Miranda Lambert's Rodeo

Miranda Lambert shows she's moved on from Blake in sizzling Rodeo performance

Playing at RodeoHouston for the first time since her split with Blake Shelton shocked her many fans, Miranda Lambert opened her set with “Kerosene” on Monday night. The song, which is about giving up on love, seemed like a subtle way to let her audience know that she is ready to move on without having to mention her former husband and Voice star by name.

During the song, which was Lambert's first big hit a decade ago, her vocals were muffled, which made it very hard to hear the lyrics. The sound techs quickly fixed the problem and she soon sounded a lot better, proving to the excited crowd of 60,118 why she is one of country music's biggest female stars.

Before the show started, I looked around NRG Stadium and was legitimately dissatisfied with the lack of cowboy hats and sequin tops in the crowd. I tried to reason with myself and decided that most people were saving their rodeo best for the weekend.

The lights went down and the fireworks began while a one-minute montage of the rodeo played on the big screen. Nothing will pump you up more for Lambert than fireworks and a montage. The five-time rodeo veteran came out on stage, dressed in a denim dress dripping in fringe and matching cowboy boots, and her “Ran fans” erupted.

Between songs, a stagehand handed Lambert a beautiful semi-hollowed guitar, and she readied for the next song. Sadly, she only used the pink guitar once. If I had the opportunity to play a guitar that beautiful, I would use it for every song, even if the tune didn’t call for it, but I guess that’s why I’m not a country star.

After a few, Lambert played a new song called “Sweet By and By,” which she said she had never performed live before. A couple of songs later, she launched into “Baggage Claim” and called on the women in the audience to join in. They went wild as Lambert belted out the last lyrics: “Come and get your shit.”

In between songs, Lambert played the crowd like the consumate professional she is. At one point, the Longview native said, "This feels like home.” Then, she quickly adjusted by declaring, “No, it is home!”

She went on to say that she and the band were headed to London in the morning for a series of European concerts and drew big applause when she said, “We’re gonna show them how Texas does it over there.”

Lambert showed an easy rapport with her band, occasionally playfully hitting and teasing them, which the crowd seemed to enjoy. Whenever she launched into a solo, the guitarist performing it would get into the obligatory power stance and squint his face as if he were concentrating really hard on what he was doing. A guitarist with a soul patch, who looked like he probably played in a ‘90s rock band, perfected the stance and facial expression so well that it looked effortless.

The bassist danced a lot but often by himself. I have a feeling that Lambert may have told him that if he’s going to do that he better do it in the corner. My favorite member of the band was the tambourine player-turned-hype girl. She played the tambourine as if her life depended on it. It didn’t hurt that she was wearing a sequin top that really stood out as she moved and danced.

However goofy the band appeared at times, they still gave the impression that they genuinely enjoyed their work and were thankful for the opportunity.

The most moving moment occurred when the lights dimmed and Lambert played “The House That Built Me” while fans pulled out their cell phones and lit up NRG. The crowd went berserk as Lambert finished the song.

Lambert & Co. ended with “Gunpowder and Lead” as the audience kept cheering while some sang along. Lambert thanked the crowd and said, “See 'ya next year,” as she left the stage and the crowd roared.

As the song ended, Lambert was escorted to the tunnel and the fireworks began again. Her catch-phrase “Well-Behaved Women Rarely Make History” appeared on the big screen and I realized that if the singer hadn't made much history on this night, she certainly showed the large crowd a damn good time and proved she is having a good time, too.

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Set List

Kerosene

Fastest Girl in Town

Heart Like Mine

Sweet By and By

Over You

Baggage Claim

All Kinds of Kinds

Smokin' and Drinkin'

Mama's Broken Heart

Covered Wagon

The House That Built Me

Automatic

White Liar

Little Red Wagon

Gunpower and Lead

Miranda Lambert wore a denim fringe dress and matching boots.

Miranda Lambert wore a denim fringe dress and matching boots.

houston-rodeo

Movie Review

Suspense builds slowly in small horror film Wolf Man

Photo by Nicola Dove/Universal Pictures

Julia Garner, Matilda Firth, and Christopher Abbott in Wolf Man.

The title Wolf Man conjures up similarly titled movies throughout film history, going all the way back to The Wolf Man starring Lon Chaney in 1941. And, of course, werewolves as a concept date back even further, with the idea having been used for horror, teen comedy, romance, and more throughout the years.

This Wolf Man, from Blumhouse Productions, has a straightforward horror vibe, if not always the results. A prologue informs us that Blake (Christopher Abbott) grew up with an ultra-stern father (Sam Jaeger) who was intent on hunting down a strange creature prowling the forest near their Oregon home. Thirty years later, Blake now lives in San Francisco with his wife, Charlotte (Julia Garner), and daughter, Ginger (Matilda Firth), when he’s called back home again by a notification stating that his long-lost father has been declared dead.

The three run into trouble almost as soon as they get close to his former home when they’re attacked by a wolf man on the road to the house. Seeking shelter in the house, Blake soon discovers that a scratch he received in the attack has infected him, bringing on many unusual changes. Terrified both by the wolf man outside and the transformation of Blake, Charlotte and Ginger are torn between their family love and survival.

Directed by Leigh Whannell and written by Whannell and Corbett Tuck, the film has about as slow of a build as you’ll find in a horror movie. In fact, for the first hour of the 100-minute film, the only significant action comes during the family’s arrival in Oregon. Whannell’s approach seems to work, though, as the suspense of not knowing what the creature is doing outside and how Blake’s body will continue to be altered keeps tensions high.

Things start to get a bit hairy, in both senses of the word, as the family makes multiple attempts to escape, and Whannell tosses in a few gnarly scenes that up the discomfort level considerably. But it becomes clear that the filmmakers skipped a few storytelling steps along the way, as elements are revealed that might have had a bigger impact if they had included just a little more information earlier in the film. Instead of a grand finish, the film peters out, giving little sense of resolution.

Whannell and his team also make some interesting choices with the makeup they use for the two wolf men. Instead of a full transformation, Blake’s features take on a slightly mutated look so that he’s still somewhat recognizable as himself. There are some parts that are more disturbing and gruesome than others, but the overall impact is much more subtle than expected.

Abbott and Garner have each had good careers so far, with Abbott having a key role in Poor Things and Garner shining in The Assistant. Abbott is required to do little more than grunt for half of the film, while Garner is tasked with reacting in horror to what has befallen her husband. Neither requires all that much from either actor, although each commits fully to their bits.

As the first horror film of the year, Wolf Man doesn’t fully deliver the goods, but it’s far from the worst viewing option out there. It’s a small film that perhaps holds a bit too much back, with the suspense side working much better than any of the gorier scenes.

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Wolf Man opens in theaters on January 17.

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