Americans are traveling again. Whoo boy are they. According to the Bureau of Transportation Statistics, air travel is now back to pre-pandemic levels, and if you’ve taken a flight recently, you know it’s a crowd scene at many airports around the world. country. Orlando, the home of the mouse, is the most popular national destination this holiday season, with Seattle, Honolulu, New York, Los Angeles, Boston and Denver topping the list. If, however, you’re doing the staycation thing, here are some ideas for getting out and about in H-Town this week.
There’s a 1976 poster hanging in my house announcing an upcoming issue of rolling stone with the Beatles on the cover. The copy reads, “Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! And you know it can’t be bad! The same could be said of tonight’s concert, Classical Mystery Tour: A Tribute to the Beatles, at the Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion. Four costumed musicians playing Liverpool mops will join the Houston Symphony for an exploration of ‘Yesterday’, ‘Penny Lane’, ‘I Am the Walrus’ and more, Beatles songs that stray from basic instrumentation rock and roll. Best of all, the concert is free, with no tickets required. Head to the pavilion and see if these guys can take on Houston’s Fab 5. This will be a big challenge. Hmm, what about a group battle?
If you are looking for musical intensity, head to Mucky Duck, which will host Two tons of steel Friday. Since 1997, San Antonio’s Kevin Geil has been at the forefront of this unique collision of country and punk, constantly perfecting a live show that’s guaranteed to glue your ears back together. Two Tons’ cover of The Ramones’ “I Wanna Be Sedated” is definitely something to behold, not to mention their version of Van Halen’s “Ice Cream Man.” And if you dig that, you’ll have a fun, steamy, psychobilly time. But this is no joke, no Dr. Demento-style laugh fest. This is the real deal. Two guitars, a double bass and a drum set. Count it and roll it!
Although he lived in Seattle for a time, the great guitarist Ian Moore still like to come back to Texas every year for birthday concerts. This year, its Houston stop will be at the Heights Theater on Friday. Moore grew up in Austin, going out to listen to music with her parents from a young age. After rising to fame with a stint in Joe Ely’s band in the early ’90s, Moore shot to rock radio stardom with singles like “Muddy Jesus” and “How Does It Feel?” Not only that, he has opened for many of his idols including ZZ Top, the Stones and Bob Dylan. With those years of stardom hunting behind him, Moore pretty much plays whatever he wants these days, and that seems to be doing just fine with his loyal Texas fans. Stevie Ray Vaughan himself said to a young Moore, “You’re going to be compared to me. You must have your own voice and you must trust it. And so he has.
Sum 41 has always been an eclectic outfit, incorporating elements of rock, metal, thrash and punk into their material. But don’t call them a “punk” band. As guitarist Dave Baksh explains, “We just call ourselves rock. It’s easier said than punk, especially around all those fucking kids who think they know what punk is. Something which was based on no rules has probably one of the strictest fucking rules”. rulebooks around the world. As a tip of the hat to “South Park,” Sum 41 dubbed their current tour “Blame Canada,” stopping this Sunday at the House of Blues, co-headlining with Simple Plan.