Live Music Now

These are the 8 best concerts to catch in Houston this week

Before the shows of the week, congrats are in order to the minds behind the newest Houston music venue, The Rustic. Texas country star and venue co-founder Pat Green is set to preview the venue to industry insiders and VIPs at a grand opening show this Thursday, November 1, with the doors open to the public the next day. The Rustic will be a boon for music fans when any major event is in town, being centrally located in the heart of downtown, next to the George R. Brown Convention Center at 1836 Polk St.

Any new music space in Houston is a good thing, pointing towards growth and vibrancy in the local scene. We wish them all the best.

Meanwhile, here are your biggest, best, and most notable shows of the week in the Bayou City:

Christina Aguilera brings her voice
Xtina is back. A recent conversation on the Houston 97.5 FM's The Usual Suspects centered on why Christina Aguilera was booked to play a smaller venue like the Smart Financial Centre in Sugar Land when her name could carry weight in bigger venues like the Toyota Center. It's a valid question. A big reason is because Aguilera has taken the last five or so years to have a child, stepping away from the hit music TV reality series, The Voice, in the process. But you can't keep good pipes down for long. She’s on the comeback trail with this year’s album, Liberation, but it'll be worth the money to hear her many hits, including "Genie in a Bottle," "Beautiful," "Lady Marmalade," and "Dirty."

Christina Aguilera performs at the Smart Financial Centre at Sugar Land, located at 18111 Lexington Blvd. in Sugar Land, on Thursday, November 1. Big Boi opens. Tickets start at $29.50 plus service fees. Doors open at 8 pm.

CultureMap recommends: Spooks and scares with ATX bands
Two Austin faves will bring the spooky fun as indie-meets-electronica The Octopus Project and post-rockers Trail of Dead head down Highway 290 for a Halloween night show at White Oak. Both bands have gained cult followings, most notably Trail of Dead that found some success in the early-aughts on the trendy Interscope label. The Octopus Project is promoting last year’s Memory Mirror, while Trail of Dead hasn’t put out anything since 2014’s IX.

The Octopus Project and Trail of Dead play White Oak Music Hall, located at 2915 N. Main St., on Wednesday, October 31. New Fumes open. Tickets start at $15 plus a $6.57 service charge. Door opens at 7 pm.

She Wants Revenge at Scout Bar
“I wanna f**king tear you apart,” was all over the lips of alt-rock fans in 2006, as the Los Angeles duo She Wants Revenge climbed the charts with the catchy-as-hell “Tear You Apart,” the second best use of the f-word in a radio single (the other being the Nine Inch Nail classic, “Closer”). Unfortunately, the dark, Joy Division-indebted act was thrown into the buzz-bin with other also-ran bands of the time and couldn’t get much more traction following their self-titled debut, which is a shame, because This is Forever, and Valleyheart are decent slabs of chilly synth-rock.

She Wants Revenge is at Scout Bar, located at 18307 Egret Bay Blvd., on Thursday, November 1. Tessa Rae and The Radio Broadcast open. Tickets are start at $26 plus service fees. Doors open at 7 pm.

Bikers and hair metal at the Lone Star Rally
What do hair metal singers and bikers have in common other than the festishization of leather? They will both party down at the Lone Star Rally in Galveston this weekend. If you’re a biker, this is the must-attend event with 450,000 attendees expected — the second largest bike rally in the world — and a load of music throughout. That includes two of the once prettiest lead singers in hair metal in Mötley Crüe’s Vince Neil (Thursday night) and Poison’s Bret Michaels (Friday night), as well as a few dozen other performances.

The Lone Star Rally takes place from Thursday, November 1 through Sunday, November 4 on the historic Galveston Strand. Admission is free, but VIP packages start at $99 plus service fees. Bands start at 12:30 pm on Thursday, November 1.

CultureMap show of the week: Ed Sheeran
Not since the '70s has a guy and his guitar garnered such commercial acclaim as the ginger-haired pop star from England, Ed Sheeran. Only three albums in, including 2017’s massive ÷, and the guy is headlining stadiums and ball parks, following in the footsteps of his good friend, Taylor Swift. He’s huge among the pre-teen and teen set, reviled among those with any decent music taste. Good on him, though, for bringing Snow Patrol on tour, though. Sheeran practically stole his sound from the “Chasing Cars” act, in addition to others.

Ed Sheeran and his guitar play Minute Maid Park, located at 501 Crawford St., on Saturday, November 3. Snow Patrol open. Tickets start at $39 plus service charges. Gates open at 7 pm.

Lady Antebellum in Sugar Land
Mainstream country stars Lady Antebellum are familiar to Houston audiences. The Georgia-based act performed at RodeoHouston from 2009 to 2013, a decent run for any big country band. They are back, promoting their latest, 2017’s Heart Break, having just announced a Vegas residency for 2019 at the Palms Casino Resort.

