Fell In, I Did

Corps at the Crest - Los Angeles

Citrus College Stadium

Saturday, June 28, 2014

Glendora, CA

Today was Bro's official move-in day, so we got a tiny bit of a late start.  We got to Citrus, and the directions told us to go to Gate 56.  Um, there are no numbers on the fences.  So we went into the first driveway, which had a sign that said "Spectator Parking".  As Bro was about to park the car, a volunteer walked up and informed us that it was VIP parking only.  Perhaps he should be telling that to you AT the gate.  Or maybe have a sign that says "VIP ONLY".  He told us that we should use either the 2nd or 3rd gate.  The 2nd gate was for disabled people.  So we went to the 3rd gate, which had no sign whatsoever.  OK then.  I know that the Corps at the Crest folks are used to dealing with Mt. SAC, but really, is a sign or 2 too much to ask for?  Craziness.  So we followed people to the entrance (again, no signs), and went to the marketplace, which was quite crowded.  

We got in line to enter the stadium (miraculously, we were on time or at least we were there before the show started), but it was taking too long for people to get in, and they stopped people from entering before the first corps started playing.  So we decided not to stand in the line for nothing.  I bought a tour shirt from the Crossmen, asking them, "What is wrong with people?  Don't they know that you came a long way?  Why are there no people here?"  They said, "Right?!"  The guy said, "What size?"  I said, "How's the medium?", realized what I was saying, and elaborated with, "How is it feeling today?"  They laughed.  It may have been a courtesy laugh, but I was about to give them my money, so they had to be nice to the crazy lady, I guess.  We then got in line again, and still didn't get in for the second corps. Instead, we watched through the slats that were covering the fence.

Again, no Star-Spangled Banner.  What the heck?

WATCHMEN

Could really only hear their drums while we were in the marketplace, so I guess their horns weren't as strong as they sounded to us yesterday.  Yesterday, though, we were up against the wall, so that probably helped the sound, and it was probably also helped by the stadium being smaller.  Citrus stands are high.

GOLDEN EMPIRE

We watched them through the fence slats, and I wasn't really paying attention much because of that.  The intonation didn't sound as good as the previous day, though.  

Finally, we got to sit in our seats (after I kicked out some of the City Sound staff), which were on the left 40, Section C, Row V, Seats 29-34.  Nice and high, so we could see the formations better than the day before.

INCOGNITO

The color guard uniforms are incognito.  I wonder if they'll get them by the end of the season, which is 2 weeks away.  I forgot to write yesterday that Bro thinks that horn players should not play while lying down on the field....unless you're Crown, whom can play any way the hell they want because, well, they CAN.  So today I got a picture of I's horns laying down on the job.

<Intermission>

Glenn's here now!  He asked what was the deal with the pre-show.  I told him that the show started at 5:30.  He had a confused look on his face.  I told him that my email and the attached document both stated that the new start time is 5:30, contrary to what was shown on the ticket.  Oh.  We all complained about the lack of signage and proper crowd control.  June also arrived, but her companions were still in the marketplace getting food and such.  All I cared about was that they wouldn't miss Vanguard, because their friend marches with them.

CITY SOUND

The marimbas have some hip action going on, and they do a little bit of shoulder shimmy during the dance-y part of their show.  The horns were a lot better today for the first few songs, especially when they were all on the stage.  The duet was much improved, too.

City Sound

OMG, SCV is already putting their set pieces on the sidelines, and they don't have to play for another 3 hours.  There's just so much of it that they need the head start.  Ben and Dene finally joined us at this point, I think.  Hi, guys!

IMPULSE

Bro got all excited about the man in the bright yellow pants.  He needs to find out where the guy got those so he can give them to his best friend.  Their opener sounded a lot better today, but the rest of the tuning still needs work.  I told June that this is the corps with whom Justin used to play.  She said that must be why the uniforms look so familiar, because she's seen his pictures.

Impulse

Those yard markers are sad and floppy.  Same ones as last year.  Same sadness.   

GOLD

I asked Bro what I liked about this show, because I couldn't remember.  Neither could he.  Really, I could have just read my notes, but I think I was more looking for an answer regarding formations, since we had a good view.  Oh, yeah, the apparata.  They sounded good again today.  Also:  tuba lost his plume.  AGAIN.  I don't know if it was the same player, but perhaps they need to consider berets or something that doesn't involve a plume getting hit by your instrument on a constant basis.

Gold Xs and Os

THE ACADEMY

Bro said that the big orange flag is his favorite part because he knows how much I hate it.  Well, it wasn't there today.  I plead the 5th on whether or not I stole it and kept it in my house so that it couldn't be used in the show.  After she saw the awesome marimba portion, June said that it was like watching cartoons.  Yeah, Bugs Bunny!  I don't think he's English, though.  I'm pretty sure he has a Brooklyn accent and might not fit very well into this show.  Their music was all over the place tonight, though.  Don't know what happened there, because that's usually their strong suit, but there were phasing issues or something.

