What did you think? I saw it on OETA ..

Watching it on TV was probably a lot different than Live, but I have to say, I'm glad I didn't get caught up in the frenzy and pay mega bucks for a ticket to the show.

It was okay, but as I expected, the stars gave very brief performances.

I wish they would have had an awesome finale with all the stars performing, but they didn't end it that way.

What are your thoughts?

Aside from the few instances of feedback in the audio, I thought the show was good. I have probably heard " Oklahoma Rising" 50 times already and it brings a tear to my eye and makes my heart swell with pride every time.

Like " America The Beautiful" is our nation's #2 song, " Oklahoma Rising" will be remembered for a long time but will never replace Rodgers and Hammerstein's "Oklahoma"

We had plans so I set my dvr to tape it. Of course, it only got the first 2 hours, so it cut off right when it got to the Miss America bit. I missed everything thereafter. I was really kind of bummed, as I was expecting a spectacular grande finale with the entire cast coming out for a rendition of "Oklahoma Rising!"

There were a few "eh" moments for me, but most of what I saw I thought was really quite good - surprisingly so, given what I felt about the parade.

My highlights were:

The Flaming Lips (they're always a highlight in my book - and Barry Switzer doing the intro - that was a moment to behold);

Shirley Jones - her voice was shaky, but it was great seeing her back in form and hearing her sing from "Oklahoma";

Kelly O'Hara's follow-up to Shirley (I HATED her opening number where she sang about parking meters and other Oklahoma inventions);

The Native American tribute and flying eagle acrobatic dance;

Leona Mitchell -

Reba's tribute to the Memorial victims (I thought adding this brought the emotion down a bit, but I understand how they felt they needed to add it and felt it lovely and fitting);

Vince and Reba's opening duet (although I could have done without the square dancers.

Carrie's performance of "Checotah" was good, too, but her phrasing seemed oddly off.

I felt there were some moments of pure cheese, and a few moments that just seemed rather random.

Watching Willard Scott was painful in bits, and I thought Ron Howard's filmed bit seemed a bit disingenuous and out of place.

Other than that, I thought it was really great. Although I'll admit it was nice to see it at home where the fast-forward button was readily available.

I also felt the audio was off a bit at times (Lips and a few other artists). I wonder if this was a tv thing, or if it was that way in person, as well.

My mom scored last minute tickets and I had told her I would go if she got them (not thinking she ever could!) I was not looking forward to it but it; I'm not a fan of the RebaGarthToby music genre. I have to say I am glad I did not miss it! It was really quite an amazing show and a great salute to my home state!

We actually sat on the second row on the floor. Great seats! It was all very well done, the staging of the production was first rate and the graphics were amazing. Everything was so professionally done, the camera work was really cool. There were a couple of sound issues but it did not put a damper on the show.

I think I was the only FLips fan in the whole section, maybe the whole place! They were great as always and all looked like they were having fun with it. The old people around me were totally in to the whole confetti/balloon Lips experience and really enjoyed "Do You Realize". My mom was hitting balloons and was covered in confetti. It was cool and surreal!

The All American Rejects rocked, I've never seen them live. They were so cute!

I've never heard Carrie Underwood before and she was great. Vince Gill was genuine and great, a good ambassador for Oklahoma. Reba is so cute too, she is a tiny little thing, saw her at the Skirvin before the show. Toby was Toby, Garth just talked. Shirley Jones (Mrs. Partridge) was show-tune great. Willard Scott was actually funny and the 100 year-old thing was cool. Leona Mitchell was opera-great. Jimmy Webb was really interesting, I didn't realize everything he had written.

The best part of the show (other than the Lips) was when the old 100+ guy sang the old state song. He was amazing! What a guy.

It was all-in-all a great show. I have to say that the Centennial Commission outdid themselves on this one! Congratulations Lee Allan and crew!

Yeah, I was "there," very broadly defined ... as in the Bricktown Ballpark simulcast version! I'll have more to say about that and some pics later ... of course, it wasn't the same as being there in person but I'm glad I went ... even if we did have to wait until nearly 11 p.m. to see the fireworks ... several bands performed there after the Ford Center event shut down ... a bit too long ... but I'm glad I went.

