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Travis LeDoyt & Elvis • Klipspringer • The Dish & Blu • Art Walk
Tom Lee
“Still, A Retrospective” explores the work of the Norman photographer Tom Lee and a life changed PAGE 2
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@TranscriptPOP
pop Kendall Brown, editor CONTACT US
Phone: 366-3533 Fax: 366-3516 pop@normantranscript.com WEEKLY DEADLINE NOON TUESDAY All faxed or mailed information submitted must be typed and send to pop@normantranscript.com. NINE NIGHTS CALENDAR Submissions should include event name, time, date, location and admission price. PATRONS Photo submissions must be highresolution and include caption information with the names of people in the photo, along with the date, place and name of event where it was taken. Photos are printed as space allows.
pop is published each Friday by The Norman Transcript, P.O. Box 1058, Norman, OK 73070. To advertise, call 366-3554. CORRECTION In the July 29 edition of POP, several artists were mistakenly identified in a review of the Firehouse Faculty show. The correct artists’ names were Craig Swan, sculptor; Wayne Rives, potter; Beverly Herndon, painter; and Carla Chew, potter.
CONNECT Facebook.com/ normanpop Twitter.com/ transcriptpop ON THE COVER
Photo from the the collected works of Tom Lee.
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High Notes
THE DISH F ROZEN BEVERAGE By K e n d a ll
Bro w n
POP Edit or
Tom Lee and a life changed veryone is afforded in life those few moments, those ‘flashbulb memories,’ where you meet someone truly inspiring, someone who in an instant changes your life forever. Something they do, something they say or maybe just something they simply are touches something inside of you, and you’re better for it. Tom Lee did that for me. I was a freshman in college, a scared, timid little Northwest Oklahoma transplant that was unsure of where I was headed in life. All I knew were two things: first, I needed a job and second, I thought I might like to take pictures. Not enough to commit to changing my major, mind you, as the thought of telling my parents I’d become the dreaded ‘art student’ was too much to bear, but just enough to toy with the idea of the mysterious, glamorous idea of a future as a ‘photojournalist.’ That’s when I saw it: a listing in the classified section of the student paper stating, simply, ‘Local photographer looking for an assistant.’ Well, that was it, I was sold. I immediately applied for the job and, without ever having actually spoken with this local photographer over the phone, set up an interview. I was nervous, I was ecstactic, I was convinced that this job was going to set me on my way. When I walked into Tom Lee’s studio later that week I was both shocked and shocking. You see, what I did not know until I walked in that afternoon was that this local photographer, this Tom Lee, was a quadrapalegic. I was shocked, of course, but he looked just as surprised as I was. My name, Kendall Brown, is an admittedly androgynous one, and he had apparently expected a bulking young man to walk through the door, not barely 5 feet and 120 pounds of small blonde girl. Once the shock wore off for both of us, we settled in for our conversation. I can’t call it an interview, because that’s simply wasn’t what it was. Tom was looking for someone to not only help with his photography, but also daily needs, something I wasn’t strong enough to do. Many people would have probably simply said ‘thanks’ and shown me the door. Tom
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invited me to sit down and asked why I wanted the job in the first place. I explained to him that I thought that being his photo assistant would help me decide whether I wanted to be a photographer. I wanted to know for sure before I committed even so much as a semester of college to the new course of classes. Tom, to be quite honest, looked absolutely bemused at my stupidity. “Why would being my assistant teach you if you want to be a photographer?” he asked, staring at me with a half smile on his face. “Go be a photographer. That will teach you if you want to be a photographer.” That was the last time I saw Tom Lee. He called me the next day and left me a very kind voicemail informing me of what I already knew, that I wasn’t right for the job, but that I was welcome to come by his studio any time to talk shop. I was too intimidated by the man and his talent to even return his call. But I did what he said. I went and I became a photographer. I changed my major to photography and began spending countless hours in the basement of the art school, wrists deep in photo chemicals learning the alchemist magic that is traditional photography. Many late nights in the darkroom, as I would tire of being there, tired of printing the same image over and over again, looking for that perfect print, I would think of Tom. I would be near to giving up, to putting my prints up to dry and returning back to my apartment for just a few hours of precious sleep when I would think about what I saw that one afternoon in Tom Lee’s studio, how his work made me feel. I wanted my work to inspire. So I kept going. Tom passed away in the last year, and it will always be one of my deepest regrets that I never stopped by his studio to ‘talk shop.’ But I am so glad for his influence that led me to becoming a photographer and, eventually, to being the editor of POP. I hope that many in the community will join me tonight for IAO’s retrospective of his work. Tom spent much of his life quietly producing amazing work in Norman, and now it’s time for us to loudly celebrate it.
The Mont More than 20 people in Norman, including Nolita Stewart Morgan, Amara Elizabeth Patty and Juli Hall nominated The Mont’s Sooner Swirl this week as their favorite frozen alcoholic beverage in Norman. The Sooner Swirl, an Oklahoma original to the Mont, is a frosty beverage made of their secret recipe sangria frozen and swirled together with their frozen house margarita to icy perfection. The cold beverage then is topped off with the Mont's signature swizzle stick, the multi-color palm tree that many in Norman have come to know and love. The ice-cold drink goes great with the current hot conditions and is a bargain at $5.50. The Dish is a weekly feature dedicated to reader suggestions on Norman’s culinary highlights. Next week’s category: French fries — who makes your favorite? To nominate, email pop@normantranscript.com.
