Criterion Concert Hall

[TheTravellers]

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.

[Bullbear]

Brit Floyd june 4th.

[Pete]

They are heating up the bookings!

[Richard at Remax]

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

[bchris02]

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

[Anonymous.]

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.

[TheTravellers]

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...

[BDP]

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?

[OSUFan]

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.

[Roger S]

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

[sooner88]

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.

[Pete]

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

[Easy180]

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

[TheTravellers]

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....

[Jeepnokc]

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.

[TheTravellers]

^^^ 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...

[sooner88]

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

[warreng88]

Volbeat, June 10th.

[2Lanez]

So between now and the end of May, Diamond Ballroom has 11 events (10 concerts and a burlesque night), and Criterion 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?

[TheTravellers]

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?

[Pete]

And what competition??

[Colbafone]

And what competition??

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

[Pete]

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.

[Colbafone]

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.

[TheTravellers]

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.