DCI West
Stanford Stadium -- Palo Alto, CA
Saturday, June 22, 2013
It's Drum Corps Time!!! Bro had already seen the first show of the season in Mesa, AZ, so he was already one show ahead of me, as usual. I decided to join him on his Northern California trip this year, because Santa Clara Vanguard will not be coming to So Cal. I couldn't possibly wait until August to see SCV, especially when their show this year happens to be my favorite musical EVER.
Bro and V picked me up and we drove up north as we caught up on lots of stuff. At one point, we needed a pit stop, so after getting gas, we went to a Jack In The Box drive thru, with V driving. Bro told V that he wanted a Sausage, Egg and Cheese Biscuit, which is a long order in itself. Then they told her that they were out of sausage. What?! So then Bro realized that he didn't want that anyway because he didn't want a biscuit. So he ordered a Junior Bacon Cheeseburger, which also had a lot of syllables. V had lost it by this time, and was laughing so much that she couldn't finish the order. We had a group giggle fit for at least 2 minutes until she could finally get the words out of her mouth between giggles. V doesn't know how the woman got her order right, but my theory is that they must get a lot of people that are high that go to the drive thru.
We had lunch in Gilroy at L&L Barbecue, then headed to our hotel in Burlingame. Either Bro didn't understand the lady, or she told him the wrong room number. Then V heard her wrong, and thought we were going to the wrong floor. So Bro, with the wrong room number, tried to unlock someone else's room. Don't you hate it when someone else is in their own room? We got our stuff ready and headed to downtown Palo Alto for dessert at Cream. Ooh, yummy! I had a freshly baked peanut butter cookie ice cream sandwich with salted caramel ice cream. I was happy. We then went to Stanford University and parked on tree bits. I don't know why they don't just pave that area, but whatevs. Bro had a rally towel that he said helped keep his pants on. V asked if he wanted his "loin cloth hand towel". You will be reading this phrase a few times this summer, as I have assigned it to many uniforms with something hanging from the waist.
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| Smile! You're at Stanford! |
We checked out the souvenir booths and then walked around to see some warm-ups, but weren't really intrigued by anyway, so we decided to go into the stadium. Before we got inside, I saw my friend Edgar. He went to college with me and we lived in the same dorm. He introduced me to his friends Russ and Chris, and we all talked about how we got interested in drum corps. Then the guys wanted to do some souvie shopping, and we went inside the stadium.
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| Sher & Edg |
The Jim Ott Ensemble provided opening music. I wondered why the judges were holding instruments, because the ensemble members were wearing green shirts and khaki shorts. Their program, Music of a Bygone Era In Drum Corps, included "Georgia On My Mind", "Eleanor Rigby", "Rainy Days and Mondays" and "Popeye the Sailor Man".
The Star-Spangeld Banner was played by David Reever of the Blue Devils. Ooh, I like that we get to hear our anthem performed live!
SANTA CLARA VANGUARD CADETS
Repertoire: "The Art of War" -- Act I: "Under the Breach": Unto the Breach by K. Poulan, Night on Bald Mountain by M. Moussorgsky; Act II: "In Stillness": Elegy for Dunkirk by D. Marianelli (from the motion picture "Atonement"); Act III: "Summon the Blood": Hut of the Baby Yaga by M. Mussorgsky (from Pictures at an Exhibition); Act IV: "The Quality of Mercy": Adagio for Strings by S. Barber and The Promise of Living by A. Copland (from the opera, The Tender Land)
I like the sparkle in their uniforms. Are those drums purple? LIKE. Wait, are those the ones from last year? (Bro said no). They need to watch their lines and straighten them out. They could use more energy during "Night on Bald Mountain". I like how the color guard (CG) is in character as soon as they enter the stadium. The percussion feature was a little bit quiet, but good. They did a stand still for their last piece.
BLUE DEVILS B
Repertoire: "Warped" -- The Legend of Alcobaca by J. Sochinski; Bizzaro by M. Daugherty; Serenada Schizophrana by D. Elfman; Original Music by J. Meehan, D. Glyde & B. Dinkel
Ooh, hypnotic umbrellas! Those are the flags from the BD-A corps mirror show. Those other flags are from BD-A's Bacharach show. Nice, big sound. The percussion feature was loud and powerful. They also did a standstill for their last piece, while the color guard picked up their equipment. That was weird. It sounds like the ending of the show will kick ass with that music, though. Since there was no real movement to watch, I watched the reflection of the cardinal-colored seats flicker on the drum heads.