DIY DELICACIES Caramel Popcorn Ingredients 1 cup butter 2 cups brown sugar 1⁄2 cup corn syrup 1 teaspoon salt 1⁄2 teaspoon baking soda 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 5 quarts popped popcorn Directions 1. Preheat oven to 250 degrees F (95 degrees C). Place popcorn in a very large bowl. 2. In a medium saucepan over medium heat, melt butter. Stir in brown sugar, corn syrup and salt. Bring to a boil, stirring constantly. Boil without stirring 4 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in soda and vanilla. Pour in a thin stream over popcorn, stirring to coat. 3. Place in two large shallow baking dishes and bake in preheated oven, stirring every 15 minutes, for 1 hour. Remove from oven and let cool completely before breaking into pieces.
Have a DIY recipe for a beverage or side you want featured? Email pop@normantranscript.com
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POP Gets Lit
Where crime and patriotism collide surreal to be sure, and most average Joes would probably think Dezenhall’s bit of “historical fiction” is Meyer Lansky: mobster, ‘The a lot more “fiction” and a lot less “hisMob’s Accountant,’ founding member torical,” but that’s where they would of the “National Crime Syndicate” be wrong. This novel is firmly rooted and ... great American patriot. in historical fact, where Dezenhall ficThat last one a good many of you tionalizes is in how he tells the story are sure to take issue with, but it’s through the perspective of Meyer most certainly debatable given Lansky himself, and the specifics of Lansky’s actions during World War II. the matter. Operation Underworld, Eric Dezenhall’s new historical fichowever, is a documented fact. tion novel, “The Devil Himself,” spins “The Devil Himself?” The Mob vs. the Nazis? I’m a hisby Eric Dezenhall a fictional account of Lansky’s brief tory buff who grew up on mafia pop stint of service to the country based culture. As a kid, the scene at the end on the seminal role he played in the Office of of “The Rocketeer” where Paul Sorvino’s hardNaval Intelligence’s Operation Underworld. bitten mob boss Eddie Valentine points a gun at Operation Underworld was a top secret Timothy Dalton and growls, ‘I may not make an undertaking during WWII to rout out and neuhonest buck, but I’m a’ hundred percent tralize Nazi infiltrators and saboteurs along the American, and I don’t work for no two-bit Nazi!’ United States northeastern seaboard ports, partic- used to send my 10 year old body into spasms as ularly in New York Harbor, using organized I cackled with glee! crime as its muscle. This is the kind of story that has me in the That’s an unlikely partnership. It's something palm of it’s sweaty little underbelly of a hand like “The Odd Couple,” but with espionage, from the words, “Let em’ have it!” To be clear, counter-espionage, tommy guns, a smattering of however, this book is not 290 pages of cement shoes and more bullets than any sane Nazi/Mafioso slugfest. That would be a comperson would want to count. It sounds pretty pletely different bit of fun, but this is not that. By Levi Lee For POP
This book is filled with counter-intelligence, disinformation, back-alley dealings and low-down, dirty mob justice. All of those are things that take time and finesse to build into a tension filled moment. This is where Dezenhall excels. He is clearly a fan of the “slow burn,” and the entire novel works at that kind of pace, savoring every detail so when the climax comes it is all the more sweet. Less patient readers may be left wondering when they’re going to start seeing some Nazi’s dumped in the harbor to sleep with the fishes and give up before they reach the pay off. Once you commit yourself to the book, however, you’re likely to find that you begin to care less which bits are fact and which are fiction, and in my mind that is ultimately the barometer for success in the historical fiction genre. So, Meyer Lansky, is he mob boss or patriot? Personally, I’m not interested in pinning Mr. Lansky down, certainly not in as far as his portrayal in “The Devil Himself” is concerned, because the character defies convention. He sits in the moral gray area of complexities where most great characters live, and for that I love him. I put the book down with both my inner history buff and Mafioso satiated, and I am completely satisfied with simply that.
What if a nation escaped into the past? “Flashback” by Dan Simmons Reagan Arthur/Little, Brown
By Nick Owchar Los Angeles Times
Marcel Proust, the great author of memory, gets a swift kick in the pants in Dan Simmons’ latest novel of an apocalyptic future, “Flashback.” Remember all that stuff Proust wrote about memories returning to him with the taste of a madeleine cookie? For Simmons, memories can be summoned and controlled far more easily, and reliably, with a few snorts of a drug called flashback. In this novel, most Americans — about 85 percent — are hooked on flashback, preferring to spend their days in soiled clothes on grimy cots, reliving the cozy past rather than facing a chaotic world.
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Simmons’ portrait of the nearfuture presents a bankrupt United States that has been chopped into pieces. There are lawless frontier areas and zones of federally protected territory; people pour across the border from Mexico, while the Canadians have erected a wall along theirs; armed enclaves battle over cities; Texas is a republic again; Muslim extremist groups are proliferating; and there’s even a mosque standing on ground zero in New York City. So who would blame Americans for this addiction? Taking a hit of flashback is a welcome escape from reality. At the novel’s center is Nick Bottom, a former cop whose parents must’ve appreciated Shakespeare. Maybe they had no idea they were naming him after the hapless “Midsummer Night’s Dream” character. Nick is a grieving
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widower and flashback addict (these, by the way, are related). He’s been hired to thaw a cold case for Hiroshi Nakamura, a wealthy, powerful Japanese businessman living on an armed Los Angeles hillside area once occupied by the Getty Center. Despite his millions, he’s never been able to find out who murdered his documentary filmmaker son Keigo in Denver. Why turn to a miserable, addled detective for help? Because Bottom was involved in the original investigatio “I’m the only person who can, under the flash, relive every conversation with the witnesses and suspects and other detectives involved,” he realizes. It’s an intriguing spin on the detective story trope. Simmons is a consummate master of intriguing spins, shifting between time periods and situations more gracefully than a
chameleon changes colors. In recent books he has explored a doomed 19th century expedition to find the Northwest Passage in “The Terror,” the world of Charles Dickens in “Drood” and Custer’s defeat at the Little Big Horn in “Black Hills.” Now, with “Flashback,” Simmons gives us a noirish thriller set in a grim, broken future where the only relief comes from a drug. Though you certainly can classify this novel under the science fiction banner, Simmons doesn’t play with the memory-versus-reality theme as Philip K. Dick does; in the end, in fact, he’s much closer to that lyrical devourer of madeleines, Proust. Even if their approaches are radically different, they share a common theme: Life is so full of disappointment, and time moves so swiftly, that memory enables us to recapture those special moments.
