Are you sure they didn't book a tractor pull for today?

Looks like the first concert has been booked for this venue and it's a pretty big one (at least, to me): Slayer, Suicidal Tendencies and Exodus on November 17, 2014. Oh and as of now, that concert is not playing either the Cain's or the Brady in Tulsa in case anyone was wondering.

I am glad to see them making these changes and hope that it does usher in some more acts that we don't normally get. I am a huge concert geek and end up traveling to Dallas and Denver a lot to see shows. The blue bird and Ogden Theater in Denver get great acts and have a good setup and Dallas gets a lot of shows at Grananda Theater and Palladium.. a few of the acts that book there also end up at Cains so I can sometimes catch the shows in Tulsa instead but would be great to see them hit OKC instead since so many times those shows fall on weekdays.

Looks like the first concert has been booked for this venue and it's a pretty big one (at least, to me): Slayer, Suicidal Tendencies and Exodus on November 17, 2014. Oh and as of now, that concert is not playing either the Cain's or the Brady in Tulsa in case anyone was wondering.

What? They're spending all this money to redo the place, just to have those dudes tear the place up!?

Just kidding. Should be an interesting test for the acoustics though. Heavy distortion in large rooms without treatments (like most arenas) can be a problem.

I am glad to see them making these changes and hope that it does usher in some more acts that we don't normally get. I am a huge concert geek and end up traveling to Dallas and Denver a lot to see shows. The blue bird and Ogden Theater in Denver get great acts and have a good setup and Dallas gets a lot of shows at Grananda Theater and Palladium.. a few of the acts that book there also end up at Cains so I can sometimes catch the shows in Tulsa instead but would be great to see them hit OKC instead since so many times those shows fall on weekdays.

It will still fall on the shoulders of a good promoter. Having a good room to market helps, but if no one is making an active effort to book it regularly, it won't matter.

From https://twitter.com/BricktownOKC:

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/BtMYgnECYAAFai-.jpg

I saw recently that there was a show scheduled for 11/17 so this thing has to be done by then, eh?

I saw recently that there was a show scheduled for 11/17 so this thing has to be done by then, eh?

Yep. See my post on 6/23/2014:


Looks like the first concert has been booked for this venue and it's a pretty big one (at least, to me): Slayer, Suicidal Tendencies and Exodus on November 17, 2014...

Doh! Sorry, got an email about that concert and too much time had passed since I read your post...

So, that Slayer show is in less than two weeks. Do we know how progress is coming along?

From their FB page; looks complete; they hosted a health fair Nov. 1.

Looks like they put down a wood floor; was just concrete previously.

https://fbcdn-sphotos-b-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-xap1/v/t1.0-9/10346059_471420309666313_8533863398379179325_n.jpg ?oh=55c176c67dae920c5ddb362cffec9485&oe=54DDD8AE&__gda__=1423518834_8cdce33cb091af9daf472e64251817f 4

This is kind of an odd question, but what happened to the Coca-Cola sign that used to be on the Bricktown events center? Is there any chance the sign could get put on display anywhere else? I really thought it was a cool sign and was way better than the current Chevy signage.

Looks good, layout reminds me of the 9:30 Club in DC.

From their FB page; looks complete; they hosted a health fair Nov. 1.

Looks like they put down a wood floor; was just concrete previously.

https://fbcdn-sphotos-b-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-xap1/v/t1.0-9/10346059_471420309666313_8533863398379179325_n.jpg ?oh=55c176c67dae920c5ddb362cffec9485&oe=54DDD8AE&__gda__=1423518834_8cdce33cb091af9daf472e64251817f 4

Much better.

And the covering of any concrete or steel will help a lot too.

So other than the Criterion being larger - is there really any difference in the layout of these? For some reason I thought one of these would be GA and the other would have seating.

The seem to be very similar in size and layout.

I'm very ignorant when it comes to these venues as I've never really been to one. Looking at the pictures, it looks great and seems to have a decent amount of size, but would seem to suit a prom more than a concert.

