Corps at the Crest
Saturday, June 29, 2024
Hilmer Lodge Stadium, Mt. San Antonio College
Walnut, CA
It's Drum Corps Time!!!!! For those of you that read this blog regularly, the Hawaii posts will return, probably after the California drum corps shows are done. Thank you for your patience.
This year's Corps at the Crest was kind of strange because there was no Vista show this year. Instead, Pacific Crest decided to host two shows in Walnut: the first day for Students only, and the second day for us old people who no longer go to school. Or something like that. I think that the reason was that the Rose Bowl was not available for this particular weekend, and in order to still get the attendance they normally get, the Los Angeles area show was split into two performances at Mt. SAC. Then when they did not sell out the Friday show, they sent announcements during the day that seats were available to the general public. Bro was on a plane, so he couldn't make it. I didn't see the announcement until too late because I was working. So I missed SCV's first performance after their hiatus, and I was a bit bummed about that, but at least I didn't see them without Bro, which would have made me feel a little guilty. He, on the other hand, would not have had guilty feelings because let's face it, it was his corps first.
All of D'Saints were scheduled to be at this show, but V wasn't feeling well, so it was just Bro and the kids. The kids had not been to a competitive drum corps show before, although they had been to the Oxnard show for their exhibition performances, and also to Blue Devils Family Day.
Bro drove us to Mt. SAC and asked if I realized that Cal Poly Pomona was so close to Mt. SAC. I had not. The nephew was accepted to college there this year, but opted to go elsewhere. Mt. SAC used to be the place where Arcadia HS would hold its field tournament competition for the Festival of Bands, so Bro and I were familiar with the place. I asked Bro if he had seen pictures of the stadium. He had not. He was in for quite the treat, because I was blown away by how much it had changed since we were last there. The parking lot was the same, although now they have a parking structure which we didn't use. We parked and saw that Glenn had also just arrived, so we all walked toward the tunnel to go under the street and into the area outside the stadium, which contained the DCI Marketplace. I told Bro to turn left, and we headed toward the Pep Wear area where they once again had Santa Clara Vanguard merchandise. Yay! I bought a baseball jersey, and decided that other stuff would need to wait another day because I had already spent $99.00 on one thing.
We showed our digital tickets and I saw that the VIP Experience was in a nice indoor location for the VIPs to get their food. I had opted out of that this year because I pictured little pull-up canopies like they had at Vista, and didn't want to subject my friends to that. But they did have a nice area behind our seats with little tables to eat their food, so I'm thinking about that for next year if they return to Mt. SAC. We got in line for food because we all knew that the earlier you get food the better at these things due to people arriving late and more kids being done with their shows, wanting to get food before sitting down with their parents in the stands. I liked the variety of foods available at their concession stand, because you could opt for grilled food or croissant sandwiches, and they also had the usual chips and sweets. I opted for a turkey sandwich on a croissant. Bro also liked that they listed what flavors of Gatorade were available, because often the line gets held up by people asking what kind of flavors they have, and the workers only know what color they are. I got fruit punch flavored Gatorade (red).
We went up to the stands, and Tim and his friend Sam were already in their seats. Tim's son, Clark, was supposed to join us, but he wasn't feeling well either. Aw, I would have loved to have seen Clark, and hope that he joins us next year. Sam marched with Tim up at Cal, and Tim gave him commentary between shows to give him perspective, as Sam had not been to a drum corps show in 36 years. A LOT has changed since then! I'm glad that Tim sat next to me so that I could listen to his expertise and chime in once in a while with spectator expertise. :)
Our seats were in Section E, Row KK, seats 5-13, from about the left 35-yard line to the right 45-yard line, at the top of our section. I think. There were no field markers painted on the green. Those of us that had been to Mt. SAC before all marveled at the remodel. We now had some shade, and they had a real press box! The seats we were in were regular individual seats, not bench type, although they did have the bench seating in other sections. Olivia noticed that my phone matched my maroon seat. So color-coordinated! There wasn't a lot of leg room for passers by because of the drink holders, but I was OK with that, especially because we had some seat room due to two absences.
