November 2, 1994.

Lloyd Noble Center in Norman.

Nine Inch Nails.
 Marilyn Manson.
 Jim Rose Circus.

That was the show of all shows.

Jim Rose Circus was coming in hot from the Lollapalooza era, and at that time, it fit perfectly. Strange, wild, uncomfortable, and exactly what that crowd wanted.

Then Marilyn Manson walks in during the Portrait of an American Family era. Before the full mainstream explosion. Before The Beautiful People. Before everybody knew what Marilyn Manson was supposed to mean. Earlier that year, they had played Will Rogers, and most people still didn’t fully understand what they were seeing.

But on this tour, it started making sense.

College town. Norman. 1994. The right crowd at the right time.

And then Nine Inch Nails.

Trent Reznor was becoming the voice of that darker industrial generation. That show had atmosphere, tension, and danger all over it. It wasn’t just loud. It felt like the culture was changing in front of you.

Jim Rose Circus set the tone.
 Marilyn Manson pushed the room further.
 Nine Inch Nails finished the job.

Some bills are stacked.

This one was historic.

 #HeresTheDealPodcast #NineInchNails #MarilynManson #JimRoseCircus #LloydNobleCenter #MaxBakerJr #JeffBrownen #oklahomacity

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September 27th.

Destiny’s Child at The Myriad.

This one pops up in the middle of the conversation almost like a missing piece. Everybody is looking through the dates, trying to figure out why it isn’t listed, and then there it is.

Destiny’s Child.

Say My Name era.

That was a major moment. Before Beyoncé became Beyoncé on the level we know now, Destiny’s Child was already a machine. Huge radio singles. Massive pop and R&B crossover. Packed rooms. Real star power.

And the opener?

Virgin Crab.

 #HeresTheDealPodcast #DestinysChild #SayMyNameTour #Beyonce #TheMyriad #VirginCrab #MaxBakerJr #JeffBrownen #oklahomacity

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 February 12th at The Myriad.

Insane Clown Posse and Twiztid.

Cancellation number two.

This one got all the way up to the doors. The band was in the building. Box office was ready. Ushers were ready. Merch was set up. The line was wrapped around The Myriad with Juggalos in full clown makeup downtown.

Then the show fell apart.

The setup was already strange. Hockey in the main hall. Fellowship of Christian Athletes in one side hall. A wedding in another. ICP in a side hall room that was never really the right fit.

The stage had been built halfway into the room to make the space feel tighter, but the band wanted it pushed up more. In a union hall, that is not a quick fix. You can’t just move a built stage in the middle of the day with other events happening around you.

Then came the bus idea.

They wanted to pull the buses behind the stage and use them as a backdrop with generators running.

The fire marshal shut that down fast.

An hour before doors, the call came down.

No show.

Everybody still had to be paid. Staff. Box office. Ushers. Crew. The room was ready, but the show was dead.

And the Juggalos did not take it well.

Ringling Brothers had been there the week before, so there were hay bales still sitting around The Myriad. Once the cancellation hit, the crowd started grabbing hay bales and throwing them into the downtown water features.

That is how fast a concert cancellation can turn into chaos.

No show.
 Angry crowd.
 Hay bales in the fountains.

Only ICP could create that kind of scene without ever playing a note.

 #HeresTheDealPodcast #InsaneClownPosse #ICP #Twiztid #Juggalos #TheMyriad #MaxBakerJr #JeffBrownen #oklahomacity

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Rob Halford Headlines Madd Maxx’s Metal Bash 2000

July 22, 2000.

Rob Halford at the Diamond Ballroom.

Madd Maxx’s Metal Bash.

And yes, it was Max’s birthday party.

418 people in the room for the Metal God himself. For Max, this one hit different. Early Judas Priest meant everything to him. In the late 70s and 80s, he traveled all over to see Priest, so when David called and said he had a headliner for Metal Bash, the name made him stop for a second.

Rob Halford.

That’s not just another booking.

That’s one of your heroes walking into your show.

