What to do in Oklahoma on April 17, 2012: Hear Blue October at the Diamond Ballroom
Blue October
Today’s featured event:
Hear Texas rockers Blue October, with special guests A Girl in a Coma and Justin Furstenfeld, at 7 tonight at the Diamond Ballroom, 8001 S Eastern Ave. For more information, go to www.diamondballroom.net.
For more events, go to www.wimgo.com.
- BAM
Video: Privaledge and Kevin Durant “Wired”
Rapper Privaledge, a Philadelphia native who is now based in Oklahoma City, has released a new track titled “Wired” that featured OKC Thunder superstar Kevin Durant.
The track is available for free download here.
The Thunder are gearing up for a rematch against the Los Angeles Clippers at 9:30 tonight at the Staples Center in L.A. The game will air on FS Oklahoma, which is Cox 37 or Cox HD 722.
-BAM
Reba McEntire, George Strait and Alan Jackson featured on Country Weekly magazine’s “Legends of Country” cover
Oklahoma native Reba McEntire, George Strait and Alan Jackson are featured on the cover of the April 23 issue of Country Weekly magazine, emblazoned “The Legends of Country.”
In this special section, the magazine profiles the living legends of country music—stars such as George, Reba, Alan and many others—who have earned the title through their pioneering efforts and the influence they have on today’s sound.
The April 23 issue is on sale now.
-BAM
Tickets to Garth Brooks Calgary Stampede show sell out in 58 seconds
Garth Brooks (AP file)
On Saturday, Oklahoma country music megastar Garth Brooks sold out an historic Canadian venue in less than a minute.
More than 15,300 tickets to the soon-to-be Country Music Hall of Famer’s highly anticipated July 12 show at the famed Calgary Stampede rodeo, exhibition and festival went on sale Saturday morning and were snapped up in just 58 seconds, reports the Calgary Herald.
The Owasso resident is semi-retired and sticks mostly to his standing gig at the Wynn Las Vegas . But he agreed to play the Alberta, Canada, show in honor of the Calgary Stampede’s centennial. Now, he boasts the fastest sellout in the event’s 100-year history, according to the Herald.
Country music fans who were unable to get tickets vented on social media; by mid-morning Saturday, “Garth Brooks” was trending Canada-wide on Twitter. According to the Herald, fan frustration was mostly directed at Ticketmaster, the sole ticket merchant for the concert, and online resale sites. Prices for single tickets on StubHub, for example, ranged from $275 to $4,500 a piece, quite a mark-up over their original $62 cost.
Many country music fans were hoping Brooks would plan a second concert date in the city, but in an e-mail, Brooks’ publicist Nancy Seltzer told the Herald that a second show at the Calgary’s Saddledome isn’t possible.
Stampede officials told the Herald they weren’t surprised the tickets sold out so quickly.
“We’re happy it sold out but we knew it was going to be hugely popular . . . . This is one of the biggest shows we’ve ever had,” publicity manager Jennifer Booth told the Herald.
-BAM
Blake Shelton scores sixth straight No. 1 hit with “Drink on It”
Blake Shelton (AP file)
Oklahoma country music superstar Blake Shelton is celebrating his sixth consecutive No. 1 hit this week with “Drink On It.” The song marks the Tishomingo resident’s 11th No. 1 single overall and caps an incredibly successful spring for the man Rolling Stone calls “one of country music’s biggest stars over the last decade.”
The three-time Grammy-nominated artist recently wrapped his sold-out headlining arena tour, “Well Lit & Amplified,” which earned raves in all markets, with the St. Louis Post-Dispatch saying “Shelton wrapped the crowd around his finger with a fan-friendly mix of songs and storytelling.” The past four months have also seen Shelton complete his second stint as co-host of the Academy of Country Music Awards and perform “America the Beautiful” at the Super Bowl with wife Miranda Lambert.
He can currently be seen every week as one of the coaches on NBC’s hit singing competition “The Voice,” alongside fellow superstars Adam Levine, Christina Aguilera, and CeeLo Green. “The Voice” airs at 7 p.m. Mondays and 8 p.m. Tuesdays now that the show has reached the live performance stage.
“I really couldn’t be happier about this one y’all,” Shelton said. “Bob Reeves and the WMN team, you beat the odds and won the game, and country radio, you are my brothers and sisters…I love you. Thanks so much for always supporting my country a*s. Now, let’s ‘Drink On It’!”
