BOK Center gets more Country love

[Hoss]

quote:Originally posted by Conan71

quote:Originally posted by tulsascoot

Can we please get something worth a crap at the Arena???!!!!!

I am tired of driving to Dallas and St. Louis to see good bands play. ( However, Radiohead at the Riverport in St. Louis was a phenomenal show)

Hate to say "I told you so" to so many who thought this arena would bring in the Stones, Clapton, et. al.

Having an 18,000 seat arena is useless in attracting a-list entertainment (ostensibly of the non-country variety) if you don't have the demographic and pops that a promoter is looking for.

I wouldn't go so far as to say what's been booked at BOK is total crap, but we aren't going to get near as many acts who will play STL, DFW, NYC, etc. if it comes down to choosing OKC or TUL, unless OKC is already booked with a sporting event or another show.  Even then, they might move it forward or back a day or book on the back side of the tour.

And what frequency was your crystal ball tuned to this evening?

Comeon people; a lot of acts aren't even on tour yet.  I'll be the first to admit that I'm not much of a country music fan, but I'm betting other demographics are being pushed as well.  The only concerts I can get really stoked about are Van Halen and any of the old late eighties/early nineties hair bands (yes, I wore mine that way in my late teens).

[bugo]

quote:Originally posted by cannon_fodder

Pollstar Top 50 in ticket sales for the week.  This is not revenue, just ticket sales and serves as a snap shot (not touring or tickets not on sale = not on the list). I think in many ways it is a more important measure (butts in seats mean more to the venue than the price of the ticket) but like any other measure has it's flaws (not touring!).

Some make sense, others don't (new kids?).  But I'd go see Coldplay, Madonna, STP, Dave, Peal Jam, Radiohead, Tom Petty, Foo Fighters, Rage, NIN, or REM for sure.  BUT, the acts we have are still popular even though not all are currently selling tickets (American Idol will be huge, Rascall Flatts and Celion Dion - but tickets not on sale yet).

Except for Madonna, I must say you have good musical taste.  I've seen 3 of the bands you mentioned and they were all incredible.

[cannon_fodder]

I can only say I really know a handful of Madonna songs, and then usually in a casual way (Like a Virgin & Material Girl off the top of my head).  But my wife is a fairly big Madonna fan (anything 80's) and she would want to go for the sport of it. I'm sure it would be an entertaining show, and in 40 years when she keels over and dies... I could say I saw her.

[Renaissance]

quote:Originally posted by Conan71

quote:Originally posted by tulsascoot

Can we please get something worth a crap at the Arena???!!!!!

I am tired of driving to Dallas and St. Louis to see good bands play. ( However, Radiohead at the Riverport in St. Louis was a phenomenal show)

Hate to say "I told you so" to so many who thought this arena would bring in the Stones, Clapton, et. al.

Having an 18,000 seat arena is useless in attracting a-list entertainment (ostensibly of the non-country variety) if you don't have the demographic and pops that a promoter is looking for.

I wouldn't go so far as to say what's been booked at BOK is total crap, but we aren't going to get near as many acts who will play STL, DFW, NYC, etc. if it comes down to choosing OKC or TUL, unless OKC is already booked with a sporting event or another show.  Even then, they might move it forward or back a day or book on the back side of the tour.

Stones and Clapton aren't touring right now.

Nobody was saying this was going to put Tulsa on the same list as NYC or DFW.  Idea was to bring cool acts to Tulsa that would have been coming but for the lack of a venue.  Now the venue exists and 18,000 very happy Tulsans have the opportunity to see Kenney Chesney sing "She Thinks My Tractor's Sexy" live.  

I'm more excited for the NCAA basketball games that will be played there, and the Sonics exhibitions, but yeah, Kenney Chesney's okay too.

EDIT: there is this false premise that country acts aren't "A-list."  They are--just look at the 2007 top ten list I posted.  Country acts are consistently top grossing and also top album-selling.  We're in Oklahoma.  We're going to be booking some top country acts.

[FOTD]

Bates is correct, again (gawd that's tough to admit). It should've been the QT Coliseum.

Anywayze, don't know what's happened with The Eagles. Maybe the conflict of interest handlers of the Bock are trying to decide which arena to manipulate them to....but I think they will be the openers.

