Strawless

DCI Semi-Finals

August 7, 2009

Lucas Oil Stadium -- Indianapolis, IN

We stayed in the hotel this morning, only leaving to go back to the neighboring hotel's cafe again so that Bro could get another one of their Reuben sandwiches. He loves those things. I had a sandwich that had chicken cordon bleu, but it was hastily put together, and I wasn't that thrilled with it, although the chicken was cooked well. I won't be ordering this tomorrow.

We walked over to the stadium and made our way to the DCI Marketplace to check out the souvie trailers that we didn't have time to look at the day before. We didn't buy anything, but did get a copy of the Show Day Scorecard for the day. We saw that the Colts Pro Shop was open, but didn't have time to figure out how to get inside, so we made our way to the concessions stand. Due to yesterday's debacle, Bro decided to get his food ahead of time and just eat whenever, in order to avoid the long lines. He asked for a straw, and the guy said that there were none anywhere in the stadium. This, of course, has led to us plotting on bringing straws next year for ourselves, and perhaps some extras for everyone around us. Then he used the dispenser to put mustard on his hot dog and it came pouring out way too much. For some reason, I did the same thing with the other dispenser. I don't know why I didn't learn from Bro's experience. So we have to bring our own condiments, too. Oh, and caps for our bottled drinks.

We went to our seats, which were on the left 10 on the second tier. So today we would see more faces. It turns out that the sound was much better from these seats, since it didn't get lost and bounced off of stuff by the time it reached our ears.

The Star-Spangled Banner was sung a cappella by Staff Sergeant Wright of the US Army. His singing was beautiful, and it brought a tear to my eye.

The top 12 corps (marked with *) advance to Finals.

Spirit -- 80.45

Their lead soprano started the warm-up with a screaming solo, and the others started to play whatever, much like a concertmaster leading an orchestra's tuning. I take back what I wrote yesterday about Spirit. You *can* hear the harmonies that I'm used to hearing with Kansas. I guess that it was just so muddled by the time that it got to the top tier that I couldn't hear any of it. I like the silent drill with the color guard, but I wish they had done more with it. Like included the corps marching around, or done more fancy stuff with the flags.

Spirit concertgoers behind barricade

Crossmen -- 81.65

It was cool how the drum major ended her salute simultaneous with a little "ding!" from somebody in the pit. Their capes are just way cool. I like the mello solo, as well as the screaming sop solo at the point that they are in what I called the Bat formation, and the soprano is at the center point. I also like how the one gal caught her sabre while bent over backwards, touching the field with her other hand. Wow! At the end of the show, the corps marched off, and the dude was still drinking from the gal, and then finally carried her off of the field. Cool.

Madison Scouts -- 82.4

Bro ate his hot dog during this show, because he doesn't really like it. So even though he was seated, this was his Hot Dog Corps this year. I really liked the Malaga: great job with all of that triple-tonguing! Boston could use those snake flags for their Temptation show. The DM opens his jacket at the end of the show, revealing the superhero's lightning bolt.

Scary in Red Death Robes

The Academy -- 83.75

Thanks for hurting my ears, Academy! I was waiting for that. Great blast in the opening number, especially from the high brass. That's a big, full chord there at the end. Nice.

Colts -- 85.60

The seagull sound played, and I thought, "Scuttle!" I like the SOS tones, although I could have done without the synthesizer part. The horns were enough to exemplify that. I didn't remember the big sailboat sail or the fish flags from last night. I must have been spacing out at that time.

So, I just have to show you that the Bro and I are Vanguard fans, all the way down to our toes.

Santos Vanguard Feet

Troopers -- 85.90*

I've decided that if the Troop ever drastically changes their uniforms, I'm going to completely freak out. Before the show today, I had been trying to remember which corps I liked with the soprano ensemble that did the unison screaming solo. Bro told me it was the Troopers. He was right. They rocked all of this show. Go, Troop, and Congratulations on making it to Finals! The guy next to me (not Bro) and I were, like, "FINALLY!"

Blue Knights -- 87.55*

I need a ski vest. Bro needs ear warmers. It's cold in here. Whenever I hear the announcer say the title of this show, I think he says "Sugar." It's "Shiver." I'm deaf AND forgetful. Several CG members were sitting out on the sidelines. Don't know if they're all alternates, or if BK has been hit with the illness that almost all of the corps have been getting. Does the BK audition include the knee pop? Just wondering. Bro said that the drum judges on the field will never learn to stay out of the middle of the BK drumline at crucial parts of movement during their shows. They get stuck every year. The drum major was so excited at the end that he was jumping up & down while conducting.

Glassmen -- 87.95*

Oh, those aren't scratch marks on their pants: they're little triangles. Their plumes are tall. The show starts with a single snare, which makes sense with the "One" theme. Bro thinks it would be cool if the whole audience motioned #1 with their index finger at the same time that the corps does at the end of the show.

Blue Stars -- 90.4*

They stand on chairs, too! A little boy in the box seats above us kept repeating, "BLUE STARS!" It was too cute. I like that the show starts with the battery, making it sound like a sewing machine factory. I also like the integration of the Old 100th Psalm with the battle music. Pretty colors of flags at the end.

INTERMISSION

The drum majors from the Open Class corps competing in Finals tomorrow were introduced. I ate my hot dog. It wasn't yummy, and I don't think it would have been if it was hot. So no more hot dogs from there. The people in front of us, Blue Stars parents/fans, were complimented by the people next to them, whom are Phregiment parents/fans. The Stars fans said, "Thanks. No offense, but we hope we kick your ass today." Friendly-like, but still...it's not a nice way to talk to the defending champions, no matter how far away they are from this year's title.

Boston Crusaders --91.2*

Bro asked me if the CG gals were just wearing Sports Bras. Seems like it. They're supposed to be sexy anyway. I like the way they brushed their hair back as they were waiting for their sabres to fall. You know, they use flags with eyes on them. So did Madison. Madison had the snake flags that would with this show. What a weird coincidence. Bro said it wasn't a coincidence at all. Whatever. OK, so actually, the contra players ARE playing at the same time that they are carrying the CG gals. Whoa. Oh, and the CG guys were carrying horn players while they were playing during the Bacchanale. More Whoa. I need to clap during that part. APPARENTLY, we're supposed to. So, as you see from the score, it really doesn't matter how Phreg did. BCru kicked the BStars' butts anyway. They really did bring it.

Bitten Apple

Phregiment -- 90.65*

So I guess the BStars didn't get their wish, although Phregiment does need to keep it up for tomorrow. The opening dude does not play the violin very well. I told Bro that he needed to go down to the field and play instead. Then the CG lead gal DROPPED the violin. Ugh. Thank goodness the CG guy didn't do so when he did his throw. Beautiful soprano solo. I really like that music.

Flags with Violin Portion on them

Bluecoats -- 93.55*

So they have that "idea" flag, the "big" flag to add to it, and a "ger" flag to add to that. Necessary? No. Here's my bigger idea: leave it to our imaginations. I like seeing the jacket-less horn players kick the jacketed horn players from the back of their knees. It was just cool-looking, like "take off your jacket, fool!" Bloo is all alone in the world with their score. Nobody can touch them, and they can't touch those higher than them.

Santa Clara Vanguard -- 95.9*

They got a nice standing ovation during their company front. The only corps of the night to receive one before the end of their show.

Martha at Show End

Cavaliers -- 96.05*

Hey, dude. You've got something on your butt. OK, it's the rope pulling the climber. It still looked like it was on his butt. It looked like the judge was running after the climber to arrest him or something after he climbed all over everybody.

