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......

From local Houston headlines, we bring you these weekend news bits... • A man crashed his car into a Sugar Land home on Lynnwood at Oak Wood early Saturday morning. No one in the home was injured and the driver is in the hospital in stable condition. • The Houston Livestock Show & Rodeo is 76 years old. • An 84 year old Puerto Rican man with dementia is missing after walking out of......

::World's Championship Bar-B-Que Contest:: Or something like that. The Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo's barbeque contest is happening this weekend and Houstonist thinks your tastebuds are as qualified as anyone's to make a judgement. Find yoiur favorite team or choose by the most appealing name on this listing and map of the area. Besides lots and lots of stuff from the grill, expect to find mucho live music to give you a smile for......

Hola, Houston. It's rodeo time. Everyone get happy. Throw ya hands in the air if you love Hannah Montana! Musical acts like Montana, rather the lack of Tejano acts on the rodeo bill, are just what have folks around Houston up in arms. Former State Senator Gonzalo Barrientos is calling for "friends across the whole great state of Texas not to attend the Houston livestock show, period." According to the ABC13.com story, the issue......

Nothing says "rodeo" quite like a manufactured Disney pop star, and the Houston Live Stock and Rodeo's organizers know that. That's why they booked Hannah Montana/Miley Cyrus for the March 9th slot in the program. The fact that having Hannah Montana on the bill is a sure-fire recipe for making parents' wallets hemorrhage probably played a role, too. For those of you who have offspring who are clamoring to see the show, but are unwilling......

From local Houston headlines, we bring you these weekend news bits... • An elderly woman was rescued by firefighters during a two-alarm fire at her southwest Houston condo Saturday morning in the 12000 block of South Dairy Ashford. • A 17 year old girl became trapped under a minivan after the vehicle crashed through the walls of her room in a southeast Houston apartment complex. The girl survived the incident virtually unscathed. • "The......

::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......

We're not going to beat around the bush here: we can't draw. Not a bit. It's embarrassing. The last time that our artwork was recognized as quality was in fifth grade, when we took 3rd place in a Rodeo-themed art contest with a crayon drawing of a ghost town. Really. But would we miss the opportunity to pick up a pencil and start sketching if it meant it was in a cabaret atmosphere? Aww, hell......

The Texans and the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo publicly stated opposition to the proposed redevelopment of the Astrodome into a hotel and convention center. Giving the reason that it would have negative effects on the Texans and the HLSR, spokesfolks didn't actually release details yet to back it up. Since the Astros' abandonment of the Astrodome, it has been tough to try to agree and finance good uses for it year-round. The hotel and......

Native Houstonian Sam Jones IV may not have a traditional route as to how he got his start in art, but it's definitely a unique story. The mixed media artist sat down and talked with us about his experiences growing up in Houston, and how living in the South has impacted his artistic career. You have a pretty "uniquely-Houston" story as to how you got your start in your art education. Most people don't......

If you didn't like the idea of our beloved Astrodome becoming a fancy hotel, then you won't be happy that a hotel plan is still in the works. The difference this time around, though, is that the new convention hotel will not incorporate the "historic" Texas themes which could have included an Alamo facade, faux courthouse, and a bunch of other corny things. The new plan, which doesn't yet have detailed renderings, opts for a......

Today’s Photo of the Day comes from flickr user and Houstonist photo contributor saroy. It's a flashback to the rodeo midway at sunset. This is a stunning image worthy of Photo of the Day. If you have a passion for Houston and photography, consider joining over 315 of Houston's best photographers in the Houstonist Flickr Photo Group. If Houstonist uses your photo for Photo Of The Day, submit it here. For more great photography......

Good morning, Houston. We don't mind telling you that we really have no love for cockroaches, but we do have a little bit more appreciation for the little critters after reading the Chronicle's interview with the Houston Museum of Natural Science's curator of entomology, Nancy Greig. "They're neat," Greig said. "Only 12 out of 4,000 are pests." Ah, well, good. But why are those 12 always in our apartment? >> Perry: We need more......

Local singer/songwriter Lee Alexander has been working the pub and wine bar scene for the last few years, and it’s paid off. His CD Out of Place was on many local critic’s “Best of 2006” list and has received several regional music nominations and awards. Alexander plays tonight at one of our favorite wine bars – The Corkscrew. They are hosting a new Monday evening acoustic set, which puts Lee Alexander right at home (and......

Houstonist joined over 70,000 rodeo fans and rock music lovers in Reliant Stadium last night for the Houston Livestock Show & Rodeo finale. This wasn't our first Houston Rodeo, but it was the first time Houstonist had attended with a rodeo nut. We were skeptical about arriving at 10:45 AM on a day when the main events did not commence until 3:45 PM. How were we to occupy our time until the stadium opened? Team......

Good morning, Houston. If there's one robot we've always been crazy about, it's the lovable R2-D2, veteran of all six Star Wars movies. And we're not the only people who like the little guy: This month, about 400 public mailboxes will be covered to look like R2-D2 to coincide with the release of a stamp marking the 30th anniversary of the original Star Wars. The USPS has even rolled out a flashy website as......

