tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22361479.post4991900563048007793..comments2024-03-16T06:23:29.917-07:00Comments on The Reverberate Hills; or The Apotheosis of the Narwhal: dealing in realitiesPatrick J. Vazhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09279528648512493917noreply@blogger.comBlogger16125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22361479.post-17801874062309647382011-08-08T19:07:41.848-07:002011-08-08T19:07:41.848-07:00My comment above is in reference to Lisa's com...My comment above is in reference to Lisa's comment. This is in reference to JM's comment:<br /><br />Well, I'm not sure the Merola audience is unlikely to go twice.<br /><br />But my point was about the general absurdity (in my opinion, as I have said repeatedly) of starting a three-hour performance at 8:00 on a weeknight and thinking that any employed people (except the fanatics and the usual suspects) will be able to attend. My reaction is the same, whether I am being offered the tickets by the organization or just looking at the schedule because I'm thinking of buying a ticket. If you think there is, you're misreading me.<br /><br />They made the offer to me as a blogger, and I posted something about it on my blog. If anyone is weeping over what I posted, I'm not sure PR is really the field he/she should be in. I was pretty exact about my objections, and I think they're reasonable. Also: I gave them publicity, no matter how minor my part in the buzz, so what would they care?<br /><br />I can't see that a Ring Cycle is an example of anything except itself. I love Porgy and Bess, but it's only one evening, and really not an equivalent -- nothing is.Patrick J. Vazhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09279528648512493917noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22361479.post-25556229768608367812011-08-08T18:46:29.064-07:002011-08-08T18:46:29.064-07:00Sure, I think that's a common split among peop...Sure, I think that's a common split among people who write "official reviews" as opposed to blog entries. (But that's not a "blogger's perspective" in the sense that every blogger is going to take that approach.)<br /><br />And what JM said was that my writing from a "blogger's perspective" changed the tone of what I said. His statement wasn't about bloggers vs reviewers, it was about my tone as a blogger vs . . . I'm not sure what, since this is it. I have no outlet for "official reviews." So I don't see how blogging changes my reaction.<br /><br />If anything, based on the stereotypes about on-line snark, my reaction was fairly matter-of-fact.Patrick J. Vazhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09279528648512493917noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22361479.post-9941118812351026232011-08-08T18:42:03.815-07:002011-08-08T18:42:03.815-07:00Not to make too fine a point of it, but I understo...Not to make too fine a point of it, but I understood your original complaint to be based on "we are “strongly urged” [by Merola] to attend on both the 4th and 5th, and those who do get “seating priority”; tickets will be “extremely limited” for those who can only go once, or to the later performances... That's fine; it makes sense to have reviewers hear both casts, and I was starting to look forward to doing so... Then I checked the calendar...So this is apparently how this is supposed to go: I get up early and work all day Thursday, then I have to kill three hours until the show starts at 8:00; the show runs about three hours, so I don’t get home until around midnight; then, after five hours or less of sleep, I have to get up early, go work another full day, then waste another three hours waiting for 8:00 to roll around, and then I get home around midnight, presumably to rise early the next morning to be first out of the gate with something cogent and quotable."<br /><br />The idea of seeing both casts is something I think most of the audience would be unlikely to do. The offer was made to you in the first place because you're a blogger- not an enthusiast. It doesn't change your tone as a writer, but the tone of your comments regarding it changes (at least to me) when you're repsonding to an offer made to you as a blogger rather than to a "general" member of the audience. Perhaps I should have been clearer about this from the beginning because this understanding was the prompt for my original email.<br /><br />I think including the Ring is fair game- it is a thrill, and a major time commitment, and you didn't go on the weeknight performances, for obvious reasons- but a lot of other people did- same for Porgy and Bess and the original run of Walkure to name just two that were sold out. <br /><br />This would have been a long lunch hour.<br /><br />As for the quote on their FB page, I'm not saying the it validates anyone's perspective (or invalidates one by omission), but there were many others they could have used throughout the weekend, and they didn't choose any except the one- which I read as just plain laziness on their part, especially after the time comittment requested of (and accepted by) many writers- I saw at least 5 attending both nights.John Marcherhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17616296400880495672noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22361479.post-78666200972477333202011-08-08T18:12:28.274-07:002011-08-08T18:12:28.274-07:00Speaking only for myself -
