You are currently browsing the tag archive for the 'oklahoma' tag.
The Uglysuit performs at Dfest in Tulsa.
The last weekend in July, Tim and I went to the two-day Dfest music festival in Tulsa. It was our third year to go, having seen awesome performers including the Flaming Lips and mc chris in 2007 and Ghostland Observatory, the Apples in Stereo, and the Roots in 2008. Although always hot enough to melt my shoe soles, I couldn’t miss out on going this year when I happened to be in Oklahoma at the right time.
Crowd at Dfest.
On Friday evening, we stuck with one of the giant outdoor parking lot stages, where the theme seemed to be internationally-flavored bands with over six members. First was Dusty Rhodes and the River Band, a six-person group from California which played some 1960s-influenced indie rock. I wasn’t expecting to like them when I first walked up, but their enthusiasm won me over. They were followed by a favorite band of mine which I’d never seen live: Dengue Fever, a Cambodian pop band based in Los Angeles. Their spectacular lead singer, Chhom Nimol, mainly sings in Khmer with a few songs in English and is accompanied by five amazing musicians. Next was Ozomatli, an eight member group which was new to me, and played an exciting mix of hip hop, Latin, and rock music. It seems they are pretty popular, and I can see why and I’m glad that we stayed for their set. However Gogol Bordello, the last band that night, put on one of the best live shows I’ve ever seen. I’ve listened to their music for a while, but had never had a chance to see their gypsy punk live, and they were over-the-top energetic and had the crowd dancing like they were east of the iron curtain, rather than in the middle of downtown Tulsa.
Mates of State performing at Dfest.
After some much needed sleep, we went back to the cluster of music venues and stages in the Blue Dome District and decided to spend some time at the other giant parking lot stage. I should mention that there was some sort of underwater theme, so the massive stages were called the Poseidon Stage and the Triton Stage respectively and featured artwork like an octopus playing the drums and a sea horse playing a trumpet. With the heat and the asphalt, I wouldn’t have minded being submerged.
Cake performs at Dfest.
We started by watching a local Oklahoma act, the Uglysuit, and then saw Mates of State, a husband-wife duo from Kansas. They were yet another group I’ve been keen on for a while, but have never had the opportunity to see live. Then we switched stages to see Chicago/Detroit hip hop group The Cool Kids. I’d heard one of their albums, but they were much more engaging live and the crowd was really into it. There was still a while before the headliner, but we decided to go back to the appropriate stage to assure a close place. Blue October was playing, who are apparently popular, but it was my first encounter with their insanely dramatic music. But it was endearing and reminded me of the music I listened to in high school. Plus, they lucked out by singing a song about the rain coming down right when we got a 10 minute downpour. Finally, it was time for Cake, the headlining band. I hadn’t really heard from them since the 1990s, but I was surprised at how many songs I recognized and I loved their performance. Even better, we were next to a railing that we could sit on and see over the huge crowd. I’m really curious to see who they get as the headliner next year. How do you top the sequence of the Flaming Lips, the Roots, and Cake?
A train in Western Oklahoma with the Quartz Mountains in the background.
I spent almost all of June working as a PR Assistant/Counselor at the Oklahoma Summer Arts Institute at Quartz Mountain. I studied poetry there two years in high school and thought it would be a perfect job for my return from France. It turned out to be a great way to earn some money in a beautiful part of Oklahoma while working with some interesting people, even if being around teenagers for two weeks was a little stressful.
Kite flying at Quartz Mountain.
I got there about a week early with the other counselors to learn CPR, set everything up, and be subjected to hour upon hour of improv. Everyone working there was involved with the arts somehow, whether it was theatre, painting, photography, film, acting, choral, dance, writing, or orchestra. It was kind of strange, actually, to be around so many people that were pursuing their art as their profession. I usually feel odd saying I am a writer, but working with professional-aspiring opera singers or musicians made me feel almost corporate.
Twin peaks at Quartz Mountain.
After that first week, the students and faculty showed up and the camp went from 30 to 300 residents. I was very impressed with this year’s faculty, and they even got Billy Collins to come for a few days as a guest artist. The students were just as talented as I remembered, even if that was easy forget when they were using their cellphones during performances or climbing the mountains in a lightning storm. I spent most of my days in the public relations office, which was very laid bad and low stress. Quite a contrast to being a poetry student where I spent all my time writing and critiquing.
Space Invader at Quartz Mountain.
While each day at OSAI felt like a week, it still seemed to go by very quickly and already feels as dreamlike as France. It definitely got me over my culture shock, though, and I think I’m fully readjusted to the States. Being a student at Quartz Mountain definitely impacted my decision to follow writing as my career, and it was nice to come back to a place that was so inspirational. Unfortunately, of all the arts taught at OSAI, I think that poetry is in the most danger of extinction. Who reads poetry besides the poets? However, the students are still talented so hopefully the literary arts will be maintained as a part of the program. I would hate for young Oklahoman writers to miss out on the same encouragement I received there.
Old amusement park in the Quartz Mountain state park.
If you want to get an idea of the OSAI experience, the yearbook video from 2008 is online. (I recommend pressing mute for the music.) Although it went by quickly, I feel like I met some great people and love that I got paid to spend a month in one of my favorite places in Oklahoma.
2009 Bartlesville Biplane Expo.
I remember being in the backyard when I was a kid and watching the colorful biplanes start to migrate to Bartlesville. First there would be just one or two, then it would be like the sky had undergone some sort of time shift and modern aviation had not yet been invented. That meant that it was time for the annual Biplane Expo.
Red biplane.
So when I happened to be in Bartlesville for the final Biplane Expo, we picked a cool, but sunny morning to go out to the little airport and see the planes land and take off on the grass runway.
Biplane fueling.
I guess that most of the pilots are getting older and that is why 2009 was the final year for the Expo. But they couldn’t have picked a more perfect weekend to go out on. Every few minutes a plane would take off into the nearly cloudless sky and the announcer would identify it to the crowd of wandering pilots, aficionados, and visitors like me.
Blue and yellow biplanes.
I imagine it would be amazing to fly in a biplane and have nothing above your head except air, to look all around you with no glass between you and the earth. Then again, I might get vertigo. Because of this, I probably shouldn’t be the pilot.
Biplane flying.
A pilot there had one of the best names I’ve ever heard: Joe Champagne. And he was flying a biplane apparently owned by Roy Clark. But there were more than just biplanes, and there were a few experimental and small planes there as well.
Biplane landing.
Most of the planes were from out of state, and it’s pretty cool that biplanes were flown from opposite coasts and corners of the country. Despite their age, they seemed to be in impeccable condition, probably better than most commercial planes.
Biplane taxiing.
In addition to the biplanes, there were also some classic cars being shown off that were in town for Sunfest that was taking place in the park. We went by the festival later for some fried green tomatoes (a guilty, once-every-few-years pleasure).
Biplane flying in to the Expo.
I have a few more Biplane Expo photos on my flickr if you want to check it out. I got a little carried away with my photography, but there were just so many colors against the sky that I couldn’t resist.
