Saturday, June 30, 2018

Finished Shows! In June!

Corps at the Crest - San Diego
Friday, June 29, 2018
El Camino High School - Herb Meyer Stadium
Oceanside, CA

Bro and family picked me up and we went to my parents' house in Wildomar, where the kids would be staying for the next week.  They are getting ready for the house to be photographed to be sold, and it's already starting to look like it's not their home anymore, which makes me sad.  I still got to stay in "my" room, and remembered that I still have some stuff there that needs to be moved to my home, where my parents will be living soon.  It's been nice to have a place to stay when we go to drum corps or wine country or San Diego.  I'm going to miss it.

Bro and I picked up Rudy and made our way to Oceanside.  We caught up with Rudy on his life happenings, and I tried not to tell him about all of the cool stuff he was about to see.  This is one of Rudy's favorite weekends of the year, for good reason.  There is some construction being done in the school area, so the corps buses were parked in the lot where we usually park when we arrive early.  We were directed to park on the field instead, which was still close by, and we didn't have to walk all of the hills and steps that we normally do when we park on the neighborhood streets.  We shopped for a bit and I saw a new SCV shirt on display, which they said they just received the previous day.  Because there were several corps present that Bro and I had not yet seen this season, there was new stuff for us to peruse.  The coloring book from Gold of the different guard uniforms is nice.  I might get one of those for fun.  I talked to the folks at the Golden Empire booth, saying that I was looking forward to seeing their show for the first time.  They were, too!  They did not do any of the Northern California shows because they're saving money to go to Finals this year.   I thought that it was strange that they didn't at least go to the Clovis show, and they thought so, too.  I looked at the Pacific Crest merchandise, and got a coin and pin set which commemorates PC's 25th year.  I like their 25th anniversary logo, but they didn't have it on any of the shirts, which disappointed me.

We went into the stadium and got snacks.  The ECHS color guard was selling homemade baked goods, so I got a couple of items from them.  Our seats were in Section 3, row Q, seats 6-8, and our view was of the right 48-yard line.  I'm glad Bro had reminded me that we would be sitting on concrete so I could sit on my SCV stadium pad and our regular blanket.  Rudy was totally unprepared for the day and didn't have his sweatshirt or his wallet.  Luckily for him, he has friends to provide him with what he needed.  

The Star-Spangled Banner was sung a cappella by Kim Lovett.  I thought she did a great job because it was simply done and she did not use vocal acrobatics, which make me crazy when utilized during our national anthem.  Rudy thought she went flat, but I didn't notice, probably because I was just happy about the non-acrobatics.

Exhibition

PHENOM (Soundsport)
They had some phasing and intonation issues, but I really liked the tuba duet.  Nice uniforms!

Phenom

Competition

VESSEL
Repertoire: "Bloom" -- Induction; Maturation; Antithesis all by F. Sullivan, F. Smith, N. Jasniewicz, and R. Carter

Formerly known as City Sound, Vessel has a different look from before.  I told the guys that I miss the drum major's slutty uniform, but then realized that I had meant "slinky", with the spangly dresses.  Their current uniforms are more traditional.  While they were tuning their instruments, Bro said, "They already sound better."  He's also glad they changed the name because sometimes the sound system made the announcer seem like he pronounced "sh" instead of "s".  Nice props, using the flower opening up as the color guard adds to the bloom.  I like the purple flags.  I don't think their show is done yet.

Bloom



GOLDEN EMPIRE
Repertoire: "Hear our Voice" -- I. Intro - Everyday: The Inside Out by T. Newman; Mvt. 1 -- Overworked: Foundry by J. Mackey; Mvt. 2  Exhaustion: We're Not Gonna Take It by D.D. Snider; Mvt. 3 -- Revolt: Revolt by E. Lanser; Mvt. 4 -- Reform: Cinderella Man by T. Newman

The color guard uniforms reminded me of Rosie the Riveter.  I tried to model her pose for the guys and they laughed at me.  Probably because I did it like I was showing off biceps, not like her.  The CG did eventually do that pose, maybe to mock my error.  
RV:  "Labor uniforms and red flags?  Kind of suggestive."
Nice low brass section.  Wait.  Are they doing Quiet Riot as a ballad?  No, Sher, it's Twisted Sister.  Very cool.  Their show is not done either.