Is this a typical size for a concert? About how many people should it be able to fit? Is it on par with comparable city event centers?

I'm excited to see something like this in downtown!

I'm very ignorant when it comes to these venues as I've never really been to one. Looking at the pictures, it looks great and seems to have a decent amount of size, but would seem to suit a prom more than a concert.

Is this a typical size for a concert? About how many people should it be able to fit?

It's very typical these days. Most major markets have at least 2 or 3 venues in the 1200 - 2500 range. Many cities have more. The live performance market is very saturated right now and mid size venues are kind of the sweet spot for "established" touring acts. Even the biggest tours have trouble selling out arenas these days. Other than the Frozen soundtrack, I don't think there's even been an album that has been certified platinum (1 million in sales) this year. Music is very fragmented right now and there's not as much of a mass market as there once was. So, yeah, most touring shows now draw about as much as a large prom.

They have been able to book this venue for concerts and sell it out in the past and it was not a good room. This should help attract more acts and, maybe more importantly, make the shows there much more enjoyable.

With the Criterion being proposed to be almost the same size and layout, do you think there is enough demand for both? I know it will depend on the respective promoters, but due to the close proximity it would seem like the competition might be too much. I hope I'm wrong though.... If they both can bring in good acts I'd go to either one of these any day over an arena show.

With the Criterion being proposed to be almost the same size and layout, do you think there is enough demand for both? I know it will depend on the respective promoters, but due to the close proximity it would seem like the competition might be too much. I hope I'm wrong though.... If they both can bring in good acts I'd go to either one of these any day over an arena show.

I'm not sure what the new capacity is of this venue, but I don't see how it would be the 4k the criterion plans on, so I think they'd still be in different classes in terms of size.

As for demand, it's hard to say. That is can be very cyclical and, of course, depends on who's on tour and what promoters are interested. I would imagine that the BEC will book well for a variety of events. These changes have made it much more versatile and even after adding capacity, it probably made itself a better venue for smaller events, too, because there's more division of space.

Really hard to guess at the Criterion. We haven't had a venue that size and don't know if we'll see more action from promoters because of it.

It's very typical these days. Most major markets have at least 2 or 3 venues in the 1200 - 2500 range. Many cities have more. The live performance market is very saturated right now and mid size venues are kind of the sweet spot for "established" touring acts. Even the biggest tours have trouble selling out arenas these days. Other than the Frozen soundtrack, I don't think there's even been an album that has been certified platinum (1 million in sales) this year. Music is very fragmented right now and there's not as much of a mass market as there once was. So, yeah, most touring shows now draw about as much as a large prom.

They have been able to book this venue for concerts and sell it out in the past and it was not a good room. This should help attract more acts and, maybe more importantly, make the shows there much more enjoyable.

Taylor Swift just did.

I'm not a T-Swift fanboy or anything, just pointing it out haha ;)

Taylor Swift just did.

I'm not a T-Swift fanboy or anything, just pointing it out haha ;)

lol.

Ok, ONE artist has a platinum album this year. : )

That girl needs to have a steak or 2,with all the trimmings.

With the Criterion being proposed to be almost the same size and layout, do you think there is enough demand for both? I know it will depend on the respective promoters, but due to the close proximity it would seem like the competition might be too much. I hope I'm wrong though.... If they both can bring in good acts I'd go to either one of these any day over an arena show.

That doesn't seem to be a problem in Tulsa with a similar situation with Cain's and the Brady.

lol.

Ok, ONE artist has a platinum album this year. : )

Speak of Taylor Swift. I'll just drop this here.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WPyG5mMfaN8

Alt-J announced for April 8, tix on sale to public this Friday:

ProTix: Event Details (http://www.protixonline.com/events/details/?event_id=201)

By the way, not my cup of tea but I saw Slayer there the other night at the invite of the venue's owner, and I am completely impressed with the upgrades. It is a FAR better venue. Ample bars, ample restrooms, balcony is nice, finishes are great, sound is MUCH improved (and they still have to hang some curtains, etc.). Overall I am very excited about what this adds to the music scene in OKC. Here's hoping we can get more great shows like Alt-J.

