Wednesday Video Spotlight: The Flaming Lips
Wayne Coyne of The Flaming Lips performs last New Year’s Eve at the Cox Convention Center. (The Oklahoman Archives photo)
Oklahoma City-based psychedelic rock heroes The Flaming Lips will stage their second New Year’s Eve Freakout show at 8:30 tonight at the Cox Convention Center. For more information, go to www.ticketmaster.com.
The Lips will ring in 2009 with costumed dancers, Wayne Coyne crowd-surfing in a giant hamster ball, laser light shows, confetti guns, big balloons and of course, that amazing music.
In honor of this momentous occasion, the Lips get BAM’s Blog’s last Wednesday Video Spotlight of 2008. Check out these music videos from the Grammy-winning group, courtesy Joost:
“Do You Realize??”
“The W.A.N.D.”
“The Yeah Yeah Yeah Song”
“Frogs”
“Yoshimi Battles The Pink Robots Part 1″
“She Don’t Use Jelly” – Live from Oklahoma City
-BAM
At 79, Dick Clark still rockin’ on New Year’s Eve
Dick Clark (Associated Press photo)
Four years after suffering a stroke, Dick Clark expects to once again appear in Times Square tonight for his 36th “New Year’s Rockin’ Eve,” which will air at 9 tonight on ABC.
The 3 1/2-hour show will be co-hosted by Ryan Seacrest and feature performances by Natasha Bedingfield, Fall Out Boy, Jesse McCartney, Ne-Yo, Pussycat Dolls, Solange and Robin Thicke. Fergie hosts the Hollywood segments.
You can read more about Clark’s appearance on the show and his thoughts on the music business in this Associated Press story. Even if you’re not a fan of Clark or the show, it’s nice to hear that he has made such a strong recovery from his stroke.
-BAM
Photo gallery: “Metropolis” at JRB Art at the Elms
Michele Mikesell, “Fox in the Henhouse”
The Paseo gallery JRB Art at the Elms is continuing its New Year’s Day tradition of opening an exhibit featuring the work of artists with Oklahoma ties.
This year’s New Year’s exhibit, “Metropolis” features the paintings of Oklahoma City artist Bennett Berry and Dallas artist Michele Mikesell. The artists are friends who got their master’s of fine arts degrees together at the University of Oklahoma.
To see a photo gallery of some of the works from the exhibit, click here.
-BAM
JRB Art at the Elms continues New Year’s Day tradition
Bennett Berry, “Mona Lisa Manhattan“
From Wednesday’s Life section of The Oklahoman.
Gallery continues New Year’s tradition with ‘Metropolis’
An Oklahoma City art gallery is inviting people to start the New Year in a metaphorical city where fish wear business suits, the advertising has an early ‘60s vibe and the busy intersections look strikingly familiar.
The new exhibition “Metropolis” of paintings by Michele Mikesell and Bennett Berry, opens with a reception from 1 to 7 p.m. Thursday at JRB Art at the Elms. The show continues the Paseo gallery’s custom of starting the New Year by featuring groundbreaking artists with Oklahoma ties.
“New Year’s Day is a big tradition for our gallery,” said gallery owner/director Joy Reed Belt. “I thought it would be a good idea to have Bennett and Michele do a joint show since I knew they were friends. … Their styles and techniques are completely different, but dovetail in the theme.”
The artists based the dual show on the concept of a bustling city with a diverse population.
Berry, 29, a lifelong Oklahoma City resident, and Mikesell, 35, of Dallas, became friends while working on their master of fine arts degrees at the University of Oklahoma. They have kept up over the years and now are two of JRB’s most popular young artists.
Providing the inhabitants of the show’s “Metropolis,” Mikesell’s paintings depict animals with human characteristics. Many are ironic, such as “Fox in the House,” in which an elegant chicken-lady wears fox stoles, and “Eights a Crowd,” in which fish dressed in business suits are stacked in a sardine can.
“I paint about the ‘human condition’ by using animals because I feel like the animals’ features are less sentimental: creating human expression through an animal face lets everyone … create their own individual interpretation,” Mikesell said in an e-mail. “By placing them in a physical environment like a metropolis it gives a sort of stage for the characters to interact with.”
Some of Berry’s paintings are realistic cityscapes, based on his photographs of Manhattan, Seattle, Chicago and Oklahoma City. In others, Berry, son of Oklahoma artist Nick Berry, provides the commercial side of the “Metropolis,” with classically rendered figures against backgrounds with colors, patterns and text reminiscent of vintage advertising.
“It’s like some of the 1950s- and ‘60s Doris Day movies, the TV show ‘Mad Men,’ that sort thing, that sort of aesthetic, kind of very clean-cut, business suits and cocktail parties,” he said.
