12/8 Sunday, 7:30pm. One of my favorite musical groups is Seattle Men's Chorus (not their Women's Chorus). It's been awhile since I last heard them. Went to their annual holiday concert at Benaroya Hall, almost full house. I was mildly disappointed. Sure, a lot of fanfare. But not as funny as before. Dynamics is uniformly loud, no tender moments. Maybe this is the style of the new artistic director (not that new, 4th year in his reign). Another thing, begging for money is blunt and ostentatious. The concert itself is less than 2 hours, including a long intermission. 5 minutes were devoted to thanking financial sponsors. Total only about 10 songs.I have a problem of service fees. Their ticket includes a $3 service fee, $4 facility fee (charged by Benaroya Hall), and if you buy it from Benaroya Hall's website, you'll be charged another $11 fee. This is outrageous. Online ticketing saves handling and shipping, also saves hiring a person at box office. Other than the facility rental, why all the other fees? To offset the credit card fee? So the income is not reported to IRS?
