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c2 economist suntribune february 17 1988 more than just a little bit country chalk it up to intolerance brought on by the aging process or perhaps im just wising up to big city seams and the excesses of our times but for whatever reason i re turned from downtown to the other night vowing that i would never again be knowingly sub jected to such abuse what was supposed to be an en joyable evening of dinner fol lowed by a live concert turned out to be instead a wretched eating experience followed by a cattle like herding into a stone cold ex- warehouse to wait for hours for the priviledge of having our ears pounded to a pulp by some half crazed sound control man now ive always appreciated the idea of going to see my favourite performers live be they comedian theatre actors or sin gers and ill willingly admit that while i enjoy the symphony or a good acappella group such as the nylons the best live show i ever from where i live bruce stapley attended was put on by bob seger and the silver bullet band so when a few friends suggested we go to a downtown toronto night spot to watch a well known local band zappa costa per form i was expecting a decibel count of a somewhat lofty magni tude alfie zappa costa believes in the thorough projection of those heartfelt lyrics of his and the boys in the band like to be heard too we were told that those patrons who chose to eat in the adjoining restaurant would get preferential seating for the show as it was a table and chairs seating arrange ment with no advance reserva tions the service was so bad that i asked for the bill when a waiter finally showed up a half hour or so after we sat down the greens its not that was made clear i told the staff that we didnt want to be late for the show and that wed appreciate his staying in touch or at least to send us the occasional telegram as it turned out we would have been further ahead in every way to have headed up the street to mcdonalds the food was crum my as well as being overpriced something to do with having a captive audience i suppose and there were no good seats in this converted warehouse and not a moments thought given to pro viding heat on a miserably cold february night so much for the edge we were supposed to have gained from eating at their chint zy restaurant and the coup do grace the part that really rattled my cage was the hour and a half wait before the show began which when accom panied by the further delay of equal length between the warm up band and the eventual coming of alfie and the boys became the target of several verbal salvos fired from our little group an obvious ploy to sell drinks i refused to buy a drop although i somehow managed to get hood winked into shelling out the princely sum of 175 for a club soda for a friend i never touch the stuff when the act wed all been waiting and waiting and wait ing for finally graced us with its presence the nights frustration became complete the column- happy sound control engineer who had obviously suffered the effects of having attended a few too may of this type of audio over kill cranked the speakers up to the point where they were start ing to leak oil i wondered if it was just me a quick scan of the premises showed a few others who like me had taken to sticking their fin gers in their ears for protection but they were like me pushing 40 or already beyond we did leave early as soon as the band had played the songs wed come to hear and as i walked out i decided that i had definitely become a lit tle dated a little more discerning and more than a whole lot country warning reading this ad may disappoint you with your present insurance special rates f0rmarkhamuni0nv1lle homeowners example 120000 homeow ners package on a 5 year old home with guaranteed re placementrebuilding cost annual premium t38 paymofrsilynoirtfefestctaged for further information call wally beaverbrook insurance real estate ltd 7590266 or 7592771 your shopathome childrens dolhing party plan requires sales consultants earn above average income on a commis sion basis at your convergence can or furth er information 7734518 your child can improve classroom performance we develop the selfconfidence organiza tional skills and motivation needed individual and group instruction in all subjects for more information call 2948757 today centre for learning skills suite 203 southeast corner highway 7 and mccowan over 250000 graduates recommend young drivers of canada i m training centres from coast to coast located at highway 7 mccowan rd over 150 stores services 4774600 upcoming course dates tuesday february 23 monday march 7 march break course monday march 14 markhamunionvillemillikenstouffville 4700225 hwy 7kennedy