BEST OF OKC: People & Media
Best local band/singer/ songwriter: THE FLAMING LIPS Well, duh. Voting the Lips as the best band in the metro’s about as obvious as voting Sally Kern for “least tactful public speaker.” Coyne, Drozd, Ivins, Scurlock and company earned this clout by recording wonderfully inventive, bizarre music and showcasing it with mind-blowing concerts. New Year’s Eve…
BEST OF OKC: Services
Best mechanoc: BECK’S GARAGE 4217 N. Western Located along trendy Western Avenue, Beck’s Garage was ranked as the top “wrench-turners” by Gazette readers. Started by owner Jeff Beck in the early ’90s, the garage later moved to its current location a few years ago. The garage revs its engine for hot rods and vintage cars,…
BEST OF OKC: Shopping
Best place to find the perfect gift: BLUE SEVEN 7518 N. May What do you buy for the girl with everything? How about a leather coin purse shaped like a cat? We bet she doesn’t have that. Whether it’s twee or sarcastic, a gag gift or just plain pretty, Blue Seven is your place to…
BEST OF OKC: Entertainment
Best place to hear live music: VZD’S RESTAURANT & CLUB 4200 N. Western Heralded throughout the metro for its great beer selection and tasty appetizers, VZD’s is an institution. No self-respecting alt-country band or folksinger would even think of skipping VZD’s pub hall, but that’s not to say the owners cater to a specific genre.…
BEST OF OKC: Food & Drink
Best coffee shop: CUPPIES & JOE 727 N.W. 23rd A small pleasure of life is the uplift from the aroma of a great cup of coffee. Nowadays, we all need to slow down a bit, but who can after stopping at Cuppies & Joe for that needed caffeine boost to get us on our way?…
In it for ‘Life’
Alexander Dinelaris’ 2009 drama, “Still Life,” is set in New York City among characters that not too long ago were known as “yuppies.” So how goes it with this socioeconomic group once so full of themselves? According to Dinelaris, they are dissatisfied, unfulfilled and suddenly have realized that time rolls on inexorably. As the Grim…
Joe cool
Michael Palermo, owner of Michelangelo’s Coffee & Wine Bar, 207 E. Main in Norman, said plenty of chilled coffee options exist that go well beyond simply throwing a fistful of ice cubes into your cup. “We’ve got about 13 different latte-type drinks, like your normal cappuccinos and espressos, but we also make an espresso with…
BEST OF OKC: Restaurants
Best restaurant downtown: IGUANA MEXICAN GRILL 9 N.W. Ninth They had us at the chips and salsa, and apparently you, too. The colorful Iguana has been whipping up fantastic, Latin-inspired dishes (try the fish tacos!) and some seriously amazing margaritas for a couple of years now. But it’s the cool atmosphere that really makes this…
Beautiful Darling
That she was … although she was born as James Slattery. More famous for being famous than for any discernible talent, she became a fixture of New York’s avant-garde scene of the late 1960s and early 1970s, thanks to her association with artist Andy Warhol. He, of course, coined the famous “15 minutes of fame”…
Glorious garlic
Roasted with a bit of good olive oil, creating luscious, oozy cloves to squeeze onto a thin water cracker for a highflavor, easy-prep, low-calorie snack. Grated raw into a vinaigrette. Poached in boiling water and mashed into potatoes for a mild, surprising and soft crunch. Flavoring homemade hummus, either raw or roasted. Punching up pasta…
Soundcheck: Klipspringer, ‘The Trouble with Sebastian’
Words about a girlfriend who “likes to play chess in her birthday suit” belong most anywhere in its discography, from 1996’s “The Mind of Mandy Moon” (where the line resides within the delightfully raunchy “She Likes That Shit”) to “The Trouble with Sebastian,” the pop-rock quartet’s seventh album, which it digitally released July 26 through…
Switch on
Switchfoot’s songs are meant to be so much more than melodies. “It’s more than just catchy hooks that grasp a listener for a month out of their life,” said bassist Tim Foreman. “It feels like people are really on the journey with us. Music got me through a lot of tough times. Fortunately, I think…
Vending machines
When The Venditos roll into a venue, they do it big. The humble rock band hailing from Oklahoma City doesn’t have a record deal or any sort of other financial backing, but it does enjoy a full-on tour bus, an old Greyhound that looks like the full shebang from the outside. Inside? Well, that’s a…
Parade’s route
The parade’s in town! The David Mayfield Parade, to be exact. It’s something the bluegrass musician has been building toward all his life. Although Mayfield’s released albums, he’s never toured for them. His experiences as a sideman built his confidence to broaden his horizons, resulting in an album that covers his widest musical expanse to…
Color of blight
There are several reasons why Norman’s Rainbows Are Free describes its sound as “heavy devil music.” There’s the heavy riffage, pounding percussion, mind-bending psychedelia, rants against religion and … well, this. “There’s the sacrifices, and our love for the dark lord,” bassist Chad Hogue said in deadpan. “You kind of need the devil to help…
Film schooled
Once upon a time, the road to Tinseltown wound through a humble little metropolis, still in its infancy, known as Oklahoma City. Studios built offices downtown where thousands of rolls of film were stashed safely in fireproof vaults that, only occasionally, would explode. The rise and fall of the district is recounted in historian Bradley…
Bam!
