Hijacking your Saturday night

Carlos detains a crowded theater's attention for 5.5 hours

The film makes Carlos the Jackal look like a hero of the people, but historyargues he is a horror to the masses.
Carlos makes kidnapping OPEC oil ministers in 1975 look like a total breeze.
If you're not careful, Carlos the Jackal will hijack your entire night.
The film paused for two intermissions and kept audience members in captivityuntil midnight.
Ilich Ramirez Sanchez, a.k.a. Carlos the Jackal stands trial in 2011 forcriminal charges.
Edgar Ramirez bears a striking resemblance to the original gangster.

The Brown Auditorium Theater was packed Saturday night for the third viewing of Carlos (2010), a five-and-a-half hour epic on modern terrorism.

The film tells the story of the revolutionary terrorist Illich Ramírez Sánchez, a.k.a Carlos the Jackal, famously known for the 1975 OPEC kidnapping of oil ministers in Vienna. French filmmaker Olivier Assayas, managed to hold the auditorium’s full attention well into the first intermission.

Houstonians sat on the edge of their seats as Édgar Ramírez resurrected scenes of airport shootings, torturous romances and bank bombings. It was only after the second intermission around 10 p.m. when a small helping of audience members decided to call it quits.

The film, originally intended and created as a mini-series for television audiences, comes out in perfect timing — right before the Oscars and a couple of months before the Jackal’s pending trial date set for 2011.

An internationally friendly film, Assayas’ feature is set in at least 16 countries and speaks in five different languages. In one scene, the Jackal, Venezuelan-born, shoots at some Stasi policemen stalking his operations in Hungary and mutters “babosos,” (Spanish for “slobbering idiot”) — a line that released laughter from a diverse crowd of committed audience members.

Only in Houston, right?

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jon pardi review

Jon Pardi’s rockin’ performance has RodeoHouston fans Head Over Boots

RodeoHouston/Facebook

Jon Pardi performed three new songs at RodeoHouston.

California cowboy Jon Pardi took Houstonians to the honky tonk on Thursday, March 13 at NRG Stadium, punctuating his 16-song set with enough pyrotechnics and fireworks to politely singe the pearl snap shirts and straw cowboy hats in the expensive seats.

This was Pardi’s third trip to RodeoHouston, following up his 2022 and 2023 appearances. He’s well on his way to becoming a rodeo season staple.

Pardi’s fifth studio album, Honkytonk Hollywood, drops on April 11. The lead singles build upon the ‘70s Sunset Strip country sound he began to tease on 2022’s Mr. Saturday Night, full of big drums, arena rock choruses, fuzzed-out fiddles, and steel guitars.

Kicking off the night with the “Honkytonk Hollywood,” Pardi offered fans a taste of the Tom Petty via Bakersfield Sound he’s laying down right now.

“Mr. Saturday Night” is a sturdy bar fly ballad that wouldn’t have been out of place on a late ‘70s Eagles album, like “Desperado” with a Red Bull chaser.

It may have been Thursday night, but the rodeo party crowd knows it’s just the unofficial kickoff to the weekend. Pardi understood the assignment, reminding the crowd that NRG’s bars were still open before launching into “Fill ‘Er Up.”

The brand-new “Friday Night Heartbreaker” features three Southern-rock guitars and a stuttering drum beat. Pardi injected “What I Can’t Put Down” with a splash of grunge, betraying his starched jeans and shirt. “Love The Lights Out” has a streak of textbook Conway Twitty raunch dressing but keeping things a tasteful Nashville PG-13.

The country dancehall staple “Head Over Boots” brought the biggest roars of the night, with fans casually two-stepping in the aisles and hoisting sweaty beer cans in the spotlights.

Easily the catchiest confection of Pardi’s decade-long career, the tune sent the crowd off into the night before he mounted his trusty horse Link for a trot around the stadium dirt.

Setlist

Honkytonk Hollywood (New)
Mr. Saturday Night
Last Night Lonely
Fill ‘Er Up
Your Heart Or Mine
Friday Night Heartbreak (New)
What I Can’t Put Down
Cowboy Hat
Love The Lights Out (New)
She Ain’t In It
Beer Can’t Fix
Dirt On My Boots
Heartache Medication
Heartache On The Dancefloor
Night Shift
Head Over Boots

rodeohouston concert review jon pardi