Cover Story
On Any Sunday
Continental Sunday nights at Heybale’s two-step cotillion
Mother Ghost
Mother Ghost 2002, NR, 76 min. Mark Thompson|Kevin Pollak|Dana Delany|Jere Burns|Charles Durning|Garry Marshall|James Franco|David Keith|
Man With the Screaming Brain
Man With the Screaming Brain 2005, NR, 89 min. Directed by Bruce Campbell, Starring Bruce Campbell, Ted Raimi, Antoinette Byron, Tamara Gorski, Remington Franklin, Stacy Keach. Cult actor Bruce Campbell not only directs, but also co-wrote and co-stars in this horror comedy filmed in Bulgaria. With a Frankenstein-like plot, he and his wife become subjects…
Page Two
An oceanside contemplation of the Declaration of Independence
Remembering Murph
Jim Murphy, the steel player for Asleep at the Wheel, parked onstage with Heybale on Sunday nights whenever he was off the road and in town. Every member of the band mentioned Murphy’s passing in January, but Redd Volkaert’s eloquent recollection sparkled with the spirit of the late musician: “I was Jim Murphy’s biggest fan…
The Good and the Bad
‘Texas Monthly’s biennial list of ‘Best and Worst Legislators’ is out
Bewitched
Again Kidman goes for another nose-centric role, yet Nora Ephron’s very meta remake of the old TV show still misfires.
Letters at 3AM
A visit to Deadwood: The legends show you where to go. Once you get there, you do your best to find out why you came.
Austin Imprints
Dwight YoakamBlame the Vain (New West) Since Dwight Yoakam’s acting career bloomed with 1996’s Sling Blade, his albums have changed from the widescreen, leading-man turns (and corresponding sales) of Guitars, Cadillacs, Etc., Etc. and This Time to moodier genre pieces A Long Way Home and Population Me. On Blame the Vain, as you might guess…
Naked City
Quote of the Week”Adios, mofo.” – Gov. Rick Perry’s inadvertently on-camera dismissal of a Houston TV reporter, after he misunderstood the reporter’s final question about Perry’s school finance plan. Later Perry apologized for the “inappropriate banter” that he insisted was actually directed at aide Robert Black.Headlines• On Saturday, June 18, longtime Austin Rep. J.J. “Jake”…
George A. Romero’s Land of the Dead
Romero has again crafted a character-driven horror film that doubles as a metaphor for the economic disparity in America and, to a lesser degree, the war on terror.
After a Fashion
What a week! Stephen revels in the tacky, the tawdry, and the out-and-out terrible when it comes to fashion. Better luck next week, dear Avatar!
Austin Imprints
Slow DazzleThe View From the Floor (Misra) No, it’s not the John Cale album of the same name, but it’s woven from the same fabric. Slow Dazzle is Shannon McArdle and Timothy Bracy, of late-Nineties Athens, Ga., folkies the Mendoza Line. Released on Austin’s Misra Records, Slow Dazzle does pilfer from TML’s whimsical alt-fried country…
Naked City
Buda rock-crusher and quarry continues to make waves
Torremolinos 73
In this comedy set in Seventies Spain, a married couple makes porn movies for Scandinavian consumption.
About AIDS
Confidential or anonymous? Either way, the result will only be given in person, so no one can get your results except you.
Austin Imprints
Great Lake Swimmers(Misra) God bless Sam Beam of Iron & Wine. He’s opened the door for introspective singer-songwriters to whisper into the wilds, causing a quiet conundrum in bedrooms hither and yon. Enter Great Lake Swimmers – really just Torontoan Tony Dekker – who make desolation rather enjoyable on the project’s eponymous debut, which was…
Naked City
Although the U.S. House of Representatives rejected a measure that would ban the DOJ from using taxpayer money to arrest, jail, and prosecute medi-pot patients in compliance with state law, the number of reps voting in favor of the Hinchey-Rohrabacher amendment is growing. Also, the Industrial Hemp Farming Act makes its debut.
My Summer of Love
This ripe and symbolically drenched coming-of-age story nevertheless pleases due to its rare emotional honesty and the delightful performances of two young newcomers.
To Your Health
My doctor says my constipation results from ‘weak peristalsis.’ What is this, and what can make it better?