Just missed Carlos which is going to the Ford.
Love Carlos. Petty w/b fun. Doesn't matter. The devil shows up in many other parts of the country. Especially at festival time.

Don't miss these shows!

Bill Frizell.....Blank Slate July 30
Black Crowes .....Cains
Bob Dylan......Brady

Todd Rundgren,Lou Gramm (Foreigner), Bo Bice, Christopher Cross, and Denny Lane together for a Beatles tribute coming to the Brady.

"Life goes on, Bra."
Lennon/McCartney

[AVERAGE JOE]

Thank you to everybody for giving your best effort in attempting to prove that forum posters are a bunch of cranks, whiners and complainers who should be ignored. Seriously, bravo.

Get a grip, people. Just because YOUR favorite band isn't among the first half dozen announced doesn't make the arena a failure. Just because there are three country acts coming soon (three of the hottest, best-selling acts in country, btw) doesn't mean it's going to be all country, all the time.

Are all you whiners just a bunch of bored 13 year old girls sitting at your computer all day? Because you're giving 13 year old girls a bad name.

If all you're going to do it ***** and whine, Tulsa World comments section is that way ~~~>

[Townsend]

That entire post was a complaint Kettle.

[tulsascoot]

quote:Originally posted by AVERAGE JOE

Thank you to everybody for giving your best effort in attempting to prove that forum posters are a bunch of cranks, whiners and complainers who should be ignored. Seriously, bravo.

Get a grip, people. Just because YOUR favorite band isn't among the first half dozen announced doesn't make the arena a failure. Just because there are three country acts coming soon (three of the hottest, best-selling acts in country, btw) doesn't mean it's going to be all country, all the time.

Are all you whiners just a bunch of bored 13 year old girls sitting at your computer all day? Because you're giving 13 year old girls a bad name.

If all you're going to do it ***** and whine, Tulsa World comments section is that way ~~~>

Who called it a failure? It's not so unreasonable to want to go to our new arena and check it out. I just haven't seen anything to make me want to go.

And as far as bringing in top grossing acts, it doesn't really matter if they are the biggest national acts if they can fill it up.

Lots of smaller acts could sell it out in Tulsa. There are hundreds of thousands of people in NW Arkansas and many would gladly drive here to see a show. We just need to include them in the marketing.

So I'm just hoping we can get Pearl Jam, I haven't seen them in ten years, and I am going to miss them at Bonnaroo this weekend. :{

[breitee]

A tour of the BOk Center
By Michael Bates on June 20, 2008 5:47 PM | Permalink | Comments (2) | TrackBacks (0)
This week in Urban Tulsa Weekly, I wrote about a tour I was given a few weeks ago of Tulsa's BOk Center arena, scheduled to open this fall. Far from winning me over, the tour convinced me that by foregoing the "iconic" approach to architecture we could have had, for an amount closer to the original budget, an arena that would make a positive addition to downtown's urban fabric.

In the column, I mentioned another Cesar Pelli public facility with a curved, "iconic" glass wall. That's the Benjamin and Marian Schuster Performing Arts Center in Dayton, Ohio. The Schuster Center opened in 2003; construction began in 2000. The Rike Building, a handsome seven-story Sullivanesque department store built in 1911, was demolished to make way for the Schuster Center.






You can see the transformation from good urban form which works well at a distance and up-close at pedestrian scale to a building that is somewhat interesting at a distance but monotonous up close. You would have been able to peek in the display windows of Rike's; the reflective glass on the Schuster Center won't let you see inside.

If you want to take a virtual Google Street View stroll past the Schuster Center, as I suggest in my column, start here and head west on W 2nd St.



Michael could not have said it better. We sure wasted a lot of money on a poor design. Pelli is a nut and his designs reflect that.

[Hoss]

quote:Originally posted by breitee

A tour of the BOk Center
By Michael Bates on June 20, 2008 5:47 PM | Permalink | Comments (2) | TrackBacks (0)
This week in Urban Tulsa Weekly, I wrote about a tour I was given a few weeks ago of Tulsa's BOk Center arena, scheduled to open this fall. Far from winning me over, the tour convinced me that by foregoing the "iconic" approach to architecture we could have had, for an amount closer to the original budget, an arena that would make a positive addition to downtown's urban fabric.

