Best Bets for Jan. 6-8, 2012: Hear Damn Quails, Kyle Kinane, OKC Philharmonic and the Thunder
The Damn Quails
Here are my picks for the Best Bets for entertainment happening in Oklahoma City this weekend, as listed in Friday’s Weekend Look section of The Oklahoman. For more events, go to www.wimgo.com.
1. Hear Norman-based duo singer-songwriter duo The Damn Quails at 10 p.m. Saturday at the Wormy Dog Saloon, 311 E Sheridan. Doors open at 6 p.m., and Brandon Clark Band will open. Information: 601-6276 or www.wormydog.com.
2. Laugh out loud as stand-up standout Kyle Kinane, along with comedians Cameron Buchholtz, Zach Smith and Spencer Hicks perform at 7:30 p.m. Sunday at City Arts Center, 3000 General Pershing Blvd. at State Fair Park. Doors open at 7 p.m. Information: www.ticketstorm.com.
3. Listen to pianist Andrew von Oeyen and the Oklahoma City Philharmonic play Beethoven, Handel and Rimsky-Korsakov for their program “Commoners and Kings” at 8 p.m. Saturday at Civic Center Music Hall, 201 N Walker. Information: 842-5387 or www.okcphilharmonic.org.
4. Cheer the Oklahoma City Thunder to victory over the Houston Rockets at 7 p.m. Friday and the San Antonio Spurs at 6 p.m. Sunday at Chesapeake Energy Arena, 100 W Reno. Information: (800) 745-3000 or www.thunder.nba.com.
-BAM
Oklahoma venues ringing in 2012 with a variety of New Year’s Eve events
Eli Young Band
If you’re looking for something to do tonight for New Year’s Eve, you have a wide variety of entertainment options here in Oklahoma. Here are a few; find more at www.wimgo.com:
EVENTS
Opening Night 2012, 7 p.m., eight venues across downtown Oklahoma City, www.artscouncilokc.com.
Downtown in December, various times and locales in downtown Oklahoma City, including OK Cityscape, Chesapeake Snow Tubing at RedHawks Field and Devon Ice Rink, www.downtownindecember.com.
CONCERTS
New Year’s Freakout with The Flaming Lips and The Plastic Ono Band, 8 p.m., Coca-Cola Bricktown Events Center, 425 E California, www.ticketstorm.com. Tonight’s show is sold out, but tickets are still available for Sunday’s New Year’s Day show. NOTE: The after-party has been moved to the OKC Farmers Market, 311 S Klein; for more information, click here.
New Year’s Eve Party: Jason Boland and The Stragglers and Turnpike Troubadours, 8 p.m., Tumbleweed Dance Hall and Concert Arena, 5212 Lakeview Drive. www.calffry.com. (Stillwater)
Gregg Allman and Buddy Guy, 8 p.m., First Council Casino, 12875 N U.S. 77, (580) 448-3015. (Newkirk)
Maroon 5, 9 p.m., WinStar World Casino & Hotel, Exit 1, Interstate 35, www.winstarworldcasino.com. (Thackerville). Sold out.
Eli Young Band, 9 p.m., Cain’s Ballroom, 423 N Main, www.cainsballroom.com. (Tulsa)
Randy Rogers Band and Brison Bursey, 8 p.m., Wormy Dog Saloon, 311 E Sheridan, 601-6276 or www.wormydog.com.
New Year’s Eve Party with The Temptations, 8 p.m., Choctaw Casino, 4418 U.S. 69/75, (800) 788-2464. (Durant)
Clay Walker, 8 p.m., Choctaw Casino, U.S. 271, (580) 326-8397. (Grant)
New Year’s Eve Party with JB And The Moonshine Band, 9 p.m., Arbuckle Ballroom, 12201 State Highway 7 W, (580) 369-3870. (Davis)
Pretty Black Chains and Student Film, 9 p.m., VZD’s, 4200 N Western. 524-4203 or www.vzds.com.
