John Ashley is asking for another chance. The owner of Ashley's Oyster Bar left fans hanging last month when they came to see an Alexander O'Neal/Cherrelle concert at his restaurant on Anderson Road. Patrons, including me, waited up to four hours only to discover the show would not go on.
Now Ashley says O'Neal has agreed to perform this Friday. Fans who did not get a refund can see the show for free, and those who did not attend can pay $15 to see the '80s R&B star.
Cherrelle won't be there, but credit Ashley for trying to make amends. The problem with his first attempt was an all-inclusive $20 charge that included the choice of a steak or seafood dinner. The restaurant did not want to start the concert until everyone was served, but by the time everyone got a meal it was after 1 a.m. and too late, in Ashley's opinion, to start the show.
This time, patrons will have the option of ordering finger food such as chicken wings, and the concert is set to begin at 10:30 p.m. Local groups will perform earlier in the evening.
In an effort to atone, Ashley gave a free party for customers at his restaurant last weekend. He also has former Shalimar lead singer Howard Hewett and Lakeside scheduled for concerts later in the summer.
Clearly, he's not giving up.
"We've done concerts before and sometimes things happen, but we want to make sure the public gets what it pays for," Ashley said. "We're going to be the premiere place to be at in Tampa and I will make a success out of it."
The potential I saw for a great night and my desire to see some of my favorites from the '80s makes me want to give Ashley's another shot. It remains to be seen how many others are willing to be as generous with their time and money.
Few can rival Mayor Pam Iorio's knowledge of the city and the county - she is, after all, a former county commissioner and elections supervisor and a lifelong resident. And former Mayor Dick Greco is so well-known for his city tours I'm surprised he didn't start his own business.
But I'm not sure even those two can rival Tampa film commissioner Edie Emerald when it comes to knowing the city. Emerald, who played a key role in luring Artisan Entertainment to town for this summer's production of The Punisher, has to showcase the city's diversity.
"I know every single alley, every single rooftop because I don't show palm trees and stuff," Emerald said after Tuesday's announcement that Artisan would spend millions in Tampa for the latest conversion of a Marvel comic into a full-length film.
"I show jungles, swamps. In this case, vacant and abandoned buildings they can implode. I know a lot of weird things."
The new name for our primary cable provider is Bright House, but they apparently want to keep you in the dark about the ongoing debate over President Bush's proposed tax cuts.
A commercial produced for MoveOn.org, an online political activist group, dramatizes their view that the tax cuts primarily benefit the rich by re-enacting a scene from Oregon in which parents sold plasma to pay for a teacher's salary. Censor House, I mean Bright House, is not running the ad after MoveOn did not respond to its request for script changes, according to an Associated Press report.
The commercial is airing in Orlando and Miami, as well as in 23 markets around the nation.
Regardless of where you fall on the issue, both sides deserve the chance to air their opinions. And before you label MoveOn as a bunch of radical know-nothings, consider this: Congressman Jim Davis said just this week that 72 percent of Bush's tax cut will go to the top 5 percent of the nation's taxpayers.
I guess Bright House won't air any of his views either.