Labor Party


WATCHMEN
Repertoire: "Altered" -- Altered by P. Rendon and H. Hutchins

Is the color guard wearing straitjackets?  Why is the corps beating them up?  Then the one guy is getting beat up at the end by the women.  Something in the story has to do with radiation, I guess, because of the radioactive symbol on the flags.  At first, Rudy thought they were Rorschach flags.  "What do you think this show means?"  Interesting use of the color guard jacket by one of the horn sections while they dance around their instruments.  


Watchmen Drum Major Salute


INCOGNITO
Repertoire: "Neverland" -- Learn to Fly by the Foo Fighters; Lost Boy by Ruth B; 
Neverland by Zendaya

They have the same number of pit numbers as they do horn players.  The color guard gal with one long pant and one short is ON POINT.  If she's not the lead, then she should be.  They need one more color guard...unless that one is supposed to be Pan.  I really like the scheme of their solid-colored flags, like shiny fall colors.  Three of their snares had gold accents, and one had silver.  What's that about?

Incognito


IMPULSE
Repertoire: "Time After Time" --  Primacy of Number by P. Glass; Time After Time by C. Lauper & R. Hyman; Time Is Running Out by M. Bellamy, C. Wolstenholme, and D. Howard

I like the white flags with the black clock.  Rudy made his own woodblock sound during "Time After Time" because otherwise it wouldn't feel right to him.  The cymbals do their headchopper move during the battery feature.  Their show is not yet done.


Sleepy Corps


GOLD
Repertoire:  "Through Our Eyes" -- Black and White; Through Our Eyes; Dyslexiaphrenia, all original music by S. Director

They wear white on their left sides and black on their right.  I thought maybe this was a Jekyll and Hyde show, but alas, it is not. The drum majors wear just black with white gloves or the reverse.  Very clean, nice look.  Great opening number, very strong brass section.  I like the ripple of the purple and green flags as it goes with the music.  


Gold

<Intermission>
I'm glad we got snacks before the show, because the line was very long for intermission.  Perhaps this is why the intermissions are long in the smaller venues.  People should have bought food from the color guard because their snacks were yummy and they had no line.  My brownie almost suffered through the fate of ants, but I was able to brush them away before they got to it.

MANDARINS
One of the staff members sat near us before the show and told others that the turntable weights 6,000 pounds.  No wonder it takes 30 people to push it.  It turns via a generator in the back.  In the final piece, the rifles now light up on one side.  Cool effect!  Rudy did not say anything about the Doxology in this show, and Bro and I thought that he would comment.  Maybe on Sunday.


Pas de Deux
Bones and Trumpets rockin' it

Lit Rifle Toss



TROOPERS
That compass/weather vane turned toward the left side of the field, and it turned from white to yellow!  Bro said that he told me about this before.  Oh.  I was hoping that they would all do that, but they didn't.  Maybe they're still working on that.  It would make sense since the corps all start at the right end of the field and end up on the left end, where the arrows would eventually point if the effect is used correctly.  


I love the colors in this Sunburst

Yellow!


PACIFIC CREST
Repertoire:  "Here's to the Ones Who Dream" --  Planetarium (from La La Land) by J. Hurwitz; Overture (from The Artist) by L. Bource; Waltz for Peppy (from The Artist) by L. Bource; The 20th Century Fox Mambo (from Smash) by M. Shaiman & S. Wittman; Audition (The Fools Who Dream) (from La La Land) by J. Hurwitz, B. Pasek, & J. Paul ; Pretty Peppy (from The Artist) by L. Bource; Epilogue (from La La Land)  by J. Hurwitz

Happy 25th Anniversary, PC!  I was looking forward to this show because I like all three movies and scores for the source music.  I was thinking of donating to get a star with my name on it, but didn't look to do that before they sold out.  A little part of me is glad that I didn't do that because the stars from the Hollywood Walk of Fame should be pink.  I would say that these look better on the field than the pink ones would, but I'm not sure that's true.  They need to sound bigger.   I don't know if it's first-competition jitters or what, but when they're sandwiched between two loud corps, their music sounds meek.  I like the tap dance portion, as well as the Mambo.  Beautiful red flags with just enough sparkle at the end of the show, and I love the introduction of the first flag as it falls with the music.   I like the shininess on the uniforms, which look great, and very PC.  They form the word "Hollywood", as well as a star.  I hope they also work in a Crest formation, or maybe the already have but I couldn't see from this vantage point.  Or they could make a "25". 


