Cover Story
The Outsiders
Four local bands map their own chart through choppy industry waters
Indigo
Indigo 2003, NR. Directed by Stephen Simon, Starring Neale Donald Walsch, Dane Bowman, Gregory Linington, Meghan McCandless, Sarah Rutan. More than 350 churches nationally have united to host the premiere of this spiritual (as opposed to religious) film, about children who are especially spiritually gifted.
Reel Images – Real People
Reel Images – Real People Directed by Various. Jewish Film Festival 2005: This third annual festival includes contemporary features, documentaries, and shorts from the U.S., England, and Israel. Call the festival hotline at 735-8426 for the latest updates.
Imelda
Imelda 2004, NR, 103 min. Directed by Ramona S. Diaz. Billed as a “behind the shoes” look at Imelda Marcos, this fascinating portrait provides unprecedented access to the former first lady of the Philippines. Although gracious during the filming, Marcos changed her mind about the film once it was completed and tried to halt its…
The Big Red One: The Restoration
The Big Red One: The Restoration 2004, R, 158 min. Directed by Samuel Fuller, Narrated by , Voices by , Starring Lee Marvin, Mark Hamill, Robert Carradine, Bobby Di Cicco, Kelly Ward, Stéphane Audran. “The real glory of war is surviving,” intones the final voiceover in Sam Fuller’s semiautobiographical masterwork The Big Red One. Although…
The Young Black Stallion
The Young Black Stallion 2003, G, 45 min. Directed by Simon Wincer, Narrated by , Voices by , Starring Richard Romanus, Biana Tamimi, Patrick Elyas. Envisioned as a prequel to 1979’s beautiful adventure tale The Black Stallion, this new film is Disney’s first narrative movie made exressly for the IMAX screen. It stars Austin teenager…
Genesis
Genesis 1999, NR, 102 min. Directed by Cheick Oumar Sissoko, Starring Sotigui Kouyaté, Salif Keita, Balla Boussa Keita. Inspired by the story of Jacob and Esau from the book of Genesis, Sissoko casts the story from an African perspective. It’s a tale of bitter sibling rivalry that tears apart clans and engulfs everyone in an…
Henry & June
Henry & June 1990, NC-17, 136 min. Directed by Philip Kaufman, Starring Fred Ward, Uma Thurman, Maria de Medeiros, Richard E. Grant, Kevin Spacey. Henry Miller and his wife June explore sexual boundaries with Anais Nin in 1930s Paris.
The Monster Squad
The Monster Squad 1987, PG-13, 81 min. Directed by Fred Dekker, Starring Andre Gower, Robby Kiger, Stephen Macht. Kiddie horror film has young aficionados encountering a whole spectrum of monsters.
‘Match’ Maker
Deborah Hay’s latest dance leads to a new start
Day Trips
Heritage Forge in the Homestead Heritage Traditional Crafts Village north of Waco preserves the ancient art of blacksmithing
Austin on the Hoof
Wildfire812 S. Austin Ave., Georgetown, 512/869-3473 Monday-Saturday, 11am-10pm; Sunday, 10am-9pm Housed in a historic building around the corner from Georgetown’s Main Square, Wildfire is a Southwest-influenced steak house with a unique menu of intriguing appetizers, soups, salads, pastas, and oak-grilled meats and seafood. The low-lit, elegant bar and the simply decorated dining room are comfortable…
CPS Crisis Tops the Agenda
Perry pledges more money, but not enough
In Memoriam: Bill Fagan
One of the leading lights of Esther’s Follies’ early years is gone. Bill Fagan, a gifted comedian and writer, passed away in San Antonio on the first day of the new year. He was 48. Born into a large Alamo City family – he was the fifth of seven children – Fagan quickly distinguished himself…
Soccer Watch
A merry Christmas for Chelsea, and the power of a union
Austin on the Hoof
An Epistle From Mick Wes: I’ve cooked herds of steaks in my time: starting out with six years at Pelican’s Wharf, where the main entreés were rib eyes and prime ribs … average covers per night, anywhere from 350 to 800, depending on the day of the week, all cooked on 81 square feet of…
Sustainable SUV Challenge Kicks Off at Freescale
Designing the SUV that’s fuel-efficient and marketable
Bukowski: Born Into This
Every young writer goes through a Bukowski phase, but only the skid row author himself was “born into it.”
New City Endorsement of Long Center on Tap
This week, the Long Center’s lease of the Palmer Auditorium site for its proposed performing arts complex is up for renewal by the city, and while the project hit some rough road during the downturn, reports suggest City Council is happy with its current direction and will give the extension its seal of approval. Part…
Austin on the Hoof
Rounding up the Austin steak house scene
Food-o-file
Sampling ‘Mexican Food in Austin: The Guide;’ plus, Foo Swasdee’s Tsunami Relief Open House at Satay
Abbott Rules for Mothers
Doctors not liable for drug use reporting, AG says
House of Flying Daggers
The swooning visuals, the expert choreography, the teasing love story, and the puzzle-piece plot all combine to provide this martial arts movie with the spirit of a star-cross’d swashbuckler.
