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Tag: White Oak Music Hall

  • Best Of Houston® 2025: Best Music Festival – Houston Press

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    Best Music Festival: Hell’s Heroes

    Devil horns up for the best music festival in Houston, Texas, the all-out assault metal fans here and abroad know as Hell’s Heroes. The event began as a single-day offering to the metal gods back in 2018, survived a global pandemic and kept rocking, bringing fans of the genre from far off to Houston for bills packed with local, national and international acts which span generations.

    The festival has grown over the years, from the indoor rooms at White Oak Music Hall, its perennial home, to the concert hall’s spacious outdoor lawn. Its eighth edition has already been announced for March 2026 and will include three days of metal mayhem featuring acts from Germany, Japan, Norway and elsewhere. Best of all, Hell’s Heroes is homegrown, created by local musicians and music industry insiders who saw a need and filled it while making Houston a metal music destination.

    Hell’s Heroes on Instagram

    This article appears in Jan 1 – Dec 31, 2025.

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    Houston Press

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  • Like a Paletero, Cuco Delivers the Cool, Refreshing, Sweet Stuff

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    For the rising artist Cuco, life lately has been sweet and something to devour. Maybe because it was still 90 degrees nearing October in Houston, just days ahead of his show Saturday on the lawn at White Oak Music Hall, it got us thinking about paletas, the popular Mexican frozen treats. We asked Cuco if his music was a paleta, which flavor might it be?

    “Limón, man, limón,” he said with a chuckle. “That’s it. It’s classic, it’s always reliable. Timeless.”

    Anyone following Cuco’s journey might agree. His bilingual blend of sounds might be simplified as indie pop, but the 27 year-old California singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist has created something limón-like by wheeling Chicano soul into the TikTok era. Check out the dreamy, creamy stuff he’s delivering on Ridin’, his latest album of bedroom pop songs, and you might want to call him “El Paletero.”

    “I’ve always kind of leaned into the romantic music and I’ve been kind of a fan of soul music growing up. I think part of being a fan of the music is if you end up making it you have a good ear to know what makes a good song,” he said. “Making a soul record, I kind of knew what I wanted it to sound like, what makes a good soul record but what makes my music my music and finding that middle ground.

    “I feel like, when it comes to music, I can be a little like a polyglot. I feel like I’m pretty good at capturing all the different textures and essence, even like the small little discrepancies in every genre.”

    Cuco’s journey started the way many music success stories do in this day and age, with a social media following that blossomed thanks to his hustle. Like a popsicle vendor, he kept coming around, with new flavors for fans to savor. But he said the trek hasn’t always been smooth. Like many music success stories in this day and age, he’s also had to overcome some challenges.

    “It’s a blessing, bro. I feel lucky to be doing all this. It’s one of those things you never imagine, that it becomes your life growing up and then suddenly you’re on the road playing for a couple thousand people a night. It’s insane. It’s incredible.

    “When I first started I kind of dealt with a lot of substance abuse issues, before I ever did the artist thing, and then getting into touring it’s even easier to fall into that kind of stuff, especially when you’re on the road day by day, you kind of need that social lubricant sometimes just to keep yourself going every single day. You feel like that’s kind of the solution, then you end up falling in these spirals, you go through a lot of mental stuff.


    “After the pandemic, I did three years of sobriety and got into a lot better coping mechanisms, getting into more athletic activities and whatnot. Being on the road is fun, it’s been a completely different experience. Now, if a have a little beer or maybe something after the show, it’s entirely to unwind, but I’m not dealing with the same issues anymore. I have really great people around me that make it enjoyable.

    “All those challenges, I feel like I overcame them. It’s not to say that there’s not going to be more challenges that might arise in the future but I think I’m in a good headspace that I’ll be able to handle things pretty well because, I don’t know, I made it this far.”

    That honest answer is reflective of Cuco’s music. Even though it started in virtual ways, listeners found something real and genuine in tracks like “Lover Is a Day” and “Lo Que Siento,” two breakthrough hits. They’ve wanted to bask in something true so Cuco has taken the music on tour. Houston’s show at White Oak is one of 30 dates the artist is making this fall and shows culminate later this year with Guadalajara and Mexico City dates before a Europe jaunt early in 2026.

    “I actually enjoy touring, I love it. I’m a routine person so I also do miss being home and having my routine,” he said. “Once I get in the flow of being on tour, I’m really in it and I’m super happy to be playing all the shows, it being exactly what it is, which is a blessing.

    “I’ve played Guadalajara and Mexico City, so we’re super familiar with what the crowd’s like and what the vibe’s like. It’s going to be great. There’s a different intensity because I don’t frequent Mexico so much when it comes to touring, like I do in the States, which is yearly. (Mexican audiences) are very quick to be ready and anticipate everything that’s coming and welcome the whole project with open arms.”

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    Cuco has a large and growing Texas fan base

    Photo by Rene Casamalhuapa

    Cuco said Texas also is no slouch when it comes to followers. A healthy dose of his 6 million monthly Spotify listeners hail from here, as witnessed by him being a featured artist on the lawn at White Oak Music Hall.

    “One of our biggest followings that we have is in Texas. It’s still growing,” he added. “I like seeing, every time we go, familiar faces and new faces, where we’re able to play a bigger venue, where we’re able to sell something out. It’s already huge, I’m grateful for it, but obviously I’m ambitious so I’m hoping we can keep expanding the market out there.”

    Refreshing and cool, but steeped in the classics. It’s a winning recipe. Since Cuco has just released an extended version of Ridin’, his third studio album, with six additional tracks for fans, it got us wondering whether there were some covers he’d ever want to include in an extended version of the extended version of Ridin.’

    “Like songs that inspire me?” he asked. “You know, it’s funny you mentioned Malo because I have been listening to ‘Suavecito’ like a lot. I love that song super heavy. I really like ‘She Don’t Ever Lose Her Groove,’ by Latimore. ‘Always and Forever,’ Heatwave, I mean that song was just always on repeat all the time. ‘If I Should Die Tonight,’ by Marvin Gaye. Crazy, crazy replay value. ‘Can We Pretend,’ by Bill Withers.

