Cover Story
Money for Nothing
Millions of Williamson County taxpayer dollars pour into a contractor’s pocket, and no one seems to know why.
TV Eye
The Man Show might be more manly with the addition of Austin-based Sacred Cow Productions’ Doug Stanhope and Joe Rogan, but Belinda Acosta wonders if it will be any more watchable.
Liquid Assets
Wes Marshall sets you up with some South African bargains.
Phases and Stages
Orange MothersPlane Crash City (Jim Thunder Productions) Since so many songs from Plane Crash City have become integral to the Orange Mothers’ live set, it’s interesting to flash back to Austin, 1997, when Plane Crash City came out on cassette only. Sure enough, the Mothers’ winsome blend of childlike whimsy and sad-hearted melancholia is in…
Naked City
The Texas Dept. of Insurance on Aug. 8 ordered 24 of 32 previously unregulated insurance companies — which between them write 95% of Texas’ homeowner policies — to lower their rates. Under the new “file and use” scheme passed by the Legislature this spring, insurers are required to file their proposed rate changes, along with…
DVD Watch
Charlie Chaplin wanted The Gold Rush to be the film we remember him by. It is, especially in the form of this two-disc release, and Steve Uhler explains why.
Phases and Stages
David BowieAladdin Sane (EMI) Aladdin Sane is the great forgotten David Bowie album despite the fact it was his first No. 1 in the UK and first Top 20 in the U.S. Its handsome, 2-CD 30th anniversary edition follows a similar reissue in last year’s Ziggy Stardust as a hardback minibook with a bonus disc…
Phases and Stages
The MotardsStardom (Mortville) No band epitomized the raging, fuck-all ethos of mid-Nineties Austin garage punk better than the Motards. They aimed low, but struck hard, liberating pent-up mammalian impulses from Texas to Tokyo. Stardom is an odds-‘n’-sods collection of 22 singles, comp tracks, B-sides, and other rarities from the local quintet’s surprisingly prolific recording career.…
Naked City
The U.S. 5th Circuit Court of Appeals issued a last-minute stay of execution on Aug. 6 for Texas death-row inmate Jose Alfredo Rivera based on the unresolved question of whether Rivera is mentally retarded. Rivera was convicted for the 1993 rape and strangulation death in Brownsville of 3-year-old Luis Daniel Blanco. Rivera was convicted largely…
A Piece of Work
Denise Prince Martin’s photographs featuring lone female subjects in unusual settings are nothing if not lush, capturing the color, luster, and texture of every element with uncanny crispness, but they also reveal in the expressions of their subjects women with stories to tell, women worth getting to know.
Phases and Stages
Elastica The Radio One Sessions (Strange Fruit/Koch) “Truly, they were the Strokes of their day,” proclaims NME on the sticker affixed to Elastica’s posthumous BBC-sessions compilation. If this analogy actually holds true, the Strokes are in a heap of trouble. Adding pop polish to Wire’s edgy art-punk, Elastica immediately became the darlings of the British…
Phases and Stages
Willie NelsonTo Lefty From Willie (Columbia/Legacy)Willie NelsonWillie & Family Live (Columbia/Legacy)Willie NelsonHoneysuckle Rose (Columbia/Legacy)Willie Nelson & Ray priceSan Antonio Rose (Columbia/Legacy) Ready for even more Willie? These four LPs from the late Seventies and 1980 simultaneously capture Nelson at his most humble and most Hollywood. After Red Headed Stranger and Stardust, the Bearded One was…
Naked City
Just when you thought federal legislators couldn’t possibly come up with a more draconian measure than the recently passed Illicit Drug Anti-Proliferation Act — formerly, and still informally, known as the RAVE Act — five U.S. House members have upped the ante with the newly filed Ecstasy Awareness Act of 2003 (HR 2962). The bill,…
Articulations
The Austin Circle of Theatres has released the nominations for the 2002-03 B. Iden Payne Awards.
Phases and Stages
StereolabABC Music: Radio 1 Sessions (Koch) In the world of best-of regurgitations and bonus reissues, there’s so much redundancy out there it’s enough to make you see double. ABC Music is the rare compilation that provides more than one unique function. Compiling all of the band’s BBC appearances between 1991 and 2001, this 2-CD collection…
Capitol Chronicle
Here come the constitutional amendments, propositioning you.
Exhibitionism
Word and Thought, a new comedy by Southwestern University grad Joshua Lellis, tracks a biographical drama about Alexander the Great on its disaster-ridden lurch toward opening night, and its premiere from Cameo Productions and the Austiner Ensemble proves that a theatrical catastrophe is still good for a laugh.