Deveare Smith Visits � and Inhabits � Austin
The Zachary Scott Theatre Center is hosting a special performance by Anna Deveare Smith in which she’ll present theatrical portraits of select Austinites
Austin on the Hoof
Austin Land & Cattle Co.1205 N. Lamar, 472-1813 Sunday-Thursday, 5-10pm; Friday-Saturday, 5-11pm ALCC has a welcoming and warm decor, with very professional service. The menu has options for all types of appetites, but we went for the meat. A Caesar salad ($6.25) preceded the steak: crisp greens, light croutons, thick slices of Parmesan, and a…
Phases & Stages
Mavis StaplesHave a Little Faith (Alligator) In the tradition of the Staple Singers, Mavis Staples brings to the supper spare, guitar-driven accompaniment behind a voice of glorious power. The 12 tracks on Have a Little Faith are likewise a traditional Staple offering of sacred tunes and contemporary message music, blended in a timeless groove rising…
Weed Watch
Latest dispatches from the drug war
The Woodsman
Writer-director Nicole Kassell’s debut film is a lean drama anchored by subject matter which, although difficult, remains distantly disquieting yet never challenging.
Theatre Thievery: The Sequel
Over the Christmas holiday weekend, two more Eastside theatres, the Vortex and Arts on Real, were burglarized
Austin on the Hoof
Backstage Steakhouse & Garden Bar21814 Hwy. 71 W., 264-2223 Sunday, Tuesday-Thursday, 5-9pm; Friday-Saturday, 5-10pm (during summer, the restaurant is also open Monday, 5-10pm, and Friday-Saturday until 11pm) The low-slung, unassuming building perched way out on the western edge of Travis County belies a restaurant of notable caliber. Longtime Austin chef Raymond Tatum (formerly of Jeffrey’s…
Phases & Stages
Sweet Soul Music Sweet home Alabama, late Sixties, early Seventies: Atlantic funded STAX, and Capitol licensed FAME. Florence Alabama Music Enterprises hasn’t yet produced three box sets’ worth of soul-splitting sides à la The Complete Stax-Volt Singles, but the little red hearts on the CD spines of Capitol’s three FAME reissues are becoming a trademark…
Making College a Reality
ACC and AISD team up to create more collegians
Coach Carter
Come to this movie for the prominent hip-hop soundtrack and glossy sports action; leave with a message about teamwork, decency, and self-respect scorched into your brain.
Arts Review
FronteraFest 2005 This annual five-week collection of short theatre pieces at Hyde Park Theatre started back in ’93 and has returned year after year to redefine the word “eclectic.” Luckily for Austin, it sometimes manages to define “brilliant,” too, although who knows what forms or qualities any of these nights of four to five performances…
Austin on the Hoof
Capital City Steakhouse300 S. Congress (in the Embassy Suites), 480-8797 Daily, 11am-11pm Located just south of the river, this little gem in the lobby of the Embassy Suites is a real find. Attached to the atrium bar and serving as the hotel’s coffee shop/restaurant, the kitchen here clearly takes pride in its work, and the…
Phases & Stages
Marianne Faithfull Before the Poison (Anti-) Though Patti Smith has been annointed the Godmother of Punk, it’s tough to beat Marianne Faithfull for fearlessness and stamina. Smith’s albums of late have been safe, while Faithfull still seems willing to walk on any wild side. On 2002’s Kissin’ Time, she teamed with Pulp’s Jarvis Cocker, Beck,…
You’re Only Cheating Yourself
Texas tries to stop test cheating … by teachers
Racing Stripes
Just as the titular zebra, Stripes, is not really a horse of a different color, this kids picture is not a movie of a different stripe.
Arts Review
Though it has the episodic feel of a screenplay, ‘Sonny’s Last Shot’ is, all in all, a satisfying evening of getting your jollies at the expense of the Texas Legislature
Austin on the Hoof
Cool River Cafe4001 Parmer Ln., 835-0010 Monday-Saturday, 11am-11pm The ski lodge atmosphere at this enormous Northwest Austin steak house is elegant, almost over the top. However, everything on the menu is familiar and “safe.” We liked the Crab Cakes ($10.50), four decent-sized patties with a good crabmeat-to-breadcrumb ratio, served with a tasty cocktail sauce made…
Phases & Stages
Le TigreThis Island (Strummer/Universal) On This Island, the ladies of Le Tigre stand alone with a programmed beat for their revolution, but something has been lost in vexation. What made Bikini Kill singer Kathleen Hanna’s former band so influential was its ability to be one part feminist anthem to two parts cathartic punk. When Hanna…
School Redesign Lacks Rigor
AISD reforms scrutinized by trustees
In Good Company
In Good Company is a sincere but serviceable-at-best dramedy from Paul Weitz, one-half of the fraternal team that has already brought us two studies about the human male: American Pie and About a Boy.
