I Need A Cigarette

Corps at the Crest

Saturday, July 1, 2017

Rose Bowl

Pasadena, CA

Yes, I know it's called "Corps at the Rose Bowl" now.  I don't like that title.  It will always be called "Corps at the Crest" to me.

We spent some family time at my parents' house until after lunch, which was generously prepared my mom, whom always has stuff handy to feed her family and friends.  Thanks, Mom!  V, Bro and I drove to my house and Bro and I got ready for our next drum corps show.  When we arrived at the Rose Bowl, I saw that Tim had texted me to tell me that he was already there, watching warm-ups.  He was very unhelpful when he could not tell me which corps he was watching so I could find him, but he did say he was near the entrance, so all was good.  Our seats were in Section H, Row 53, Seats 101- 103, on the aisle, on the left 40-yard line.  I realized this was our first show to see from the left side of the 50.  Bro said he saw the Santa Barbara show on the left of the 50.  I was on the 50.  I wanted Cracker Jack because the vendor had a bag with the design, but he wasn't selling any.  It's a good thing, too, because it probably would have cost me a lot of money.  Kettlecorn was $9.00.  That is too much for a non-fresh, medium-sized bag.  Bro and I decided that V should get some at RCC the next day.

The Star-Spangled Banner was sung a cappella by the same gal from last year, Pacific Crest Alum and UC Irvine student Brianna.

GOLD

Oh!  It's a tree and it drops its "acorn"!  The things you can see from higher up in the stands!  They use rain sticks at the beginning of the show.  This music makes me sleepy.  

Bro:  "I'm still waiting for this show to grow."

Tree

INCOGNITO

Nice tuba solo for "Chandelier".  GO, DRUMS!  I like their purple / bronze flags.

Pretty Blue Flags

WATCHMEN

I don't know what that white cloth bit was for. Bro think it's a Death Cloth.  I guess someone died while I wasn't looking.  The color guard is shiny!  Nice drum feature.  I always like when the battery is featured while the horns and CG are battling elsewhere on the field.

W

IMPULSE

Nice marimba and trumpet solos on the Ritual Fire Dance.  My take on the Spartacus:  "Cave People in Love".

GOLDEN EMPIRE

Great job with the high tosses!  I was looking for a diamond like BD's, but instead they have groups of four in shapes like the diamonds on playing cards.  I'd like to hear more of the melody on "Someday I'll Fly Away"; whatever actually is there isn't much of the original piece.  

Emerald

<Intermission>

Tim thinks there should be entertainment during intermission that involves the pit tractors racing each other on the field.  I like it!  Except that the instruments would get all jacked up and the corps shows probably won't sound very good.

MANDARINS

We're 4 for 4: Tim thought the big props were rocket ships, too.  Go, tubas, GO!!!  Bro didn't feel their passion tonight, though.

Colorful Rifles in the Air

PACIFIC CREST

Uh-oh.  Sounds like the adrenaline from the jazzy piece got to the soloists today.  The jazzy piece was well done, though.  They just need to keep up the energy through the end of the show.  I think one of the formations is the continental US.  Bro doesn't.

Rays of the Sun

THE ACADEMY

I like the hip action during Carmen.  The music needs to sound more like one unit than what I can hear right now.  I'm hearing a bunch of instruments playing the same notes instead of one big voice.  The low brass is better at that than the high brass.  I love the "Kill The Wabbit" motif interspersed with the other music.  I think I have a problem with Elmer Fudd loving Bugs, but then I remembered that Bugs dressed like a girl to distract him in "What's Opera, Doc?"  

Looney Tunes-ish Flags

Duck Season

PHANTOM REGIMENT

Those red/white flags (at the end of the show) are new.  The non-unison of the flags / CG is driving me nuts.  They fixed the weird sound system cut-off during the voiced synthesizer, but I still don't like it.

New Flags

BLUE KNIGHTS

The brass was very impressive tonight.  When they're fluttering their hands, does that mean they're batting their eyelashes?  Or are they trying to get their sparkly sleeves to confuse us?  When the snare drummer finished his solo, someone in the audience yelled, "You're pretty good, (drummer's name)!!"  They spell out the word "eye" on the field.

Rifle Toss as Snare Drummer Looks On

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SANTA CLARA VANGUARD

The following comments are all from Tim after this performance:

• How?  I didn't know they could play like that!
• THAT WAS AMAZING!!!!!
• So innovative!
• I love you.
• I love you so much I want to marry you!
• Well, I need a cigarette.

Tim does not smoke.  Pretty sure he had what I like to call a "corpsgasm".  I'm so glad that he liked it!

Rifle Toss on Prop

Hey, where did the brass section go?

Bass Drum Spin

Bro later told me that the lady sitting in front of us said to him, "If you like that, wait til you see the next corps."  Really, lady?!  After the three of us have been discussing drum corps all this time that you were sitting there, you think that we don't know what the hell is going on?  Do you actually think that we care more about another corps than we do about SCV when 2 out of the 3 of us are wearing SCV gear?!?  Dummy.

BLUE DEVILS

I really like the way they enter the field: old school.  Oh, the clouds on the drums--is that the sky mentioned in Rihanna's lyrics "like diamonds in the sky"?  Aren't diamonds supposed to be stars?  I'm all confused now.  That note is HIGH!  I can hear that one horn above all of the other trumpets, and it is insane how high it is.  I've decided that the white bags they use (like the Mandarins) are a reference to their 2000 show during "Vertigo".  Bro said that the trombone portion with the crazy sliding is a reference to last year's Tempest show.  

BD Takes The Field

Butterfly

By the way, lady in front of us: while BD often impresses me, they do not impress me more than this year's Vanguard.  I wonder if she heard the notable silence from Tim after BD finished their performance.

Encore

Pacific Crest played the Terje piece "Alfonso Muskedunder", otherwise known to us as "The Jazzy Piece" from this year's show.

They also played their corps song, "Ave Maria" by F. Biebl.

Bro pointed out to me that there were several SCV people among the alumni watching PC.  They'll always be family!

Scores

Open Class:

5) 42.60 - Incognito

4) 44.95 - Impulse

3) 48.80 - Watchmen

2) 53.35 - Gold

1) 53.70 - Golden Empire

World Class:

7) 62.60 - PC
6) 64.30 - Academy

5) 66.20 - Mandarins

4) 68.30 - Phregiment

3) 69.70 - BK

2) 74.05 - SCV

1) 74.50 - BD

Tim was still raving about SCV as we were leaving, and we parted ways so he could go to the SCV souvenir booth to get a shirt.  It was great to see him!

Bro and I went back to my house and told V that she probably wouldn't use the same words as Tim did tonight.  But I'm sure she'll like it just the same.  :)

Next up:  Western Corps Connection