    “I deep dive super heavy. I’m chronically on YouTube, chronically on platforms just to find music,” Cuco said. Not just finding it but now delivering it, rollin’ (or Ridin’) from this place to that to deliver the cool, refreshing stuff.

    Cuco’s Ridin’ Tour hits Houston Saturday, September 27 at the lawn at White Oak Music Hall, 2915 N. Main. Doors at 7 p.m. for this outdoors, standing room only show. $54.40.

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    Jesse Sendejas Jr.

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  • Let God Sort ’Em Out Comes Alive in Houston

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    The humid air hung heavy at White Oak Music Hall as Malice stepped back from the edge of the stage. Behind him two large screens displayed the image of his mother’s face. Across from him his brother Pusha T had just finished his verse in front of the image of their father. The song, “Birds Don’t Sing,” a memorial ode to their parents continued to play across the White Oak lawn. The voice of Stevie Wonder echoed into the night as the lights dimmed.

    “Remember those who lost their mothers and fathers and make sure that every single moment you have with them you show them love.”

    As the last four words repeated the lawn grew dark. Chants of “Push!” “Malice” and “Clipse” scattered throughout the crowd but eventually the edges of the gathering began to break up as people meandered to the exits. Then a voice cut through the night.

    “Oh yeah? Y’all thought it was over? Well fuck it come on then”

    The lawn lit back up as the audience turned around and headed back to the stage while “Cot Damn” from the 2002 album Lord Willin’ blasted through the White Oak sound system.

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    Malice lifts his hands at the response from the White Oak crowd.

    Photo by Sean Thomas

    Pusha T and No Malice’s return as Clipse marks one of hip hop’s most triumphant comebacks. Their latest album, Let God Sort ’Em Out, was self released on July 11, 2025, delivering their first joint studio work in nearly 16 years. Crafted entirely with Pharrell Williams at the helm, the project fuses their signature sharp lyricism with a renewed maturity and introspection.

    Far from a nostalgic retreat, the album navigates weighty themes such as aging, grief and spiritual grounding while still firing off hard hitting verses and street rooted narratives. Standout tracks such as “The Birds Don’t Sing” and “Ace Trumpets” exemplify this balance, pairing opulent imagery with emotionally resonant songwriting.

    The momentum of the night mirrored the momentum behind their album. The release of Let God Sort ’Em Out has given Clipse a new chapter that feels both earned and necessary. In Houston, those songs carried a different weight as they unfolded in real time, surrounded by fans who have waited more than a decade for new music from the brothers.

    The crowd absorbed the contrast of reflection and bravado, with the meditative pull of “So Be It” sitting beside the raw energy of “M.T.B.T.T.F.” Each moment revealed the duality that has always defined Clipse, the ability to honor the past while still pushing forward with sharp edges intact.

    That duality of raw energy and meditation is continually displayed by the brothers with Pusha T doing most of the talking during the show as Malice gave a quiet but present back up.

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    Malice looks at hsi brother on the Let God Sort Em Out Tour.

    Photo by Sean Thomas

    “Ya’ll been with us for a minute,” exclaimed Pusha T as he paced across the stage and listened to the crowd’s reaction to Keys Open Doors. “That was some ’06 shit. We’ve been talking that shit since ’06!”
    The Let God Sort Em Out Tour is straight to the point with little frills. The Clipse ran through their reunion album with a few earlier hits from their catalog, giving the night a rhythm that was both sharp and deliberate. There were no distractions, no theatrics, only two brothers side by side letting their music carry the weight.

    For the Houston crowd that had waited years to see them together again, that focus was more than enough. Clipse did not need grand gestures or elaborate production to make their return feel historic. What mattered was the presence of two brothers sharing the stage again, channeling both loss and triumph into a set that spoke to the past as much as the future. The performance was proof that Clipse remains essential, and that their story still has chapters left to tell.

    Set List
    Chains and whips
    P.O.V
    Popular demand (Popeyes)
    What happened to that boy
    M.T.B.T.T.F.
    Inglorious Bastards
    Momma I’m So Sorry
    Keys Open Doors
    Mr. Me Too
    Grindin’
    F.I.C.O
    So Be It
    Ace Trumpets
    Birds Don’t Sing
    Encore
    Cot Damn
    Virginia
    So Far Ahead

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    DeVaughn Douglas

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  • X Marks Their Final (?) Houston Spot At White Oak Music Hall

    X Marks Their Final (?) Houston Spot At White Oak Music Hall

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    X
    White Oak Music Hall
    October 21, 2024

    What more can you say about X? As venerable an institution as exists in punk rock music — or hell, punk rock … or hell, *music*. The celebrated Los Angeles punk outfit returned to Houston with their original lineup — John Doe, Exene Cervenka, Billy Zoom, and D.J. Bonebrake — and their fiercely independent aesthetic for the third time in five years.

    When your debut album (1977’s Los Angeles) is still regarded as one of the greatest records of the 20th century, one could rightly expect some aloofness, but they still play shows to a few hundred folks, like last night at White Oak Music Hall (hell, Zoom still comes out and sets up his own pedal rig). Because that’s what they do.

    Or did, because to hear Doe tell it, this tour, supporting their latest release (Smoke & Fiction), will be last of its kind. Already tagged as the band’s final studio album, S&F also marks the end of X’s grueling schedule playing to (mostly) clubs and dragging their asses around in vans 75-80 times a year.

    But don’t take my word for it, just read Glady Fuentes’s excellent interview with Doe from last week. And while it’s true for many groups (Kiss, Mötley Crüe, The Eagles, Kiss again, Mötley Crüe again), we have no reason not to believe him. 47 years for any band, even one occasionally derided for being “too poetic” for punk, is a hell of run.