BEST - SELLERS Fiction 1. “A Dance With Dragons,” by George R.R. Martin (Bantam: $35) 2. “Ghost Story,” by Jim Butcher (Roc: $27.95) 3. “Dreams of Joy,”by Lisa See (Random House: $26) 4. “Portrait of a Spy,” by Daniel Silva (Harper: $26.99) 5. “The Paris Wife,” by Paula McLain (Ballantine: $25) 6. “Rules of Civility,” by Amor Towles (Viking: $26.95) 7. “State of Wonder,” by Ann Patchett (Harper: $26.99) 8. “Catching Fire,” by Suzanne Collins (Scholastic: $17.99) 9. “Mockingjay,” by Suzanne Collins (Scholastic: $17.99) 10. “The Last Werewolf,” by Glen Duncan (Knopf: $25.95) A 21st century story of a distraught and lonely werewolf. Nonfiction 1. “Go the F_to Sleep,” by Adam Mansbach (Akashic: $14.95) 2. “Unbroken,” by Laura Hillenbrand (Random House: $27) 3. “In the Garden of Beasts,” by Erik Larson (Crown: $26) 4. “A Stolen Life,” by Jaycee Dugard (Simon & Schuster: $24.99) 5. “The Greater Journey,” by David McCullough (Simon & Schuster: $37.50) 6. “Area 51,” by Annie Jacobsen (Little, Brown: $27.99) 7. “Writing Movies for Fun and Profit,” by Robert Ben Garant and Thomas Lennon (Touchstone: $23.99) 8. “Supergods,” by Grant Morrison (Spiegel & Grau: $28) 9. “Bossypants,” by Tina Fey (Reagan Arthur: $26.99) 10. “Diary of a Wimpy Kid DoIt-Yourself Book,” by Jeff Kinney (Amulet: $10.95) — Los Angeles Times
Music REVIEWS
Klipspringer “The Trouble with Sebastian” Independent (2011)
Every band should have their own theme song. Longtime Norman power pop outfit Klipspringer does and it’s the self-titled third track of this newest album. It could be the opening song if the players, Chris Bourland (keys & horns), Alan Hiserodt (drums), Ty Kamm (guitar/lead vocals) and Mitch Newlin (bass) starred in an adventure cartoon show. They each deserve to be immortalized as an action figure for this number alone. This is Klipspringer’s 5th LP since 1996 and little has changed during that time in terms of their smart-aleck sense of humor, devotion to craft and burning desire to rock your world. “Contrived Release Mechanism” strays into punk territory, featuring a blistering guitar solo by guest musician Quentin Bomgardner. Klipspringer has the unique ability to slip erotically explicit lyrics into their songs in an unexpected yet always endearing manner. It’s as if Beaver Cleaver suddenly piped-up about oral sex or shoe fetishism. Listen to “Everyone Kisses Differently” as example. All the songs sound different. Possibly the most sophisticated cut musically has the charmingly adolescent title of “Hottest Girl on My Block.” Guest vocalist Kristen Reed sings in adorable vibrato French on “A-OK Big Funtime Dancing.” If you have any troubles, “The Trouble with Sebastian” will make them go away. Doug Hill
Elvis Alive
Show focuses on The King of 1956 By Andrew W. Griffin
IF YOU GO
The Norman Transcript
While the idea of an Elvis impersonator brings snickers and mental images of grossly exaggerated, tubby entertainers in a bejeweled white jumpsuit, oversize sunglasses and towering pompadour hairdo, Travis LeDoyt is none of those things. In fact, LeDoyt takes his job as “the best young Elvis in the world” quite seriously, performing as Elvis Presley when he was in his rockabilly ’n’ crooning prime, performing and appearing as “The King” as he was seen between 1954 and 1960. The ’70s-era Elvis won’t even enter the building. LeDoyt, a Massachusetts native now living in central Tennessee, told POP that he has performed around the world and has made multiple appearances at venues in Oklahoma over the past decade, performing his tribute to the King. Over time he has gained a reputation as one of the most authentic young Elvis impersonators out there, getting a thumbs-up from everyone including Little Richard, members of Elvis’s backing band and a member of Buddy Holly’s Crickets. High praise, indeed. But LeDoyt, during our interview, comes across as very down-toearth and humble. He explained that he first got into Elvis Presley after watching a documentary on his early years and he was captivated. From there he began to take a keen interest in Elvis and his music. And when he got a chance to perform at a high school talent show as Elvis, he realized there might be a future there. Quickly, LeDoyt’s singing and performing as Elvis got attention around his town. A chamber of commerce event here a ’50s-theme party there and before long he was making a career out of doing Elvis shows with a backing band. Over time, he even tried out for the role of Elvis in a TV show that was developed a few years back. While he was a top contender for the role, he said it went to a better-known actor.
