Cover Story
The ‘West’ Shall Rise Again
A new generation creates its own take on the show that changed Austin theatre
Soccer Watch
Ching kicks Dynamos off to good start in MLS season, U.S. men prepare for WC game vs. Jamaica, and more
Arts Review
In the St. Edward’s University production of Christopher Durang’s redundantly titled ‘Durang/Durang,’ canonized American plays transform into comedic farce
Endorsements
Democratic and Republican Primary Run-Offs, April 11 Note that both Kinky Friedman and Carole Keeton Strayhorn continue to collect petition signatures for the governor’s race, and because of the restrictive Texas election law, anyone who votes in the Republican or Democratic run-off cannot sign a petition for either one. DEMOCRATIC PRIMARYU.S. Senator: Barbara Ann Radnofsky…
Film News
On the set of ‘Grind House,’ sort of; plus, updates on ‘There Will Be Blood,’ ‘Dallas,’ and more
Mr. Smarty Pants Knows
James K. Polk: The Catheterizer
Arts Review
In Director’s Choice/Evolution, the side-by-side presentation of old and new dances by Ballet Austin’s Stephen Mills and Gina Patterson revealed two creators maturing and deepening in their art
Naked City
Quote of the Week”This is a very strong Republican district. It’s obvious to me that anybody but me running here will overwhelmingly win the seat.” – Tom DeLay, to Time magazine, announcing that he would not defend his congressional District 22 incumbency Headlines• Ding, dong, the witch is dead! U.S. Rep Tom DeLay’s karma finally…
TV Eye
Injustice, devastation, and bowling
Food-o-File
Second that!
Arts Review
The new series of paintings in ‘Outer Limits’ by Eric Gibbons offers psychological portraits of the artist and of characters from Star Wars
Keeping Austin From Getting E-Wasted
A local school and area activists step up their efforts to recycle electronic waste
The Big Break
An interview with producer David Zito
Have a Little Faith
James Hand might just get out of this country music business alive
Readings
As densely footnoted a projection of apocalypse as you could ever read, Mike Davis’ Planet of Slums overwhelms as much for its research as for its terrifying and heartbreaking implications
Travis Co. Medical Examiner’s Office
After year of screwups in the Travis Co. Medical Examiner’s Office, Chief ME Roberto Bayardo announces that he will retire
Slither
Writer-director James Gunn knows what makes horror fans howl, and is one heck of a writer to boot.
James Hand Reviewed
James HandThe Truth Will Set You Free (Rounder) It’s impossible not to root for James Hand. The 53-year-old hard-luck crooner and horse trainer has been toiling in Central Texas honky-tonks since his teens, accruing a lifetime of heartbreak and perseverance that pays off handsomely on this “debut.” In reality, Truth mixes new songs and re-recorded…
Readings
The book attempts to provide an overview for the uninitiated and validation for the already sold. Unfortunately, the attempts range from mildly frustrating to obnoxiously mind-numbing.
Navasky & Barsamian
Former editor of The Nation discusses the role of the alternative press
CSA: The Confederate States of America
Scathingly satirical, often horrific mockumentary examines what America might look like if the South had won the Civil War.
Texas Platters
Willie NelsonYou Don’t Know Me: The Songs of Cindy Walker (Lost Highway) With the recent death of Cindy Walker, Willie Nelson’s tribute to the great Texas songwriter gains extra significance. Even without Walker’s passing, this is one of Nelson’s finest LPs, honoring an American composer as important as Irving Berlin or Cole Porter. Best known…
Page Two: When Does ‘Open’ Mean ‘Closed’?
The open-government charter amendment is a special-interest wolf in populist sheep’s clothing
Tom DeLay Throws in the Towel
Former majority leader feared getting hammered by one of his own redistricting victims.
Take the Lead
It’s hard to fault such a warm, bouncy, and, yes, occasionally funky genre stalwart such as this for being exactly what you’d expect.
Texas Platters
Dale WatsonWhiskey or God (Palo Duro) Austin’s favorite honky-tonker, Dale Watson, is becoming Dwight Yoakam. The two denim-wearing country outlaws have always shared a love of Bakersfield, Buck, and Elvis, but Watson’s 11th full-length mirrors some of Yoakam’s best hits to a scary T. Opener “Sit and Drink and Cry” is a familiar version of…
Texas Platters
Glass EyeEvery Woman’s Fantasy (RexyRex) When last heard we from Glass Eye in 1993, fallout from a record deal gone wrong sank the quartet after a decade-long run as Austin’s foremost avant-pop enterprise. Although a final LP was planned, it took 13 years for Every Woman’s Fantasy to emerge. Given the circumstances of the band’s…
Immigrant Supporters Make Themselves Heard
Millions of people across the country take to streets in response to anti-immigrant legislation
Lucky Number Slevin
This fun but ultimately disappointing mistaken-identity thriller has style galore, which may actually be the crux of its problem.
Texas Platters
The Lucky Tomblin Band In a Honky-Tonk Mood (Texas World) Comprised of prime musicians, guitarists Redd Volkaert and John Reed, piano player Earl Poole Ball, and Sarah Brown on bass, the Lucky Tomblin Band is one of the best country bands in Austin. They even give the flawless Cornell Hurd Band a run for its…
Texas Platters
Nervous ExitsGet Out (Super Secret) The world needs more of John Yaklin. He’s smooth, snarky, and tells it like it is. His shoes move like they’re skating on sludge, and he yelps with the angst of a drunken sailor. In short, he rules. The Nervous Exits’ debut full-length has been a tease until now, but…
The Voucher Game
As a result of a flawed, out-of-date funding formula, Bush’s current $15.9 billion budget request to Congress for 2007 Section 8 funds would cut about 20,000 vouchers from 70% of housing agencies across the country, report documents
Battle in Heaven
Hot new Mexican director Carlos Reygadas is back with his second feature which pushes his unflinching imagery into provocative realms.