    Seen live, they’re a band of few words, ripping through opening numbers that pulled from all over their catalog (but leaning heavily on 1981’s Wild Gift (“Adult Books,” “White Girl,” “In The House That I Call Home”) with no chit chat. The first words I recall were offered when Cervenka introduced “Ruby Church.”

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    Still Zoomin’.

    Photo by Violeta Alvarez

    Those new songs, like “Church” and “Sweet Til the Bitter End,” are classic X: hard-driving guitars, thundering drums, and Cervenka and Doe wailing with their distinctive harmonies. On the other hand, “Flipside” recalls the melodic efforts of See How We Are.

    Cervenka eschewed her usual sundress for patched jeans and an X hoodie, while Doe will always look like a gas station attendant from a Jim Jarmusch movie. Bonebrake sported a porkpie hat like your hipster uncle, and Zoom’s sartorial transition into Colonel James from Boogie Nights is almost complete.

    The banter increased some as the show rolled on. Doe and Exene reminisced about their first Houston appearance — at Numbers, as it turns out. Doe asked who in the crowd had heard of Numbers, which … come on (!). Apparently the marquee read “X Featuring Exene,” which led to supposition that they were performing at a strip club.

    Hardly a rare sight in Houston in 1981.

    It was a short set, owing as much to the breakneck nature of their songs (Smoke & Fiction clocks in at 28 minutes in its entirety) as to the band’s advancing age. Zoom, as in other recent gigs, played while seated, and Exene exited the stage a couple times; once during “The Hungry Wolf,” which was a good place for a Bonebrake drum solo. Not to be confused with his vibraphone solo during the encore, or the Billy Zoom sax solos (“Come Back To Me” and “I Must Not Think Bad Thoughts”).

    But the high point for me was Exene and Doe coming out to perform (after some brief mic issues) “See How We Are.” The title track of a 1987 album that — frankly — didn’t get a lot of love, thanks to its emphasis on American over aggro. It’s poignant, direct, and has always meant a lot to me.

    If this does turn out to be X’s last pass through Houston, they’ve done all right by us. Recent years have demonstrated pretty brutally that there’s no permanence in anything, and those things we cling to — music, art, friends and family — fall away in time. We’re lucky to have as many memories of Mme. Cervenka et MM. Doe, Zoom, and Bonebrake as we do.

    And if they swing back through here in 2026, forget I said anything.

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    Doe!

    Photo by Violeta Alvarez

    Personal Bias: Despite possessing several “X” T-shirts, I was not That Guy last night.

    The Crowd: Punk’s not dead, but it definitely has a curfew.

    Overheard in The Crowd: “I was at that Numbers show.” “No you weren’t.”

    Random Notebook Dump: “Nausea” still has the desired(?) effect of making me queasy.

    SET LIST
    Your Phone’s Off the Hook, But You’re Not
    In This House That I Call Home
    Because I Do
    I’m Coming Over
    Adult Books
    Water & Wine
    Sweet Til the Bitter End
    White Girl
    Beyond and Back
    Ruby Church
    The New World
    The Hungry Wolf
    Smoke & Fiction
    Flipside
    Breathless (Otis Blackwell cover)
    Los Angeles
    Nausea
    Johny Hit and Run Paulene
    Motel Room in My Bed
    Soul Kitchen (Doors cover)

    ENCORE
    See How We Are (Exene and John Doe acoustic)
    Come Back to Me
    I Must Not Think Bad Thoughts

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    Pete Vonder Haar

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  • Remi Wolf Blows the Doors Off White Oak Music Hall

    Remi Wolf Blows the Doors Off White Oak Music Hall

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    A peek at videos on social media of the Austin City Limits Festival last weekend can quickly demonstrate the power of this new generation of female pop singers. Chappell Roan played to a massive sea of people who all seemed to know the words to her songs.

    Remi Wolf may not have the massive stage show, backup dancers and costumes of Roan or Sabrina Carpenter or Renee Rapp, but man, does she have the pipes to stand toe-to-toe with any of them. And the energy. She brought both to White Oak Music Hall Thursday night in front of an absolutely jam packed crowd (mostly women) who knew Wolf’s material like the ACL crowd knew Roan’s “Hot to Go!”

    Originally, the show was scheduled for the lawn and with temperatures in the 70s, that seemed like a great plan. But, for reasons unknown, we all crammed inside instead. In truth, everyone was better for it. The intimacy it provided seemed almost tailor made for Wolf’s entire vibe.

    I first encountered Wolf, 28, the way most people find music now: on TikTok. It was a raucous, insanely energetic live version of her song “Quiet on Set” from her debut full-length album, Juno released in 2021. Her music is a quirky mix of modern pop, funk and indie rock, and her voice ranges from an almost cloying affected Betty Boop cuteness (she wore a Boop T-shirt this night) to upper register wailing worthy of Janis Joplin or Freddie Mercury. On record, all of her music education (she attended the USC Thornton School of Music) shines with modern production and tight musicianship (think indie rock Lizzo with a side of Prince). On stage, she is a tiny blur of loud, frenetic energy, a rock star with pop songs that everyone wants to dance to.

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    Remi Wolf at White Oak Music Hall.

    Photo by Violeta Alvarez

    In a near constant haze of fog machine smoke, Wolf twirled and gyrated her way through an electric set of songs heavily weighted towards her July release Big Ideas. Standing on the edge of the stage, she said that this recent album was very personal, written in a short time after a long stretch of touring. “Alone in Miami,” she explained, was written about a week she spent with “crypto bros” in Florida, partying and “wearing Gucci head to toe.”

    Lyrically, she is incredibly frank, wildly clever, and pretty damn funny. Performing, she is a dynamo, constantly bouncing and dancing across the stage yet not once having that exertion compromise her jaw dropping vocals. Several songs in, she asked the crowd to perform a series of exercises with her designed to connect her and the audience. I wondered if maybe she just needed to warm up because the stamina one would need to get through this performance was remarkable.