Dance!

MANDARINS

Dear Dude Sitting In Back of Me:  The Mandarins are no longer an all-Asian corps. Oh, infinity!  Limitless!  I get it.  That crazy soprano solo really does come out of nowhere.  The "oh!"s from the people on our left made me giggle.  Glenn thinks that the screen I couldn't figure out is a prison, because of the building that looks like a guard shack.  OK, I'll go with that.  

Limitless

<Intermission>  AGAIN.  Weird.

BLUE KNIGHTS

I asked June about hands feeling like paper.  She explained that when you get older, the skin on your hand loses its elasticity and doesn't bounce back when you pinch at it, and it's paper-thin. Oh, those flags are maple leaves!  How did I not see that before?Then the speaker lady mentioned balloons.  Sherry:  "Balloons?!  Oh, no!  It's the scary part!"  My companions laughed at me and my crazy balloon phobia.  So then the speaker talks about being outdoors, so the screens looked like pup tents to me, like they're going camping, and there's lightning  depicted on the flags.  Reminds me of a particular family camping trip, so that will make me giggle when I see it.  What is up with the guys at the table?  Are they having a seance?  June said she thought they were drinking.  Do people drink at a seance?

Blue Knights - start of show

CROSSMEN

Glenn saw the color guard in their brown uniforms holding their equipment, and thought, "Turkeys!"  We decided that it must be Thanksgiving.  Glenn likes the wagon wheel drum heads.  My fitbit matches their wagon covers.  Oh, the "40" formation is near the end!  I was a couple of seconds late to get a good picture of it.  I like the quartet, and the music sounded great.

Crossmen's Maltese Cross Logo

PACIFIC CREST

While we were waiting for the puppet show, June and Ben showed me a video on their phone of a cool marionette.  I like when the corps is marching to the right in their block, and individual corps members pop up like popcorn.  I like this music.  I also like the echo of the contras after the echoing duet.  

PC Puppeteer Control Bar

BLUE DEVILS

Repertoire:  "Felliniesque" -- Act 1 -- Fellini's Religion: Old Toys by D. Elfman; La Strada Theme by N. Rota; Act 2 --  Fellini's Circus: Circo Compagnia originally composed for the Blue Devils by G. Goodwin; Act 3 -- Fellini's Fantasy: Be Italian by M. Yeston; Movie Studio by D. Elfman

This is our first time to watch this show live.  Bro and I had seen the webcast of DCI West last weekend.  "I'm not wearing any pants."  "Good night everybody!" (If you know the reference, smile with me).  With all of the white stuff on the field, Bro can't tell if the goal posts are part of the show or not.  WOW!!!  Show opens with solo soprano at the front left corner of the field (or maybe that's still part of the pre-show), then the soprano ensemble....INCREDIBLE.  Their horn line is just frickin' relentless.  They're doing a seance, too.  I like the corps uniforms much more in person than I did when I saw them online.  They're throwing rifles like they think they're the Cavaliers.  They never did put on their pants, but what a great show!  No talking, either!  I love that I'm enjoying BD's show this year.

SANTA CLARA VANGUARD

Their new red drums are preeeettttyyyyy!  OK, is the formation with the "2" in the middle supposed to be the book chapter number, or is it like "Scheherazade 2"?  Maybe it's because there were only 2 cymbals on the field.  What happened?  There were 4 the previous day.  Perhaps they finally killed each other while practicing their Viper.  Glenn likes the 2004 show better, but I don't because I try not to think about it.  This is probably not a good thing when I was supposed to be watching for the part where the drum line's riff is just like the one from 10 years ago.  I just love this show.  

Pretty Red Drums

Encore

Pacific Crest played their show music, as well as their corps song, Biebel's "Ave Maria".  I love that piece.

PC Cymbals at Encore

Mr. Turner, it's an *awards* ceremony, not a "rewards" ceremony.  I expect some kind of frequent drum corps attendance card if it's the latter.

Scores

Open Class:

6) 38.2  Incognito

5) 42.4  City Sound

4) 42.5  Watchmen

3) 48.8  Impulse

2) 49.2  Golden Empire

1) 55.35 Gold

World Class:

7) 62.6   Mandarins

6) 63.55 The Academy

5) 63.7   Pacific Crest

4) 67.35 Crossmen

3) 70.35 Blue Knights

2) 76.65 Santa Clara Vanguard

1) 79.5   Blue Devils

I thought for sure that BD was going to break 80, but maybe they will in Riverside.

Bro and I picked up something to eat on the way home, since we didn't leave our seats for the entire show.

Next up:  Western Corps Connection