In the column, I mentioned another Cesar Pelli public facility with a curved, "iconic" glass wall. That's the Benjamin and Marian Schuster Performing Arts Center in Dayton, Ohio. The Schuster Center opened in 2003; construction began in 2000. The Rike Building, a handsome seven-story Sullivanesque department store built in 1911, was demolished to make way for the Schuster Center.






You can see the transformation from good urban form which works well at a distance and up-close at pedestrian scale to a building that is somewhat interesting at a distance but monotonous up close. You would have been able to peek in the display windows of Rike's; the reflective glass on the Schuster Center won't let you see inside.

If you want to take a virtual Google Street View stroll past the Schuster Center, as I suggest in my column, start here and head west on W 2nd St.



Michael could not have said it better. We sure wasted a lot of money on a poor design. Pelli is a nut and his designs reflect that.

You and Bates aren't the end-all opinion on this.  As a matter of fact, you two are the ONLY ones I've heard to say that don't like the design, and I've talked to more than several.

Bates is still mad the Vision2025 passed, so of course he's not going to like the flagship project of it.

I was part of the May 8 tour group; I was rather impressed by the design AND functionality of this building.  I respect you and Michael's opinion, but I believe it's in the minority.

[Gold]

It looks cool.  I saw it from Lookout mountain last week and it just stands out -- it really lights up that part of downtown from the distance.  You pretty much have to have some preconceived bias or something up your craw not to like it.

[azbadpuppy]

quote:Originally posted by Conan71

quote:Originally posted by tulsascoot

Can we please get something worth a crap at the Arena???!!!!!

I am tired of driving to Dallas and St. Louis to see good bands play. ( However, Radiohead at the Riverport in St. Louis was a phenomenal show)

Hate to say "I told you so" to so many who thought this arena would bring in the Stones, Clapton, et. al.

Having an 18,000 seat arena is useless in attracting a-list entertainment (ostensibly of the non-country variety) if you don't have the demographic and pops that a promoter is looking for.

I wouldn't go so far as to say what's been booked at BOK is total crap, but we aren't going to get near as many acts who will play STL, DFW, NYC, etc. if it comes down to choosing OKC or TUL, unless OKC is already booked with a sporting event or another show.  Even then, they might move it forward or back a day or book on the back side of the tour.

Here's the lineup at the similar sized jobing.com arena in Glendale, AZ:

http://www.jobingarena.com/

Not really much different than the BOK, and the Phoenix metro is almost 5 million.

What acts are booked is not so much a reflection on a city's collective tastes, but who is on tour at any given time, and who will make the most money on the national circut by being able to sell out these big venues. The line ups are pretty much all the same.

The differences:

Tulsa's arena is downtown, and not 20 miles away in BFE, (like jobing.com) and Tulsa's arena is an iconic, architectural gem that will impress all who visit Tulsa (unlike the majority of venues out there).

Tulsans are Tulsa's worst critics.

[azbadpuppy]

quote:Originally posted by breitee


Michael could not have said it better. We sure wasted a lot of money on a poor design. Pelli is a nut and his designs reflect that.

Right. And you must be a complete idiot to make such an incredibly ridiculous statement. Have you even seen any of his works? Why don't you try to educate yourself:

http://www.pcparch.com/flash.cfm

Pelli is one of the most influential, innovative and talented architects of our day. You may have heard of him as the designer of the world's tallest twin Petronas Towers, the amazing 8 million square foot Citycenter in Las Vegas which is the worlds largest LEED certified (green) project, and the tallest skyscrper west of Chicago, the Transbay Transit Center to be built in San Francisco to name just a few of his world renowned works.

Tulsa is lucky to get a Pelli designed structure.

[rwarn17588]

quote:Originally posted by breitee


We sure wasted a lot of money on a poor design. Pelli is a nut and his designs reflect that.

That is one of the dumbest things I've ever read on this forum, and that's saying something.

It's sort of like saying that Albert Pujols is a poor baseball player.

Pelli has won the American Institute of Architects Gold Medal. That's the highest honor he can get in his profession.

Other AIA Gold Medal winners include Louis Sullivan, Richard Buckminster Fuller, I.M. Pei and Thomas Jefferson (yes, *that* Thomas Jefferson).

So to claim that Pelli is a nut or produces poor designs goes against an avalanche of facts.