Along with the artwork, Thursday’s opening event will feature a spread of traditional New Year’s foods, including three different black-eyed peas dishes. Another opening reception is planned Friday night during the monthly Paseo Gallery Walk.
On exhibit
What: “Metropolis,” featuring the paintings of Michele Mikesell and Bennett Berry.
When: Opening receptions from 1 to 7 p.m. Thursday and 6 to 10 p.m. Friday. The exhibit runs through Jan. 31.
Where: JRB Art at the Elms, 2810 N Walker.
Information: 528-6336 or www.jrbartgallery.com.
-BAM
Guy Pearce globe-hops in “Traitor”
Guy Pearce in “Traitor,” recently released on DVD.
From Wednesday’s Life section of The Oklahoman.
Guy Pearce takes on role of ‘team player’ in ‘Traitor’
NEW YORK – Asked about working with Guy Pearce on the topical thriller “Traitor,” Don Cheadle dryly quipped, “Who? I don’t know who that is.”
“Guy and I always joke (because) we have three scenes together in the movie. … People go, ‘What’s it like doing a movie with Guy Pearce?’ And I say, ‘I don’t know. I think it’s OK.’ But I’ve seen you guys more than I saw Guy in the whole thing,” Cheadle told reporters during the summer press day for the movie, recently released on DVD.
But the question “Who is Guy Pearce?” is a valid, since the Australian actor has a resume that suggests chameleon-like tendencies.
He played a by-the-book cop in his first American film, “L.A. Confidential,” and the leading role in “Memento,” as a man with short-term memory loss tracking his wife’s killer. U.K. audiences still remember him for playing a hunky young teacher 20 years ago on the soap “Neighbours” and a flamboyant drag queen in the 1994 film “Priscilla, Queen of the Desert.”
In the globe-hopping thriller “Traitor,” Pearce plays an intellectual FBI agent hunting former U.S. Special Operations officer Samir Horn (Cheadle), a Muslim-American mystery man who has been tied to terrorist activities.
Pearce, 41, said he simply tries to stay open to the various opportunities that come his way.
“What’s ideal for me is being able to sort of constantly just venture into different walks of life and different situations and kind of … emotional states. And that’s what I find fascinating,” he said during interviews at the W Union Square Hotel.
Different roles draw him in for different reasons: the chance to work with a certain director, to play a particularly intriguing character, or in the case of “Traitor,” to be a team player in a movie with an interesting take on current affairs.
“The film on a whole looks at the idea of just taking a minute to sort of understand what’s going on on the other side of the fence, particularly in this day and age when we’re all supposed to sort of fear what’s going on over there,” said Pearce, looking relaxed in a Radiohead T-shirt with mussed hair and a bit of stubble.
Interestingly, Pearce said he joined the project in part because of Cheadle, though he knew they wouldn’t share many scenes.
“I would have liked to have worked with him more … but I think I was drawn to it because he was in it,” Pearce said. “He tends to be in things that I find very appealing.”
Cheadle, who had input into casting as a producer, said, Pearce’s versatility made him a natural for the role. The Aussie learned a Tennessee accent for “Traitor.”
“Guy’s obviously a really talented actor famous for playing a bunch of different types of roles and different characters and dialects and everything,” Cheadle said.
After playing a string of heavy-duty roles, Pearce tried his hand this year at family-friendly comedy. He stars opposite Adam Sandler in the fantasy “Bedtime Stories,” which opened last week in theaters.
“It just seemed like a fun, kind of appropriate thing to do at the time,” said Pearce, who has a musical number in the film. “It’ll probably be the most over-the-top thing I’ve ever done I think. It’s pretty funny.”
Travel and accommodations provided by Overture Films.
-BAM
Shawna Russell ending year at Ada New Year’s celebration
ADA – Okemah country singer Shawna Russell will wrap up a big year by performing at “First Night Ada” tonight on the campus of East Central University.
Russell will be part of the free public celebration taking place from 6 to midnight and culiminating with a laser light show. The family-friendly and alcohol-free event will feature 60 performing artists.
Russell and her band are scheduled for two concert appearances, at 6 and 8:45 this evening at the Dorothy Summers Theater.
“First Night Ada” will close out Russell’s “breakthrough” year. After performing since she was a child, and full-time since age 17, Russell stepped onto the national stage in 2008 with the release of her debut album, “Goddess,” which has spawned two radio singles - the title song, “Goddess,” and her current single, “Should’ve Been Born With Wheels,” currently climbing the Texas and national radio charts.