From Bricktown Ballpark

These are some views from Bricktown Ballpark of the simulcast of the Ford Center events there. Unfortunately, the pics I took of the video display device did not show up well in the photos ... in person, they weren't bad at all ... the only real problems were (1) the display is really too small to get a good "feel" of inside the Ford Center (kinda like watching a 5" TV) ... it's located down the 3rd base line ... (2) the right field lights near the display device were left on during the event, making it harder to see because of the glare, and (3) another monitor or two placed closer to where people were sitting would have been ever so much better.

I also note that today's Oklahoman under the page 1 fireworks pic is quite incorrect. It reads,


Fireworks light up downtown Oklahoma City after the Centennial Spectacular on Friday night. An overflow crowd watched an outdoor simulcast of the concert.
Overflow it was not. A good crowd, yes, but not close to being "overflow." We got our tickets from the box office on Friday morning and the only tickets available were "standing room only" ... but when we got there lots of seats were available and the lady working for the facility we spoke to said that we could sit where we wanted ... which was along the 3rd base line reasonably close to the video display.

Otherwise, the weather was nice (even if it got fairly cold before it was all done) and the crowd seemed to enjoy the Ford Center simulcast.

After the Ford Center event was done, several (I didn't count ... 5 or 6) bands played some tunes and, while the music was fine, it went on too long ... at least, it did for those like us who were sticking around to watch the fireworks.

As for the fireworks, it was good but not great ... no socks would get knocked off ... but it was still nice enough.

Here are some pics ... click a link for a larger image ...

Looking Around the Ballpark ...

http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a49/DougLoudenback/centennial/11_16_07_01.jpg

http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a49/DougLoudenback/centennial/11_16_07_01s.jpg

http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a49/DougLoudenback/centennial/11_16_07_02.jpg

http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a49/DougLoudenback/centennial/11_16_07_02s.jpg

http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a49/DougLoudenback/centennial/11_16_07_03.jpg

http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a49/DougLoudenback/centennial/11_16_07_03s.jpg

http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a49/DougLoudenback/centennial/11_16_07_04.jpg

http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a49/DougLoudenback/centennial/11_16_07_04s.jpg
(In the above, the large "slide" was getting put in place
for the "tube" snow slide for the December activities coming up later.)

Views of the Video Display

http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a49/DougLoudenback/centennial/11_16_07_05.jpg

http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a49/DougLoudenback/centennial/11_16_07_05s.jpg

http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a49/DougLoudenback/centennial/11_16_07_06.jpg

http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a49/DougLoudenback/centennial/11_16_07_06s.jpg

http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a49/DougLoudenback/centennial/11_16_07_07.jpg

http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a49/DougLoudenback/centennial/11_16_07_07s.jpg

http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a49/DougLoudenback/centennial/11_16_07_09.jpg

http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a49/DougLoudenback/centennial/11_16_07_09s.jpg

Some Vintage Posters in the Ballpark

http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a49/DougLoudenback/centennial/11_16_07_10.jpg

http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a49/DougLoudenback/centennial/11_16_07_10s.jpg

http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a49/DougLoudenback/centennial/11_16_07_11.jpg

http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a49/DougLoudenback/centennial/11_16_07_11s.jpg

A Band Playing

http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a49/DougLoudenback/centennial/11_16_07_12.jpg

http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a49/DougLoudenback/centennial/11_16_07_12s.jpg

http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a49/DougLoudenback/centennial/11_16_07_13.jpg

http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a49/DougLoudenback/centennial/11_16_07_13s.jpg

Some Fireworks

http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a49/DougLoudenback/centennial/11_16_07_15.jpg

http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a49/DougLoudenback/centennial/11_16_07_15s.jpg

http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a49/DougLoudenback/centennial/11_16_07_16.jpg

http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a49/DougLoudenback/centennial/11_16_07_16s.jpg

http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a49/DougLoudenback/centennial/11_16_07_17.jpg

http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a49/DougLoudenback/centennial/11_16_07_17s.jpg

http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a49/DougLoudenback/centennial/11_16_07_18.jpg

http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a49/DougLoudenback/centennial/11_16_07_18s.jpg

http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a49/DougLoudenback/centennial/11_16_07_19.jpg

http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a49/DougLoudenback/centennial/11_16_07_19s.jpg

http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a49/DougLoudenback/centennial/11_16_07_20.jpg