Austin Imprints
PhosphorescentAw Come Aw Wry (Misra) Poets rarely show their faces. Will Oldham, Elliott Smith, Will Sheff have all stuck their necks out, and it may well be time to add Matthew Houck to that list. With his Athens, Ga., outfit Phosphorescent, Houck’s fragile voice cracks with angst of the heart on the group’s sophomore release,…
Naked City
Capitalizing on the grassroots fervor that defines the Dean Democrat
TCB
Austin rallies to help Jon Dee Graham’s son save his legs
The Common Law
Boating while intoxicated
Austin Imprints
David OlneyMigration (Loud House) The Wheel (2003), David Olney’s debut on the local Loud House label, was a near-perfect production, a brave and unusual song cycle. The veteran Nashville performer is back with Migration, a well-matched companion to the previous work. The 11 tracks are packed with wonderfully crafted songs: the gypsy strains of “The…
Naked City
Grand jury indicts West Texas compound leader on messin’-with-minor charges
What We Learned
What is the state of the arts in America and where does Austin fit in the mix?
Mr. Smarty Pants Knows
Nicolas Cage, albacore tuna, remote viewers, and the Shah of Iran
Austin Imprints
Paul MetsaTexas in the Twilight (Loud House) Though Paul Metsa’s name is little-known ’round these parts, Austin’s Loud House Records does its best to change that with Texas in the Twilight. Metsa began performing 25 years ago, the Minneapolis-based singer-songwriter having made waves in the mid-Eighties with Paper Tigers, and that quarter-century milestone is acknowledged…
Naked City
Members of Texas Campaign for the Environment joined local community groups in denouncing Gov. Perry’s decision to sign a bill that will eliminate statewide, mandatory public meetings for hazardous waste sites, landfills, sludge dumps, and other trash facilities.
Playing God … and W
Actress Shannon Grounds on tackling a pair of the ultimate power roles – at once
Oops!
Last week the Chronicle incorrectly reported that 18-year-old Daniel Rocha was arrested as recently as May 31, for stealing a wallet from an elderly woman at an area McDonald’s. (See, “Rocha’s Death Involved Taser Confusion,” News, June 17.) In fact, at the time of his death, there was a warrant out for Rocha’s arrest for…
Austin Imprints
Tutu JonesLive (Doc Blues) Mean-faced and holding his guitar like a shotgun, Dallas-based bluesman Tutu Jones is no joke. His guitar style is the blues equivalent of N.W.A on ecstasy: brutal, yet sprinkled with subtle soul. Jones grew up a drummer, then eventually plucked his way into the spotlight. His poorly titled Live debut is…
Grandma vs. Cowboy
Can Strayhorn lasso Perry? Maybe the Lege will tell.
Good Art Hunting
‘Cracks in the Pavement’ is back, giving Austinites another chance to discover art left on sidewalks, under bridges, beside freeways, in park bushes, and in other unlikely corners of the cityscape
Day Trips
The Beer Can House stands out in the quiet West Houston neighborhood like a belly dancer at a black-tie ball
Austin Imprints
The CluttersT&C (Chicken Ranch) Tail-feathers at the ready … commence shaking. The Clutters’ T&C makes you sweaty just listening to it. Involuntarily, your foot starts twitching to the dum-dum-da-dum-dum drumbeat that introduces “Crack Your Heart,” and it’s off to the races: You’ll be doing all those Sixties dances with funny names in no time. The…
Lege Notes
• A relaxed and confident Gov. Rick Perry, appearing more aggressive and a bit more gubernatorial than he has in prior attempts on school finance, unveiled his school funding plan during a news conference on the first day of the special session. “Our mission is crystal clear,” Perry told reporters. “The people of Texas expect…
Arts Review
‘The Intergalactic Nemesis: Twin Infinity,’ the third installment in Salvage Vanguard Theater’s retro radio serial, is the only conclusion to a space opera trilogy you need this summer.
