Corps at the Crest - Pasadena
Saturday, June 30, 2018
Rose Bowl
Pasadena, CA
After some family time, Bro, V, and I went to my house and relaxed for a while before Dodie and Glenn arrived. Since Bro had a big old grill in the back of his car, it was my turn to drive us all to the Rose Bowl. On the way there, I challenged the folks in the car to try using all of the corps' names in one sentence, but they gave up after two attempts. Tim said he would be late, so after we parked, we walked to the ticket booth and I left his ticket there for him. I don't know why their ticket booths need to be mirrored and awkward. I couldn't even see if there was anyone behind the glass. I also had an envelope all ready for them, but they wanted to use their envelope, which is OK, but now I've wasted an envelope. There was a fence around much of the area where the corps were warming up, and we didn't want to walk all the way around to find an opening because it was hot. So we stood in the sun most of the time while waiting for the gates to open. I don't know why they open the gates only 30 minutes before the scheduled program. People need to get through the entrance, get food, use the facilities, and buy souvenirs before getting to their seats in 30 minutes? We were able to do so because we hustled, but that's crazy. They also didn't check bags or turn away folks that didn't have the proper clear bags, so maybe that helped, but they were set up to do so. I guess they didn't have enough event staff at the time.
Our seats were in section 18H, row 50, seats 101-106. We ended up among a bunch of Blue Devils alumni, which would be fine except when they said it was the BD section. Um, not necessarily.
Phenom was on the schedule to perform, but they didn't. Instead, Pacific Crest corps director Stuart Pompel introduced a military veteran whom gave a speech about the significance of the number 21. On the 21st day of every month, flags are to be flown at half staff to honor those whom protect our nation and communities. The military color guard there was practicing before this speech, which V didn't like because she prefers not to see the behind-the-scenes stuff for the pageantry of the ceremonies. I get that.
The Star-Spangled Banner was sung a cappella by Kim Lovett, the same woman as the previous day. I still liked her performance.
INCOGNITO
Wait. There already ARE 8 color guard members, but my favorite one, whom was on point again today, sat down for most of the second half of the show, so I don't know what that's about. The show is done, but they still need to work on the intonation.
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| The Flags I Like |
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| Is the 3rd one from the left supposed to be Pan? |
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| Differently accented drums |
WATCHMEN
Nice high rifle toss at the end of the battery future. Are those final flags a picture of genes? Is that what is altered? Like their biological structure was altered by the radiation? Is Hulk going to appear? Because that would be cool. The last person that the guard attacks is the backfield drum major. He should really Hulk out. Perhaps I watch too many superhero films.
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| Radioactive |
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| Dancing with Straitjackets |
GOLDEN EMPIRE
Nice response from the crowd for "We're Not Gonna Take It", probably due to the crescendo from the horns along with the recorded vocal. Nice dynamics throughout.
IMPULSE
When the guard sways their rifles in a downward position in front of their foreheads, I think that's supposed to represent the pendulum of a grandfather clock. They need to work on their intonation, because they sounded flat.
GOLD
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| Clock Flags |
Nice brass runs in the opening number! I also like the brass ripple up and down at the same time they ripple the purple/green flags that I like. Beautiful trumpet solo in the ballad.
<Intermission>
Rose Bowl has us exiting a different tunnel than those whom are entering the stadium, which is much more efficient and less crowded than in the past. Good thinking! I told Dodie which booth she would find something Bro and I thought she would like, and she was able to get the dragon tank top from the Mandarins.
MANDARINS
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| Turntable Assembly |
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| Tossing rifles over the corps |
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| Heart |
THE ACADEMY
They are cleaner, but the show still doesn't really grab me. This may have been partly due to the fact that I needed to use the facilities and was just waiting for them to say, "O Captain, My Captain", so I could leave.
I missed seeing the Troopers because I needed my own personal intermission. Sorry, Troop. I did see when I returned that 3 of the compasses had turned yellow. Someday, all of them. Someday.
PACIFIC CREST
I do love that mambo, during which they do the tap dancing. Oh, there's an Esther Williams segment, too, with some of the corps members providing the legs as the color guard soloist rises out of the "water". Cute. Are those flags Lakers colors on purpose because it's Los Angeles? If so, thank you, PC! If not, don't tell me. Pretty solos, especially the mellophone. If this was louder, the show would have much more impact, especially in big stadiums like this. I hate to say that they need amplification, though. My no-amplification side is struggling with this a lot right now. Some people were laughing during the show, and I didn't catch what happened. Later, V told us that someone lost their plume, and another person placed it back on their shako at the precise moment of the *ding* of the xylophone.
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| Star |
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| Tap Segment |
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| Hollywood |
BLUE KNIGHTS
Glenn: Why are they wearing Lakers colors?
I just really like their sound. Pretty neon flags at the end of the show, and they are double flags, which increases their visual effect. I like watching their drum major conduct. He has also brought back the salute with the knee bend. Yay! Tim was happy that they did justice to Rite of Spring by playing more than just the part that everyone does in their shows, and working with it a little bit. That's his all-time favorite piece, so I'm happy they didn't make it too weird like some corps do.
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| Rite of Spring |
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| Dance |
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| Final Flags |
SANTA CLARA VANGUARD
I just cannot describe this show, except with superlatives, because GAAAAAAHHHHH!!! Love the decrescendo in the first piece as the horns kneel and face the right side. Their dynamics are more prominent now. My whole party went bananas when they saw this show, which made me very happy.
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| Color Guard Tower |
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| Oh, there's a V on those flags! |
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| Heading toward reunion |
BLUE DEVILS
I love watching those guys dance. Flags were better during the vocal percussion section. I know they'll clean this up by Finals night, if not by tomorrow: tossing rifles toward the end of "Natural Woman" with each beat. The ending pose doesn't look as great from up high because the framework of the diner gets in the way. I prefer seeing that portion from near ground level.
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| Playing on Bar tops |
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| Circles |
Encore
Pacific Crest
- Semper Fidelis
- America The Beautiful
- Portions of their show music
- Ave Maria (corps anthem) by Biebl
Scores
Open Class:
5) 42.95 -- Incognito
4) 49.15 -- Watchmen
3) 49.60 -- Impulse
2) 53.95 -- Golden Empire
1) 57.00 -- Gold
World Class:
7) 63.05 -- Pacific Crest
6) 64.40 -- Troopers
5) 66.65 -- Academy
4) 69.70 -- Mandarins
3) 71.05 -- Blue Knights
2) 77.00 -- (very long pause) -- Blue Devils
MUCH SCREAMING
1) 77.75 -- SCV!!!
As predicted by Bro, SCV wins in the bigger stadium. We are happy Vanguard fans!
Glenn bought a bunch of his type of shirts, and we all chatted for a while before saying goodbye to Tim so he could get into the really long SCV souvie booth line. I decided not to get the Gold coloring book because it was more of an activity book, and it wasn't really their uniforms. I did like the page where you could design your own uniform, though. If I can think of one in time, I'll reconsider getting the book.
The consensus of those of us in the car: favorites of the night were Mandarins and SCV. Because my friends have excellent taste.
Next up: Western Corps Connection
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