Climbing Over Cavaliers Corps

Holy Name Cadets -- 97.2*

Bright yellows are in this year. Run, judge, RUN!!! They havea lot of company fronts, but they run to them instead of march. This is not as effectual to me as a slow-moving/slow-forming one. Bro said it's because they have to do 75 company fronts to commemorate the big anniversary year, so they don't have time to be slow.

Cadets Take The Field

Carolina Crown -- 97.55*

So, I'm sitting there trying to convince Bro that the CG guy is Peter Pan, and then the little 10-year-old girl next to him says the same thing to her dad. I TOLD you!!! I like the transition chord of "Somewhere" leading into "Over the Rainbow". Bro wants me to remember that there was more green than black in the sash of the corps uniform before tonight. I just checked close-ups, and there is green in the sash.

Crown's Green Drums

Blue Devils -- 98.4*

OK, they *added* "Rhapsody in Blue* at the end. That was not there before. And, of course, it was gorgeous. Those drums are just pure, clean, and done.

BD Horns Laying Back on Chairs

The DCI Hall of Fame inductees were announced, and then the Individual & Ensemble winners were introduced. We also heard the sergeant sing the Star-Spangled Banner again, because it was way too good for any of the latecomers to miss, I guess. Then came the Age-Out ceremony. I was annoyed that they also invited the alumni to go on the field. They already had their ceremony! Let the kids have their own night! And then they didn't even list all the names like they used to. I think this year's graduating class was gypped. The evening ended with a member of the Bluecoats proposing to his girlfriend, also a member of the corps. She said yes.

Bro and I walked back across the street to our hotel and tried to get some sleep in preparation for the next day's full day of drum corps. It was difficult, though, because the nearby bar had some loud music. Go to sleep, you crazy kids, and stop all that racket!

That Drum Corps Show Across the Street

DCI Quarterfinals

Thursday, August 6, 2009

Indianapolis, IN -- Lucas Oil Stadium

I arrived in Indianapolis on Wednesday, a day after Bro. He had arrived a day early to visit with some friends in Terre Haute. He picked me up in the rented oh-so-roomy-but-not-really Toyota Yaris. It's actually a nice car, except for the weird instrument panel, which is situated in the middle of the dashboard, which irritated Bro. We made a stop at Staples and then had dinner at O'Charley's, where we had gone last year, so now it is a tradition. (Yes, both Staples and O'Charley's. Best Buy would have been part of the tradition had the store still been there). We then drove to our hotel, which is right across the street from Lucas Oil Stadium. This is especially impressive to Bro and me because we thought it was a couple of blocks away. No. It's right there! See?

Holiday Inn Express on left, Lucas Oil on right

It should also impress those of you that have been to DCI with us before, having to take a shuttle or drive all the way back to our hotel. We couldn't believe our luck when we had booked the place last month and it was still available. No, we don't have a view of the stadium from our room, but we don't mind. We pretty much just got settled in and realized that we wouldn't have much to do for the rest of our stay but see drum corps. Don't know if we're going to be able to last all 9 years here.

On Thursday morning, we got up and had a nice complimentary warm breakfast downstairs in the hotel. We went to the Greenwood mall and bought flip-flops for both of us at Dick's Sporting Goods. I know, I know. MORE shoes, Sher? But, but, they were on sale! It's Bro's fault anyway. Take this girl shopping for shoes and you know she's going to look for some for herself. We went back to the hotel and I painted my toenails green to show my Vanguardian fandom. We had lunch at the Comfort Suites Cafe and Bar at the Comfort Inn just a few steps away. Bro enjoyed his $1.00 Black Jack Cola, while I spent twice as much on a mere Diet Coke. Bro has realized that he likes Reuben sandwiches.

We walked back to our hotel, picked up our tickets and such, and headed over to Lucas Oil. Although our tickets stated that we could enter through the gates on the same side as our hotel, they were incorrect. So much for paying the exorbitant charges that Ticketmaster sets on these stupid things. I miss the days when we used to order directly through DCI, and all the tickets had the name "Kristy" on them. I somehow was able to get in with my backpack, although the announcement said that they weren't allowed. (Others had them, too. If they had a bag check, perhaps I would have had to walk back to the hotel). So after we signed up to be "Super Fans," we went down to the DCI Marketplace, which is actually in the attached Convention Center. I bought a Vanguard tote (yes, another bag) as well as last year's DCI Finals CDs and the week's program. Bro bought a couple of cool shirts.

Anyway, one of the ways to get to the Marketplace is to go down the steps to the field level and go behind the stands to the entrance. Here's the view from the field level:

Colts End Zone

We made our way up to our seats, which were on the Terrace Level, the highest tier, in the 1st row, on the left 10-yard line. We had missed the Star-Spangled Banner, and were seated just in time for the first corps. Since we were in the front row of our section, I had desk space to place my notebook and phone. This made me happy. I'm a geek like that.

The top 17 -scored corps advance to semi-finals, marked by an *

Cascades -- 74.95

Repertoire: "Beyond the Forest" -- Pan's Labyrinth by J. Navarrete, Into the Forest by J. Hinkle, Tangiers by J. Powel, Not While I'm Around by S. Sondheim, Make Our Garden Grow by L. Bernstein

Welcome back, Seattle! They didn't do a full tour last year, and I missed them. I told Bro that due to the last heat wave in Seattle, this is probably the first time that corps members felt like they were going to better weather for Finals. I didn't really like any of the flag colors. At one point, they had branches, and formed a tree. I thought that one of the formations would mean something significant. Here is the exchange of words between us.

S: What is that?

B: An ant.

S: On purpose?

Cascades Tree

Pioneer -- 75.75

Repertoire: "Celtic Trinity" -- Celtic Dances by B. Balmages, Into the Raging River by S. Rellnecke

They did variations of the number three, which made Bro furrow his brow, since SCV had just recently done a show with this theme. However, Pioneer's was more symbolic of their Irish roots, using the shamrock, the Celtic Triangle, and the Celtic Cross in their formations. At one point, the color guard members each had a big stick, and a little, almost tambourine-sized drum. We wondered what that was about. It turns out that the drum was to be held up for the snare players to beat. Ooh, look! The second drum major has a horn solo. Toward the end, the cymbals did a version of SCV's Viper. What? Just because SCV isn't doing it this year, you're going to? Hmph.

Jersey Surf -- 78.55

Repertoire: "The Mozart Effect" -- Overture to The Marriage of Figaro; Inspirations from Symphony #40 in G Minor; The Lacrimosa (from Mozart's Requiem); Excerpts from: The Magic Flute, Act II: Pa-Pa-Papageno, Der Holle kocht in meinem Herze; Excerpts from: Symphony #40 in G Minor: "Eine Kleine Nachtmusik" by. W.A. Mozart

This is the Surf's debut at World Class Finals week competition. Welcome to the Big Leagues, Surf! That last chord to the Overture was really cool. When Bro and I saw the repertoire, we both worried that Surf had lost its comedic roots, but they did not disappoint us. Symphony #40 was a fun romp with a salsa beat. Pa-Pa-Papageno was great, and the corps danced the bird dance and bobbed their heads. (This is one of the very few songs in The Magic Flute that I actually enjoy). The musical back-and-forth melody got kind of lost from our vantage point, though, because the sound gets a little muddy up here.

Pacific Crest -- 79.05

Repertoire: "El Corazon de la Gente" -- Danzas Sinfonicas by J. Orbon, Sinfonia India by C. Chavez, Pampeana #3 by A. Ginastera

Ok, this is the corps I sponsor on a regular basis, and this is the first and only time I saw them perform this year. Stupid getting-drunk-in-Napa. ;) I also sponsored a uniform, and don't really like them, but whatever. I also don't like the CG uniforms. I do, however, love the corps uniforms from the back! Nice, especially with the white plume. I also like the Drum Major's uniform. At first, I was happy to see that they were able to keep their lines straight, even when they weren't on the yard lines. That didn't last for the rest of the show, though, as I found myself motioning to them to move over and get in line (as if they could see me). I like the drum feature, and there were some very nice solos. I also liked the dance steps during what looked like a bull-fighting sequence, as well as the accompanying hypnotic flags.

