boil; even the air conditioners are at loose ends." Sounds like Houston to us - every day around here is an environmental catastrophe lately.

To absolutely no one's surprise, Beyonce's "Single Ladies (Put a Ring On It)" has been nominated in every category it possibly could be for this years MTV Video Music Awards, including Video of the Year, Best Female Video, Best Pop Video and six others.

Rocks Off is looking for a fall intern to help with various music-related writing and photography duties. Applicants must be in college and receive course credit for the internship. Email chris.gray@houstonpress.com to apply.

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Bayou Beat: JavaJazz and Meridian Merge

By Chris Gray in Bayou Beat, This Just In
Wednesday, Jul. 29 2009 @ 7:30AM
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Craig Hlavaty
Butthole Surfers at Meridian, October 2008
​Rocks Off has learned that Northside all-ages coffeehouse and music venue JavaJazz has shut down and moved all its shows to the Meridian downtown, and that the two venues have merged into one operation.

"All Javajazz shows have moved to Meridian," says Javajazz's Mike Kelly, who is taking over as Meridian's senior talent buyer. "Javajazz on the Northside no longer exists."

"This is something we've been talking about for a while," says Meridian owner Bob Fuldauer. "Since the hurricane and House of Blues opened, and Live Nation left, it's been rough. The element we were missing, they [Javajazz] have."

Live Nation stopped promoting shows at Meridian when House of Blues, which it owns, opened last October. Meridian recently opened the Meridian Sports & Games sports bar in another part of the building from the concert venue, and Fuldauer says a mixed-martial-arts training area and restaurant will move in soon.

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Bayou Beat: Movie Night at the Mink, Scout Bar Beaumont Shut Down, Yeah Yeah Yeahs at ACL? and More

By Chris Gray in ACL Fest, Bayou Beat, Playbill, This Just In
Tuesday, Jul. 21 2009 @ 3:18PM

Seems the Mink has found an old movie projector and is planning to put it to good use this evening. After a couple of Charlie Chaplin shorts, the bar will screen the superb 2007 documentary Joe Strummer: The Future Is Unwritten, and even provide free popcorn. "A makeout row can be provided on request," they add. Doors at 7; no cover.

The Beaumont Enterprise reported today that Scout Bar Beaumont, the hard-rock hub of the Southeast Texas city's Crockett Street Entertainment District was shut down permanently this last weekend for "non-financial reasons," according to the Crockett Street property manager. Rocks Off has also heard the club's counterpart in San Antonio will be closing soon as well. We emailed Scout owner Thomas Wilson for more information, but have not heard back yet.

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Bayou Beat: Live Nation Goes All In, ZZ Top Tickets Up for Grabs, Meridian Rocks the Sabbath and More

By Chris Gray in Bayou Beat, R.I.P. Michael Jackson, This Just In
Wednesday, Jul. 8 2009 @ 10:15AM
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Courtesy of Stephen "Rube" Sager

Live Nation has outdone itself on its latest "No Service Fee" Wednesday. All day, $29.99 buys a lawn ticket - one lawn ticket, mind you - parking, all those pesky fees, a hot dog and a soda for any participating show at the Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion. Once they figure out how to make beer a part of this (stupid TABC), it's really going to go through the roof.

Speaking of, Rocks Off still has a four-pack of lawn tickets up for grabs in our ZZ Top/Steven Tyler lookalike contest. We've only got a couple of entries so far, and as you can see from the photo above, the field is pretty much wide open. Email those pictures to chris.gray@houstonpress.com or hprocksoff@gmail.com.

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Bayou Beat: B L A C K I E on Tour, Michael Jackson Tribute at Discovery Green, Ticket Deals and More

By Chris Gray in Bayou Beat, R.I.P. Michael Jackson, This Just In
Wednesday, Jul. 1 2009 @ 1:15PM

Above is some video from B L A C K I E's performance Monday night at New Orleans' Dragon's Den, the first show of his mini-tour. The feedback-loving local rapper visits Baltimore Friday and Brooklyn's Afro!!Punk!!Fest!! Sunday.

Rocks Off has heard through the proverbial grapevine that there's a Michael Jackson tribute at Discovery Green tomorrow at 6 p.m. Dance Houston and several other local dance groups will be demonstrating how to do the "Thriller" dance just like those Filipino inmates.

Congratulations to @clickwindrepeat, who snagged the first T-shirt in our HPMA trivia Twitter contest. Keep DMing your guesses to @hprocksoff or @houstonpress for a chance to win four passes to the July 26 nominee showcase, though.

Continue reading " Bayou Beat: B L A"...
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