Centennial Concert

[soonerfan21]

Curious as to everyone's opinion on the Centennial Concert at the Ford Center Friday night. I thought it was pretty good, talent and production wise. But I wonder if anyone knows why Garth Brooks did not perform?

[metro]

I thought the Centennial Commission really blew this one. They had decent talent there, however the set looked real cheap and the program had no flow to it (I watched it on OETA, wasn't there in person). They would have a country singer, then the Flaming Lips, country singer, guy from GMA reading centenials names, country singer, local B list celebrity, miss americas, country singer, All American Rejects, country singer, etc........... I thought it would have been much better to do the show in acts or segments or have some sort of theme, like have all the country acts play back to back, the 2 rock bands (should have been more) play after each other, comedians, politicians, sports stars go back to back, etc.

I'm sure Garth wanted more money than they were willing to pay. Sad he barely claims Oklahoma and never plays here, yet they basically let him be one of the headliners. They tamed down the Flaming Lips since the median age of the crowd was probably 60.

For the money the tickets were going for on Ebay and Craigslist ($300-$2000) I sure know I would have been disappointed if I spent that kind of money. A person could see U2, Rollingstones, or anyone for that kind of money at any venue in the world such as Madison Square Garden or the O2 in London.

[hipsterdoofus]

I won't really complain about the flow, but I'd be pretty ticked too...they gave way too much time to Willard Scott I thought...no offense to the people who are 100+. I also don't know why they had Amy Grant in there unless that was a condition for Vince singing....seems as though they could have made it ONLY a music show and had a lot more acts in it and made it a lot more worth the money.

The Miss American thing is getting kinda old too...

[jbrown84]

Leave it to metro to pick this thing apart. BIG SURPRISE there.

I thought they did a really good job other than a few technical hiccups, which are understandable considering they happen even on the Oscars or the AMAs. Live is always tricky.

I thought the set was incredible. The "eagle" number in Cirque du Soliel style was absolutely AMAZING AMAZING AMAZING.

The fact that it wasn't just a concert is what made it worthy of being the "capstone" event. Posters and publicity made it look like it was just going to be a big concert of Oklahoma stars, but it really wasn't. It was a huge, Emmy-worthy live event celebrating Oklahoma with some of our most recognizable faces participating. There was a good mix (catch that metro? mix it up...) of country, rock, native american music/dancing, broadway-style, comedy, retrospective videos (loved the video from the 50th anniversary) choral music, and orchestral music. The lighting was very professional and the camera work as well. The shot of Reba on "If I Had Only Known" where the camera circled her almost 720 degrees was phenomenal.

PLEASE stop whining and just celebrate Oklahoma.

[soonerfan21]

I agree with JBrown - they tried to have something for everyone and that had to be a huge task to accomplish. Loved the look on that one guy's face when the lead singer from the All American Rejects sang to him - that was priceless!

[metro]

Yes, jbrown I caught that and I respect your opinon, but I have promoted a few large concerts and movies in my day and understand how things should flow. I understand diversity or "mixing it up" as you say. As you can see in the other Centennial Spectacular thread, I'm not the only one who thought it was less than spectacular as the name implies:

http://www.okctalk.com/current-event...tml#post119844

I'm not saying it wasn't a good event. I'm saying it wasn't a "Spectacular" or great of an event as it could of been, especially given the interest in the event and the cost of tickets. Due to supply/demand, tickets were sold on ebay and craigslist for hundreds and even thousands of dollars. An event that worthy it was not and I think most would agree it didn't warrant the $300-$2000 price per ticket in my book. I personally think it would have flowed better if they would have done a theme such as past/present/future. They could have done the past with the Partridge Lady, Reba, Garth, Miss Americas, etc./ Present with the Lips and Carrie Underwood, and Future with rising stars in Oklahoma. It was more of an eclectic mix that didn't really push a "central vision" if you will.

[jbrown84]

Okay, you and one other person didn't like it....


I disagree about the flow. I work in Television as well and had no issues with it. And again you go with vague descriptions about how it just wasn't "spectacular enough" etc. What exactly does that mean? You wanted more rock bands in there? Wayne Coyne should have been able to walk all over those old people in his bubble? You wanted the fireworks to burn the place down? What????

[CuatrodeMayo]

I would have liked to see it not done in the Ford center. A huge outdoor concert (150+ in attendance) starting at 2 pm. Having the stage with the skyline in the background would have been way cooler. Yea sure you can never know what the weather will do, but it can be adjusted for.

Or something like the capitol dome dedication...a great event.

[jbrown84]

It was obviously designed for a big TV production so more people could see it, and an indoor location was better for that, but I agree the dome dedication was really nice.