The Star-Spangled Banner was performed a capella by soloist Bianca Dumonde. Nice and simple, and well sung.
Hi, Ryan T! Good to hear the Voice of Southern California again! I told Sam that Ryan was my drum major the year that I marched in the Rose Parade. Tim told him that Ryan was also in Velvet Knights.
As always, I will be providing each corps' repertoire at only the first show that I view them.
CALGARY STETSON SHOW BAND
They played at standstill, on the track. I don't think that they are officially SoundSport, just exhibition. I like their black stetsons! Also, they sang a song that I'm familiar with, but I don't know the title. One of the songs was "Get Lucky" by Daft Punk. Their show was fun.
FREELANCERS ALUMNI CORPS
Repertoire: Eleanor Rigby by Lennon-McCartney, Bridge Over Troubled Water by P. Simon, Spain by C. Corea
Freelancers is a SoundSport group, and also play at standstill. Nice solos! It looks like the corps members liked them, too.
I looked up at the hill behind the visitor stands, and wondered if there was a stormtrooper watching us. Because I have Star Wars on the brain.
IMPULSE
Repertoire: "That New York Feeling" -- Empire State of Mind by A. Hunte, J. Sewell-Ulepic, S. Carter, A. Keys, et al; New York, New York by J. Kander and F. Ebb; Welcome to New York by T. Swift and R. Tedder; In the Heights by L-M Miranda; Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse by L.T. Wayne (Metro Boomin) | et al
Membership is the largest I've seen in a long time. I pointed out the electric violin and electric cello to the nephew. "Is that a thing?" Yes, it's a thing. I like the purplish flags during "Empire". Apples. I wonder if they will have bigger ones by Finals Week, because those are a little too small for the big field. Go, Guard! Ooh, I love those Playbill flags! I like this show, and I'm pretty sure it's not done yet.
<Intermission>
Bro was irritated that there was already an intermission. It turns out that Golden Empire was supposed to compete in this spot, but they were not here. Bro explained to the nephew that they don't just go forward to the next corps because their time had been set a long time ago and they have their timing set accordingly. Once Bro figured out the reason for the early intermission, he wasn't irritated anymore.
VESSEL
Repertoire: "Happy? Not Satisfied!" -- Girls Just Want to Have Fun by R. Hazard; Light My Love by Jake, Josh and Sam Kiszka. D. Wagner; Cogworks by S.E. Brown
They're fron San Dimas now? That's a lot of drums. Pretty blue ombre double flags. They had some intonation issues, and the show is not finished yet.
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| See how the uniforms are black/white on one side, and colorful on the other? Also, the length is different. |
BLUE DEVILS C
Repertoire: "The Gifts We Receive" -- Forever Young by M. Gold, B. Lloyd & F. Mertens; Everybody Wants to Rule the World by R. Orzabal, I. Stanley & C. Hughes; A House is Not a Home by B. Bacharach & H. David; Come Sail Away by D. DeYoung; You'll Be in My Heart by P. Collins
They tested the amps with the theme from "Angry Birds", which none of us but Brady could figure out, because he used to play it every day. I played the Star Wars version, so that would not have helped. The early theme for this year is "Apples". Yup, they had those props, too, but not as apple-shaped as those in Impulse. The flag with the Blue Devils icon hit one of the palm tree fronds, but the tree stayed upright. I like the way they came full circle by ending with "Forever Young". Those little guard kids are already doing the partnership saber toss with one tossing it, and the person behind them catching it. Nice!
BLUE DEVILS B
Repertoire: "Sacred Geometry" -- Ordo Virtutum by Hildegard of Bingen; O Magnum Mysterium by T. L. de Victoria; Geometry by S. Clark & C. Tantavirojin; Primacy of Number by P. Glass; Stabat Mater by J-C Gandrille; The Laws of Nature by S. Clark & C. Tantavirojin; Once Upon a Castle by M. Daugherty
Go, Kiyoshi!!! Tim's friend's son plays baritone for BDB.
