Today's Friday Afternoon Video takes a trip down memory lane to 1989, when Madonna was at her peak -- both musically and artistically -- before the long, sad slide into The English Roses, Kabbalah and excess botox. Houstonist remembers the release of Like A Prayer as if it were yesterday: the haunting organ and gospel choir, her strikingly beautiful brunette hair in the video, the evocative images of a black Christ, and -- of course......

Houstonist plunked down some cash for a general admission ticket to see Kings of Leon Tuesday night in Houston. We braved event security, throngs of people and downtown parking to bring you these photos from last night's show! Leave us a comment and let us know if you'd like to see more concert shots on Houstonist.......

As soon as Journey hit it big in the early 1980s, one could see that it was only a matter of time before Steve Perry's mulleted head ballooned to enormous proportions and took off for a career of its own. As expected, Perry left the band in 1987 (with the bassist and drummer also fired at the same time) after recording their disappointing 1986 album, Raised On Radio. Journey's biggest hits had come from their......

The Vans Warped Tour is coming to town this Sunday, July 6th at Sam Houston Race Park. Since 1995, shoe manufacturer, Vans, has sponsored this all day music and extreme sports festival which in the past has boasted up to 100 bands in a single show. In 1998 the festival went international with dates in Europe, Japan, Australia and Canada. This year, on the Houston stop of this festival, over 40 bands will be......

Many, many moons ago, when most of our 11 readers were just in diapers or better yet, not even born, there was a mega concert event that occurred at various times in both Dallas and Houston called The Texas Jam. The Texas Jam was legendary with huge names in rock headlining an all day concert. That was then... Rock The Bayou is now! Rock The Bayou is going to be a four day event......

Love makes you happy. Happiness fuels good pop songs. This is probably why the husband and wife team, the core of Mates of State, seem to pull off the fun pop sound and great harmonies so naturally. The couple met over a decade ago, and their indie-pop fan base has grown with each album they’ve released. Securing opening slots for Death Cab for Cutie and Spoon a couple of years ago didn’t hamper their success,......

The Wainwright family isn’t lacking in talent. Singer/songwriter Loudon Wainwright III’s father was an editor and columnist for Life magazine, while two of his children, Rufus and Martha, are singer/songwriters themselves. (Loudon wrote a few songs about his kids, including the ironic breastfeeding song "Rufus Is a Tit Man".) Loudon Wainwright III is best known for his 70’s novelty hit “Dead Skunk,” but, novelty songs aside, his artistic abilities were more in-line with Bob Dylan......

Admit it. You were crying in your super-double-extra-metro frappuchino when you saw the post about the Bob Schneider show tonight, weren't you? "Why isn't Houstonist giving away tickets for that show?" you whined to your co-cuber. Well, we are. Win tickets by sending us an email (contest@houstonist.com) with the answer to this little question. Where was Bob playing the night that Allison flooded Houston? Hint: it's in Houston. You can always buy tickets if......

Three years ago, young Max Bemis and his band Say Anything [pictured] had us in stitches with the wickedly irreverent song, “Wow, I Can Get Sexual Too,” from their debut album, …Is a Real Boy. The boys have gone a bit Emo on their latest record, In Defense of the Genre, telling a sweeping epic love story over the span of a 26 song double-disc set. Say Anything’s tour in support of In Defense makes......

Ontario's Tokyo Police Club [pictured] became overnight post-punk sensations with their all-too-brief thrill, A Lesson in Crime EP. Fortunately for them, people took notice of the group’s brand of fuzzy garage rock and lead singer Dave Monk’s direct deadpan howl, and TPC scored a sweet record deal with Saddle Creek. Unfortunately for us, nearly two years went by with hardly any new music from the young band. Fans will soon get their fix though; TPC's......

Just about everyone that owns an electric bass guitar loves Les Claypool. The former front man for Primus created a distinguishable sound of his own a couple of decades ago, churning out huge 90's college radio hits like "Jerry Was A Race Car Driver" and "Wynona's Big Brown Beaver" (which isn't about Winona Ryder, but her image still pops in our head when we hear the song). These days, Les' biggest paycheck probably comes from......

