Dancing About Architecture
The August 22 issue of Billboard magazine was another Austincentric issue, with articles on Los Super Seven and Willie Nelson (see below), but the big surprise was the revelation in Chet Flippo’s Nashville Scene column that, “[Junior Brown] says he’s been invited to appear on an upcoming episode of the X-Files”! You’d probably expect him…
Short Cuts
It’s in its seventh week and shows no sign of letting up. No, I’m not referring to the endless summer heat, I’m talking about something that may even be hotter � and certainly more fun. That would be the Austin world premiere of S.R. Bindler’s documentary Hands on a Hard Body at the Dobie Theatre.…
Articulations
It’s late in the afternoon Wednesday and rummaging through the papers on my desk � the blizzard of press releases and phone messages and hastily scribbled notes taken down while chatting with this publicist and that director and my best source for information, my wife Barbara � I find myself without that news nugget that…
Hot Line to Jesus
Connie Behrhorst at the Poodle Dog Lounge photograph by John Carrico “Its presence was essential to any hep establishment’s success.” – Vincent Lynch, Jukebox: The Golden Years There was a time, not so many years back, when I spent an awful lot of nights in the neon arms of the Deep Eddy Cabaret. I wasn’t…
The Color of My Parachute
photograph by Doug Park From up about 13,500 feet, the human body descends at a rate of approximately 120mph. In a tandem jump, two people attached together drop at about 200mph. A teeny little parachute – one more seemingly fitting for a G.I. Jane action figure than for two full-sized humans – is deployed early…
Art Fights the Power
I Pledge Berkeley, California,1968: The Chicano Movement is born. Cesar Chavez and his newly formed United Farm Workers union reach the pinnacle of their “Grape Strike,” boycotting grocery stores and wineries throughout the Bay area and paralyzing the growing fields in the San Joaquin Valley, just south of San Francisco. After 17 million people across…
Bartenders’ Pick: the Best and Worst of Austin
If you’ve ever been annoyed by a lousy string of songs on your favorite jukebox, consider the plight of your bartender; while you may well occupy stoolspace for several hours at a stretch several times a week, your bartender stays in that place plenty of time to hear every song on the jukebox, most of…
The Case of the Mystery Voice Mail
County Judge Bill Aleshire has often been accused of being vituperative. His decision this week to spread copies of his personal voice mail messages shows just how nasty he can be. On Wednesday morning, on KVET-FM, Sammy Allred and Bob Cole played a recorded voice mail message from County Clerk Dana DeBeauvoir to Aleshire. DeBeauvoir…
In Person
Slam Finals at the Paramount It’s well-documented how, after the re-unification of Germany, many of the state sports doctors in the East fled to China with their bags of performance-enhancing drugs in hand; but who knew that so many of the old East German judges ended up in Central Texas? To say there was some…
Recommended
Friday: Steven Camden, Kris McKay, La Zona Rosa; Arbuckle Boys, Dougherty Arts Center Saturday: Jerry Garcia Birthday Party, Scholz Garten; Girls Gotta Swing, Skylight Gallery Sunday: Creed, Fuel, Austin Music Hall Monday: Don Walser, Babe’s Tuesday: Billy Goats, Toni Price, Continental Club Wednesday: My Life With the Thrill Kill Kult, Cirrus, Beat Mistress, Liberty Lunch…
Next Stop, Wonderland
Next Stop, Wonderland 1998, R, 107 min. Directed by Brad Anderson, Narrated by , Voices by , Starring Hope Davis, Alan Gelfant, Victor Argo, Jon Benjamin, Cara Buono, Phil Hoffman, Roger Rees, Holland Taylor, Callie Thorne, Jose Zuniga, Robert Klein. When Harvey Weinstein of Miramax distribution fame bought Brad Anderson’s new, low-budget romantic comedy Next…
Ifs, Ands, or Butts
Ashe of Rings and Other Writings by Mary Butts McPherson and Co., $24 hardback Mary Butts: Scenes From the Life by Nathalie Blondel McPherson and Co., $35 hardback For several years, the publishing house of McPherson and Co. has been reissuing the works of the important and neglected British modernist Mary Butts (1890-1937). Already issued…
Record Reviews
MARC RIBOT Y LOS CUBANOS POSTISOS (Atlantic) If John F. Kennedy had really been the visionary he’s credited with being, he’d have sent Buddy Holly to the Bay of Pigs instead of a boatload of CIA operatives. After all, by 1961, Cuban jazz bandleader Arsenio Rodriguez had been in New York since the Forties sowing…
Wrongfully Accused
Wrongfully Accused 1998, PG-13, 87 min. Directed by Pat Proft, Narrated by , Voices by , Starring Leslie Nielsen, Richard Crenna, Kelly LeBrock, Melinda Mcgraw, Michael York, Sandra Bernhard, Aaron Pearl. I was wrong: There are worse things than Mr. Magoo. With any luck, this parody of The Fugitive and other on-the-lam thrillers will sound…
