SUMMARY: It's not always about the dogs. But--Haydn?
In my dream:A woman I know fairly well [in my dream] suggested that we go see the world-renowned orchestra led by the world-renowned director, playing a fabulous work by Haydn. She could get 2 tickets for a mere $80 each, and I somewhat hesitantly agreed.
We arrived, and worked our way up the aisle. And I mean, UP! The angle was extremely steep, and it went up and up and UP and up and up, to where my moderate acrophobia really kicked. I had to grab the stairs and walls and chairs as I worked my way up just to be able to make myself keep moving and not freeze on the spot. So far up that you really almost couldn't see the stage. REALLY up.
(And I've been up very high in some very steep venues, but this had 'em all beat.)
THEN discovered that the concert hall was built over a hill, so when you got the the top, you started going down the other side. Now you REALLY couldn't see the orchestra. And barely hear them. Instead, they had a large TV screen (like someone might have on the wall of their house) and speakers.
Furthermore, my friend hadn't realized that odd numbered seats were on one side of the hall and even-numbered were on the other side. So we weren't even seated within sight of each other.
Furthermore still more, it was the very last seats in the hall. And people who had brought their small kids had sent them to the back of the hall to play.
So I had paid $80 to sit in the back of a room, by myself, to watch Haydn performed on a TV, listening through speakers, with noisy kids playing around me.
I woke up bawling. The dogs were a bit concerned and came in close to see what was the matter.
I wasn't sure whether to keep bawling or to break into hysterical laughter. Really?! This is the worst thing I could manage to have a nightmare about?!
LOL, what a weird nightmare. Dreams are such funny things.
ReplyDeleteThat is hilarious -- I'm totally laughing out loud here! The odd vs. even numbered seats on opposite sides totally sent me overboard. Thanks for sharing. Hope you have recovered from the horror of it all by now ;-)
ReplyDelete[sobs quietly]Any time now, I'm sure.
ReplyDeleteWell, I immdiately related it to the kind of feelings you've talked about having about agility in the last couple of years. You spend a lot of money, and effort and time trying to get to hear the beautiful music but the harder you try, the farther away and the less satisfied you become with what you've gotten for your money and effort.
ReplyDeleteI could go on but then I'd have to charge you $100.00/hour :-)
Oh, I like that! I'll have to send you all my dreams that surprise me. ;-)
ReplyDeleteI have to tell you that such a place exists. You have almost perfectly described the Comcast Center (formerly the Tweeter Center/Great Woods) in Mansfield, MA. It's an outdoor venue on a slope.
ReplyDeleteWhen you enter, you walk up a gradual paved slope to get to your seats. The "seats" at the top of the hill consist of a sloped expanse of grass, followed by rows of uncovered seats. The rest of the seats are under a covered pavillion, but are at a pretty steep angle, similar to what you might see at a newer movie theatre, with the stage at the bottom.
The best parts are that it DOES have two large TV screens for viewing the action, that tickets cost a small fortune, and you leave thinking the exact same thing you thought in your dream: "I paid $xyz to watch... a TV screen?" Except in reality you're surrounded by people who think they can smoke cigarettes/pot just because they're outside, which might be worse than playing children.
That's amazing. There are plenty of venues with really high seats that you have climb to get to. Now that you mention it, I'm trying to remember whether the place where I saw Les Mis from the nosebleed seats had tv screens--but I don't think so. I just remember thinking that seeing little specs on the stage where I couldn't make out their faces at all wasn't something that I felt was worth what the tickets cost. At least there wasn't any illicit smoke.
ReplyDelete