Performers this weekend: Justin G, Smackdarts, Lode, Angelbrite and Surefire (tonight at 8); Serial Pop, High Dials and Dayliner (tomorrow, starting at 9 30 p.m). NOCA, 310 Spring Street, (646) 646-8520.
One musical number that received the show's highest dial score — 80 out of a possible 100 — was "A Trip to the Grand," which delivered ballroom choreography and lavish period costumes, the sort of big production number that musical traditionalists love.
"In making a high-quality dial, there is a 60 percent risk of defect," Mr. Journe said.
So go ahead and bone up on the story lines, like those detailed here on Yahoo.com, and ponder why The Washington Post's Andrew Beyer is talking up Shackleford, why The Louisville Courier-Journal's Rick Bozich writes to watch out for Calvin Borel on a 20-1 shot, why Nick Zito is high on Dialed In, and why Mucho Macho Man's owner, Dean Reeves, feels like the happiest guy in the world.
According to an Office of Fair Trading study the more sophisticated traders use "high-speed dialling equipment and other methods" to get tickets before ordinary customers.
"In the next six months and for the next two to three years, high-quality dials will be a rarity on the market," Mr. Journe said.
Les Cadraniers, also based in Geneva, has 18 employees and specializes in making high-end dials in composite materials and a variety of colors.
According to the attorney general's office, methods used by illegal brokers range from sending "diggers" to stand in line at the box office to using high-speed dialing equipment and other tactics for increasing their chances of getting through by telephone to buying tickets from fans and sending in numerous mail-order forms under different names.
The company is known for its high-quality dials (such as the Fleurier Miniature Painting models), engraving, and its seven-day tourbillon.
