Entry Two Hundred Five.
Saturday, 2017.05.20, 7:28 PM CST.
MODENIGHT and a massive "Thanks!" to those who attended.
Current Mood:  Kind of all over the place.  Hectic.  Trying to focus.  But good..
Current Scent:  Metal Jeans by Versace.

Hi, everyone.

A week ago tonight, on May 13th, I held a party at the Lot No. 6 art bar in Tulsa's Pearl District.  The event was called "Modenight" (mini-site here) and it was a celebration of the works of Depeche Mode and its various spinoff acts (Martin Gore solo, Dave Gahan solo, Recoil, etc.)

I hadn't posted about it here on my blog until now; most of the advertising was done through the Facebook pages for DJ Badger and Bravo Pro DJ.

This was a really special event for me; as of the end of this year, I will have been collecting the music (and assorted memorabilia) of Depeche Mode for thirty years.  I've seen them in concert nine times (and hope to see them a tenth and eleventh time this year).  They aren't perfect - no band is - but they are by far my favourite band and the one whose work I have collected the most thoroughly over the years.

For this event, I was joined by DJ Jessy James, who, as many of you know, is the organizer of Tulsa's ResurXtion retro party series here in Tulsa.

We charged a $5.00 cover, and I really wasn't sure how the turnout was going to be.  We had a decent number of people RSVP as "Interested" or "Going" on the event's Facebook page.   You can never really trust "Facebook numbers," of course, and while I know Tulsa has some big-time Depeche Mode fans, I still had to ask myself:   How many of them would really show up for a night in which each and every song was related to Depeche Mode?

It was packed.  Packed.

I don't ever remember seeing so many people dancing at Lot 6.  I saw some people I hadn't seen in years.

"Thrilled" would be an understatement for the way it made me feel.  I have had my ups and downs during my time as an event organizer/promoter, but this was a major, MAJOR high point.  This was the type of event that makes me want to do even more events.

I was - and am - extremely grateful.

(I know that some of you may be sick of how many times I say "Thank you" on my website... but this was a really big deal.)

MAJOR, MASSIVE THANKS go out to the following:

• EVERYBODY who came out and supported the event.  You seriously don't know how much I appreciated it.  This event re-energized my spirit as far as organizing and promoting events was concerned.  To have that many people attending, dancing, and otherwise enjoying... well, it made me feel awesome.  It's like I've said before:  Without you, I'm just some loser playing music to an empty room.  I might provide the music and lights, but you are the ones who make the party happen.  This night was awesome!!  THANK YOU, so much, for the support.
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• DJ JESSY JAMES.  I value our friendship, and I greatly respect you as a colleague in DJing in promotion.  Thank you very much for agreeing to be part of this.  It was great to perform alongside you again.
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• VANESSA SOMERVILLE and LOT NO 6.  Lot No. 6 isn't the biggest venue in Tulsa by a long shot.  It's a lovely little bar with a small stage in one corner.  Yet, it's one of my absolute favourite places to perform.  You have enough faith in me that I can come to you with almost any kind of event and you'll say "Yes."  That's a pretty huge deal to me.  Thank you very much for allowing me to organize Modenight at Lot No. 6.  I look forward to many more events there in the future!
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All right... now, it's time to look forward.  PROG51 is coming in three weeks (June 10th), and if you love early Tulsa alternative music culture (Mohawk Music, Beat Club, KTOW progressive radio), that event is tailor-made for you.  Also, I'm working on securing a date for the second annual installmen of An Old School House Night, and I might - just might - be bringing back Pop in a Blender.

Also, I originally planned Modenight as a special, one-time event to celebrate the release of the new Depeche Mode album.  Judging by the massive success of this event, I might do Modenight again... but not for another year or two.  We'll see.

Stay tuned.  More very soon.

Badger

Jessy and I following "Modenight."  Photo by the wonderful Ash Ede.