Pidgin Band and the Flatland Travelers, 9 p.m., Belle Isle Restaurant & Brewing Co. in 50 Penn Place, 1900 Northwest Expressway. 840-1911 or www.belleislerestaurant.com.
My So Called Band’s A Very ‘90s New Year’s Eve,” 9:30 p.m., Blue Note Lounge, 2408 N Robinson Ave. 600-1166 or www.thebluenotelounge.com.
THEATER
“A Christmas Carol,” 2 and 8 p.m., Lyric at the Plaza, 1725 NW 16, 524-9310.
SPORTS
OKC Thunder vs. the Phoenix Suns, 7 p.m., Chesapeake Energy Arena, 100 W Reno, www.chesapeakearena.com.
OKC Barons vs. the San Antonio Rampage, 7 p.m., Cox Convention Center, 1 Myriad Gardens, www.coxconventioncenter.com.
-BAM
UPDATED: Kristin Chenoweth to sing National Anthem before tonight’s OKC Thunder-Dallas Mavericks game
Kristin Chenoweth (AP file)
UPDATED: Kristin Chenoweth absolutely blew the roof off the Chesapeake Energy Arena Thursday night with her performance of the National Anthem! To watch a video of her belting it out before the Thunder game, click here.
Tony- and Emmy-winning actress/singer Kristin Chenoweth, who hails from Broken Arrow, is back in Oklahoma to sing the National Anthem before tonight’s Oklahoma City Thunder basketball game.
The Thunder take on the NBA’s defending champs, the Dallas Mavericks, who also happen to be the team that bumped OKC out of the playoffs last season, at 7 tonight at Chesapeake Energy Arena, 100 W Reno. For more information, go to www.chesapeakearena.com.
“Just landed in dear OKC. THUND ER UP,” Chenoweth posted on Twitter (@KChenoweth) a few hours ago. “I am excited to see the game. Live. In person.”
A Thunder super-fan and the newest member of the Oklahoma Music Hall of Fame, Chenoweth can flat-out sing the National Anthem, as you can see in this fan video from her 2010 performance at the New York Yankee’s home opener:
(For a better but not embed-enabled clip of her Yankees performance, click here.)
-BAM
What to do in Oklahoma on Dec. 25, 2011: Watch the OKC Thunder play the Orlando Magic
Kevin Durant (AP file)
Today’s featured event:
Watch the Oklahoma City Thunder take on the Orlando Magic at 7 tonight as the long-delayed, truncated NBA regular season tips off inside the Chesapeake Energy Arena, 100 W Reno.
For more information, go to www.chesapeakearena.com.
For more events, go to www.wimgo.com.
- BAM
Tim Tebow calls Rascal Flatts his favorite entertainer
Tim Tebow (AP file)
Rascal Flatts (AP file)
In a Q&A with the NY Post, Denver Broncos quarterback Tim Tebow says his favorite entertainer is country band Rascal Flatts, which includes Picher-bred guitarist Joe Don Rooney.
Tebow, who has become the most compelling story of the NFL season, identified “Braveheart” as his favorite movie, Will Smith and Jennifer Aniston as his favorite actor and actress and his parents as his biggest childhood influence.
Tebow and the Broncos will play the Buffalo Bills at noon Saturday. The game will air on CBS (KWTV-9 in Oklahoma City).
-BAM
Wednesday Video Spotlight: OSU and OU marching bands perform “Amazing Grace” at Bedlam
As an Oklahoma State University alumnus, Saturday’s Bedlam football victory over in-state rival the University of Oklahoma had many highlights.
But one of them definitely came at halftime, when the Spirit of Oklahoma State University and Pride of Oklahoma marching bands joined forces to perform a graceful rendition of “Amazing Grace.”
The performance was in memory of OSU women’s basketball coach Kurt Budke, assistant coach Miranda Serna and OSU alumni Olin and Paula Branstetter, who were killed last month in a plane crash on a recruiting trip.
