Even though we enjoy making fun of him from time to time, we kind of like the Oklahoman's Downtown beat reporter Steve Lackmeyer. The guy's just good at his job. He keeps the public informed on important issues, he isn't afraid to irritate or question the city brass, and he makes me feel swift and athletic. All three of those things are hard to do.
Sometimes, though, Steve loves Downtown Oklahoma City a little too much. It's as if he's a 12-year-old girl and Downtown is Greyson Chance playing the piano. That can be a good thing when someone's trying to tear down an old building or build an elevated roadway, but it can occasionally cloud his judgement. For example, Steve now thinks that the Oklahoma City Farmer's Market could be the next Cain's Ballroom.
Via NewsOK:
Farmers Market waits to be discovered as Oklahoma City's version of Cain's Ballroom
The good folks at NewsOK launched an experiment two weeks ago where every Friday at 10 a.m. I host a live chat with readers. For 60 minutes readers have asked about everything ranging from plans for a new boulevard, ongoing downtown development and a lot of inquiries about housing.
I failed, however, in answering a question about why downtown Tulsa seems to host more concerts than Oklahoma City:
“I'd argue that we lose more of the smaller concerts due to the fact we've not been able to come up with our own version of Tulsa's incredible Cain's Ballroom.”
I was soon reminded after the chat that Oklahoma City does have its own music venue — Oklahoma City Farmers Public Market at 311 S Klein Ave. Yeah, I messed up. But what's worrisome is that so few people corrected me compared to those who made it a point that they agreed with my conclusion.
Leave it to the very gracious William McAnally, whose family owns the historic market, to provide me with cover on this mistake.
I don't know about you, but I think Steve may be losing his mind...or he's trying to get a free rental at the Farmer's Market for his next book signing. I guess we'll know for sure next week. If he writes a column proclaiming that the Banjo Museum is the next Philbrook or that the fish tank at Milagro's could be the next Oklahoma Aquarium, we should probably have committed or reassigned to the sports department.
Seriously, the Farmer's Market isn't a terrible venue or anything, but comparing it Cain's Ballroom is ridiculous. The only thing the two buildings have in common is that they are both old. Cain's is listed on the National Register of Historic places and is considered to be one of the top concert venues in the United States. The Oklahoma City Farmer's market hosts Midget Wrestling and was the site of Jenni Carlson's wedding.
Also, shouldn't we organize an Ogle Mole takeover of one of these Steve Lackmeyer chats? Imagine the fun we could have with that. I say we all log-on some morning and repeatedly ask questions about the sandwich selection at Hobbies Hoagies or if it's true that Steve kidnapped Russian Sam in hid him in his basement. That would be a lot of fun.
