Best December Concerts

10 under-the-radar concerts rocking intimate Houston clubs in December

The concert schedule generally follows the weather forecast.

Once the chill sets in around the holiday season, national and international artists slow their touring schedule as ticket buyers are more excited about Santa Claus coming to town. However, this gives Houston’s many local venues a chance to spotlight a seemingly bottomless magical sack of talented musical acts from across the region.

For those who need a break from the bustling Christmas shopping crowds or stressful family gatherings, these upcoming performances are worth checking out at some of the Bayou City’s more intimate and classic clubs, bars, and theaters.

Girl in a Coma, December 6, Last Concert Café
Inspired by The Smiths’ song “Girlfriend in a Coma,” San Antonio rock trio Girl in a Coma – frontwoman/guitarist Nina Diaz, sister Phanie Diaz (drums) and Jenn Alva (bass) – recently returned from an extended hiatus and are back on the road. They first got their big break when they were discovered by Joan Jett, who signed them to her Blackheart Records label in the late-aughts. A mix of riot girl attitude and undeniable hooks led to acclaimed albums such as their debut, Both Before I'm Gone, building a devoted cult following with Sia, Tegan and Sara, and the original Smith, Morrissey, among their champions.

Hayes Carll & Band of Heathens, December 7 & 8, The Heights Theater
Two acclaimed Texas favorites, The Woodlands-raised Hayes Carll and Austin’s Band of Heathens, join forces for two shows at the intimate Heights Theater. For fans of rock, folk, country, and soulful blues anthems, this supergroup built their relationship by sharing stages across the course of a decade. The idea to team up came back in October 2023, when the musicians got together for a “freewheeling family jam” in Luckenbach, Texas, culminating in plans to bring their musical union to the masses.

Hey Thanks! with Holy Worm, Letrainiump, December 7, 1810 Ojeman
The expressively named New Orleans band Hey Thanks! made waves in 2022 with their debut album, Start/Living, recalling upbeat pop, emo, and indie acts like Fall Out Boy, Walk the Moon, and a dash of My Chemical Romance. The former Warped Tour vets are covering the indie circuit having just released the chillwave-sounding single, “Forward,” with surely more music on the horizon.

Troller, Gleaming, Monochrome Lover, December 7, Axelrad
[Update: This concert has been postponed.] For those who prefer Krampus to Santa Claus, Dark Entries heralds in a black Christmas at the monthly goth, post-punk, new wave, and synth night at Axelrad. This month’s edition features Austin darkwave and shoegaze-indebted trio Troller, who recently released a synth-drenched cover of the Smashing Pumpkins’ “Today,” following their 2023 album, Drain. Austin's Gleaming and Houston’s Monochrome Lover opens.

Tomar and the FCs with Tweed Smith and The Internationals, December 14, Dan Electro’s
An Austin band and Houston favorite, Tomar and the FCs are a soul group that brings the requisite passion to their live performances. In a special treat, they’ll be joined at Dan Electro’s by the legendary Tweed Smith, former backup singer to the band WAR, who knows a thing or two about the world of funk and soul music. With a reputation as a fiery live presence, expect a show with an unmeasurable amount of Yuletide joy.

Dawes, December 14, Heights Theater
Although not from the Bayou City, the Los Angeles group Dawes has a strong following here due to their critically acclaimed Laurel Canyon-influenced Americana and folk rock. Led by the buttery-voiced Taylor Goldsmith, they’ve just released another great album in Oh Brother. Prepare for the show by watching Goldsmith perform this stripped back, acoustic version of the quintessential Britpop anthem, Pulp’s “Common People,” for AVClub.com. Winnetka Bowling League opens.

Robert Glasper, December 17, House of Blues
One of the best parts about the holidays is when some of our finest talent performs in their hometown. A man with more creativity in his pinky finger than a roomful of musicians combined, Mo City-raised genius Robert Glasper is a five-time Grammy Award-winning jazz pianist, producer, and songwriter who has worked with a who’s-who across the worlds of jazz, pop, R&B, and hip-hop, including Kendrick Lamar, H.E.R., Norah Jones, Herbie Hancock, and Talib Kweli. Taking a break from his many projects for this solo gig, the vibes will go hard.

A Fistful of Soul, December 21, The Continental Club
Get on those dancing shoes. Once a long-running monthly series, the DJs behind A Fistful of Soul return to the Continental Club for one special night to celebrate their 15th anniversary as arguably the best Motown-era soul, old school R&B, funk dance party in Houston, mixed and spun on vinyl records. Over the course of its run, the night attracted international soul night DJs from as far away as Mexico City, Scotland, and England to participate in one of the most unique – and fun! – dance nights in the region.

Tony Kamel, December 26, McGonigel’s Mucky Duck
Another in a long line of talented local singer-songwriters, Tony Kamel will play up close and personal at the famed Mucky Duck, a mix of bluegrass, country, rock, and soul in his repertoire. Need proof of this his chops? His 2019 album, North of Despair, was nominated for a Best Bluegrass Album Grammy. If you like your music gritty but clever – think Jason Isbell and Sturgill Simpson – Kamel delivers it in spades with a wink and a grin.

Toadies, House of Blues, December 29
Despite being 30 years since their groundbreaking alt-rock smash record, Rubberneck, this ain’t no nostalgia gig. Fort Worth’s Toadies still go hard in a live setting, and Houston’s House of Blues has been playing host to the quartet at the end of every year from recent memory, give or take a pandemic. Not that we’re complaining – a group that releases bangers such as “Possum Kingdom,” “Tyler,” and “I Come From the Water,” deserves to celebrate the oncoming new year with us as long as they like.

Girl in a Coma/Facebook

San Antonio rock band Girl in a Coma returns to Houston at the Last Concert Café on December 6.

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.

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

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