    Backed up by a relatively simple setup of drums, percussion, bass, keys and a pair of guitars, it felt positively pedestrian compared to other artists of her genre. But, it was that simplicity that made it so refreshing. Sans huge light shows and carefully choreographed dance moves, the band just dug in and rocked complete with (shock) extended guitar solos and the occasional funny pre-planned moments — at one point bassist Maddie Jay joined Wolf at the front of the stage to shake their booties in unison directly in the faces of breathlessly screaming fans.

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    Remi Wolf (left) at White Oak Music Hall.

    Photo by Violeta Alvarez

    The energetic peak of the show was “Sexy Villain” followed by a delightful cover of Tom Cochrane’s “Life is a Highway.” Then came an improvisational moment for the band when Wolf asked the audience for a word they could use to create a song on the spot. She recently was forced to sing a song about “Poo” in Atlanta, apparently.

    Well, if only H-Town had chosen poo. At first, someone shouted “Houston” to which the audience rightfully booed. The next request, however, nailed it: foreskin. So, Wolf and bandmates put together a song roughly called “Foreskin in Houston” featuring Wolf singing the lyric “it is nasty and it’s your fault” while pointing at the offending party who gave her the idea. After her foray into foreskin, Wolf probably wishes she could go back to poo.

    By the time she reached some of her more well-known tunes like crowd favorite “Disco Man” and pop anthem “Soup,” the audience was in a full dance party frenzy. The singing and cheers were deafening, easily as loud as the band, and Wolf was enthralled.

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    Remi Wolf (right) at White Oak Music Hall.

    Photo by Violeta Alvarez

    So often, pop singers are so carefully crafted that the fun can be missing. Not for Wolf. If there was one defining feature of her performance, it was the smiling, from her band to her crowd to her own face. It was a goddamn party and, for one night, we were all invited.

    Her next stop is Austin for ACL this weekend and a date with an outdoor stage (this time for real). Roan, Carpenter and others found massive followings after seminal performances at festivals like Austin’s annual Zilker Park extravaganza. This could be Wolf’s moment. She certainly deserves it. If you are going, do yourself a favor and pile in front of the stage for Wolf’s slot, Saturday night before Rapp, Houston’s own Khruangbin, and headliner Dua Lipa.

    It will absolutely not disappoint.

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    Jeff Balke

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  • Cuco Brings His Fantasy Getaway to life at White Oak Music Hall

    Cuco Brings His Fantasy Getaway to life at White Oak Music Hall

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    Cuco
    White Oak Music Hall – Lawn
    September 27, 2024

    The first time I heard a song by Cuco was around 2018. The track was “Amor de Siempre – Mariachi Version” which popped up on one of those recommended playlists that Spotify releases. The song begins super slow and chill, but then shifts mid-track to fun and lively. The cover art, which depicts a red rose on a sky blue background also caught my eye.

    That same year I saw him live for the first time at the Neon Desert Music Festival in El Paso. It was an early afternoon set that attracted a decently large crowd of mostly Latino and Chicano music nerds who sometimes like to jam to music alone in their bedroom, myself included. Then he played his trumpet and we all left his set with a little sad vibes but happy at the same time.

    So I was beyond excited to see him on the lawn at White Oak Music Hall. I missed his last two shows in Houston, but was determined to catch him on Friday night. And man, was it ever a perfect evening for a show. It was a super rare night in H-Town: no mosquitos, no rain, not too hot, As the sun set behind the skyline in the distance, you could feel the energy of all the Cuco fans in the crowd.

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    It was a lovely evening for a lawn concert at White Oak Music Hall, and the venue was full of adoring fans of Cuco and his sad boi, bedroom pop/rock music.

    Photo by Marco Torres

    Cuco and his band took to the stage around 8:30 p.m., his sleeveless cutoff T-shirt showing off his tattoos. He began the set with “Ego Death In Thailand” — a super moody track that was met with praise from his fans. After starting the second song “Junkies and Rarities,” Cuco stopped the show to call attention to a fan near the front row who was almost passing out. He requested security and the medical team for assistance, and the young fan was escorted to the medical tent.

    “We are all a big community here, so I just want to make sure you all are good and having a good time,” he said before starting the song again. Sadly, this was only the first of several times that night he would stop the show for similar circumstances, but it was refreshing to see how much he cares for the wellbeing of his audience. We all deserve to attend a show, be safe, and have a great time.

    “I’m so happy to be back in Houston, Texas” he declared. “Houston was the first show we ever played in Texas back in 2017!” He also apologies for “sounding crazy” as he has been suffering from congestion.

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    Cuco shifted fluidly between English and Spanish throughout his set list, and incorporated elements of pop, rock, mariachi, and hip-hop into his music.

    Photo by Marco Torres

    “I just finished my new album, y’all wanna hear some of it” he asked us, receiving an emphatic cheer from the crowd. Cuco then began to play “My 45” and the crowd swayed back and forth to the beat. He followed that up with his popular cover of “Piel Canela” which caused a massive sing along.

    A few lucky individuals received an autograph from Cuco, and the variety of items was humorous and interesting: a shoe, a vinyl record, some photos. Someone even threw a stuffed Bucee’s beaver at him. “Am I supposed to sign this or keep this? Y’all are wild!”

    As the night came to an end, he thanked his fans for the support. “All I want to do is inspire y’all, either through my sobriety or my music, I just want y’all to keep growing and keep moving forward! Now let’s get psychedelic!”

    The night ended with “Amor De Siempre,” “Sunnyside” and “Lo Que Siento.” Cuco waved and smiled, admiring the chill, relaxed lovely evening and audience before exiting the stage waiving a large Mexican flag.

    And then the song “Amigo Bronco” by the popular Mexican group Bronco played over the speakers and I was like “WTF?” and “Oh that makes sense I guess” at the same time, so I just galloped back to my car singing “Se fueeeeeee!” the entire walk.

    Thanks for an awesome show Cuco, come back anytime homie!

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    Cuco played a mix of tracks from his early catalog to his newest album entitled “Fantasy Getaway” on the lawn at White Oak Music Hall on Friday night.