http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a49/DougLoudenback/centennial/11_16_07_20s.jpg

http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a49/DougLoudenback/centennial/11_16_07_21.jpg

http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a49/DougLoudenback/centennial/11_16_07_21s.jpg

http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a49/DougLoudenback/centennial/11_16_07_22.jpg

http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a49/DougLoudenback/centennial/11_16_07_22s.jpg

http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a49/DougLoudenback/centennial/11_16_07_23.jpg

http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a49/DougLoudenback/centennial/11_16_07_23s.jpg

http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a49/DougLoudenback/centennial/11_16_07_24.jpg

http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a49/DougLoudenback/centennial/11_16_07_24s.jpg

http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a49/DougLoudenback/centennial/11_16_07_25.jpg

http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a49/DougLoudenback/centennial/11_16_07_25s.jpg

http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a49/DougLoudenback/centennial/11_16_07_26.jpg

http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a49/DougLoudenback/centennial/11_16_07_26s.jpg

A no-frills gif animation ... I'll do a flash animation with
better transitions in my blog when I get it done ...

http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a49/DougLoudenback/centennial/11_16_07_fireworks.gif

I thought it was just so-so. I was expecting so much more. Expectations, I guess.

The state centennial website was a disgrace, btw. The site went live with a splash and then stayed mostly static with few updates and not even anything special on "The" day (Friday). Didn't list some of the big events. I thought it was poorly maintained and that's a shame because it was the gateway to information for a lot of people. Oh well, can't do it over that's for sure.

Great pics, as always.

MODS, can we merge this thread with the existing Centennial Spectacular thread in the OKC Metro Area Talk section?

My mom scored last minute tickets and I had told her I would go if she got them (not thinking she ever could!) I was not looking forward to it but it; I'm not a fan of the RebaGarthToby music genre. I have to say I am glad I did not miss it! It was really quite an amazing show and a great salute to my home state!

We actually sat on the second row on the floor. Great seats! It was all very well done, the staging of the production was first rate and the graphics were amazing. Everything was so professionally done, the camera work was really cool. There were a couple of sound issues but it did not put a damper on the show.

I think I was the only FLips fan in the whole section, maybe the whole place! They were great as always and all looked like they were having fun with it. The old people around me were totally in to the whole confetti/balloon Lips experience and really enjoyed "Do You Realize". My mom was hitting balloons and was covered in confetti. It was cool and surreal!

The All American Rejects rocked, I've never seen them live. They were so cute!

I've never heard Carrie Underwood before and she was great. Vince Gill was genuine and great, a good ambassador for Oklahoma. Reba is so cute too, she is a tiny little thing, saw her at the Skirvin before the show. Toby was Toby, Garth just talked. Shirley Jones (Mrs. Partridge) was show-tune great. Willard Scott was actually funny and the 100 year-old thing was cool. Leona Mitchell was opera-great. Jimmy Webb was really interesting, I didn't realize everything he had written.

The best part of the show (other than the Lips) was when the old 100+ guy sang the old state song. He was amazing! What a guy.

It was all-in-all a great show. I have to say that the Centennial Commission outdid themselves on this one! Congratulations Lee Allan and crew!

I know Kim, I saw you on OETA. haha:demonslay

i thought it was great! I was VERY SAD that garth didn't sing (what's up with THAT?) I thought there was a bit too much talking (my 5 year old was watching and I could tell he was getting antsy) but it was great learning small pieces of history that I didn't know before!!

I agree with more singing. and I really expected all the "singers" to come out at the end and do oklahoma rising, that would have been great!

I liked the Native American dancing and that girl singing with the "eagle gymnast" (my 2 year old kept saying "WOW" the whole time)

sad that they didn't show the "after the fact singers" like bryan white! he was great back in the day!!

Doug, they meant 'overflow' crowd referring to those who couldn't get tickets inside the Ford Center. Which was the main purpose of having the event at the ballpark.

Teacher, Bryan White performed at the ballpark.

Thanks, John, that makes better sense. I'd have listed the bands at the ballpark if I had them.

My blog post on this event is at Doug Dawgz Blog: Centennial Spectacular, Bricktown Version (http://dougdawg.blogspot.com/2007/11/centennial-spectacular-bricktown.html)