• Who: Travis LeDoyt • What: Tribute to Elvis Presley • When: 7:30 p.m. Saturday • Where: Newcastle Gaming Center, 2457 Hwy 62 Service Road. • Tickets: No admission charge • Info: 405-387-6013
“We try to do a pretty authentic show, portraying what an Elvis show was like in the ’50s,” LeDoyt said. What is interesting is that LeDoyt emphasizes he stays “in character” as Elvis only on stage. He laments the countless Elvis impersonators he has run into over the years who are in character on and off stage and seem to have taken on a life of someone else at the expense of their own “I feel it’s kind of sad that they seem to have no personality of their own,” LeDoyt said. With a backing, three-piece rock band, LeDoyt performs hits such as “Hound Dog,” “Heartbreak Hotel,” “Jailhouse Rock” and more top hits from Elvis’s early years. And while he has focused on the late 1950s, LeDoyt said that as he continues performing and grows older himself, he sees a need to add some later songs, mostly ones prior to Elvis going into the Army, songs like “Stuck On You.” “Don’t expect ‘Suspicious Minds’ or “Burnin’ Love” or ‘In the Ghetto,’” LeDoyt said of Elvis’s latter-day hits. “We will be focusing on the 1950s, specifically showing you what an Elvis show was like in 1956.” LeDoyt said the last time he played in Norman, at the Riverwind Casino, “they went crazy” with excitement over his performance. He said that same energy and Elvis-ness will be on display in Newcastle as well. “The greatest compliment I’ve received is from someone who told me after a show, ‘I wasn’t an Elvis fan before I saw you,’” he said. “And someone else will say, ‘You brought me back to when I was 15 or 16 years old.”
Travis LeDoyt as “The Kng.”
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COVER STORY: THE WORK OF TOM LEE
Gallery to display late Norman artist’s retrospective By Kendall Brown POP Editor
Tom Lee had a way of knowing what he wanted. More than that, he had a way of making it happen. When he and a woman named Mary Katherine first began dating, Tom knew he was going to marry her. In fact, he had their future together absolutely planned out. While visiting a friend at a Catholic-church-turned-house in Norman, known as the 'Chouse,' he let Mary Katherine in on these plans. “He took some pictures of the house, which turned out beautiful, and then he turned to me and said, 'I'm going to marry
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you and we're going to live in this house,” Mary Katherine Lee said. “I thought he was crazy.” The pair continued dating, and she continued to spurn his wedding advances until finally, one day, she'd decided. “I turned to him and said, 'Are you serious about this marriage thing? Because if you are, I am going to call my mother right now, and I don't want to call her if you aren't serious about it,” Lee said. The pair married and it wasn't long before he made good on the other half of his earlier statement. You see, part of Mary Katherine Lee's stipulations on marrying him was that she wanted to continue to live
in Norman, not the Paseo area where her husband was most familiar. Preferably, she'd like to be walking distance from the stadium. So he made some phone calls and, wouldn't you know it, the woman that owned the Chouse had just decided, that evening, that she was ready to sell. In no time at all, there Tom and Mary Katherine Lee were, married, and living in the Chouse. Just like he had predicted years before. “I just looked at him and said, 'I will never doubt you again,'” Lee said. “If he decided he was going to do something, he did it.”
Against all odds That never-ending spirit, the never give up attitude, was a common theme in Tom Lee's life. When he was 17, Lee was involved in a serious accident that left him a quadriplegic. That didn't stop him from pursuing his main passion in life: the arts. He just learned that he would have to adapt his approach. One of Tom's earliest interests was music. When his accident left him unable to play the guitar any longer, he began to pursue the idea of photography. With limitContinued on page 9
COVER STORY: THE WORK OF TOM LEE
Second Friday Circuit of Art POP Staff
Continued from page 8 ed dexterity in his hands, it wouldn't come easily to him. That did not stop him, of course. An artist with an engineer's mind, he developed a unique camera set up for himself, using two Leica cameras, one for horizontal photos and one for vertical. Each one was equipped with a special handle made using the grip from a telephone to make it easier for him to hold, and a special shutter release that Tom could fire the camera with by biting down on it. The camera itself did not require any modifications. “Tom had one of those brains that both sides worked so well,” Mary Katherine Lee said. “He was an artist, but he could also be very concrete.”
From trash to treasure One of Tom Lee's other passions in life was buying and refurbishing buildings to their intended glory. That passion was especially apparent in the Paseo Arts District, now one of Oklahoma City's premiere arts destinations. Before Tom Lee got his hands on it, that couldn't necessarily be said. “I always thought Tom was in a large way responsible for the restoration of the Paseo,” Diane Coady, a long-time friend of his said. “He told
me that he had been to the Paseo as a teenager and had always dreamed of having a studio down there. He started buying buildings up, fixing them up and then renting them out to artists.” One of his biggest marks on the Paseo was the building that served as his studio until the 90's, when Tom moved full-time to Norman. The building, known as Old Trinity on Paseo, is now one of the most popular wedding locations in Oklahoma City. Hundreds of brides and grooms have begun their lives together in the very place that Tom Lee once created his art. And perhaps most interestingly, it all came about as a part of an internet transaction. When he was looking for a studio, he stumbled across a company in Canada that would take down old church parishes, storing them until someone purchased them and provided a location for them to be shipped to and reassembled. He found a church online that he wanted, and bought it, site-unseen. “When the trucks arrived with the pieces of the church, I thought he was crazy,” Mary Katherine Lee said. “I'd see piles of lincoln logs that looked more like a building than that church did at the time. Within a few days, though, they had the skeleton of the church already standing.”