On the national stage, Russell’s debut CD has been given rave reviews by the Country Music Association’s magazine, CMA Close Up, Country Weekly, and Country Stars Online, among many others. The CD made my list of top 10 albums of 2008.
International audiences also have welcomed Russell’s music. “Goddess” was selected from among hundreds of entries submitted from around the world and named a finalist in the “Country Album” category by the Independent Music Awards. She has received airplay from Australia to Japan. And England’s Maverick and France’s DreamWest magazines both heralded her as a powerful and unique new voice on the music scene.
Russell toured a great deal of America in 2008 to promote her music. She visited radio and TV outlets in Nashville, Washington, D.C., Kansas City, Atlanta and Tampa – along with almost every radio station in Oklahoma. At the same time, she performed her regular schedule of concert performances – sometimes working for weeks on end without a day off.
“It has been a very exciting time for me,” Russell said in a news release. ”Seeing my lifelong dream beginning to come true has been an incredible experience. I am truly blessed. I want to thank each and every fan who is on this journey with me. I look forward to an even bigger 2009!”
For more about Russell, go to www.shawnarussell.com.
For more information on “First Night Ada,” go to www.firstnightada.com.
-BAM
Opening Night ringing in New Year in downtown
Edgar Cruz
The 22nd annual Opening Night New Year’s Eve celebration will be 7 to midnight tonight at 10 downtown Oklahoma City venues. It is a family-friendly, alcohol-free event.
Admission wristbands are $10. Children 5 and younger admitted free. Wristbands are available at the event at Stage Center, Kerr Park trailer, Leadership Square, north end of the Cox Convention Center and Kerr Auditorium.
For more information, call 270-4848 or go to www.artscouncilokc.com.
Here is the schedule for the event:
Venue 1 – Cox Convention Center
Lobby
Duo Fisher: Dueling Pianists: 7 p.m., 9 p.m.
Total Equilibrium: 8, 10
Exhibit Hall 1
Ford Chastain: 7
Between the Devil & the Deep Blue Sea: 8, 10
Junebug Spade: 9, 10:45
Exhibit Hall 2
Lemma: 9, 10, 10:45
Tornado Alley Rollergirls: 7, 8
Exhibit Hall 3 – Children’s Area
Children’s Area hours: 7 to 11
Prof. B Looney: 7
Dance Dimensions: 8, 10
Oklahoma Children’s Acting Guild: 9
Clowns/Magicians/Face Painters: 7 to 11
Venue 2 – Myriad Gardens
Kris Boevers: 7
Albert Gray Eagle: 8
Sunshine Hahn: 9, 10
Venue 3 – Stage Center
Arena Theatre
Everybody & Their Dog: 7:30, 8:30, 9:30
Tolbert Theatre
Edgar Cruz: 7, 8, 9, 10
Venue 4 – Ronald J. Norick Downtown Library
Studio B with Bruce Benson: 7, 9
Vizions: 8, 10
Venue 5 – Leadership Square
Michael Summers Band: 7, 8, 9, 10
Venue 6 – Bank of Oklahoma
Son del Barrio: 7, 8, 9, 10
Venue 7 – Kerr Auditorium
Cori & Chelsey Emmett with No U Turn: 7, 8, 9, 10
Venue 8 – Kerr Park
The Wise Guys: 8, 9, 10, 11
Countdown to the New Year: 11:30
Finale and fireworks: midnight
Venue 9 – First National Center
Ambassador’s Concert Choir: 7
Harrison Academy: 8
Spiritful Voices: 9, 10
Venue 10 – Chase Tower
Book of Rules: 7, 10
Boru’s Ghost: 8, 10:30
Desert Fire: 9
Strolling Street Performers
St. Andrew’s Dung Lac Lion Dance Group
Natanasuta – Lord Shiva’s Dancers
Clear…as Dance Institute & Clarity Performing Dance Group
Dana Helms
Balcum Rancum Puppetry
Ross Plunkett
Brett Horton
Tanner Blair
Katilee Thomason
Derek Paul
-BAM
What to do in Oklahoma on Dec. 31: Special New Year’s Eve edition
The Oklahoma City Thunder will again play the Golden State Warriors tonight at the Ford Center. (The Oklahoman Archives photo)
Here are some of the New Year’s Eve activities going on tonight in Oklahoma City:
- Opening Night 2009: 7 p.m. to midnight in 10 venues in downtown Oklahoma City. The non-alcoholic, family-friendly event features a children’s area and performances by Lemma, The Wise Guys, Balcum Rancum Puppetry, Ambassador’s Concert Choir, flutist Albert Gray Eagle, guitarist Edgar Cruz, St. Andrew’s Dung Lac Lion Dance Group and Tornado Alley Rollergirls. Information: 270-4848 or www.artscouncilokc.com.
