Music Matters

Concert Picks of the week: Justin Townes Earl, The Dirty Dozen Brass Band, TheGreencards

Justin Townes Earle plays Friday at McGonigel's Mucky Duck
The Dirty Dozen Brass Band at Warehouse Live on Friday
At McGonigel's Mucky Duck on Saturday, The Greencards

There are some grass-is-greener music pessimists who will always insist that a city like Houston can't compete with sexier coastal towns like Los Angeles, New York or Miami for concert talent. They'll argue those towns have round-the-clock nightlife and an unlimited supply of young people with wads of cash, just waiting for the next Britney Spears spectacle, Bruce Springsteen residency or secret promotional tour by Madonna.

To that I say, poppycock. It is all an illusion.

There may be some truth to the idea that a few select European artists (particularly techno DJs) frequent the Atlantic coast more than other parts of the U.S. simply because it's cost effective. But a look at the top 10 tours of 2009 proves that Houston hosted more than half of them in the last 18 months, when the latest tours by U2, Madonna, Pink, Coldplay, Bruce Springsteen and AC/DC began.

Furthermore, while we still enjoy all the national talent those sassier metropolis' enjoy, Texas cities and the Gulf Coast have a musical culture all its own. Our scene is frequented by the all-stars of the roots, blues, Americana, Tex-Mex, folk and cow-punk in a way those others cities will never know.

So to the Big Apple, I say, "Enjoy your umpteenth Billy Joel or Bon Jovi stadium concert."

I defy you to match this line-up intimate songwriting, brass-blowing club talent anywhere on the island this weekend.

Friday, Feb. 5

Justin Townes Earle, 7:30 p.m. at McGonigel's Mucky Duck

Only a select few, like the basketball playing son of Michael Jordan or President George W. Bush, can know the expectations a name can carry when a child tries to follow his father into the family business on a national stage. Justin Townes Earle, the offspring of legendary singer-songwriter and occasional rabble-rouser Steve Earle, seems to be handling the pressure —and his guitar string— just fine.

If there is any proof to the power of suggestion, then perhaps being an Earle and carrying a middle-name in honor of the late-great Townes Van Zandt helped to groove a little roots-rich DNA into his nimble fingers and road-wise voice.

Only 28, Earle has already cut his musical teeth in a rock band and a bluegrass group before going solo. Much like his father, he's also had to battle drug use, only to come out on the other side a bit wiser and with a few more stories to write songs about.

His first two albums show a range of influences from roots to rock, but it's his new album,"Midnight at the Movies" that just might be his breakout success

Tickets $22

Dirty Dozen Brass Band, 8 p.m. at Warehouse Live

Short of jumping on a plane and heading to the Bourbon Street party in The Big Easy, there may be no better way to get primed for "The Big Game" between the Indianapolis Colts and New Orleans Saints than to catch this New Orleans fusion institution.

The Dirty Dozen Brass band has been funkin'-up New Orleans jazz for 33 years and is as treasured as the Preservation Hall in New Orleans. The ensemble has played everywhere from the Montreaux Jazz Fesitval in Switzerland to the Austin City Limits Festival in Austin. Lately, young hot bands like Modest Mouse and Widespread Panic have backed them in the recording studio.

Get ready for this weekend's "Who Dat?" party with a little music directly from the streets of the French Quarter.

Tickets $15-$18

Saturday, Feb. 6

The Greencards, 7 p.m. & 9:30 p.m. at McGonigel's Mucky Duck

I'll admit that it was hard for me to forgive The Greencards after they ditched Texas for Nashville following the debut album, "Movin' On," in 2003. The group seemed to be doing well creating a following for its eclectic blend of bluegrass, country, celtic and and electric folk. I took it far personally than I should have because I coveted their frequent trips to Houston to play the Mucky Duck. They packed the house and started to bring national attention to their quick'-pickin' and sultry songwriting.

In retrospect, Nashville was probably the right move for them. Since heading to Music City, The Greencards have gone national in a big way. The group's last album, "Viridian," became the first international release to top the Billboard Bluegrass charts and they even had a song from it nominated for a Grammy.

I forgave them once I found out that the instrumental Grammy nominee was titled "Mucky The Duck."

They do remember those good ol' days in Houston after all.

Tickets $20.

unspecified

Movie Review

Meta-comedy remake Anaconda coils itself into an unfunny mess

Photo by Matt Grace

Jack Black and Paul Rudd in Anaconda.

In Hollywood’s never-ending quest to take advantage of existing intellectual property, seemingly no older movie is off limits, even if the original was not well-regarded. That’s certainly the case with 1997’s Anaconda, which is best known for being a lesser entry on the filmography of Ice Cube and Jennifer Lopez, as well as some horrendous accent work by Jon Voight.

The idea behind the new meta-sequel Anaconda is arguably a good one. Four friends — Doug (Jack Black), Griff (Paul Rudd), Claire (Thandiwe Newton), and Kenny (Steve Zahn) — who made homemade movies when they were teenagers decide to remake Anaconda on a shoestring budget. Egged on by Griff, an actor who can’t catch a break, the four of them pull together enough money to fly down to Brazil, hire a boat, and film a script written by Doug.

Naturally, almost nothing goes as planned in the Amazon, including losing their trained snake and running headlong into a criminal enterprise. Soon enough, everything else takes second place to the presence of a giant anaconda that is stalking them and anyone else who crosses its path.

Written and directed by Tom Gormican, with help from co-writer Kevin Etten, the film is designed to be an outrageous comedy peppered with laugh-out-loud moments that cover up the fact that there’s really no story. That would be all well and good … if anything the film had to offer was truly funny. Only a few scenes elicit any honest laughter, and so instead the audience is fed half-baked jokes, a story with no focus, and actors who ham it up to get any kind of reaction.

The biggest problem is that the meta-ness of the film goes too far. None of the core four characters possess any interesting traits, and their blandness is transferred over to the actors playing them. And so even as they face some harrowing situations or ones that could be funny, it’s difficult to care about anything they do since the filmmakers never make the basic effort of making the audience care about them.

It’s weird to say in a movie called Anaconda, but it becomes much too focused on the snake in the second half of the film. If the goal is to be a straight-up comedy, then everything up to and including the snake attacks should be serving that objective. But most of the time the attacks are either random or moments when the characters are already scared, and so any humor that could be mined all but disappears.

Black and Rudd are comedy all-stars who can typically be counted on to elevate even subpar material. That’s not the case here, as each only scores on a few occasions, with Black’s physicality being the funniest thing in the movie. Newton is not a good fit with this type of movie, and she isn’t done any favors by some seriously bad wigs. Zahn used to be the go-to guy for funny sidekicks, but he brings little to the table in this role.

Any attempt at rebooting/remaking an old piece of IP should make a concerted effort to differentiate itself from the original, and in that way, the new Anaconda succeeds. Unfortunately, that’s its only success, as the filmmakers can never find the right balance to turn it into the bawdy comedy they seemed to want.

---

Anaconda is now playing in theaters.

movies film