PC Turns Around

Mandarins -- 79.65

Repertoire: "Absolute" -- Absolute Fanfare: Festive Overture, Op. 96 by D. Shostakovich; Absolute Passion: Libertango by A. Piazzolla; Absolute Joy: Ode to Joy (from Symphony No. 9 in D Minor, Op. 125, "Choral") by L. van Beethoven; Absolute Rhythm: Ode to Joy; Absolute Velocity: Partita by P. Sparke

I see Absolute, I think vodka. See? They included a Russian composer! ;) All of their different-colored flags had the same graphic on it. I like the music, but how can you have "Absolute Joy" in a Mandarins show when there is no Taiko? Hey--the CG took the long feather from last year's Pacific Crest show, and multiplied. Somebody dropped their drum stick, so that distracted me for the rest of the show. I missed when they picked it up, though.

Spirit -- 80.7 *

Repertoire: "Live...In Concert" -- Song for America by K. Livgren, Carry On Wayward Son by K. Livgren, Point of Know Return by S. Walsh, P. Ehart & R. Steinhardt, Dust in the Wind by K. Livgren, Journey from Mariabronn by K. Livgren & S. Walsh

Their show is the music of the band Kansas, whom I know as having some cool a cappella harmonies in some of their songs. So the fact that they had no part of just pure horn chords without any other distraction just completely disappointed me. I'm also not happy that they were actually playing an electric string bass and an electric guitar over there in the pit. The pre-show started with sound checks, which fit the theme of the whole "concert" atmosphere, but I just could not get into it, and was annoyed. Had they done the harmonies and let the horns actually just play, this show would have been awesome. Instead, we just got a bunch of unnecessary stuff. Ugh.

Crossmen -- 81.9*

Repertore: "ForbiddeN" -- Medea's Dance of Vengeance by S. Barber, My Immortal by B. Moody, A. Lee & D. Hodges, ForbiddeN by A. Guidry

No, that capital N in the title is not a typo. Don't know what that's about. Anyway, the program doesn't come right out and say this, but this show is about vampires. COOL! The Crossmen capitalize on their corps history, and bring back their capes to use as part of their special effects. Love it. Unfortunately, due to security issues, mascot Bones had nowhere to stand except on the sidelines to bring luck to his corps. I like all of the vampire cape action. There was a neat sound that was like something flying through the wind at night, but I wish it wasn't from the synthesizer. Because that means that they're using a synthesizer, and I am not a fan of those being used in drum corps. At the end of the show, I asked Bro, "Is he drinking her right now?" The answer was YES. Way cool.

Cymbal players surround the ForbiddeN couple

INTERMISSION

So at this point, I went to the restroom, then looked for a concession stand to buy something to drink. For the entire terrace level, there was only one stand open, with 6 lines, each at least 15 customers deep. Good God. Perhaps this wouldn't be so bad if the line actually moved quickly. No. APPARENTLY, this was the concessions crew's first day together. EVER. This is supposed to be their dress rehearsal for next week's opening Colts game. Ummmmm....you guys have a LOT of practicing to do! I met some nice people in line, 2 of which were a couple whose kid was in PC, so we talked about that. Other people discussed the non-availability of adequate Disabled services, such as parking near the door, and actual seating for disabled people. The rest of the time, we all talked about the abhorrent concession stand service. Next to the kitchen, still in the employee area, 3 people stood around, 2 of them with walkie-talkies, probably discussing the fact that nobody had any idea what was going on. Why the heck are there so many people here? And why are they all hungry/thirsty? When the lady in front of me finally ordered a good 20-25 minutes after we got in line, they had run low on pretzels, so they were still heating them. Did the gal at the register offer to help me while they were waiting for them? Not until I spoke up and asked if I could just buy a drink. She just sat there and watched the pretzel people heat up the pretzels, already having put in her request for one. She probably would have made me wait had I not spoken up. Normally, I would be patient, but it was, like 1 minute until intermission would be over. A 41-minute intermission. So maybe I had been in line for 30 minutes, I don't even know. RIDICULOUS.

Madison Scouts -- 83.5*

Repertoire: "Relampago" -- I. The Forces of Nature: Original music by V. Oliver, Malaga by B. Holman; II. Two Left-Footed Mambo: Baron Cimetiere's Mambo by D. Grantham; III. Love Is In the Air: Original music by V. Oliver; IV. A Turn to the Dark Side: Candela by G. Ortiz; V. Relampago's Triumphant Return: Original music by V. Oliver

This show is about a reuctant superhero, who gained supernatural strengths after living a life of crime. The first part of the show looks like scary Death in red robes. Then he looked like a Lucha wrestler. So I thought that maybe it was a wrestler who had come back to life. I was close, I guess. I like the red sash on the corps uniforms. No fleur-de-lis in the Madison show? WHACK.

The Academy -- 83.9*

I really like this show from up here. Lots of arrows pointing up, which fit the "Ascent" theme. We couldn't see them from the low vantage point that we had in AZ. I like the blue flags signifying wind, especially when they spin them. The music is not muddy now, as it was with the corps before them today. Pretty.

Academy Arrow Going Up

Colts -- 85.15*

Repertoire: "Fathoms" -- Song of the High Seas (from Victory at Sea) by R. Rodgers, Seda Treaders by W. F. McBeth, The Voyage by C. Tomas & M. Mullinix, Ebb Tide by R. Maxwell, SOS by M. Mulinix & C. Tomas, The Journey Home by C. Tomas & M. Mulllinix

I wanted to hear "Fathoms Below" from The Little Mermaid, but I didn't. Bummer. They did a formation of a wave, which almost looked like the PC logo, but red. That synthesized seagull sound was way loud. How big was that seagull supposed to be? The nautical theme was present throughout, and I liked the flag with the lighthouse graphic.

Troopers -- 86.05*

The corps entered from the other side of the stadium. That was weird. Oh! One of the formations was a bow and arrow, and it moved as if the arrow was being shot. I don't remember that many hearts in the show before, but I like them. I liked the really high soprano note that was played in unison. NICE!

Troopers Arrow Through Heart

Glassmen -- 87.75*

Repertoire: "The Journey of ONE" -- Act 1: Multiples of ONE: The Multiples of One by J. Curiale, You Are Wherever Your Thoughts Are by S. Reich; Act 2: Alone: The Heat Asks Pleasure First (from The Piano) by M. Nymna, Panis Angelicus by C. Frank; Act 3: ONE: The Multiples of One; Joy (from Awakening) by J. Curiale, One by H. Nillson

I thought the beginning of their show sounded like SCV's Canyon, but that didn't last long. When did they add those hash marks to their pants? The space sound they made was cool, and I know they can do that with just horns. They also had flags with the same design on all of their different colors. Bro would have preferred that they ended their show with the Arabic number 1 instead of the Roman numeral I. Maybe they'll change it up just for him tomorrow.

Glassmen One

Blue Knights -- 87.0*

Brrr....it's getting cold in here. No, really, it is. The air-conditioning was on, and it felt kind of wrong for me to be watching drum corps in person and not being warm. BK's guard was dressed appropriately, for their "Shiver" show. The wind blowing the corps around worked well here. It did not seem to translate at all in AZ. Neither did those ski vests on in 97-degree weather. I could have used one tonight, though. One of the guard members kept dropping stuff, which makes me crazy during finals week. I giggled when the judge had to run away from the expanding snowball. I think that they should change the pattern of the snowflake with every show. They have pretty flags. I like the big ones with the fringe, pictured below.