[walnut, part 2]

I thought it was interesting...and the eagle part was awesome...but it was not at all what was advertised.

I couldn't pay the high ticket price...so we went to the Redhawks and watched it on the screen there. There were lots of people that left after it started because it was not what they expected it to be. A concert with longer performances by the "headliners".

I think it's great that it was what it was...but I do have two co-workers that are very upset and felt mislead about what they paid so much to see.

[jbrown84]

Yeah it wasn't just a concert, which is good IMO, but I understand why some people may have expected a traditional concert with the headliners singing a 20 minute set or whatever. That wouldn't have been a fitting "spectacular" in my opinion.

[FritterGirl]

I kind of picked on it some in the other thread, but my pickings were rather small, and focused on what I thought were a few "eh" moments.

Frankly, I don't remember how it was "advertised." I certainly did not expect a full concert from anyone or even a few artists. I appreciated seeing the diversity.
Afterall, this wasn't about the artists, it was about who we are as a state.

For those who haven't tuned in, OKLAHOMA is A LOT MORE than COUNTRY MUSIC.

To me, it was a celebration of the accomplishments of who we are as a people, and yes, that's includes folks who won't be heard on KXY or KTST.

I also didn't mind the "flow," as it were. While I agree, it did seem incongruous at times, and perhaps a "past," "present," "future" production might have also made sense, I think this "spectacular" really focused on what makes us unique as a culture, and a state. And I will never forget Barry Switzer introducing the Flaming Lips!

FYI - I did see on one of the Oklahoman message boards that someone claiming to be close to an employee of OK Events said Toby was the only artist demanding payment for his performance (thank god my dvr missed that one), and that Garth was asked to sing, but flatly said "no." When I went back and looked at him in the press conference, he rather looked dour, there, too. As if someone had pulled his teeth to attend.

As much as I'm really not a fan of country music, I really enjoyed both Vince, Carrie, and especially Reba, who I thought was one of the best performers of the night.

It might not have been "spectacular" in everyone's eyes, but it certainly was a spectacle. Of course, I wasn't there in person, so didn't pay to get in. The staging looked great from tv.

[jbrown84]

Very well said ParksGal.

[hipsterdoofus]

I agree with what was said earlier...If I had paid to go, I probably would have been upset as well...because it really did sound like it was being promoted as a concert, since the names they threw out there most were musicians.

Not saying it was terrible, but I think its too bad that it had to be that misleading....and once again, get Amy Grant the crap off stage...she's a talented person, but her and that song had nothing to do with Oklahoma.

[soonerguru]

metro,

While I often find myself in agreement with you, I think you would be wise to occasionally follow the axiom about the wise man keeping his mouth shut. I'm no Garth fan, but I've never heard of him not claiming Oklahoma as his home. He is known around the world as an Oklahoman, something he has always been proud of. Furthermore, and perhaps more importantly, GARTH BROOKS IS A CURRENT RESIDENT OF OKLAHOMA, as he has built a large megamansion near Owasso, where he lives more than half of the year.

[soonerguru]

Why was Amy Grant performing? Other than screwing around with Vince Gill, is she even from Oklahoma? If screwing an Oklahoman was a requirement, surely they could have dredged up something better than that maudlin, caterwauling mess.

Count me among those impressed with Carrie Underwood. She is a superstar. I've seen Reba once before (though I can't believe it) and she was not up to her usual self.

I cannot stand Toby Keith but I thought his performance was quite good. Of course, I'm a huge Lips fan so I enjoyed the weirdness of seeing them perform in front of that crowd.

All in all, the show was marked by rather amateurish production, with hokey commentary. Still, it was a fairly impressive night considering it was a Lee Allan Smith production.

[Oh GAWD the Smell!]

What's wrong with Amy Grant? She married an Okie, she sings well. I'm not a fan of either of them, but ripping on her because she wasn't born here seems a bit silly to me.

To be honest, I'd rather hear her than Toby Keith.

[Matt]

I watched the whole thing on TV, and thought it flowed just fine. But then again, I've never promoted any large concerts or movies in my day and am therefore unqualified to have an opinion on the matter.

I thought, for what it was, they did a pretty good job in condensing the live Lips experience down to one song, in that venue, for that audience. They had the band, the aliens, the Santas, the confetti, and the balloons. What more could they have done? The huge projection screen with the vintage topless chicks dancing around? Nah. They did fine.

...they gave way too much time to Willard Scott I thought...no offense to the people who are 100+.

Did they give him that much time, or did he just take that much time?