Arts Review
In Austin Lyric Opera’s production of ‘Elektra,’ conductor Richard Buckley succeeds in conveying the complexity, richness, cruelty, and humanity of this work
Austin on the Hoof
Dan McKlusky’s301 E. Sixth, 473-8924 Lunch: Monday-Friday, 11:15am-2pm; Dinner: Monday-Thursday, 5-10pm; Friday-Saturday, 5-11pm; Sunday, 5-9pm In business since 1979, Dan McKlusky’s caters to Austin’s downtown business clientele for lunch and dinner (the second location at the Arboretum closed a few years ago in conjunction with Austin’s dot-com demise).The big deal here is that upon ordering…
Phases & Stages
T.I.Urban Legend (Atlantic) The self-proclaimed King of the South rebuilds his case on the heels of a brief period of incarceration. Wishing to parlay the momentum he established in 2003 with monster hits “24’z” and “Rubberband Man,” T.I. follows up the lyrical ferocity of his 2004 Lil’ Flip-dedicated mix tape with his third full-length since…
Yates Conviction Overturned
False testimony taints sentence for mom who killed her kids
Hotel Rwanda
Don Cheadle, in the finest performance of his career, headlines this true-life story about the “Oskar Schindler of Kigali, Rwanda” during the massacres of 1994.
Arts Review
Diaz Gallery was formed as a labor of love by Adam Diaz, a friendly soul who seeks to represent those artists who are passionate and involved with their work
Austin on the Hoof
Fleming’s Prime Steakhouse & Wine Bar320 E. Second, 457-1500 Monday-Thursday, 5-10pm; Friday-Saturday, 5-11pm; Sunday, 5-9pm The clubby atmosphere, extensive wine list, and adept, professional service make the local outlet of the national Fleming’s chain a popular spot for business entertaining, enjoyable wine dinners, and special-occasion dining alike. Fleming’s made a big impression on me: big…
Phases & Stages
Check It While I Wreck It: Black Womanhood, Hip-Hop Culture, and the Public Sphereby Gwendolyn D. Pough Northeastern University Press, 265 pp., $20 If you’ve seen Nelly’s video for “Tip Drill” you know hip-hop directors have run out of ideas. The plot in a nutshell: Scantily clad girls dance around, guys throw money at them,…
Austin @ Large: Over and Out
Thoughts on the first day of the rest of Austin’s life
Readings
Two new books about Texas explore a little bit of the deeper, darker, and less obvious parts of our history and culture
Austin on the Hoof
Hoffbrau613 W. Sixth, 472-0822 Lunch: Monday-Friday, 11am-2pm; Dinner: Monday-Saturday, 5-9pm It’s unassuming, to say the least, almost lost on the so-trendy West Sixth Street strip. The Hoffbrau is a funky vestige of Austin from the days before we had much of a city here. Reminiscent of any small Texas town, housed in a former feed…
Peace and Progress Come to Shoal Creek
Feud between cyclists and residents comes to an end
The Hightower Report
No escape from cell phones, even in the skies; and, don’t give up your biometrics!
Page Two
The perception that the liberal elite mocks the rest of the country and holds its values up to ridicule is probably critical to the whole positioning of moral values as a national issue. And it is only perception.
Austin on the Hoof
JC’s Bar & Grill5804 N. I-35, 407-9393 Monday-Thursday, 11am-10pm; Friday-Saturday, 11am-11pm At JC’s, you’ll find very pleasant ambience, with dark wood and subdued lighting (it’s the old Bombay Bicycle Club). The service is pleasant and efficient, and the menu covers many bases. We chose the cheeseburger ($8.95/8 oz.) for an appetizer, which turned out to…
New Rules or New Roles for Charter Schools?
TEA proposes a crackdown on failing charters, but can it be enforced?
Overnight Sensation
Sword of Dracula’ creator Jason Henderson is taking over the (fantasy) world
After a Fashion
Stephen reminisces about his early love for drag and brings it all up to date with some S&M: ‘Standing & Modeling,’ of course
Austin on the Hoof
Old San Francisco Steak House8709 N. I-35, 835-9200 Lunch: Monday-Friday, 11am-2pm; Dinner: Monday-Thursday, 5-10pm; Friday-Saturday, 5-11pm; Sunday, noon-8pm Family fun is the main event at this kitschy restaurant that evokes the gay Nineties (the 1890s, that is). The entry way is chock-full of period artifacts on display, the walls of the dining room are appropriately…
Pfurious in Pflugerville
Pfillies or pfamily pfun for the NE Travis suburb?
