Don't forget TBPAC in your Best of the Bay voting!

Now you can just call me a double-shill. After my shameless campaigning a few weeks back for TBPAC's resident theater company, Jobsite Theater, and their performers - I'm now going to hit you with a few other ways you can help vote TBPAC the Best of the Bay in different ways.

Best Concert Venue:

• Jaeb Theater - anyone who's been to any of the Club Jaeb shows in this intimate, acoustically perfect 268-seat venue best know for cabaret shows can tell you this is the best place to see some of the nation's best and brightest as well as upcoming singer-songwriters.
• Ferguson Hall - This 1,042 seat hall may be often overlooked for her big sister, but there's no denying that it's a great venue to hear live music. Be it the Florida Orchestra in front of the well-engineered stage shell or the elaborate setting that Erasure had earlier this month, you're bound to have a have a great seats and hear every note.
  
• Carol Morsani Hall - talk about acoustic perfection, this 2,600 seat hall was specifically designed for Grand Opera. You're not likely to find a better true concert hall in the region. Morsani is also the 4th most-attended venue of its size in the whole world!

Best concert of the past 12 months

• I'm not even sure as to where I should begin on this one. We've had so many!!! You could take your pick of any of this season's Club Jaeb shows - or choose from Earth, Wind & Fire, Godsmack, Bright Eyes, The 5 Browns, Four Bitchin' Babes, Altan, Julio Iglesias, Preservation Hall Jazz Band, String Cheese Incident, Nick Lachey, India.Arie, Deborah Voigt, Ba Cissoko, Kathy Mattea, CeCe Winans, Gipsy Kings, Gilberto Gil, Ladysmith Black Mambazo - and I'm positive I've missed some. Leave me a comment with any I've overlooked!

Best place to to take out of town guests

I'll admit I've always thought about this award going to an area (Ybor, a beach) rather than a specific place, but thinking on it there is no reason TBPAC should not be a consideration here. When you look at the sheer volume of truly world-class entertainment that comes through this building on a daily basis, and especially when you look at some of the truly incredible shows coming next year (most of which as still unannounced as of now), this place is really something to show off. It'll be the only place in Florida to see the mega-hit Jersey Boys, we have Radio City Christmas Spectacular and The Lion King coming back, opera diva Kiri Te Kanawa and so much more.

So what are you waiting for - get to voting!

Vote in Creative Loafing's 2007 Best of the Bay Awards!

Creative Loafing, Tampa's hip and funny alternative weekly is now taking ballots for their 2007 Best of the Bay Awards.

The categories cover just about everything you could imagine in this great area of ours. You might notice that the first three categories are Best Theater Troupe, Best Actor and Best Actress. Well, I'm absolutely shameless enough to do my best to twist your arm and beg for votes for Jobsite Theater, TBPAC's resident theater company. At least I'm being up front about the shilling, right? And after all, you're grown-ups and can make up your own minds. I'm clearly not trying to trick anyone. Just maybe nudge a little firmly ...

So, that said, please consider voting for Jobsite Theater as Best Theater Troupe. Best Actor and Best Actress gets a little hairier, it's certainly not so clear cut as just saying "Vote Jobsite!" You could consider almost any of the four lead men from The Pillowman, the trio of performers from This is How it Goes, any number of the cast of The March of the Kitefliers or Woman in Mind. Steve Garland, Matt Lunsford, Ryan McCarthy, Paul Potenza - all these men surely warrant some consideration. So does Ami Sallee Corley for her performance in Woman in Mind.

Jobsite was lucky enough to take home a stack of these things last year: Best Theater Company, Best Play, Best Actor and Best Artistic Direction.

Or maybe you have thoughts all your own. It doesn't really matter, so long as you get out and vote!

A few other things to note: CreLo really hopes you decide to think about true local businesses over chains (like no Taco Bell for Best Mexican!) and you must vote in at least 35 categories for your ballot to be counted. And no ballot stuffing! They're smarter than you think!

(Here comes the big-ol' disclaimer: as editor of this blog it should probably be pointed out that I am also the producing artistic director of Jobsite, and I am working HARD at getting people to vote for Jobsite over just about every medium I have available to me. It's ok though, the paper is all for this sort of behavior. Now let's hope my boss is.)