Beats Meet Broncos

Rave on: The Chainsmokers turn RodeoHouston into world's largest nightclub with an electro beat

A middle-aged man stood outside NRG Stadium, dressed in the traditional garb worn by the majority at the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo on Sunday evening: a patterned button down shirt, blue jeans and cowboy boots.

But his hat revealed that this wasn't an ordinary night. It read, "Make America Rave Again," a cheeky allusion to the show 74,280 people had just witnessed thanks to the electronic dance music DJ duo, The Chainsmokers.

Thanks to an early start time on a Sunday, many families touting sons and daughters familiar with the Top 40 radio hits of Andrew Taggart and Alex Pall stuck around to check out the first EDM act to play RodeoHouston. The hour-long set turned NRG Stadium into the world's largest nightclub with big electro beats, pyrotechnics and fireworks, fog machines, and a trippy laser and light show. It immediately followed bull riding and mutton bustin'.

At first, it didn't seem as though the combo of cowboys and dancefloor bangers would mix, as the duo came out to stage with a bare table of four CDJs and a single microphone, not a single stringed instrument in sight. Taggart did sing vocal hooks on a handful of songs, but the setlist was comprised entirely of prerecorded selections, many just snippets mixed into one another.

Taggart even alluded to his strange surroundings at one point. "I know the expression is this isn't your first rodeo, but this really is our first rodeo," he said. "I don't think I've ever seen dance music in a situation like this."

But if a DJ's job is to get people moving, then The Chainsmokers succeeded by mastering the first rule of the craft — know your audience. The setlist not only included their biggest songs (No. 1 single "Closer," top 10 singles "Paris," "Don't Let Me Down," "Something Just Like This" and "Roses"), but a mishmash of songs familiar to everyone including "Rock And Roll All Nite" by Kiss, "Gonna Fly Now" from the film Rocky and "Under The Bridge" by the Red Hot Chili Peppers. They were obviously playing to the youngest in attendance by including tunes from emo rock (Panic! At the Disco), punk pop (Blink 182) and hip-hop (T.I., DJ Khaled).

While it may have left a segment of country diehards scratching their heads underneath their cowboy hats, the performance that amounted to two self-admitted party bros dancing on on a table and twiddling knobs was better received than anyone anticipated. The go-for-broke, expertly-choreographed visuals helped sell the entire package.

"Make some noise if this is your first rave," Taggart directed the crowd. And make noise they did, attendees turning NRG Stadium into a dance party, with a surprising amount singing along to many of the songs in the wide-ranging set.

Once one got over how weird it was to see two guys throwing down massive beats in the middle of a dirt pile, it was a lot of fun. Taggart and Pall were well aware of the irony of it all, at one point dropping the theme of Disney's The Lion King, with the former snickering that he couldn't believe he had just played it at a rodeo.

RodeoHouston deserves credit for thinking outside the box with its programming, knowing full well that families would be out on a Sunday to take in the sights. It was an ingenious way to keep butts in seats, or in the case of Sunday's performance, wiggling in the aisles.

Electric Daisy Carnival, eat your heart out.

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Setlist Note: Artists at the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo generally have a setlist made available to media. The Chainsmokers did not, so this list was compiled thanks to good old Shazam. Songs that were not found or known are marked as such.

“Paris (Remix),” The Chainsmokers
“Don’t Let Me Down (Remix),” The Chainsmokers
“Inside Out (Remix),” The Chainsmokers
Unknown track
“Feel Your Love,” Flux Pavilion & NGHTMRE feat. Jamie Lewis
“Follow (Zomboy Remix),” Bro Safari
“Until You Were Gone (Skruz & Saturn Remix),” The Chainsmokers feat. Emily Warren
“Let ‘Em Know,” Datsik feat. Armanni Reign
“Rock and Roll All Nite (Remix),” Kiss
“Weaponize,” Pegboard Nerds & MIU
“What You Know,” T.I.
“Thief,” Ookay
“All We Know,” The Chainsmokers
“Gonna Fly Now (Rocky Theme) Remix,” Bill Conti
“Pop Dat,” 4b & Aazar
“Sweet Nothing,” Calvin Harris feat. Florence Welch
“Cinema,” Benny Benassi X Skrillex feat. Gary Go
“Kanye,” The Chainsmokers feat. SirenXX
“I’m God,” Clams Casino
“All I Do Is Win,” DJ Khaled
“Split (Only U),” Tiesto & The Chainsmokers
“Show Me,” Tiesto & DallasK
“Can’t Get Enough,” Lookas
“Under The Bridge,” Red Hot Chili Peppers
“Roses,” The Chainsmokers feat. ROZES
“Setting Fires,” The Chainsmokers
“Paris,” The Chainsmokers
“Paris (Pegboard Nerds Remix),” The Chainsmokers
“What’s My Age Again,” Blink 182
“Wylin, Part 2,” Cesqueaux
“Tremor (Sensation 2014 Anthem),” Dimitri Vegas & Martin Garrix & Like Mike
“Bang,” WAVEDASH
“Closer,” The Chainsmokers feat. Halsey
“Closer (Wuki Remix),” The Chainsmokers feat. Halsey
“I Write Sins Not Tragedies,” Panic! At The Disco
“Ride,” Twenty One Pilots
Unknown track
“Something Just Like This,” The Chainsmokers & Coldplay
“King of Africa (The Lion King theme),” Douser
Unknown track
“Boozy,” Stoltenhoff
“Yellow (Remix),” Coldplay
“Don’t Let Me Down,” The Chainsmokers feat. Daya