Sparkly with lampposts

I like the bit of teal in the side accent


Dear Lady In Back Of Me:   They are NOT called "boy majorettes".  WHAT THE?

BLUE KNIGHTS
Rudy was very excited that he had just seen his first finished Blue Knights show!  Ooh, the closer!  They build 3 bigger pyramids now, and the ripple of flags is beautiful.  They also dance in silence, which is cool.  Rudy agreed with me that the uniforms are very effective.


There's the pillar!  It's kind of an "i".

Bigger Pyramid

There's that BK knee bend I've missed


SANTA CLARA VANGUARD
That baritone duet leading to the full corps during "My Body Is A Cage" is just awesome!  How often does that happen that the baritones get so much solo work?  That trio of trumpets, too.  WOW.
Rudy:  THAT IS INSANE!  WHAT JUST HAPPENED?!?!!?  
He was laughing happily through the whole show.  They did the closer drill!  It's very cool, and I look forward to how it's going to develop until Finals.  The ending right now is of a color guard member on each of two tall towers, coming together.


Play It LOUD!

Trumpet Trio

They're back together!  


Scores

Open Class:
6) 42.30 -- Incognito
5) 46.80 -- Watchmen
4) 47.90 -- Impulse
3) 48.35 -- Vessel
2) 51.80 -- Golden Empire
1) 55.75 -- Gold

World Class:
5) 62.35 -- Pacific Crest
4) 63.00 -- Troopers
3) 68.00 -- Mandarins
2) 69.25 -- Blue Knights
1) 75.55 -- Santa Clara Vanguard

Bro and I dropped off Rudy afterward and got a snack on the way to my parents' house. IIt was nice to see a lot of shows that were new to us today.  Looking forward to seeing that SCV closer again in Pasadena!  I can't get enough of that show.

Next up:  Drum Corps at the Rose Bowl


Thursday, June 28, 2018

Save The Dinos

I wasn't able to see "Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom" with my friends, so I decided to watch it while I'm on vacation this week.  I also decided to sign up for AMC Theaters' A-list, which will be paid off this month after I see one more movie, since the first one was in Dolby and cost almost as much as the monthly fee.  


  • "I left you."  "You left because I told you to."  
  • The above link is to the Isla Nublar map because I think it's more cool than the actual movie site. I like how all of the ride wait times are zero minutes.  Also "Egg Spinner.  This attraction is no longer in service.  DNA is not a game."
  •  All of those poor dinosaurs. So sad.  I had a tear in my eye when the humans were escaping the island and they were watching the lava flow down to the shore, killing the brachiosaurus.
  • Ha.  "President questions whether dinosaurs ever existed."
  • That was crazy how Owen leaped between the jaws of the T-Rex to escape the crate.
  • I love the Stygimoloch.  SOOO cute, and awesome how she just knocks people out of the way and they go flying.
  • I had many tense moments in my fancy chair.  
  • This franchise loves to put children one plexiglass pane away from dinosaurs' big teeth.
  • That teeth collecting guy is an idiot.  How do you just walk into the cage?  He couldn't try to get the tooth from between the bars?
  • The Indoraptor reminds me of a dragon without wings, especially when it was on the roof of the estate.
  • Maisie's story was a surprise to me, but it shouldn't have been.  I remember wondering a long time ago how far these crazy scientists would go with DNA of any kind.
  • Why did she go back to her bed?!  I would have left the property.  I guess she went to where she thought she'd be comforted?  
  • I did like the reference to Lexi in the Jurassic Park kitchen by using the dumbwaiter.
  • Aw, Blue.  I get it.  You don't want to be locked up anymore.  Instead, you prefer to terrorize local neighborhoods.


    I don't think I'll have time to see this one again while it's in the theater, but if I do, I hope to see it in IMAX.  Bigness, you know.

    Here are my favorite stickers from the JW:FK app.  So cute!






    Tuesday, June 26, 2018

    Welcoming Troop to SCV Family Day

    Pacific Procession
    Monday, June 25, 2018
    Santa Clara High School
    Santa Clara, CA

    Bro slept in because he had a long drive later on, so I blogged and ate my Hobee's coffeecake for breakfast while waiting to leave.  We had some time before going to the high school, so we wandered around Great Mall.  Bro still has not found what he had been shopping for all weekend, but he did spy a dress for me to buy, which only cost $7, and was "free size".  The store had a bunch of flowy pieces of clothing, and if we had lots of time, I might have bought more than 2.  Alas, our lunch time at Red Robin took far longer than we estimated. 

    Bro said, "My favorite day."  I agree, this one is fun for the SCV Fan/Family.  I don't think we should skip this one if we do cut our Northern CA journeys short in the future. We did get to the school in plenty of time to park and find seats prior to anything happening that was listed in the program.  We arrived during SCV's rehearsal, and decided to sit up front, on the left side.  One of the treats about this day is that we get to witness the 3 corps watch each other perform in exhibition.  If we had arrived earlier, we also would have watched more rehearsal time, which we also find interesting.

    Run-throughs were done in plain clothes, and Bro and I like to see the differences in day uniforms for each section of the different corps.
    • SCV Cadets -- All of them wore green shorts with "SCV 18" on the leg.

    • Troopers -- I like the 11 on the side of the color guard's shirts
    Trooper corps director thanking SCV as they had
    never been a part of another corps' family day like this

    Eleven

    Trumpet Soloist

    • SCV -- Nice shorts, bass drummers!  They're purple with elephants and giraffes on them.  I love watching Carl conduct because his motions are so emphatic and easy to follow.  He has awesome upper back muscles because of the workout on his arms/delts.
    Can you imagine hearing about this show as a performer?
    "You're going to start inside the tower, laying down..."

    Conducting Arms

    Drummers Drumming After the Run-through



    I love how excited the kids get about each others' shows!  They got to sit in the stands, so they had a rare audience viewpoint.  

    Then the horn players from all three corps got in a huge arc to rehearse their two signature songs.

    We had plenty of time before the next item in the program, so Bro and I took turns going to the souvenir stands and the facilities.  I bought an SCV shirt that has the shield in the front and the corps name on the back in the same script as the corps jackets.  I really want to buy some kind of clothing from the Troopers, but they don't really have any style other than the standard t-shirt shape.  I'm still considering getting their sweat pants.   I decided to get boba since we had lots of time, and stood in a line that took an inexplicably long time to move forward.  I was in line with a bunch of the corps kids, and it was fun to hear them talk drum corps from their point of view as they visited with former corps members whom had come for the show, which is a bit of a homecoming for SCV.  My drink wasn't really worth the wait, but that's OK, it gave me something to do.

    The Santa Clara Big Band played for a while as the corps had their dinner and got dressed in their uniforms. It was the last performance for one of the singers, which got SCV Director Charlie a little choked up to announce.  A couple of awards from local dignitaries were announced, as well as a shout-out to Charlie for his birthday.  Happy Birthday!

    Santa Clara Big Band


    As the big band played, I was rocking out to a couple of tunes and the little 2-3 year old boy beside me petted my back.  I don't know if he was trying to make me stop, or if he was just showing his approval.  At one point during the show, he wanted to see my nails, so I gladly obliged.  He even touched my cheek at one point.  I wondered if he had heard me tell Bro that I wanted to pinch the kid's cheeks earlier before he sat down next to me.  He could have at least offered me some of his snacks, but he didn't.  Such a guy.

    Voice of DCI Brandt Crocker was present, and announced each show.  Hi, Brandt!  After each corps was done performing, they stood in front of the stands to watch each other.  I love that SCVC got excited about everything SCV, even the driver of the pit cart.  They were especially excited when SCV drum major got up on his platform: Carl is a former drum major for SCVC.

    SANTA CLARA VANGUARD CADETS
    That dance part is going to look really cool when they clean it up.  Finally, all three color guard members caught their rifles at the opening, which did not happen on the previous days.  They've only been together for a little over two weeks, so I'm sure they'll be able to clean it up really well, as always.  I just hope we get to see some drill for their closer before they leave California.  I also hope we get to see their uniforms before then.

