When you take into account that most of us are psychotic, stalkers and/or weird (c.i.p the Olsen twins.... yeah.
Congrats on the job. Houston is not so bad once you get use to it. A reverse commute is the way to go. I live in the Heights and drive up 290 to work with out any problem or traffic. From the Heights I can get to Katy, Clearlake, Sugarland, or the Woodlands in 30 mins from home. Centrally located is the way to go. As for viewing parties, I'm not too sure. Now you have no excuse not to go to the Compaq Center for some games in person.
just trying to get a giggle... Anyway, seriously, living against the traffic is a good thing. My boyfriend works in Stafford and we live in West-U, so he never has to deal with traffic unless it's an extremely odd situation. Apartment complexes are expensive, mind you- but if you are looking at them, see if one of your friends lives in one you like, because quite often they can receive a small compensation for referring you, in which case you can split that, considering you're 'giving' them money. I would definitely avoid living near any 'major' streets, considering noise factors, like Westheimer, Holcombe, Buffalo Speedway, Richmond, Allen Parkway, or UH. Trust me, listening to some idiot's bass shaking your windows gets old fast. (I speak from experience.) Don't bother trying to buy any property right now either- with all the new developments, such as the new arena, the construction, and other factors, real estate is seriously overrated and overpriced right now. Many developers and agents believe that property is going to appreciate very quickly, but you can't know for sure for another two years. Of course, I'm not planning to live in Houston for that long, so we aren't that interested in buying property. I could very well be wrong, but this is my opinion. Living near an area that you like, and can walk to is great, but considering this is Houston, where decentralization seems to be a mantra, makes it difficult. But I live right behind a Barnes & Noble which is terrific.
Drewdog, The Heights (especially Woodland Heights) would be the easiest place for you to live, unless you want to live in an apartment complex (there aren't that many in the Heights and the existing ones tend to be blah). If you want a house, however, it's an excellent place (2-3BR houses tend to run between $900 to $1300 per month). BTW, if you are looking for a house and want a roomie, let me know as I'm hoping to move back to the Heights after a 2 year sentence in Kingwood. Montrose and Museum district are also cool (although your commute would be more difficult) and have more apartments available. Avoid the Galleria like the plague - you will encounter the worst traffic in Houston on a daily basis. Live Music: My bandmates and I often hang out at one of these places on Saturday night. All of these places tend to showcase indie type bands, so if you're more into blues or (shudder) cover bands, check out Houston Press for ideas. But you should still check out these places: 1) Rudyard's Pub on Waugh - Great live music venue, awesome sound, beer isn't cheap but not super expensive either 2) The Proletariat on Richmond (at Montrose) - fairly new music venue (used to be the Blue Iguana), sound is okay, beer is mid-priced 3) The Axiom on McKinney - home of Batman Jones' Infernal Bridegroom theatre troupe and live music sometimes too. Sound is okay, drinks are mid-priced If you're looking for a band, www.spacecityrock.com and www.houstonbands.net/ are the best place to track down musicians. You can also try www.harmony-central.com/. Record stores (other than Best Buy, which is the cheapest, even if their selection sucks) Soundwaves - lots of locations although the one on Montrose is probably the best, prices not too bad, and they actually carry some vinyl Cactus Music (Shepherd and Alabama) - no vinyl but good selection, prices medium to high Good luck with the move and congrats on the new job.