- The Third Annual New Year’s Eve Gala: 9 p.m. to 1 a.m. at the Skirvin Hotel. The upscale event raises funds for the Arts Council of Oklahoma City. Information and tickets: 270-4848 or www.artscouncilokc.com.
- The Flaming Lips New Year’s Eve Freakout 2008/2009: 8:30 p.m. Wednesday, Cox Convention Center. Tickets and information: 235-8288 or www.ticketmaster.com.
- Oklahoma City Thunder vs. Golden State Warriors: 7 p.m. at the Ford Center. Buy Thunder tickets for $26 and get a free Opening Night wristband with the team’s special New Year’s promotion. Information: 208-4667 or www.nba.com/thunder.
- Downtown in December: Chesapeake Snow Tubing at the Brick from noon to 8 p.m. through Jan. 3 and 2 to 6 p.m. Jan. 4; Devon Ice Rink at the Civic Center from noon to 11 p.m. Wednesday and noon to 10 p.m. through Jan. 4; OG&E Garden Lights illuminated through Thursday. Information: 236-3640 or www.downtownindecember.com.
- Toby Keith’s New Year’s Eve Party: The Brandon Clark Band plays at 9 p.m. at Toby Keith’s I Love This Bar & Grill. Information: 231-0254 or www.tobykeithsbar.com.
- Wormy Dog’s New Year’s Eve Bash: No Justice plays at 11 p.m. Wednesday at the Wormy Dog Saloon. Information: 601-6276 or www.wormydog.com.
For more New Year’s events, go to www.wimgo.com.
-BAM
OSU takes on Oregon tonight in San Diego
Oklahoma State punter Matt Fodge holds the Ray Guy Award. (Associated Press photo)
Oklahoma State fans will be rooting tonight for a big win to cap a big football season.
My alma mater takes on the Oregon Ducks at 7 tonight at the Holiday Bowl in Qualcomm Stadium in San Diego, Calif. The game will be televised on ESPN, and it definitely should be worth watching.
Both the Cowboys and the Ducks are 9-3 and boast high-scoring offenses and powerful running games.
OSU has lost three of its last five games, but all three come to tough Big 12 South opponents who were ranked in the top three at the time: Texas, Texas Tech and the University of Oklahoma.
Let’s hope that Mike Gundy has as much good fortune in the Holiday Bowl as a coach as he did as a player. According to the Associated Press, Gundy is the only person to play in a Holiday Bowl and then return as head coach. The Cowboys’ only other appearance in the Holiday Bowl was in 1988, when Gundy completed 20 of 24 passes for 315 yards and two touchdowns in a 62-14 rout of Wyoming.
A win would be great for the program and a fitting goodbye to several talented seniors playing their last game as Cowboys, including tight end Brandon Pettigrew, linemen Jeray Chatham and Tonga Tea, and punter Matt Fodge, who recently won the Ray Guy Award, given to college football’s best punter.
The Oklahoman’s sports department will have complete coverage of the game at www.newsok.com/sports.
Go Cowboys!
-BAM
New releases
It’s the week after Christmas, and not much is stirring in the new releases. With New Year’s resolutions imminent, diet books definitely seem to be a theme. Otherwise, the list of new CDs, DVDs and books is pretty thin.
Here is the list, such as it is, from Amazon.com, VideoETA.com and BarnesandNoble.com:
CDs
“Moments…”, Front 242 (limited edition).
“Paradise Sky,” Randy Stonehill.
“Jazz Thoughts for the Day – January,” Mark Massey.
DVDs
An American Carol
Greek: Chapter Two
Internet Dating
Kyle XY: The Complete Second Season
Nip/Tuck: Season 5, Part 1
Secret Life of the American Teenager: 1st Season
Surfer, Dude
Towelhead
Books
“Black Ops (Presidential Agent Series No. 5)” by W.E.B. Griffin.
“Best Life Diet Cookbook: More than 100 Delicious, Convenient, Family-Friendly Recipes” by Bob Greene.
“The Big Idea: How to Make Your Entrepreneurial Dreams Come True, from the Aha Moment to Your First Million” by Donny Deutsch.
“Fire and Ice” by Julie Garwood.
“Food Matters: A Guide to Conscious Eating with More Than 75 Recipes” by Mark Bittman.
“GUILTY: Liberal “Victims” and Their Assault on America” by Ann Coulter.
I Can Make You Thin: The Revolutionary System Used by More Than 3 Million People by Paul McKenna.
“Running Hot” by Jayne Ann Krentz.
“The UltraMind Solution: Fix Your Broken Brain by Healing Your Body First” by M.D. Mark Hyman.
-BAM