    Small Ensemble

    Same guard formation, other side of stage


    TROOPERS
    The trumpet soloist gets to have people peel off his outer jacket and hat for him, unlike the rest of the corps whom have to do this for themselves.  Wait.  None of the compasses were facing West, or to the left of the field.  I guess they weren't paying attention when they put them on top of the boxes.

    Troopers Front Ensemble

    Duet


    SANTA CLARA VANGUARD
    How high is that note?!?  Jeepers!  I didn't realize that the people playing that note were on the right side of the field, using mic stands.  This show gets more amazing every day, and they still have only done their closer at a stand still.

    Carl Saluting

    There Are People In There

    All three hornlines gathered for the joint encore, another traditional treat for this event:

    Troopers' Signature Song:  "Battle Hymn of the Republic"
    Vanguard's Signature Song: "Send In The Clowns"

    Now THAT'S a horn line!  I maybe would have enjoyed it more had my new little boyfriend not been talking the entire time.

    Bro drove us back to So Cal after the show.  On the way, we saw two different incidents on the freeway wherein the vehicles looked like some kind of monster had picked them up and crushed them in its hands.  There weren't other mangled vehicles around to indicate a collision, just the emergency vehicles, and it was the middle of the night, so it was extra creepy.  We got back to Bro's house safely, and as I got ready for bed, I realized that I didn't have my car key, although I had placed some of my stuff in the trunk.  I couldn't go out to my car because I didn't want to set off the alarm at 2:30 a.m.  In the morning, Bro told me that he was the one who had opened the trunk with my key, and there it was, still in the lock. Thank goodness the car was inside the garage!

    I visited with the family for a little while before driving to my own home.  I'll be going through a couple of days of drum corps withdrawal, and I'm sad that the Wednesday show got canceled due to the Cadets' decision not to tour out west because of some administrative issues.  OK, a scandal.  They'll get through this OK, but it's been sad to see.  We missed you, Cadets!  Be well, and we'll see you in Indy.





    Monday, June 25, 2018

    Zurg Takes Center Stage

    Moonlight Classic
    Sunday, June 24, 2018
    Hughes Stadium - Sacramento City College
    Sacramento, CA

    Bro was good to me and decided to go to Hobee's for breakfast.  YAY!  I realized that I'd been to this Hobee's before, and he said he had not, so I guess I came here with the Posse.  I forewent my usual scramble dish because I wanted to try the Nutella Stack, which ended up being too rich for me to finish, and made me miss my traditional scramble.  I was happy to have my favorite tea (orange and cinnamon), and ordered a slice of banana toffee coffeecake to go.  

    Mmmmm.....Hobee's

    We rested for a little bit in the hotel before going to Elk Grove, where Bro had seen on the internet a place called Todo los Pocos.  They were still serving brunch, and since I had been missing my egg since the morning, I decided to get paella, which had a fried egg on top.  I had asked the server if there was any octopus in the seafood, and he said no, but I'm not sure if he heard me ask if there was any calamari.  Bro said that whatever I thought might be calamari actually wasn't, but I didn't like the texture of whatever it was.  I did enjoy the rest of the dish, especially the grilled fish, grilled shrimp, and carnitas.  I'd never had paella with carnitas before, but it was yum.  

    Yes, I had sangria.
    Yes, I was tipsy after brunch.

    The restaurant had really interesting decor, which reminded me of Blue Devils B's show this year with the Dia De Los Muertos theme.


    By the time we were done eating, it was about time to check in to the hotel.  Hampton Inn always provides water in the lobby for the guests, and they had a bonus here of Mrs. Helen's Watermelon Juice and Mrs. Helen's Grape Juice.  The hotel rep said that the watermelon was...and I said, "the bomb?"  and he said, "Yeah, it's bomb watermelon juice."  Bro said that I showed my age when I said "the".  So embarrassing, but I AM old, so whatevs.  I did correct myself, but it was too late.  The watermelon juice, was, indeed, bomb, pretty much an agua fresca.  If I see Mrs. Helen (she works in the kitchen here at the hotel), I will tell her that her watermelon juice is wonderful, and stay away from "bomb" conversation.