Life of quiet creation It was at this studio, Old Trinity on Paseo, and later at the Chouse that Tom continued to quietly create work, nearly up until the end of his life. He passed away in his home at the Chouse on Oct. 14, 2010, leaving behind an incredible and dauntingly huge body of work. Now, less than a year after his death, his wife, Mary Katherine Lee, his long-time friend, Diane Coady and the Individual Artists of Oklahoma Gallery along with show curator George Oswalt have put together a retrospective of his work. “It was kind of like a treasure hunt,” Oswalt said. “We went through a thousand images or more. My criteria when looking at the work was to put together a show that really represents who Tom was.” The show, which is opening this evening at the IAO Gallery, 706 W. Sheridan in Oklahoma City, at 6 p.m. is meant as a celebration not only of who Tom was and the work he created but also the community he so loved. “I'm so looking forward to standing in a room with all of his pieces together,” Mary Katherine Lee said. “It will be a nice way to be with Tom again. Tom was very good at capturing a moment. I just hope that within this show there are moments that resonate with people.”
The Norman Arts Council welcomes all to the Second Friday Circuit of Art from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. today. Art walkers will be treated to special events and local celebrities throughout the city of Norman as well as the Downtown Arts District. This fall, take the Campus Area Art Challenge! Visit at least three campus area art locations on 2nd Friday, participate in a scavenger hunt and turn in your completed form to be eligible to win a $50 gift certificate to Muse, the museum store at the Fred Jones Jr. Museum of Art. The art locations include the Fred Jones Jr. Museum of Art, the Firehouse Art Center, Jacobson House Native Art Center, and OU’s Fine Arts Library. While visitors are taking part in the Campus Area Art Challenge, they can view the other activities along the way. The Firehouse Art Center features work from Children’s Summer Art Program. The Fred Jones Jr. Museum of Art welcomes all visitors to the Art “a la Carte” with live music, and films. Jacobson House hosts an award ceremony for The Legacy Lives: Kiowa Youth Art Competition. In the Downtown Arts District, visitors can spend all or part of the evening at one of the many venues, galleries, and shops along Main Street in historic downtown Norman. • The Performing Arts Studio presents the work of photographer Randy Jones. Dreamer Concepts, Studio & Foundation opens Dreamer 36: Words on Canvas with a book release party. • At MAINSITE Contemporary Art: Home of the Norman Arts Council opens “The Inventory Show: A Special Selection of the Artists of MAINSITE Contemporary
Art.” • Third Eye Gallery, at 123 East Tonhawa, features the work “Progressions” by Sarah Capshaw. Capshaw’s work is an exhibition of recent mixed media paintings that layer text, scraps of dried flowers, silk, paper, and recycled paint. • Pink Elephant Café invites all to attend the opening reception for former Gov. Brad Henry. Just across the street, MerryBelle’s Gifts, Art & Tea will be showing work from their little June-Bug Summer Sessions Artists. • Bellydance teacher and performer, Marian Esáa, and her students will perform at Sonder Music, Dance & Art at 8:30 p.m. • Gray Owl Coffee invites visitors to support Keisha Register’s Wallpaper Project with the fundraiser featuring music by Seth McCarroll, Brine Webb, and DAD. • STASH welcomes Bombs Away Art Co. as they present Memento Mori, My Lovely, Lovely. Bombs Away Art Co. is rooted in punk rock and the DIY attitude and believes in the sacrament and respect of living beings and of being human. It was conceived through the observation of violence and the fragility of life and embraces the philosophy of engaging every moment, of living without dead time. Art walkers will be treated to works by Heidi James, a new artist at the Gallery 123 artist collective, and the Second Annual Cardboard Show at Form+Function Lab with over a dozen artists upstairs at 123 E. Main Street. All are also invited to head upstairs to Maggy’s Thread Designs and Bill Williams’ Studio at 122 E. Main Street. Sandalwood & Sage will also be open for visitors and will be providing refreshments.
