Banta Fodder

Day 3: Semifinals -- 8/8/08

Bro and I were so exhausted from the traveling and from yesterday's event that we both turned off our alarms and went back to sleep, completely missing breakfast. When we finally woke up, it was time for lunch, so we walked across the the cool walkway from the hotel to the mall, and decided to eat at Champps, since PF Chang's was too crowded. We decided to order dishes to go as well as eat in, so that we could keep food in the refrigerator for when we got home after the show. It turns out that we didn't really need to do so, since our lunch plates were quite large anyway. I had a tuna melt, which was tasty, and Bro had ... I don't remember, but it came with chips and onion straw things were on it. We ordered salmon and a quesadilla for dinner later on. We also did a little bit of shopping around to get something for the nephew, but Bro didn't like what he found, so never mind.

We took a bit of a different route to get to SR 37, which went through more of a residential area. Bro noticed that there were several graveyards. It doesn't even look like the number of houses matched the multitude of headstones in the area. Whatever, it was still a nice drive. We saw 3 signs for "Banta." Yesterday, I wondered if the big creatures from "Star Wars" were called Banta, then realized that they are "Bantha." So we guessed that those were probably not what the sign was pointing to. Can you imagine just all of a sudden seeing a bunch of those big creatures in the middle of Indiana? What was strange was that on the same route, we saw 3 different signs for Banta, all pointing East. We wondered about the place every time we passed one of the signs. So, if you're doing your math, that's 6 times a day, over 3 days: 18 times we wondered what the heck Banta was all about. One of the signs did say "Banta Rd" or something, but still, we wondered. Now that I'm home and can do research, it turns out that Banta is just some historical township in Indiana. Nothing that exciting. Bummer. I was thinking of exploring over there next year.

When we arrived at Indiana University, the parking dude directed me to park on the gravel lot...which would be fine if I was in a 4X4 and didn't have any closer place to park. No, there were plenty of spaces on paved road up ahead. Whatever.

Bro still didn't buy anything at the marketplace, but I did purchase a Hoosier martini glass for my IU souvenir. We saw a guy wearing a shirt stating "Drum Cors needs amps like Lindsay Lohan needs another drink." We laughed, and thought that it was too bad it didn't come in long sleeve shirts, because Bro could then get one, as he decided that it might get cold up in the higher seats. Our seats this time were more accessible via the second level, so we walked up the ramps to get up there. Lo and behold, there was a concessions stand selling Chick-fil-A! We weren't hungry due to our large lunches, but when I saw that Sweet Tea was on the menu, I had to point it out to an incredulous Bro, and we ordered a couple of them for ourselves. It's not Mickey D's, but it's still Sweet Tea!

Our seats were at about the 35 yard line, to the left of the 50. We had a VERY nice view, as we were about 25 rows up from the vomitories. Yes, you read that right. That's what they call the openings from the tunnels. Oh, and there's apparently a "Pass Out" area, according to Bro. I guess these midwesterners really like their college drunkenness. We were also at the top of our section, with no people behind us, unless you count those in the media-special-people booth, whom were in an enclosed, sheltered, froo froo place. I loved the fact that we could stand up and not have to worry about blocking anyone's view.

Today's top 12 corps advance to Finals, and are marked with a *.

Pacific Crest -- 79.65

Aww, their last performance. Great year, you guys! It's nice to see you from way up here, and at Semis! I also like being able to hear you from all the way up here, without everyone being individually mic'ed. Oh, and thanks for not talking/narrating!

Troopers -- 81.1

Oh, they're using their yellow handkerchiefs! (It's part of the Troopers traditional uniform). Likethe music bit of "I've Been Workin' On the Railroad" at the end.

It was not until I was humming later on that I realized they had played "Ghost Riders In The Sky," which made me miss my Country Bears. I wish that I could see this show again live. I really do like all that train stuff.

Spirit -- 83.175

They do lots of stuff in fours, just like SCV does lots of 3s. I like the blue shade of the drum shells. At one point, the cymbal players appear to be slicing off the heads of the bass drummers. You see? Violence.

One of the sponsors of Semis was WTHR13, and their meterologist told us that there was a very slight chance of showers tomorrow, but it probably wouldn't reach us in Bloomington.