    After settling in to the hotel room, I took a little nap.  It's that sangria, I'm thinking, that made me all sleepy.  We then drove to Sacramento Community College for the Moonlight Classic.  We didn't see anyone taking money at the lot, and were about to go into the stadium when we saw someone posting signs that read, "Moonlight Classic.  Did you pay for your parking?" or something like that.   We asked the guy how to pay, and he said he didn't know, he had just gotten the call an hour ago.  So we had to walk back to the structure, locate the kiosk that was NOT in the structure, but in an adjacent lot where The Academy buses were located, paid $2.00, and Bro went back to the car to put the receipt on the windshield.  I don't think I mentioned that this was all done in the heat.  I think it was in the 90s.  It was irritating.  Why don't they have a kiosk on every floor of the structure? Why don't they have ANY in the structure?  So dumb.  I think maybe it's a ploy for them to collect $ on parking tickets.  I'm on to you, SCC parking meanies!

    We finally got into the stadium.  Thank goodness our seats were in the shade, section C, row 24, seats 19-20, between the left 40 and 50 yard lines.  This was the top row, so we had a wall for our backs, and at least my stuff wouldn't fall to its death below when I put it under my seat, but it is bench seating and kind of precarious for folks to walk around because there isn't much leg room.  Bro said several times throughout the evening that we weren't coming back here, so I think he's pretty much made up his mind.  

    The Star-Spangled Banner was performed by the Freelancers Alumni Corps.  Nice.

    Exhibition
    • Freelancers Alumni Corps
    • Alisal
    Freelancers

    Alisal
    I saw this huge, circular prop on the track in the back, and pointed in that direction to Bro, asking him what it was.  He told me that it was a bridge to go over the railroad tracks.  I was puzzled.  He repeated himself.  I still didn't understand why they would use the circular thing for the railroad tracks, as it had wheels.  I just wasn't sure why it was there.  Was it something for the school?  Or a prop that we just hadn't seen yet?  It was really big.  Finally, I told Bro, "So, I'm looking at the circular thing over there.  What are you talking about?"  He thought I was talking about a bridge, which you could see the top portion located outside the stadium.  Communication is key.  



    Competition

    SANTA CLARA VANGUARD CADETS
    So, are those their uniforms?  Because the "A" corps has theirs...but the color guard is still wearing their all black, non-matching things.  I don't know.  They took off the black screens from their props due to the wind.  Much better transition to the ballad.  Issues with drops, partly due to the wind.  

    SCVC Battery Feature

    BLUE DEVILS B
    When the hornline has choreography during the battery feature, are they fighting and then they make up at the end?  What's that about?  Uh-oh, one of the color guard guys had to leave during the performance to go the first aid station.  Why is that so far away, anyway?  What if someone couldn't walk?  Nobody from the first aid station walked out to meet them, and an SCVC advisor had to ask somebody where to take the kid.  They need to work on this emergency services thing.

    Skull Flags

    I love those guard uniforms

    Lift during fight(?)


    BLUE DEVILS C
    We saw the lollipops outside the stadium when we were coming in, and Bro realized that they were made up of pool noodles, wrapped in colored tape.  I think he should make some and put them in front of the house on Hallowe'en.  My little guy didn't fall this time, but I did see a few of them have balance issues when they were on one knee.  I'm thinking the shakos/plumes are so tall that the wind throws them off...or they just lack the strength to stay upright.  

    Pool Noodle Lollipops


    <Intermission>
    I kinda fell down on people while trying to get to the stairs.  I told you these stands were precarious.  Our intermission was a long one.  Why do they have long intermissions in the small stadiums, and short intermissions in the larger ones?  Do they not know that more people need to use the restroom and go to concessions when there are bigger crowds?

    TROOPERS
    I like the way the horn players change into their contemporary uniforms by walking in a circle around the compass props by putting down their instruments, taking off their jackets, and picking up their instruments one at a time.  Nice trumpet solo on the ballad.

    Troopers Drum Major

    Pretty compass flag and pretty color guard

    She's saying bye because she's going west


    THE ACADEMY
    They took out the recorded narration of the Fibonacci sequence, only stating the last, big number.  Bro was happy about that, and is hoping it was not an accident.  I forgot to write yesterday that I noticed them opening the tables earlier in the program and throughout the show.  I love the way the different corps try to hide their equipment so as not to distract from the aesthetics of the show.  