Phases and Stages
SpiritualizedThe Complete Works Volume One (Arista) From about 1992 to 1997, Jason Pierce’s Spiritualized was the best psychedelic rock band in the land, their luminous first two albums and transcendent live shows ensuring their legacy to be more than a mere Spacemen 3 footnote. A 2-CD compendium from the Lazer Guided Melodies and Pure Phase…
The Devil (and the Dough) Is in the Details
For construction of the Williamson County Juvenile Justice Center and the East Williamson County Special Events Center, county officials negotiated contracts that provide Georgetown-based FT Woods Construction Services Inc. with hefty pieces of public pie. Here’s a thumbnail breakdown of the Juvenile Justice Center contract — which managed to grow even fatter after the original…
Austin @ Large: Austin at Large
As other cities catch up, ‘Solar Austin’ advocates look to prime the green-power pump
Exhibitionism
The artists of Mainline Theater Project have given their all to the characters and story of Stephen Adly Guirgis’ Jesus Hopped the “A” Train, but sadly, what they have given their all to is a long-winded, superficial, ultimately unenlightening story of ruined life in the New York City criminal justice system.
Phases and Stages
The ClashThe Essential Clash (Epic)The ClashThe Essential Clash DVD (Epic) After last year’s Westway to the World DVD, given special poignancy after Joe Strummer’s untimely death, comes The Essential Clash CD and DVD. Though the DVD doesn’t feature near as much in the way of intimate interviews with the members of the band, there’s a…
Construction Contracts: How Risky Is “At Risk”?
A thumbnail sketch of the distinctions between contracts for construction managers
Supremes Turn Down Perry and Dewhurst
The Texas Supreme Court rejects Perry and Dewhurst’s request for a writ of mandamus against the fugitive Senate Democrats.
Exhibitionism
In Women & Their Work’s current exhibit “Biota,” Diana Dopson creates color photo boxes with insects that draw out the bugs’ beauty in unusual ways and nudges our perception of insects from the pestilential to the subtly reverential.
Phases and Stages
Jackie MittooChampion in the Arena, 1976-1977 (Blood & Fire)Yabby YouDub It to the Top, 1976-1979 (Blood & Fire)Burning SpearMan in the Hills (Island)Burning SpearDry & Heavy (Island)Burning SpearSocial Living (Island) Jackie Mittoo is the most important reggae musician you’ve never heard of. Although he seldom recorded under his own name, the keyboardist was a founding…
A Contract Chronology: Juvenile Justice and Special Events
A time line of the relationship between FT Woods and Williamson County
The Hightower Lowdown
Why do we pay to watch ads in theatres? And, Newt Gingrich argues that the White House should lie to us more.
Seeking the Recipe
Hermeticism has been marginalized academia since the Enlightenment. Can a UT professor and grad student editing a journal change that?
Phases and Stages
Sam CookeKeep Movin’ On (Abkco)Sam CookeAt the Copa (Abkco)Sam CookePortrait of a Legend, 1951-1964 (Abkco)Sam CookeLegend DVD (Abkco) Sam Cooke was the “architect of soul music,” begins the narration of the Legend DVD. “He combined gospel, pop, and rock & roll to create the model 1,000 singers would follow.” Peter Guralnick has spoken. The celebrated…
Commissioner Limmer’s Private Business
The political and business interests of Precinct 4 Commissioner Frankie Limmer appear to complement each other very well.
In Person
Belinda Acosta reports from El Cabaret de Caramelo in San Antonio, a reading / performance inspired by Sandra Cisneros’ most recent novel.
Phases and Stages
AC/DCReissues, Vols. 2-3 (Epic) Since Epic’s initial batch of AC/DC remasters gathered up the Aussie rockers’ crown jewels (Highway to Hell, Back in Black, Dirty Deeds …, etc.), the remaining 10 titles define music’s law of diminishing returns. Jacking the voltage on sound, fury, and (digi) packaging, batches two and three favor the Brian Johnson…
Will Council Take a Stand on PATRIOT Act?
Mayor Pro Tem Jackie Goodman’s pro-civil-liberties resolution stalls on the dais
Camp
Camp 2003, PG-13, 114 min. Directed by Todd Graff, Narrated by , Voices by , Starring Daniel Letterle, Joanna Chilcoat, Robin de Jesus, Stephen Cutts, Vince Rimoldi, Kahiry Bess, Tiffany Taylor, Don Dixon. After watching Todd Graff’s sunshiny ode to all things musical and teenaged and sexually tormented, I began to develop serious doubts as…
Second Helpings: Gourmet Takeout
All up in it with Gourmet Takeout!
Page Two
We’re now posting our ever-expanding letters section online, with new letters daily. This, of course, brings up a whole new set of quandaries.
