September 13, 2007

A Touch of Abilene at ACL

rocketboys.jpgAbilene rock band Homer Hiccolm and the Rocketboys won the "Sound and the Jury" contest Wednesday night at Austin's famous Antone's nightclub, scoring them a 45-minute gig at 11:45 a.m. Friday at the kick-off of Austin City Limits, a three-day music festival. Comprised of six Abilene Christian University students -- four alumni, two current -- the Rocketboys have steadily grown their fan base over the past several years, playing concerts both around town and the country.

The Rocketboys will play at 11:45 a.m. on the Dell Stage on Friday at Zilker Park. They'll also play at 9:45 p.m. Friday at the Dell Lounge After Party at The Mohawk, and again at 9:15 p.m. Saturday at Club Deville. If you're heading to ACL, be sure to stop by and show your support!

The official release party for the band's new EP, "Sing, Bird, Sing," will be 7 p.m. Sept. 27 at The GlassJar Studio, 233 Cypress, Abilene. For more information, check out the band's Myspace. com page at www.myspace.com/rocketboys.

September 12, 2007

That's my baby!

willow2.jpgI'd apologize for being away from this blog for so long, but I think I have a good reason: I've been watching "Willow." Yes, that "Willow." The one with Val Kilmer and Warwick Davis. It's the No. 1 most-rented film for the Abilene area on Netflix, and I'm so glad my fellow Abilenians share my fascination with Willow's quest to protect a child from the evil Queen-sorceress Bavmorda. There hasn't been much else to do, aside from killing crickets and trying not to be swept away by flood waters, so I, along with everyone else apparently, have turned to fantasy films to make the tedious last days of summer go by faster. Aren't we all the better for it?

Here's the rest of the Netflix most-rented list.

Local Favorites
1. Willow
2. Keeping the Faith
3. The Dukes of Hazzard: The Beginning
4. Nanny McPhee
5. Persuasion
6. Raising Helen
7. Are We Done Yet?
8. Unaccompanied Minors
9. Thr3e
10. Freedom Writers
11. Fantastic Four
12. Seraphim Falls
13. Yours, Mine and Ours
14. Unleashed
Danny the Dog
15. The Guardian
16. Flightplan
17. The Last Mimzy
18. Breach
19. Wild Hogs
20. Shooter
21. Norbit
22. The Night Listener
23. Ghost Rider
24. Disturbia
25. The Ant Bully


August 9, 2007

Wahlberg Watch

Mark Wahlberg is back in another crime drama, "We Own the Night," in theaters Oct. 12. Oh, and the film also stars Joaquin Phoenix and Robert Duvall. Can't wait.

August 8, 2007

The Coolest Thing You'll See Today

These Filipino prisoners are my heroes. I don't care about what they did to get in prison -- they've got skills.

August 7, 2007

Concert Calendar

Keen.jpgWhat do the following concert dates save one have in common? The acts are all country, and the concerts aren't in Abilene. If you love country music and live out in the Big Country, congratulations. Go see Robert Earl Keen (pictured) and enjoy life. I'll stay where I am, praying for something more along the lines of alt-country to make its way West.

Keep on keeping on, A-town.

Aug. 10 — Hawk Nelson/Chris Tomlin, Rock the Desert (Midland)
Aug. 14 — Jamie Richards, Backroads Bar ‘n’ Grill (Brownwood)
Aug. 16 — Robert Earl Keen, Birdsong Amphitheatre (Stephenville)
Aug. 24 — Marty Stuart, Birdsong Amphitheatre (Stephenville)
Aug. 25 — Todd Fritsch, Backroads Bar & Grill (Brownwood); Randy Rogers Band, City Limits (Stephenville)
Aug. 30 — Diamond Rio, Abilene Civic Center
Sept. 1 — Kevin Fowler/Aaron Watson, Taylor County Expo Center
Sept. 6 — Ricky Skaggs, Birdsong Amphitheatre (Stephenville)
Sept. 7 — Django Walker, City Limits (Stephenville)
Sept. 8 — Roger Creager, City Limits, Stephenville
Sept. 14 — Jack Ingram, Brownwood Reunion
Sept. 15 — John Michael Montgomery, Brownwood Reunion; Los Lobos, Sabor (Midland)
Sept. 22 — Walt Wilkins, City Limits (Stephenville); Jason Boland and the Stragglers, Melody Mountain Ranch (Stephenville)
Sept. 28 — Kevin Fowler, Lucy Park (Wichita Falls)
Oct. 6 — Grand Funk Railroad/Lee Roy Parnell, White Buffalo Bikefest, Snyder
Nov. 10 — Bobby Flores, The Stampede (Big Spring)
* All performances are subject to change.

The Wrong Stuff

98degrees.jpgIs it bad that I correctly guessed all of these boy bands? It's not like I listen to them -- or listened to them -- but when it comes to the backwash of pop culture, I apparently know my stuff.

OK, I liked a few N*SYNC songs in my youth. And a couple of Backstreet Boys tunes. I seek atonement. And friends.

On that confession, let's all remember the awesomeness of the Boys' "Everybody (Backstreet's Back)" music video:



August 2, 2007

Who Needs Kids When There Are Manatees to Love?

manatee.jpgAlec "Rude Thoughtless Little Pig" Baldwin loves animals -- manatees to be precise. He loves them so much, he's made two 30-second PSAs for the Save the Manatee Club to help make Floridians more aware of the plight of the aquatic mammals/"Family Guy" writers. It's good to see him using his celebrity for good, especially when NBC needs its "30 Rock" star to appear like he's not a creep. Baldwin isn't new to promoting his love for manatees, so this probably isn't a publicity stunt. Probably. But why does he care so much for giant sea mammals and not, say, his own flesh and blood? My guess is he was just having a bad day last April. Maybe.