    Photo by Marco Torres

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    Marco Torres

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  • Cake Wasn’t Left Out in the Rain and Houston Fans Rejoiced

    Cake Wasn’t Left Out in the Rain and Houston Fans Rejoiced

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    The lawn at White Oak Music Hall is no MacArthur Park, so none of us there for last night’s show were very concerned about our Cake being left out in the rain. Sure, there was a half-hour light shower just before the concert and all evening clouds hung over the festivities like the reverberations from the vibraslap favored by the veteran alt-rock band, but we didn’t mind.

    Once the show started and Cake launched into hit after hit from a career that dates back to the early 1990s, the rain stopped and the fun started. It was not “coming down,” a la Cake’s 1996 tune of roughly the same name, unless “it” was a deluge of good vibes from hearing vocalist John McCrea and band back in Houston.  They delivered two solid sets, split by an intermission that turned the band’s singer into the host of an odd live game show (more on that later).

    Because the band has plenty of material to draw from, from 30 years of hit albums like Fashion Nugget, Comfort Eagle and the beloved B-Sides and Rarities, there was no show opener. It was all Cake all night, from “Frank Sinatra” to the final encore song (“The Distance”) and lots of quirky stage patter in between, a sweet tooth’s delight.

    At the show’s start, just after “Frank Sinatra” opened for Cake (such fun to write that), McCrea promised “two sets of music, assuming that there’s not a hurricane or something weird. And in the middle, we’ll have a very civilized thing called an intermission. We don’t have to consume all the music product at once. We can pause, reflect on what we’ve been through so far together, and then return with renewed vigor and intention.”

    McCrea was speaking only of the songs in last night’s set list at that moment, but the notion of reflecting on what we’ve been through together and having music renew our vigor wasn’t lost on those in the crowd, fans who’ve spent a good chunk of their respective lifetimes following the band. These were listeners who latched onto the Cake mix of wry original songs and perfectly selected, smartly arranged covers as college kids way back during the Clinton administration. The 16 songs in the set list weren’t just greatest hits, they were songs that punctuated moments big and small over four decades of life. So, when McCrea encouraged the audience to sing along to the ones they knew just ahead of the second song, “Sheep Go To Heaven,” they sang enthusiastically to every song for the rest of the night.

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    Cake’s John McCrea

    Photo by Jesse Sendejas Jr.

    This reviewer attended the show with a Cake expert (more on her in a moment) who told me McCrea is someone keenly fixated on the flow of Cake’s music on record and in the live show. Tracks arranged with particular specificity for maximum umph. Knowing that, fans in Houston, Texas maybe weren’t surprised to hear “Stickshifts and Safetybelts,” in the first set, with a lead-in about burning fossil fuels for romantic gain, or “Sad Songs and Waltzes,” a Willie Nelson cover. Both are country music-tinged, essential Cake tracks and they fit the bill expertly in Houston, one placed in the first set of the show (six songs) and the other in the second set’s run of 10 tracks.

    That imbalance didn’t bother folks much. They sang heartily to McCrea’s monotone tones on songs like “Perhaps, Perhaps, Perhaps,” which, he boldly proclaimed, was written before anyone in the crowd was even alive (1947) and Black Sabbath’s “War Pigs” (shout out to the 10 year-old near us who gleefully told his dad “I know this one!” then joined in with the crowd for “Generals gathered in their massessssssss”). The one time the flow of the show did take a bit of a hit was during the intermission when McCrea tried to give away a tree to one lucky fan.

    Returning to the stage from a brief respite after the first set, McCrea — a well-known activist who counts reforestation among his causes — stood next to a tree of unknown origin and promised to gift it to the audience member who could identify it. Because we live in a tangle of concrete and steel rather than, you know, trees, we had a very hard time identifying the genus. Everything from “maple” to “cherry blossom” to “fake” was guessed incorrectly, much to McCrea’s dismay.

    While McCrea was doing a sort of Bob Barker meets Johnny Appleseed thing, fans waiting on music grew restless. When one person guessed “crabapple,” an annoyed fan shouted “You’re a crabapple!” We giggled while also feeling sorry for ourselves and our neighbors who really don’t know much about natural life, it seems. Thankfully, a fan named Ella pegged the mystery guest as a Mexican plum and the night of music continued.

    The first set ended with a cathartic sing-along to “Sick Of You,” described to the crowd by McCrea as “a very negative song. If you just lost a job today or you’re going through a terrible break-up experience or a prolonged divorce proceeding, or maybe you’re just on a psychedelic drug that’s making you way too open to everything.” Whatever our angst, Cake tried to diminish it at least momentarily (as they’ve done with 30 years of music) by having the crowd sing together, McCrea acting as conductor while our voices echoed up to those storm clouds as if challenging them, daring them, to rain on our parade. We weren’t concerned about our sweet, green icing flowing down, we were being uplifted by the power of our favorite music.

    The view from the lawn at WOMH.

    Photo by Jesse Sendejas Jr.

    Personal Bias: One of the best ways to discover music is through people who become important in our lives. I never knew I was much of a Cake fan until my daughter-in-law Veronica started talking up the band and her longstanding love for them. She’s literally a punk rocker, a professional musician who affords her rock ‘n’ roll lifestyle by managing her band, touring like crazy and shredding the most punk rock instrument of all:  the mandolin. She’s also funny, thorough and sharp as a tack. Once I got to know and love her, it became super obvious why she’s a Cake fan – their songs are funny, thorough and sharp as a tack.

    She loves Cake so much that she and my son (who aptly describes Cake as “fisherman’s funk,” because the music’s sneakily funky, in the least flashy, most humble of ways) tracked a version of “Frank Sinatra” once for a split and you can find it out there on Bandcamp if you wanna go music sleuthing. I’ve been to so many shows with people I love over 43 (!) years of concert-going, including Mrs. Sendejas and our kids. But this is truly Veronica’s band, the one she said her sister turned her onto over repeat plays of “Sheep Go To Heaven” and one that was added to our family playlists when she was added to our family. It made this old father-in-law extraordinarily happy to be there with her to see them for her first time. And, the show was an anniversary present to her and my son which clearly makes Mrs. S and I the coolest in-laws ever.

