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<\/p>\nFormer Indianapolis Colts owner Jim Irsay loved guitars.\u00a0 And he had plenty of money to buy them.\u00a0 Over a period of several decades, he amassed a collection that includes truly historic instruments (as opposed to what you see at Hard Rock Caf\u00e9 locations in secondary markets) played by the Beatles, Jimi Hendrix, Jerry Garcia, Eddie Van Halen and Prince.<\/p>\n
After Irsay\u2019s passing a few months ago, his family decided that it was time to sell his curated collection, and an auction organized by Christie\u2019s has been set for March of next year. \u00a0Some have bemoaned the fact that this extraordinary collection will be broken up, but Irsay was all about sharing these instruments, periodically allowing prominent musicians to play selected guitars on stage.\u00a0 For several years, a traveling exhibition gave guitar aficionados across the country an opportunity to drool over the instruments played by their heroes.<\/p>\n
Irsay was also a responsible custodian of historical artifacts that he had acquired over the years, including the roll of paper that Jack Kerouac used to write the beat classic On the Road.\u00a0 Kerouac, who composed much of the book under the influence of amphetamines and alcohol, used the scroll format so that he didn\u2019t have to be bothered with continually inserting individual sheets of paper.\u00a0 When asked for his opinion of Kerouac\u2019s work, Truman Capote famously said, \u201cThat\u2019s not writing, that\u2019s just typing.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ticket Alert<\/p>\n
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If you\u2019re looking for a Christmas concert with a Texas vibe, consider \u201cHome for the Holidays\u201d at the Heights Theater<\/a> on Friday, December 19.\u00a0 The lineup is a strong one, featuring Carolyn Wonderland, Shelley King, Rosie Flores and Kevin Russell performing seasonal favorites.\u00a0 Tickets are on sale now.<\/p>\n Jesse Dayton and the Road Kings have scheduled another year-end visit to the Continental Club<\/a> on Friday, December 26, and Saturday, December 27.\u00a0 This marks the third \u201cHoliday Throwdown\u201d for the band, which provided Houston with some serious rockabilly fun during the \u201890s.\u00a0 Tickets are on sale now and will probably go quickly.<\/p>\n Sting and his \u201c3.0\u201d tour will arrive at the Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion<\/a> on Wednesday, May 13.\u00a0 So what\u2019s with the 3.0, you may ask? Apparently, it\u2019s a reference to the fact that the vocalist \/ bassist will be performing in a trio format this time around. \u00a0The PR blurb says that this will be a \u201crock and roll tour,\u201d which might suggest to an astute observer that the set list will include a number of songs that Sting\u2019s former band used to play.\u00a0 Presales are up now, with the general sale on Friday.<\/p>\n Increasingly, big names have been, if not tentative, certainly measured in booking tour dates.\u00a0 Both Paul McCartney and Rush have employed the strategy of scheduling smallish tours and subsequently adding shows when the market indicates a strong demand for tickets.\u00a0 And so it is with AC\/DC, who toured North America this past spring, playing 13 stadium dates, and will return next year for a slightly longer 17 show jaunt.\u00a0 Tickets go on sale Friday for the band\u2019s show on Monday, August 31, at NRG Stadium<\/a>.<\/p>\n Concerts This Week<\/strong><\/p>\n In the case of Wolfgang Van Halen, the apple didn\u2019t fall far from the tree.\u00a0 Sure, touring with his father while he was a teenager taught him the ropes, but since then, Van Halen the younger has made a name for himself as a guitarist, vocalist and leader of the band Mammoth.\u00a0 Check him out tonight at the House of Blues<\/a>.<\/p>\n If, however, you are looking for something that rocks, but maybe not quite so hard, there\u2019s Maroon 5 at Toyota Center <\/a>this evening.\u00a0 The \u201cMoves Like Jagger\u201d guys are on tour in support of their recent album Love is Like.<\/p>\n A couple of the best singer-songwriters around are both playing on Friday, so a choice will have to be made.\u00a0 Rodney \u201cThe Houston Kid\u201d Crowell, one of the most successful musicians to come out of the Bayou City, is at the Heights Theater<\/a> for a show that will (probably) feature songs from his latest album, Airline Highway.\u00a0 Over at the 713 Music Hall<\/a>, it\u2019s Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit.\u00a0 So where did the 400 Unit get its name?\u00a0 Glad you asked.\u00a0 The 400 Unit was a term that the locals in Florence, Ala., used to refer to the psychiatric ward of the Eliza Coffee Memorial Hospital.\u00a0 Well, you know what they say about musicians.<\/p>\n And even though we are now past Halloween and most folks have turned their attention to Thanksgiving, there are those who wonder why All Hallows\u2019 Eve is not a weeklong celebration.\u00a0 If that\u2019s you, consider The Evil Dead in Concert at the Bayou Music Center on Monday, when Joe LoDuca\u2019s score for Sam Raimi\u2019s 1981 horror classic will be performed live on stage.\u00a0 As SCTV\u2019s Count Floyd used to say, \u201cScary, kids, scary!\u201d<\/p>\n![\"YouTube](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/1762353085_159_hqdefault.jpg\")
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