    Table Percussion

    Table Dance

    I just noticed that they have stripes on their uniforms


    MANDARINS

    During Academy's show, I told Bro to look at the Mandarins, whom were standing around the perimeter of the circular thing, with one of them (the drum major?), standing on top, presumably giving directions.  Whoa.  It took about 30 of them to push it on to the field, with that person still on top of it, and this became the stage on which the girl dances to her death.   It rotates, too!  It is amazing to me how one prop (albeit a huge one) can change the look of a show.  The elevation of the guard as well as the corps members made certain parts of the show stand out, and the crowd loved it.  I now get the "True Colors" part, as the demon accepts the cheesy glowing cube and raises it for everyone to see, and eventually they go from the dissonance of the "True Colors" merging with the "Doxology" into a harmonious chord.  It's really, really cool.  I still don't understand why there are people on stilts.  And why are there three at first, but then there are only two?  I also like the heart beat from the bass drum at the end.  I guess there's more to come, but so far, I love this show.  I also now realize why I like that hornline portion of the show: the trombones complete the effect with the slides, and I love it.  So did the crowd. Yes, this is the Mandarins' home show, but how could you not like it?  WOW.

    Rifle Toss

    Pas De Deux

    Drums on Stage

    BLUE KNIGHTS
    I'm guessing that this static is intentional now, because it happened again and nobody in the corps (staff or sound people) looked concerned.   Bro said that he thinks the static is supposed to be a communication from the pillar.  I was like, "What pillar?"  It's like, "Oh, that's an "i"!!!" from last year.  OK, I just noticed that the pyramids are gray on one side and gold on the other.  I guess I was too busy looking at the uniforms.  For the change, the color guard takes off their horizontal striped pants, then puts on the shimmery mesh overlay, which goes up to their chests.  I am obsessed with this outfit and want to wear one, or something similar.  If you see me looking like a beetle, you'll know where that came from.  Horns....just...wow.

    View of front and back of corps uniform

    Just sitting on a pyramid, playing my trumpet
    I like that the leg position looks like a scarab's legs

    It's almost as if she posed just for my camera

    BLUE DEVILS
    When they clean up the sync of the flags with the vocal percussion, that is going to be awesome.  I like that shoulder action by the color guard guys.  I asked Bro about the circles on the field yesterday after "Natural Woman", and he said he thinks that's a placeholder for something else later.  Makes sense.

    Dancing Like Guys

    Looking Pretty Like Dolls

    Hair Dancing

    SANTA CLARA VANGUARD
    #checkmarkband.  Bro and I were laughing at twitter earlier, because the Cadets were calling themselves the zebra cake band because of their uniforms, and people are calling SCV by the aforementioned hashtag.  That girl leaped off of the platform and was caught by the other corps members.  This show gets more amazing every day.  It also gets more dangerous, and I'm glad that DCI's current campaign on the health and safety of its performers not only includes their psychological health, but also their physical health due to the increasing number of props and gymnastics in the shows.

    SCV Drum Major Carl

    Hold on, we're spinning!

    Dancing Together


    Encore
    Blue Devils performed a standstill of most of their show.  Bro said that he didn't really like "Natural Woman" because maybe it's too pedestrian of an arrangement.  I actually think it might be my favorite musical part of the show now, which is odd for me, because I don't usually like BD's ballads, especially if they're jazzy.  I reserve the right to change my mind, though.  

    Brandon O is back with BD!


    Scores

    Open Class:
    3) 39.20 -- Blue Devils C
    2) 55.20 -- Vanguard Cadets
    1) 57.65 -- Blue Devils B

    World Class:
    6) 60.75 -- Troopers
    5) 63.35 -- Academy
    4) 66.20 -- Mandarins
    3) 66.80 -- Blue Knights
    2) 72.45 -- SCV
    1) 72.70 -- Blue Devils

    This year is going to be interesting between SCV and BD.  Mandarins look promising to make finals.  It's gonna be a fun season, folks!  I'm looking forward to what Pacific Crest brings when they get into the mix of competition next week.

    Next up:  Pacific Procession