Live Music Now

These are the 5 best concerts in Houston this week

RodeoHouston is right around the corner, which usually means a dip in larger shows coming through town. Thankfully, rock and hip-hop fans will be satiated with some big name acts before Houston goes all boots and saddles for three weeks, kicking off with a powerhouse multiple Grammy Award winner next Monday.

CultureMap's best, biggest, and most notable shows of the week are:

CultureMap show of the week: Muse
Monster British rock trio Muse got off to a slow start. First compared to Radiohead upon their debut album, Showbiz, in 1999, they made a small dent on the U.K. charts and barely a blip in the U.S. But a tour slot on the 2004 Curiousa Festival bill alongside heavyweights The Cure and a fantastic album, Absolution, started their ascent, eventually culminating in albums and singles placing near or at the top of the U.S. charts and multiple headline festival slots, solidifying them as one of the best live acts in the world.

Critics may not love them, but there is no denying that Muse can seduce audiences like few other bands with their mix of glam, prog rock, and Queen-like theatrics. This is a can’t miss performance for any rock fan with the group having eight albums to pull a truckload of great tunes from, the latest being 2018’s Simulation Theory..

Muse takes over Toyota Center, located at 1510 Polk St., on Friday, February 22. Tickets start at $39.50 plus fees. Doors open at 6:30 pm.

Meek Mill at Revention
Philly rapper Meek Mill’s career started out promising enough, his debut album, Dreams and Nightmares, reaching No. 2 on the charts. But his long list of run-ins with the law meant that he missed out on possibly millions of dollars in recordings and touring time. But his legal woes seemed to up the spotlight. Following the latest release from prison last year, Mill released his latest album, Championships, which went straight to No. 1, and he was invited to perform on Saturday Night Live. Unfortunately, this show is sold out with the only hopes of getting in the resale ticket market, but the hype is strong with this one.

Meek Mill is at Revention Music Center, located at 520 Texas Ave., on Saturday, February 23. Tickets start at $85 plus fees on the resale market. Doors open at 7 pm.

John Oates at Heights Theater
One-half of the classic ’80s group, Hall and Oates, John Oates is mostly known for his guitar work in that duo, but he’s also an underrated singer. While his first group was a going concern throughout much of the ’80s, Oates spread his wings in the early-2000s with a solo career, producing five albums under his own name. The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee is touring behind 2018’s Arkansas, which is much more influenced by blues, jazz, and gospel than the pop music of his early career.

John Oates performs at the Heights Theater, located at 339 W 19th St., on Saturday, February 23. Vanessa Peters opens. Tickets start at $24 plus a $6 service charge. Doors open 7 pm.

Cypress Hill at HOB
Cypress Hill rose to fame in the early-’90s, speaking to a generation of suburban kids with the group’s undeniably catchy melodies and off-the-wall lyrics a la nasal voiced B Real. Singles “How Could I Just Kill a Man,” and “Insane in the Brain” pervaded U.S. youth culture before harder-edged gangster acts shuffled Hill’s stoner-rap to the sidelines. But nostalgia being a powerful motivator and ticket seller, Cypress Hill is back on the road, promoting their latest album, 2018’s Elephants on Acid, sticking largely to their sticky-icky rap playbook.

Cypress Hill lights up the House of Blues, located at 1204 Caroline St., on Sunday, February 24. Hollywood Undead open. Tickets start at $34.50 plus fees. Doors open at 6:30 pm.

CultureMap recommends: Kacey Musgraves
When CultureMap spoke to Jason Kane, managing director of entertainment for the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo, at the annual RodeoHouston artist line-up announcement in January, he said Kacey Musgraves had been on his radar as a possible performer for the last few years.

Then she released the critically and commercially acclaimed, Golden Hour. Kane smartly booked the crossover country-pop star to open RodeoHouston festivities and she went on to win four Grammy Awards, including Best Album. Other than Cardi B (set to perform at Rodeo Houston on March 1), no other star is going supernova like Musgraves is right now.

Kacey Musgraves opens RodeoHouston at NRG Stadium, located at 1 NRG Pkwy., on Monday, February 25. Tickets start at $20 plus fees. Doors open at 6:45 pm.

The massive British rock band Muse is at Toyota Center on Friday, February 22.

Photo by Danny Clinch

The massive British rock band Muse is at Toyota Center on Friday, February 22.

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Movie Review

Kieran Culkin and Jesse Eisenberg deliver comedy with depth in A Real Pain

Photo courtesy of Searchlight Pictures

Kieran Culkin and Jesse Eisenberg in A Real Pain.

Comedy film duos have a long history, from Laurel and Hardy in the 1920s and ‘30s to Tina Fey and Amy Poehler in movies like Baby Mama. But the majority of duos have either been friends or work partners, relationships that can be close, but not as close as family. The new film A Real Pain aims for the comedy that a great duo can bring, but hits deeper because the two lead characters are related to each other.

Benji (Kieran Culkin) and David (Jesse Eisenberg) are first cousins who decide to take a trip to Poland to visit the childhood home of their grandmother, who has recently passed. Their personalities could not be more different, with David buttoned-down and reserved and Benji extremely social, if a little wild. This contrast is on display from the moment they leave on their trip, affecting almost every aspect of their journey.

The two meet up with a diverse tour group in Poland, including guide James (Will Sharpe), recently divorced Marcia (Jennifer Grey), married couple Mark (Daniel Oreskes) and Diane (Liza Sadovy), and Eloge (Kurt Egyiawan), an African man who has converted to Judaism. As the group visits various historical sites, David confronts contrasting feelings about Benji, who goes from charming to abrasive seemingly at the drop of a hat.

Written and directed by Eisenberg, the film is about both the family we have and the history of those who came before us. With Benji and David being Jewish and their grandmother having escaped from the Nazis in World War II, the themes hit harder than they might in other situations. Eisenberg takes care to honor his Jewish ancestors both in the way he has Benji and David talk about their grandmother and the places they visit.

But even though emotions are heightened due to the significance of the trip, the film is far from a dour affair. Benji keeps things interesting at almost all times with a series of impulsive decisions, many that are entertaining for both the tour group and the audience watching the film. He is one of those film characters that is great to watch on screen, but would likely be too much to handle if you were confronted with him in real life.

The relationship between Benji and David is a complicated one; the two obviously have love for each other, but they rarely see eye-to-eye on the best way to approach certain situations. This tension keeps the film grounded, and Eisenberg does a great job at showing the push-and-pull the two cousins have with each other. The little moments, especially when Benji and David go their separate ways, say a lot as the characters try to reconcile where each is at in their respective lives.

Eisenberg has always been an understated performer, so this role is almost perfect for him. Culkin, fresh off his Emmy-winning role in HBO’s Succession, is an ideal foil for Eisenberg, as he has a manic energy that he can control or not control at will. It’s also nice to see Grey in action again, as she brings just the right touch to her supporting role.

The drama in A Real Pain comes from the life experiences of its two main characters, which are on full display despite the story only doling out details in small doses. The film is subtle yet powerful, a testament to Eisenberg’s filmmaking ability and the actors never trying to make too much of their scenes.

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A Real Pain opens in theaters on November 15.

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