Are you outside the loop, like way outside the loop...say for instance, Conroe, Spring or The Woodlands maybe? Well if you answered yes to any of those questions, head over to Dosey Doe's on Saturday for a night of great music. The Swan Kings will headline the show but they will also feature Ryan From The Shire (short with hairy feet maybe?) and the flamenco musical stylings of Jorge Dahnke, who we agree would......

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......

Can't decide what to do for the Fourth of July and upcoming three-day weekend? Don't know which Independence Day scene is quite right for you? Don't worry, patriots: Houstonist is here to help. Freedom Over Texas For the traditionalist in you, the City of Houston will hold its annual Freedom Over Texas event at Eleanor Tinsley Park in downtown. Sponsored by Chevy, you can all but count on the attendance of truck-owners and NASCAR fans.......

From local Houston headlines, we bring you these weekend news bits......

Good morning, Houston. If you've ever been driving around in the 'burbs and wondered who names the streets, well, it just might be someone like Susan Vreeland-Wendt, who the Chronicle's Nancy Sarnoff interviewed yesterday. Vreeland-Wendt, marketing director for The Woodlands Operating Co., has come up with more than 1,600 names for roads, parks and neighborhoods in The Woodlands in the last 20 years. Turns out she gets inspiration from all kinds of places: paint......

Good morning, Houston. Suppose you're trying to keep up with piles and piles of government reports. How can you tell when there are too many? Simple: You ask for a report, of course. That's what the Texas State Library and Archives Commission did — and in a 668-page report, the commission has declared that the state is over-reported. The commission looked at more than 170 state agencies and universities and found more than 1,600......

Good morning, Houston. We suppose Tex-Mex is finally official: The New York Times wrote about it yesterday in an article that looked at famed Mexican joints in Houston, Dallas and San Antonio. "Neon signs flicker above pastel storefronts promising excellent Mexican food in virtually every block of the city," the Times' Joe Drape writes of Houston. "The trick is to figure out which places will deliver on that promise." Indeed. Drape visited El Jardin......

When The Woodlands native Hayes Carll first garnered regional press with his 2002 album Flowers and Liquor, we were afraid that he was going to be another local boy trying to sell out to the Nashville country hit-making machine. However, Hayes isn't one to forgo his gift for great songwriting just to have hits on copycat country radio. He has stayed true to himself and his music, and has been compared to the "Bob......

So many good shows this week, that we don’t have enough space to highlight all of them. Tonight, our pick is the pure pop sounds of Office tonight at The Mink (congratulations to Cynthia for winning tickets through us!). Singer/songwriter fans will have a touch choice Thursday night – Ryan Adams makes a rare Houston appearance at Verizon Wireless and former Toad the Wet Sprocket front man Glen Phillips plays two shows at the......

For the past decade, the Dave Matthews Band summer concerts have become a tradition. Dave and his band come to The Woodlands tonight, with Texas country singer/songwriter Robert Earl Keen opening (sounds like a strange opening act for the band to pick, but with Keen’s move to a more eclectic sound lately, we guess it’s not really that strange). Earlier this month, Dave Matthews released this solo single and video “Eh Hee” (exclusively available......

How does a band with "Church" in its name end up playing more dive bars than youth groups? That's what we set out to discover in our conversation with The Woodlands-based group The Church of Philadelphia. Their sound is evocative of some of the big names in indie rock and Americana, and ranges from foot-stomping hoe-downs to hauntingly dreary dirges. Houstonist had the opportunity to sit down with members Brian Tharpe and Joey Matthews (they......

This weekend, the Chronicle took a look at the political donation patterns of different areas of Houston — and though there weren't really any surprises, it's interesting to see exactly who's giving how much to whom. The most money, as you might expect, is coming from the neighborhood with the most money: Residents of the 77019 ZIP code, in River Oaks, gave the most political donations of anyone in the Houston area in the first......

One of our favorite English bands are in town tonight: Gomez. Unfortunately, they'll only play a short set, since they are one of two opening acts for The Fray at Cynthia Mitchell Woods Pavilion in The Woodlands. We're trying to decide if we're going to brave the traffic and heat or hold-out for another headlining tour. We had a tough time deciding which video to air. We could have posted the video for the......

We really wish Gomez was performing a headlining show here, but we have to settle with them just being an opening act for The Fray (along with Eisley) this Friday night in The Woodlands. However, Gomez is playing a stand-alone show Saturday night in Austin, if you're lucky enough to find tickets for it. Some veteran Houston acts play around town this week. Beaumont's Clay Walker will perform after the races at Sam Houston......

No, it's not by driving as fast as we can around loop 610, but it does include city-wide celebrations, all hoping for the same thing: No rain. Here are a few of the events we'll be checking out tomorrow. Where will you be? Tell us, maybe we'll ditch our plans and join you. But probably not. >>Freedom Over Texas Festival Houston's Official 4th of July Celebration. Chevy presents a concert and Independence Day celebration at......