    The Crowd: Gray hairs getting dropped off by Uber drivers near the entrance gates and people who need to study Dirr’s Encyclopedia of Trees and Shrubs.

    Random Notebook Dump: Sorry about these photos of your favorite band, Cake fans. Ya boy is not a photographer (mumbles something about painting pictures with words) and got to the venue too late to get close-up shots of the band. But, he did have fun with his wife, kids and a bunch of friends who joined us for the show. Special nod to all of them, seeing shows as a group is always a blast.

    Cake Set List

    Frank Sinatra
    Sheep Go To Heaven
    Long Time
    Stickshifts and Safetybelts
    Walk On By
    Sick Of You
    Love You Madly
    Sad Songs and Waltzes (Willie Nelson cover)
    Opera Singer
    Perhaps, Perhaps, Perhaps (Osvaldo Farrés cover)
    Rock ‘n’ Roll Lifestyle
    Italian Leather Sofa
    Never There
    Short Skirt/Long Jacket
    War Pigs (Black Sabbath cover)
    The Distance

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    Jesse Sendejas Jr.

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  • Juvenile & DJ Mannie Fresh Take Over White Oak Music Hall

    Juvenile & DJ Mannie Fresh Take Over White Oak Music Hall

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    Juvenile & The 400 Degreez Band
    feat. DJ Mannie Fresh
    Back That Azz Up 25th Anniversary Tour
    White Oak Music Hall
    August 16th, 2024

    I was a freshman in college in 1999, riding around in a brand new Chevy Cavalier with two Rockford Fosgate 12″ subs in the truck, using rap and Hip-Hop music as the soundtrack to my adventures. It was a great year for the genre, with new albums by Dr. Dre, Jay Z, and Eminem heavy in my rotation. I also had just downloaded some music on Napster by a crew from New Orleans who called themselves Cash Money Records.

    There was something supremely hypnotic about rapper Juvenile’s voice and rhyming patterns on “Ha,” the first single from his 400 Degreez album. The beat was also equally transcendent, introducing me to elements of bounce music that this Tejano kid had never heard before. DJ Mannie Fresh was the genius behind those beats, and together the duo would make some of the best Southern rap music ever produced.

    And then one day, while watching MTV at my primo’s house, I heard these famous prophetic words:

    “Cash Money Records taking over for the ’99 and the 2000!”

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    DJ Mannie Fresh produced the song “Back That Azz Up,” which was the second single from Juvenile’s 400 Degreez album, widely considered as one of the greatest rap songs ever.

    Photo by Marco Torres

    The song “Back That Azz Up” was the second single off the 400 Degreez album, and it has been minted by fans as one of the greatest rap songs ever. Even now, 25 years later, the song bangs at the club, at weddings, and in the car. The beat, the lyrics, and the overall feel of the track is infectious, inducing an immediate dance break and putting the world on hold for those 4 minutes and 25 seconds.

    The show at White Oak Music Hall on Friday night began with Mannie Fresh behind the DJ booth, warming up the crowd with a mix of Houston rap classics, R&B classics, and bounce anthems. The crowd was singing and swag surfing to all the hits, and were definitely warmed up to receive the headliner. The 400 Degreez band consisted of a drummer, an electric guitar, a bass guitar, and an additional DJ.

    Juve sauntered onstage wearing a green track suit, a bucket hat, and a pair of shades. His gold teeth and iced out platinum chain sparkled brightly as he rapped the opening tracks “Ha” and “Set It Off.” His voice and wordplay are so iconic: menacing, guttural, humorous, and witty AF. The aura he creates around his music and stage presence is electric and mysterious.

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    The aura Juvenile creates around his music and stage presence is electric and mysterious.

    Photo by Marco Torres

    This concert was initially scheduled to be presented on the lawn, but was later moved inside. And boy did it feel like it…. so many people jam packed the downstairs area of the venue. Luckily, most people were pretty chill and content to be around so many of their fellow Cash Money fans. White girls in Saints jerseys danced to “Get Your Roll On” and “Slow Motion” with their new friends surrounding them. Many of the fans in attendance rapped along to every lyric, even to the b-side tracks like “Shine” and “In My Life.”

    Oh course Juve and Mannie looked on with joyful smiles, realizing how their music has endured time and kept relevant throughout the years. Its important to recognize and celebrate greatness, and that’s exactly what we all did, backing that azz up and bouncing to the beats from the ’99 till forever. 

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    Marco Torres

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  • IDLES Brings the Love to Houston

    IDLES Brings the Love to Houston

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    IDLES
    White Oak Music Hall
    May 22, 2024

    The contemplative serenity of Houston’s Rothko Chapel might seem an unlikely subject to introduce to the frenzy of a mosh pit, but not at an IDLES concert. Lead singer and songwriter Joe Talbot tempered the furious, sweaty bang of the band’s fans’ bodies with a soliloquy which not only stopped them in their circle-pitting tracks but provided the theme of the night.

    “I’d like to share something with you, if I may. So, today we went to the Rothko Chapel, which is next to the monument for the slain Martin Luther King. I went inside and it’s an octagonal building with massive, dark paintings on the wall. And I sat down on a pew and I looked at this huge, dark mass, and I stared at it for a while and it reminded me of death or the deep ocean or something as terrifying as that,” Talbot said just a few songs into the 25-plus song set last night at White Oak Music Hall.

    “And then, as I watched and I reflected and meditated on the image, some light filtered in through the sunroof and showed me a form. And in the form, I saw what I could only describe as all the people I love. And it was a beautiful moment and it was an enlightening moment where I realized there are things in there – the light and the form in that darkness is what we’ve been working towards for so long.