With a knack for voice impressions, acting chops and remarkable character inventions, comedian Maria Bamford easily could fill her time with television and film work. Instead, she keeps herself locked into the vicious, less lucrative world of stand-up comedy. It has its own rewards, however. “It’s immediate gratification,” Bamford said. “It only involves me showing…
Kids art
Students taking summer art classes will have their own work featured in an exhibit that opens Friday evening at the Norman Firehouse Art Center, as part of its Children’s Summer Art Program. The kids’ art includes paintings, collages, sculptures and drawings. Each student who took a class at the art center this summer will have…
Art celebration
The Society is not a Big Brother-esque group, but a new space in the Plaza District: part studio space, part living space and part warehouse space. “The Society is a community-driven, collective art space that pushes big ideas,” said Jerrod Smith, facilitator of the venue. “Here’s this collective space. Show up with your ideas and…
Streakin’
Under the light of a full moon, City Arts Center, 3000 General Pershing, hosts Saturday’s Midnight Streak races. Comprised of a free, 1-mile fun run and a registration-required 5K run, the annual event is a fundraiser for the center’s art-education efforts through adult classes, camps for kids, art exhibits and more. “Sometimes, art gets kind…
Best in class
How did that happen? Next thing we know, it’ll be September and the temperature will have dropped to, like, 97. We’ll all be pulling on sweaters because we’ll be so excited it’s not 117. I popped into Learning Tree (7648 N. Western; 848-1415) recently to look for something for my niece (because I feel it…
Taste the world
Monty’s Gyro & Subs 1208 N. Eastern, Moore 799-1440 With the evocative fragrance of fresh herbs and lemons, Greek food is so healthy. And it’s ancient; Greeks were perfecting the Mediterranean food we love today thousands of years ago. In fact, ancient Greek poet Archestratus wrote the first cookbook in 320 B.C. At Monty’s, it’s…
Bite Size: 8-10-11
HOT SALSA NIGHT The annual “A Hot Salsa Night” fundraiser is scheduled from 6 to 9:30 p.m. Aug. 20 at the Reed Convention Center inside the Midwest City Sheraton Hotel, 5750 Will Rogers Blvd. The event is a dinner, dance and auction to raise money to support Central Oklahoma Care Link (formerly known as COINS),…
PR BS
—“Tech Support, Customer Service 24/7, Chat//Tech Support 24/7, Data Entry 24/7, Collections” —“Iron Maiden – Eddie Giving The Finger Shirt – AVAILABLE NOW!” —“Plains Partners competes in CHS Applicator Rodeo” —“Insurance Exchange Podcast and White Paper Now Available” —“Author/Heavy Metal Guitarist JEREMY WAGNER’s Talks to Flavor Flav about ‘The Armageddon Chord’!” —“Turn Up the Heat…
Loco over local
The drill remains the same: The following pages include the winners nominated by you and chosen by you — not us. All we did in the process was tally votes. Tens of thousands ballots later (excluding the stuffed ballots that went straight into the recycling bin), the results are ready for you to celebrate or…
CFN Quotes of the Week
“A hillbilly from Oklahoma teaches city folk how to score fish without the help of a pole or hook. Or, for that matter, the lox counter at Zabar’s.” —Entertainment Weekly on the new Animal Planet series “Hillbilly Handfishin’,” in the Aug. 5 issue “Chance reveals a surprisingly mature voice … though the Facebook-spurred melodrama of…
The debt deal
But that’s not the end of the fight over debt, said U.S. Rep. James Lankford, R-Okla. Lankford visited Oklahoma Gazette Aug. 3 and discussed the debt-ceiling debate and legislation, as well as several other issues. The freshman congressman voted for the deal, but expressed doubt about what could be achieved to reduce the nation’s debt…
Horsin’ around
City staff told the council that there were complaints by some of the companies offering horse-drawn carriage rides in Bricktown that other companies offering similar rides were not shoeing their horses properly, complete with a letter from a vet stating horses walking on pavement should be shod correctly. While it is partially a safety issue,…
Out like a lion
We speak of hard-partying, hard-rocking band Kings of Leon, whose members hail from the Sooner State. In the midst of the group’s U.S. tour, the guys decided to call it quits with 29 dates to go. Heck, even reportedly overheated singer Caleb Followill threw in the towel in the middle of KoL’s Dallas gig. After…
Blade battle in Baja Oklahoma!