Phases and Stages
Miles DavisMiles Davis in Person Friday and Saturday Nights at the Blackhawk, Complete (Columbia) Cut live at the Blackhawk nightclub in San Francisco April 21-22, 1961, this 4-CD box set captures Miles Davis with one of his best bands. That would be the great post-bop tenorman Hank Mobley, admired so much for his Blue Note…
Budget Battles, Round One:
Austin firefighters start a blaze of their own in response to the department’s controversial budget-cutting proposal.
Grind
Grind 2003, PG-13, 100 min. Directed by Casey La Scala, Narrated by , Voices by , Starring Mike Vogel, Adam Brody, Vince Vieluf, Joey Kern, Jason London, Jennifer Morrison, Bam Margera, Randy Quaid. Ah, for the days of Zorlac Skates, the Big Boys, and the Pflugerville ditch. But now my knees are shot, Dallas’ skater-god…
TCB
Career advice from Ian McLagan and political counsel from Andrew WK
Mr. Smarty Pants Knows
“Alice Cooper” was originally the name of the entire band before lead singer Vince Furnier assumed the name for himself. Danish astronomer Tycho Brahe believed that the five known planets revolved around the sun, while the sphere of stars revolved around the immobile Earth once a day.Far less than half of the 10 million men…
Phases and Stages
ChicagoThe Box (Rhino) If Chicago had broken up after guitarist Terry Kath accidentally shot and killed himself in 1978, a beaming reappraisal of their 1969-1977 output would’ve occurred long ago. Groups like Electric Flag may have done “horn rock” first, but Chicago fully extrapolated its genre-bending creative potential into reality. This 5-CD/single-DVD set covers Chicago’s…
Meet, Confer, and Pay
Austin firefighters start a blaze of their own in response to the department’s controversial budget-cutting proposal.
Freddy vs. Jason
Did anyone realize Camp Crystal Lake is right down the highway from Elm Street?
From 380 Angles
Karen Kocher’s multimedia ‘Austin Past and Present’ tells hundreds of stories in almost as many ways.
Day Trips
The Caverns of Sonora glow in the soft artificial light like a subterranean land made of jewels. On the 2-mile trip through the cave, amazing formations come into view around every corner, from the cave popcorn that covers the walls to fishtail helictites that look like they are made from glass. From the surface, the…
Phases and Stages
The SpinnersThe Chrome Collection (Rhino) Does the world really need a box set from the Spinners? For sure, the vocal group had hit after hit in the Seventies, and jammin’ oldies standards like “It’s a Shame,” “I’ll Be Around,” “One of a Kind (Love Affair),” and “The Rubberband Man” are all contained on the 3-CD…
Naked City
Quote of the Week: “They got captured by the Democratic National Committee blowing smoke up their rears and telling them what great Americans they were. So now they’ve gone from making a statement to ‘doing the right thing.’ They think they are Rosa Parks II.” — The always sensitive Dave Beckwith, spokescreature for Lt. Gov.…
Uptown Girls
Uptown Girls 2003, PG-13, 93 min. Directed by Boaz Yakin, Narrated by , Voices by , Starring Brittany Murphy, Dakota Fanning, Marley Shelton, Donald Faison, Jesse Spencer, Austin Pendleton, Heather Locklear. Uptown Girls has nothing to do with the similarly named Billy Joel song, except perhaps for the fact that the movie’s hackneyed and poor…
aGLIFF’s Opening Night
The 16th annual Austin Gay & Lesbian International Film Festival opens on Thursday, Aug. 21, 7:30pm, at the Paramount Theatre, with a screening of Girls Will Be Girls. For tickets or more information, visit www.agliff.org or call 799-6327.
To Your Health
I would like to find the best soft drink for my teenage children. How do I choose?
Phases and Stages
Elvis PresleyClose Up (RCA/BMG Heritage) Another year, another box set of unreleased Elvis songs. Don’t read too much into the “unreleased” tag, though. Much like last year’s Today, Tomorrow, & Forever, the 4-CD Close Up consists mostly of alternate takes of previously released songs that add little to the versions already out there. Disc one…
Naked City
Hyde Park Baptist Church has now officially won its lawsuit against the city of Austin over the City Council’s attempt to stop HPBC from constructing a five-story parking garage on Avenue D. On Aug. 9, Visiting Judge Pete Lowry informed both parties that, in addition to denying the city’s motion for a new trial, he…
Open Range
Open Range 2003, R, 138 min. Directed by Kevin Costner, Narrated by , Voices by , Starring Kevin Costner, Robert Duvall, Annette Bening, Michael Gambon, Michael Jeter, Diego Luna, James Russo, Abraham Benrubi. Kevin Costner’s Open Range is the best new Western to come out of Hollywood in a long time. But given the small…
TFPF Grant Recipients
The Austin Film Society’s Texas Filmmakers Production Fund has announced its 2003 awards — totaling $65,000 — to 17 “emerging film and video artists in the state of Texas … whose work shows promise, skill, and creativity.”