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    IDLES’ Joe Talbot

    Photo by Violeta Alvarez

    “We make art and we make music as a way to reflect and to feel something much bigger than ourselves. And this is it. This communion that we’re in right now, the thing between us can only be described as love. You have brought the fucking light.”

    The song that followed was “I’m Scum,” which might seem paradoxical to the IDLES uninitiated, but is a treasured anthem of sorts for the band’s devoted followers, so much so that the phrase was backpatched on at least one jacket we saw on the lawn. The line, “This snowflake’s an avalanche,” is a rallying cry to IDLES’ like-minded, anti-fascist, monarchy-disdaining, ceasefire-calling supporters. The band dubbed this the “LOVE IS THE FING” tour and then went out, from city to city, to spread the word of love for ourselves and others, song by raucous song.

    The songs which accomplished that mission best were “Television,” which literally advises listeners to “Love yourself,” when “the bastards made you not want to look like you,” and “Mr. Motivator,” which features one of IDLES’ best lines of all, “Like Kathleen Hanna with bear claws grabbing Trump by the pussy.” The song was high in the set and its chorus “Let’s seize the day, all hold hands chase the pricks away,” was Tony Robbins gone mad and the ideal set up for a night of embracing our shared ideals.

    Songs from TANGK, the band’s new album, were well-received, particularly “Gift Horse,” which had Houstonians crashing hard into each other during the repeated “Look at him go!” lines of the song. “Dancer” was also a highlight, with audience members mimicking Talbot’s gyrations and whatever funky moves guitarist Mark Bowen was doing behind him.

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    Lee Kiernan on the White Oak lawn

    Photo by Violeta Alvarez

    Another highlight and a pivotal moment of the show was “Danny Nedelko,” which saw Bowen in the audience for a fully-vertical crowd surf. Amazing. The song allowed the band to remind us all of the human costs of geopolitics. It’s a full-on expression of love for our fellow humans and the gifts we all can bring to each other if we’re only allowed.

    “Now, this song is a celebration of the bravery and the hard work of the immigrants that built your country. In the face of all the fucking bullshit and the fascism, we come with love and empathy and celebrate the bravery and the hard work of the immigrants that built our country,” Talbot introduced. “It’s an honor to play in front of you. This is for you, this is for the people of Palestine and this is for Danny Ne-fucking-delko!”

    The band had a little fun with the hard curfew imposed at White Oak, reminding us they had an hour and one second of music yet to play midway through the set, and later three songs and a second. Drummer Jon Beavis seemed to be literally pounding out every available second of the set during the closer, “Rottweiler,” a huge smile on his face as if trading an inside joke with Bowen. He and bassist Adam Devonshire and the whirling dervish guitarist Lee Kiernan were the engine that kept IDLES moving. Talbot spoke on their behalf at the show’s close.

    click to enlarge

    Mark Bowen

    Photo by Violeta Alvarez

    “We’ve been doing this for 15 years and this is one of the most beautiful fucking things anyone could give someone, is their energy and their love and their time. Thank you so much for coming here and making us feel at home so far from where we live,” he said to huge applause. “There has not been one single fucking day that I do not wake up and know exactly how fucking lucky I am and that’s because of you.”

    The Openers: Chicago’s Ganser started the early show promptly at 6:30 p.m. The four-piece post-punk rockers got bodies stirring with co-vocalists Sophie Sputnik and Alicia Gaines alternating turns hyping the crowd for IDLES (“They’re like honestly one of the best bands I’ve ever seen live,” Sputnik said mid-set) while also turning us onto the cool slow burn of music that builds steam and gets the generator going.

    Personal Bias: I opened my recent chat with IDLES guitarist/songwriter Mark Bowen with a story from pandemic lockdown. My own road warrior kids were set to tour Europe in May 2020 and since no one knew when it would be safe to hit the road and perform for the masses, they holed up at Sendehaus and hoped their plans wouldn’t be foiled by coronavirus (they were).

    click to enlarge

    As the uncertainty grew and the idle hours mounted, their stir craziness manifested in weird ways. One pursuit that lasted four or five days was learning and playing IDLES’ “Never Fight a Man With a Perm” in the house’s makeshift rehearsal room. Mornings would begin with the familiar bang of the song’s backbeat, a pummeling that mirrors the mayhem inherent in the song’s lyrics. “AND A BAG OF CHARLIE SHEEN!!! AND A BAG OF COCAINE!!!” were refrains that surely frightened the poor Instacart delivery drivers who’d come to leave groceries (which, we’d then wash thoroughly and sanitize) on the doorstep.

    The last performance of the song was filmed and, as I told Bowen, it included broken drumsticks, some drunken belligerence and even a bloody face or two. I listened to a lot of music during those long, unsettled days, but none captured the pent-up rage, frustration, anxiety and, ultimately the union and love required to survive the moment like “Perm.” It’ll forever be my pandemic lockdown song. Getting to hear it out in the open air, with a lawn full of IDLES fans – and yeah, there was maybe some drunken belligerence and a bloody face or two by the time they reached it in the set – was a highlight concert moment this side of those lockdown days.

    The Crowd: The crowd at an IDLES show is nearly as critical to the evening as the performers on stage. More critical, Talbot would likely say. The band feeds off the zeal of its acolytes and it did not go hungry last night. We were entrenched in the pit, determined to have the full IDLES experience, and we must say there’s no other way to take in this show. No offense to those who sat on the slope behind us but feeling the warmth of moving bodies, inhaling the salty aroma from their sweat-drenched t-shirts, joining their voices in exultation – it’s more than just watching a show. An IDLES show is life-affirming stuff and being welcomed to that just feet away from the band is one of the concert highlights of a lifetime of shows.

    click to enlarge

    Overheard in the Crowd: “Their energy – they’ve surpassed Rage Against the Machine.”