Coach’s Corner
It’s not a fair fight. Not really. It’s the Bulls against Vancouver. It’s the Marines against Granada. It’s the Earps against the Clantons. Well, yeah, looking down on the field, it looks fair. Nine against nine. Everybody about the same size. If looks mattered, the home team, the guys getting the worst of this battle,…
Road Shows
AUGUST FRI 28 James Hand, Broken Spoke FRI 28 The Arbuckle Boys, Dougherty Arts Center FRI 28 The Reggae Cowboys, Flamingo Cantina FRI 28 Steve Camden, Kris McKay, La Zona Rosa FRI 28 Shiner, Faewell Bend, Imbroco, Dakota, Emo’s FRI 28, SAT 29 Coolbone, Bride of Jesus, The Mercury FRI 28, SAT 29 Lara &…
Cannibal! the Musical
Cannibal! the Musical 1996, NR, 97 min. D: Trey Parker; with Matt Stone, Trey Parker, Dian Bachar. Before there was South Park, Baseketball, or Orgazmo, there was this Rocky Mountain freakout from the fevered imaginations of Parker and Stone, a rousingly lowbrow retelling of the legend of Colorado cannibal Alferd Packer and his bizarre culinary…
Postscripts
Since Debra Monroe helped create the book tour for her most recent work, Newfangled (Simon & Schuster), she wasn’t being self-deprecating last week when she told members of the Austin Writers’ League that the book tour was a “really stupid idea.” In a talk titled by Tom Doyal, “Book Tour Virgin,” Monroe revealed that because…
Aleshire the Agitator
photograph by John Anderson Don’t expect many tearful farewells when Travis County Judge Bill Aleshire leaves office on New Year’s Eve. Instead, it would be more reasonable to expect shouts of joy. Some county employees even have computers with screen saver devices that count down the number of days until Aleshire walks out of the…
Slums of Beverly Hills
Slums of Beverly Hills 1998, R, 101 min. Directed by Tamara Jenkins, Narrated by , Voices by , Starring Natasha Lyonne, Alan Arkin, Marisa Tomei, Kevin Corrigan, David Krumholtz, Eli Marienthal, Carl Reiner, Rita Moreno. It’s 1976 and Viv Abramowitz (Lyonne) has all the typical problems of a 15-year-old female adolescent. On top of that,…
About AIDS
It has become commonplace in America that public preceptions produced by the media may be significantly different than the perceptions of those actually at the event being reported. July’s World Conference on AIDS in Geneva demonstrated that, observed Martin Delaney, noted HIV/AIDS treatment authority, in Austin last week. It is always useful to have a…
Big Brotherly Love
When the City Council debated enacting a citywide curfew ordinance in February 1994, the chamber was packed with partisans from both sides, demanding either relief from juvenile crime, or the civil rights protection of the young. But last week, when the ordinance came up for review (as required by a 1995 state law), only three…
The Thief
The Thief 1997, NR, 97 min. Directed by Pavel Chukhrai, Narrated by , Voices by , Starring Vladimir Mashkov, Eketerina Rednikova, Misha Philipchuk. The theme explored in the Oscar-nominated Russian film The Thief is a familiar one in American film lore: an impressionable young boy’s/young man’s fear and awe of a scoundrel father figure. (Think…
Benefits
Happy Birthday Concert for Charlene Hancock’s 60th featuring Gulf Coast Players, Nash Hernandez, and more to benefit the Tejana Dames, who recently had equipment stolen, at Antone’s, 6pm. Cost is $8. 261-7076. SAT 29 Run for Recovery 3K Run to benefit New Serenity House at Whitaker Intramural Fields, 51st & Guadalupe, 7am check-in. Cost is…
Naked City
By the time you read this, the fate of the Austin Music Network could be decided. After delaying action the past two weeks, the council has promised to consider a three-year, $800,000 contract with The Music Management Co. at 2:30pm today. While hiring a management company would suggest a more secure future for the music…
Why Do Fools Fall in Love
Why Do Fools Fall in Love 1998, R, 115 min. Directed by Gregory Nava, Narrated by , Voices by , Starring Larenz Tate, Halle Berry, Lela Rochon, Vivica Fox, Paul Mazursky, Little Richard. This isn’t exactly the most unique story in rock & roll history. A naïve young black singer hooks up with a parasitic…
Day Trips
“When I remember, though only through report, the seas of pristine grass that my forefathers rode upon while the flowing vitality and grace of wild horses were still inherent properties of the earth, I know – at least during some whiles of happiness – that a thing of beauty will never pass into nothingness.” -J.…
The Lords of Parking
Parking along Whitis Avenue is a privilege reserved for permit-holding residents. photograph by Jana Birchum Imagine my surprise: Only days after I moved into a new duplex, I came home from work to find my street and most nearby streets lined with new signs declaring it illegal to park on the street between 8am and…