The Chainsmokers put on a hell of a dance party at RodeoHouston.

The Chainsmokers Houston Rodeo 2017 stage

Photo by Michelle Watson/CatchLight Group

The Chainsmokers put on a hell of a dance party at RodeoHouston.

houston-rodeo concerts

Movie Review

Knives Out series takes a more serious turn in Wake Up Dead Man

Photo by John Wilson/Netflix

Josh O'Connor and Josh Brolin in Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery.

Since 2019, writer/director Rian Johnson has essentially turned over his career to murder mysteries, including 2019’s Knives Out, 2022’s sequel Glass Onion, and the just-canceled Peacock series Poker Face. He’s back for another bite of the apple with Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery.

While private detective Benoit Blanc (Daniel Craig) returns to help investigate a seemingly impossible murder, the majority of the focus of this film is on the employees and parishioners at a small Catholic church in upstate New York. Father Jud Duplenticy (Josh O’Connor) has been assigned to the parish to work under Monsignor Jefferson Wicks (Josh Brolin). Wicks is a fiery orator who relies on intimidation, as well as the help of church aide Martha Delacroix (Glenn Close), to maintain control over his flock.

That group includes lawyer Vera Draven (Kerry Washington), her politically ambitious brother Cy (Daryl McCormack), Dr. Nat Sharp (Jeremy Renner), writer Lee Ross (Andrew Scott), cellist Simone Vivane (Cailee Spaeny), and groundskeeper Samson Holt (Thomas Haden Church). The tenets of Catholicism, and religion in general, are put to the test as Father Jud challenges Monsignor Jefferson for leadership, and a death changes things even further.

The free-wheeling and fun nature of the first two Knives Out films gives way to a more methodical and introspective approach in Wake Up Dead Man. While Johnson is interested in presenting a murder mystery, it’s the lives of the various characters that take precedence, especially that of Father Jud. He is shown from the start as someone who wrestles with his faith, which is tested on multiple occasions as he encounters people who challenge him more than expected.

The arrival of Blanc on the scene turns the film into a type of buddy movie, with Father Jud serving as both investigator and suspect. Neither man embodies the type of behavior one might expect out of their respective professions, and what limited comedy the film has comes from their interactions. They’re reined in by Police Chief Geraldine Scott (Mila Kunis), although her desire to get to the bottom of the murder is somewhat stymied by Blanc and Father Jud’s diversions.

The lessons learned from two very different types of sources — mystery novels and Catholicism — collide over the course of the film. A book club that very coincidentally includes multiple mystery novels, including John Dickson Carr’s The Hollow Man, plays a key role, as does the devoutness of the various people at the church. Ultimately, as was the case in the first two films, the nature of the whodunit comes in second place to how the characters react to the multiple reveals along the way.

Craig seems to tone down the over-the-top way he usually plays Blanc in this film, and his performance fits in well with the story being told. O’Connor, a star on the rise after Challengers and more, is asked to carry the film and he does so ably. The strong actors in the supporting cast are not used as well as they could have been, with only Close and Brolin truly making an impact. Geoffrey Wright shows up in a couple of small scenes and makes his presence known quickly.

Wake Up Dead Man is the least entertaining Knives Out film so far, but that’s not to say that it’s uninteresting. Johnson explores topics that result in more talking than action, but those conversations — especially between Blanc and Father Jud — are consistently engaging and revelatory about the characters and the crime they are investigating.

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Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery is now playing in select theaters; it debuts on Netflix on December 12.

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