subtomic: What band do you play with? Couple additions: Best record store's still Sound Exchange (it's on Richmond now). For vinyl, Rockpile on Montrose is also very good. Re: The Axiom. We've got live music booked pretty much every weekend night through February. The Proletariat's cool and the owner's a friend of mine. I just hope they'll hire some more bartenders. Took me half an hour to get a beer the other night. Rudyards is still the best bar in town, music or no. Coolest owner, coolest bar staff, huge selection of drafts and bottles and strong drinks. And the music's upstairs, so if you just want to hang out you can do it downstairs over darts or pinball. They've got a decent jukebox too. And on the rare, rare night that Rudz isn't working out for you, walk two doors down to The Next Door bar for a somehow similar and completely different scene. Depending on your taste in beer, you can drink very cheap at any of the above places. They each offer $2 Lone Stars all the time. Draft's reasonable at Rudz and the Proletariat. We only have cans, bottles and mixed drinks at the Axiom. You'll see similar acts at each of the above venues. If you're looking for blues (jams and such), nobody's better than Jimmy's Pawn Shop. They play every Thursday at Silky's on Washington. Carolyn Wonderland (a great singer and a good friend) plays Tuesday nights at Last Concert Cafe (when not on tour). The Wednesday night regular gig's gotta be Greg Wood (ex-Horseshoe, Tab Jones) with Eric Dane on guitar at Walter's on Washington. They're not blues -- more Bill Hicksian/David Allan Coeian country rock. Mary Jane's is also a good venue for indie acts, when Hands Up Houston books them, but I've heard they're changing formats. Could be a rumor. Richmond sucks. Downtown sucks. As for where to live, I second the recommendation of the Woodland Heights. So close to anywhere you need to be (except work and the traffic cycle's perfect) and somehow so removed from anything annoying. Pretty old houses and very charming neighborhood. I live in Montrose now and I miss the Heights. We've got Middlefinger (with Matt Kelley, ex-Sprawl) and Sexy Finger Champs (Greg Beets' wife sings) from Austin at the Axiom on Jan. 24. I love both these bands. Show up and find me and I'll buy you a Lone Star.
Do I just ask for Batman Jones? I have been to Satellite Louge which I like alot because Bob Schneider of Austin plays there quite a bit. Also heard that they opened up a Continental Club (kin to the original in Austin). I think the El Orbits play there - another good band from Houston.
We haven't started playing shows yet, so you wouldn't know us. We're currently in the middle of some personnel adjustments so once we're ready to play, I'll be calling your venue. I would have listed Sound Exchange except that i read that it's closing. No point in getting someone excited about something they won't be able to enjoy.
Ouch... This was just a reference to why I didn't show up for the last one, since I spent time with my girlfriend instead of going. Now that I don't have a girlfriend, why not go hang out with other people who actually care about the game and cheer on my favorite team? B
Oooh... too bad. My boyfriend and I love watching the games. I get him a beer, we chill on the couch, I rub his feet...
Do you like Toni Price, or is that too old for you? If so, she also plays at the Mucky Duck. That's my favorite place for live music, but it may be too old of a crowd for you to enjoy. Still, some of those old peep can jam....like Alejandro Escavado and Junior Brown and the Austin Lounge Lizards. And every once in a while, you might catch Eric Johnson doing an accoustic only show there. That really doesn't suck.
If you still want to go there you need to act fast. The venue is going...going...gone. Unfortunately Star Pizza (the new landlord) decided it couldn't share the parking lot http://www.fabsat.com
Drewdog: ask for Jason. Satellite's closing. Sorry. They've been losing money for a long time and the owners of Star Pizza (their landlords) are relocating to that block and don't want the parking conflict. There is a new Continental Club here. The covers are outrageous (just like in Austin), but there's a great free happy hour on Wednesdays, featuring blues legend Little Joe Washington. Sound Exchange is closing? Are you sure you're not thinking of Record Rack? I hope you're wrong, but I wouldn't be too surprised. Still, check out Rockpile Records. It's next to Phoenix Comics on Montrose. And subtomic, when you're ready, email booking@infernalbridegroom.com. And say hi sometime when you're at the Axiom.
I actually was at the Mucky Duck on Saturday and listened to Toni Price. She seemed like she was high on something. I found the performance to be pitiful. Just sitting there watching and listening to this dumpy looking, spaced-out person left me feeling dirty. We left and went to Zimm's on Montrose instead.