Did we miss something? Let us know. Here’s the full week line-up. Local bands are noted by an asterisk (*): Wednesday • Billy Martin – experimental/jazz | 7:30 p.m. at Heinen Theatre (HCC Central campus) • Unseen/A Wilhelm Scream/The Krum Bums/Blackstar – punk/rock | 8 p.m.at Warehouse Live Thursday • A Show for Mike "Horace" Bly (feat: *The Octanes/*Opie Hendrix/*Les Means, more) – rockabilly/alt.country | 9 p.m.at Continental Club • Fu Manchu/Burning Brides/Max Cady......

We’ve got a busy week on the concert front. Our favorite duo from New York arrives at The Meridian tomorrow night. They Might Be Giants have been making quirky alt/pop songs for grown-ups over 20 years now, and a few albums for the kids that us grown-ups enjoy, too. Wilco’s Friday night show at Verizon Wireless Theater is sold out, but if you’re willing to pay a little, you can still get your hands......

:: Exiles in Paris Concert by Da Camera :: At the turn of the twentieth century, musicians, choreographers, writers and painters from all over the world converged in Paris and began sharing their work and ideas with each other with the goal of revolutionizing their artistic disciplines. (We at Houstonist are expecting the same thing to happen here at any moment.) Da Camera made a series of two concerts highlights the work of these......

Many artists make a living on the road, but few have been able to do it as successfully, and consistently, as Garrett Dutton. The Philadelphia native and his band, better known as G. Love & Special Sauce, have been churning out albums and have been known for their fantastic live shows for a decade and a half now. Their unique blend of rock, hip-hop, and blues, among other ingredients, has made them a crowd favorite.......

Did you hear? Radiohead is coming back to town. Despite the fact that most bands decide to skip our fair city in favor of others, Radiohead is bucking the trend (like they're so known for these days) and making yet another stop at Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion on Saturday, May 17. If you were like us, you might have slept through the Internet pre-sale held on Thursday. Apparently, though, people in Cincinnati love Houston......

Houstonist has a special place in our hearts for The Last Concert Cafe on Nance - it was the fabled "knock or you won't get in" mystery Mexican Restaurant of our mispent youth. The location of many nights of live music, cold beer and hot food. Now, we're asking Houston to help the fine folks there raise money in loving memory of their granddaughter Aubrie Kristine Acosta who succumbed to SIDS on January 12th at......

Many people love The Bravery, and why not? Their blend of rock, pop, electronic and retro style new wave keeps you on your feet. But don't count Brandon Flowers of The Killers as a fan. When The Bravery released their debut album a few years ago, Brandon claimed that the New York City based band was capitalizing on The Killers sound. Hmm ... I think there are some 80's bands that may say the same......

Bluegrass music is an acquired taste. But mix some Grateful Dead and Phish styling to it, you have something that’s a little bit more digestible: Jamgrass. That’s the best description of the band Yonder Mountain String Band. The band was formed ten years ago in Colorado, out of the ashes of founders Dave Johnston and Jeff Austin’s band Bluegrassholes (which is a great name, by the way – mass appeal all over it). Since then,......

It's Superbowl Sunday next week, and you know what that means... a ridiculously over-blown Halftime Show/pyrotechnic extravaganza!!! Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers are set to perform this year. Monday -CBS, 10:35pm: The Late Show with David Letterman, the Whigs -ABC, 11:05pm: Jimmy Kimmel Live, Wyclef Jean Tuesday -CBS, 12:05am: The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson, Deana Carter Thursday -CBS, 10:35pm: The Late Show with David Letterman, Colbie Caillat Friday -NBC, 7am: Today Show, Sheryl......

Reigning “Queen of Funk” Sharon Jones [pictured] and her band the Dap-Kings will perform tomorrow night at Walter’s on Washington. The soul revivalists are touring in support of their critically acclaimed album, 100 Days, 100 Nights, a gritty homespun recording of retro R&B that has proven to be the group's breakthrough moment. Everything about Jones and the Kings is retro; from the way they record their music on a sixteen track, to their heavy touring......