Blue Stars-- 89.95*

Repertoire: "The Factory" -- Theme from Hardin County, by A. Menkin; The Factory by F. Sullivan, B. Montgomery, S. Adams & T. Aungst; Fancy Free by L. Bernstein

There are a LOT of sewing machines on the field.

I like the way that they brought unfinished flags to the sewers, and they came back with complete flags. There was some narration going on, which I heard as "Wa wa wa Wa wa wa" a la Charlie Brown adults. Not just because I hate narration, but also because it gets all muddy in the dome atmosphere. Which leads me to this discussion.

DCI did not have the dome open today, which was a beautiful day, not too hot, no rain, blue skies. APPARENTLY, the stadium folks told them that they had to keep the dome closed. Never mind that acoustically, drum corps is better heard in open air. Never mind that DCI is locked into its contract for 9 of the next 10 years. Never mind that there was no rain or 100-degree heat in the forecast. No. STUPID.

Anyway, I like the theme of the BStars show. There were just way too many sewing machines on the field, and the narration was unnecessary.

INTERMISSION

No, I did not go back to concessions.

Boston Crusaders -- 90.35*

Repertoire: "The Core of Temptation" -- Prologue by J. Kennedy, Dance of the Maenads (from View from Olympus) by J. Psathas, Seduction (after a theme by Camille Saint-Saens) by J. Kennedy, Chaos by O. Carmenatas & J. Carpenter, Capitulation & Ritual Madness by. J. Kennedy, Bacchanale (from Samson and Delilah) by C. Saint-Saens

The first big formation was an apple. I missed taking a picture of that. Later on, the formation was of a bitten apple. I missed taking a picture of that one, too. Oh, well. I wasn't fond of the flags, because the bright pink really clashed with the corps' red uniforms. Bro: "All the flags are Bubble Yum flavors." As if the contra players don't have enough of a load to carry, they also each lift up a member of the CG while also holding their instruments. Those are some strong people! There were way more people on the field dancing around than I remember being in the story of the Garden of Eden. YAY! Bacchanale!!!! I LOVE that piece.

Phantom Regiment -- 90.7*

Repertoire: "The Red Violin" -- The Red Violin (from the film The Red Violin) by J. Corigliano, Fantasy Variations on a Theme by Paganini by J. Barnes, Paganini Variations by W. Lutoslawski, Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini by S. Rachmaninoff, Caprice XXIV Paganini by B. Goodman, Paganini Variations by P. Wilby

I love the movie The Red Violin, especially the music. So I was happy at the beginning of the season when Phregiment announced that they would be doing the music from this show. The defending champions have got the talent for it. Unfortunately, their show design left the judges with much to be desired during the season, so they changed it drastically. I had seen the first version online, so much of the show tonight was new to me. They really changed it! There is now some residual violence from last year's Spartacus show, as people fight over ownership over the Red Violin. They stand at the vomitory with the snares in front, then they open up like a gate and let the rest of the corps enter before them. I love how they jazzed up Paganini. The violinist in me wants that f-hole flag. (The f-hole is one of the cut outs on the violin itself). They make formations of portions of violins.

3/4 of a Violin formation

Bluecoats -- 92.65*

Do we really need the flag with the word "idea" and a lightbulb on it? The multiple flags with just lighbulbs on them weren't enough? I like the flags with the graphic of pigs flying. I also like the horn players' dance movements during the drum feature, which is cool in itself anyway. They were the 2nd corps to take off some of their clothing today. Somebody earlier took off their hats. So, at this rate, I figured that the Blue Devils would just eventually be naked on the field.

Santa Clara Vanguard -- 95.5*

Gorgeous! I warned Bro that I watched them perform this live online a few weeks ago, and I cried through most of it. It didn't happen today because I ran out of batteries on my camera. The cymbal players now put their cymbals down on the field at the end of the show so that they can lift up "Martha." All in all, I have nothing much to say. The beauty of this show leaves me speechless.

SCV

Holy Name Cadets -- 96.05*

Repertoire: "West Side Story '09: Conflict and Resolution" -- Rumble, Prologue, Boy Like That/I Have a Love, Cool, Tonight (from West Side Story) by L. Bernstein

Happy 75th Anniversary to the Cadets, who went back to their roots this year with their corps name and one of the staple pieces of drum corps, the music of WSS. Actually, to me, it was a a"White West Side Story," as they didn't play "Mambo" or "America." I like the conflicting sides of the green vs. yellow flags while they play a cool medley of "Boy Like That/I Have A Love." Heaven help us, I actually like a Cadets show! If only they would leave out the talking. Yes, there's still a little bit of talking during "Cool." Completely unnecessary.

Carolina Crown -- 96.10*

Repertoire: "The Grass is Always Greener" -- Promise of Living by A. Copland, The Storm by L. Beddis & A. Markworth, Church Windows by O. Respighi, Overture, Spark of Love, Puck One (from Il Sogno) by E. Costello, Sensemaya by S. Revueltas, Somewhere Over the Rainbow by H. Arlen, Somewhere (from West Side Story) by L. Bernstein, Slalom by C. Pann, Promise of Living

There is way too much green, and an icky green at that. I thought that Peter Pan was on the field, and it seemed to me that I was right, because later someone was dressed like they were Tinkerbell. So Peter Pan & Tinkerbell were dancing to "Somewhere Over the Rainbow," which is the Cavaliers signature song. The Cavaliers, AKA the Green Machine, were waiting to perform their show and had to listen to this other corps do their song. That was just wrong to me. Ooh, at one point, there were pairs of corps members making a bridge out of another corps member on their shoulders, and the CG would toss their rifle over them and catch from the other side of the human bridge. Cool! If I was the bridge, I'd close my eyes for that.

Cavaliers -- 95.85*

Repertoire: "The Great Divide" -- Extreme Makeover by J. de Meij, Pampeana No. 3: Impetuosamente by A. Ginastera, The Engulfed Cathedral by C. Debussy, On the Great Divide by J. Adams

OK, Crown must have thrown off the Cavaliers to give them this score. That whole wrong-ness must have just permeated throughout the season. They have ropes in this show. At one point, 2 people were on each end, holding two ropes, and there was another CG standing midway between them. I wanted them to do some Double Dutch. They did not. So near the beginning of the show, the CG tossed their rifles over an elevated rope. Whatever. So I giggled, thinking that wasn't as dangerous as what Crown did. Then it was like, "Oh, yeah? I'll show YOU 'rifle-toss-over-corps-member'!" and a bunch of them, in succession, did the human bridge on shoulders, spinning one way and then another over the bridge. Awesome. There was a lot of climbing over people. Um, sir? Have you ever heard the phrase "Excuse me?" ;)

Blue Devils -- 97.95*

Repertoire: "1930" -- Mosaic: Get Happy by H. Arlen & T. Koehler, Happy Days Are Here Again by J. Yelten & M. Ager, Playing Love by E. Morricone; Depression: Piano Variations by A. Copland; King of Jazz: Rialto Ripples by G. Gershwin & I. Gershwin, I Got Rhythm by G. Gershwin & I. Gershwin; Hope: Concerto in F by G. Gershwin, Caravan by D. Ellington, I. MIlls & J. Tizol, Happy Days Are Here Again

I had only seen this show online before. The first time, I didn't like it much. The second time, I did. This time, live, I really enjoyed the show. They have a lot of chairs, which are moved around the field to support different formations and allow people to sit down.