BLUE DEVILS C
Repertoire: "Route 66" -- Route 66 by B. Troup; Carwash by N. Whitfield; Greased Lightnin' by W. Casey & J. Jacobs; I Can't Drive 55 by S. Hagar
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| Go, Greased Lightnin'! |
I haven't seen this corps in quite a while. The people that I last saw have probably all aged out, it's been so long. I like the car washing. The smallest drum is REALLY small! Go, Greased Lightnin'! The audience giggled at the pelvic thrusts. I like how they toss their sabres at each other at a distance of only 10 feet.
INTERMISSION
I saw Russ and Chris and talked to them about the show so far. We agreed that BD-B was doing the best job so far.
MANDARINS
Repertoire: "DESTINATION AMERICA: Journey of the Paper Sons" -- The Promise of a Better Life; Journey to America; Interrogation; Freedom (all pieces composed by K. Poulan)
When they brought the screens out, I thought that maybe their show was "Soarin' Over California". Then Brandt Crocker (Brandt is HERE!) announced the show title, and I realized that one of the screens is of the Great Wall of China. That's not in the Soarin' video. But the screens are very pretty. It's nice to see the Mandarins share their heritage with us again. I don't like narration in general, but in this show, it adds to the show's story. I like the dragon flags, especially the tube-like one. I also like the dragon tail thing that the horn players use during the drum feature. I like the progression of the mother's tears depicted by the blue flags, which turn into the ocean while the corps forms a ship above them. They have question marks on their flags during the interrogation. V kept wanting the narrator to be George Takei, because it sounded like him. Well, maybe it IS him!
PACIFIC CREST
Repertoire: "Transfixed" -- Fix A Heart by D. Lovato ; Instinctive Travels by M. Markowski ; Drum Music by J. Mackey
I thought that the formation on the left at the beginning of the show was a piano. Then I saw the kinda heart on the right side, and realized that they must both be hearts. I like the purple flags with the gold hearts. The striped flags made me think of Fruit Stripe gum. Do they still make that? Nice brass sound. The percussion sounds good, too. No color guard uniforms yet. The holes are noticeable in the block formations. During the final piece, there are 2 women mirroring each other's dancing as the other CG members dance as boy/girl couples. So are the 2 women a couple, or are they twins, or part of the same heart? They faked out the audience at the end, and even Brandt was faked out. "Let's try this again: Ladies and Gentlemen, Pacific Crest!"
BLUE KNIGHTS
Repertoire: "No Beginning No End" -- The Bitter Earth by C. Otis; Circle One by J. Bocock; First Circle by P. Metheny
The color guard is shiny, and they have a stage. They start with people lying down and making a circle. All I understood from the beginning narration was the last word, "circles". The show is musically very nice, especially their dynamics. I don't like the talking, though. Nice set of big transforming formations in a circle. They have skirts that are black underneath, and they lift them up for the circle theme. All I could think of was "Look under my skirt!" The show is not finished yet; the ending was too abrupt.
CAROLINA CROWN
Repertoire: "E=mc2" -- Einstein on the Beach by P. Glass; Also Sprach Zarathustra by R. Strauss; Walking With Heroes by P. Lovatt-Cooper; The Devil's Bridge by B. Moren; The Abyss by A. Silvestri; The Light Fantastic by P. Lovatt-Cooper; The Dark Side of the Moon by P. Lovatt-Cooper
I am not feeling these new corps uniforms, guys. I kinda like the CG uniforms, though, but that's probably because they're not the corps uniforms. They make a formation of the show title. Ooh, Space Odyssey! That's a lot of tympani and bass drums. After all of the rolling around of that bass drum, did that CG guy actually ever play it? Incredible brass technique, beautiful scale runs up and down and up and down and up and down again. Very cool. I really could have done without all of that narration. I know it makes people understand the show more, but I was rolling my eyes by the end, and I really like the rest of the show. Was there a crown? Did I miss it? Standing ovation from those around us.
