Party on the Plaza 2020

Party on the Plaza returns with rockin' lineup of free Houston concerts

For music fans, there's only one thing better than live music — and that's free live music.

Avenida Houston, the downtown gathering spot next to George R. Brown Convention Center and Discovery Green, announced the return of Party on the Plaza, the spring concert series that runs from March 7 through April through May 7 on select Thursdays.

This year’s lineup includes: St. Paul and The Broken Bones with The Dip (March 26), Caloncho with Superfónicos (April 9), co-headliners Robert Randolph and The Family Band and The Soul Rebels (April 23), and Ryan Bingham with Houndmouth (May 7). Admission to these shows are free.

“We are thrilled to bring this talented group of performers into the heart of our city. Being able to provide the free concert series to the Houston community is an added bonus,” said Todd Holloman, head of live events and experiences at Houston First Corporation, in a statement. “Houston is a huge city, but music brings people together. It is our hope the ‘Party on the Plaza’ series becomes a gathering place for friends, families and neighbors near and far to kick back, relax with local food and drinks and experience collectively some amazing musical talents.”

Party on the Plaza started in 2017 and has brought in numerous up and coming and established acts like The Old 97’s, Ghostland Observatory, Trombone Shorty, Bob Schneider, Robert Ellis, Los Amigos Invisibles, Ben Kweller and more to its downtown location. This year's lineup is perhaps its strongest yet.

Alabama-formed St. Paul and the Broken Bones is a nationally known R&B soul act, having played on major nightly talk shows and festivals, featuring the charismatic lead singer, Paul Janeway. They'll be joined on the March 7 date by The Dip, a classic R&B bad, much loved in their hometown Seattle, and starting to make some waves outside of the Pacific Northwest. Latin flavor will heat up the Plaza on April 9 with the Mexican singer-songwriter Colancho and Austin eight-piece Colombian funk band, Superfónicos.

On April 23, Robert Randolph and the Family Band will deliver the American funk and soul that has earned them four Grammy nominations and Randall a spot on the Rolling Stone list of Top 100 Guitarists of All Time. They'll be joined by the eight-piece New Orleans jazz, hip-hop, and rock mash up of then popular Gulf Coast act, The Soul Rebels, who also have a strong following and a couple of late night appearances under their belt.

Party on the Plaza will wrap up on May 7 with an Americana bent with headliner Ryan Bingham, the former rodeo rider and alt-country star that won an Oscar for co-writing "The Weary Kind" from the film, Crazy Heart. Festival mainstay indie rockers Houndmouth will be on hand - a band that can easily sell out mid-sized theaters on a good night, set to release their fourth album this year.

Avenida Houston is in the center of the thriving downtown core. The 97,000 square foot pedestrian plaza turns into a center for entertainment during the warmer months of the year with Party on the Plaza as one of its main draws. A variety of restaurants will be offering promotions and discounts during the concert series and visitors and families will be able to visit Discovery Green’s 12-acre park as well as the various public art installations.

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For more information on Avenida Houston's Party on the Plaza, including parking, visit www.AvenidaHouston.com/party.

St Paul and the Broken Bones open the 2020 Party on the Plaza season on March 26.

Courtesy St Paul and the Broken Bones

St Paul and the Broken Bones open the 2020 Party on the Plaza season on March 26.

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Movie Review

New thriller Crime 101 majors in cool with Hemsworth at the wheel

Photo courtesy of Amazon Content Services

Chris Hemsworth in Crime 101.

The career of actor Chris Hemsworth is a curious one, as it feels like he’s a huge star (mostly from playing Thor in Marvel movies) and not at the same time, with most of the non-MCU movies featuring him in a lead role failing to become big successes. But he still has a certain presence about him, which is why he’s being given another chance to prove his star power in the new thriller, Crime 101.

Hemsworth plays Davis, a talented thief who knows how to get what he wants without resorting to violence. When a job early in the movie turns slightly sideways, it makes him think twice about working with his handler (Nick Nolte), who seems to prefer someone with a stronger touch, like the up-and-coming Ormon (Barry Keoghan).

Davis is the main character, but two others who come into his orbit get their own subplots. Lou (Mark Ruffalo) is a slightly schlubby LAPD detective who’s convinced he knows the pattern of an unknown thief that likes to hit places close to Highway 101. Sharon (Halle Berry) works for a high-end insurance agency known for working with ultra-wealthy clients, the types who might be a great target for a thief like Davis.

Written and directed by Bart Layton, the film has a decent propulsion to it that comes with most crime thrillers. Davis and Ormon represent the yin and the yang of criminal approaches, and and it’s interesting to see the juxtaposition between the two as their simmering rivalry heats up over the course of the film. When the film commits to actually showing its crimes, it has an excitement that’s worth watching.

Unfortunately, Layton displays a real lack of focus, taking the audience into subplots with each of the three main characters that prove unnecessarily distracting. Lou’s marriage problems may explain his disheveled appearance, but there’s no need to see him deal with them with wife Angie (Jennifer Jason Leigh). Sharon’s troubles with her male-dominated company prove slightly pivotal, but still don’t merit the time put into exploring them.

The most baffling subplot is Davis pursuing a relationship with Maya (Monica Barbaro), a woman he randomly meets. At different points in the movie, including many of his interactions with Maya, Davis seems like the most uncomfortable, antisocial person in the world. And yet he somehow morphs into a suave smooth-talker who’s able to convince anyone to do what he wants at other key points, making it unclear exactly what kind of person he really is.

Hemsworth does relatively well in the lead role, but he’s still missing that certain something to make his character, and therefore the movie, truly compelling. The rest of the cast is fine, too, but each of them seem to be putting in just the minimal amount of effort to make the film watchable. Ruffalo and Barbaro come off the best, but with the talent in the cast (11 Oscar nominations and one win), they could have been used better.

Crime 101 has most of the ingredients to be another great entry in the genre, and it succeeds when it actually decides to deliver on its promise. But too much of the film is spent on things that have no real bearing on plot or character development, leaving the movie in the middle of the pack.

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Crime 101 is now playing in the theaters.

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