Texas Platters
The Texas SapphiresValley So Steep (Lowe Farm) With Rebecca Lucille Cannon riding herd as sweetheart of the rodeo and Billy Brent Malkus’ cowboy soul, the Texas Sapphires burst out of the chute with their debut CD, Valley So Steep. Dealing out reinvigorated classic country in 11 original compositions, plus an ace version of Gram Parsons’…
Texas Platters
If Austin hip-hop once bubbled in a cauldron of Dirty South imagery, now it’s spilling over the sides with a newfound scalding intensity. Joining forces as a New Generation of Kings, Public Offenders and da 2-3 Mic Breakaz erupt on the protest tip as their collaborative All Black (NGOK Entertainment) marches across politically charged territory.…
Elementaries Spared Axe
Forgione withdraws long-fought-about proposal to close Becker and Oak Springs elementaries
Academy Award-Nominated Documentary Shorts 2005
A rare opportunity to see what’s considered the best in the field of short docs; plus all four nominees have a socio-political bent.
The Roots
Previewing the Texas Hill Country Wine & Food Festival
Texas Platters
The Black AngelsPassover (Light in the Attic) Austin quintet the Black Angels have descended in legion. From the first mud-filled notes of opener “Young Men Dead,” with its declaration “run for the hills, pick up your feet and let’s go,” you can feel the fire under you ass. The Angels don’t veer much from song…
Texas Platters
ZZ TopTres Hombres (Warner Bros.) ZZ TopFandango! (Warner Bros.) Tune in to KLBJ-FM right now and there’s a 30% chance something from these two albums will boogie down. They’re the ne plus ultra of Texas album rock, steeped in roadhouse blues and raunchy honky-tonk soul, as humid and freewheeling as ZZ Top’s hometown Houston in…
Point Austin: Cops Go Free
APD acquittal suggests citizens still judge cops by a lower standard
Room
Room wears the skin of a psychological thriller, but plays out as something far darker, weirder, and more distancing. The film was invited to Cannes and earned Independent Spirit Award nominations for its Austin artists, Kyle Henry and Cyndi Williams.
TCB
If we can now get arrested for even acting drunk, we may need Emo’s, Daniel Johnston and Dale Watson more than ever
Is BCP Still for the Birds?
Ongoing disagreement over the appropriate balance between public access and endangered species protection on Western Travis County’s Balcones Canyonlands Preserve comes to a head
Beside the Point
Council looks to survey the campaign damage and adjust the funds
Brick
Brick transfers Dashiell Hammett’s hard-boiled universe to the modern high school campus with nary a clue that more than a half-century has passed since the Continental Op’s heyday.
Run-Offs to Go
A handful of races still hang in the balance – including these hot ones
… And the ‘West’ is History
How Big State Productions’ little monologue show changed Austin theatre
Out Youth Temporarily Out of Business
Financial problems and staff turmoil leave queer kids alienated
The Hightower Report
For the Love of Nature; and Our Comically Inept Congress
Game 6
Novelist Don DeLillo’s first foray as a screenwriter uses the legendary sixth game of the 1986 World Series as the central metaphor in this film starring Michael Keaton and Robert Downey Jr.
After a Fashion
Balls to the walls, baby. This week in Fashion is balls to the walls.
‘In the West’: Living Portraits Avedon Would Die For
The original Austin Chronicle review from Nov. 15, 1985
Officers Cleared in Hernandez Beating Trial
APD still investigating whether policy violations occurred
On the Line, Two Shots
The Texas Documentary Tour revisits Steve James’ ‘Hoop Dreams’
Adam & Steve
It’s an honest, refreshing comedy about love – gay, straight, or both – and is a date movie for all occasions and persuasions.
To Your Health
Are the claims that Proxenol will make you look and feel younger too good to be true?
Christo and Jeanne-Claude
With 1,000-plus bodies packing the Paramount on March 30, clearly Austin wanted to hear what superstar artists Christo and Jeanne-Claude had to say
AMD’s Favorite Charity
Our Top 10 list of organizations and causes we believe AMD might like to consider sponsoring
With a View
Kyle Henry and Cyndi Williams relive the making of ‘Room’
The Common Law
Tax return – can I get an extension?
The Women
Frank Benge, who’s directing 19 women in a new staging of Clare Boothe-Luce’s ever-popular ‘The Women,’ describes his relationships with the play and all those females
Ballot Battle
Judge rules city must rewrite ballot language covering open-government and clean water charter amendment propositions
The Poppin’ and Lockin’ Ain’t Stoppin’
Boogaloo Shrimp on life two decades after ‘Breakin’
Day Trips
The Holy City of the Wichitas has hosted the ‘Prince of Peace Passion Play’ every Easter season since 1926
Culture Flash!
Council candidates talk the arts, the people’s choice from City Hall’s art exhibit, musical theatre training from Broadway pros, and local playwrights get read on both coasts
Revised Ballot Language
Proposition 1: Shall the City Charter be amended: (a) to provide online access to public information, which for the most part is already available, by creating an online electronic data system for most City communications and documents at taxpayer expense; (b) to require that private citizens’ emails to public officials be placed on the City…
Screen Door: Shorts
Latest edition of minifestival takes place Friday, April 7, and Saturday, April 8.
Luv Doc Recommends: Urban Music Festival
Austin needs another music festival about as much as Dallas needs another chain restaurant; as much as Houston needs another refinery; as much as San Antonio needs another pro sports arena. We sure don’t need another music festival, but that doesn’t mean we can’t or won’t support one. Austinites are huge chumps for anyone with…