S: Did they sit around a lot in 1930?

B: Yes. It's when the chair was invented.

S: Wow. They stood around for a long time!

That cool pant-scarf thing from last year is back, but the inner lining is yellow, which matches the CG, and really adds to the visual effect of the show. The horn players are all sitting in an arc formation at one point, and they all have their legs spread out as they lay back on the chairs. I really like that, especially because it shows that yellow. I wondered aloud why the drummers didn't get to sit down. Well, I got something close: The snare players stood on the chairs, and then the bass drummers. I was all, YES!!!" when it happened, it was really cool. With all of those chairs as obstacles, I was amused when the field judge had a hard time getting around. I want to "see" BD do that one in the dark! Bro told me to close my eyes and it would have been the same as that night in 1999. But I want the corps' eyes to be closed, too!!!

After hearing the last couple of scores, I needed some protein, so Bro and I decided to put our stuff away and walk over to Basey's. Basey's is a bar situated next to the parking structure of the hotel, and they put up a canopy for drum corps fans and alumni to have drinks after the show. We went inside and ordered some hot wings and drinks. A drunk man said stuff to us occassionally. He called Bro a Marine and asked how he got so lucky to be with somebody so good-looking. Or he was asking me that. We weren't sure. I just didn't want to tip him off that we were bro & sis, so that he wouldn't hit on either one of us. He was pretty harmless, but really drunk, and staggered to the restroom. I got really drunk on my Citrus Splash, which was just vodka & cranberry juice, but I was really just ready to go home. Bro called me a lightweight as he finished his Silver Bullet as well as the rest of my drink & my wings. I don't know why, but that drink hit me HARD. We went back to the hotel and I drank water to prevent any hatred of myself in the morning.

It was an enjoyable Quarterfinals night. I didn't deem any show "hot dog corps"-worthy. There wasn't much drama, which, compared to last year, is a bit of a letdown. The top show to Bro and me, no matter what the score: Vanguard. Not many shows leave me with that speechless feeling. Ballet for Martha gives me the same feeling that Scheherazade did in 2004. No matter who wins, 2009 will be, to me, "Martha's Year."

Next Up: Semifinals

Back to Indiana

It's Finals Week for Drum Corps International! Time to make the trek to Indianapolis.

Of course, everything ties into Rockapella. Here are 2 videos (one continues the other) of their performance of the song "Indiana" in New Albany, IN on January 12, 2008.

I have heard this live before, in San Francisco, of all the oddities. It was awesome, and quite a workout for Scott and Jeff.

Enjoy, as I make my way back to my granddaddy's farm....er, Lucas Oil Stadium. Not quite the same down home ring to it, huh? :) Well, my granddaddy's farm was in the Philippines, so that doesn't work either. Oh, well.

Harry Potter does the Merengue ... or...not

Linda and I saw "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince" yesterday. We then ate at a Cuban restaurant in Old Town Monrovia, called Merengue Bakery and Cafe. Merengue was quite lively inside, and we could see why. The food was quite tasty and reasonably priced, the staff was friendly, and the desserts! Oh my goodness, I now have another place to tempt me on a regular basis. I had the Medianoche Preparada, and it was YUMMY. It came with Mariquitas (plantain chips--yay!), and I couldn't resist dessert, and I brought something home for another day's breakfast.

Thoughts on the movie:

• I wish that we could have seen how Dumbledore acquired the second horcrux as in the book, because it sets up a lot about Tom Riddle's history, but then I guess the movie would have been too long. So make 2 movies out of this one!
• Cute little romantic looks among the kids. I guess they needed the humor to balance all of the dark parts, although they left a lot of that out.
• When Bellatrix LeStrange came on screen, all I could think of at first was "she makes pies made out of people."
• Jim Broadbent was absolutely perfect casting as Professor Slughorn.
• I'm not sure I understand that Conversation Hourglass thing, nor do I remember it from the book.
• All of these "book" comments could have been avoided, had I not broken my rule of "watch movie first, then read the book so you won't be disappointed about what they left out." But I REALLY was hooked on those books, and my impatience got the best of me.
• I really liked Hermione's dress during the Christmas party. She looked quite lovely.
• Whoa. Malfoy is tall now.
• Great special effects. The scene where Harry gets dragged into the water went way beyond my imagination when I read about it. Wow.
• Joseph & Ralph Fiennes' nephew plays the youngest Tom Riddle. Yay!
• Cried. A LOT. Knew it was going to happen, but there were still tears streaming down my face to the point where I almost couldn't see.

Another great evening, and more fun was added when Glenn and Cindy came over and we played with toys. Linda has now been exposed to "I Survived a Japanese Game Show," and I dare her to not watch it again. I'm darin' ya, Linda.

DLR LotD 07/21/09

Disneyland Resort

Line of the Day

Tuesday, July 21, 2009

"I'm easy but gender-challenged." -- Catherine, loudly, at Catal

Hay! Majide! and champagne toasts to you all for a great evening.

DLR LotD 07/17/09

Disneyland Resort

Line of the Day

Friday, July 17, 2009

"I don't think rotting chickens can pee." -- Glenn, to Sherry, at Catal

Happy 54th Birthday, Disneyland!

I'm Taking My Undies & I'm Going Home

NKOTB -- Full Service Tour

Friday, July 10, 2009

Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre -- Irvine, CA

Friday was a furlough day for me, so I was able to leave early and pick up Aura to go down to Irvine for the NKOTB concert. She and I had plenty of time before the show by the time we arrived in Irvine, so we went to the Irvine Spectrum. We went to the Barnes & Noble to purchase children's books for Joe McIntyre's "Let's Get This Foundation." I already knew that I wanted to donate "The Giving Tree" by Shel Silverstein, since that is my favorite book in the whole world, and it happens to be a children's book. Aura had never read it before, so I had her read it, and she decided that she loved it and wanted to donate it as well. When we approached the cashier, she told us that she had just recently read it to her 5-year-old nephew, but apparently it was too sad for him. Uh-oh. It's such a beautiful book, though, that she's going to try to read it to him again when he's a little bit older.

We then went to Corner Bakery for some dinner. The food was OK, and it was quick. We just HAD to stop and get cupcakes for our after-show snack, too. I got a peanut butter & chocolate one, which had a mini-Reese's cup on top. Aura went for the Red Velvet. So, cupcakes and books in hand, we headed for the car...where we found out that the show would start at 7:30, not 8:00 as I thought. Oops. Luckily, the amphiteatre is only a couple of minutes away.

We arrived in time to hear that the opening act, the Jabbawockeez, had already started. We were disappointed that they were up first, since I'm not a fan of Jesse McCartney, who was the second act. We took the long walk from the parking lot to the plaza outside the amphiteater, and saw the people collecting the books. When they saw what we were donating, one of the guys said, "That's my favorite book in the whole world!" Me, TOO! He showed it to his companions, and a couple of them said that they loved the book, too. Happy to see that I wasn't the only sappy person around, I turned in the book and placed my name on the list to obtain Joe's new song via email (it was his Thank You for donating to the foundation).

Jesse McCartney was about to get on stage, so we realized that we had plenty of time and checked out the merchandise booth. I was originally going to get a track jacket, but it was dark green, and I really liked the black one from last year, so I decided not to get it. I saw that they had "Full Service" underwear, which they labeled as "shorts," but I don't think that people should be wearing those in public without anything over them. The woman selling the merchandise was pretty much yelling at all of the people trying to buy stuff, saying that we should form 2 lines. Um, ma'am? We've been standing here for a good 5-10 minutes, and NOW you tell us to form lines? Perhaps you should have made a sign or two denoting that, since everyone was crowding around anyway. She was nice to me when I bought my underwear (you know I couldn't resist, right?), but maybe she just appreciated that I was ready to complete my transaction. Aura and I then went to get drinks for ourselves. We saw that the Jabbawockeez were signing stuff at a table, but didn't feel like getting in line to meet them. The staff didn't even let her take a picture of them from outside the line. I thought that was kind of weird. I overheard some stupid person asking her friend why the 'Wockeez weren't wearing their masks. Maybe because it's damn hot? Maybe because then you could take pictures of their real faces? Maybe because you're stupid? OK, that's harsh, Sher.