Beautiful opener of "O Magnum". I'm familiar with that song because I sang it in college choir, and I loved it then, too. Very nice French Horn solo. Those drums are cool with the pink and yellow. The battery feature was very good. They need to fix their lilnes and get more in sync with the flags, but it's still early. They made me miss Vanguard Cadets a lot, and Bro came over to basically say the same thing and opined that some of the folks who would have been in SCVC were probably in BDB this year. Neither one of them marched last year.
GOLD
Repertoire: "In Memory Of" -- Un Nouveau Méchant (A New Villian) by F. Rice; Everybody Wants to Rule the World by R. Orzabal, I. Stanley & C. Hughes; Faust Symphony S.108 -- Part I -- Faust by F. Liszt; Darkness of Light by G. Dombrowski; Faust Symphony S.108 -- Part III-- Mephistopheles by F. Liszt; Symphony No. 7 - II. Allegretto by L. van Beethoven; Symphony No. 5 -- IV. Adagietto by G. Mahler; Rebirth by S. Director; The Prayer by D. Foster
I saw the one person in the old school uniform and thought this was going to be one of those tribute shows to the old days. It was not. "War does not determine who is right; only who is lost." The Beethoven was very nice.
<Real Intermission>
I went up the stairs and walked a ways to find stairs that were unoccupied and much easier to descend the ones in the stands. The restroom was by the concession stands, which is a little far. I later found out that there were some behind the stands, near the elevator, but I think those probably had much fewer stalls, so it was all good. I could see my peeps from the grassy hilly area where kids were rolling down earlier, and took stalker pictures of them from that vantage point before actually taking pictures of the stadium itself.
SANTA CLARA VANGUARD
Repertoire: "Vagabond" -- United in Grief by K. Duckworth, S. Dew, M. Spears, J. Pounds, D. Timothy ,M. Schaeffer & Kosi; The All-Seeing Sky by J. Psathas; With Reckless Abandon by M. Karlsson; Mirrorball by G. Garvey, C. Potter, M. Potter, P. Turner, & R. Jupp
Vanguard!!! So happy to see them back on the field, even though they're wearing blue with their red instead of the traditional green. Last year, SCV took a hiatus due to financial issues, and said they probably wouldn't be back until 2025. They surprised us all by announcing that they were returning this season. Vanguard Cadets is not marching this year, so they're saving money there, and they've also done other stuff to bounce back to make sure they don't become a yesteryear corps. So Bro and I both independently decided that this must be why they don't have big props on the field. Bro said that it must be "Bring Your Own Field Markers" Day since they were the second corps today to have them. Or maybe the field markers are the props. I don't know. It's the first time for me to see this show. We gave them a standing ovation as they took the field. I have missed them terribly, and I had a tear in my eye as I applauded happily.
Their snare drums are a very deep beautiful red, and I like the hues of their uniforms. Very striking. I like the red sleeves against the blue. They have a blue V reminiscent of the Babylon checkmark on their blue uniforms, while those wearing red have a red V. The corps members are wearing a kind of sling carrier. Beautiful french horn solo, as well as the french horn / mellophone duet. The big light blue flags were a beautiful effect, which APPARENTLY were in the slings that the corps members carried. The show is not finished, but they sounded great! Welcome back, old friends.
