Thursday, August 21, 2008

The Current-June 2008 Feature Story 2

Osage Casino Welcomes the Power of the Ocean

By Regan Henson

It’s a good bet that a good number of us born and raised here in land locked Currentland have never seen the ocean. Well, if you happen to belong to the aforementioned group, the Osage Million Dollar Elm Casino in Tulsa is the place to be this June if you want to cross that particular experience off your “things to do before I die” list. No, I’m not talking about playing some game of chance in the hopes of winning a free cruise; you can see the real Ocean, with a capital O. Billy Ocean. That’s right, Billy Ocean.

Yep folks, the Osage Million Dollar Elm Casino is bringing that R&B pop icon of the 80s who brought us such classics as “Caribbean Queen,” “Suddenly,” and the masterpiece, “Get Outta My Dreams (Get Into My Car).” It’s also a good bet that anyone over the age of 30 who read the previous sentence is now being tortured by a perverse medley of those three hits. Here’s another one for you: remember the theme song from the movie Jewel of the Nile?

When the going gets tough

The tough get going

When the going gets rough

The tough get rough

Hey Hey Hey

Yep, that was Billy Ocean too. The embarrassing thing is I didn’t even have to look up the lyrics to that song. That oughta add some flavor to your medley. Probably some Caribbean flavor, considering Trinidad and Tobago native Billy Ocean is a member of the prestigious Caribbean Hall of Fame, alongside other legends including Grace Jones, Eddy Grant and Shaggy.

But nostalgia and your own personal bucket list don’t have to be the only reasons to check out Billy Ocean. In the past few years, Ocean has enjoyed a career resurgence of sorts, having begun experimenting with reggae and other world music sounds and reinventing some of his hits for a new generation of fans. Having recently performed for mostly European audiences, he is out to re-conquer America, and those of us here in Currentland are gonna be lucky enough to experience Billy Ocean for ourselves. By the way, Billy Ocean is a stage name, so you might remember that before you cross off “see the ocean” from your list, since technically he’s not a real ocean. But I won’t tell if you won’t.

Billy Ocean will be performing at the Osage Million Dollar Elm Casino on Saturday, June 14 at 7pm. Tickets start at $30 for this 21 and over show and can be purchased by calling (918)699-7667 or by visiting the Million Dollar Elm box office. The casino is located on West 36th Street in Tulsa, Oklahoma, 3 miles west of US Highway 75.

No comments: