The Rice Thresher, Vol. 95, No. 14, Ed. 1 Friday, December 7, 2007 Page: 8 of 16
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THE RICE THRESHER ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT FRIDAY, DECEMBER 7,2007
weekly
SCENE
Thresher editors'
recommendations for
arts and entertainment
around Houston through
December 7.
CONCERT
Hometown
Showdown
In the history of man, there
have been many types of
bands. One such type is local.
Houston musicians including
Electric Touch, The Crisis and
Sun Machine will perform in
the second annual Hometown
Showdown on Saturday.
Tickets are $10 in advance
and available online.
Warehouse Live
813 St. Emanuel
www.warehouselive.com
TOUR
Candlelight Tour
Ever since man created
fire, man has lit candles
for Christmas. Immerse
yourself in such old fashioned
traditions Friday or Saturday
at the Heritage Society's
annual candlelight tour
through the Sam Houston
Park and surrounding
historic homes.
Sam Houston Park
1100 Bagby
MOVIE
The Rape of
Europa
As part of the Premieres
and Revivals film series, this
documentary tells the epic
story of the theft, destruction
and survival of Europe's art
treasures during the Third
Reich. Watch on Saturday to
hear Dr. Helga Aurisch, MFAH
associate curator of European
art, lead a discussion
after the film.
Museum of Fine Arts
1001 Bissonnet
www.mfah.org
An old Houston favorite gets a second chance
•w&sas
IS
MARCUS ROMAN/THRESHER
Cactus Music & Video is now located in Shepherd Plaza at 2110 Portsmouth, where it moved after closing down in March 2006.
by Ann Wang
FOR THE THRESHER
At times, Houston can seem like
a never-ending desert of cultural
wasteland, with sprawl and strip
malls as far as the eye can see.
Cactus Music and Video — a bas-
tion of eclectic Houston culture for
over 30 years—stood as an oasis in
that desert. That is, until its owners
retired and closed the place down
last March. Now, just one month
after its pre-grand-opening reopen-
ing, Cactus is already creating a
local buzz about its reinvention.
Now located at 2110
Portsmouth, only a few blocks away
from the original location on Shep-
herd, the store has changed decor,
axed video rentals and the incorpo-
rated visual art.
Not only is it once again offering
intimate in-store performances and
a wide selection of local and inde-
pendent albums, it also boasts one of
the city's largest vinyl collections, all
situated in an art space that features
music-related exhibits.
"What's on the walls contextual-
izes the fact that album covers can
be art," Quinn Bishop, Cactus's
general manager said. "The two
concepts work well together."
Not surprisingly, the music
store that has always been known
for its alternative music collection
took the opportunity of a second life
to reconceptualize itself. Bishop
said he recognizes that changing
a store model that people were
already comfortable and satis-
fied with would be somewhat of
a gamble.
However, to survive the down-
turn in record store business, the
encroachment of anti-local Hous-
ton sprawl and the ever-present
competition of online music sales,
Cactus is pulling out all the stops
to utilize and cultivate the cultural
capital of this unique and diverse
city. Bishop said he believes that
local music stores like Cactus are
ideally situated to serve as com-
munity conduits between radio,
artists of all types, music venues
and arts patrons.
"The first day we were open, a
former customer was introduced
to a local artist, and now he's
scheduled to play at this customer's
venue," said Bishop.
So far, this new interdisciplinary
model seems promising. Within
the first three hours of the doors
opening, over 500 people came out
to celebrate the store's revival. Of-
ficially, Cactuswillnothold its grand
opening until February, at which
point the partners expect operations
to have stabilized. The building it's
housed in does not even have a sign
up yet. Still, word-of-mouth is quickly
building store traffic on a daily ba-
sis. Despite the one-and-a-half year
sabbatical, the familiar offbeat and
cozy atmosphere of the original
store remain intact. This is prob-
ably due in part to the fact that an
overwhelming majority of the staff
consists of former employees.
Indeed, Cactus's friendly, laid
back staff has always been one of
the store's strongest selling points.
Tody Castillo, a local musician and
store employee, says that Cactus
is a great place to hang out and
browse because both the regular
customers and the employees are
extremely knowledgeable about
music and keep up with the local
music scene. They are always
glad to discuss music and offer
recommendations.
"Most people that work there
are musicians or were in music
groups," said Castillo. "It's a rock
and roll family vibe."
Especially since Cactus is now
conveniently located close to busi-
nesses that Rice student already
frequent, like Amy's Ice Cream, both
Bishop and Castillo encourage Rice
st udents to come out and browse the
store in their free time. In addition
to strolling the special aisles and
exploring the extensive collection
of new and used music, much of
which is not sold in other Houston
music stores, students can also take
advantage of the planned weekly
in-store sets by talented local and
national artists who are releasing
new albums. Performances usu-
ally occur on Thursday and Friday
nights and Saturday afternoons,
are free of charge and include
complimentary beer.
