7: If it's free, take three

One of the advantages of working in the publishing industry is that now and then, free stuff comes along. Free stuff rocks.

When I worked at Chatelaine magazine for a few years back in the late 80s, there was a big counter right outside the production department, in which I worked, where editors who received promo copies of things would put said things if they didn't want to keep them. Because of that, I had one of the best recipe book collections west of Toronto, never had to buy pantyhose, and had makeup and faux jewellery coming out the ying yang. Those were the days.

These days, working at a newspaper, the freebies tend toward books, every one of which has a word like leadership, management or change in the title. Not that exciting. But now and then something a little more special comes along, thanks to deals with local entertainment venues. And tonight, I was one of the beneficiaries of such a freebie... two tickets to see Il Divo at Scotiabank Place.

I hadn't really heard of Il Divo before those tickets became available. I didn't even bother to google them till this morning, just so I'd have an idea what to expect. Okay. Kind of a fusion of pop and opera, with four guys I quickly nicknamed a boy band for cougars. I do confess that one of them...the one who looked a bit like Dean Martin, caught my eye immediately.

When the show started this evening, it became evident right away that the guy I liked, purely on the merit of his looks, Carlos the Spaniard, was the crowd favourite. A swarthy, black-haired, grinning charmer, who was actually the recipient of a pair of panties tossed on the stage. I never thought I'd see that in my life. Not only was he so charismatic that the audience practically crackled every time the spotlight was on him, he truly had the most magnificent voice of the four members of the band. A powerful baritone that just stole the show every time he opened his mouth.

Sexy Spaniards aside, the show was phenomenal. WAY better than I expected, and I enjoyed every moment. I'm not going to run out and buy one of their CDs, but I sure will perk up if I should ever see them again.

So, thanks to my company for making it possible for me to see this, and several other great productions over the years. For someone whose main source of entertainment comes through a screen of some kind, getting to see live productions now and then is really special. There's no comparison.