ROUTE 66 - OVERHOLSER BRIDGE

Old Route 66 went west out of Oklahoma City on what is now the 39th Street Expressway. Just west of Bethany OK is the Lake Overholser Bridge. It is no longer used, but you can park nearby and walk out onto the bridge. These photos were taken on a chilly January afternoon.

OKLAHOMA HISTORY CENTER

These are photos of various items outside the Oklahoma History Center on a cold January morning, including the Allen Houser sculpture "Unconquered" and views of the State Capitol and an oil field exhibit.

ROUTE 66 - BRISTOW TO ARCADIA

A couple of gas stations on Route 66, near Bristow OK.














This is a section of the original US Route 66 that parallels the current OK 66, and acts as a frontage road for a few residences.














The Rock Cafe in Stroud OK approximately 8 months after it burned down in May 2008.














Gas station near Davenport OK.














The Lincoln Motel, still open in Chandler OK.














Phillips 66 "cottage" style gas station in Chandler OK.














Privately-owned section of old Route 66 that you can get to from the current OK 66 and actually drive on for a short distance.














Views of the pop bottle at dusk at Pops in Arcadia OK.

NEW YEAR'S EVE WITH THE FLAMING LIPS

ROUTE 66 - INSIDE THE ROUND BARN - POPS

Photos of a quick trip out to Arcadia OK for lunch at Pops and a look inside the Round Barn on Route 66.

OKLAHOMA CITY MUSEUM OF ART

Today, RKC and I went to the Oklahoma City Museum of Art for the "American Impressionism from the Phillips Collection" exhibit. Visitors were not allowed to photograph the paintings, so here are photos of some of the Museum's large Dale Chihuly glass collection, including the Museum's Eleanor Blake Kirkpatrick Memorial Tower, which is his tallest installation to date.

COLDPLAY

Sunday night, November 16th, Coldplay returned to the Ford Center in Oklahoma City as part of the "Viva La Vida" tour.

VIOLET HILL
Was a long and dark December
From the rooftops I remember
There was snow, white snow
Clearly I remember
From the windows they were watching
While we froze down below

THE HARDEST PART
And the hardest part was letting go, not taking part
It was the hardest part
And the strangest thing was waiting for that bell to ring
It was the strangest start

VIVA LA VIDA
I hear Jerusalem bells a-ringing
Roman cavalry choirs are singing
Be my mirror my sword and shield
Missionaries in a foreign field
For some reason I can’t explain
I know Saint Peter won't call my name
Never an honest word
But that was when I ruled the world

THE SCIENTIST
I was just guessing
At numbers and figures
Pulling the puzzles apart

LOVERS IN JAPAN
Tonight maybe we're gonna run
Dreaming of the Osaka sun
Dreaming of when the morning comes

YELLOW
Look at the stars, Look how they shine for you.
And everything you do. Yeah, they were all yellow.
I came along, I wrote a song for you.
And all the things you do, And it was called yellow.

Here is a link to a review of the concert at Newsok.com.

And Coldplay.com blog # 54 had this to say about the OKC show:

It's pretty common for shows in more out of the way places to be the ones with the most enthusiastic crowds. Oklahoma then, has potential to be a right good night out. We arrive late in the day, as soundcheck has been bypassed yet again. At the top of the ramp that leads us into the bowels of the arena are three young ladies holding banners who giddily bounce and wave as the band's vehicles swing around the corner. This is obviously not the only time this has happened, however when we emerge some hours later after the show, they are still there and they are just as excitable. I really do hope that they saw the show in between. Not just because they clearly were wonderfully bonkers about the band, but because it was a particularly good night.

Being in the hometown of the Flaming Lips means a lot at a Coldplay gig. Not only are the band great friends with the Lips guys, but so too are some of the crew. Hoppy, who looks after Chris's guitars worked for them many years ago. So did keyboard tech Neill Lambert (also now infamous as Chris's spooky Halloween attacker). I pass Neill in the corridor just as Wayne Coyne is making his way into the arena. Somewhat fittingly, Neill is in the middle of building a robot out of some metal electrical casings he's rescued from the dumpster. Proof if it were needed that we're heading now onto the beautiful slippery slope into what is commonly referred to as tour madness. I can only imagine that by Christmas, there are going to be a lot of inane grins and wonderfully skewed mental states. In the meantime, Neill's as yet unamed creation has been given a job in the Production Office dispensing setlists. I'm not sure he's even seen the Talk video. Maybe it's just subconscious...

The show itself is most enjoyable. As predicted, the crowd goes berserk even from before the intro tape and they're clearly out for a good time. Never ones to shy away from joining in, the fellas are lifted into the high gears early on. Will particularly, seems to be attacking the kit like it's something personal. I wouldn't wanna be a snare drum in Oklahoma tonight...

It only remains for the butterfly confetti to fall and it's pretty much all over. I remember doing a festival some years ago where The Flaming Lips were playing. I think I may still have some of the confetti in the back of my racks even now. It was an utterly joyous experience watching them play. I wonder what Wayne thought of the butterflies. I hope he liked 'em. I'm just hoping Chris doesn't decide that he wants to do the encores in a huge bubble so he can walk over the audience's heads from now on. How the hell would we get the piano in there...?

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