Silversun are coming to Tulsa the very next night, but not at the Cain's, they are at the Brady again. Last March they played at the old Cox Convention Center Arena which seats up to 8,000, but that old arena was horrible and is now closed and about to rebuilt into two levels of convention space. I would think they easily could play The Criterion, unless it's because it's a Thursday show in OKC.

^^^ Not sure why the day of week would matter, but I guess some folks don't go to shows on weeknights (I certainly do - with the drought of bands that I like coming here, I go to one I like whatever day or time it is).

Anyway, asked Steve about it in today's chat and he got to it:

Music Lover said:
Hi Steve, what's up with the Criterion and its very few shows? Great place to see a band, but booking is ridiculously light, maybe 2 shows a month, and tons of folks here would love to see more.

Steve Lackmeyer replied:
Competition has picked up, but the folks at Levelland tell me more show announcements will come out soon.

They have been teasing a big announcement. Curious as to who it is

They have been teasing a big announcement. Curious as to who it is

If it's not 20 shows a month, some will be disappointed. ;)

they are actually gonna add 40 stories to the top of it.

If it's not 20 shows a month, some will be disappointed. ;)

Hell, I'd settle for *2* shows per month. :p

I think it's going to take some time for this venue to develop a reputation and really get things going. Look at it from a touring band perspective. If Oklahoma is viewed as a one-stop state and you have sold out Cain's Ballroom for several years, are you going to take a risk on some new venue in Oklahoma City when playing at Cain's in Tulsa is an assured success?

I think once the Criterion builds a reputation and/or Oklahoma becomes a two-stop state, it will be more successful, and I believe that will happen gradually.

I think it's going to take some time for this venue to develop a reputation and really get things going. Look at it from a touring band perspective. If Oklahoma is viewed as a one-stop state and you have sold out Cain's Ballroom for several years, are you going to take a risk on some new venue in Oklahoma City when playing at Cain's in Tulsa is an assured success?

I think once the Criterion builds a reputation and/or Oklahoma becomes a two-stop state, it will be more successful, and I believe that will happen gradually.
I'm not sure that they can afford to do it gradually.

I think the way you build a reputation is to book a lot of shows. They're not all gonna be home runs some will be. Then the more that rep builds you can let go of the lower tier shows and start trying to book only the bigger names. If Criterion is taking a pass on smaller shows and just waiting around for bigger names, they're not gonna get anywhere.

Think of it from a band perspective. Smaller, lesser known bands can really turn down a job. They have to be willing to play anywhere, anytime. And through that they build a reputation and are able to start booking better and larger venues. I read a book about the beginnings of Van Halen and they made it by not only their talent but being hard working and playing pretty much any show. A place like Criterion can't really pass on smaller names. They need to build up content.

they are actually gonna add 40 stories to the top of it.

And that's without the crown.

so what was the announcement?

so what was the announcement?

Don't believe it's happened yet. Maybe they're having problems booking someone to do the announcement. :Smiley112

Lots of savages in this thread

Well crap guys. Just got word on the announcement. Looks like it's now the Diamond Ballroom's announcement.

Well crap guys. Just got word on the announcement. Looks like it's now the Diamond Ballroom's announcement.

No way they were going to have that Whitey Morgan/Cody Jinks show at the Criterion (if that's the Diamond announcement you were talking about). Anyway, DCF handles the Diamond, not the Criterion.

according to twitter they are going to wait a bit longer and announce multiple shows next week

according to twitter they are going to wait a bit longer and announce multiple shows next week

I have been reading the comments for some time about the Criterion's lack of shows. I agree, they need more big acts, but what a lot of people do not realize is that the Criterion is not just used for concerts. It is rented out for corporate events and wedding receptions.

Bigray in Ok

Big announcement. Young the Giant, Cold War Kids, and JoyWave. This is more like it.

https://twitter.com/CriterionOKC/status/834070228317458432

Big announcement. Young the Giant, Cold War Kids, and JoyWave. This is more like it.

https://twitter.com/CriterionOKC/status/834070228317458432

Woohoo!!

Nice!.. Young the Giant sold out Cains earlier this month. I had wanted to catch that show so I am glad they are coming to OKC.

I'm a fan of Cold War Kids and would pay to see them by themselves.

I'm a fan of Cold War Kids and would pay to see them by themselves.

Yup. they were not with them at Cains. I did see them at a center of the universe festival several years back though and they were great live.

feeling old, unhip, clueless, or a bit of all three today.