Attending Cactus events and
choosing to buy from Cactus are
both ways that young Houstonians
who care about music can contrib-
ute to the successful comeback of
the store. On a larger scale, sup-
porting local businesses preserves
identity and builds community.
"Every day something is lost,"
says Bishop, referring to how the
city has allowed the demolition of
historic buildings, and big busi-
nesses have pushed out small, local
businesses simply by surrounding
them and pushing up the rent.
Consumers who support Cactus
will also indirectly be supporting
Saint Arnold Brewing Company, a
renowned Houston microbrewery
founded by Rice graduates, and
Bruce Levy of Rice Epicurean
Market, a family-owned Houston
supermarket chain — both new
partners of Cactus.
By viewing their consumer
choices as influential acts of social
expression, Houston residents
can very easily reward these local
businesses for their resolve and
creativity.
Rice Sketch Comedy creates laughs at Rice's expense
by Casey Michel
THRESHER EDITORIAL STAFF
If there is one lesson that is to be
gleaned from the premiere of Rice
Sketch Comedy, it is thus: Never stare
at a girl with big boobs. For, if we are to
believe RSC'screator-director Faheem
Ahmed, "She will think you are a ter-
rorist. And you will go blind."
While the male members of the
audience may patently disagree
with this disjointed piece of advice,
there is little else they would find
fault with in RSC's sketches. From
not-so-subtle ironic racism to Drunk
Sid Girls, RSC tried to offer a bit of
everything that the coveted young
male demographic desires.
However, these were not just
your generic poop-and-booze jokes
— they were your generic poop-and-
booze jokes with a
focus on the Rice
life. Held in the Rice
Memorial Center's
Grand Hall, the pro-
gram began simi-
larly to the much-
lauded Chappelle's
Show, with Ahmed,
a Baker junior, grab-
bing the mike to
introduce the first
sketch which, like
the rest, appeared on a projector
screen. RSC opened with a VHS-
quality infomercial that highlighted
Rice's 2-to-l student-teacher ratio
('That's crazy! No, that's true," an
over-confident Ahmed voice-over
claims). This ratio creates an intimate
relationship between Martel College
sophomore Christopher Lenzini and
"teacher" Austin Mueller, a Hanszen
College junior. Mueller's motives are
clearly not always professional, like
when he asks Lenzini out for drinks
right after he joined his student
at the urinal.
The infomercial also takes the time
to highlight Rice's legendary diversity.
Wiess junior Jarrod Ford, an African-
American, does his best "Where's
Waldo?" impression by flashing a
creepily exuberant thumbs-up when-
ever the camera finds him.
Rice's notorious attributes are
not the only things coming under
fire from RSC: Stereotypes about
the Rice Boy and Rice Girl inhabit
many of the characters. 'The Three
Amigos" sketch, in which three Rice
guys compete for the affections of
(any) girl at a party, hammers home
many of the common views on Rice
students. While some pigeonholes of
male Rice students are only touched on
briefly many other are made painfully
COURTESY RTV5
Members of Rice Sketch Comedy exhibit cultural diversity in the classroom during
a "Where's Waldo?"-like skit featuring Wiess junior Jarrod Ford (third from left).
obvious. The unsuccessful Michael
Jackson crotch grabs of Ahmed, the
blatant douchebaggery of Jaffe and the
disturbing, under-the-breath muttering
of Mueller—'TTiis is fate... um, I like
to masturbate" — all perpetuate the
myth of social awkwardness in Rice
guys. But just when it looks like all is
lost, the boys discover a IAN World of
Warcraft party they can go to.
As with any debut, growing pains
were evident. Mueller's acting was
static and most of the sketches stuck
with the Rice stereotypes theme. But
the lone sketch that stood above the
rest involved only one faux character,
and many real. Baker sophomore
Connor Hollowwa portrays the main
character of the "Connor O'Hoolihan
Experience," whose host is a sleuthing
investigative reporter who combines
;m overly-dramatic newscaster voice
with the eyebrow exercises that would
make Stephen Colbert jealous.
RSC's second volume of work will
be shown in the spring, and while there
are no promises that Leebron will be
there, plans are in the works for more
chances for the audience to go blind.
Or, at least, so we hope.
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Whitfield, Stephen. The Rice Thresher, Vol. 95, No. 14, Ed. 1 Friday, December 7, 2007, newspaper, December 7, 2007; Houston, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth443064/m1/8/: accessed July 18, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Rice University Woodson Research Center.