Oklahoma. Our band's first out-of-state gig. Years in the making. Tulsa will always get this honor and distinction. North Texas and Oklahoma are tied at the hip and the Red River is the dried out and faded red-orange seam.
We originally had thoughtfully planned on borrowing a van from our good friend Travis. At literally the last minute this plan was changed. We decided instead to uncomfortably shove all our gear into one SUV and two compact cars. Logic and reason be damned we were off to the races.
None of us had ever seen Tulsa before, and we were all pleasantly surprised by the politeness of the city. I got to talk to one of the owners of the Soundpony bar where we were playing (Josh) and found out he is from East Dallas originally. A Woodrow Wilson alum who moved up to Tulsa. The arts district there is very reminiscent of the ones in Kansas City or Ft. Worth but on a much smaller scale. The venue was cool too. Think Three Links but in Northeastern Oklahoma. Surrounded by lots of former industrial buildings, gentrified into shops and swanky hangouts. Art Deco buildings over a charming city square with a very close suburban area with great access to downtown.
To put it kindly our gig was…sparsely attended. But such is expected for a local band’s self-funded 1st DIY tour stop on a Monday night in a city they’ve never been to before. It felt raw, it felt confusing, it felt right. The greatest surprise ever though was our good friends Jacob and Alice showing up unannounced to be our super fans and help get our gig going off the ground. Their love kept us going through the travel pains. The bar-top loved us at the Soundpony. That’s all that really matters. We took our gas money and were on our way. Next time will hopefully be a little better, whenever that is.