The State Fair of Texas doesn’t start for pert near two months, but the OU-Texas buildup is already reaching a fever pitch. Did another Texas fan nearly castrate another male member of the Sooner Nation in the 405, resulting in stitched cajones? Well, not that kind of sad sack story at Henry Hudson’s Pub, but…
‘Line in the sand’
The measure, authored by Ward 2 Councilman Ed Shadid (pictured right) and Ward 4 Councilman Pete White, failed in a 4-5 vote. Ward 7 Councilman Ronald “Skip” Kelly and Ward 5 Councilman David Greenwell joined Shadid and White in voting to approve the measure. Shadid criticized The Oklahoman at the meeting. Prior to the citywide…
Green lawns or drinking water?
Recently, I was in Vici in western Oklahoma, and they have had less than one-fourth-inch of rain in the past year. Pastures appear dead, crops are nonexistent and cattle are being sold because of drought. This is not a “what-if” scenario; this is the new reality. Farmers are selling their pond water and well water…
‘If Kern needs convincing…’
Has he not seen the “Jurassic Park” movie? It’s a fantasy, to be sure, one I’d be loath to introduce into a serious discussion, but it illustrates the point that the Earth was once veritably crawling with serious predators that would make quick work of everyone today, not to mention Adam and Eve (not Adam…
Okie local
One benefit of being a youngish righty is to see many fields where things, in my lifetime at least, have gotten quite a bit better. Divorce and crime rates have been dropping for some time now, and there are other areas related to quality of life that have improved markedly from the recent past. I…
Reclamation project
But some rally around those issues as the foundation of the United States, and encourage active discussion, promotion and debate. Planted firmly in the triad is Reclaiming America for Christ held on July 28 and 29 at First Baptist Church of Moore. The event featured speakers who did not avoid controversy, addressing issues such as…
‘Water solution’
First, diversion of Oklahoma freshwater from its flow to the Red River would increase the salinity of the Red River, already saline from flow of the Salt Fork, near the boundary of Oklahoma with Texas. Deliberate increase of the salinity of the Red River is forbidden by the Red River Compact (RRC), to which Oklahoma,…
Why pay $30 million to move OGE substation?