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IN GOOD TASTE: A REVIEW
Blu offers bar without the crush By Kendall Brown POP Editor
There is something decidely cool about the atmosphere of Blu Fine Wine and Food. Maybe it’s the waitresses and bartenders dressed all in black, slipping calmly in between the crowds of people to deliver glasses of wine and plates of food. Maybe it’s the open patio, with the mood lighting and misters on to ward off the oppressive summer heat. Or maybe it’s the lounge rooms that greet you when you first walk in, offering a couch or padded chair to perch upon as an alternative to the normal table and chairs. Or maybe it’s all of the above. Whatever it is, since opening its doors at the corner of Comanche and Crawford, Blu quickly became on of my favorite bar hangouts in Norman. It’s biggest initial draw for me was that even on the busiest of Friday or Saturday nights, somehow Blu manages to maintain a calm that other,
more “campus-type” bars do not. I don’t know if the managers are just excellent at crowd control, or if it’s indicative of the crowd itself that frequents Blu, but either way, it’s a nice departure from the alcoholic-induced crowd crush of campus corner. It’s only recently, however, that I became introduced to things other than the alcoholic persuasian at Blu. And it absolutely did not disappoint. Everything I tried on the menu was stellar. Blu offers a wide range of appetizers, including fried calamari served with marinara, sweet potato fries with honey mustard and the most amazing green tortilla chips served with salsa I have had thus far in my life. It’s the when it comes to entrees, however, that the restaurant really begins to shine. On this particular visit, I tried two of their entrees. First, their margarita pizza, topped with lots of cheese, thick slices of tomato and thin shreds of basil, all on top of a delicious, slightly
'”Glee: The 3D Concert Movie”
FYI
Columbia Tri-Star
Review by Roger Moore The Orlando Sentinel
Haters, head for the door. But Gleeks? Get your "Glee" on. "Glee: The 3D Concert Movie" may be as spontaneous as a Pringles commercial, with cast members of the hit TV series re-creating — on stage — their biggest musical moments, sometimes in exactly the same costume they wore on TV. You may not be able to tell how much of the music is live and how much is prerecorded, from the singing-dancers who never take a breath or miss a note to the Robert Palmer-pretty backup band. But this film perfectly — and I have to say entertainingly — captures America's moment of "Glee." Cast members stay in character, even in the adorable, self-mocking backstage "interviews." Rachel (Lea Michele) chokes up after hearing Barbra Streisand is in the audience for that night's concert
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crispy thick crust. The tomatoes were juicy without being undercooked and the crust was just the right amount of doughy and crispy, all at once. The second entree I partook in was the chicken quesidilla, served with mushrooms in a green tortilla. This quesadilla does not disappoint on size, and it’s served with a side of their salsa, which as I already mentioned is quite enjoyable. The largest crowd pleaser of any night at Blu is their drink specials, of course. With $2 wells all the time and $2 brewhouse pints from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m. and 10 p.m. to close every night, you can’t go wrong with the drinks at Blu. And for those of you that like something a little more top shelf, their bar is, of course, fully stocked. So if you’re looking for a good evening out at a bar without that bar crush and noise, check out Blu. Tell them Kendall sent you, and try my favorite Blu well drink: a double tall Cape Cod, extra lime. You won’t be disapointed.
in the Meadowlands; the flamboyant Kurt (Chris Colfer) purrs, "Thank you, everyone, for loving me"; and ditzy blonde Brittany (Heather Morris) speculates on her appeal: "I think this has a lot to do with my hair." Yes, Artie (Kevin McHale) leaps from his wheelchair for an energetic "Safety Dance." Yes, a certain guest star relives her shot at Cee Lo Green's biggest hit. Mercedes (Amber Riley) does a bit of soul shouting, Rachel does her best Streisand and Puck (Mark Salling) carries a guitar he doesn't play as he works the crowd — at a safe distance — for "Fat Bottomed Girls." But it's all good, campy 3-D fun, a show choir musical revue of pop hits. From Tin Pan Alley to Tina Turner, the Beatles to Lady Gaga, these folks do justice to scores of songs and dance their brains out as they do. Like the Justin Bieber documentary of last winter, Kevin ("Fame") Tancharoen's
August 12, 2011
Iqbal Theba, who plays Principal Figgins on the television show about this high school glee club, is a University of Oklahoma graduate. He joined the “Glee” cast in 2009.
film is also about the fans, caught standing in line for shows. It tops Bieber by following a few fans home where we see them applying the show's lessons about tolerance, not judging others based on appearance, learning "that everybody has a story." Uplifting as they are, a few of these bits — Brittany's biggest fan or the dwarf cheerleader getting her dream date to the prom — seem staged or at least altered by the presence of a film crew. The 3-D takes us right up there on stage, letting us catch Heather Morris' furious dance energy and the precision of The Warblers (a competing boys choir fronted by breakout star Darren Criss).
Columbia TriStar Marketing Group
Danny McBride, left, and Nick Swardson in “30 Minutes or Less.”
“30 Minutes or Less” Columbia Tri-Star
★★★ Review by Jeff Johncox POP Writer
So, Dwayne (Danny McBride) wants to kill his dad in order to get his inheritance before the old marine and lotto millionaire (Fred Ward) can spend it all on frivilous things like flat-screen TVs and trucks with bald-eagle paint jobs. He enlists the help of his pyromaniacal friend Travis (Nick Swardson) to help and the not-so-dynamic duo decide to hire a hitman (The Shield’s Michael Pena) to get the job done. One problem. They need $100,000 to pay him. Enter pizza delivery guy Nick (Jesse Eisenberg) and his pal, Chet (Aziz Ansari). Dwayne and Travis strap one of their homemade bombs around Nick and pressure him into robbing a bank, his buddy Chet in tow. Hilarity ensues. No, really. It’s funny. The plot to “30 Minutes or Less” sounds like another R-rated stoner comedy, and Lord knows we’ve seen enough of Danny McBride the past three years to know exactly what kind of