Since today is the 70th anniversary of the attack on Pearl Harbor, spotlighting this rendition of “Amazing Grace” also seems like a fitting way to remember those who died on that fateful day.
-BAM
New releases for Dec. 6, 2011: Amy Winehouse, Black Keys, Dia Frampton, “The Help,” “Cowboys & Aliens,” “The Debt”
Amy Winehouse’s posthumous album “Lioness: Hidden Treasures,” which features a cover of Oklahoma music icon Leon Russell’s “A Song for You,” is one of the most anticipated albums among this week’s new releases, which also include The Black Keys’ eagerly awaited new record, the seventh volume of show-choir covers featured on “Glee” and the post-”The Voice” debut of Dia Frampton, one of the singers Oklahoma country music star Blake Shelton mentored on the first season of the hit reality TV show.
In the movies department, several summer films are getting their DVD and Blu-ray drops just in time for Christmas shopping, including “The Help,” “The Debt,” “Cowboys & Aliens,” “The Hangover Part II” and “Mr. Popper’s Penguins.”
Since I’m a University of Florida fan, I’d like to note that the Young Readers Edition of Tim Tebow’s book “Through My Eyes: A Quarterback’s Journey” is on bookshelves today.
Here are more new CDs, DVDs and books out this week, from Amazon.com, VideoETA.com and BarnesandNoble.com:
CDs
Amy Winehouse, “Lioness: Hidden Treasures.”
The Black Keys, “El Camino.”
“Glee” cast, “Glee: The Music 7.”
Dia Frampton, “Red.”
Neil Diamond, “Very Best of Neil Diamond.”
Doris Day, “My Heart (U.S. edition).”
Chevelle, “Hats off to the Bull.”
Korn, “The Path of Totality.”
The Roots, “Undun.”
DVDs
Big Love: The Complete Fifth Season
A Christmas Wedding Tail
Cowboys & Aliens
The Debt
The Hangover Part II
The Help
Law & Order: The Ninth Year
Mr. Popper’s Penguins
Point Blank
The Simpsons: The Complete Fourteenth Season
Spongebob Squarepants: The Complete Seventh Season
The Three Investigators in the Secret of Skeleton Island
Books
Through My Eyes: A Quarterback’s Journey (Young Readers Edition) by Tim Tebow with Nathan Whitaker
Clockwork Prince Exclusive Edition (Infernal Devices Series #2) by Cassandra Clare
Red Mist (Kay Scarpetta Series #19) by Patricia Cornwell
Death Comes to Pemberley by P. D. James
One on One: Behind the Scenes with the Greats in the Game by John Feinstein
The Fire (Witch and Wizard Series #3) by James Patterson
Ruthless (Pretty Little Liars #10) by Sara Shepard
December 1941: 31 Days That Changed America and Saved the World by Craig Shirley
Time to Get Tough: Making America #1 Again by Donald J. Trump
-BAM
Video: Reba McEntire to host NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Awards Ceremony tonight on Speed
Oklahoma-born and bred entertainment superstar Reba McEntire will host tonight the 2011 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Awards Ceremony, airing live at 8 p.m. from the Wynn Las Vegas Resort & Casino on the cable channel Speed.
The ceremony honors the 2011 NASCAR Sprint Cup champion and other drivers who finished in the top 10 of the final series standings. Increasingly, it has become a full-fledged entertainment experience with appearances by major celebrities.
In addition to her hosting duties, Reba will perform during the ceremony her hit “Turn on the Radio” from her 2010 album “All the Women I Am,” on the Valory Music Co. Kid Rock also will perform.
Other special segments involving Reba also are planned for the season-ending celebration, which will be broadcast by SPEED, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio and MRN Radio at 8 tonight from the Wynn’s LaFite Ballroom.
“Since we moved the awards ceremony to Las Vegas, we’ve really increased our focus on the entertainment value for those in attendance and our fans watching and listening at home,” said NASCAR Chairman and CEO Brian France in a news release. “Having Reba at our show reflects that; she is unbelievably popular, with wide-reaching mainstream appeal. And of course, we also like the fact that she’s a fan of auto racing.”