It's pretty easy t...Speaking only for myself -<br /><br />It's pretty easy to see the difference between a blogger perspective and a reviewer perspective by reading my blog and my reviews: it's a matter of tone and structure. <br /><br />What I write on the blog is more detailed, more personal, more informal, and a whole lot snarkier.Lisa Hirschhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14014924958428072675noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22361479.post-56507469610400102562011-08-08T18:04:28.921-07:002011-08-08T18:04:28.921-07:00Well, they (any group trying to sell something) ar...Well, they (any group trying to sell something) are going to quote whatever makes them sound good, so I wouldn't necessarily use being quoted by a performance group as a measure of anything, much less how interesting/insightful my write-up is. Also, people like institutions, so they're less likely to quote random bloggers. It's nice to be quoted in publicity, but it really doesn't matter to me. I'd have quit posting years ago if it did.<br /><br />Yes, we're both making assumptions about the audience, but mine are based on -- well, just about everyone I know except for you, and observations from the local audience. As I have said all along, I might be wrong and I'll just stick this in the "life sucks" drawer if I am, but so far no one has persuaded me that my assumptions are inaccurate.<br /><br />I can't allow a Ring Cycle as evidence for anything but itself: people travel across the world for those. That's not going to happen for most local performances. And everyone knows going in that it's a major time commitment. That's part of the thrill. Ring Cycles are special. It was Wagner and Nina Stemme who sold that run.<br /><br />If you're going to tell me that writing from a "blogger's perspective" (whatever that is) changes my tone, please tell me exactly how. I'm not a professional reviewer for a paper, I'm a theater-goer who paid for a ticket who often writes about the experience afterwards. There is no difference between what I think as a "blogger" and what I think as a "theater-goer." If you think there is, please be specific about what it is.<br /><br />You can get a lot done in three hours if you're not just wasting time waiting.Patrick J. Vazhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09279528648512493917noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22361479.post-14858114458250550322011-08-08T16:48:31.564-07:002011-08-08T16:48:31.564-07:00Well here's an amusing side note, referring to...Well here's an amusing side note, referring to your statement in the "Fun Stuff" post about rising on Saturday morning to write something "cogent and quotable"- out of all the posts put online between Friday and Saturday (including an excellent review by Kosman), what one post did Merola choose to put on their FB page over the entire weekend? Only Smoliar's. <br /><br />Now that's amusing- and possibly annoying.<br /><br />This is quite a response to my email. I showed it to Penelope and her impression was that both of us are making large assumptions about the audience that can't be justified by our own vantage points and, in my case, who's eating where, though we agreed the local eateries at whatever price range are mostly full prior to a performance.<br /><br />I find it difficult to get to something by 7 or 7:30 because if I want to go home and have something to eat, like Lisa, I would have to leave promptly at 5, which sometimes I can't always easily do. And if I'm going to sit through a two or three hour performance I'd like to clean up and have a decent meal beforehand- even if it's at home, which in my case it often is, which means I'd be seriously rushing to make a 7:OO curtain and rushing only slightly less to make one @ 7:30. 8:00 allows me to not feel rushed and arrive on time, or a little early. Still, I do know many people who struggle to make it by 8:00 for various reasons. I have dated them. Repeatedly.<br /><br />You and I don't know if they are writing off large segments of ticket-buyers. We would likely agree that when something is well-done and gets good press will likely sell well regardless of whether it starts at 7 or 8 and how long it lasts- the recent SFO Ring is an example.<br /><br />Trying to pursuade you about what "most people" think is a waste of time. I'm just going to claim that you and I fall far outside the lifestyles and quirks of "most people" and say how the hell do either one of really know. I know what works for me, and you know what works for you, and if something really great is programmed for 8:00 and the PR dept has done its job, tickets get sold.