The lineup was packed too. Around 16 bands wanted on that bill. Element was supposed to play right before Halford, but the night shifted and they ended up having to play after him.

That is a dangerous spot.

Everybody knows when the headliner is done, the room can turn into a ghost town fast. If you’re going on after the main event, you better be ready immediately.

So they pulled off one of the fastest set changes they had ever done.

Element hit the stage, played like champs, and held the crowd.

Even Rob Halford watched them.

That’s the kind of night that proves why Metal Bash mattered. Local bands, national legends, impossible changeovers, and a room full of people who came for heavy music.

For Max, it was more than a birthday.

It was a full-circle metal moment.

 #HeresTheDealPodcast #RobHalford #JudasPriest #MetalGod #MaddMaxxMetalBash #DiamondBallroom #Element #HeavyMetalHistory #OKCMetal #ConcertStories #MaxBakerJr #JeffBrownen #oklahoma #oklahomacity

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May 2000 at the Diamond Ballroom was loaded.

May 7th: Staind, Dope, and Primer 55.

1,034 people in the room.

That was a strong $22 ticket. Staind was rising fast, Dope fit that heavy early-2000s lane, and Primer 55 brought the kind of energy that made them a perfect match for bands like Element. That whole show had the sound of the moment written all over it.

Then three days later, May 10th, the Diamond flips into a completely different world.

Live.
 Local H.
 Tracy Bonham.

1,196 people.

That poster still stands out too. Behind the box office at the Diamond, there’s a cool piece from that show designed like a whiskey bottle with Live and Tracy Bonham on it. One of those posters you remember because it looked different.

And Live?

Incredible band.

That’s what made the Diamond so special back then. One night it’s Staind, Dope, and Primer 55. Three days later it’s Live, Local H, and Tracy Bonham.

Heavy rock. Alt-rock. Radio hits. Club energy.

Same room.

Different crowd.

Same magic.

 #HeresTheDealPodcast #Staind #Dope #Primer55  #LocalH #TracyBonham #DiamondBallroom #MaxBakerJr #JeffBrownen #oklahomacity

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This was not your average radio giveaway.

For the Last of the Breed Tour with Willie Nelson, Merle Haggard, and Ray Price, the promotion went full Oklahoma.

There was an ag network sending reports to small-town AM radio stations across the state. Farm towns. Rural listeners. Country music people. The exact audience that understood how big this show really was.

So the idea was simple and wild.

Get front porch rocking chairs signed by Willie, Merle, and Ray.

Then give them away through stores tied into that farm and home crowd.

That meant sitting out in the heat, waiting for three legends to come sign rocking chairs like it was the most normal thing in the world.

“Hey, can you sign my chair?”

That is radio promotion at its finest.

Not a poster.
 Not a T-shirt.
 Not a pair of tickets.

A signed rocking chair.

And somehow, they got it done.

That’s the kind of promotion you remember because it actually fit the show. Willie, Merle, and Ray Price at the Zoo Amphitheatre. Country legends. Small-town radio. Front porch rocking chairs.

Perfect match.

 #HeresTheDealPodcast #WillieNelson #MerleHaggard #RayPrice #LastOfTheBreed  #ZooAmphitheatre #MaxBakerJr #JeffBrownen #oklahomacity

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This was one of those stretches where every flyer got heavier.

Sevendust, Coal Chamber, Sepultura, and Downset. That lineup alone says everything about where heavy music was headed in 2000. Downset had a following. Sevendust was already becoming one of those bands people stayed loyal to for life.

Then came Static-X, Taproot, Deadlights, and Slaves on Dope.

That was the sound of the era. Industrial edge. Nu-metal energy. Packed rooms. Loud merch tables. Everybody trying to catch the next band before they broke wide open.

September 6, 2000 — Cannibal Corpse at the Diamond Ballroom.

That one had Max written all over it.

Then there was Living Sacrifice.

A Christian metal band from Little Rock, Arkansas, heavy as heavy gets. One of those bands you don’t forget once you see them live. Element and Fear the Clown were added as support, and the whole thing turned into chaos.

