OF SOBRIETY, IN-N-OUT AND K-POP AT THE RODEO
Recently, I hit my two-month milestone away from drinking alcohol. I’m still navigating nightlife and relearning how to spend weekends without major hangovers. Houston before noon on the weekends is a pretty interesting place as it turns out.
One of my favorite pastimes in this city is hitting up craft breweries, both for the friend hangs and the appreciation of the art of making beer. I know so many great brewmasters and passionate beer nerds that I cannot give it up completely. These days, away from booze, my visits are a bit more subdued, but Houston’s beer makers have made strides in accommodating those of us who are taking sabbaticals from liquid inebriation.
Yes, you can have fun at Houston breweries without drinking.
Over at Buffalo Bayou Brewing Company’s new outpost on Summer Street, you can have your fill of In the Buff, the brewery’s own carbonated, hopped mineral water. According to representative Sara Jackson, it’s “great for sober curious, pregnant gals and designated drivers.”
I spend a lot of time at 8th Wonder Brewery for DJ gigs and taco fellowship, so I have become ultra-acquainted with the
Ricebox Nitro Thai Tea, a few rotating flavors of Kickin’ Kombucha and the Greenway Coffee’s nitro cold brew coffee.
Brewery president and cofounder Ryan Soroka showed me how to mix their Ocho Chico (a variant of Topo Chico) with the cold brew for a bracing treat. 8th Wonder also has two taps of specially made sodas on the tap wall, including root beer, grape and orange soda.
The Saint Arnold gang, of course, still has its Houstonapproved root beer on tap, along with its own sparkling water. Brash Brewing, Houston’s most metal brew crew, carries Robo Topo Chi Cop and Saint Arnold
Root Beer next to its evil and doom-laden offerings.
Eureka Heights off 18th Street has Topo Chico, Coca-Cola and even nostalgic throwback Squirt Soda, in addition to its familiar hoppy hits like Buckle Bunny, Wicket Awesome and the stout Moo Caliente.
Now, to the readers’ letters.
Why are Houstonians so obsessed with hating or loving In-N-Out Burger? Why were the lines so long when it opened in Katy and Stafford? It’s just a burger. Jake in Pearland
I have never understood the obsession myself. It’s a neat treat
and all, but the fries leave much to be desired. Then again, I hate all fast-food fries that aren’t crinkle cut.
Seeing the mobs of people waiting in long lines for “animal-style” this and that was fun to watch. Equally as funny were people dunking on the mania who want their cremains to be scattered at their favorite Whataburger location.
I say do whatever makes you happy. Life is too short to argue about cheeseburgers.
I will say that both have their positives. In-N-Out has always been very efficient, in my experience, owing to their small, limited menu. The service is tip-top and almost as polite as Chick-Fil-A.
(A fun game to play at CFA is to not say “thank you” and instead say “You guys rock!” or “This is awesome” to see who is listening and won’t robotically reply with a preprogrammed “My pleasure.”)
Whataburger, on the other hand, sometimes has a quality problem. Food varies wildly from location to location, service can be all over the place and the wait time can be tedious. Sometimes my onion rings are sad bits of half-fried onion matter, while other times they are heavenly rings of grease.
I will say that Whataburger locations in rural areas and small Texas towns are much better than the ones in the big city. Maybe its pride, maybe its not having to deal with city idiots complaining about onion rings.
There is a Whataburger in Fredericksburg that has my heart eternally. After a day of wine tasting and adventuring up Enchanted Rock, nothing hits the spot better than a double-meat Whataburger and onion rings.
Why does the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo not book any cool bands? They have a Kpop band coming in 2020 and no rock acts. What gives? Mike in La Porte
A few weeks back the RodeoHouston brass released the schedule of musical genres for its 2020 season to the public to whet our appetites for the upcoming season. The actual list of performers is still a few weeks off, coming out Jan. 9. Included on the concert calendar were a dozen unnamed country acts, along with nights sketched out for R&B, Norteño, EDM and one K-pop group to be named later.
For those not in the know, K-pop is Korean pop, a sort of throwback to the uberchoreographed boy bands of the ’90s with a South Korean spin. Fans of these groups are known for a very aggressive social-media stance, prone to “canceling” any act that they think hasn’t bent the knee to BTS and their peers. They seem to have crossed-cultural boundaries to boot.
Many Houstonians make it a point to complain about the rodeo’s perceived lack of hipness when it comes to booking musical acts. It’s a tale as old as time. I am sure fans in the ’80s were complaining that Run-DMC or The Clash should play after calf roping.
For the 2019 lineup, rodeo organizers booked rapper Cardi B, a pretty darn outside-the-box choice considering the event’s perceived conservative nature. It brought out one of the most diverse crowds ever seen at a rodeo concert, attracting people who normally wouldn’t step foot inside a rodeo event. They also booked Kings of Leon and Santana. So there was some rock there. These days, neon country imagery is all the rage, further widening the rodeo’s popculture net, thanks to Kacey Musgraves and her peers.
Rodeo president and CEO Joel Cowley told the Texican via email that reflecting Houston’s diversity is part of what makes RodeoHouston lineups so special.
“We are truly excited to present a 2020 RodeHouston lineup that reflects our wonderfully diverse community while staying true to our country roots,” he said.
The rodeo’s lineup, according to a representative, is based on artist availability during its 20 days. Not all acts are available to fly down to Houston for one night to appease everyone.
We should all make peace with the fact that RodeoHouston will likely never book the likes of my personal faves, Queens of the Stone Age, Rob Zombie, Orville Peck, or Sturgill Simpson.
I would pay double the price to see some of the robots from Zombie’s horror-fried stage show rumbling on the dirt at NRG Stadium though, like some demented metallic rodeo. As much as I might like that, you probably couldn’t fill up the stadium for Zombie, compared to say, someone like Bruno Mars.
My predictions for RodeoHouston in 2020? I assume we might see Lizzo or Megan Thee Stallion, or even both. The Highwomen — a supergroup of sorts with Brandi Carlile, Natalie Hemby, Maren Morris, and Amanda Shires — would be a step in the right direction. Ashley McBryde, who would aurally rub the bellies of fans of rodeo alum Chris Stapleton, would be an impressive booking.
I am excited though that this year’s lineup inside The Hideout includes my buddies Max Flinn, Market Junction, and Croy and the Boys. Maybe The Hideout is secretly where all the cool kids are?