Cover Story
Lone Star
Another man in black: Kris Kristofferson
Deep Sea 3D
Deep Sea 3D 2006, G, 40 min. Directed by Howard Hall, Narrated by Johnny Depp, Kate Winslet, Voices by , Starring . Fabulous underwater footage complements this educational documentary geared toward kids. Instead of using the dog-eat-dog approach common to nature docs, Deep Sea 3D empahsizes the harmonious balance of the underwater ecosystem. The playful…
The Boondock Saints
The Boondock Saints 1999, R, 108 min. Directed by Troy Duffy, Starring Willem Dafoe, Sean Patrick Flanery, Norman Reedus, David Della Rocco, Billy Connolly. Two brothers in Boston knock off a string of Mafia thugs and are hailed as heroes by the public.
Arts Review
In ‘A Human Interest Story,’ the dirigo group shows us a world lighted only by the dim glow of television, which makes us aware how much is lost in the dark
Kristofferson Reviewed
Kris KristoffersonThis Old Road (New West) Of all the roads Kris Kristofferson has traveled, he’s always been best as a songwriter. With the title of This Old Road, conventional wisdom is to assume that he’s talking about himself, and perhaps the fact that he recently reached a milestone: 70. One thing’s for sure either way:…
Phases & Stages
Sidney Bechet(Mosaic) Soprano saxophonist and clarinetist Sidney Bechet couldn’t compete commercially with his contemporary Louis Armstrong, but he matches Satch’s extraordinary musical ability on this 3-CD reissue. On disc one, 1923-25, Bechet is a sideman in the band of Clarence Williams, appearing on 25 selections, many of which feature gutty vocalists. Armstrong pops up on…
Point Austin: See You in Court
This week the Supremes consider the curious habits of Texas politicians
Arts Review
Mary Moody Northen Theatre’s ‘Antigone’ opens in riveting fashion, but its clever 1960s concept ultimately doesn’t plumb the depths of this Greek tragedy
7 Essential Albums
Kristofferson (1970) Me and Bobby McGee (1971) Silver Tongued Devil & I (1971) Jesus Was a Capricorn (1972) Highwayman (1985) The Austin Sessions (1999) Broken Freedom Song: Live From San Francisco (2003)
Phases & Stages
DestroyerDestroyer’s Rubies (Merge) Dan Bejar’s finally made it in the straight world. He’s shed his New Pornographer creds and found his voice in these Rubies. “European Oils” unfolds like a passion play over twinkling piano and a dreamy wave of la-da-das, which Bejar employs in different versions throughout the album. A fuzzy guitar trot paces…
Katrina’s Mark on Austin
The largest local concentration of Katrina evacuees is in Northeast Austin. Sources: Office of Neighborhood Housing and Community Development and the Community Action Network,
Arts Review
Oscar Riquelme’s paintings in the exhibition ‘Pulse’ are attractive, accessible, well composed, and layered in subtle politics
7 Essential Films
Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid (1973) Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore (1974) Semi-Tough (1977) Songwriter (1984) Trouble in Mind (1985) Lone Star (1996) A Solider’s Daughter Never Cries (1998)
FEMA’s Flood Tide
One stroke forward, two strokes back – hurricane victims tread rising bureaucratic waters
Beside the Point: Council’s Best Friends
Austin is a dog’s – not to mention city manager’s – town.
Lone Star Literature: A Texas Anthology
Lone Star Literature: A Texas Anthology
SXSW International Bands
From Yugoslavia to Plutonia, here come SXSW’s International bands armada.
Before and After
New Orleans Austin Home 3 BR, centrally located single family house in a high-crime neighborhood 2 BR apartment adjacent to I-35 in far North Austin in a high-crime neighborhood Transportation(family has no car) good public transportation within one block nearest bus stop ½ mile Rent $535/mo. $599/mo. HouseholdIncome Dennis: $1,260/mo.Carol’s disability: $579/mo.total: $1,839/mo. Dennis: unemployedCarol’s…
The Hightower Report
Where’s the President; and exxpose Exxon
Page Two: Shock Therapy
Shock Therapy: Texans need to hear the truth about taxes and toll roads
Heaven up Here
27 reason to further investigate the UK roster of bands at SXSW 2006
Bentzin’s Tangled Web of Backers
An elite crew of critters helped bankroll Bentzin’s unsuccessful, half-million dollar District 48 campaign
It’s All About Respect
The Texas Puppetry Festival
After a Fashion
Stephen returns to high school and the runway; Kate goes to Lo-Fi
Nordic Noise
Finland, Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Iceland – 26 inches of SXSW over four days and nights
APD’s Michael Clark Video
Footage documents events that led to Michael Clark’s death
Film News
Reporting from the starting line of the SXSW marathon
To Your Health
Information on and how to treat Guillain-Barre syndrome
Old Town
Emerald Eire acts, Dublin and Donegal all the way
Endorsements
Democratic and Republican Primaries, March 7
DVD Watch
If comedy is a dish best served black, Kind Hearts and Coronets is beluga caviar marinated in its own ink.
The Common Law
Revoking a will under Texas law
A Family Affair
Those Canadians are too damn happy. Must be the the donuts.
Early Voting
When and where
TV Eye
In with old, in with the new
Day Trips
Kactus Korral Inc., is one of the largest wholesalers of indoor succulents and cactus in the country
Let There Be Rock
Australia vs. New Zealand in a SXSW rugby death-match
Naked City
Headlines and happenings from Austin and beyond
TCB
Finally, some SXSW wristband info – act fast! – and a rare Doug Sahm film appearance hits DVD. Elsewhere, Charles Attal and ‘Misprint’ magazine add to their local legends.
