I enjoyed reading the Feb. 4 front-page story about that popular Tijuana-Tecate tourist train. One of the accompanying photos had a saxophone player regaling the engers along the way.
What I noticed about that picture was the fact that no one seemed to be paying any attention to that musician.
Instead, they were either chatting, reading, or gazing out the window.
I felt bad for the poor guy, because if you’re an entertainer, there’s nothing worse than being ignored by your audience.
I counted 31 engers in that car, and 30 out of the 31 were otherwise engaged.
It’s possible, one enger (seated at the musician’s left) might have been showing interest, however, she’s wearing sunglasses so it’s difficult to determine whether she’s listening, daydreaming, sleeping or deceased.
My sense is that the engers would have been more attentive had they paid for the performance.
It’s a theory that s an experiment done back in 2007 when The Washington Post, together with famed violinist Joshua Bell, conducted a study inside a train station where the artist had surreptitiously played a number of famous works on his $3.5 million violin.
He sought donations, but after 45 minutes of stellar performance by one of the most celebrated artists on the planet, he amassed a total of $32.
If you missed him at the train station, Bell will be performing at the California Center for the Arts, Escondido, in May.
Regrettably, it’s going to cost you more than just a simple gratuity.
I’ve had the pleasure of entertaining folks myself when I presented several one-man comedy shows at that very same Escondido venue. I’m proud to report, each appearance was performed in front of a sold-out audience.
One wonders if I would have had the same success had there been no charge for ission.
I once appeared there at the very same time Mikhail Baryshnikov performed at their other theater next door. It meant audiences had a choice between seeing the famous dancer or me. I felt so indebted to those who chose to come to my show, I prevailed upon my son to perform a pas de deux with me.
To this day, I enjoy telling folks how that happy horde preferred to see me dance in lieu of Baryshnikov.
But back to that theory about correlating the cost of a ticket to anticipated attendance, I recall when I was asked to waive my fee to entertain at a local retirement center. It turned out to be a very sparse crowd. A few, I’m fairly certain, were actually asleep.
I’m convinced, had I charged folks for that performance, I would have had a larger, fully conscious crowd.
Of course notoriety has also a lot to do with ensuing attendance. No doubt Joshua Bell’s production at that train station would have been received very differently had people known who the guy playing that 300-year-old Stradivarius was.
Yet there he was at that train station, offering just as magnificent a performance as when he plays at Carnegie Hall.
Yet another example of how price promotes pull was when my brother, who’s a gourmet cook and enjoys sampling the creations of some of the most celebrated chefs in the world, flew to Napa Valley from New York just to dine at the renowned Michelin three-star restaurant called the French Laundry. It’s where Thomas Keller is the celebrated chef and you can opt to have their $850 per-person dinner.
My brother reported that he had a fabulous meal there and suggests it was a titanic improvement over the drive-thru dives I tend to frequent.
More evidence suggesting the higher the charge, the greater the appeal, although I’m not certain that’s always a reliable standard.
I’m planning to take a poll asking diners which they would prefer, a gourmet meal at a famous three-star restaurant for $850, or returning for a cheeseburger to their favorite fast-food t 300 times.
My brother says he can’t understand why I don’t hold the same high standards he demands when it comes to cuisine.
“If I were living in sunny California like you,” he decried, “I’d not only have a vegetable garden, but my own cows so I could have fresh milk, churn my own butter, and even enjoy a nice filet mignon or rib eye whenever I so choose.”
I reported we did have a couple of tomato plants, but wasn’t sure if the homeowners association would be OK with cattle.
Erdos is a freelance humor columnist. him at [email protected].