FYI - I did see on one of the Oklahoman message boards that someone claiming to be close to an employee of OK Events said Toby was the only artist demanding payment for his performance

Not at all surprising, if it's true. The man has single-handedly turned douchebaggery into an art form.

(Still sad, though.)

[kmf563]

Does anybody know if and when this will be re-aired on pbs? I for one did not even care to watch it. After I attended the anniversary of the Murrah last year at the Ford Center - I would have rather shot cannons off in my ears to sit through another event like that one. But I am rather curious to at least dvr the thing and watch parts of it to see what you guys are talking about.
I had a friend attend who knows nothing about concerts or music and she loved it. I had a good friend in the music biz who was a part of it and he said it sucked horribly.

[FritterGirl]

I thought, for what it was, they did a pretty good job in condensing the live Lips experience down to one song, in that venue, for that audience. They had the band, the aliens, the Santas, the confetti, and the balloons. What more could they have done? The huge projection screen with the vintage topless chicks dancing around? Nah. They did fine.

Don't know if anyone caught the pre-show press conference. I never saw Wayne speak, but he was back there with the others wearing a great big smile on his face.

My favorite moment was when Carrie Underwood was talking about how "big" this whole thing was and said she saw someone in a really big "creature" costume backstage and wasn't sure what that was all about! Must have been one of the Lips' resident aliens or santas!!

Not at all surprising, if it's true. The man has single-handedly turned douchebaggery into an art form.

(Still sad, though.)

Can't disagree with you on this one! We have friends who are very much acquainted with him through the OU Athletic Dept. and they've mentioned that he's not the nicest guy in the world - especially if you're not David Boren, Bob Stoops, and/or Joe Castiglione. They say he kind of acts like "who are you again" each time he sees them, which during the Basketball season is fairly regularly.[/QUOTE]

[metro]

Garth was on KOCO5 last night on the 6pm and 10pm news. They asked him why he didn't sing one of his own songs. At 6pm they asked him and he said "The Centennial Commission didn't ask me but I'm glad they asked me to be a part of this big event". At the 10pm news they were supposed to interview the Centennial Commission as to why they didn't ask Garth to sing. I didn't catch the 10pm interview, so I don't know what their reasoning or excuse was. I tried finding it on KOCO's website, but can't seem to locate the interview. If someone else can, please post a link.

[SpectralMourning]

Garth was on KOCO5 last night on the 6pm and 10pm news. They asked him why he didn't sing one of his own songs. At 6pm they asked him and he said "The Centennial Commission didn't ask me but I'm glad they asked me to be a part of this big event". At the 10pm news they were supposed to interview the Centennial Commission as to why they didn't ask Garth to sing. I didn't catch the 10pm interview, so I don't know what their reasoning or excuse was. I tried finding it on KOCO's website, but can't seem to locate the interview. If someone else can, please post a link.

And noone else is upset that we were mislead by the fact that he was billed as a headlining act?

[CuatrodeMayo]

My favorite moment was when Carrie Underwood was talking about how "big" this whole thing was and said she saw someone in a really big "creature" costume backstage and wasn't sure what that was all about! Must have been one of the Lips' resident aliens or santas!!

It was probably the American Indians in costume.

[FritterGirl]

And noone else is upset that we were mislead by the fact that he was billed as a headlining act?

That may have been part of his agreement to participate, and as such, how the show was billed was out of the control of the Centennial Commission. Even in shows like this, where you have multiple artists coming together for a single "cause," the agents and artist promoters still want to take their nudge and ensure that their artists get "the billing."

(It's also possible that the higher-ups at OK Events "promised" Garth top billing in exchange for his participation, whatever that was to be.)

In shows I've worked on in the past, how an artist is advertised is written into the contract for that artist's services. Even if these people did not get "paid" (theoretically), that doesn't mean their agents didn't "wrangle" for artist position in the advertising.

Then again, I first heard about this show about a year ago. The ONLY artsits names I heard at that time were Garth, Vince and Reba, most likely because they hadn't secured the others' participation.

In the words of the original showman himself, one P.T. Barnum, "There's a sucker born every minute!" And in the words of one Ralph Nader, "Caveat Emptor!" (Buyer Beware).

Edit: According to this article HistoryBuff.com -- P. T. Barnum Never Did Say "There's a Sucker Born Every Minute", Barnum didn't, in fact, say "there's a sucker born every minute." That was actually said by his competitor, but is misattributed to Barnum.

[jbrown84]

He was billed as a headliner, but nothing ever said he was singing. It's kind of funny because I heard all kinds of rumors that the Lips and AAR were not performing, but just "making appearances". Guess there were a lot of unfounded assumptions going.

I frankly could care less about Garth singing.