<br /><br />As for the performing arts being cheaper than other options, I don't know if that's really true anymore. It costs as much to see a Giants or Warriors game as it does to go to the symphony or an opera. There are plenty of theater tickets available on Goldstar everyday that are cheaper than an IMAX movie, or a regular evening screening for that matter.<br /><br />As for restuarants, Arlequin and the Grove are not expensive, and there are many people who have kids who eat at home first (because they're feeding the kids before they leave). I'm not saying the entire audience is eating in Hayes Valley, but a substantial number are- those restaurants have lots of seating available on OpenTable on non-performance nights, but not the other way around. And the bar at Absinthe always seems to be crowded post-performance- others less so, but I suspect that's because they're loud and suck. I think Davies and the Opera House should open the bars after the performance. LAO does this and it's great.<br /><br />And yes, writing the part about Merola from a "bloggers" perspective does change the tone of your argument.<br /><br />Okay- I think that's all I have to say about this, at least until the next time. I'm glad you had such a productive evening at home, though it did sound exhasuting- how did you do all that in three hours?John Marcherhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17616296400880495672noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22361479.post-31927662178848710642011-08-08T10:00:08.246-07:002011-08-08T10:00:08.246-07:00I think "where they're coming from" ...I think "where they're coming from" is the more salient point here. I once received a fund-raising call from the Philadelphia Opera and I pointed out that I lived on the other side of the country, though of course I might have been someone who traveled to Philadelphia frequently for business or whatever.Patrick J. Vazhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09279528648512493917noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22361479.post-66276919926690947342011-08-08T09:39:37.801-07:002011-08-08T09:39:37.801-07:00Oh - given how their ticketing systems work, perfo...Oh - given how their ticketing systems work, performing arts orgs will generally know where people live, though not necessarily where they are coming from.Lisa Hirschhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14014924958428072675noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22361479.post-9252710339267289092011-08-08T09:38:30.658-07:002011-08-08T09:38:30.658-07:00When I worked in Pleasanton, I would drive from wo...When I worked in Pleasanton, I would drive from work to a BART stop - Fruitvale, usually - and take BART the rest of the way. I currently take the shuttle from work to downtown SF, then get home by BART, or take the shuttle to Oakland where my car is, then drive to Berkeley, for weekday performances.Lisa Hirschhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14014924958428072675noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22361479.post-73170565988262847152011-08-08T09:03:30.075-07:002011-08-08T09:03:30.075-07:00By the way -- I do think the 6:30 start time that ...By the way -- I do think the 6:30 start time that the Symphony was trying is a little too early. It would make more sense if Davies Hall were in a big office area, but it's not (except for the city government buildings). And obviously the "talk instead of music" policy was a disaster. But I give them lots of credit for trying a new approach.Patrick J. Vazhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09279528648512493917noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22361479.post-82205641958373067752011-08-08T08:53:49.911-07:002011-08-08T08:53:49.911-07:00That's a good point. Are your times based on d...That's a good point. Are your times based on driving or on taking public transportation (which I'm assuming is slower, but maybe not during commute hours)?<br /><br />I have gone to a few things at TheatreWorks in Mountain View during the work week (being driven by someone) with the opposite commute -- I do not recall being rushed at dinner though. <br /><br />And, yes, I wonder how many people this applies to, as compared to people in situations more like mine. I imagine a lot of people who work that distance away simply don't go to perforamnces during the week, no matter what the start time -- what you gain in time beforehand you lose in getting home that much later. Still, it might be a larger number than I think.<br /><br />Frankly, the theaters should capitalize on the situation by setting up a reasonably priced sandwich stand (or maybe getting their own Chipotle franchise) and taking a cut of the profits, rather than losing the income entirely to local restaurants.