About AIDS
“Living on the down low,” it’s called in the African-American community, or “down low” for short. That’s a colorful term for male bisexuality. An interesting secret about human sexuality highlighted by the AIDS epidemic is the wide range of sexual behaviors — and how often they are explored. Turns out that there are lots of…
Phases and Stages
Waylon JenningsWaylon Live: The Expanded Edition (BMG Heritage) It might be hard to remember how radical the “outlaw country” movement sounded in the early Seventies, but Waylon Live ought to clear away the fog. In 1974, Waylon and the Waylors kicked ass at shows in Dallas and Austin that were recorded for a live album…
Naked City
On Tuesday afternoon, after three hours of secret deliberations, the rump GOP Senate emerged to vote 16 to 1 to impose personal fines on the 11 Democratic senators still holed up in Albuquerque, N.M. (Ken Armbrister of Victoria voted against, and two Republicans were absent.) On Monday, following the state Supreme Court’s decision to reject…
OT: Our Town
OT: Our Town 2002, NR, 90 min. Directed by Scott Hamilton Kennedy, Narrated by , Voices by , Starring . In a structural conceit that you would think might work to the detriment of this documentary’s subjects, director Kennedy juxtaposes scenes of George Schaeffer’s 1977 television version of Thornton Wilder’s Our Town with a group…
Hollywood Is Calling
Sarah Hepola shows you how to get celebrities like Robert Heyges to call your cell anytime you want, but ideally on special occasions.
An Elegant Adventure
Nestled at the star-crossed corner of Sixth and Lavaca, the Thistle Cafe is Downtown’s latest fine-dining flavor.
Phases and Stages
Terry AllenAmerasia (Sugar Hill) “When people tell me it’s country music, I ask, ‘Which country?'” is the Terry Allen-ism that seems the most apropos when discussing Amerasia, the soundtrack for a 1985 film by Wolf-Eckart Buhler about Americans who stayed in Southeast Asia after Vietnam. For the project, Allen traveled to Thailand and recorded part…
Naked City
On Aug. 6, crime prevention and victims’ advocates came to the Capitol to announce their opposition to Proposition 12, the proposed constitutional amendment they predict will destroy the state’s civil-justice system and hand the power of juries and judges over to legislators and their sponsoring business interests. On Saturday, Sept. 13, voters will go to…
Jet Lag
Jet Lag 2002, R, 91 min. Directed by Danièle Thompson, Narrated by , Voices by , Starring Juliette Binoche, Jean Reno, Sergi López. In the film’s prologue, an unseen woman speaks of Warhol’s famous declaration that everyone gets 15 minutes of fame; she muses that she always thought she deserved “a whole day – a…
Short Cuts
Hello Murdah, Hello Foddah: Marc Savlov reports from the Alamo’s Camp Hacknslash, where more than 1,000 horror fans saw Freddy Vs. Jason while not sloshing their way around a softball field and flashing their kibbles and bits.
Food-o-File
Virginia B. Wood delivers a half-ton o’ news in this week’s “Food-o-File.”
Phases and Stages
Rank and File The Slash Years (Rhino Handmade) In the late Seventies, Chip and Tony Kinman were a major influence on the L.A. punk scene as members of the Dils. Where others played hard and fast, the Dils were slow, lengthy, and occasionally acoustic. Refusing to join the burgeoning hard-core scene, the band broke up.…
Naked City
The City Council should take a pass on a proposed settlement with Lowe’s Home Improvement Warehouse until weightier budget matters are resolved, Council Member Daryl Slusher said Monday as he sought to delay discussion and action on the tentative agreement posted on today’s (Thursday) agenda. Slusher also seeks to postpone a vote, likewise citing budget…
Mondays in the Sun
Mondays in the Sun 2002, R, 113 min. Directed by Fernando León de Aranoa, Narrated by , Voices by , Starring Javier Bardem, Luis Tosar, José Angel Egido, Nieve de Medina, Enrique Villén, Celso Bugallo. Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Wednesday, Friday … it hardly matters which day is which to the layabouts and functional drunks of…
Luv Doc Recommends: Salvage Vanguard Labor Party
When it comes to keeping Austin weird, nobody steps up to the plate like local theatre. Sure this town is lousy with freaks, fops, and funsters hellbent on subverting the norm, but none go at it with the alacrity of the thespian set (one notable exception being Leslie Cochran, who is arguably Austin’s longest-running performance-art…
