Music Matters

This week in music: Live concerts in Houston leave lots of choices for fans

Cold beer and live music, what genius came up with that idea?

The explosion of craft beer in Houston has been a boon to the local music scene. Breweries 8th Wonder and St. Arnold’s regularly book great line-ups to entice suds-lovers to taste their latest batches and now Karbach is getting in on the fun with Karbachtoberfest, named in part for their latest seasonal. Following an electric set by hometown hip-hop star Bun B, who took time away from helping Harvey victims last weekend, three more weekends of the best local acts are on the varied schedule, including Latin funk band Grupo Fantasma and Latin ska group Los Skarnales on Friday as well as the psych-rock of Bright Light Social Hour and electronic cumbia of Gio Chamba on Saturday.

It’s these type of events that keep the local scene vital and relevant, while expanding the reach of acts coming out of Houston. They also help local craft breweries sell a lot of beer. Admission is free and the 6-9:30 p.m. event times making it family friendly too. Shows will take place through October 7. Check out the schedule here.

Indie-dance stars !!! (pronounced chk-chk-chk) descend on White Oak Music Hall on Saturday night and will get asses shaking. Since the band’s inception in the early 2000s, this Sacramento act has been parlayed its contagious mix of funk, 90s NYC Hi-NRG house, and electric stage presence into a successful recording career. Their critically acclaimed 2017 release Shake The Shudder is one of their best. There’s no better band name suited to a live show this fun. Atlanta buzz act Algiers opens. Tickets are $18 in advance. Show starts at 8 p.m.

Somewhere along the way, Depeche Mode became the Rolling Stones of Gen Xers. That’s what happens when a band has over three decades of stone cold classic hits to pull from ("Enjoy The Silence," "Just Can't Get Enough," "People Are People," "Personal Jesus," among many, many more) and a live show to match. The UK-based synth-driven three-piece continues to put out vital and relevant music, including their best album in 15 years in this year's politically fierce Spirit.

Simply put, Depeche Mode are some of the world’s best live performers, playing to hundreds of thousands of fans in stadiums and arenas around the world with dozens of shows in a touring cycle, harnessing the lothario stage presence and souped-up energy of Dave Gahan and catchy-as-hell, heart-on-sleeve songwriting of Martin Gore. This show is a must-see for any discerning music fan. They hit the stage at the Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion on Sunday night. Tickets start at $38, gates open at 6 p.m.

Other shows to see

Friday (September 22)
Influential West Coast punks, Descendents, pulled off the feat of a successful reunion a few years back and after several hiatuses, the band is a full-time concern for lead singer Milo Aukerman and crew. It’s hard to think of a group more influential on American punk and alternative music. See them live at House of Blues. Tickets start at $30. Doors open at 7 p.m.

Cigarettes After Sex brings its hushed, melodic and moody tunes to White Oak behind its self-titled album. If you’re a fan of the bands that played the Bang Bang Club on Twin Peaks this season, this will be right up your alley. Tickets start at $15.50. Doors at 8 p.m.

One of country music’s biggest stars, the impossibly good looking Luke Bryan, brings his catalogue of hits to the Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion for his Huntin’, Fishin’, and Lovin’ Everyday Tour. Brett Elredge and Granger Smith open. Tickets start at $38. Gates open at 6 p.m.

Saturday (September 23)
Exciting Austin songwriting Walker Lukens celebrates the release of his new brand new LP (out September 22), Tell It To The Judge with a 3 p.m. in-store at Cactus Music. The new tunes should be stellar based on the talented melding of sounds, genres and eras of his 2013 full-length album, Devoted, plus some really clever videos. Admission is free.

Sunday (September 24)
Against Me!, fronted by charismatic Laura Jane Grace, gave Green Day fans a thrilling set when they opened at the Toyota Center back in March. Fans will be treated to a full set at White Oak behind this year’s album, the wonderfully named Stabitha Christie. Tickets are $20 in advance, show starts at 7 p.m.

Your mom’s AM radio favorite, Daryl Hall and John Oates, drop their '80s classics on Smart Financial Center at Sugar Land. Expect to hear the hits (“You Make My Dreams,” “Private Eyes,” and more) and witness big hair back from when this type of music was completely unironic. Say what you want about these dudes, “Maneater” is still the jam. Tickets start at $59.75, show starts at 7:30 p.m.