Star-Spangled Salute with the Houston Symphony Why not get this week's festivities started early? And if ever we will suggest you driving OTB, it would be on a day where you can recover from the drive the day after. Tonight, the Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion hosts "Star-Spangled Salute" with the Houston Symphony. This patriotic concert features "God Bless America," "Casey at the Bat" narrated by legendary Houston Astros player and former coach Larry Dierker, "Orange......

We were kind of interested last week when we noticed the story of Frederic "Ric" Brame, the 72-year-old dance instructor who is facing a charge of sexual assault of a child. Brame, who taught dance in Montgomery County, allegedly began assaulting a former student when she was 12 or 13 years old — but that wasn't all: Investigators say that, for years, Brame has pretended to be noted movie and Broadway dancer Tommy Rall. And......

Back in January, B.B. King had to cancel two shows at the Grand 1894 Opera House in Galveston at the last minute while he was rushed to UTMB for flu symptoms. We're glad to have him back: his make-up shows are this Thursday and Friday night in Galveston. John Mayer and Ben Folds play a double bill in The Woodlands on Saturday. Australian rock band Wolfmother hits Warehouse Live on Sunday. The best bet......

Yep, it's already time to start wining again. Fortunately, someone thought ahead and planned a whole week of winofun!!! Except... it's in The Woodlands. But, it's kind of every Houstonian's responsibility to make sure we keep an eye on our corporate northwesternly neighbor. Bummer for drive time, yes. But just think of the wine and food that await you at The Woodlands' Wine and Food Week 2007! Wine and Food Week 2007 starts today, June......

Four-day work weeks screw us up, too -- which is why you're seeing the concert calendar on Wednesday. It doesn't matter though, there are still plenty of good shows left to see this week. Two really good shows to choose from tomorrow night: Strokes guitarist Albert Hammond, Jr. will hit Warehouse Live, while local favorites The Scattered Pages will provide your coffee sipping entertainment at Brasil. Friday night, hit one of the best intimate......

Looks like The Woodlands is a step closer to being a real city: On Tuesday, the state Senate approved a piece of legislation that will give The Woodlands the ability to extend a sales and property tax district throughout the community. If it's approved by Gov. Rick Perry, the bill could lessen the property tax burden of Woodlanders Woodlandites Woodlandonians Woodlands residents. The bill, along with one Perry signed last week enabling The Woodlands to......

Good morning, Houston. Do you love trees? Well, you're in luck: Today happens to be Love a Tree Day. Houstonist has something of a soft spot for trees ourselves — we've often enjoyed their shade, climbed their branches and even skied into one or two — and so we wholeheartedly endorse showing a little tree love today. Don't have a tree to lavish your attention on? No problem: Join Trees for Houston and help......

Halliburton's last shareholder meeting in Houston before moving its offices to Dubai is tomorrow, May 16, and for some, this is cause for a party/protest. If you're up early at the Woodlands Resort and Conference Center, expect to find a giant money bag pinata stuffed with Hallibacon bucks, along with noisemakers, confetti, balloons, and many, many shareholders. Partyer/protesters are asked to arrive in business finery, with champagne to toast Halliburton's farewell. Houstonist hopes that......

Great week to check out some of our favorite local acts. Ragged Hearts on Wednesday night, Lanky on Thursday, and Orange Is In on Friday. Also, Super Happy Fun Land is back open again, after a week of spring cleaning, and their calendar is full of new local and national artists. Sure, the big show this week is Gwen Stefani, but we're going to skip the trek out to The Woodlands and see the......

Here are some upcoming shows that were recently announced: Norah Jones – 6/12 @ Jones Hall Dave Matthews Band/Robert Earl Keen – 9/21 @ Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion The highlight of the week has to be indie-band Clap Your Hands Say Yeah's show Thursday night at Warehouse Live. However, some of the graying crowd may prefer the combo of Chicago and Kool & the Gang in The Woodlands on Friday (and we wonder how......

The HISD board is expected to consider a resolution this week asking the state Legislature to scrap the TAKS test in favor of year-end exams in core subjects. Legislators have been discussing the testing change for weeks, and we're sure the support of the state's largest school district wouldn't exactly hurt the push for a TAKS-free state. Teachers and parents have criticized the TAKS for years, saying too much rides on the test and that......

So, have you heard the one about the guy who went chasing his prized pet bird, got stuck 60 feet up in a pine tree and had to be rescued by a Coast Guard helicopter? Good story — and it happened right here. The bird was Geronimo, an Umbrella Cockatoo; the tree was in Porter; and the man was William Hart, a roofer. Hart said Geronimo flew out the window of his house around 4......

Something we missed last week that should be of interest to those of us who don't really care for getting traffic tickets: Legislation on its way through the state Legislature would relax a state law that makes it illegal to cover any part of a license plate. The law, which the Legislature passed in 2003, outlawed covering any part of a license plate. It was a response to the problem of people breezing through automated......

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......

Start spreading the news: Emirates Airlines has chosen Houston Intercontinental as its second North American destination for direct flights to and from Dubai. Starting in early December, the flight will be Emirate's longest at a comfy 17 solid hours from the UAE to Houston. If you're looking for extremely luxurious living that's only a slightly longer commute than The Woodlands, this could be the beginnings of your next exurb. This news should also come......