Yep ^^^^^^^

Nice! will definitely try to catch a couple of these!

Joywave is really good too. That's a good show.

'Explosions in the Sky' will be here in April

They are hosting Smoklahoma in May (Big cigar event)

At the Drive In w/Le Butcherettes, June 13.

Lil Wayne April 27

Attended the Turnpike Troubadours show last Saturday. It was the first full sellout at the Criterion and the show was incredible.

Unfortunately, They were severely understaffed and not near prepared enough. They ran COMPLETELY out of beer before the headliner went on. Drink lines were 30-45 minutes in length and by the time you got to the bar, people were literally buying 24-48 beers at a time. They also ran out of vodka as well as ice before the end of the show.

Overall, they knew they were sold out and had probably half the needed staff and not near enough product which probably cost them tens of thousands in revenue. I hope they correct this before the upcoming shoes because the venue is great.

Yay, finally some shows! Probably won't go to ATDI - not my cup of tea (if I want to be screamed at the whole show, I prefer someone like Swans to do it), even though I like Mars Volta. Probably not Lil Wayne either, but *maybe* Young the Giant - Cold War Kids are good, but the other 2 are "ehhhh". Going to EITS, however, and found a couple of videos of the opener Still Corners, and I might end up liking them better than EITS.

Brit Floyd june 4th.

They are heating up the bookings!

It's mind boggling they haven't figured out the bar situation yet.

He may be polarizing, but Lil' Wayne is a pretty huge get!

It's mind boggling they haven't figured out the bar situation yet.

It makes me mad honestly... I have been to 3 shows here and every single one has been the same. No easy beer carts, huge lines wrapping around the walking areas for people trying to get anything from a bottle of water to a mixed drink.

Like how hard is it to buy 2-4 of those big rolling coolers and filling them with ice and saying Cash only? Is it the staff? The unprofessional look? Something has to be preventing them from going with such an easy solution.

One of the Criterion shows I was at, people were literally buying cases of beer from the bar (which I am sure is not legal since the bottles were not open). When you have patrons walking around with beers rolling around in a torn 18 pack of budlight they bought at the bar, you have issues.

At the Flaming Lips show, there weren't any bar problems that I encountered - I was on the upper level left side of the stage and they didn't appear to run out of anything, lines were about 3-4 deep at the most. But not sure how sold out that show or the demand was compared to the ones where there were problems. But yeah, they should have their sh*t together by now...

The troubadours shows sounds like what it was like at the Third Eye Blind show. Since then, all the other shows I've been to, I haven't had a problem and there were beer carts. I think selling the six packs of beer thing is strange too (which you could get at the beer carts), but Cain's has been doing that for as long as I can remember. I guess maybe if it's 3.2, it's okay?

Yeah it is weird that it is so hit and miss. I've been to the place for three different shows and haven't had any issues getting drinks.

Yeah, I didn't have any issues either... I sent my wife to go get them... No issue for me at all. ;)

I've only been once for the Sturgill Simpson show, and the lines were 2-3 people deep. The show wasn't sold out, but it was still packed. Sounds like they are underprepared for the weekend shows that draw a bigger crowd and more demand at the bar. You would think that this would be a problem that would be more aggressive to fix.

And of course, they are losing tons of money by not being able to service people wanting to buy.

Not having easily accessible booze is probably the biggest crime you can commit as a concert hall operator

Not having easily accessible booze is probably the biggest crime you can commit as a concert hall operator

Especially when it's *so* easy to fix. All the Criterion folks have to do is ask some of us how to fix it if they can't figure it out, we've got it covered, lol....

Attended the Turnpike Troubadours show last Saturday. It was the first full sellout at the Criterion and the show was incredible.

Unfortunately, They were severely understaffed and not near prepared enough. They ran COMPLETELY out of beer before the headliner went on. Drink lines were 30-45 minutes in length and by the time you got to the bar, people were literally buying 24-48 beers at a time. They also ran out of vodka as well as ice before the end of the show.

Overall, they knew they were sold out and had probably half the needed staff and not near enough product which probably cost them tens of thousands in revenue. I hope they correct this before the upcoming shoes because the venue is great.

My neighbors went to that show and said the same. They also said there were no trash cans and people were tripping over all the trash on the floor.

