Roy Head is one of my all time favorite performers. He’s a local legend due to his 1965 hit single “Treat Her Right”
Check out the moves on the young Roy Head in this video from 1965
He’s about to turn 70 next month but you’d never know it from the energy level of his live performances.
All shots below with the Sigma 30mm f/1.4 on the Sony Alpha 700
The current line up of The El Orbits is Thomas Escalante on vocals, Jim Henkel on guitar, Allen Hill on the bass and Eric C. Hughes on the drums. On Saturday night they opened for Roy Head, Barbara Lynn and Archie Bell. They also served quadruple duty as the backing band for each of the acts throughout the entire evening.
For this show I used three different Sigma lenses on the Sony Alpha 700, each of which is represented below.
Sigma 20mm f/1.8 – Click for larger image
Sigma 30mm f/1.4 – Click for larger image
Sigma 10mm f/2.8 Fisheye – Click for larger image
Having a Friday off allowed me to stay up late on a school night and finally catch Chango Man at the Houston Continental Club on Thursday after Beetle.
I’d heard good things about Chango Man, mostly from the members of Chango Man but still, I wanted to check them out. Described as America Cumbia music it is a fantastic blend of Latin sounds that really sounds great. As front man El Fausto (Tino) Jackson likes to say: [paraphrasing] “There’s no reason Latin music can’t rock” and rock it does. It was a great show and definitely worth the time to go see.
Tino is great front man. I’ve seen him play with Beetle and Disco Expressions but when he is out front and taking charge is when he seems to be at his finest.
Additional photos in the Chango Man Gallery
Peter King of the Light Rock Express rolled up to the Continental Club in his latest acquisition, a 1978 Chevy Van RV. It was a surprise for the members of the band who took some time enjoying some cold Löwenbräu with their manager William S. Graham before their performance on Friday evening.
The first song the band played that evening came as no surprise whatsoever.
The folks who brought you The Continental Club, Sig’s Lagoon, Tacos-A-Go-Go and Shoeshine Charley’s Big Top Lounge are at it again. This time right next door @ 3600 Main.
The derelict building that sits next to The Continental club has been vacant for years and was recently acquired by the same folks that own the property @ 3700 Main and innovation is well under way. I was asked by Pete Gordon (manager of The Continental Club) if I could swing by and snap some “before” photos or what promises to be a very cool space in the not too distant future.
As they are working to demo the building they are finding that a very interesting art deco style facade was simply covered with stucco by the previous owners.
Pete tells me that the intention is to try and preserve as much of the original exterior as is possible which is very commendable.
If you squint just right and imagine it with some paint to bring out the original design you can just make out what a wonderful space this is going to be. There’s already plans for a coffee shop and a pizza/burger joint and if Pete has his way, a new club called “Wallpaper”…
In these interesting economic times it’s heartening to see the hustle and bustle of new development. As I was taking pictures numerous people stopped to see what was going on and one woman waiting on the train was misty-eyed as she spoke of her own personal joy at seeing something being done not only to restore this old building, but also of her optimism in seeing something that demonstrates growth in this city while the news outlets continue to issue their dire warning doom and despair.
Virginia calls out the bingo #’s during the El Orbits show on Monday night.