Lady Antebellum perform at the Smart Financial Centre at Sugar Land, located at 18111 Lexington Blvd. in Sugar Land, on Saturday, November 3. Danielle Bradbery opens. Tickets start at $60 plus service fees. Doors open at 7 pm.

CultureMap recommends: International flavor at Karbach
What an interesting line-up at Karbach this weekend with the Spinal Tap-esque titled Foamhenge event on Sunday. The event will be headlined by Australian rockers, Wolfmother, who gained notoriety among hipsters in the mid-aughts for their unabashed love of AC/DC and Black Sabbath (songs “Joker & the Thief” and “Woman” are still marvelous). They’ll be joined by old-time Canadian rockers April Wine (your dad will love them!), Portland, Oregon’s stoner rock band Red Fang, '70s U.K, glam rockers The Sweet ("Ballroom Blitz" is the jam), and Stevie Ray Vaughn tribute band Texas Flood. Oh yeah, there will be lots of good beer too.

Karbach Foamhenge takes place at Karbach Brewery, located at 2032 Karbach St., on Sunday, November 4. Tickets start at $23 plus service charges. Doors open at 1:30 pm.

Don't you forget about... Simple Minds
Considered a one-hit wonder Stateside, Scottish band Simple Minds simply couldn’t top the success of the 1985 hit, “Don’t You (Forget About Me)” being surpassed by other, better bands such as Tears for Fears, Echo and the Bunnymen, and The Psychedelic Furs. But the Jim Kerr-led Minds have garnered attention from critics in recent years as being a group ahead of its time. They are on the road again after forming nearly 40 years ago, touring Walk Between Worlds. If you’re an '80s music fan, this is a show for you.

Simple Minds bring back the '80s at Revention Music Center, located at 520 Texas Ave., on Sunday, November 4. Tickets start at $39.50 plus service fees. Doors open at 7 pm.

New wave rockers Simple Minds perform at Revention Music Center on Sunday, November 4.

Photo courtesy of Simple Minds

New wave rockers Simple Minds perform at Revention Music Center on Sunday, November 4.

nightlife music column concerts

Movie Review

An all-star cast delivers clever laughs in new comedy The Invite

Photo courtesy of A24

Olivia Wilde, Seth Rogen, Penelope Cruz, and Edward Norton in The Invite.

Once upon a time, well before scandal embroiled him, Woody Allen made great comedies aimed at adults. That type of film — which is different from the raunchy, R-rated comedies of the 21st century — has fallen out of favor in Hollywood, but as the new film The Invite proves, when done well it can be as funny as anything else out there.

Joe (Seth Rogen) and Angela (Olivia Wilde) are an unhappily married couple living in San Francisco. As we meet them, Joe has arrived home to Angela preparing for a visit from their upstairs neighbors, Hawk (Edward Norton) and Piña (Penélope Cruz), who have moved in relatively recently. Their impending arrival starts a new round of arguing between Joe and Angela, something they can barely contain once the other couple comes to their door.

What proceeds is a getting-to-know-you process that is mostly awkward as Joe and Angela continue sniping at each other while Hawk and Piña put in their two cents in a much calmer manner. A sticking point between the two couples — the loud sex Hawk and Piña have on an almost nightly basis — turns the film on its head with an unexpected invitation.

Directed by Wilde and written by Will McCormack and Rashida Jones, the film is a fast-paced chamber piece that takes place almost entirely in Joe and Angela’s apartment. Wilde, the writers, and the actors speed the story along not with action but through almost non-stop dialogue that often has the characters overlapping each other’s lines. The rapidity of the speech fuels the humor of the situation and establishes the differing personalities of each person.

Sex is very much top of mind for each of the characters for most of the film, but the filmmakers approach the topic in such a way that it never feels salacious. Each of the characters is a rational adult who can talk about sex in a mature manner while also acknowledging their unique feelings on the matter. And it’s the discoveries each of them makes along the way that brings about the most comedy.

But, like any comedy for adults, the film also has a dramatic tilt to it, and Wilde edges the story back-and-forth between the two tones extremely well. Joe and Angela fighting is played for laughs at times, but the sadness of their relationship comes through loud and clear. Hawk and Piña are much more intimate with each other, but the funniness of their openness is juxtaposed with a depth that arises through their conversations.

In the 2020s, Rogen has managed to make the transition from goofy stoner to stoner with real acting chops. In a stacked cast, he is the one who sells every moment the best. That’s not to say that Wilde, Norton, and Cruz don’t measure up, though; each of them inhabits their respective roles magnificently. The four actors play off each other as if they had been working together for years.

While The Invite will likely play better to those who have experience with long term relationships, its insights — and occasional bawdiness — make it a comedy that can be appreciated universally. With four actors at the top of their games and a razor-sharp script made even better by some well-done improv, it proves that you don’t need to go low to get great laughs.

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The Invite is now playing in theaters.

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