Shelton is one of the “most versatile of contemporary country singers” (The New York Times). The reigning ACM and Country Music Association Male Vocalist of the Year was nominated for three Grammy Awards in 2012. “Drink On It” is the follow-up from his three-week No. 1 song, “God Gave Me You,” off his current release, “Red River Blue,” and marks Shelton’s sixth consecutive No. 1. “Red River Blue” debuted at No. 1 on the Soundscan Top Current Albums chart and Soundscan Top Country Albums chart with the Associated Press calling the album “the best album of his career.” Shelton’s infectious multi-week No.1 hit, “Honey Bee” is also off Red River Blue and is his first ever digital Platinum single. He holds the record for the fastest-selling digital Platinum single for a male country solo artist. The single held the No. 1 spot on the Billboard Country chart for four weeks in a row with more than 40 million in audience. No country artist has held this record in almost six years. Shelton now has 11 No. 1 hits and has not had a single peak outside the top 10 since 2007.
-BAM
Box office report for April 16, 2012: “Hunger Games” tops domestic list for fourth straight weekend
The first film adaptation of Suzanne Collins’ best-selling books “The Hunger Games” stayed on top of the domestic box office for a fourth-straight weekend.
The dystopian near-future story about teens forced to participate in a televised death match made another $21.5 million over the past weekend, raising the film’s domestic total to $337.1 million, according to the Associated Press.
“The Hunger Games” added $15 million overseas to bring its international total to $194 million and its worldwide haul to $531 million.
Peter and Bobby Farrelly’s slapstick update “The Three Stooges” opened in second-place with $17.1 million, well above industry expectations of around $10 million for the 20th Century Fox update starring Chris Diamantopoulos as Moe, Sean Hayes as Larry and Will Sasso as Curly.
Fox executives had figured the movie would appeal mainly to young males. But it also pulled in older men who grew up on the Stooges and a fair number of women and girls as whole families turned out to see it, Chris Aronson, the studio’s head of distribution, told the AP.
The well-reviewed horror movie “The Cabin in the Woods” debuted in third-place with $14.9 million. A smart take on the genre produced and co-written by Joss Whedon (“Buffy the Vampire Slayer”), the long-delayed “Cabin in the Woods” had been one of the films caught up in MGM’s bankruptcy but was finally released by Lionsgate.
On the 100th anniversary of the ship’s sinking on April 15, 1912, the 3-D version of James Cameron’s “Titanic” sailed past the $2 billion mark worldwide. “Titanic” is just the second blockbuster to top $2 billion, trailing only the next film Cameron made — the 2009 sci-fi sensation “Avatar,” which took in $2.8 billion.
Domestically, “Titanic” held the No. 4 spot with $11.6 million. The 3-D re-release has taken in $44.4 million domestically to lift the film’s lifetime total to $645.2 million, according to the AP.
“Titanic” also pulled in $88.2 million in 69 overseas markets, including a huge $58 million 3-D debut in China. That brought the 3-D reissue’s overseas total to $146.4 million and the worldwide sum for re-release to $190.8 million. Added to the $1.84 billion take from the original release of the 1997 hit, “Titanic” has climbed to a lifetime total of about $2.03 billion.
Another big overseas haul came with Universal’s “Battleship,” which opened with $58 million in 26 countries five weeks ahead of its U.S. debut on May 18. The action tale featuring Taylor Kitsch and Liam Neeson is inspired by the venerable board game Battleship.
The weekend’s other new domestic wide release, Film District’s sci-fi story “Lockout,” opened at No. 9 with $6.3 million. The movie stars Guy Pearce trying to quell an uprising at an orbiting space prison.
With no big new debut on the domestic front, the overall box office slipped for only the second weekend this year. Domestic revenues totaled $117 million, down 10 percent from the same weekend last year, when “Rio” led with $39.2 million, according to box-office tracker Hollywood.com.
Domestic revenues this year are at $2.98 billion, 19.3 percent ahead of 2011′s, putting Hollywood on a record money pace with a big summer lineup just weeks away. The superhero tale “The Avengers” kicks off the summer season May 4.
Here are the top 10 films at the domestic box office over the past weekend, according to the AP:
1. “The Hunger Games,” $21.5 million ($15 million international).
2. “The Three Stooges,” $17.1 million.
3. “The Cabin in the Woods,” $14.9 million ($3.4 million international).
4. “Titanic” in 3-D, $11.6 million ($88.2 million international).
5. “American Reunion,” $10.6 million ($11.8 million international).
6. “Mirror Mirror,” $7 million ($10.2 million international).
7. “Wrath of the Titans,” $6.9 million ($16 million international).
8. “21 Jump Street,” $6.8 million ($4 million international).