At Rogers State University, the room was provided in exchange for sound and lights on another show. Good deal on paper.

Until the first four rows of seats got destroyed.

Almost got kicked out of school over it.

That’s how wild those heavy shows could get.

Different bands. Different rooms. Same lesson.

When the crowd moves, the building better be ready.

 #HeresTheDealPodcast #Sevendust #StaticX #CannibalCorpse #LivingSacrifice #CoalChamber #Sepultura #Taproot #DiamondBallroom #HeavyMusic #ConcertStories #MaxBakerJr #JeffBrownen #oklahoma #oklahomacity

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October 22, 1994.

Kansas at The Roxy.

Ten dollars in advance.

And according to Max, it was one of the best club shows he ever saw.

Kansas was locked in that night. Tight, powerful, and the kind of live performance that gives you goosebumps while you’re standing there. Some shows are good. Some shows remind you why you started chasing music in the first place.

That was one of them.

Fast forward years later, and Kansas is still out there playing rooms like Heartland Expo Center in Shawnee. That kind of longevity says everything.

Then the next night, October 23rd, The Roxy flips into a completely different lane.

Peter Criss.
 36 Inches.
 Cry Freedom.

Peter Criss from KISS in a club setting. Buck Bush and 36 Inches on the bill. Cry Freedom was another cool band from that era, with some names possibly crossing later into War and Peace circles.

That’s what made The Roxy calendar so wild.

One night you get Kansas giving you goosebumps.

The next night you get a KISS drummer in the room.

Two nights. Same venue. Completely different worlds.

That was 1994.

 #HeresTheDealPodcast #KansasBand #PeterCriss #KISS #TheRoxy #ConcertStories #LiveMusicHistory #OklahomaMusic #ClubShows #MaxBakerJr #JeffBrownen #oklahomacity

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August 3, 2007.

ZZ Top.
 The Pretenders.
 Stray Cats.

That was one of those bills where every name on the flyer mattered.

ZZ Top always delivers. The Pretenders are legends in their own right. But that night?

Stray Cats stole the show.

As many times as Max had seen ZZ Top, and even after seeing The Pretenders a few times, the Stray Cats came out and absolutely blistered the place. Brian Setzer and Lee Rocker are hard to top when they’re locked in, and that night they proved it.

That rockabilly energy hit different live. Fast, sharp, loud, and tight as hell.

Some shows are great because the headliner brings it.

Some shows become unforgettable because the opener walks out and takes the whole room.

This was one of those nights.

 #HeresTheDealPodcast #ZZTop #ThePretenders #StrayCats #BrianSetzer #LeeRocker #Rockabilly #ConcertStories #LiveMusicHistory #MaxBakerJr #JeffBrownen #oklahoma #oklahomacity

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Before online presales, verified fan codes, and digital queues, you had to earn your concert tickets.

Sometimes that meant camping outside in the snow.

Max talks about waiting in line for Ozzy Osbourne tickets during the Randy Rhoads era with only a few people crazy enough to be out there. The police got called, Jim Dunn came out, and instead of just running them off, he realized they weren’t leaving.

So he opened the door and let them stay inside a small area.

That moment turned into something bigger.

Jim Dunn became one of those people who took Max under his wing. A mentor. A building guy. A ticket guy. Someone who knew the rooms, the systems, the angles, and the history behind how concerts really worked.

But mentorship only matters if you’re willing to listen.

Max listened.

From camping in the snow for Ozzy tickets to learning how buildings operated, how ticketing worked, and how the concert business moved behind the scenes, that relationship helped shape the next chapter.

Sometimes the education doesn’t start in an office.

Sometimes it starts outside in the cold, refusing to leave the ticket line.

 #HeresTheDealPodcast #OzzyOsbourne #RandyRhoads #ConcertTickets #OldSchoolTicketing #JimDunn #ConcertStories #MusicBusiness #TicketLineStories #MaxBakerJr #JeffBrownen #oklahoma #oklahomacity

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