Western Corps Connection
Sunday, June 30, 2024
San Bernardino Valley College
San Bernardino, CA
Bro picked me up at my house and we stopped at Miguel's Jr. in Rialto before going to the college. Their birria is pretty good, and we enjoyed our early dinner.
When we got closer to the venue, who should we see in front of us, but the Santa Clara Vanguard caravan! He thought of maybe just following them wherever since we were still early and because his license plate makes it look like he's part of the group anyway.
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| So happy to see the trucks again! |
We passed them instead, and Bro made a strange not a left turn into one of the parking lots, but it was on the opposite side of the campus. He found a spot that had some shade, which wasn't exactly right next to the stadium, but still an OK walk. It was a hot day, and Bro didn't want to watch warmups because he knew the corps would take up all the shade and he would just be on hot grass. Besides, the shade was about to come down on our section of the stadium. I went shopping and bought a green DCI shirt that I had seen the day before.
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| It's a bit of a scorcher |
When we showed our tickets at the gate, Rudy and Skye were just inside, contemplating on whether or not they should get kettlecorn. They only had regular popcorn at the concession stand, though, so we went to our seats. I went to the restroom first and used the elevator to go up because a) it's hot; secondly) I'm lazy; 3) I'm fancy. Our seats were in Section 3, Row R, Seats 15-18, on the right 35-45 yard lines.
The Star-Spangled Banner was a recorded instrumental version, and the flag was on the video board because I guess it's so hot here that all of the flags on the tall poles melted. Or they didn't want to risk them catching fire from the one a few miles away. But wait. We're going to see flags here today, so none of that makes any sense, as usual.
The other announcer was here, and Bro and I immediately missed Ryan from yesterday because there were already a lot of errors and the first corps hadn't even taken the field.
FREELANCERS ALUMNI
The soprano solist was en fuego today! I feel like they have one soloist that does great one day, then the next not as great, but still good, then the other soloist has his day. Hey, I'm not out there in 105-degree heat, so more power to them for doing so.
VESSEL
The drum major's hair was half black and half blond, like the corps uniforms. We couldn't figure out which half was Happy, and which half was Not Satisfied. They were much better on "Girls Just Wanna Have Fun". They had amplification issues. The guy in front of us said that they are now a group in WGI, which now makes sense as to why they have so many drummers in the corps.
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| I heart double flags |
I'm going to call the guy "PC guy" for the rest of this post because he had a PC corps jacket, but didn't wear it because it was just way too hot. He had told Rudy some stuff during the evening even though I don't think Rudy actually asked for the information. Bro was fine with it since it was correct information.
IMPULSE
Rudy thought the fruit was a strawberry. I told you that the apple needs to be bigger! Uh oh. Runaway Rifle. That particular guard gal had quite a bit of trouble with her equipment today. Rudy did not notice the Playbill flags. I had to show my photos of them to him instead.
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| Oh, it's the Brooklyn Bridge! |
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| Her uniform gives me Hamilton vibes |
BLUE DEVILS C
The electric guitar warm up / amp test today was Michael Jackson's "Beat It". Bro told me that each of the BD corps has a different test song on different days. Well, that's fun! Bro asked if he was looking at a portable purple harp. I told him yes, unless it was a very large autoharp. I remember our music teacher playing that in elementary school and I always wanted to play one. It never happened. Thanks to the narration, I know that this story is based on Shel Silverstein's "The Giving Tree", which is my favorite book. Yes, I actually wrote "thanks to the narration". The world may end soon. I honestly didn't understand what was going on in the show yesterday, even though I liked the music. I like how they act like airplanes when they go back to the field during "Come Sail Away". Because lyrics. To a song that none of these kids had probably ever heard until they were told they were going to play this song. Aw, what a cute hug at the end. Rudy giggled a lot at the little tykes, as usual.
BLUE DEVILS B
They have columns. Does PC break those? Nice synchronization of flag work in that last segment. Either they have a bunch of short people in their corps, or a lot of them seem to be the same age as those in BD-C.
GOLD
I really like the Beethoven arrangement. Bro does not. He doesn't think it really fits with the mood of the show, although he realizes that it would probably be a pretty boring show if they performed it as written. Before the percussion feature, the bass drummers raise their drums up over their heads to get to their position on the field. The percussion feature was very good. Bro feels badly for Gold because no matter how well they do, there's always somebody like BDB or SCVC or the Spartans to prevent them from getting to the top of the ladder. Your time will come, Gold.
<Intermission>
SANTA CLARA VANGUARD
I like the way the drum notes are the same as the horns. Do you know how hard that is when they do those runs? Especially on the Kendrick Lamar piece? We haven't even heard much of the other stuff, and I'm in awe of the way the play the heck out of it. "I hope you find some peace of mind." And now that's in my head again. The horns were much cleaner today. OK, some of the vagabonds are holding rifles in their packs, and some of them are holding flags. I bet some of the are holding sabers for a part we haven't seen yet.
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| Drums from new partnership between SCV and this company. |
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| Kickass Drums |
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| The big flags appear |
PACIFIC CREST
My favorite part was not as good as yesterday, but Bro thinks it's because they were having microphone issues since we couldn't hear the cool contra part very well. I love the way that the frame folds when they're done with it. Bro didn't know why they even need to use them anyway. I agree. Are their brown uniforms supposed to be the columns of the bed? Or other furniture?
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| Their stance means something and I haven't figured it out yet. |
MANDARINS
Rudy saw the awesome sets way before he was supposed to, because they had them facing the field all afternoon. He tried to forget about it, and the reveal is amazing anyway. OK, that's not my boyfriend singing on the recording; it's some woman with a deep alto voice singing "I Put A Spell On You". No hats were harmed in the performance of this show, because they now wear chin straps to keep them on. Someone did a drop a coat, though, which distracted Rudy, who thought they were pants. PANTS? How does one drop their pants on the field during the show and still go unnoticeable?
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| Before |
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| Reveal |
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| Nifty Artwork |
Wait. Did Ryan T show up to announce? Because he said the next corps' name just like Ryan T. When did he get here?
BLUE DEVILS
I like the way they move when next to the merry go round horses. BD is trying to get the brass trophy back with that cleanliness. They should just call themselves the "Blue & Pink Devils" because they tend to wear that combination a lot. Or "Blue Pink" like the K-Pop band. Bro likes when the big props turn into the stairs. I don't like when they're open and I can see inside their bureau, though. Even when one of them looks like it's Barbie's bureau.
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| Opening |
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| Hoop on hoop action |
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| Stairs |
Scores
Open Class:
5) 46.70 -- Blue Devils C
4) 51.05 -- Vessel
3) 51.25 -- Impulse
2) 60.25 -- Gold
1) 63.85 -- Blue Devils B
World Class:
4) 64.00 -- Pacific Crest
3) 72.95 -- Mandarins
2) 73.55 -- Santa Clara Vanguard
1) 77.30 -- Blue Devils
BD again had the highest score in the nation tonight, with a few corps yet to join in the fray.
Our walk back to our cars was a bit spooky because it was now dark and we weren't sure that we were going in the right direction. Rudy and Skye did park nearby, but not quite in the same lot as us. Bro offered to drop me off at Yaamava on the way home because he knew I'd be there the next night to see NKOTB. But I declined, because I needed clothes. And a shower. And a bed.
Drum Corps continues for us after Independence Day. Happy ID4, everyone!
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