Sneak Preview of Boss Godfrey's "Junction" - Updated

Updated 6/18/07 with two additional eye-witness reports

By Tec Jonson

I visited the Junction last eve.

Was surprised to see admission was boosted to $30 day of show. I don't remember seeing that in the website but "Gotcha's" are what these things are all about. I opted to mill about the outside and smudge the windows with my noseprint.

Pretty decent crowd. Many attractive women. Cost Vida too crowded to sample. Glad I didn't pay 30 bills to wait in line for food. Flowrider seemed to be open even though the promotionals said it was going to be demo's only. Flowrider looks very fun. Can't wait for my turn. Everyone seemed to be having a great time and wanting to return. It is smaller than I pictured but can accomodate plenty. I was surprised to see the flowrider completely enclosed from the rest of the place allowing control over groups and time limits. Although you can view the action from Costa Vida while munching you cannot participate with hoots and hollers being walled off by floor to ceiling glass. The other flowriders I see online appear to be more integrated into the surrounding public areas and eating patios. This enhances the party atmosphere and allows audience participation. If you are inside the Salomon Center and wish to eat at Costa you must walk outside the building and around the side to enter. I may be mistaken but I did not see any passage directly from Costa into Salomon. I thought this to be pretty stupid and cheaping out in the plan. The sound of the wind tunnel from the outside is pretty loud. Sounds like an industrial process.

The climbing wall was mobbed. This place could fly but crowd numbers can be deceiving in the context of debtload. Walking away the crowds seemed miniscule from a distance. Looking down Washington Blvd the sidewalks are still empty, many adjacent commercial property still vacant and boarded up or posted for lease or sale. Ugly vacant lot right across street at 23rd with exposed concrete foundations and undercut retainers. Driving home up 23rd I see hundreds of Ogden's regular citizens porch hopping and enjoying a warm late spring evening. I wonder how many of them were even aware of the happenings down the street. There was as much or more street activity on Monroe between 23rd and 25th as at the Junction and there was no Sneak Peak event there.

All in all, it felt just like another mall but with some unique attractions. It will need to sustain at least this level of crowd day-in, day-out to succeed. Someone here mentioned the spire in front of the theater. I also find it odd. It is indeed reminiscent of many that grace some LDS temples. Could even be sacriligious. These kind of monuments traditionally were representative of a connection to the heavens. Putting this on the front of a movie theater that sermonizes in the form of blood n' guts, extreme violence and profanity, jackass experientials, sexual situations, etc. strikes me as kind of scary. Larry Miller you are a wierdo. I am with Curm. We need to see more intellectually challenging films. Political documentaries are the rage now.

See: "America: Freedom to Facism", "Iraq For Sale", "Loose Change"...

How about some Bollywood. I love Indian cinema. The soundtracks and dance arrangements are amazing.

Well that is my report and I'm stickin' with it.

Next Junction report will be after I try to flail my way to riding the flowrider.

Editor's addendum: Honorary Weber County Forum reporters Jordan Muhlestein and Scott Schwebke also attended last night's "sneak preview event," presumably with complimentary passes on wrist -- unlike Tec Jonson, our own reporter. (Once again Weber County Forum, the juggernaut of northern Utah electronic journalism, gets absolutely no respect.)

Ace Reporter Schwebke offers his keen observations here, and Mr. Muhlestein reports on the special 24/7 OPD security detail, which not surprisingly occurs courtesy of the taxpayers' dime.

Update 6/18/07 7:23 a.m. MT: In the interim since original publication of this article, we've received two particularly thoughtful and additional eye-witness reports of Friday night's Salomon Center "sneak preview." For our readers' edification, we link regular-contributor Ozboy's typically astute and humor-laden "take" here, and Not Pessimistic, Just Realistic's highly-detailed write-up & analysis here.