We went to our seats. Unfortunately, we weren't sitting together because when I had purchased the tickets, I couldn't find 2 together and ended up getting solo seats. That sucked because they charge $20.00 parking for each ticket transaction. Rip off. Our seats were on opposite sides of the amphitheatre from each other, about the same row. She was on the aisle, and I was 3 away from the aisle. The very nice women next to me helped me wave to Aura so that she would see where I was sitting. They also tried to point out to me some woman that was wearing a dress that barely covered her butt, in very high heels. I didn't see her until later that night, when they all pointed her out to me as she walked up the stairs for the 5th time that night.

NKOTB started the show with Full Service. They had a really cool light display that showed little silhouettes of them as they entered the stage.

Summertime

Medley: My Favorite Girl, Didn't I Blow Your Mind, Valentine Girl, and Please Don't Go, Girl

Aura texted me that Joe was going sharp. I had thought that Jordan was a little flat up to that point. They eventually got on track later, but it was funny that the musicians in us were being so technical. We can't help it, people.

Games

If You Go Away/Stare at You: I like that second song a lot. OK, stare at me, Jordan. So romantic. Unless the person staring isn't who you want it to be. Whatever.

Dirty Dancing

I thought that there was a musical interlude after this song, since the guys had left the stage. Oh, no. They were actually going into the back, and appearing in the STANDS, one in each of the upper sections. I was soooo jealous! They were singing Single and hugging people between their turns to sing. I went crazy, and kept screaming.

Cover Girl

The screen showed the Twitter icon, then flashed "TINK!" The Twitter contingent went crazy, because we knew that Jordan was about to take the stage. There he is!

Give It To You I had a good vantage point, and tried to take a minute of video. I guess I was too obvious because the staff guy motioned to me and watched as I deleted everything from my camera (it would just take too long to weed out the stills from the videos). I was annoyed, but I understood. I was mostly annoyed because I saw people taking video for almost the entire show and didn't see them get caught. So I was annoyed that I was caught. The gals next to me were annoyed for me. I told you they were nice. :) What really pissed me off, though, was that I could have taken some nice stills from my view, right after I had put my camera away as directed. Sucks. Also sucks that I missed the rest of the song, and also most of the next one.

Popsicle: Bright colored outfits with stripes, like ice cream parlor workers!

Five Brothers and a Million Sisters: This is Joe's new song, dedicated to the guys and his fans, which he had debuted the last time that I saw them. This is also the song that he gave out to those who donated books.

They then introduced the band members. One of the guys was from Orange County, CA. Donnie tried to get us to scream louder, and said that we didn't sound like people whose basketball team had won the national championship. Wow, he FINALLY acknowledged it! It's about frickin' time, Ddub. I screamed quite a bit at that one. He then predicted that the Celtics would win next year, and he was booed.

Tonight This was audience participation time. Donnie decided to embarrass Jon and have us scream: JON! KNIGHT! HE'S A FREAKIN' PIMP, Y'ALL! It was hilarious. I love how they tease Jon for his shyness on stage.

Click Click Click They sat on stools at the end, prompting me to wonder if they were about to sing "California Sad-Eyed Girl." :)

I'll Be Loving You Forever: Jordan reached the high note beautifully, and I was blown away. YAY!

Hangin' Tough: I had been standing for the entire show, but sat down for this, the Boston sports team love-fest. This time, it was for the Red Sox.

Step By Step

One Song

That was a fun show! I waited for Aura to get to my seat (I was on the way out), and we hung out in the plaza for awhile, under the thatched roof, tweeting Donnie to tell him that we were waiting for him there. We were surprised that they were all being so silent with the tweets. In the meantime, Aura took this picture of me.

We saw that they were starting to turn off the lights in the plaza, so we left and looked for a Starbuck's so that we could eat our cupcakes together and try to wind down. We still hoped that there would be a tweet from Donnie, but nothing. We went to The Block in Orange -- HEY! I didn't realize just now that we went to The Block after *seeing* the Block! Whoa. Anyway, after Wrong Way Sherry (I had called myself that all evening) drove around the parking lot a couple of times, we parked the car, and asked a security guy on a Segway to direct us to Starbuck's. At the Starbuck's when I ordered my Shaken Iced Green Tea, I told them my name and the employees started singing Frankie & the Four Seasons' "Sherry" and I was a happy girl.

We enjoyed our cupcakes, although they were not as moist as I hoped they'd be. We tried to reconstruct the above set list as best we could. You know, if I hadn't deleted everything, it'd be accurate, but whatever. Sad that we didn't actually get Full Service, and only Half, we decided to drive back to Cerritos. I've since complained in a tweet to Donnie, but I'm sure he just now hates me because I was being negative. Whatev.

Thanks, Aura, for the fun time and the laughs! I look forward to whatever their next tour holds for us.

Ding Dong, Fate is Calling

I saw "Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen" a couple of weeks ago with Cindy, Glenn and Mox. It's been awhile, so let's see if I can remember the thoughts I had about the movie.

• OK, so I get why Shia had to have his hand bandaged for part of the movie, due to his real-life car accident. But I didn't see how, in the middle of the desert, he found gauze to dress his wound.
• I've been a Transformers fan since they were awesome toys, thanks to the Bro. I really like how Hasbro gets a credit at the beginning of the movie. I wonder if the creators of Transformers and the Hasbro company had any idea how big their toys would become.
• I liked Optimus Prime's line about fate: "Fate rarely calls upon us at the time of our own choosing."
• The human-looking Decepticon was pretty cool, except for that stupid tongue. Eeewww.
• Yay! Rainn Wilson as the professor! He makes me giggle even before he talks.
• The special effects are awesome, as they should be for this movie. As with the first one, I like the sounds of the machines transforming. The visuals are dizzying at times, but the scenery was beautiful.
• The twins annoyed me, but I really liked Jetfire. "Planet Dirt." Heh.
• I couldn't stop thinking that perhaps Amy Adams was running around the Smithsonian, dressed as Amelia Earhart, wanting to help.
• Bumblee's way of "talking" cracks me up. I like hearing all of the different clips of songs and quotes. That must just be a nightmare for them to get permissions on everything.
• So, when the government builds the Witwicky family a new house, will it be Decepticon-proof? And who is paying for that?!

That was a fun movie. I'm glad that I saw it in the theater. I had only seen the first one at home on my own TV, so I didn't get the full effect, although I did like the story better in the first one.

SCV Takes My Breath Away

Southwest Corps Connection

June 24, 2009

Glendale Community College Stadium -- Glendale, AZ

It was about 100 degrees or so during the day in the Tempe area, and had cooled down to a balmy 98 degrees by the time we arrived at GCC. We laughed as we tried to figure out which corps were practicing as we passed them. By saying "we laughed," I actually mean that Bro laughed at me because I was being idiotic about the confusion of all of the different corps wearing blue. Bro and I checked out the souvie trailers and I bought a bag from SCV. Bro said that I didn't need another bag, but I just looked at him like he was crazy. What the heck does "need" have to do when I'm supporting my corps? What the heck does "need" have to do when I'm buying a bag, for that matter? Anyway, it looks like the SCV uniform: green, with a red sash situated diagonally from one corner to the other, and it's closed by a drawstring. Once I used it, Bro was, like, "it looks like you're wearing the uniform!" and all talk of "need" went away. I also bought an SCV CD of their new show because I'm already familiar with the music, and, um, HELLO. It's VANGUARD.