Some $280 million has been requested in preliminary funds for the new convention center, which could spur development for a new 650-plus-room hotel. A hotel more than double the size of the Renaissance Oklahoma City Convention Center Hotel and Spa as an anchor for the convention center is going to bring in more second-tier conventions…
Small Sur — Tones
Small Sur sounds nothing like any of these bands. Literally, nothing. They’ll probably never achieve the same level of notoriety, which is very sad. They’ve recorded the most beautiful, lovely slowcore folk music these ears have ever heard, but unfortunately, that particular sub-genre isn’t in high demand among audiences much larger than what could fill…
The Last Godfather
If this were a bid at crossover stardom à la Jackie Chan, he’s failed miserably. Heck, if this were intended to be a comedy, he’s failed miserably. The flimsy plot has Harvey Keitel — why, Harvey, why? — as a Mafia leader planning on retirement. While his many underlings want the job, he’s going to…
Zen: Vendetta / Cabal / Ratking
Too bad BBC canceled it less than a month after it aired earlier this year. The reason? “Too much crime,” which is a terrible excuse when the programming is par excellence. Zen — “It’s Venetian,” he says — is played by Rufus Sewell (TV’s “The Pillars of the Earth”); his love interest is the seemingly…
Supernatural: The Anime Series
The storyline remains the same: brothers Sam (Jared Padalecki, who reprises his role for the anime) and Dean Winchester (Jensen Ackles, who voices only a few episodes) travel the country in their ’67 Chevy Impala, encountering monsters, spirits and other paranormal activity along the way. They ain’t ‘fraid of no ghosts. The actors and series…
Conan the Adventurer: Season One
For one thing, he’s no longer “the Barbarian,” but “the Adventurer.” For another, he asks for help. And kindly! He’s even … how to put this nicely? … kind of a wussy. But to catch any fervor there may be over this month’s big-screen, 3-D “Conan” remake, Shout! Factory has released the first 13 episodes on…
Jackie-O Motherf***er — Earth Sound System
They’re kindred spirits to Waka Flocka Flame in that sense. And that sense only. But enough teasing about Jackie-O’s name. Let’s tease them for recording a patience-trying album. “Earth Sound System” contains a pair of tracks — one exactly seven minutes and eight seconds in length, and one sitting right at nine and a half…
Oklahoma AG likens anti-abortion struggle to abolition fight
Pruitt, a Republican elected in November to replace outgoing Attorney General Drew Edmondson, was the highest-ranking statewide official to speak at the local event, which also included state Rep. Sally Kern, R-Oklahoma City, and U.S. Rep. James Lankford, R-Okla., several area pastors and religious organizations. Likening the anti-abortion movement to British Parliament member William Wilberforce’s…
Who Can Kill a Child?
It’s incredibly shocking, but unnecessary: The movie is plenty shocking without it. Then again, folks, that’s why they call it “exploitation.” I call it a terrific find. Narciso Ibàñez Serrador’s film follows expectant couple Tom (Lewis Fiander, “Dr. Phibes Rises Again”) and Evelyn (Prunella Ransome, “Far from the Madding Crowd”) vacationing in Spain. Tired of…
Blood Night: The Legend of Mary Hatchet
See, she was just innocent little girl Mary Mattock until she got her first menses, and it made her go crazy. How crazy? Like, she-scissored-her-mom-in-the-eye crazy. And-then-axed-her-mom-in-the-other-eye crazy. Bravo, debuting writer/director/producer Frank Sabatella! That’s a slasher premise that may not make much sense, but one I haven’t seen before. Within the confines of King’s Park…
What do the new Oklahoma County districts look like?
The Oklahoma County Commissioners unanimously approved new district boundaries Monday that moved several municipalities across more evened-out district lines, as no cities now are divided among two districts. At Monday morning’s meeting, District 1 Commissioner Willa Johnson and District 2 Commissioner Brian Maughan traded respective cities Choctaw and Nicoma Park (from District 1 to 2)…
MST3K vs. Gamera: Mystery Science Theater 3000: Volume XXI
• It’s packaged in a collectible tin.• It’s the first to focus on one character: Japan’s giant flying turtle, Gamera, to be exact.• It contains five eps instead of the usual four.• Most notably, it has the first ep I ever saw: their 1991 roasting of “Gamera vs. Barugon.” Bear with me as I get…
The Clinic
No sooner do we meet them then a car barrels up on them menacingly — something we’ve seen in dozens of films, from the classic “Duel” to the crap-tastic “Jeepers Creepers.” They stop for the night at a creepy motel — shades of “Vacancy” — and in the morning, one of the spouses has gone missing…
Stephen Malkmus and the Jicks — Mirror Traffic
If you answered with “an improvement on Malkmus’ last effort flashing some of his funniest, snarkiest songwriting to date,” then you’re correct. Beck effectively tossed out the Jicks’ 2008 LP, “Real Emotional Trash,” replacing an album constituted of skilled, but too-far-extended guitar jams with one that paces more like Pavement’s “Wowee Zowee,” and draws influence…
