A NIGHT OF CHOICES

Ricky Martin and The Psychedelic Furs collide in Houston: Who will win thenight?

Go ahead. Spend your holiday weekend "Livin' La Vida Loca" with Ricky Martin on Saturday night at the Toyota Center. I ain't gonna hate on ya'.

For some, seeing the chiseled pop tart who played an integral part in inviting Latin beats to the long-sequestered United States dance party a little more than a decade ago is the ideal way to party on a long weekend. I however, will be feeling Pretty In Pink at the more intimate Warehouse Live with alt-rock darlings, The Psychedelic Furs.

The beauty is that there is no wrong answer here and I won't try to sway you one way or another. Ideally, if I could clone myself, I would take in both shows.

While Martin's music is a little more vapid, his modern cultural influence, on several fronts, cannot be denied. In 1999 his self-titled English crossover album was that rare "right sound, by the right artist at the right moment" zeitgeist that spurred former Menudo member Martin to a success in the U.S. that no one could have foreseen. On the strength of singles like "Livin' La Vida Loca," "She's All I Ever Had," and "Shake Your Bon-Bon," Martin became an international sensation and the album went on to sell 20 million copies.

Of course, fame like that comes with a price. The biggest question: How do you follow that up?

The answer: Not very successfully. Martin did score the hit "She Bangs" in 2000, but after that Martin's most valuable contributions have been as a humanitarian, rescuing young girls from the streets of Calcutta and in the fight against human trafficking.

Combined with his long-overdue coming out last year (Truthfully, was there anybody who believed that a man that stunningly pretty was not gay?), Martin has been more of a cultural ambassador in recent years which makes this performance stop in Houston a return to what made him famous in the first place. Now 39 years-old and a father, with nothing to hide, it's possible he is poised to be more of a change maker than ever, regardless of if new album, Musica + Alma + Sexo is a chart success.

The Psychedelic Furs have no such cultural cache. The most important thing the corrugated voice of lead singer Richard Butler did in the 1980s was help make Molly Ringwald a star and the teen movies of filmmaker John Hughes vital to the "Me Generation" experience.

It doesn't sound like much, but hearing The Psychedelic Furs croak out hits like "Love My Way," "Pretty In Pink," and "Heaven" one more time is like looking through the pages of my high school yearbook.

It's cheesy and nostalgic ... and I wouldn't miss it for the world.

Ricky Martin, 8 p.m. Saturday at Toyota Center

or The Psychedelic Furs, 9 p.m. Saturday at Warehouse Live

Tickets: Ricky Martin - $40.50-$130.50

The Psychedelic Furs - $25.00

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Oh, Brother

McConaughey and Harrelson comedy series 'Brothers' premieres this fall

Photo courtesy of Apple TV

Matthew McConaughey and Woody Harrelson in Brothers on Apple TV.

Imaginary siblings and real life best friends Matthew McConaughey and Woody Harrelson are finally about to bring the joke home with a new Apple TV series, Brothers, out globally September 23.

The first two episodes will come out together, and one new episode will be added every Wednesday through November 4, a press release says. There will be eight episodes in total.

In a rumor that gets harder to search for the closer Brothers comes to fruition, McConaughey and Harrelson have leaned into ideas that they might be half-brothers, partially because of their longtime friendship and partially because they have a similar look that gets even stronger in old photos. The topic sprung up when Brothers was in its infancy as a project called Brother from Another Mother, and McConaughey's mom validated it by insinuating that she and Harrelson's father once had a fling.

In Brothers, a heartfelt comedy, McConaughey and Harrelson play fictionalized versions of themselves living out almost the same drama, with much more serious repercussions.

When Harrelson's family needs a place to get away after his daughter's wedding falls through, they travel to Austin to accept the hospitality of a friend, McConaughey. But when McConaughey's mother, Ma Mac (Holland Taylor) accidentally reveals that they might be half-brothers, Harrelson becomes obsessed with learning the truth. Simultaneously, McConaughey considers running for Governor of Texas. (Is this getting too real?)

Other members of the ensemble cast include Natalie Martinez, Brittany Ishibashi, Nolan Almeida, Ella Grace Helton, Noah Carganilla, Highdee Kuan, and Oona Yaffe.

Brothers is produced by Paramount Television Studios, and showrun and executive produced by Lee Eisenberg, best known for producing The Office. McConaughey and Harrelson are also both executive producers alongside Natalie Sandy, David West Read, Trish Hofmann, Bill Bost, Jason Winer, David Finkel and Brett Baer, and Jeremy Plager, the release says. Multiple episodes are directed by Trent O’Donnell, including the pilot.

Austinites were keyed into the production early when locals spotted McConaughey and Harrelson with a film crew on South Congress Avenue. Photographers also caught them in different costumes, this time on South Congress and West Riverside Drive, so it seems like recognizable places around town will be on display multiple times throughout the series.

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