Our seats were situated on the 20 yard mark, to the audience's right of the 50. We were about 8-10 rows up, and the stadium is pretty shallow anyway, so our seats were pretty good. Although there were no backs to the seats, there was plenty of leg room so that people could get by easily. The seats were just concrete, nothing fancy, but at least they stayed cooler than they could have been had they been aluminum or something ridiculously hot.

The Star-Spangled Banner was played on the trumpet by David R. Coolidge, who played for the Madison Scouts from 1994-1997.

The Academy Summer Youth Guard of the Arizona Academy of Performing Arts did a routine to "Love Shack." Call me a prude, but I don't think that this is an appropriate song for a group of 14-year olds and under to perform with. Did they even KNOW the song before they were taught to dance to it? And um, hello, it's *Love Shack*. It's in the title. You don't need to hear the lyrics to know that they should be using a different song than this one. Like "Erotic City." ;)

INCOGNITO

Repertoire: "Life" (Original music by Incognitus)

They're not wearing masks, so I got confused about who they were. No wonder all of the blue was confusing me out there! Aren't they afraid we'll figure out who they are if they don't wear their masks? Or is it just too dang hot to wear those things at the moment? The color guard was wearing masks, though. Bro noticed that the corps is wearing hats this year, which may impede the whole mask thing, but then I remembered that SCV had their aussies on as well as their masks for "Phantom of the Opera," so that's not an excuse. They have a big silver flag with the Incognito icon, while the sound of a heart beat is played by the synthesizer. This heart beat leads to the bass drums playing the same beat. The synthesizer sound made me think of King Kong, and I didn't really like it. The rifles have a little heart on each one. The show ends with a flatline sound, which presumably means that it's the end of Life as we know it. I said, "So...they died." Bro's response: "It's not a happy show." It also needs work intonation-wise, so that at least the Life part can be happier.

TROOPERS

Repertoire: "Western Side Story" -- Cave by R. Peck; Adelina De Maya, Movement 2 by J. Curiale; One Hand, One Heart/ John Dunbar Theme by L. Bernstein / J. Barry; Spaghetti Western, Movement 3 (Noon of Fire); Gun Battle from Billy the Kid by M. Daugherty / A. Copland; Pentium by P. Graham

The color guard was dressed like Native American Indians, so with the Troop's regular uniform, it's like a Cowboys & Indians theme. I really like this show. The music was awesome! I love all of the western touches to the West Side Story music. I especially like that they kept the 3/2 timing of "America" for the "Adelina de Maya." They had flags with a picture of sabre going through a heart during "One Hand, One Heart." I like the black drum heads. See? You can just use a suspended bass drum like the Troopers did instead of making heart beat sounds with a stupid synthesizer. Nice rifle ripple! The show is very well done, and I hope to see it all 3 days during Finals week!

BLUE KNIGHTS

Repertoire: "Shiver" -- Winter by A. Vivaldi; Glide by R. Newbury & J. Ausdemore; Landslide by S. Nicks; Tarantella (from The Blue Room and Other Stories) by P. Kline; Coronation (from Stardust) by I. Eshkeri

Are they cold? The guard is wearing ski vests. They must be way hot in those things out here in the desert. Do these people not remember that this is a *summer* activity and will therefore be out in the sunshine? Anyway, the all-white flags are really pretty. Bro "appreciates the overall excellence as exemplified by the guard proper traversing the field as the rifle duet made a toss." APPARENTLY, the Bro has been listening to color guard critique a lot lately. The soprano solost played really high, making his own face turn really red. I don't understand how the snowball turned black. Did it get dirty rolling down the mountain? They made a snowflake! I wonder if it's different for every show. ;) There was a whooosh of wind, during which the corps made their hats move up and down as a reaction to the wind. Cool. The guard has ski poles. I actually didn't hate "Landslide" like I usually do. Perhaps I just hate it when it's sung. All of the women have fake ponytails...or they've all grown their hair to look like fake ponytails. Their practice flags are pretty...at least I think they're practice flags, since they're not the usual hand-painted ones. Excellent guard work all around.

INTERMISSION

SANTA CLARA VANGUARD

Repertoire: "Ballet for Martha" -- Ballet for Martha by A. Copland

The old uniforms are back! I like the contrast of their uniforms with the drum major ones. Pretty color guard uniforms: yellow/white/black with long, flowing skirts like Martha Graham. The tiny bass drum player plays on a tiny drum. (I found out later in practice videos that this is the only girl on the bass drum line, and she is, indeed, much smaller than the guys). This corps makes me smile. The show is BEAUTIFUL. I really liked all of the solos/duets/trio, especially that trio. They all paused for their breath in unison, leaving the crowd hanging, and we all finally exhaled when they played again. Sigh. The company front is amazing, especially the last note held out, to about 20 counts. Hey! The DM is using a baton! Bro is irritated by the use of the synthesizer for the bird tweeting sounds. I agree with his irritation, but am slightly amused by his emotions as well. Somebody tried to yell "Vanguard," but it just doesn't work with this show at all. (Later that week, SCV sent out a message to their fans, asking that we refrain from the Vanguard yell this year because it is inappropriate for this show). Great rifle work. I like the dark green drums. I also like the contras' arms in V formation during the drum feature. This show really, really floored me. WONDERFUL. I'm really glad that I saw them before Finals, or I'd be upset that I was missing it all that time.

BLUECOATS

Repertoire: "Imagine" -- Imagine by J. Lennon; Children's Hour of Dream by C. Mingus; Hunting Wabbits 2 by G. Goodwin; Sky Blue by M. Schneider; Haitian Fight Song by C. Mingus

Cool umbrella with the clouds on the underside. It reminded Bro that he can't wait to get his Phregiment umbrella out of storage. The CG wore blue & white cloud tops. They had light bulb flags at one point. I thought that the drum corps dancing was weird. Rockin' horns, especially the contras, and cool drum feature. This corps likes to strip. I can't actually remember the last show where there wasn't any stripping involved. Today, the corps took off their jackets toward the end, revealing a black t-shirt. I saw in a live webcast since then that they now strip to the same blue & white cloud shirts as the CG. I don't really like it. Bro thinks that they'll have a surprise later with the stripping thing, although I don't think that the shirts were exactly what he had in mind. "...2, 3, Bloo!"

THE ACADEMY

Repertoire: "The Ascent" -- The First Ascent, Call of the Mountain by J. Curiale; The Storm, An Alpine Symphony by R. Strauss; Lifeline, An Alpine Symphony by R. Strauss; The Final Ascent, Kingfishers Catch Fire by J. Mackey

They have a ladder on the field. And a rope. Pretty purple & gold flag, as well as the long blue flag. They yellow sash is pretty, but I'm not sure if I like it as a belt. Intonation was great, as always.

Encore: Santa Clara Vanguard :)

They played a little bit of "Ballet for Martha," then their signature "Send In the Clowns." I love the long hold and the breath: WOW. (I'm loving how people breathe today, I guess). I closed my eyes for part of the song because the visual was getting in the way. Amazingly, wonderfully, gorgeous. Thank you, SCV.

Scores

Open Class

54.0 Incognito

World Class

66.90 Troopers

67.70 The Academy

71.90 Blue Knights

74.60 Bluecoats

76.30 SCV -- YAY!!!

2nd Encore: The Academy

The guy that did the National Anthem also played with The Academy for the encore, and his solo was ... wow! They played one of the latin songs from "Danzon," a show that I really enjoyed when they won the title for Division II. Their small bass drummer is also 12. Must be the rule or something.

