Thanks
2.8 does work fine. Stage lighting is actually very bright and if there is backlighting (scrims, etc.) your camera exposes well. I also turn down color saturation and depending on how bright the hot lights are I've taken the exposure down a notch so the whites and silvers don't get blown out.
Its mostly an issue with IQ of the 24-70 and I wanted to hear what others have to say about other lenses in that range (more the 30-35 range) under these conditions. Since mostly what I shoot is dance sometimes I need to get wide shots so the choreography can be seen in whole. The 70-200 gets amazing shots (and focuses fast), esp in the 135-150 range but you can't get full stage shots without moving far back from the stage.