Feeling Fancy at the Rose Bowl

 Corps at the Crest - Pasadena
Saturday, June 25, 2022
Rose Bowl
Pasadena, CA

I was told that Bro's ETA would be 3:03pm.  So I texted Dodie and Double N to let them know that Bro would be at my place would be 3:93. I didn't look before I hit send, which gave Dodie a good giggle.  Double N said that he got his times messed up, so he'd need to meet us there.  I guess his plan was to leave at 3:30 to get to my house by 3:00, which doesn't work unless he got a new time machine that I didn't know about.  Then he asked if we could wait until 3:05.  Yes, we can wait 2 more minutes.  Especially because there needed to be logistics with Bro's dog and kids.

Miss O had made chocolate chip cookies, so I was already thinking I would get to have some, and then Dodie arrived and gave me these!

I had convinced her to buy a Doctor Who kitchen set at WonderCon, and she came through with her promise to make me cookies.  Aren't they cool?  Not bad for a first try at decorating sugar cookies!

We all piled in Bro's car, and drove to Lot K at the Rose Bowl.  While we were sitting in the car, who should park next to us, but Tim!  He recognized Bro's license plate and followed us.  So now we had the whole gang together, and walked over to watch some drum warm-ups.  Oh, but wait!  I needed a selfie of us in front of the big sign.

We saw the brand new Pacific Crest trailer, and V did a photo shoot with me because it's so pretty.  I even waited a while for other people to move so that I could get photos of the other side of the trailer.

In back

White Side

Just chillin'

Teal Side

It was finally time to enter the stadium, so I distributed our tickets for the fancy seats.  Yup, I decided that this year, we were going to watch this show in style!  We shopped a little bit and I got a Pacific Crest towel.  The Lone Star Percussion folks were there, and I told them that I live nearby and need to go visit their store.  I asked how much the little shaker things were, and they said $1.00.  I said I wanted 6, so they gave me a deal for $5.00.  Thanks, guys!  We each chose one for ourselves.  I got a little bongo drum shaker.  

Love the welcome mats at the PepWear area!

Then it was fancy time, and we talked to the guard who looked at our tickets and allowed us to go up the series of escalators to the Club Level.  I like all of the signs above us that showed Rose Bowl history, but we were too busy trying to get our selfie for me to take pictures.  Also, I was trying to be cool.  Why, I don't know.  Clearly, I was dorky enough to take these pictures while we were waiting for our wristbands.

We're Here!

Employees also get decorated elevators

We got to our floor, showed them our tickets, and got wristbands so we could go in and out of if we wanted other food.  V was going to get Aguas Frescas after getting her food.  I opted for the ice water.  We thought that the Fiji bottles in the fridge were available for us, but they were locked, so no.

Wristband to Fanciness

Food that was offered at the buffet:  Pulled pork torta, vegetable crudites with sriracha ranch dressing, mac and cheese bites, and mini empanadas with avocado creme dressing.  

My plate

In case you forget you're in T of R Land

Dodie went to the bar to get our ice water, and she said that this water was for Sherry.  So the bartender put a cherry in it and said, "A cherry for Sherry!"  Thanks, bartender!

V and I put two tables together so that we could all enjoy our food and socialize within our own group. Bro and I wanted to see if our former conductor was there, so we walked to the other side of the Club level, but couldn't find him.  We saw a couple of guys with cookies and brownies.  I thought that they had ice cream, but I guess not, because there wasn't any ice cream where they got the baked goods.  Bro helped himself to that, and I wanted to wait for ice cream, thinking it would eventually show up.  

Bro has goodies in his hand.  Ssshhhhh.

It was time for the show to start, so we went to our seats:  Section 107, Rows C & D, Seats 16-18.  Our seats were cushy!  A girl can get used to this!  

The Star-Spangled banner was performed a cappella by soprano Brianna Fennel.  We had heard her warming up earlier, so I knew we would be hearing something special.  WOW.  That was high!  Also, she took a breath after the word "banner" instead of after the word "spangled", like most people do, which makes a lot more sense because she then sings the complete phrase at once.  Add to that the fact that she didn't add a bunch of notes, and I was very happy that she sang our anthem today.

VESSEL

Double N: "Is this gonna be another dead drum corps show or what?"

Sher: "No, but they do look like it."

Drum corps like to lay down on the field.  I don't blame them. It's hard work.  

ALISAL COMMUNITY ARTS NETWORK

They only played one song, which Bro wants to be played as he sits outside his house, sipping drinks.  Like right then.  I went to get a drink so I only caught the end.  They didn't have oranges to make a proper Old Fashioned at the bar, so I got a vodka and cranberry juice.  They had cute shot glasses of the Neft vodka that looked like barrels, but they didn't seem to be selling or giving them away.  I enjoyed my drink, though.

FREELANCERS ALUMNI CORPS

Announcer Ryan said that they were from Escondido instead of Sacramento because his notes were incorrect.  They played "Thriller".  I wish they had a color guard so I could see some dancing to that song.  

I saw Brianna and told her she was wonderful.  I also told her that we like her Sleeping Beauty Storybook backpack.  The zipper was along where the pages would be!

IMPULSE

The ! drum major did his salute, to which Ryan T said, "That was cool."  Yes, it was!

Nice "Dear Theodosia" solos.