    Random Notebook Dump: Houston music podcasts were in the house (or, you know, just outside of it on White Oak’s lawn) last night. In addition to Vinyl Voices, we spotted Masaya Tamegai and Thomas and Ashley Meeks, of the Long River Sessions podcast, which has recently resumed episodes. The show once hosted yours truly for an episode in which they shared the story of traveling to far-off cities to watch IDLES where Masaya fan-boyed (and lo-key stalked) Talbot at the venue’s bar. The granddaddy of Houston music pods, Dead Dialect, nabbed an exclusive interview with Talbot, which we are incredibly excited to see soon. Host Brandon Clements promised the episode will drop in the near future. Keep an eye out for it and all these local podcasts are doing to showcase music from Houston and beyond.

    IDLES Set List:

    IDEA 01
    Colossus
    Gift Horse
    Mr. Motivator
    Mother
    Car Crash
    I’m Scum
    Grounds
    The Wheel
    Jungle
    When the Lights Come On
    War
    Wizz
    Television
    Gratitude
    Divide & Conquer
    Exeter
    POP POP POP
    Television
    Crawl!
    The Beachland Ballroom
    Never Fight a Man With a Perm
    Dancer
    Danny Nedelko
    Kiss From a Rose
    All I Want for Christmas is You
    Rottweiler

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    Jesse Sendejas Jr.

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  • Swans’ Sonic Assault Levels White Oak Music Hall (Metaphorically)

    Swans’ Sonic Assault Levels White Oak Music Hall (Metaphorically)

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    Swans
    White Oak Music Hall
    April 24, 2024

    If there’s a shortlist of artists who should compose the soundtrack to the apocalypse (and there really should be), Swans would be near the top. The avant garde ensemble created by Michael Gira in 1982 has, like just about any band of that era, gone through numerous lineup changes and sonic overhauls, though never straying from Gira’s confrontational vision.

    Swans’ latest is The Beggar, which Gira wrote during COVID lockdown, and it’s just as claustrophobic and unnerving as that implies. Having said that, it’s a different animal than the noisecore and industrial efforts that catapulted Swans into contention as one of the loudest bands on Earth.

    Last night at White Oak Music Hall, Gira and Swans certainly made their case for that. They also emphatically demonstrated just how little they care about making the audience comfortable.

    If — as someone once said — James McMurtry was the soundtrack to the end of the American Dream, then Swans are what will accompany the end of the world. It’s music to make you uneasy, yes, but Gira takes it beyond that. A Swans show is a crescendo of doom, only not a fun one like that Avalon Hill game.

    Gira also doesn’t like you filming his show, and the 70-year old gestured multiple times at people in the audience to knock it off. Surprisingly (or not, the frontman doesn’t exactly suffer fools), most people complied, as those surreptitiously filming found themselves slinking to the back of the venue.

    A Swans show is memorable for several reasons. Most obviously, it’s punishingly loud. I’ve been attending concerts since the mid-’80s, and last night was the first time I’ve ever worn earplugs (this isn’t a boast, I’m just an idiot). I assume there were folks in attendance who weren’t (and Gira was one of them), and I don’t know how they did it without their teeth shattering in their skull, THX style.

    Related to that, a Swans gig is one of the only shows where you’ll find it easier to move to the front of the venue as it progresses. I’ll admit, the exodus wasn’t as big as I expected, with most people at least giving the 20-minute “Intro” a chance before making their way to the rear (or the exits). And that song had more fakeout endings than Return of the King.

    It’s music designed to make you uneasy. “The Beggar,” their second song (and the only one from that eponymous latest release), encompasses the spectrum of Swans in itself, an exercise in dirge-like lament that builds to a relentless pulsation that’s — dare I say? — melodic.

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    “Did I remember to record So Help Me Todd?”

    Photo by Violeta Alvarez

    You can’t accuse Gira of getting soft in his old age, but latter-day Swans (as opposed to pre-first breakup Swans) definitely toy more with traditional song structure than in the days of Filth and Cop. Even so, last night was a sonic assault that refused to visit less punishing efforts like The Burning World or The Great Annihilator.

    Newer songs like “The Hanging Man,” with its ominous allusions to creeping fascism, are as chilling as anything the band’s ever done. While “Red Yellow” and closer “Birthing” were apparently written for the tour, and it’s almost…upbeat?

    This iteration of Swans — Gira, Kristof Hahn (guitar, lap steel), Dana Schechter (bass, lap steel, keyboards), Larry Mullins (percussion, keyboards), Phil Puleo (percussion), Chris Pravdica (bass) — still generate a stunning amount of noise. Especially for a group that looks like they should be working at your local Soundwaves.

    At the center is Gira, summoning his fellow bandmates to even greater sonic extremes, like a ponytailed Chernabog. It’s hard to believe a band like Swans still exists in an era where corporations control virtually every aspect of the live music experience.

    What About The Opener? Is it cheating to have the opening act be an actual member of the headliner? Kristof Hahn has been playing for Swans since 1989, but his own songs are less drone and more actively nightmarish, his “I come in peace” notwithstanding. The sonic wall of his opening number was what the soundtrack to the vortex sequence in 2001: A Space Odyssey would’ve sounded like if Stuart Gordon wrote the screenplay.

    Personal Bias: Swans have always been on my list of “need to go” shows. Glad I made it, not sure I need to do it again.

    The Crowd: Local chapter meeting for Tinnitus Anonymous.

    Overheard [Outside The Venue]:
    JESS: Do you have a camera?
    ME: No.
    JESS: Then why did they give you a media wristband?
    ME: I’m reviewing the show.
    JESS: Who do you write for?
    ME: The Houston Press.
    JESS: They still review shows? What’s your name?
    ME: Pete Vonder Haar.
    JESS: Are you that guy that hates everything?
    ME: No. You must be thinking of the other person there with my last name.

    Seriously, big thanks to Jess at WOMH for giving me earplugs when I realized I’d left mine in my car.

    Random Notebook Dump: “Hope nobody’s here on a first date.”

    SET LIST
    Intro
    The Beggar
    The Hanging Man
    I Am A Tower
    Guardian Spirit
    Away
    Red Yellow
    Birthing

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    Pete Vonder Haar

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