character he’s playing, but the question everyone going into this movie really wants to know is, “Will it make me laugh?” Yes. And laugh again. And laugh again. The film starts off with poor, hapless Nick burning through the streets of Grand Rapids, Mich., working for a jerk of a boss who still gives people (even those who live in other towns) free pizza if it’s not there in 30 minutes. Nick hates his life, and who would have thought that getting a bomb strapped to his chest would be the best thing to every happen to him? Well, anyone, really, but getting to that part is all the fun. Director Ruben Fleischer, who also directed the superbly funny “Zombieland” a couple years ago, manages the pace well and really knows what he’s doing. His creative shots and camera angles are reminiscent of one of the great directors of the past 20 years: David Fincher, with whom Eisenberg worked with in last year’s “The Social Network.” Eisenberg is his bumbling, neurotic self, and Continued on page 9
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Movies
The MOVIE GEEK with
Jeff Johncox
NOW PLAYING
30 MINUTES OR LESS Starring: Jesse Eisenberg, Danny McBride, Aziz Ansari, Nick Swardson Rated: R What Jeff says: A lot of Danny McBride acting like an idiot, a lot of Aziz Ansari yelling hysterically and a lot of Jesse Eisenberg acting nervous. If you don't like any of these things, it's not for you. Watch the @ review online
.com
COMING SOON Aug. 19:: Fright Night Starring: Anton Yelchin, Colin Farrell, David Tennant Rated: R
New Releases • 30 Minutes or Less — Two fledgling criminals kidnap a pizza delivery guy, strap a bomb to his chest, and inform him that he has mere hours to rob a bank or else...R. (Warren Theatre, Hollywood Spotlight 14) • Final Destination5 — Survivors of a suspension-bridge collapse learn there's no way you can cheat Death. R. (Warren Theatre, Hollywood Spotlight 14) • Glee: The 3D Concert M o v i e — A concert documentary shot during the Glee Live! In Concert! summer 2011 tour. PG. (Warren Theatre, Hollywood Spotlight 14) • T h e H e l p — A look at what happens when a southern town's unspoken code of rules and behavior is shattered by three courageous women who strike up an unlikely friendship. PG-13 (Warren Theatre, Hollywood Spotlight 14)
Also Showing • B r i d e s m a i d s — Picked as her best friend's maid of honor, lovelorn and broke Annie looks to bluff her way through the expensive and bizarre rituals with an oddball group of bridesmaids. R. (Robinson Crossing) • C a p t a i n A m e r i c a : The First
Avenger — After being deemed unfit for military service, Steve Rogers volunteers for a top secret research project that turns him into Captain America, a superhero dedicated to defending America’s ideals. PG-13. (Warren Theatre, Hollywood Spotlight 14) • The Change-Up — A comedy in which a married father accidentally switches bodies with his best friend, leading to a series of wildly complex difficulties. R. (Warren Threatre, Hollywood Spotlight 14) • Cowboys and Aliens — A spaceship arrives in Arizona, 1873, to take over the Earth, starting with the Wild West region. A posse of cowboys are all that stand in their way. PG-13 (Warren Theatre, Hollywood Spotlight 14) • Crazy, Stupid, Love — A father's life unravels while he deals with a marital crisis and tries to manage his relationship with his children. PG-13 (Warren Theatre, Hollywood Spotlight 14) • Friends with Benefits — While trying to avoid the clichés of Hollywood romantic comedies, Dylan (Justin Timberlake) and Jamie (Mila Kunis) soon discover however that adding the act of sex to their friendship does lead to complications. R. (Warren Theatre, Hollywood Spotlight 14) • The Hangover Part II — Two years after the bachelor party in Las Vegas, Phil, Stu, Alan, and Doug
Continued from page 8 McBride is over the top and ridiculous as always. But Ansari, with his deadpan delivery in big moments, and Pena, as the soft-spoken assassin, steal the show. “30 Minutes or Less” is a lot like another stoner-type comedy featuring McBride, “Pineapple Express.” But this one’s a little more coherent, mostly thanks to a crisp 83-minute run time and Fleischer’s direction. Not a great movie, but you will be laughing throughout if you find any of the four main actors funny.
jet to Thailand for Stu’s wedding. Stu’s plan for a subdued pre-wedding brunch, however, goes seriously awry. R. (Robinson Crossing) • G r e e n L a t e r n — A test pilot is granted a mystical green ring that bestows him with otherworldly powers, as well as membership into an intergalactic squadron tasked with keeping peace within the universe. Pg-13 (Robinson Crossing) • Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 — The final chapter begins as Harry, Ron and Hermione continue their quest of finding and destroying the Dark Lord’s three remaining Horcruxes, the magical items responsible for his immortality. But as the mystical Deathly Hallows are uncovered, and Voldemort finds out about their mission, the biggest battle begins and life as they know it will never be the same again. PG-13. (Warren Theatre, Hollywood Spotlight 14) • H o r r i b l e B o s s e s — Three friends conspire to murder their awful bosses when they realize they are standing in the way of their happiness. R. (Warren Theatre, Hollywood Spotlight 14) • K u n g F u P a n d a 2 — Po joins forces with a group of new kung-fu masters to take on an old enemy with a deadly new weapon. PG. (Robinson Crossing) • Mr. Popper’s Penguins — The life of a businessman (Jim
16: The Final Destination 3D
• no passes
no passes or supersavers
HORRIBLE BOSSES (R) THE HELP (PG13) 1:25 4:10 6:45 9:10 12:15 3:30 6:40 9:50 GLEE 3D CONCERT MOVIE • (PG) THE SMURFS 2D (PG) 1:20 3:15 4:05 6:00 12:35 3:50 7:05 9:35 FINAL DESTINATION 5 3D • (R) THE SMURFS 3D (PG) 7:00 9:45 12:55 4:00 7:20 10:00 CAPTAIN AMERICA (PG13) 30 MINUTES OR LESS • (R) 12:20 3:20 6:35 9:30 1:10 4:15 7:30 10:10 RISE OF THE PLANET OF THE COWBOYS AND ALIENS (PG13) 12:40 3:20 6:35 9:15 APES • (PG13) 12:45 1:30 3:35 4:25 6:50 HARRY POTTER 2D (PG13) 7:25 9:20 9:55 12:30 6:30 THE CHANGE-UP (R) HARRY POTTER 3D (PG13) 1:00 3:45 7:15 10:15 3:25 9:25 CRAZY STUPID LOVE (PG13) FRIENDS WITH BENEFITS (R) 12:50 3:40 7:10 10:05 1:15 3:55 6:55 9:40
For Hollywood Spotlight 14 showtimes, call 579-0911 or visit gohollywood.com. For Robinson Crossing 6 showtimes, call 447-1005 or visit starplexcinemas.com. For Warren Theatre showtimes, call 703-3777 or visit warrentheatres.com.