TV Eye
A New Year’s Eve bout with cedar fever made me feel like 2005 is just an extension of 2004, and it looks like the same on the small screen
About AIDS
HIV isn’t the only bad-news sexually transmitted disease on the loose – and some STDs are easily spread and have major consequences for poz people. Take syphilis, for example. We’ve long known that co-infection with syphilis depresses immune function. It causes big drops in T4/CD4 cells, which impairs the body’s ability to control the HIV,…
Austin on the Hoof
Outback Steakhouse4211 S. Lamar, 383-8024 (and various other locations around town) Monday-Thursday, 4-10:30pm; Friday, 4-11pm; Saturday, 3-11pm; Sunday, 3-10pm The Outback is a disappointment. Tea glasses are tiny: One good gulp, and you’re half-empty. The salad was uninspired iceberg, floating in a lake of insipid dressing that bore a faint resemblance to blue cheese. The…
Hits, Errors, and Home Runs at ACTV
Missing funds at Austin Community Television spur an investigation and accusations
DVD Watch
‘Life sucks, and then you die. And then it still sucks.’
To Your Health
As ‘nanotechnology’ enters into the field of medicine, what is now called ‘blood spot testing’ may emerge as the future of blood testing
Austin on the Hoof
Ruth’s Chris Steak house107 W. Sixth, 477-7884 Monday-Thursday, 5:30-10:30pm; Friday-Saturday, 5:30-11pm; Sunday, 5:30-10pm As is the case with most steak houses, Ruth’s Chris is the place where unadventurous diners go for a fine dining experience. The atmosphere is expensive, although after a while the chain restaurant feeling creeps back in, inevitably. The place is a…
Day One: Long on Smiles and Short on Dollars
Head for the hills … the Lege is back in town!
More Steak, Please
G/M Steakhouse626 N. Lamar, 472-2172 Daily, 7am-3pm My mother, the most prodigious carnivore I know, claims she ate steak every day when she was growing up. And this was during the depression, an economic condition from which her family was not immune. I’ve often wondered how in the world they could afford to indulge in…
TCB
Emo’s Free Week leaves ‘TCB’ broken, battered, bloodshot, but happy
The Common Law
Consumer scams to avoid
Austin on the Hoof
Saltgrass Steak house10614 Research, 340-0040 2300 N. I-35, 238-0091 Sunday-Thursday, 11am-10pm; Friday-Saturday, 11am-11pm Part of the Texas-based Landry’s chain that includes restaurants such as Joe’s Crab Shack, Brenner’s, and Rainforest Cafe, the Saltgrass Steak House is reliably predictable and never intimidating. The casual, noisy atmosphere makes this an appropriate family restaurant. The Denny’s-esque menu offers…
Naked City
News and happenings around Austin and beyond
More Steak, Please
Reed’s Jazz and Supper Club9901 Capital of TX Hwy N. #150, 342-7977 Monday-Thursday. 5:30-10pm Friday-Saturday, 5:30-11pm In romantic movies of the Forties, beautiful dames glide into clubs filled with music, fine food, wine, and flattering lighting on the arm of some swell guy. They gaze across the table at one another, or discreetly pick up…
From Schools to … Nuts
The 79th Lege hasn’t been here before – it only seems like it
Mr. Smarty Pants Knows
Snickers, ‘Sneakers,’ Singapore, and ‘Notes on Nationwide Dialing’
Austin on the Hoof
Sullivan’s Steakhouse300 Colorado, 495-6504 Lunch: Monday-Friday, 11am-2pm; Dinner: Monday-Friday, 5:30-11pm; Saturday, 5-11pm; Sunday, 5-10pm The moment Sullivan’s opened in Austin, it became the place to beat for great beef. Over the years, they’ve had their ups and downs, but they still make a great steak. We started with a couple of appetizers to check the…
Congress Spotlights Texas’ Coal Waste
Feds hear testimony on Central Texas polluters
More Steak, Please
Texas Land & Cattle Steak HouseVarious locations The Texas chain evolved from the purchase and conversion in 1995 of the beloved Night Hawk restaurant, and Austin is home to four locations of the popular eatery. It features casual, respectable food served up in super-friendly style that puts the “Texas” in the “Land & Cattle.” That…
Luv Doc Recommends: Storie Productions presents Square One by Steve Tesich
Traditionally in Austin you have up to a year to take down your Christmas lights. If you happen to be one of those appalled newcomers who are starting to get annoyed at the guy down the street with the galaxy of multicolored lights and the partially deflated, leaf-covered, plastic Frosty the Snowman slumped in his…