Reba’s son Shelby Blackstock competes in GRAND-AM Road Racing competition and she attended several of his events this year. She also performed “America the Beautiful” and “God Bless America” prior to this year’s NASCAR Sprint Cup race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, the Brickyard 400 Presented By BigMachineRecords.com.
“I’m delighted to be hosting the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Awards this year,” Reba said in the release. “Country music and NASCAR have shared fans for many years so I’ll feel right at home. My family and I have gotten to meet so many nice people in the racing industry this year with my youngest son, Shelby, being one of the competitors. We appreciate so much the super hospitality.”
-BAM
Wednesday Video Spotlight: “Basketball Never Stops” with Kevin Durant
I know it’s part of Nike’s “Basketball Never Stop” ad campaign, but I still love this video of Oklahoma City Thunder star Kevin Durant shooting hoops around the OKC metro area to the tune of Sam Cooke’s “Good Times.”
Of course, I like it even better now that we will get to Thunder up again very soon, with the NBA’s salvaged season due to begin Christmas Day.
According to NewsOK, the Thunder will play a pair of exhibition games against the Dallas Mavericks in December prior to the Dec. 25 regular season start.
Let the good times roll, indeed!
-BAM
Kristin Chenoweth, Wayman Tisdale, members of The Ventures and more inducted into Oklahoma Music Hall of Fame
Singer and actress Kristin Chenoweth smiles after signing the oversized Oklahoma Music Hall of Fame guitar at her induction into the hall of fame Thursday, Nov. 10, 2011, in Muskogee. Chenoweth is from Broken Arrow and attended Oklahoma City University before moving to New York City and beginning a career in in theater, TV, film and music. (Photo by Adam Kemp, The Oklahoman)
A version of this story also appears in Friday’s The Oklahoman.
Kristin Chenoweth joins Oklahoma Music Hall of Fame
Along with the Tony- and Emmy-winning singer/actor, the hall’s 2011 class includes the late Wayman Tisdale, members of surf-rock pioneers The Ventures and The Oklahoman’s Gene Triplett.
MUSKOGEE — Wearing a short, silvery dress and a wide smile befitting a Cinderella, Kristin Chenoweth stooped to sign an oversized guitar with the message “I’m just an OKLAHOMA GIRL!”
So far this year, the Emmy- and Tony-winning actress/vocalist has sung for Oprah Winfrey, President Obama and the Queen of England. She added another highlight Thursday night when she was inducted into the Oklahoma Music Hall of Fame.
“All those other things are amazing. I’d be a liar if I didn’t say singing for the queen and Oprah and presidents and all that is amazing. But when you come back home and you sing for your family and you sing for people who said, ‘You done good,’ that’s where the loyalty and the love is,” Chenoweth told The Oklahoman.
“This is who I am. This is who I am, and I can’t forget it.”
The Oklahoma Music Hall of Fame ushered in its 15th class during Thursday’s Annual Induction Ceremony and Concert. Along with Chenoweth, the class of 2011 includes basketball great and popular jazz bassist the late Wayman Tisdale and Rock; Roll Hall of Famers Nokie Edwards and the late Bob Bogle, both members of surf-rock pioneers The Ventures; and Gene Triplett, longtime entertainment editor of The Oklahoman.
The class of 2011 also features the late guitarist/keyboard player Jesse Ed Davis, who performed with Leon Russell, George Harrison and John Lennon; the late composer, lyricist and performer Ralph Blane, who was twice nominated for the best original song Oscar; and Oklahoma Music Hall of Fame Rising Star Award recipient Cheevers Toppah, a Kiowa/Navajo singer and Grammy nominee.
This is a totally unexpected honor. I don’t play guitar and sing as well as any of these folks here, but I’m just really proud to be here,” said Triplett, who has been at The Oklahoman for 30 years and spent the last decade as entertainment editor, at the press conference before the ceremony.
