What's the point?

Over the years there have been more and more seating only music venues, fewer and fewer with an open floor for dancing.  I am not talking about night clubs, but places where headliners go to play.  And more and more I am starting to think, why bother?

Now there are many acts where I would be happy with theater type seating.  I saw Jewel that way.  I would enjoy seeing James Taylor or Shawn Colvin that way too.  But Bonnie Raitt, Frank Turner, the Rolling Stones?  Are you kidding?

I am not saying that rock and roll concerts should have no seats.  Most of the people will want to sit down at least some of the time.  And some of the people really want to see the show but can't stand up for long periods of time, if at all.  We rock and rollers are getting old.  But standing in a skinny isle in front of your seat doesn't quite cut it.

A local venue, the Uptown Theater in Napa has booked the Beach Boys (or some remnant of the Beach Boys anyway).  It is strictly theater seating, there is no dance floor at all.  Who goes to see the Beach Boys with their hands folded neatly in their lap?

I have not been, only seen the layout on their website.  And I am sure it is a wonderful venue to listen to a singer/songwriter play their heart out and wring tears from your eye with heartfelt lyrics.  If James Taylor were to play there, I would love to go see him.  But a rock and roll show?  I will have to pass.
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Not the same thing

I have to preface this with a confession. I am a Grammar Nazi. Errors in grammar and usage committed by OTHER PEOPLE make my skin crawl, and I have to bite my tongue to not correct them. I have much more tolerance for my own mistakes.

The other day my wife and I went out for breakfast. Our server was excellent. He didn't disappear for long periods of time, When we asked for something, it was quickly delivered. It was good service and he earned the good tip we gave him.

More than once we asked for something, and his response was "No problem." While that would not be my choice of words it certainly did not cause the aforementioned skin crawling. In that instance it is just a substitute for 'Yes'.

However, when he would deliver something to the table, refill our coffee or water, and one of us would say "Thank you", his response was the same, "No problem".   "No problem" is not the same as "You're welcome".

Petty? Of course it is, and yes I am an old fart.   I was not particularly polite as a young man but I have grown to appreciate certain niceties that grease the wheels of society. Among those are "please", "thank you" and "you're welcome".  While "no problem" could be an acceptable answer to the question "May I have another cup of coffee?", it is not a response to "thank you".

This concludes my petty peeve for the day.

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