Soccer Watch
Ajax to clean up American soccer; and a football coup in Senegal
Austin Imprints
Hall of Mirrors (Emperor Jones) Liquid or paper dose? Regardless of your choice, you’ll be trippin’ five minutes into Emperor Jones’ space-psych compilation, Hall of Mirrors. Compiled by ex-Subarachnoid Space guitarist Mason Jones, this 2-CD set’s a right mind warp. Opening with Seattle instrumental fourpiece Kinski on highlight “Teen Center,” less fuzzed-out than the majority…
Point Austin: Ringing in the New
New City Council takes its place, and the fun just keeps on coming
Arts Review
Director Ken Webster’s production of ‘The Water Principle’ seems as much at cross-purposes with the quirky, strange script as its characters are with one another
Restaurant Review
Some time ago, a friendly reader e-mailed with the suggestion that we simply must check out the taqueria at the corner of Cesar Chavez and Chalmers
Austin Imprints
RPGFulltime (Arclight) Thirteen songs in 29 minutes burns half-life for most ostensibly metal acts, but Richmond, Va.’s RPG manage Fulltime thunder in land-speed record time. Southern boogie fattened by metal-lic riffs and bled by punk tempos trips the switch of the quartet’s greased lightning debut, singer/axe-grinder Matt Conner’s cold snarl cutting through tense arrangements like…
The Hightower Report
It’s not easy being a CEO; and touch a football or feast on fried shrimp, and go to hell
Arts Review
With Whispers of Heaven, choreographer Sally Jacques invites us to steep in visions of loveliness in a hard place, to ease into beauty as we would a hot bath
Restaurant Review
Santos Silerio learned her craft feeding eight hungry children
Y Not?
The battle over AMD’s move to Lantana is a one-tract skirmish in a larger war over the uncertain future of Central Texas
That Darn Documentary
Director Zev Asher on ‘Casuistry: The Art of Killing a Cat’
Arts Review
In his artworks shown at RT Gallery, illustrator Mike Krone seems able to efficiently focus on new possibilities even when things go very wrong
Restaurant Review
Sawadee in Thai means ‘hello,’ and Sawadee Thailand restaurant is the ideal introduction to the cuisine of the Land of Smiles for the uninitiated
How an Aquifer Works
The unique geology of the Barton Springs segment of the Edwards Aquifer makes it a particularly fragile resource
DVD Watch
Rarely did he singe the big screen with his craft, yet his dimpled impassivity was ready-made for audience personification
Culture Flash!
Two local artists make ’24-Hour Comics Day Highlights,’ the Arts Commission talks minority arts allocations, and Andrew Long opens his studio
Food-o-File
A vat of news; plus, the summer Event Menu is heating up
Rocha Shooting: Plenty of Questions, Few Answers
Angry public confronts city officials at community meeting with questions about the officer-involved shooting death of Daniel Rocha
TV Eye
For black and brown people of my generation, the Jackson debacle is particularly painful in a way that few have articulated
Readings
‘The Road to Esmeralda’ is, in some basic senses, a political thriller. However, it’s also the story of mind-blowingly pretentious, self-indulgently self-loathing, overprivileged, and underclever yuppies.
Battling for Music, History, and Learning
Juneteenth Battle of the Bands competition harkens back to days when marching bands enjoyed a celebrated place in Austin’s black community, and creates opportunity for greater future African-American involvement in school bands.
Readings
W.K. Stratton’s combination of memoir, profiles, and travel narrative with lengthy digressions into rodeo culture and folklore makes the sport seem familiar even if it defies easy categorization
Heybale Reviewed
Heybale!Live From 1-A Everybody knows Heybale’s weekly Continental Club clinic is a sure thing, and they’re at their Sunday best on this Feb. 2, 2003, edition of KUT’s Live Set. Telecaster master Redd Volkaert effortlessly slips inside Lefty Frizzell’s skin for “Always Late (With Your Kisses)” and Merle Haggard’s for “The Longer You Wait.” Steinway…
City in Court Against SoCo Cafe
City files charges against South Congress Cafe owners for unpermitted construction of fence, deck, and outdoor bar
Herbie: Fully Loaded
This deluxe retread is sort of annoying, but it’s so scrappy and persistent that it seems kind of cute in spite of itself.
Luv Doc Recommends: Willie Graham Legg Perthes Benefit
If you’re a true music fan, one of those front row, fist-pumping, hair throwing, thong tossing diehards who’ve perfected the two fingered whistle, the rebel yell, and the hillbilly hoot, you’re probably not coming in to work this Friday. That’s all right, they weren’t expecting you anyway, and even when you are at work you’re…