“This is a great place if you’re gonna write about music and entertainment. This is the place to be. (As you can see) from the fantastic panel up here, Oklahoma is just a really rich breeding ground for great talent … something in the water. Or the dirt, I don’t know.”
“It’s the dirt,” Chenoweth said with a laugh.
Judging from the class of 2011, the Oklahoma dirt provides a fertile breeding ground for musical diversity, with the honorees representing an array of styles, from Broadway show tunes and contemporary jazz to American Indian fusion and rock ‘n’ roll.
Kelly Davis, Davis’ widow, said that friends laughed and asked “Do they surf in Oklahoma?” when they heard that The Ventures were part of the same hall of fame class as her husband.
“I’m from California, and we met in California … but he was a proud Oklahoman, and this is a tremendous honor” Davis said.
Along with Toppah, Davis, who was full-blood Kiowa Comanche, and Edwards, who is Cherokee, represent Oklahoma’s strong American Indian roots.
“To be amongst the greatest musicians to come out of Oklahoma, it’s humbling for me, and to be Native American and represent the state of Oklahoma, it’s one of the greatest awards I’ll ever have,” said Toppah, 28.
Edwards, 76, was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2008 as a member of The Ventures and earlier this year became a Native American Music Awards Hall of Famer.
“This is my third hall of fame I’m in, but I’m very happy to be inducted into the hall of fame here in my home state,” Edwards said, adding he was sorry that his bandmate and fellow inductee Bogle, who died in 2009, was not there to be honored with him.
Bob Spalding, who has played lead and bass guitar with The Ventures since 1981, accepted the induction award and performed on behalf of Bogle his wife and six children, five of whom were in attendance.
Regina Tisdale, Tisdale’s widow, accepted the honor for her husband, who the former University
Regina Tisdale, the wife of former Oklahoma basketball star and jazz musician Wayman Tisdale, signs the Oklahoma Music Hall of Fame guitar on Thursday, Nov. 10, 2011, at the Oklahoma Music Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony in Muskogee. (Photo by Adam Kemp, The Oklahoman)
of Oklahoma All-American basketball player who became a professional jazz bassist after his 12-season career in the NBA. She has accepted many of his posthumous awards since Tisdale died in 2009 at the age of 44 after a long battle with bone cancer.
“We’re very excited to be here. Wayman would’ve absolutely loved it. “Although he was an athlete, if you asked him what his first love was, he’d tell you music. So he’d be all smiles if he was here and he’d be honored to be among these musicians,” she said.
The hall of fame also inducted posthumously Blane, a prolific composer who co-wrote the holiday classic “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas” and the Oscar-nominated standard “The Trolley Song” for the 1944 movie musical “Meet Me in St. Louis.” He earned a second Academy Award nomination for “Pass That Peace Pipe,” from the 1947 musical comedy “Good News.”
“I met Ralph Blane when I was a teenager, and he influenced my life a great deal. And the last 10 or 15 years of his life, we became very close,” said Billie Sue Thompson, who accepted on his behalf.
“I’m probably the luckiest one here because my most famous mentor, Ralph Blane, and my most famous former student, Kristin Chenoweth, are both going to be inducted into the hall of fame tonight,” said Billie Sue Thompson, who accepted on his behalf.
As a teacher at Broken Arrow High School, she nurtured Chenoweth’s natural talent, cast Chenoweth in the title role of “Cinderella” and always knew the tiny blonde with the huge voice would be a superstar.
“Singing has been the greatest love of my life, and it is definitely an extension of my soul and something that God saw fit to give me. I can’t balance my checkbook and I’m not a very good driver, but I do enjoy singing,” Chenoweth said with a grin. “I’m very, very honored to be here tonight.”
More to come
Look for my review, along with photos and video, of the Oklahoma Music Hall of Fame 2011 Induction Ceremony and Concert on NewsOK.
-BAM