By the way, not my cup of tea but I saw Slayer there the other night at the invite of the venue's owner, and I am completely impressed with the upgrades. It is a FAR better venue. Ample bars, ample restrooms, balcony is nice, finishes are great, sound is MUCH improved (and they still have to hang some curtains, etc.). Overall I am very excited about what this adds to the music scene in OKC. Here's hoping we can get more great shows like Alt-J.

Comparison to Cain's or Brady, what did you think?

Very interesting to consider. I discussed that very topic during the show. It is not really very similar to Brady; Cain's is a much closer comparison. I don't think I am being unkind to the Chevy Event Center in saying it will never have the history and charm of Cain's; only a very few venues in the country have as much. The Chevy is quite obviously a modern building. BUT, that isn't to say that it is sterile, and modern has some advantages. Quite the opposite. Facilities are great, bar availability great, sight lines MUCH improved, sound MUCH improved, lights great. It has a very, very nice vibe. I'll put it this way; it will surely be enough to keep most local people in OKC rather than driving up the turnpike if a show is booked in both towns.

Thanks for the report!

Sounds like a big improvement.

Very interesting to consider. I discussed that very topic during the show. It is not really very similar to Brady; Cain's is a much closer comparison. I don't think I am being unkind to the Chevy Event Center in saying it will never have the history and charm of Cain's; only a very few venues in the country have as much. The Chevy is quite obviously a modern building. BUT, that isn't to say that it is sterile, and modern has some advantages. Quite the opposite. Facilities are great, bar availability great, sight lines MUCH improved, sound MUCH improved, lights great. It has a very, very nice vibe. I'll put it this way; it will surely be enough to keep most local people in OKC rather than driving up the turnpike if a show is booked in both towns.

I heard the same thing from a friend who went. When I asked him about it, he said "good place to see a show" and I had never heard that about BEC before. He'd never been to BEC, but has been to many many venues in large markets, so it was a good endorsement and not one made from a "at least it's better than before" perspective. I'm going to check out the Alt-J show, but hopefully there's another chance to go before April.

Very interesting to consider. I discussed that very topic during the show. It is not really very similar to Brady; Cain's is a much closer comparison. I don't think I am being unkind to the Chevy Event Center in saying it will never have the history and charm of Cain's; only a very few venues in the country have as much. The Chevy is quite obviously a modern building. BUT, that isn't to say that it is sterile, and modern has some advantages. Quite the opposite. Facilities are great, bar availability great, sight lines MUCH improved, sound MUCH improved, lights great. It has a very, very nice vibe. I'll put it this way; it will surely be enough to keep most local people in OKC rather than driving up the turnpike if a show is booked in both towns.

Thanks for the report. I hope the promotion picks up and we can start stealing concerts away from the Cains or at the very least get it added due to the renovation of this property. Were you upstairs or downstairs?

I had a friend at the show as well who had never been to the venue. she was impressed and had no idea how bad it was before.
I noticed when purchasing my tickets for Alt-j that the tickets were GA and VIP for balcony so it gives them some ticket price options so that is good.
I purchased the VIP option and am looking forward to seeing the remodel and Alt-J

Thanks for the report. I hope the promotion picks up and we can start stealing concerts away from the Cains or at the very least get it added due to the renovation of this property. Were you upstairs or downstairs?

I don't think their really needs to be any stealing. There are so many tours in this segment that don't come to either market every year that I think the BEC could carry the same number of shows and not affect Cain's bookings. Some of the heavy hitters may rotate more between the markets like what happens between the arenas and there may be some behind the scenes wrestling for specific acts, but I don't think there has to be any net negative affect on the Tulsa market volume for the BEC to offer the same. I'm sure a lot of acts won't want to split the two markets back to back, as Cain's and the Brady do depend a lot on the OKC market for sales.