The Houston Livestock Show & Rodeo has announced that tonights performance featuring Rascal Flatts has been cancelled due to an illness of Gary LeVox, the lead singer. Clay Walker, along with Jack Ingram and Joe Nichols will be performing tonight. Unused tickets for tonights show purchased after January 8 will be refunded thorugh ticketmaster outlets and the Houston Livestock Show & Rodeo. Season ticket holders will not recieve a refund. Unused tickets can be......

Busy week for live music, thanks to SXSW and it's overflow of artists into Houston. Some of the showcases you can check out include Super Happy Fun Land's nightly extravaganza and Alternative Press brings you "Bands you Need to Know" on Friday at the Meridian. Proletariat and Walter's on Washington are just two other of the many venues hosting SXSW artists. We highly recommend checking out a few of these shows this week --......

Pat Green was chastised early for mocking other Texas country artists, most specifically Robert Earl Keen, but he accomplished a feat that those other musicians weren’t able to do – he broke into mainstream country nationally. This is the song that took him from Texas country music star to national hit-maker. Green’s popularity rose in the late 90’s, becoming a favorite in college towns and frat parties all over Texas. While his mentor, Robert......

Good morning, Houston. Even if you don't have a pizza pan with the Virgin Mary's silhouette on it, don't despair: You could still own a half-liter bottle of holy drinking water. The water is being marketed by a man in Stockton, Calif., who has the liquid blessed by Catholic and Anglican priests with plans to expand the line to other faiths as well. One warning: The water's label carries the note that sinners who......

It's official: The Police are coming to Houston (the Toyota Center, to be specific) on June 29th. Tickets go on sale this Saturday morning at 10 a.m. They'll go fast. Some big acts coming into town this week, starting with The Shins performance tonight at Verizon Wireless. For you pop.rock fans, you'll have to choose between Sheryl Crow's make-up rodeo performance and the Red Hot Chilli Peppers show at Toyota Center. G. Love &......

Thousands of Hannah Montana and Cheetah Girls fans left the two acts' Rodeo show Sunday disappointed: After the fourth song, a breaker blew in Reliant Stadium, leaving about 35 percent of the 73,000 people in attendance hearing distorted music. Officials got the system back up and running for most of the stadium by the time Montana was finished singing, but around 7 percent of the crowd — just over 5,000 people — still couldn't hear.......

Well, the rodeo is upon us, and while its making some Houstonians see hearts and stars others on Houston's Missed Connections are seeing red. Rodeo Cook-off Cab Line 2/23 What a magical evening. We met in the rodeo cook-off cab line at about 11:30 Friday night. Our eyes met as you and your butch friend unskillfully tried to cut the entire 45-minute line. I’m sorry if you thought I was rude when I called......

Spazmatics @ Sammy's What started as a summer engagement has become a Thursday night revolution in the Midtown area. On Thursday nights, The Spazmatics take over Sammy's and turn the Motown/Blues club into an all out eighties dance bar. Come Pretty in Pink or dressed for now, you will find both are suitable attire. The Spazmatics are a high energy eighties cover band that no only does amazing covers, but puts on a show all......

Good morning, Houston. We have two words to brighten up your day: obese squirrel. The squirrel in question got stuck in a hole in a tree in East Oak Cliff, Dallas, on Sunday — its head was inside the tree, but its rear end was left hanging. Wildlife rescue technician Joe Warner got the unfortunate animal free by sawing a hole around the squirrel, a process that took 45 minutes. All of which makes......

Before we get into this week's calendar, here are some upcoming concerts recently added that you may want to snag tickets for in advance: Charlie Sexton – 4/20 @ Warehouse Live Jimmy Buffet – 4/21 @ Minute Maid Park (on sale 3/3) Damien Rice – 5/8 @ Verizon Wireless (on sale 3/9) The Houston Livestock Show & Rodeo kicks off tonight. On tap this week at the HSL&R is George Strait, Los Lonely Boys,......

Congratulations, drivers! Now that you've survived the onslaught of trail riders you get to deal with road closures in the downtown area this weekend. Citizens, prepare your aneurysms! The HLSR Parade and Rodeo 10K & 5K are combining forces to hose up downtown streets as you attempt to carry out your early Saturday morning business, like picking up your wheels from the bar where you wrecked left it or making your way home from a......

Thousands are hitting the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo cook-off this weekend, and even more will be hitting Reliant Stadium on Tuesday when the event officially kicks off. Like he's done several other years, George Strait is the headlining act at the rodeo's opener. George Strait has been the most consistent hit-maker in country radio for the past 25 years. He has survived country music's ever-changing landscape by sticking to his own "no frills"......

The Houston Livestock Show & Rodeo is just days away, but the trail riders are pulling into town tomorrow. The HLSR Trail Ride began in 1952 as a publicity stunt with four cowboys. HLSR 2007 features 13 groups consisting of thousands of riders with some traveling hundreds of miles in the saddle. Those of you who like the cowboy way (no, not the crappy movie) should be able to catch an eyeful of traditional......

Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo to feature Food & Wine Extravaganza at Astrodome As Rodeo season approaches, and Houstonist pulls out our stiffest Stetsons, rugged Justin boots and tightest Wranglers, we look forward to an event that doesn't require carefully avoiding cow patties. And we're not talking burgers. The Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo international wine and food tasting extravaganza, Rodeo Uncorked! Roundup and Best Bites Competition, is back for 2007 and is set......