Colts -- 85.175

I like the "Kiss Today Goodbye" bit at the beginning of the show. It's only about 4 notes, but it's really nice. Not as nice as that beautiful ballad, though! It must be nice to receive a standing ovation at the end of your ballad, especially when you still have plenty of your show left! It was just beautimus. I like the way the 2 circles traveling along the straight line down the field. I'm sad that I won't see this show tomorrow, because that ballad is just....gorgissimo. I then had to think if there were any other ballads that would be played tonight that I'd like as much as this one. Then I remembered BD and Phregiment and shut up.

Crossmen -- 85.95

Bones is here! Yay! I like the transition between "Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star" into "What A Wonderful World."

So now it's time for me to tell y'all about the food here. Yesterday, I bought a bag of Cracker Jack, and didn't get a single peanut though I ate about 3/4 of its contents. Finally, today, when I got to almost the bottom of the bag, there they were! My peanuts! I was much happier about my purchase today. Yesterday, also, I thought that the gal in front of us had a corn dog, and wondered where she obtained it, since I didn't see them for sale anywhere. I saw somebody else's today, and realized that it was actually a pickle...on a stick. (This needs to be said a la the Jalapeno On A Stick in Jeff Dunham's act, but he isn't here right now). We also marveled at the fact that they serve ribs here...in a paper cup. Yeah, the kind you can drink out of. So ... here they drink their ribs, and they poke their pickles. Oh, wait. That doesn't sound right.

Madison Scouts -- 86.375*

I love all of the danceable music. My camera batteries ran out at this most inopportune moment, so I'm glad they're coming back tomorrow. I didn't notice the CG guy being thrown up in the air yesterday, and today I was, like, "Whoa!" I like all of the little detailed moves that they do.

Glassmen -- 88.125*

Oh, look! They formed the shape of a balloon and its string! Cool! I think that I was so focused on whatever was in those chests yesterday that I didn't really think about the fact that at one point the CG portrays lion/leopard/tiger trainers. I don't know what I thought those whips (which looked like cat tails) were for.

Boston Crusaders -- 88.975*

CG did a great job. Nice horn action with those space sounds.

Blue Stars -- 90.575*

I really like this show. It has General Effect all over the place, especially with the formation of the cyclist, which moves, as it transforms into the arrow that the actual cyclist goes through. I also like the way the color guard moves during the percussion feature. The corps has new uniforms this year, which I didn't notice until today. Duh.

INTERMISSION

Dan Potter had a little intermission activity, called the "Zildjian Dash for the Crash." Two guys have a rifle each, pointed to the ground, with their foreheads on the handle, or whatever that part of the gun is called. They then run around the rifle three times to make themselves dizzy, do whatever they can to obtain a mallet that is 10 yards away, then run to the gong to make the crash and win the prize. It was funny to see how dizzy they were, and how one of them really fought to get the mallet out of the other guy's hand. Our side of the stadium was directed to cheer for one of the guys, whom happened to be the winner (and stealer). Silliness, but fun.

Blue Knights -- 89.7*

The Contras get to just blow their lowest note possible at the beginning, which is fun. I love that crescendo push! Lots of balletic moves in the color guard -- lots and lots of plies. I like that.

Bluecoats -- 92.8*

I like when the boxer punches at the drum block and, as an ensemble, they duck his moves. Drummers now hit punching bag poles, I guess. Hey -- that one boxer has a horn! At least these main characters actually do something with the rest of the corps, unlike a couple of other main characters we'll see later on. Now the dude playing the ref talks from the very beginning. Annoying addition to an otherwise very entertaining show.

SCV -- 93.625*

Cool! They formed three 3's! Neither one of us had ever seen that, since we had never seen their show from this high level. People were snapping and clapping like they were supposed to, and we yelled, "VANGUARD!" They are now placed squarely in 6th, so unless they REALLY clean up things, that's where they'll stay tomorrow.

As SCV was gathering up their equipment, the Cadets brought the eyesore of a stage onto the field. It seemed like there would be a standoff between the bass drums, which were playing their great cadence, and the behemoth of a prop. Man, I hate that thing. I would have loved to see them march right onto it, but SCV is far too classy for that.

