Live Music Now

These are the 5 best concerts to catch in Houston this week

It's a week filled with two farewell shows, a reggae themed night to heat up our first heatwave, a post-punk icon making an H-Town stop, and a free show for the family to enjoy downtown. These are CultureMap's top concerts of the week:

Reggae revelation: Matisyahu and Marley
It’ll be a night of deep dive reggae as Matisyahu and Stephen Marley co-headline at White Oak. Most music fans remember Matisyahu as the Orthodox Jewish rapper from New York City when he first hit the scene in the mid-aughts, which now feels like a gimmick when contrasted against his respectable career as a reggae, hip-hop, and alt-rock performer. Marley is the Grammy Award-winning son of Bob Marley and continues his father’s legacy with forward-thinking reggae. This is a must-see show for Bayou City reggae fans.

Mitisyahu and Stephen Marley co-headline at White Oak Music Hall, located at 2915 S. Main St., on Wednesday, May 30. Tickets are $21 in advance plus a $6.71 service fee. Doors open at 7 pm.

Peter Hook’s bizarre band triangle
Following the bitter break-up of the original New Order line-up of New Order, iconic and influential post-punk bassist Peter Hook went his own way and formed The Light. The band is devoted to performing classic songs from Hook’s old bands, both New Order, and its original incarnation, Joy Division. It's a bittersweet opportunity for fans of either band. On the positive, this is as closest anyone is going to get to hearing Joy Division tracks live since that act’s lead singer, Ian Curtis, committed suicide in 1980. Oppositely, Hook is only one-fourth of New Order and that band is still touring and producing new music. Regardless, these timeless songs ("Love Will Tear Us Apart," "Temptation," "Confusion") are too good to miss celebrating in a live setting and Hook’s latest tour is drawing rave reviews from fans.

Peter Hook and the Light plays iconic tunes at Warehouse Live, located at 813 St. Emanuel St., on Thursday, May 31. Tickets are $25 in advance plus an $8.22 service fee. Show starts at 8 pm.

Terry Allen and Libby Koch toast free Thursday nights
The best happy hour option for music fans continues as the Thursday night concert series at Discovery Green welcomes country singers Terry Allen and Libby Koch. A family friendly event, guests are encouraged to bring food, blankets and chairs to enjoy the evening. Saint Arnold will be on hand serving icy brews and Lake House will offer up the eats for a fee. The best part is the performances will be over at a decent time so you can be home early and well rested for the next day.

Party on the Plaza with Terry Allen at Discovery Green, located at 500 McKinney St., goes down on Thursday, May 31. Admission is free. Show starts at 7 pm.

Ronnie Milsap brings the Smoky Mountain Rain
It's not a huge surprise that country legend Ronnie Milsap is winding down his touring career. The top-tier songwriter is 75 years-old and has had some health scares over the last few years. While he's been on his farewell tour for a few years now, there's no telling when the final shows will be, so his stop at the Dosey Doe is a must for his fans. Tickets are pricey, but seeing the man responsible for 40 No. 1 country hits such as "Smoky Mountain Rain," "Lost in the Fifties Tonight," and "It Was Almost Like a Song" in this intimate venue will be worth it.

Ronnie Milsap performs at Dosey Doe, located at 25911 Interstate 45 N, on Friday, June 1. Tickets start at $148 plus $14.95 in service fees. Show starts at 8:30 pm.

You can call me Paul (Simon)
At one point, Paul Simon, along with his songwriting partner, Art Garfunkel, was one of the biggest musical acts in the world. Featuring hits stretching back to the '60s, Simon is currently on his Homeward Bound farewell tour, culminating in three shows in New York City, with an open date in late-June that many are speculating to be in Central Park, the scene of his biggest triumph in 1981 when he and Garfunkel performed in front of 500,000. Until then, Houston fans will get to see him in the relatively intimate Toyota Center, where they will surely enjoy his best solo works, including "You Can Call Me Al," "Graceland," and "Late in the Evening."

Paul Simon performs for the final time at the Toyota Center, located at 1510 Polk St., on Saturday, June 2. Tickets start at $49.50 plus fees. Show starts at 8 pm.

Matisyahu will co-headline with Stephen Marley at White Oak Music Hall on Wednesday, May 30.

Beau Grealy

Matisyahu will co-headline with Stephen Marley at White Oak Music Hall on Wednesday, May 30.

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Movie Review

George Clooney shines in Jay Kelly, a sharp and heartfelt look at fame

Photo by Peter Mountain/Netflix

George Clooney in Jay Kelly.

The life of a celebrity is paradoxical in that your life is lived in the public eye, yet who you really are is almost unknowable. Movie history is littered with films that try to dig into the private lives of real and fictional actors, with varying results. The latest film to try to unearth what it means to be famous is Jay Kelly.

In a perfect bit of casting, George Clooney stars in the title role as an actor who’s still world famous even if he’s edging toward the downside of his career. His coterie of helpers, including manager Ron (Adam Sandler) and publicist Liz (Laura Dern), make sure he is taken care of at every turn, often anticipating his needs before he realizes it.

A run-in with an old friend, Timothy (Billy Crudup), sends Jay spiraling, questioning not just the meaning of his 35-plus year career, but also his relationships with his two daughters, Jessica (Riley Keough) and Daisy (Grace Edwards). Jay’s attempt to manage the crisis pits his identity as a celebrity and as a father and friend against each other.

Written and directed by Noah Baumbach, and co-written by Emily Mortimer (who has a small role), the film has to walk the tightrope of making the audience like Jay even as he does and says things that might make him unlikable. There’s a very thin line between the character of Jay Kelly and the real life George Clooney; each is seemingly infinitely charming when dealing with the public, but they lead very different private lives.

Baumbach takes a light approach to the story, occasionally dipping into more serious territory but never going too deep. For some, this may seem like a copout, as if he’s merely pretending to want to explore what celebrity truly is. But as you see Jay navigate his way between his work, his family, and being out among the public, little details emerge that make him increasingly complex.

A lot of the film’s pleasure comes from the strong actors cast in relatively minor roles. There are not enough words to express what it means to have actors like Jim Broadbent as Jay’s mentor, or Greta Gerwig as Ron’s wife, or Stacy Keach as Jay’s father, or Patrick Wilson as a fellow longtime actor. Each of them and more lend an instant air of excellence to the film that elevates the story beyond its simple premise.

Clooney may be playing a version of himself, but as the film notes on multiple occasions, playing yourself is more difficult than it seems. He is deserving of an Oscar nomination, as is Sandler, who doesn’t give off even a whiff of insincerity as a man who has given perhaps a bit too much of himself in aid of another man’s career.

Jay Kelly is not a world-changing film, and some may accuse it of being another navel-gazing Hollywood story. But the forcefulness of Clooney’s performance, the long line of strong supporting actors, and the subtly effective storytelling by Baumbach and Mortimer (making her feature screenwriting debut) help it become much more than might be expected.

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Jay Kelly is now playing in select theaters. It debuts on Netflix on December 5.

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