Rank • Film • Weekend gross (millions) Gross to date • Weeks in release • Screens
The Greatest Movie Ever Sold 23: Sympathy for Delicious
16: Hoodwinked Too! Hood Vs. Evil
23: Henry’s Crime
16: Jane Eyre
30: In A Better World
16: Meet Monica Velour
30: Madea’s Big Happy Family
16: Priest
30: Prom
16: Something Borrowed
30: Skateland
20: The 5th Quarter
30: Win Win
23: Pom Wonderful Presents:
Why wait in line? PRINT TICKETS AT HOME www.GOHOLLYWOOD.com
Domestic revenues, Aug. 5-7
16: The Grace Card
23: The Beaver
a 3-D premium will be applied to each purchased 3-D ticket.
Box office top 10
AUGUST DVDS 16: The Conspirator
Carrey) begins to change after he inherits six penguins, and as he transforms his apartment into a winter wonderland, his professional side starts to unravel. (Robinson Crossing) • Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides — Jack Sparrow and Barbossa embark on a quest to find the elusive fountain of youth, only to discover that Blackbeard and his daughter are after it too. PG-13. (Robinson Crossing) • Rise of the Planet of t h e A p e s — An origin story set in present day San Francisco, where man's own experiments with genetic engineering lead to the development of intelligence in apes and the onset of a war for supremacy. PG-13. (Warren Threatre, Hollywood Spotlight 14) • T h e S m u r f s — When the evil wizard Gargamel chases the tiny blue Smurfs out of their village, they tumble from their magical world and into ours. PG (Warren Theatre, Hollywood Spotlight 14)
30: Bereavement
— AP
1. Planet of the Apes $54.8 • 1 • 3,648 2. The Smurfs $75.9 • 2 • 3,395 3. Cowboys and Aliens $67.3 • 2 • 3,754 4. The Change-Up $13.5 • 1 • 2,913 5. Captain America $143.2 • 3 • 3,620 6. Harry Potter 7 Part II $343.1 • 4 • 3,175 7. Crazy, Stupid, Love $42.1 • 2 • 3,020 8. Friends with Benefits $48.5 • 3 • 2,398 9. Horrible Bosses $105.1 • 5 • 2,025 10. Transformers 3 $344.2 • 6 • 1,854 SOURCE: Hollywood.com Box-Office
$54.8 $20.7 $15.7 $13.5 $13.0 $12.4 $12.0 $4.7 $4.6 $3.1 AP
Friday, August 12 2011
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NINE NIGHTS IN NORMAN 13 SAT
MUSIC
12 FRI 9 p.m. — Portal Immortal Rock Series Tribute to Phil Collins and Genesis, The Brewhouse, $7 TBA — Camille Harp, The Deli TBA — Luna Moth, Bluebonnet Bar, $5 7 p.m. — Fan Jam:
Under the Big Top, Riverwind Casino 10 p.m. — The Stumblers, The Brewhouse, $5
14 SUN TBA — Mike Hosty Solo, The Deli
15 MON
16 TUE
7 p.m. — Travis Linville, The Deli, Free 10 p.m. — The Damn Quails, The Deli
17 WED 10 p.m. — People, People and Head Cabinets, The Deli, $5
18 THU 9 p.m. — John Calvin Band, Othello’s, Free pop pick
10 p.m. — Achachay, The Brewhouse, $5 TBA — Flatland Travelers and The Pidgin Band, The Deli
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TBA — The Saucy Gentlemen’s Club, The Deli
19 FRI 10 p.m. — Blue Moon, Othello’s, Free 10 p.m. — Unchained, The Brewhouse, $5
20 SAT 10 p.m. — Lauren Deger, Othello’s, Free 10 p.m. — Big Brown and the Slim, The Brewhouse, $5 TBA — The Damn Quails CD Release Party, The Deli
6 p.m. — Second Friday Circuit of Art, Downtown Norman galleries and stores, Free
10 a.m. — Free Admission Tuesday, Fred Jones Jr. Museum of Art, Free pop pick
pop pick
EVENT SUBMISSIONS To get your show or event in POP’s Nine Nights calendar, send the event name, time, date, location and admission price to pop@normantranscript.com. Weekly deadline is noon Tuesdays.
9:30 — “Charade” at Movies in the Park, Santa Fe Depot, Free
FILM & LIT
PERFORMING ARTS V I S U A L A R T S
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9 a.m. — Writing Workshop, MAINSITE Contemporary Art, Free 7 p.m. — Indie Movie Night, Michelangelo’s, Free
OFF BEAT
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2 p.m. — Discovery Day, Sam Noble Oklahoma Museum of Natural History, Free with museum admission pop pick
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Friday, August 12, 2011
8 p.m. — King of the Cage Overdrive MMA, Riverwind Casino
PATRONS: SUMMER BREEZE Michelle and Rob Carr with their 2-year-old son, Liam, enjoy the music of the Jonbear Fourtet, Sunday in the Summer Breeze concert series sponsored by the Performing Arts Studio. Photo by Jerry Laizure
Mark and Kimberly Robinson enjoy the evening at Sunday’s Summer Breeze concert series.
PHOTO SUBMISSIONS Photo submissions for Patrons must be high-resolution and include caption information with the names of people in the photo, along with the date, place and name of event where it was taken. Photos are printed as space allows.
Photo by Jerry Laizure
Friday, August 12, 2011
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