Mr. Smarty Pants Knows
The MGM Grand is indeed grand, and cancer-sniffing dogs
Pregnant Fantasy, Primal Scream
SXSW’s Japan Nite turns 10
Loosey-Goosey Land Agreement?
Environmentalists and AISD face off once again over school construction in Southwest Austin
Date Movie
What’s left to spoof? Why, romance movies, of course.
A Dream Pursued
The Young Eight is showing the world of classical music what it means to be young, gifted, and black
Soccer Watch
Houston’s new MLS club visits Round Rock to face Real Salt Lake, and more
Joie de Vivre
The City of Light – Paris – shines at SXSW 2006
More Damning Data Against Racial Profiling
Activists recommend abolishing “consent” searches
The Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada
Tommy Lee Jones has made a modern Western in the culturally askew tradition of Peckinpah, Huston, and Boetticher. Don’t let the near-impossible-to-remember title keep you away from this singular and slightly surreal scorcher.
Diverse Diversions
On Tuesday, Feb. 28, the Austin Chamber Music Center, with sponsorship from the United Teacher Associates Insurance Company, offers its fourth annual concert spotlighting works by composers of African descent. Young Eight violinists Quinton Morris and John Littlejohn are featured performers, and Morris will play two of his own works, The Baroque Poeme for solo…
Oops!
In the Feb. 3 “Weed Watch,” the Chronicle incorrectly reported that New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson is a Republican. He is, in fact, a Democrat. We regret the error.
World Cup Finals!
International remainders, including Zolar X, from Plutonia, Pluto
Eastside Kickoff for Candidate Pierce
Southwest Austin’s Darrell Pierce formally kicked off his City Council campaign Monday night on the Eastside
Les Saignantes
This Cameroonian-French science fiction satire with Godardian influences is as fascinating as it is obscure.
Austin Murals
Two new murals that made their debuts in February reveal the pride of the Southside
Who Is Mandy?
The author hopes that history – so cruel to African-American women in the kitchen – can help breathe real life into a 19th-century portrait
Phases & Stages
The Fjord-like echo of Scandinavian screamers sounds positively ancient given today’s Drano-gargle index. Sweden’s veteran Dozer, Through the Eyes of Heathens (Small Stone), likewise rumbles sandblasted stoner rock of the early Nineties (“Days of Future Past”), Kyuss and grunge diverging from that common point of ancestry. Fellow countrymen Burst erupt hardcore screamo, Linus Jägerskog’s punctured…
Introducing Mayor Wilby
All together now: We love Toby! We love Toby!
After Innocence
This documentary raises staggering questions about virtually every aspect of the criminal-justice system as it follows what happens to several convicts who have been exonerated by DNA evidence submitted by the Innocence Project.
Aisle 7
UT MFA playwright Kendall Lynch has a plan for stocking the set of her new play set in a grocery store: Get the audience involved
Finding the Pieces to Put Back Together
Reconstructing the lives of African-Americans before the Civil War is hard work, and tracing women, who were overlooked by recorders of history, can seem impossible. For my book, which looks at the lives of real African-American cooks working in Southern kitchens, I searched for clues in library special collections and historical society archives across the…
Phases & Stages
Brothers and Sisters, Faceless Werewolves, The Crack PipesLongbranch Inn, Feb. 18 Despite an unpleasant downpour of slush on Saturday night, the Longbranch Inn was packed to its tiny gills for a three-headed local bill. Inside the Eastside dive, a wormhole formed directly above the stage, allowing time and space to fold and decades to be…
Weed Watch
Marijuana busts clog the justice system, and UT students want to “equalize” pot and alcohol penalties
On the Funding Front
New funding helps the Blanton get wired and kids at Zach and KHDC get inspired
Food-o-File
James Holmes and Cristina Koester start one project before finishing another, and Manor Road’s many changes.
Phases & Stages
Cat PowerThe Greatest (Matador) Discographies are measured in arcs, but musicians ride seesaws. Relentless creativity likes to counter that which came immediately before, and since Cat Power’s previous You Are Free unleashed another gut-wrenching career high, The Greatest boasts a more playful mood. Critically, album No. 7 is destined to disappoint, but then Cat people…
Texas Biofuels Movement Building Momentum
As Bush makes groundbreaking revelations about the U.S. being “addicted to foreign oil,” Texans may be pleased to know that many of the scientific “breakthroughs” he says will someday break our oil fixation are already in the works here.
Shostakovich 100
The year-long celebration Shostakovich 100 continues, and here’s where to get your fix of the Russian composer’s music through the rest of this winter
Phases & Stages
I Am The Resurrection: A Tribute To John Fahey (Vanguard) John Fahey expanded the boundaries of acoustic guitar beyond folk music. In fact, “folk” seems too limiting to describe someone who delved into blues, Native American music, Indian ragas, experimental dissonance, and pop. While members of Sonic Youth often praise Fahey’s work, his influence on…
Patric Loses Civil Rights Suit Against APD
Questions still linger as to why the actor was arrested at all
Luv Doc Recommends: Asylum Street Spankers DVD Release Party
Although it can safely be said that not all progress equals improvement, generally, over time, society as a whole walks toward the light. We may in the end find that the light we’re walking toward is the glowing fires of hell – or more likely that extra bright patch of sky where the ozone used…
