Willie at RodeoHouston

Life of the Rodeo: Willie Nelson keeps the music alive in legendary performance

Willie Nelson didn’t have time for idle concert chit chat during his Saturday night appearance at the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo. With over 20 songs of life, death and love to sing, it was no wonder the 83-year-old, once red-headed now beautifully grey-headed stranger, never stopped for some mindless banter with the sold-out crowd of 75,008. But who needs the requisite reminder of how many times he’s stood on that rodeo stage (10) or his status as a Texas legend and national treasure (that pretty much goes without saying). He’s Willie Nelson live in Houston and still delivering so much life to the music he makes.

In prime Willie-ness, jeans, red bandana wrapped around his forehead and braids down to his beloved Trigger, Nelson took the stage and jumped right into his classic “Whiskey River.” Whiskey became something of a minor theme of the evening, with a set that also included “Beer for My Horses.” But then drinking, loving, losing and just living life as best as possible are the subjects of so many of his own great songs as well as some of the other classics he sang during the evening.

With only a few pauses to thank the crowd, Nelson and his band kept the musical stories flowing from one song to the next almost as if he was reading us chapters in the book of his and all of our lives. His voice might have grown rough but wise with eight decades of living and singing, but he can still add his unique interpretation in each song to gift us a rich, true story.

From his own 1980 hit “Angel Flying Too Close to the Ground,” about the complexities of love found and then lost when set free, to the Cajun-fun concentrate in Hank Williams’s "Jambalaya (On the Bayou)," Nelson showed us all how to spin a good musical yarn.

The classics kept coming with little introduction except the odd tributary nod to the song’s writer or co-writer. He took us “On the Road Again,” confessed we were “Always on My Mind” and, with some laced irony for the venue, warned all the mothers in the rodeo crowd: "Mammas Don't Let Your Babies Grow Up to Be Cowboys.”

Humor and, perhaps not so incidentally, death were also themes of the evening but with Nelson those subjects are never too far apart. Yes, he included a lovely rendition of “Will the Circle Be Unbroken” that transformed into “I’ll Fly Away” but he balanced those gospel odes with “Roll Me Up and Smoke Me When I Die” and, towards the end of the set, one of his newest songs “Still Not Dead Again Today.”

Whether this was Nelson's last Houston rodeo or just his latest, with more appearances awaiting us in the coming years, no one in NRG Stadium will likely forget this concert even when they, too, reach 83 years young.

Set List:
Whiskey River
 Still Is Still Moving to Me
Beer for My Horses
Good Hearted Woman
 Mamas Don't Let Your Babies Grow Up to Be Cowboys
 Angel Flying Too Close to the Ground  
On the Road Again
 Always on My Mind  
Down Yonder
 Georgia on My Mind
 It's All Going to Pot  
Roll Me Up and Smoke Me When I Die  
Jambalaya (On the Bayou)
 Hey Good Lookin' 
Move It On Over 
Will the Circle Be Unbroken
 I'll Fly Away  
I Saw the Light  
Still Not Dead Again Today  
Shoeshine Man  

The classics kept coming with little introduction except the odd tributary nod to the song’s writer or co-writer.

Photo courtesy of Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo

The classics kept coming with little introduction except the odd tributary nod to the song’s writer or co-writer.

houston-rodeo

Movie Review

Quirky relationship film Twinless covers grief in a novel way

Photo courtesy of Roadside Attractions

Dylan O'Brien and James Sweeney in Twinless.

Filmmakers have found all sorts of ways to confront the concept of grief in movies, so it’s rare to find a film that approaches it in a unique way. The new release Twinless does just that, pairing together two men who meet at a group designed for people whose twins have died, leaving them without the bond that only those who have been a twin will know well.

Roman (Dylan O’Brien) and Dennis (James Sweeney) are close to polar opposites. Roman is straight, a little dense, and a virtual stranger to Portland, where he’s staying after the sudden death of his brother, Rocky. Dennis is gay, a little overly familiar, and clingy, something that comes into play when the two of them strike up an unexpected friendship in the group.

Roman and Dennis start hanging out on a regular basis, providing comfort to each other at a time when they both need it most. However, the audience is given information about Dennis that Roman does not have, and in that withholding lies the main tension of the film. The closer they get, the more the potential of Dennis’ secret coming out starts to weigh on him and the audience.

Written and directed by Sweeney, the film mixes tones to mostly positive effect. Because of the concept of the film, death and grief color the entire story, and yet Sweeney manages to keep things relatively light. The interplay between the two main characters is never too heavy, even when they’re discussing what could be depressing topics.

Sweeney introduces several side characters who maintain the diverting nature of the film, most notably Marcie (Aisling Francioni), a receptionist at the company where Dennis works. Marcie at first seems to be a flighty, eternally sunny person who will be the comic relief of the film. But the character starts to become a bigger part of the story as it goes along, and she winds up being one of its most important pieces.

Through Roman and Dennis, the film confronts the idea of people putting on masks when dealing with others and the casual lies some people tell to protect themselves. The decision-making of certain characters is understandable given the rawness of their personal lives, but they also do some indefensible things that undermine the nicer parts of their personalities.

Sweeney gives himself the starring role in the film, and he makes the most of it. Dennis is a strange character whose confidence ebbs and flows throughout the story, and Sweeney’s performance keeps him consistently interesting. O’Brien, who briefly gets to play Rocky in flashbacks, is also solid even if his character isn’t quite as deep due to the nature of the story. Francioni, who also made an impression in 2024’s Speak No Evil, deserves to be the breakout star from the film.

Twinless is a film that’s difficult to categorize, getting by more on vibe than anything else. But the way it deals with the aftermath of unexpected death and a new connection that may be built on shaky ground turns the film into one that remains compelling throughout.

---

Twinless opens in theaters on September 5.

movies film