9. “Lockout,” $6.3 million.
10. “Dr. Seuss’ the Lorax,” $3 million ($8.6 million international).
-BAM
Monday Catchy Quote No. 210
A catchy quote from a movie, TV show or other source to brighten the beginning of your week:
Mitch: You know, um, something strange happened to me this morning…
Chris: Was it a dream where you see yourself standing in sort of sun-god robes on a pyramid with a thousand naked women screaming and throwing little pickles at you?
Mitch: No…
Chris: Why am I the only one who has that dream?
- Click here to learn the source.
-BAM
What to do in Oklahoma on April 16, 2012: Hear Sleigh Bells at the Diamond Ballroom
Sleigh Bells
Today’s featured event:
Hear musical duo Sleigh Bells with special guests Javelin and Elite Gymnastics at 8 tonight at the Diamond Ballroom, 8001 S Eastern Ave. Doors open at 7 p.m.
For more information, go to www.diamondballroom.net.
For more events, go to www.wimgo.com.
-BAM
What to do in Oklahoma on April 15, 2012: Hear Yolanda Kondonassis and Eugenia Zukerman at Armstrong Auditorium
EDMOND — Listen to Grammy-nominated, Norman-born harpist Yolanda Kondonassis and flutist Eugenia Zukerman 7:30 p.m. Sunday at Armstrong Auditorium, 14400 S Bryant. Information: 285-1010 or www.armstrongauditorium.org.
For more events, go to www.wimgo.com.
-BAM
What to do in Oklahoma on April 14, 2012: See the “Portrait of a Generation” exhibit before it closes at the Oklahoma Capitol
"Brenna Faire McDonnell" by M.J. Alexander
Today’s featured event:
See the exhibition “Portrait of a Generation,” by Oklahoma City photographer M.J. Alexander in the North Gallery on the first floor of the state Capitol before it closes Sunday.
Now at the beginning of its second century of statehood, Oklahoma is home to 3.7 million residents. Nearly 1 million of them are aged 18 or younger.
They are spread over 70,000 square miles, encompassing the wheat belt, the Bible belt, the Confederate South and the American West. Some are descended from Land Run homesteaders, pioneering ranchers and oilmen, survivors of the Trail of Tears. Others were born on the other side of the nation or across the globe.
Alexander’s latest project introduces the youngest generation of one of the most fascinating states in the union. From May through October 2010, Alexander drove more than 11,000 miles – from the Rita Blanca Grassland to the Tallgrass Prairie, from the Blue River to the Glass Mountains – to meet the children of the 46th state.
My daughter Brenna was among those she photographed. Brenna was only 100 hours old when Alexander photographed her being held aloft by her father in our yard in Del City. To read my feature about Brenna’s part in the exhibit, click here.
Alexander found Oklahoma children keeping traditions alive – through the rodeo circuit, harvest festivals, ranch barbeques, Vietnamese ceremonies, cowboy church services, Mexican folkloric dances, Czech parades, Indian language schools – and others being introduced to life in Oklahoma for the first time. She found children at food pantries, looking for their next meal; children rooted for seven generations to the same piece of land; children already on the road to national recognition; children looking to make a difference in ways big and small.
Some want to leave their hometown in the rearview mirror, to return later – or maybe never. Others hope to stay in Oklahoma forever, and can point to the plot where they plan to build, on family land near their parents and grandparents.
Each child is unique; a self-contained poem, arranged here into verses, stanzas, chapters. Their portrait distills something of their essence and of the story of Oklahoma in the 21st century. “Portrait of a Generation” is an ode to the land and its people, the sons and daughters of the red earth.
Alexander documents people and places of the American West, with an emphasis on the very young, the very old, and American Indian culture. The International Photography Hall of Fame describes her as “combining the vision of an artist with the skills of a storyteller.” Her work has been featured on national magazine covers and exhibited here and abroad.
Alexander spent her first 20 years in a town of 250 people on Lake Superior in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, attending a two-room schoolhouse and working as a park ranger and sportswriter before earning degrees from Vassar College and Columbia University’s Graduate School of Journalism. She is a dual citizen of Canada and the United States and has reported from five continents. She is a veteran of The Associated Press in New York City and former head of the journalism department of St. Michael’s College in Vermont.
“Portrait of a Generation” will be on view at the state Capitol through April 15.
North Gallery hours are 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. weekdays and 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. weekends. “Portrait of a Generation” closes Sunday.
For more information, go to http://arts.ok.gov.
For more events, go to www.wimgo.com.
-BAM
