Tulsa | ChinaShop

Event D-Fest is a Wrap

August 3, 2009 - 12:20 pm

Wednesday night we rolled into town and grabbed some dinner at McNelis. The local magazines, like The Current, featured D-Fest on the cover and the waitress briefly asked if we were in town for the event, but other than that, things seemed pretty low key. Thursday morning was no different. As I walked through the vacant streets of Tulsa, I couldn’t get Oklahoma-based Shiny Toy Gun’s “Ghost Town” out of my head, there was just no one around and the tune seemed all to fitting. There were traces of D-Fest setting up, a few stages up here and there, but no other sign of a normal urban civilization. Extremely tired and jet lagged from traveling, we had trouble even finding a coffee shop open past 6:00 and after wandering around, aimlessly following a tip that we might find caffeine inside of an office building that still might serve us, we gave up. We called the cab, which I’m pretty sure was one of the only cabs in Tulsa, which wasn’t an exaggeration because I couldn’t count past one hand the number that I saw the whole week, and headed back to the room. I began to wonder where on earth these 60,000 anticipated festival partakers would come from.

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Event Beats in the Streets of Tulsa

by Nicole Pajer and Sidney Bensimon

August 3, 2009 - 12:19 pm

Thursday night after walking out of the D-Fest kickoff party, I felt like I had entered one of those scenes in a musical where people randomly burst into song and dance on a street corner. A crowd of people had formed and was dancing circles around a man playing a very elaborately constructed homemade drum kit. This wasn’t just a drum and some sticks; this was a very intricate creation consisting of a wooden frame, pots, pans, buckets, cymbals and a kick drum, made entirely of household items. The crowd was instantaneously captured by his beat and he seemed to secure additional hostages as more and more people spilled out of the venue, seeking out some after hours entertainment. It was a picture-perfect, and almost choreographed scene: a girl holding her shoes in her hand yelled “You gotta dance people” to everyone that walked by and one guy got so lost in his ‘moves’ that he rolled his ankle in the process. The “T-Town” trolley rattled thru the streets and passengers cheered as they passed by. As our street corner friend drummed away, people drew on the ground with sidewalk chalk, scribbling all kinds of messages and imaginative images. Before I jumped into my cab, I looked over my shoulder and noticed a hopscotch had been drawn and those that had moved on from dancing had transitioned into hopping thru their own personal Alice and Wonderland.

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Event Bison are Dangerous…and Delicious!

by Nicole Pajer

August 3, 2009 - 12:17 pm

Sunday morning, we woke up to the once again empty streets of downtown Tulsa. It would have been nearly impossible to detect any trace of the crowd, if it wasn’t for them tipping the streets with their leftovers: ticket stubs, ripped off bracelets, beer bottles, etc… After the whirlwind of participating in the urban chaos that was D-Fest, a taste of the countryside, tall grass, prairies, and the emerald rolling hills of Oklahoma, sounded like a delightful and much needed retreat. And how about some bison? When is the last time you drove your car down a gravel road and had to pause to let a few of those boldly cross in front? I had to see it to believe it, so we jumped in a car and headed to the Tallgrass Prairie Preserve.

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Event D-Fest Transforms Tulsa Oklahoma

by Nicole Pajer

August 3, 2009 - 12:17 pm

Diversafest (D-Fest), aka Oklahoma’s Music Conference and Festival, is an annual event with a primary focus of “promoting and empowering emerging artist from around the United States.” The annual event, which takes place in the streets of downtown Tulsa OK, features independent and emerging artists. In addition to the budding stars, the evenings of the two-day festival are topped off with well-known headliners, in an attempt to draw out the large and energetic crowds that are stereotypical of festivals.

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Music The Cool Kids: Self Proclaimed Black Version of the Beastie Boys

by Nicole Pajer

August 3, 2009 - 12:16 pm

I don’t always agree with the saying, “opposites attract,” but how could you not after watching The Cool Kid’s perform on Saturday night at D-Fest? First, we had Chuck Inglish, wearing a t-shirt, jeans tucked into high top sneakers, “Live 95” hanging down from around his neck, and a Chicago Cubs baseball hat. Then, we had Mikey Rocks, who rapped the whole set with his right sneaker untied, whether or not it was to his knowledge remains a mystery, dressed in a blue polo shirt, cargo shorts, and a Chicago Sox hat. After watching the set, it was nonnegotiable that Mikey and Chuck may have different styles but definitely jive very well together where it counts, and that would be the rap arena. The duo arrived on stage and immediately snatched up the attention of the crowd with lyrics like: “Cool Kids drop it like we put it in the water.”

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Bars/Clubs Soundpony

by Nicole Pajer

August 3, 2009 - 12:16 pm

Have you ever ridden your bike to the bar? I’m not talking about your Harley; I’m talking about your Trek or Schwinn. Many people do at Tulsa’s Soundpony, where it is not uncommon to see bicycles chained up outside the old brick dwelling which ironically has a parking lot next door that is blocked off with a “No Parking” sign chained across. Many of the locals in Tulsa told us about this homely little dive and we made a point to check it out. As we walked down the quiet street and located the bar, which is next door to the legendary Cain’s Ballroom, a lady on a bicycle went cruising down the middle of road, as if almost on cue.

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Event Dwelling Spaces Stocks up on Oklahoma Culture

by Nicole Pajer

August 3, 2009 - 12:16 pm

Mary Beth Babcock is the proud owner of Dwelling Spaces, a jewel in the heart of downtown Tulsa. The store will have graced the streets of the Blue Dome District with its presence for almost 3 years this coming August according to Mary Beth, who remembers the day that she stumbled upon the building. “I remember coming in and it was rough and dirt everywhere. I told the landlord, I have a vision.”

Dwelling Spaces is known for it’s unique merchandise and events that unite the town thru supporting local music and artists. The store has gatherings every month featuring DJs, local artists, and art shows. “We just have little restaurants around here cater the events and try to keep things creative,” explains Mary Beth.

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interview Colourmusic Ignites D-Fest Kick-off Party

by Nicole Pajer

August 3, 2009 - 12:16 pm

You never know what to expect when you are standing in front of a stage waiting for Colourmusic to come out. The band has been known for putting on some extremely wacky live shows, from wearing dresses and acting out roles of kooky family members to allowing audiences to paint them on stage. The inspiration behind their music is just as out-of-the-box as their live show, with color being the force that drives and inspires them. They are big supporters of Isaac Newton’s Theory of Color and Sound and each of their songs represents a particular color. Hailing from the college town of Stillwater, the band has played D-Fest the past 3 years, is a frequent performer at South by Southwest, and has toured around the Midwest.

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