2nd Annual Norman Music Festival Really A Blast

It is estimated that upwards of 25,000 people attended the 2009 Norman Music Festival, not only shattering last year's mark of about 13,000 but wildly exceeding organizer expectations.

This year's event, for me, was more fun than last year's only because I can see what this is turning into, potentially. This festival is about to become a big deal on a national level. Think the start of something like Bonnaroo or Coachella.

We spent most of the afternoon perched underneath shade, from which I didn't really emerge. I would have liked to have taken more photos, but I'm not really cool with just taking photos of random people. To me, it's very invasive. My photographic philosophy is any shot needs to show some action, and I was frankly super inactive for about half the day.

On the other hand, I also had a massive sinus headache brought on by allergens and afternoon sunshine.

I am a creature of the night and would have been a-ok if we didn't even go down there until after sundown. However, I would have missed acts like Travis Linville and Billy Joe Shaver, who opened his set with the famed "I Been To Georgia On A Fast Train."

Headliners Of Montreal were awesomely odd but not nearly as musical as locals Starlight Mints. I had never seen them before, but they had terrific energy and were interesting to listen to. I would absolutely make it a point to go watch Starlight Mints again.

Best band of the night, by a mile, for me was a group called Tea Leaf Green. Out of San Francisco, this quartet had a 1970s rock sound with a modern pop vibe.

Of course, people watching is the best part of any Norman festival, and among the notables were:

• Chubby dude with Richard Simmons hair


• Woman wearing a curtain with no underwear


• Neo-hippie guy covered in mud even though there was no mud to be seen anywhere


• Blonde chick passed out on sidewalk (there may have been multiples here)


• Random kids under 12 roaming the festival after 11 p.m. (parents?)


• Guy in sweater twitching and talking to himself


• Various dweebs in 1930s suits


• College girls in summer dresses


• A guy who looked JUST like the Crab Man

My only suggestion for next year would be more street musicians. It was like there was two giant stages and then you had to go inside somewhere to hear anything else.

I say: More bands, more soloists, all outside. Heck, allow anybody with an instrument to come on down.

However, that's nitpicky. It was really an awesome event.

Additional links and coverage:

OU Daily: Best Of Norman Music Festival

Texas Approves Of Norman Festival

Cool Photos from NMF

Review of Mama Sweet

Quick review of Starlight Mints

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Find A Job In Norman THIS Wednesday!

Those of us who live in Norman know how cool our beloved city is. However, most of us have to drive to Oklahoma City for work.

Bummer. Now, perhaps, you could do something about that.

Moore-Norman Vo-Tech is holding a "Job Fair" on Wednesday from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., and there will be almost 40 employers there for on-the-spot interviews. There's no guarantee, of course, that the jobs would be in Norman, but let's take the current economic situation into account.

Perhaps you're LOOKING for work, needing work. Check out this list of potential employers. This year's fair will include a booth for job seekers to receive immediate feedback.

Now in other Norman news of the day ...

'Closed campus' for freshman closer to reality ...

Will GGP bankruptcy affect Sooner Mall?

Horns sweep Sooners in baseball ...

Get free legal advice in Norman on April 30!

OU 'Staff Week' underway


And last but not least ...

Who knew we had rap concerts here?

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Record Store Day @ Guestroom Records In Norman

A man surely 10 years younger than me asked about the commotion down at Guestroom Records on Saturday night, and I told him it was "Record Store Day" as if he had just asked why everybody was wearing green on March 17.

I explained that every third Saturday in April is a day where local, independent record stores celebrate music, the unique culture of the indie record shop and its unique customer base -- in this case Norman, Okla.

It helps that one of Guestroom's two stores is in a college town. It rocks that it's on Main Street, which has boomed big time the past 10 to 15 years.

Back in the day, when I went to OU, we had Sound Warehouse. I'm not going to knock them; heck, they were way better than the corporate behemoths that followed. However, SW's massive inventory was canceled out by the white walls and uniformed employees.

For those of you who haven't been to Guestroom Records, it looks like a kick-ass record shop you'd see in Seattle, San Fran or New York. Heck, it reminds me a ton of Good Records in Dallas and a bit less so like the Tower Records on Lemmon Avenue.

Much of the art is done by hand, and the walls are plastered with classic posters and album covers. While the musical spirit of Guestoom is clearly steeped in today, it pays the proper amount of respect to the greats who paved the way: Bowie, Cash, The Ramones.

Furthermore, its proprietors seem to be super laid-back cool. When I asked about coming down to snap some shots during Record Store Day, the response I got was: "Man, come on down and spend the whole day with us!" What was doubly neat is that when I asked the man at the counter about the band playing, there wasn't an ounce of condescension.

"They're The Evangelicals," he told me.

While I'm a 38-year-old, approaching-middle age professional, I still felt a little embarrassed that I had to ask. See, The Evangelicals are one of Norman's best-known current indie bands. I'd describe their sound as one-part electro pop with some heavy punk influence.

Maybe I'm totally off there; you tell me. However, they were really quite excellent, and there was a crowd of at least 200 to 300 people there cheering them on.

In addition to the live music, Record Store Day at Guestroom also featured one-day-only store specials and plenty of food and drinks. Not just any drinks: They broke out the Pabst Blue Ribbon, which is perfect for a college town. One part cool, many parts cheap.

My kind of town.

This Record Store Day concept is nationwide, and the only requirement is that the store be at least 50 percent music retail, be operated in the state of location and I think be owned 70 percent by live, breathing individuals.

No corporate behemoths.

Why is this important?

Because the creative process in music starts with the individual. If one wants to become a singer-songwriter, one does this himself or herself. You learn an instrument, start a band, learn to write lyrics, buy a van, live together eating corn dogs and drinking cheap beer while playing live shows night after night in town after town.

If you want to become a pop star and you have the talent and the look, you just move to L.A. or N.Y. and let the corporations mold you into who they want you to be.

Today was a day to celebrate the hard work that goes into the music-creation process at a hyperlocal level and the locally owned stores that propel them into the marketplace. It was also a day to celebrate the color and character a store like Guestroom gives downtown Norman.

On a side note, I thought it doubly cool that Record Store Day comes exactly one week before the Norman Music Festival. This was like a cool warmup Saturday to the festivities scheduled for downtown next week.

By the way, early word on the forecast next week indicates that the weather will be GREAT. Bring sunscreen.

And make it a point to at least check out Guestroom Records.

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U2, Black Eyed Peas Will Be In Norman On Oct. 18

Barcelona, Milan, Glasgow ... Norman.

Legendary rock band U2 will be in Norman, Okla., on Oct. 18 with the Black Eyed Peas in what should be a concert this town talks about for years.

According to 'The Norman Transcript,' a pre-sale of tickets will happen on April 14-16 for those who are subscribers to U2.com.

I'm cynical about that, so I checked it out. Subscribers to U2.com actually get quite a bit besides pre-sale access. There are remastered albums, interviews, streaming U2 music anytime you want and more.

Seems to me that if you're a mega-U2-head, this might be worth it to you.

The Oklahoma Family Gaylord Stadium (or whatever we call it these days) holds almost 90,000 people, and I would have to imagine the sounds will be audible across much of central Norman.

As for the Black Eyed Peas, this concert will mean that Fergie will be in town. Let us all be good Normanites and show her some hospitality by making sure she knows where the bathroom is.

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