^^^ This is just so bizarre - it's like there are 2 sets of people operating shows at the Criterion, one normal and one Bizarro-Criterion! Both shows I've been to (MMJ and Lips) have had plenty of bartenders, booze, booze carts, and trashcans, and yet other shows are so severely lacking it seems like amateur hour, what is going on there? Is it the capacity - do they do fine when not sold out and when sold out, just collapse into total incompetence? Is it poor planning? Just completely baffling...

Travis Scott May 12th. Not my style but another big name.

Volbeat, June 10th.

So between now and the end of May, Diamond Ballroom (http://www.diamondballroom.net) has 11 events (10 concerts and a burlesque night), and Criterion (http://criterionokc.com) has just 5 concerts and a cigar show. Pretty good argument that Diamond is getting better shows, too. Criterion has only 10 total events scheduled the whole rest of the year.

How?

Coincidentally, In Lackmeyer's chat this morning, he said this:

"I've been told by operators at Levelland they have announcements coming. But clearly they've hit tougher competition than expected in booking acts."

Don't they always have announcements coming? :Smiley145

And what competition??

And what competition??

JJ's Alley, duh. Also, apparently Diamond Ballroom.

Yes, really hard to compete with an abysmal facility south of Crossroads Mall that has to be in the bottom 1% of concert venues in the universe.

Also, the Oklahoman had an article last week in the aftermath of the Tower Theater debacle characterizing OKC's appetite for live music in a mostly negative light.

The failure of the Tower and the extreme under-booking of the Criterion has nothing to do with that, and I hope to have more on this later. For now, I can't say much.

Hey man. Say all you want about Diamond, but at least they are booking. And not just booking, but booking some pretty great bands and events. And they have been since 1960 something.

Maybe I am in the slim minority, but I love the Diamond Ballroom. The only knock is its location. I feel like it's the EXACT type of venue hipsters would FLOCK to if it were in Midtown or the Plaza. It's the exact type of building with history and appeal that we so valiantly fight to keep from being bulldozed in the downtown area. And how can you not love the DIAMOND sign/marquee.

Hey man. Say all you want about Diamond, but at least they are booking. And not just booking, but booking some pretty great bands and events. And they have been since 1960 something.

Maybe I am in the slim minority, but I love the Diamond Ballroom. The only knock is its location. I feel like it's the EXACT type of venue hipsters would FLOCK to if it were in Midtown or the Plaza. It's the exact type of building with history and appeal that we so valiantly fight to keep from being bulldozed in the downtown area. And how can you not love the DIAMOND sign/marquee.

Agree on the booking and the marquee, but it's just a big metal/concrete shed, nothing really special about the bldg, IMO.

The fact that a place like the Diamond can consistently book good shows tells you all you need to know about the operation of the Criterion and even the Bricktown Events Center.

Agree on the booking and the marquee, but it's just a big metal/concrete shed, nothing really special about the bldg, IMO.

Maybe that's why I like it so much. It's like the Rudy of the music scene. There is absolutely no reason at all for it to be successful. It feels like a freakin bowling alley. And yet, I love it. It has its own mystique. It's like the differencr between eating at a super high end, quality restaurant and then going to a family gathering that has no business being worthwhile or meaningful, but a couple people in the family decide to start cooking, or maybe dad decided last night he was going to smoke some ribs and brisket in his own special way, and suddenly you have the best food you've tried in two years.

And Pete, I agree. Something drastically needs to change, and hopefully is, with our Bricktown concert venues.

This is the article from the Oklahoman and I think it's way, way off base.

The reasons the Tower deal didn't work and why the Criterion isn't booking many shows goes well beyond how people in OKC feel about live music, as noted by the relative success of the woeful Diamond.

Why is OKC such a fickle concert market? (http://newsok.com/article/5544378)


The false start of Tower Theatre hasn't come as much of a shock.

To me, at least. People treated the heralded concert hall's marquee like a bat signal, as if a savior for Oklahoma City's live music scene would be summoned when it flashed to life. My experiences in booking and covering music here in the past decade have seen too many half-empty venues and balking at paying for a concert experience to not be apprehensive of any one thing jump-starting OKC into a new live music mecca.

I hadn't seen that. Cringeworthy. Can't help but think of all the times I've driven to Cain's, and run into literally dozens of people I know from OKC who happily drive 90 minutes because that's where the shows are.

Reminds me of a Lackmeyer live chat a few months ago where he said it was time for OKC concert-goers to "put up or shut up" in terms of attending shows. I'm paraphrashing from memory, but basically this is all the fans' fault.