<br /><br />Civic Center is a weird area for restaurants (well, in many other ways as well): you tend to have either high-end (expensive) restaurants or terrible places that Michael Pollan would not approve of. So your dining choices are severely limited there anyway.Patrick J. Vazhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09279528648512493917noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22361479.post-2234800197559441282011-08-08T08:30:19.403-07:002011-08-08T08:30:19.403-07:00There's one more use case, and I'd be curi...There's one more use case, and I'd be curious how many people this applies to: coming to the performance from a workplace well outside S. F.<br /><br />I've spent the last 13 years working 30 to 40 miles from SF Civic Center / downtown Berkeley. At present, if I leave work around 5, which is the earliest I can decently leave, I get to S.F. between 6:15 and 6:30. It's a ten or 12 minute walk to Davies / Opera House / Herbst. Leisurely dinners are not happening even for 8 p.m. programs. For a 7 or 7:30 curtain, I'd either be eating a sandwich in the house or on my way to SF. For an 8 p.m. curtain, I can at least have a quick dinner at Arlequin or the equivalent. 6:30 curtains are difficult, though of course then there's the option of a leisurely dinner starting at 8:30....which only works for me on weekends.Lisa Hirschhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14014924958428072675noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22361479.post-52408940503047958122011-08-08T08:12:43.946-07:002011-08-08T08:12:43.946-07:00Well, yes, good point. Maybe I should have specifi...Well, yes, good point. Maybe I should have specified "regularly employed people"? Besides, you are like some cool refreshing spring bubbling up in the murky desolation of my working life, like something out of Ovid's Metamorphoses or Botticelli's Primavera.Patrick J. Vazhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09279528648512493917noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22361479.post-90891695937848863922011-08-07T21:58:46.047-07:002011-08-07T21:58:46.047-07:00"I don't really know anyone who isn't..."I don't really know anyone who isn't constantly exhausted and pressed for time." That's not true since you know me.Civic Centerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12362422142667230626noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22361479.post-12388984202048984602011-08-07T19:30:29.109-07:002011-08-07T19:30:29.109-07:00Good point about the difficulty of sleeping after ...Good point about the difficulty of sleeping after a rousing performance -- the flip side of that is the extra bitterness over wasted time and money that follow a bad performance. But, yeah, I was generous in guessing the amount of sleep I would get.<br /><br />By the way, I know people in their 20s who declined going to a play that started at 8:00 because it ended too late. I don't really know anyone who isn't constantly exhausted and pressed for time.<br /><br />I will take your word for it that the Symphony has dropped its silly idea of taking up time with talk instead of the music you paid to hear. But I'm still traumatized -- in fact I didn't go to the Friday 6:30 performance of the Missa Solemnis because I was terrified that they would drop the Kyrie and fill the time with glib gossip about Beethoven.<br /><br />You know, I've often thought about going to a 42nd St Moon performance, but the thought of wasting hours for the performance to start has always stopped me. One reason I've gone to the Aurora Theater fairly often is that their Tuesday performances start at 7:00. On the other hand, I skipped what I heard was an excellent production of Three Sisters at Berkeley Rep because my weekends were booked and I just was not going to do a three-hour play starting at 8:00 during the week.Patrick J. Vazhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09279528648512493917noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22361479.post-83609784214582295682011-08-07T13:56:02.748-07:002011-08-07T13:56:02.748-07:00As the "temporarily-fully-employed freelancer...As the "temporarily-fully-employed freelancer" you mentioned, let me repeat, I don't see how anyone out of their thirties can work corporate 8 to 5 hours with a long commute on top of it and still go to a performance during the week. Plus if it's a good or god forbid a great performance, one usually gets a surge of energy which makes it even harder to get to sleep afterwards.<br /><br />The Symphony dropped their misconceived Less Music, More Talk 6:30 PM Fridays and simply replaced it with Same Amount of Music as the other nights but with a 6:30 PM start time. They haven't given any publicity to this change, but it was the case last year and will continue to be so going forward. You might consider making Friday your go-to performance night for them.<br /><br />42nd Street Moon also has a 6PM curtain on Saturday evenings but that doesn't speak to your issues at all. I think I'll send this over to their administrative staff and see why they don't do more early evenings during the week, and market them as Financial District After-Work Specials! since they perform at the Eureka in the Embarcadero Center.Civic Centerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12362422142667230626noreply@blogger.com