I don't think their really needs to be any stealing. There are so many tours in this segment that don't come to either market every year that I think the BEC could carry the same number of shows and not affect Cain's bookings. Some of the heavy hitters may rotate more between the markets like what happens between the arenas and there may be some behind the scenes wrestling for specific acts, but I don't think there has to be any net negative affect on the Tulsa market volume for the BEC to offer the same. I'm sure a lot of acts won't want to split the two markets back to back, as Cain's and the Brady do depend a lot on the OKC market for sales.

Good point. I have seen several bands who come through and play the Diamond on one leg and then the Cain's on another leg of the same tour. I could see more of that happening with The Chevy depending on the promotion.

Primus is playing The Chevy on 5/5/2015. It's starting to happen.

From https://twitter.com/OKCMOA:

This space is so much nicer after the renovation.

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/B9WeEFACUAI0g87.jpg:large

The two areas in the back with the bright lights and red walls are full-service bars, both on ground and mezzanine levels.

From travisstephens_ on Instagram

https://scontent-dfw.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xfp1/v/t1.0-9/11096486_10205171795487010_1591125742999834831_n.j pg?oh=cd6ef5f3b2b9cacbbc9ad34c753bc2e5&oe=55A9F9C4

The two areas in the back with the bright lights and red walls are full-service bars, both on ground and mezzanine levels.

But where do I get my drink tickets?

j/k

Incredible sold-out show last night by Alt-J and Tycho. One of the best shows I've seen in OKC in a long time, and I marveled again at how much better the venue is now. Also, after his set, Tycho (@ISO50) tweeted "Oklahoma City is one of the coolest places I've been in a long time", so, there's that.

I've seen Tycho live & they play the most beautiful music I've ever heard in my life. I wish I could have made it to the show last night. :(

Yeah, super-impressed with both bands live.

Both bands were great. The venue is super cool and the acoustics not bad. Tycho was good, but Alt-J killed. So so good. Lighting and video for Alt-J were trippy and over the top but really well done.

The Alt-J light show reminded me a lot of Interpol's. Lots of monochromatic washes.

That was a very good show last night and the venue is sooooo much better. In addition to the new floors, they did put some acoustic panels on the walls and some curtain treatments. It was definitely the best the place has ever sounded to me. I've certainly seen shows that sounded worse at higher profile venues.Some of that, of course, has a lot to do with the sound engineering of specific shows, but it does at least show that if a band sounds like crap at BEC, it's no longer the room's fault. It's up to promoters to up their game now, imo.

The only bummer was that the VIP bar upstairs is the only one with cocktails, but I'm not going to complain, because anything is better than the old bush league drink ticket system they used before.

Now if they'd just put some pub tables upstairs so us "more seasoned" patrons that don't want to stand the whole time could have a place to sit and enjoy the show...

...

The only bummer was that the VIP bar upstairs is the only one with cocktails, but I'm not going to complain, because anything is better than the old bush league drink ticket system they used before.

Only been here once before the renovation (for Wilco), wondering exactly what this means? Is there only beer/wine available at the downstairs bar(s)? Do you have to buy VIP tickets to get to the balcony to get mixed drinks? If so, is the ticket price difference huge or negligible?

Only been here once before the renovation (for Wilco), wondering exactly what this means? Is there only beer/wine available at the downstairs bar(s)? Do you have to buy VIP tickets to get to the balcony to get mixed drinks? If so, is the ticket price difference huge or negligible?

I'm not even sure if they had wine downstairs, I can't remember, but yes, the mixed drinks were only available upstairs and you do have to buy VIP tickets. I don't know what the price difference was as a friend bought the tix, but it looks like the difference is $10 for both Marilyn Manson and Primus, so I bet that's standard. Also says upstairs is 21 and over only, so I'm guessing this all has to do with some brilliant liquor law drawn up 60 years ago.