The Stand-Off:

Cadets -- 95.45*

I thought I read somewhere that they form a happy face, which seems to wink at the audience. I didn't see it, though, and I was actually paying attention to the corps this time. There was a happy face on one of the flags. Is that it? Because that's lame. Like how the female CG jumped up while doing the splits and the CG guy caught her. You see? I DID watch. I just don't want to watch it anymore.

Carolina Crown -- 96.7*

Fun stuff at the point where the two CG gals are trying to upstage each other mid-field. I like the contra ensemble's mini-solo. Cool tympani solo, too. If you don't know this show, you wouldn't be able to tell when it ends, because it just KEEPS ON ending! Love it.

Phregiment -- 97.675*

The violence never stops. There wasn't any fanfare when they marched onto the field today, though. I don't know what happened. But no worries. There was still major awesomeness.

Cavaliers -- 97.55*

Jump again! That's just too much fun. The marimbas went all nuts! I don't remember that from last night, but wow. Oh, and YAY!!!! TAIKO!!!!!

Blue Devils -- 98.05*

Hey -- they form a star that matches the poles on the field, too! Not just the stick man. No wonder they're getting such good visual scores.

Before the last 3 scores were announced, Dan Potter introduced the DCI Hall of Fame winners of the year: Dan Acheson (current president of DCI), James Campbell (developer of Cavaliers' percussion program in the 90's), Rick O'Donnell (BD percussion director and arranger, whom currently heads BD-B & BD-C), and Greg Orwoll (Exec Director of the Colts).

I&E and Scholarship winners were also announced. Of course, the SCV cymbal line had shaved their heads in solidarity again this year.

Then came the Cavaliers Alumni Corps, celebrating the corps' 60th anniversary. They called themselves "Cavaliers Anniversary Corps 888." Their warm-up was the corps anthem, "Somewhere Over the Rainbow." Then they yelled, "SPLOOIEEEEEE!" and started their program.

Repertoire (I think): Fallen; Battle Hymn of the Republic; Sing! Sing! Sing!; some overture-medley thing -- wherein the color guard raised one of them over their shoulders from one side to the other, a la the "Machine" show, and then the corps formed the "S" curve from this year's show; Jupiter; Korean Folk Song Suite; Once Upon A Time; Somewhere Over the Rainbow/Somewhere Out There; Softly As I Leave You, and Mars.

It was cool to see their old uniforms, and to see the traditional Cavalier stance.

Then Mr. Potter announced the last 3 scores, just by stating the numbers at first. One by one, he told us which corps each score belonged to, and the Phreg fans were overjoyed that they had jumped the Cavaliers. It is my theory that Phregiment's show is just way too difficult to follow, due to all of the drama, and Phreg is pretty much killing its way to victory, one corps at a time. I hope, I hope, I hope!!!

They then had the Age-Out ceremony. I felt sorry for this year's age-outs, because they didn't get to see their names scrolled across the stadium, like the ones in Foxboro and Denver. Heck, even in Pasadena, they showed their names on the screen. Of course, they may have done that on the ONE big screen at Memorial Stadium, but Bro and I were tired and craving the food in our refrigerator, so we left before any of that happened. We did see that the 3 Velvet Knights Age-Outs brought their lawn chairs, synchronized the clapping them open & closed, then sat down and enjoyed the festivities.

We also celebrated the big anniversaries for the corps: Cavaliers' 60th, Troopers' 50th, Blue Knights' 50th, and Madison Scouts' 70th. We all sang Happy 80th Birthday to Don Warren of the Cavaliers. Dan also pointed out two of the dedicated corps members: the Bluecoats dude who pulled a muscle but still made it to the AO ceremony, and a dude from Phregiment, whom had been in the corps for 7 years, and this was his last one.

Our drive home seemed slower than last night, probably because I wasn't munching on french fries this time, and was looking forward to my dinner. It was pretty good, btw. Bro and I went to sleep, knowing that we'd really need to wake up for breakfast this time, since Saturday would be a very full drum corps day...somewhere in the same state as "Banta."

Next: FINALS