the shows go on

Houston live music venues maintain COVID safety measures after restrictions lift

Mask on or mask off? That is the question.

Like many in the hospitality and entertainment industry, local live music venues are scrambling to decide what actions to take in the wake of Governor Greg Abbott’s announcement last week rescinding the state-wide mask mandates and opening all businesses at full capacity.

Houston venues still hosting shows instituted strict health guidelines months ago, which included limited capacity, mask requirements, staggered entry times, and enforced social distancing with tables or cordoned off sections. For now, it looks like those most of those measures will remain in place.

White Oak Music Hall, one of the largest venues to host shows during the pandemic, did so by implementing a grid system wherein small groups share a section of the outdoor lawn area. Patrons are required to wear masks should they step out of their section and concessions were ordered online. The venue effectively shut the indoor stage area and has no immediate plans to re-open it.

They’ll move ahead with upcoming grid shows, including two Blue October frontman Justin Furtsenfeld on Friday, March 12 and Saturday, March 13.

White Oak fans can also watch for the Texas Smoke Break Fest Comedy Show with Ali Siddiq, Byrson Brown, and more on Wednesday, March 17. The Texas Smoke Break Fest with Larry June, Le$f, Slim Thug, DevinTheDude, and goes down on Saturday, March 20. Meanwhile, the Read Southall Band performs on Saturday, April 17 with all current safety measures in place.

"We’re thrilled to see COVID rates declining and steps taken to open Texas back up,” Johnny So, managing partner of White Oak Music Hall said in a statement. “We’re still evaluating what that means for us and how that might affect our concerts. We're hopeful that it will allow us to book more shows and welcome more fans, but we need to ensure that those shows can be done safely."

Other venue owners echoed the same sentiment, while not committing to any quick changes to safety measures.

“We have great hope that our venues will return to normal operations very soon,” Edwin Cabaniss with the Heights Theater tells CultureMap. “If we continue to see progress, we anticipate making incremental changes to our protocols on our way to full reopening. We are just thankful to be in a position to safely-reopen after an extraordinarily difficult year - many of our peers were not that fortunate.”

Out of those that responded to requests from CultureMap, the majority of local spots said they elected to keep current safety guidelines in place. Others that shuttered completely will stay closed for the time being.

While some national artists are still touring, namely Staind lead singer Aaron Lewis performing on March 11 and South African punk rap act Die Antwoord booked for May 29 at Revention Music Center, it appears it will be some time before venues get close to hosting full sized crowds.

The following is a list of music venues that responded to requests about the health and safety restrictions in place. All of those hosting shows have hand sanitization stations throughout the venue.

Venues currently open:

Axelrad: Limited capacity; masks required inside and while ordering.

Dosey Doe: Patrons encouraged to wear masks.

Heights Theater: Mandatory social distancing; face mask required except while eating and drinking.

House of Blues: Face coverings mandatory and must be worn at all times except while eating and drinking; guest belongings must be kept in a clear bag or small clutch bag; mandatory social distancing; staggered arrival times.

Main Street Crossing: Face coverings mandatory and must be worn at all times except while eating and drinking; mandatory social distancing; contactless payment.

McGonigel’s Muck Duck: Mask requirements except while eating and drinking; capacity limits

Revention Music Center: Face coverings mandatory and must be worn at all times except while eating and drinking; guest belongings must be kept in a clear bag or small clutch bag; mandatory social distancing; staggered arrival times.

Rudyards: Mask requirements except while eating and drinking; capacity limitations.

Warehouse Live: Limited seating; masked encouraged when not seated; social distancing encouraged.

White Oak Music Hall: Face coverings mandatory and must be worn at all times except while eating and drinking; limited capacity; mandatory social distancing; drinks must be ordered through cocktail server.

Venues closed or currently not booking acts:

Satellite Houston: No shows booked at this time.

Smart Financial Center: No shows until May 15.

The Secret Group: Closed through the month of March and likely through April.

The Continental Club: Remains closed at this time.

The Continental Club will remain closed for the time being despite capacity restrictions being lifted.

Emily Jaschke

The Continental Club will remain closed for the time being despite capacity restrictions being lifted.

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Movie Review

Star TV producer James L. Brooks stumbles with meandering movie Ella McCay

Photo courtesy of 20th Century Studios

Emma Mackey in Ella McCay.

The impact that writer/director/producer James L. Brooks has made on Hollywood cannot be understated. The 85-year-old created The Mary Tyler Moore Show, personally won three Oscars for Terms of Endearment, and was one of the driving forces behind The Simpsons, among many other credits. Now, 15 years after his last movie, he’s back in the directing chair with Ella McCay.

The similarly-named Emma Mackey plays Ella, a 34-year-old lieutenant governor of an unnamed state in 2008 who’s on the verge of becoming governor when Governor Bill (Albert Brooks) gets picked to be a member of the president’s Cabinet. What should be a happy time is sullied by her needy husband, Ryan (Jack Lowden), her agoraphobic brother, Casey (Spike Fearn), and her perpetually-cheating father, Eddie (Woody Harrelson).

Despite the trio of men competing to bring her down, Ella remains an unapologetic optimist, an attitude bolstered by her aunt Helen (Jamie Lee Curtis), her assistant Estelle (Julie Kavner), and her police escort, Trooper Nash (Kumail Nanjiani). The film follows her over a few days as she navigates the perils of governing, the distractions her family brings, and the expectations being thrust upon her by many different people.

Brooks, who wrote and directed the film, is all over the place with his storytelling. What at first seems to be a straightforward story about Ella and her various issues soon starts meandering into areas that, while related to Ella, don’t make the film better. Prime among them are her brother and father, who are given a relatively small amount of screentime in comparison to the importance they have in her life. This is compounded by a confounding subplot in which Casey tries to win back his girlfriend, Susan (Ayo Edebiri).

Then there’s the whole political side of the story, which never finds its focus and is stuck in the past. Though it’s never stated explicitly, Ella and Governor Bill appear to be Democrats, especially given a signature program Ella pushes to help mothers in need. But if Brooks was trying to provide an antidote to the current real world politics, he doesn’t succeed, as Ella’s full goals are never clear. He also inexplicably shows her boring her fellow lawmakers to tears, a strange trait to give the person for whom the audience is supposed to be rooting.

What saves the movie from being an all-out train wreck is the performances of Mackey and Curtis. Mackey, best known for the Netflix show Sex Education, has an assured confidence to her that keeps the character interesting and likable even when the story goes downhill. Curtis, who has tended to go over-the-top with her roles in recent years, tones it down, offering a warm place of comfort for Ella to turn to when she needs it. The two complement each other very well and are the best parts of the movie by far.

Brooks puts much more effort into his female actors, including Kavner, who, even though she serves as an unnecessary narrator, gets most of the best laugh lines in the film. Harrelson is capable of playing a great cad, but his character here isn’t fleshed out enough. Fearn is super annoying in his role, and Lowden isn’t much better, although that could be mostly due to what his character is called to do. Were it not for the always-great Brooks and Nanjiani, the movie might be devoid of good male performances.

Brooks has made many great TV shows and movies in his 60+ year career, but Ella McCay is a far cry from his best. The only positive that comes out of it is the boosting of Mackey, who proves herself capable of not only leading a film, but also elevating one that would otherwise be a slog to get through.

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Ella McCay opens in theaters on December 12.

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