Vive Le Vanguard!

I'm starting to write this post on what would have been SCV Family Day, but it's almost midnight so it will have to wait to be completed, much like other drum corps weeks when I'm way too tired to write for a day or so.

I took a look at my old blog posts and saw that the first Family Day I ever attended was in 2013, the year of SCV's "Les Miserables" show, so hey, I'm going to write about that!

My favorite musical is "Les Miserables", and it is also Bro's.  When SCV announced that their 2013 show would be based on Les Miz, we were very excited.  We wanted to see the show as much as possible, and when Bro realized that SCV would not be touring to So Cal, he decided that we were going to see them in Northern California.

I'm sure glad we went.

Blog from my first viewing of the show, at DCI West:

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.  "At 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.

Here is the percussion ensemble doing a full run-through of the show, before DCI West.  They were already AMAZING at the start of the season!

Blog from my 2nd viewing, at the Moonlight Classic:

SANTA CLARA VANGUARD
What I love is the way that the songs end, like "At the End of the Day".  It's done at half time, and it's just different and cool.  Even the flags do it!  The "Bring Him Home" solo was perfect.  I heard little notes down the scale while their horns were in the backfield during that song.  Oh, the red and black flags have fleur de lis, too!  It's no wonder that I love this show so much.

Snares during Do You Hear the People Sing

Encore
SCV!  Yay!  
Bro and I walked to where we wouldn't have people standing in front of us, and got seats in the front stands.

• Wishing You Were Somehow Here Again
• Les Miserables
• Send in the Clowns

  

  Send In The Clowns

I never noticed before that they play "On My Own" during "Do You Hear the People Sing".  Bro said that they actually play all of the songs at once.  That is too damn cool.  I liked seeing the expression on their faces, and I got to actually watch the cymbal players, who also had great expressions.  I'm usually so busy watching everything else in the show that I forget to look for the awesome cymbal line.  Do you think I was happy?  Yes, I was.  :)  So was Bro.  There was much happiness around us.

But Ryan T told the leaders to get onto the field before Clowns started, which meant that they were walking behind SCV during that song.  Irritating.

Blog from Pacific Procession / SCV Family Day

SANTA CLARA VANGUARD
SCV staff sat in front of us (they had reserved seats), and one of them had a mic recorder.  The corps was still of during "Do You Hear the People Sing", which they worked on earlier in the day.  I love that soprano/mellophone duet during "One Day More"!   I want to have one of each of those fleur-de-lis flags in my house.

  

SCV DM Salute

This video of the full show in rehearsal was taken at Santa Clara High School, which is SCV's home base, and the site for SCV Family Day.  I am not sure if this video was from Family Day, but if it was, we were sitting nearby.

I had tears in my eyes again as I heard the first notes of "Bring Him Home".

Here is the hornline warming up with their opener halfway through the season.

Do you miss the head cams?  Here's one from a mello soloist during rehearsal.

This time I got teary during "One Day More".

Blog from Prelims:

SANTA CLARA VANGUARD -- 95.5*
I'm all verklempt.  Dude with the great yell voice is a Vanguard fan.  So he yelled for them.  Yay!  Pretty screens, and I like what goes on behind them.  The corps is behind the screens during the "Bring Him Home" solo, and then later, different flags are tossed from behind one screen to another, and it flows nicely with the music.  The big fleur-de-lis flags are there only for a moment.  I want one!  I yelled "Vanguard" because I saw all of the other fans getting ready during "I Dreamed A Dream".  A tear formed in the corner of my eye, and my eyes were kind of stinging with tears during the show because I had been anticipating this show all night and there it was!  Beautiful job, Vanguard!

Vanguard Shield

Blog from Semifinals:

SANTA CLARA VANGUARD -- 96.5*

As soon as they took the field, there was so much screaming that my ears were ringing.  We took pictures with the sign that the people seated behind us had made, and everyone made sure that we knew when to yell "VANGUARD!"  I was crying by the end of the first minute of the show.  I think that the corps felt us all supporting them (how could they not?  We were LOUD), and kicked it up a notch.  Awesome crowd response to just about everything possible, and we stood a few times during the show.  The "Bring Him Home" solo was brilliant, and the flags during "Do You Hear the People Sing" were incredibly effective.  By the end of the show, I was a hot drum corps mess of tears.

The Elusive Big Ass Flag

This video is a snippet of the official DCI video from Finals night.  

Seriously, can I possibly watch this thing without tears?  I think not!  This time it happened at the company front.

This is the show with audio overlay of the field percussion judge.  I love hearing the judges' tapes!  Especially when they're loving my corps.  :)   

• "Wow, wow, wow! ... Wow." 
•  "Yeah, man, tears coming out of the eyes.  Tears welling up in my eyes!"  (See, I'm not the only one that cries.)  
• "That snare section was frickin' ON!"  
• "You are musicians and artists."

Blog from Finals:

SCV

Get it?  "Van"-GUARD (color guard)

Out.F*c*ing.Standing. OK, lots of tears and sniffling around us.   Also lots of people saying "Oh, my God!" after the first standing ovation.  I loved seeing all of the people standing in the stadium on the big screen in the middle of the show.  INCREDIBLE!  V forgot to look for the really cool flag tosses behind the screens because she was busy looking at the corps on the field.  I so didn't want that to be the last time to see this show.  It's become my favorite SCV show ever. I have tears in my eyes as I type this 2 weeks later.  TWO WEEKS.  OK, let me go on now.

SCV Shield

Score:  4) 96.85 -- SANTA CLARA VANGUARD

Thank you to all of the corps for a great year of competition!  To Vanguard, congratulations to SCVC for a terrific win, and to the A-corps, I will love this show forever.  Thank you for making it a reality!

Vive Le Vanguard!