Seriously, if that's that true, I think that's the biggest booking yet. Even though they're EDM music, they're definitely the group that's gotten the most recent acclaim and international fame of all the groups that have been booked thus far.
What we know about:
350 units at Steelyard
Criterion
AC Hotel
Hyatt Place
Structured parking and retail at Sheridan & Oklahoma
Cummins Building
Canopy Hotel in Bodyworks development
200+ condos/apartments in Bodyworks development
9-10 story hotel at Sheridan & Oklahoma
All About Cha in Mideke
Brewers Building renovation / housing
Things in the works:
Retail / restaurants for Steelyard
Restaurant / bar in The Plow
More tenants in The Plow
At least one more hotel
More structured parking
New bar / restaurant in building east of Whiskey Chicks (Richard McKown renovation)
More housing
For all of OKC's current economic woes, the continued maturation of the core is continuing to lay a nice foundation for a better, more diverse, and more walkable city. It's fun to see and easy to forget how quick things have transformed.
There are still tons of projects with a lot in the pipleline not yet announced.
Just wait until the streetcar gets rolling... Infill will happen at an even greater pace then.
Moved a bunch of posts here:
http://www.okctalk.com/general-food-...tions-okc.html
The only thing that excited me about the Criteron's arrival was the announcement that they were partnering with LiveNation (same group that books for House of Blues), so I'm hoping they'll bring all of the shows that I tend to have to drive to the Dallas HoB to see (or sit at home pissed off because I had to miss it). Since these are all metal shows I'm talking about, the current crop of bookings has so far failed to thrill me. Hopefully that will change soon.
I'm no metal aficionado (got nothing against it, though), but doesn't the Diamond cover that well? I know, I know, it's the Diamond, but I could understand the Criterion not doing as much of that to avoid market saturation. Or maybe it's just that they have the current tours already booked there and Criterion will start booking them once the next wave of tours starts lining up shows.
Just eyeballing it, it does look the Diamond has more metal shows booked than HoB Dallas, too. Or maybe that's a different kind of metal than you're looking for.
That seemed to read more like it was saying that its the venue that needs retail and services to do well. It certainly can help, but I disagree with it in general. Even the example of Cain's is a good one from the opposite perspective. Cain's did just fine for a long time when it was out on an island in a pretty drab part of downtown. Things actually built up around it. And that's more the norm. Venues often emerge and thrive in undeveloped or forgotten parts of town, specifically because of the cheaper real estate and less concern of upsetting the neighbors. But as they draw traffic to the area, services begin popping up to take advantage of the traffic. So, I do agree with the concept that the venue can help the retail on the east side, but I'm not sure about the other way around, which is what I thought Pope was trying to say in the article.
The comments about the music lab have some merit though, but I think the Criterion will really help it. It has always had an out of place vibe, though, even when it was the green door. It's kind of this weird in-between venue where it feels more like it could be a good local venue or punk type place, but it also feels too open for that. Its sort of unfinished warehouse vibe makes it feel a little too rustic for larger touring acts too. So, I think it suffers an identify crisis. That being said, people should be paying attention to it for the shows they are booking. Honestly, I think if they just put down a wood floor, it would have a much more legit feel. It also doesn't have a real bar.
I believe that since they're school-affiliated, they can't have a real bar (which is why I bought a hip flask), but I don't think they even sell water. It is just a concrete/brick box with no personality whatsoever, the shows I've seen there overcame that with their sheer power (Black Angels, Boris, Swans), but it would be nice if they did *something* to the non-existent decor.
Yeah, I agree. And I think you're right about the bar, though when I saw Dawes, they had sort of a catering type bar set up, but not when I've seen local stuff there. It is a hurdle from it feeling like a "real" venue for sure.
It's funny because when the Green Door moved into that space, it was almost like it was too nice, and certainly too big. It kind of worked in the old space (now 89th St. Collective, and was Conservatory before that). However, now as a place booking larger acts across genres, it's not nice enough.
Mostly black metal and doom, but I dig some death metal as well. Last year, Mayhem and Watain toured together and hit the HoB in Dallas, but I had to miss it. If they had a show in OKC, I'd have been able to see them. The year prior, I had to miss the Behemoth, Goatwhore, 1349, & Inquisition tour, which stopped at the House of Blues in Dallas. I did go to HoB Dallas to see Ghost and Behemoth in recent years, so it's my hope that all these great tours that hop over OKC on their way to Dallas will stop at the Criterion. It's rare for them to stop at the Diamond, although I'm grateful when they do.
Interesting.... I wonder why they haven't announced yet.
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