MANDARINS
Repertoire: "Vieux Carre" --The Jungle & All Rise by W. Marsalis; Agape by N. Britell / In the Sweet By and By by J. Webster and S. F. Bennett; Lie to Me by T. Shorty, C. Seefreid & S. Abingdon
Glenn and I like the name of the show because we like that cocktail. They rolled their big props onto the area just outside the end zone during SCV's show and I was irritated. Bro figured out later that it was because they weren't allowed to leave their big heavy things on the very nice track. I didn't like that it was so close to the performers. You can actually see them in the photo of SCV above. The backdrop of the big props was black and white facades of buildings in New Orleans. Very cool opener with a soloist playing jazz, and then the backdrop falls and there are the corps members in front of bright, colorful backdrops with jazz instruments on them. That got a lot of "oohs" from the crowd! Cool trio during the jazz funeral section. There are ghosts and parasols. People dropped, like, 5 hats and I was distracted by them being on the field. That's what I miss about the drum judges being on the field with the corps: they would pick up the stuff and put it on the sidelines. One of the colorguard members did pick up one of the hats, but I'm sure it distracted everyone as they moved around the field.
PACIFIC CREST
Repertoire: "The Broken Column" -- Benediction and Dream by E. Goldenthal; Burning Red by E. Goldenthal; Harmonielehre by J. Adams; California Counterpoint: The Twittering Machine by C. McTee; Ramalama Bang Bang by M. J. Herbert & R. Murphy; Passage by C. Yih Shih / ...And the Mountains Rising Nowhere by J. Schwanter
Nice drum major salute with the dress! I like that funky section, while they're moving the frames from side to side. Nice sound, horns! I don't really understand this show, but I don't know the Frida Kahlo story. Perhaps I should watch that movie. Or read.
BLUE DEVILS
Repertoire: "The Romantics" -- Romantics Whisper by D. Glyde; And the Heavens Shall Tremble by R. Brower & M. Uelmen; Fable Legends (Title Theme) by R. Shaw; Merry Go Round by J. Hisaishi; Shattered Pixel by D. Glyde; Game Girl by D. Glyde; Time by B. Porter; Distance by D. Glyde; Can You Hear the Music by L. Goransson; Poor Things (Finale) by J. Fendrix
Capes! I want one. Ooh, Merry Go Round horses! Oh, they open up the boxes to get their stuff from the cubbies inside. Then they change to black/white scenery at the end. I like the silhouette of the guy with the cape on top of the steps, making it look like he climbed one of the mountains. Run with hoops! They even held up a few horizontally next to each other, and rolled another one across them. Horns were so clean! This was the favorite show of the majority of people in our car. I'm not quite into it yet, but that's kind of how I am about BD shows. I think I'm just overstimulated with so much stuff to see the first time.
Encore
Pacific Crest played their funky song! Yay! They heard my request! They also played their drum feature before playing their signature song, Biebl's Ave Maria. I think this is a new arrangement, but I might have said that last year, too.
Scores
Open Class:
5) 45.80 -- Blue Devils C
4) 49.15 -- Impulse
3) 50.00 -- Vessel
2) 59.45 -- Gold
1) 63.70 -- Blue Devils B
World Class:
4) 62.70 -- Pacific Crest
3) 71.25 -- Mandarins
2) 72.35 -- Santa Clara Vanguard
1) 77.10 -- Blue Devils
Scores weren't too surprising, but it is notable that BDB scored higher than PC.
Tim said that he thinks the caliber of the talent is higher than in previous years. I agree. I'm impressed that Vessel has so many members now. I also think that with the dissolution of The Cadets and SCVC still on hiatus, their corps members needed a place to go, so the talent spread out a little bit. Regardless, this is a promising start to the season. Sam enjoyed the show, so I hope he joins us again next year. The niece and nephew enjoyed the show, and the niece asked Bro lots of good questions.
They pointed out to me that there were a couple of Blue Devils with their capes in the DCI Marketplace and that it was my chance to get one. We got a closer look at the stormtrooper-looking thing, and it was actually some kind of electrical outlet. Sooo. closer to R2-D2? We all walked back to the parking lot through the tunnel after Glenn bought a DCI shirt that he had been eyeing since we arrived. Thank you to Mt. SAC for the nice new venue! I hope we get to return.
Next up: Western Corps Connection
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