Tuesday (September 26)
Fast-rising Los Angeles pop-rock band LANY hits House of Blues behind their self-titled album on its LANY Tour: Part 2, which will see them play across the U.S. and Canada. The group recently made Rolling Stone’s Ten Artists You Need To Know. Tickets are $25, show starts at 7 p.m.

Fast-rising Los Angeles pop-rock band LANY hits House of Blues on Tuesday.

Tumblr

Fast-rising Los Angeles pop-rock band LANY hits House of Blues on Tuesday.

concerts music

Movie Review

Avatar: Fire and Ash returns to Pandora with big action and bold visuals

Photo courtesy of 20th Century Studios

Oona Chaplin in Avatar: Fire and Ash.

For a series whose first two films made over $5 billion combined worldwide, Avatar has a curious lack of widespread cultural impact. The films seem to exist in a sort of vacuum, popping up for their run in theaters and then almost as quickly disappearing from the larger movie landscape. The third of five planned movies, Avatar: Fire and Ash, is finally being released three years after its predecessor, Avatar: The Way of Water.

The new film finds the main duo, human-turned-Na’vi Jake Sully (Sam Worthington) and his native Na’vi wife, Neytiri (Zoë Saldaña), still living with the water-loving Metkayina clan led by Ronal (Kate Winslet) and Tonowari (Cliff Curtis). While Jake and Neytiri still play a big part, the focus shifts significantly to their two surviving children, Lo’ak (Britain Dalton) and Tuk (Trinity Jo-Li Bliss), as well as two they’ve essentially adopted, Kiri (Sigourney Weaver) and Spider (Jack Champion).

Miles Quaritch (Stephen Lang), who lives on in a fabricated Na’vi body, is still looking for revenge on Jake, and he finds help in the form of the Mangkwan Clan (aka the Ash People), led by Varang (Oona Chaplin). Quaritch’s access to human weapons and the Mangkwan’s desire for more power on the moon known as Pandora make them a nice match, and they team up to try to dominate the other tribes.

Aside from the story, the main point of making the films for writer/director James Cameron is showing off his considerable technical filmmaking prowess, and that is on full display right from the start. The characters zoom around both the air and sea on various creatures with which they’ve bonded, providing Cameron and his team with plenty of opportunities to put the audience right there with them. Cameron’s preferred viewing method of 3D makes the experience even more immersive, even if the high frame rate he uses makes some scenes look too realistic for their own good.

The story, as it has been in the first two films, is a mixed bag. Cameron and co-writers Rick Jaffa and Amanda Silver start off well, having Jake, Neytiri, and their kids continue mourning the death of Neteyam (Jamie Flatters) in the previous film. The struggle for power provides an interesting setup, but Cameron and his team seem to drag out the conflict for much too long. This is the longest Avatar film yet, and you really start to feel it in the back half as the filmmakers add on a bunch of unnecessary elements.

Worse than the elongated story, though, is the hackneyed dialogue that Cameron, Jaffa, and Silver have come up with. Almost every main character is forced to spout lines that diminish the importance of the events around them. The writers seemingly couldn’t resist trying to throw in jokes despite them clashing with the tone of the scenes in which they’re said. Combined with the somewhat goofy nature of the Na’vi themselves (not to mention talking whales), the eye-rolling words detract from any excitement or emotion the story builds up.

A pre-movie behind-the-scenes short film shows how the actors act out every scene in performance capture suits, lending an authenticity to their performances. Still, some performers are better than others, with Saldaña, Worthington, and Lang standing out. It’s more than a little weird having Weaver play a 14-year-old girl, but it works relatively well. Those who actually get to show their real faces are collectively fine, but none of them elevate the film overall.

There are undoubtedly some Avatar superfans for which Fire and Ash will move the larger story forward in significant ways. For anyone else, though, the film is a demonstration of both the good and bad sides of Cameron. As he’s proven for 40 years, his visuals are (almost) beyond reproach, but the lack of a story that sticks with you long after you’ve left the theater keeps the film from being truly memorable.

---

Avatar: Fire and Ash opens in theaters on December 19.

movies film