::Your Beat is Nice Tuesday:: Houston's got it's own Music Tuesday tonight with four chances to see our diverse music scene in action:a surviving grunge rocker, a Texas Marine, a mock-yeah-ing-yeah-bird-yeah Hollywood star, and a string quartet. Pick your poison. Foo Fighter at Toyota Center Dave Grohl and his fighets of Foo visit the Toyota Center tonight in support of their 2007 release Echoes, Silence, Patience & Grace. Having commemorated their tenth anniversary with a......

OneRepublic’s lead singer Ryan Tedder knows a thing or two about pop music. After all, we have him to thank (or to blame) for having written and produced hits sung by Hilary Duff, Ashley Tisdale, and Jennifer Lopez. But Tedder wrote a different formula for success when it came to his own band, opting to create melodic radio pop with a refined twist (when was the last time you heard a cellist on KRBE?) Myspace......

The year 2080 isn’t shaping up to be a very good one, and Brooklyn band Yeasayer [pictured] have chosen an interesting way of dealing with this ‘inconvenient truth.' They’ve written songs about it, pairing their anxieties concerning the distant future with far-reaching influences that the BBC calls a “cream-whipped mix of Fleetwood Mac, African highlife, Robert Wyatt, rebetika, Thomas Mapfumo, Neil Young, Tears For Fears and Aboriginal chanting.” Mp3: Yeasayer - 2080 But it isn't......

We have some bad news for you: Joe Mathlete is leaving Houston. Yes, it breaks our hearts too. Not only that, but he’s leaving us for Austin of all places (insert scoffs here) and for a job (inset secondary scoffs here). But our love for Joe and his antics far exceeds our sadness, which is why we’ll be at The Mathletes’ first (and supposedly) last show of 2008. Fresh off their killer set as The......

San Antonio rock band Girl in a Coma is set to play a show with The Cliks tomorrow night at Fitzgerald’s. The young band [pictured] has had a pretty charmed life thus far; legendary rocker Joan Jett signed the Girl(s) to her Blackheart Record Label, and the ladies have been tapped to go on tour early next year with their idol, Morrissey. It’s easy to see the reason for the band’s good fortunes. Lead singer......

A lighter week for concerts, but many home-state bred musicians are in town. Tomorrow night, we recommend San Antonio's Girl In A Coma, but if you prefer 90's rock, you might want to catch Dallas' The Toadies return to Verizon Wireless. Speaking of returns, Bandera's Robert Earl Keen brings his annual Christmas show to town Friday night. Saturday, Warehouse Live is hosting a few local bands, headlined by Million Year Dance. Not from Texas,......

::The Orange Show Concert Series presents Charalambides & Alasdair Roberts:: Bring on the folk artists! What we've come to know and love from the The Orange Show Center for Visionary Art, tonight continues to bring musical artists with unique creative visions to the intimate amphitheater of its namesake folk art environment. Austin-based favorites Charalambides return to their former hometown of Houston to play fan favorites from their nearly two dozen albums and new works from......

Filled up on turkey and dressing? Here's some event stuffing fer youse. add event to your Google Calendar view all events on the Houstonist Google Calendar [26 MONDAY]Double Feature: Monday Movies at MFA and Domy BooksMemories of Irving Berlin (last Monday)Bayou City Concert Musicals | doors at 7pm, ensemble Theatre ($20) [27 TUESDAY]Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison: book signing and discussion | 3pm, Barnes & Noble Town & Country (free)Rice Humanities Lecture: An Ordinary, Everyday......

::FREE MUSIC MONDAY!:: Yep, two chances today to catch free music from two great local music organizations. Did we mention FREE? Thought so. Just checking. If you're calling it an early day at the office, or happen to be hanging around the Rice University campus at 4:00pm today, stop on by Brown Hall (Room 113) to experience a treat for your ears (and brains---which is technically a part of your ears.) Rice University Shepherd School......