SANTA CLARA VANGUARD
Repertoire: "Les Miserables" -- Look Down, At the End of the Day, On My Own, Castle on a Cloud, One Day More, I Dreamed a Dream, Attack on Rue Plummet, Red and Black, Bring Him Home, Do You Hear the People Sing? (All from Les Misèrables) by Claude-Michel Schönberg w/lyrics by Alain Boublil and Jean-Marc Natel (French lyrics) & Herbert Kretzmer (English adaptation)
I've been eagerly anticipating this show ever since it was announced several months ago. I mean, come on! My favorite drum corps performing my favorite musical?! I saw their uniforms online the week before, and I already knew that I would not be disappointed. Their uniforms were the most beautiful of the evening. When they got on the field, I got excited. Then when they played the first notes of "Look Down", the tears started welling up in my eyes. They never stopped tearing as I heard each song played. I'm tearing up now as I type this, that's how powerful the emotions are that are brought forth. Bro and V told me later that they had the same reaction. The musical arrangements are beautifully done. "The End of the Day" is so awesome, and they even incorporated "One Day More" at the same pace, which really sounded cool. I can't believe that they so prominently showcased "Attack on Rue Plummet", because nobody ever does that song when they play Les Miz medleys. Wow. They do a formation of the word "VAN" and the CG is next to them in a circle. Get it? "Van-Guard"! Fleur de Lis flags! YAY! Nice French-ish flag at the end. The show is not done yet. I'm going to be bawling at Finals. Standing ovation, and not just from me.
BLUE DEVILS
Repertoire: "The re:Rite of Spring" -- The Rite of Spring by I. Stravinsky; The Re-Write of Spring by D. Brenzel & D. Sebesky
Oh, look. Lots of props/poles. Will there be pole dancing? This is a jazzy version of Rite of Spring, which is celebrating the 100th anniversary of its premiere. Great sound! Are they supposed to be birds? They have big plumes with a long pheasant feather, and their heads bob up and down like birds. Is she dead? Nice effect with the white arcs. They have a duet of muted sops on mic. OK. Then a sop solo on mic. Why? Then the ending sop solo has NO MIC. I heard him just fine. Whatevs. Red balls. Hoops (AGAIN). So why do they need all of those poles? Horn dude almost fell down when they were all running around as a group on the left side of the field. Where's their big standing O? Uh-oh. Isn't this their home show?
Encore
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| Crown Encore |
- Some circus-sounding song
- Some other song I thought I'd know, but didn't
- Get On Your Feet (no one did)
- Show
It turns out that I wasn't sure if it was last year's or this year's show because I couldn't recognize it fully without the narration/counting. According to Bro, it was part of this year's show. I do enjoy that music.
SCORES
Open Class:
3) 43.9 -- Blue Devils C
2) 60.45 -- Santa Clara Vanguard Cadets
1) 61.15 -- Blue Devils B
World Class:
6) 59.7 -- Mandarins
5) 62.35 -- Pacific Crest
4) 69.05 -- Blue Knights
3) 72.6 -- Santa Clara Vanguard (lady behind us a few rows back said, "Oh, the judges. Shame on you!")
2) 75.45 -- Carolina Crown (followed by much discussion in the audience)
1) 76.15 -- Blue Devils (followed by booing)
Really? Booing one of the hosts of the show? Aren't we on BD turf? I don't get it at all. I kind of expect it at Finals because they're such prominent winners, but I can't believe that it happened in Northern California. Bro said that this always happens at Stanford, and he's never understood it either. I mean, there is no denying their talent. Perhaps people don't like the show (which isn't as crazy as Dada was, but still out there). But their achievement is outstanding.
We didn't get a chance to see Edgar and his friends before we left, because we were tired and just wanted to get something to eat. Most of the town businesses had closed down, but we found a Denny's and had breakfast. When we got back to the hotel, V got her stuff ready because she'd be leaving in 4 hours to catch a flight. We were all very tired from the long drive. The beds are "self-adjusting". Bro didn't understand, so I told him that it means that you adjust them yourSELF. I'm crazy.
Next up: Sacramento
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