I don't know this for a fact, but suspect that they will add liquor to the downstairs bars after they have their feet under themselves completely, depending also on the artist. I don't think there is a legal restriction there (security was carding/wristbanding 21+ at Alt-J), and all they would have to do is restrict access around the bar areas to 21+ (they may have already been doing this; I just wasn't paying attention). I'm guessing they kept beer only at the downstairs bar so they could keep up (the show was a sellout and one of their first). They did an excellent job of keeping the lines flowing, though I would def suggest going to the side bar instead of the one at the back of the hall.

Regarding the mezzanine, I just bought tickets for Lord Huron at Cain's in July, and the mezzanine upcharge was $15 on a base $22 ticket. I happily paid it, because I will almost always do that to avoid lines... ;)

I don't know this for a fact, but suspect that they will add liquor to the downstairs bars after they have their feet under themselves completely, depending also on the artist. I don't think there is a legal restriction there (security was carding/wristbanding 21+ at Alt-J), and all they would have to do is restrict access around the bar areas to 21+ (they may have already been doing this; I just wasn't paying attention). I'm guessing they kept beer only at the downstairs bar so they could keep up (the show was a sellout and one of their first). They did an excellent job of keeping the lines flowing, though I would def suggest going to the side bar instead of the one at the back of the hall.

Regarding the mezzanine, I just bought tickets for Lord Huron at Cain's in July, and the mezzanine upcharge was $15 on a base $22 ticket. I happily paid it, because I will almost always do that to avoid lines... ;)

You may be right about it being because of promoter / venue preference as opposed to a law. Does Cain's do full bar on the main floor? I can't remember.

I think the VIP would be a good spot for a show at BEC, as long as they don't sell it where you have to stand more than 2 deep from the railing. I had to do that at a HOB show in Chicago and it wasn't all that great.

Just attended the Tour De Compadres here last night. All I can say is RIP Diamond Ballroom. Not that the bar was set very high, but this place is just better in every single way. Even getting will call tickets and entering the venue was super quick and organized. The thing that was really amazing was that there were maybe 20 minutes of transition time between each band. I'm so used to waiting 45 min between bands at the Diamond. Could be that the tour crew itself was super organized, but the BEC has a huge stage and plenty of backstage area to move gear. Sound and Lighting were superb, and really like the balcony level.

Probably still on a high from last night, but really happy with this place. Have really high hopes for this and the Criterion to take the live music scene here to another level.

They just announced Super Diamond (Neil Diamond tribute band) is playing here on New Year's Eve.

But looking at the website for this venue... I don't see any other concerts on the calendar. Can that be correct??

They just announced Super Diamond (Neil Diamond tribute band) is playing here on New Year's Eve.

But looking at the website for this venue... I don't see any other concerts on the calendar. Can that be correct??

Yeah, it's weird. UCO Performance Lab gets booked better than this venue.

and diamond is still getting the shows... lamb of god/anthrax was just announced for there, and it seems like that show could've done well at bricktown events.

Wow, they spent a ton of money then have ONE concert booked over the next several months?

I thought Criterion would hurt them but at this point they could only help.

and diamond is still getting the shows... lamb of god/anthrax was just announced for there, and it seems like that show could've done well at bricktown events.

It has to be promotion. I've been to both and the Diamond is basically a roller rink with a stage at one end plopped in the middle of a gravel parking lot.

Maybe the cost to book the venue is too high, or maybe the energy just isn't there. i know the younger Brett also has a crossfire studio that he spends a ton of time at.... One never really knows , but something seems to be off just for the simple fact, they rarely have anything worth attending.

I'm guessing maybe DCF owns the Diamond. If so, unless there's a significant show that the diamond just can't handle, the economics would be better for them there. I could be totally wrong on that though.

DCF does own Diamond.