Live Music Now

Here are the 8 best concerts in Houston this week

RodeoHouston is right around the corner and if the Grammy Awards, held on February 10, were any indication, we're in for a treat based on how who appeared on the telecast and who took home the golden gramophones.

Kacey Musgraves, opening the festivities on February 25, cleaned up at the industry fête, earning a monster four wins for Album of the Year and Best Country Album for the acclaimed Golden Hour, Best Country Song for "Space Cowboy," and Country Solo Performance for "Butterflies." Cardi B (March 1) won for Best Rap Album, Both performed during the show and will later take to the center stage at NRG to show us why they deserved to win those trophies.

(Stay tuned later this week for our Top 10 RodeoHouston shows we're excited to see.)

Meanwhile, it's a busy week in live music in H-town with a diverse lineup hitting local stages. CultureMap's biggest, best, and most notable shows are as follows:

CultureMap show of the week: Travis Scott does an AstroWorld encore
Missouri City native, Kardashian boyfriend, and undeniably one of the biggest rappers in the world, Travis Scott returns to his stomping grounds following the by-all-accounts successful AstroWorld Festival last December and an appearance on the Grammy Awards broadcast. This time, he'll bring the amusement park meets hip-hop experience to the Toyota Center, giving fans a second chance to see him, promoting the biggest album of 2018 named after a lost Houston landmark. Let's hope this show won't involve pepper spray.

Travis Scott brings AstroWorld to the Toyota Center, located at 1510 Polk St., on Wednesday, February 13. Tickets start at $39.95 plus fees. Doors open 7 pm.

Monica at Arena Theatre
Georgia R&B singer Monica rose to prominence in the late '90s when MTV's Total Request Live made a star out of a new generation of pop stars. Monica got a boost with the huge duet "The Boy is Mine" with Brandy. That song launched her career into the stratosphere, leading to a string of No. 1 albums and singles, eventually selling over 5 million albums. She would later solidify her star status by moving over to acting roles on Living Single and Felicity, in addition to her own reality series. She's back on the touring circuit and will no doubt draw a large segment that grew up with her.

Monica is at Arena Theatre, located at 7326 Southwest Fwy, located at 7326 Southwest Fwy., on Thursday, February 14. Major opens. Tickets start at $49.50 plus fees. Show starts at 8:30 pm.

Coheed and Cambria at HOB
For those about to rock, we salute you. New York based progressive metal band Coheed and Cambria will bring the noise to House of Blues, led by lead singer and double axe wielding Claudio Sanchez. Coheed rose to fame in the late-'90s, incorporating metal, prog rock, emo rock, and classic rock riffs in a way that few bands have the balls to attempt today.

Like many '70s prog rock acts, the band isn't afraid to embrace its inner nerd, incorporating sci-fi elements and concepts into the songwriting, their latest album aptly titled, Vaxis - Act 1: The Unheavenly Creatures. That said, the band rocks hard, making this a must-see for fans of turning amps up to 11.

Coheed and Cambria performs at House of Blues, located at 1204 Caroline St., on Friday, February 15. Foxing opens. Tickets start at $39.50 plus fees. Doors open at 7 pm.

Dwight Yoakam returns
Call it pre-gaming for RodeoHouston. Country favorite Dwight Yoakam returns to Houston, performing on another rotating stage at Arena Theatre this week. Simply put, the man is a legend, plying his trade in old school country songs that led to the sale of over 25 million albums, five No. 1 albums, and over 30 country hit songs. His husky voice and honky tonk sound are straight outta Nashville back when performers dressed like the Marlboro Man.

Dwight Yoakam is at Arena Theatre, located at 7326 Southwest Fwy., on Friday, February 15. Tickets start at $55 plus fees. Show starts at 9 pm.

Rainbow Kitten Surprise at Revention
The day-glo named North Carolina act Rainbow Kitten Surprise may sound like a spin-off of The Flaming Lips, but they're actually more rooted in alt-folk than Wayne Coyne's outfit, incorporating hooky melodies and funky rhythms into it's acoustic-driven, wood and wire tunes, making them more akin to a folksier Portugal. The Man. The band is touring behind the 2018 album, How to: Friend, Love, Freefall.

Rainbow Kitten Surprise are at Revention Music Center, located at 520 Texas Ave., on Saturday, February 16. Tickets start at $30 plus fees. Doors open at 8 pm.

The Kooks
The Kooks got into the game 10 years too late. Their mid-aughts debute Inside In/Inside Out would have been a massive hit in the heyday of '90s Brit-pop with catchy melodies, spiky guitars, and a band comprised of young, good-looking, well dressed men. Take a look at singles like "Naive," "She Moves in Her Own Way," and "Ooh La" as proof. Instead, they were viewed as a cleaner cut Libertines and while they did well back home in their native U.K., they never made much of a dent on U.S. shores. But if you're into contagiously hooky British rock, The Kooks are still worth checking out. Their latest is 2018's Let's Go Sunshine.

The Kooks bring the Britpop to White Oak Music Hall, located at 2915 North Main St., on Saturday, February 16. Barns Courtney and Future Feats open. Tickets start at $28 plus fees. Doors open at 8 pm.

BJ Barham at Heights Theater
We're on the record as recommending the Asleep at the Wheel show at Heights Theater on Friday night, but since that one's sold out, we encourage those without tickets to give alt-country crooner BJ Barham a roll. The American Aquarium frontman is on the road for a solo jaunt after the successful release of his band's latest, Things Change. The honey-voiced troubadour is in the same vein as Jason Isbell, Ryan Adams, and Drive-By Truckers.

BJ Barham performs at Heights Theater, located at 339 W 19th St., on Friday, February 8. Joshua Ray Walker opens. Tickets start at $20 plus a $5 service charge. Doors open at 7 pm.

CultureMap recommends: Courtney Barnett and Sunflower Bean
Aussie alt-rocker Courtney Barnett is a star on the rise with wordplay and throwback riffs endearing her to audiences worldwide. Her 2015 album, Sometimes I Sit and Think, and Sometimes I Just Sit introduced us to her deadpan, Gilmore Girls delivery and often hilarious, very real observations of everyday life, soundtracked to grunge and indie-rock riffs straight from a classic episode of 120 Minutes (see the excellent "Pedestrian at Best").

Her latest record, Tell Me How You Really Feel was considered one of 2018's best. Even better, NYC cool kids, Sunflower Bean, are back as support following an opening stint with Interpol last fall. This is one helluva lineup.

Courtney Barnett headlines at White Oak Music Hall, located at 2915 North Main St., on Monday, February 18. The great Sunflower Bean open. Tickets start at $30 plus fees. Doors open at 7 pm.

Heavy rockers Coheed and Cambria take to House of Blues on Friday, February 15.

Photo by Brandi Schulz

Heavy rockers Coheed and Cambria take to House of Blues on Friday, February 15.

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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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