Formation at show start

V and I went to get dessert because we saw that others had gotten some, yet it wasn't 7:00 yet.  V had inquired about it earlier, and she was told that it was put away because someone got into it early.  BRO!  And those other guys!  So when we went to the dessert bar, there was a gal serving it instead of everyone getting however much they wanted.  I got a big chocolate chip cookie and a strawberry, then chastised Bro about ruining it for everyone else.  There was also no ice cream.  Tim believes that somewhere there are a couple of tubs of ice cream, unserved and lonely.  I mean, there WAS a big wooden bowl next to the other desserts, but it was empty.  I think that had something to do with ice cream.  Comedy.

GOLDEN EMPIRE

Very nice sound, GE.  The music was very well done, too.  I like those colorful flags.

Backwards GE flag

GOLD

Very nice soprano solo!  I have issues about people not having a choice right now, so I'm not liking this "life assignment" thing.  Maybe if at the end of the show, they get to break free of these assignments, I'll like the theme more.

There's a piano.
  There's a bicycle.

<Intermission>

Announcer Ryan has waited 1,091 days to say: "ARE YOU READY FOR SOME DRUM CORPS!?!?!?!?"

ACADEMY

Those lamps are going to light up eventually, right?  Oh, the suitcase is the golden ticket!  Lots of "W"s -- I bet those last flags are going to have big Ws on them.

I like those flags

W

Stylized W

Dodie:  "I've missed this."

MANDARINS

Oh, I like when they catch the rifle after their big tosses.  This didn't happen yesterday when that was featured.  I like the slow motion marching that the horn players do after their squat formation.  So, the vocalist sings, then he runs to get his contra, then runs back again to climb the tower and finish singing.  Wow. I love the way he sings.  It's soulful, sonorous and doesn't clash with the sound of the corps.  

These look like horses are about to race

through them.

That squat

The dangerous part of the show:

PACIFIC CREST

V tried to name all of the shows from the props.  "Void" is spelled out a lot during the show, but there is something missing, like the bottom part of the D one of those times. V noticed that the last formation of the word, "void" is spelled out in the white space...or should we call it the "green space"?  Cool. It sounds like they've finished their music, just not their drill.  I need to see the logo before I'm convinced it's done.  That neon yellow chair that is on its side: is that from Blue Stars' "Houdini" show?  If not, I still can't figure it out.

BD mirrors; SCV Phantom mask;
PC cube; Cadets door

PC Everglow triangle

Cavaliers' Chicago Ladder; SCV Ouroborous;
Academy Drum Corpse Bride tombstone 
(A tribute to Velvet Knights' shark);
Some chair

Bluecoats Giant Chair

SANTA CLARA VANGUARD

The build, the build, the build...and then the drum majors bring their arms down.  Ugh.  I like the transparency of the props.  Very good music!  Looking forward to when this show is actuallly complete on the field.

Taking the Field

I love those cymbals

Trumpet Trio

That snare feature!

BLUE DEVILS

Repertoire: "Tempus Blue" -- Lapis Lazuli by D. Glyde; Divine Blue by D. Glyde; Carnival of Venice by N. Paganini; Moon River by H. Mancini (arr. by J. Collier); Hands and Feet by M. Camillo; Tank! by Y. Kanno; Home of the Brave by T. Bergersen

GO, COOPER!!!  Cooper is a friend of my college roommate's daughter, and she pretty much taught him to march when he was a freshman and she was a junior.  So I need to remember to yell for him.

They have platforms that have steps that kind of go in a circular pattern.  Wow, that (piccolo?) trumpet solo was awesome.  I do not like that rendition of "Moon River".  That's typical for me and my feeling about Blue Devils' ballads.  I am also spoiled by Pella's Calvin singing this song.  I like the Contra feature, with the rest of the horns adding on.  The running around was kinda cool, but I guess they don't do the formal drill books anyway, so whatevs.  Drum feature was meh.  It just seems like a lot of loud without substance to me.  Sorry, BD.  I respect the heck out of the talent, though.

Together

Separate

How did they all get in there so quickly?

Encore

Several SCV horn players came back onto the track still carrying their horns, and we figured that they were PC alumni.  So PC borrowed their props, and now they're borrowing their horn players?  They did not play with PC.  They must have been too far from their trailer to put them away before attending the encore.  

PC played some of their show music, as well as their corps song, "Ave Maria".  I think that was a new arrangement, because it sounded different at the end.  

Scores

Open Class:

3) 37.50 -- Impulse

2) 46.75 -- Golden Empire

1) 54.60 -- Gold

World Class:

5) 57.35 -- Pacific Crest

4) 62.15 -- Academy

3) 66.45 -- Mandarins

2) 70.90 -- Vanguard

1) 72.30 -- Blue Devils

I think we all pretty much decided that we don't want to go back to sitting in the riff raff seats.  Yeah, we liked it up there because it wasn't crowded, we didn't have to climb those stairs, it was easy access to restrooms, the bar, and the air conditioning was very nice on this very warm day.  Even if that's the only show we can afford in So Cal because of whatever financial things happen, we will likely stay fancy as long as possible.

The Fancy Fans

We took the escalators down, and I still didn't take pictures.  Next time.  :)  Nobody wanted to shop, so we went back to our cars, said goodbye to Tim, and went back to my house.  That was a great drum corps day.

Next up: Western Corps Connection