The Governess
The Governess 1998, R, 124 min. Directed by Sandra Goldbacher, Narrated by , Voices by , Starring Minnie Driver, Tom Wilkinson, Harriet Walter, Florence Hoath, Bruce Myers, Jonathan Rhys Meyers. This starring role is something of a change of pace for Minnie Driver, the British actress who of late has become best known for always…
Page Two
Standing on the deck stretched far out into the cove, a light drizzle starts and someone invites me under a tarp. I look at him as though he’s crazy. I’m just up from Texas, where it has been hot and too dry; standing in the rain is a pleasure. The Alaskan cool is beginning to…
Tight Squeeze at Ut
UT students find parking to be a tight squeeze along 26th Street. photograph by Jana Birchum When Lamar Lentz leaves Round Top for his 75-mile commute to the University of Texas, he knows that the only parking spaces available for him – if he’s lucky – will be in a remote lot near the UT…
54
54 1998, R, 92 min. Directed by Mark Christopher, Narrated by , Voices by , Starring Mike Myers, Ryan Phillipe, Salma Hayek, Sela Ward, Breckin Meyer, Sherry Strinfield, Neve Campbell, Ellen Albertini Dow, Heather Matarazzo. Disco may suck but it’s certainly not dead, as evidenced by the recent spate of Seventies revival films. From Boogie…
Public Notice
KOOP 91.7FM membership meeting explodes this Sun, Aug 30, 2-5pm, at Unitarian Universalist, 4700 Grover. If you are a member and want to oust the current board, you should go. If you are a member and want to defend the current board, you should go. So far as we can see there are three sides:…
Triangle: Act III
As the 18-month-and-counting saga of the Triangle enters Act III — no pun intended — the players are working from a completely new script by different authors, and they hope this time they’ll bring the drama to its climax without getting jeered off the stage. Speaking of Act III, the movie theatre by that name…
Mister Smarty Pants Knows
You are only allowed to bring one Beanie Baby across the Canadian border per person. Koala bears are so particular about their eucalyptus leaves that when they find some they like, they may never venture from that particular tree. In the movie Saving Pvt. Ryan, FUBAR means “fucked up beyond all repair.” In the north-central…
Alternate Screens
Party Monster Ask Dennis Poplin, the founder of San Antonio’s gay and lesbian film festival, Out at the Movies, to talk about the issues gay and lesbian film festivals face nationwide and right away he says, “homophobia.” Directors and programmers of gay and lesbian festivals in New York, Los Angeles, and San Francisco don’t include…
Food-O-File
The annual harbinger of summer’s end has finally arrived. Everything you could possibly want to know about this weekend’s Austin ChronicleHot Sauce Festival appears in a special pull-out section this issue. Join the thousands in Waterloo Park who will be eating hot food, listening to hot music, and washing it all down with ice-cold beer.…
1998 Austin Gay & Lesbian International Film Festival Schedule
August 28 8:00 Relax … It’s Just Sex 10:00 Opening Night Party August 29 12:30 Party Monster 2:20 Lone Star Hate 4:45 Sapphic Slapstick 7:30 Clip & Talk: Sons of Hercules 9:45 The Female Closet 11:45 Score August 30 12:30 Love Story 2:30 Lusty Lesbians 5:00 Straight Boys That Do 7:30 Out of Season 10:00…
Harvesting a Heritage
The past year has beena very good one for publishing Texas cooks, professional and amateur alike. Two noted chefs came out with new cookbooks (see “Hot Sauce Insert”), featuring their interpretations of dishes that push the envelope of what we consider Texas cuisine, while a third compiled and translated heirloom recipes from Mexican-American families all…
Still the One I Want
Adios, Junnifer Love Hewitt! Meet the future Mrs. Christopher Gray. So she’s a cartoon… so what?!? As the fall TV seasonapproaches like election results trickling in from the Congo, the promotional campaigns are in full swing, especially on FOX, which has been dangling the Beverly Hills 90210 and Party of Five season premieres (9/16, 7…
New Titles From Local Authors
Watch for new releases from two talented local authors this fall. Herb specialist Lucinda Hutson has updated The Herb Garden Cookbook, long the definitive work on growing and cooking with herbs in the Southwest. Look for the new edition from Gulf Press sometime in October. In September, the University of Texas Press will release a…
Scanlines
D: Stanley Kubrick (1964) W/ Peter Sellers, Sterling Hayden, George C. Scott, Slim Pickens, Keenan Wynn, James Earl Jones A Clockwork Orange D: Stanley Kubrick (1971) w/ Malcolm McDowell, Patrick Magee, Adrienne Corri, Michael Bates, Aubrey Morris Lolita D: Stanley Kubrick (1962) w/ James Mason, Sue Lyon, Shelley Winters, Peter Sellers, Marianne Stone, Diana Decker…