When we got back to the car, the temperature was 96 degrees. We actually fared quite well in the heat, since there was no sunshine beating down on us, and a very slight breeze wafted through the stadium several times. What a nice drum corps show, filled with plenty of World Class corps! SCV winning just takes the cake. :)

Pro Scan, anyone?

For those of you that doubt the fact that Rockapella did jingles for the evil corporate world (and for those that do believe but need more), here they are in their pre-Carmen days. I'm totally loving this.

Brady's 1st Audition for Sports Broadcasting

Tempe, AZ Trip

June 24-26, 2009

I had some extra time for my vacation days since the Girls Trip was shortened from 2 weeks to 4 days, and I realized that I would be missing a couple of drum corps shows due to the Girls Trip. I saw that there would be a drum corps show in Glendale, AZ where I would be able to see Vanguard, so I asked the Bro to hook me up with a ticket, and I'd be there.

I know what you're thinking. It's HOT there in June, right? Well, yeah. Bro said that it would be in the 100s. But I had the time, and drum corps shows aren't until the evening, so it should be OK. Well, you know what? It's still hot in the evening over there, but at least the sun isn't blazing on your body during that time. It was actually fine. (Drum Corps show report to be posted at a later date).

It turns out that my trip happened to be during the last week that Bro and family would be living in their apartment, as they were scheduled to close escrow by the end of the month. I missed having my own room by *that* much. Oh, well.

On the first day, Bro was working, so V and I hung out. She picked me up at the airport, and asked if I wanted to go to Cracker Barrel. Um, YEAH!!! She said that Bro had been raving about the pancakes ever since I took him there, so she needed to try them for herself. You know me, always willing to oblige and eat the wonderful pancakes of CB. V ordered those for herself and I ordered a breakfast skillet so that we could share whatever. The skillet was tasty, although I prefer the pancakes. V was impressed by the pancakes, too. I tell you, they're the BEST!

We then hung out at the house for a little while, and caught up on stuff. She was absolutely hilarious when we first got home because of the way she usually sits around when she's pregnant. APPARENTLY, this method is not supposed to be done when there are guests in the house, no matter how close of family we are. She caught herself before this happened, but of course she told me so that I could have a good belly laugh. She's really cute with her little baby bump! I don't know why I didn't get a picture, sorry.

After a few hours, we finally decided that we were hungry again, so we tried out a new place for her, Pho Ao Sen. Yes, we had Pho. It was over 100 degrees outside, and I still agreed to have soup. Craziness. But it was tasty, and so was V's lemonade drink thing. I think it was the Da Chanh, because she said that she didn't want carbonation. Anyway, I was happy because there was a Pella store in the same set of buildings. It just fit the tone of my whole June vacation time!

That night, Bro and I went to the drum corps show. Brady was not happy that we left him at home, but Bro explained to him that he didn't think Brady could handle a 3-hour event. Brady didn't care about that, so V had to deal with him all night. Sorry, V. The weather at the show was actually quite pleasant. It was 96 degrees when we left at 10:30 p.m. But no sun!

The next day was for Bro to hang out with me. They lived in luxury apartments, so I went for some free Starbuck's coffee in their lounge, and marveled at all the cool stuff that was available, like a pool table and games. We went to Arizona Mills to price some washer/dryers. While we were there, we went into some Discount Warehouse kind of place, wherein I saw a hippo. These were my words as I walked quickly over to it and looked at it: "It's a hippo! It's a stapler! It's a dollar!" So I bought it. Duh. We then had a delicious lunch at Joe's Crab Shack, where Bro had one of these, called a "Shark Bite."

The vial is supposed to be "blood", but the gal poured the liquid into the drink before I could get a picture of it. You can still see the red swirling in there, though. Pretty cool, huh? And tasty! PLUS, you get to KEEP the shark! So Bro decided to make it a little surprise in Brady's tub for his bath that night. I had yummy crab cake sliders to eat, and Bro had the Surf N Turf burger. He wisely asked for no lettuce or tomatoes so that he could actually get his mouth around the thing, it was so big.

We then met up with the realtor to go through the final walk-through of the new house. The dogs are going to be happy with their grassy area, the family will be happy with their new pool, and Tita Sherry will be happy to have a whole guest room! :) V and I picked up Brady from school. She asked what music he wanted to listen to. He said, "Rockapella." I LOVE this child! V decided to get a treat for us and we went for some T.C.B. We got home, and Brady decided that he wanted to take us to a dance club. We all wondered what this meant, but obliged. He had origami paper and used this to pay for our admission at the door to his room. Then he turned on some music (of COURSE it was Rockapella, DUH!), and we danced together. Little did we know that this was only the beginning of a MAJOR sugar high. Less than an hour later, the kid was bouncing up and down on my mattress, saying "Watch this!" all over the place. We were concerned that he'd hit his head, yes. We were more concerned, though, of our sanity, and wondered how long this would all last. Somehow, we got him to take a bath, probably only because we said there might be a surprise for him in the tub. He had lots of fun with that shark. I read a few books to him before he went to sleep, although actual sleep was way later than we wanted it to be. I like how his parents chose some books that had to do with having a new baby in the house. I really enjoyed that time with the nephew, and yes, he actually seemed to pay attention, despite the sugar.

The next day, Bro and I had to wait around because of the possibility that they would close escrow that day. So we had to stay close to home, or at least to a bank. We went to the nearby Fuddrucker's for lunch, which was yummy, but small compared to the ones that I'm used to. I mean, they didn't even have a big separate bakery section! What is THAT about? Bro's funny. He said that he never sees any cars there or at Joe's Crab Shack, but both places had plenty of customers when we were there. I don't think he actually pays attention.

Alas, escrow would have to wait to close until next week, so I couldn't be there for that celebration. When V and Brady got home, we played a little bit. I enjoyed listening to Brady do a play-by-play of every golf move when he was putting with Bro. Sometimes he would re-enact it in slo mo. Later on, Brady and Bro were playing a game combining balls and balloons. I somehow got up the nerve to go in there and take video. Here's a short play-by-play by Brady. I crack up that he has a Filipino accent even though neither of his parents speak that language. My parents sure have a great effect on him, though.

And here's the trauma I go through just so y'all can see what it's like to be in the center of the action:

It soon came time for me to go home, so V took me to the airport while Bro gave Brady a bath. I'm always sad to leave them, but at least I didn't cry this time. My flight home was full of "WOW! THAT'S CRAZY!!!" talk from the gals next to me, who had just met on the flight. It's good that I wasn't planning on sleeping or anything. We landed in Burbank, and I drove home, where a raccoon had just crossed the street several houses down from mine. I don't think that's something you see in Tempe every day, if any. Maybe next time I'm there, I'll get to see a roadrunner.

Thanks for the great time, Bro, V and Brady! You always make my time with you memorable.

Already Missing Sonoma

Girls Trip to Napa

Days 4 & 5: June 22-23, 2009

Monday morning was kind of sad, because it was time to leave. We checked out of the Fairmont, and they printed our boarding passes for us at the front desk (Thanks, Kevin!). We drove to San Francisco via the Golden Gate Bridge/Hwy 101 then got lost a little bit before getting back on track. It was a nice little detour, as Mo explained to us how her father worked in San Francisco when he first immigrated to the USA, at Fisherman's Wharf.

View of Golden Gate from our car

We arrived in Burlingame at our friend Charlie’s house, and said hi to wife Jackie and his kids, Ryan and Jessica. Their house has a cool atrium in the middle, and a nice kitchen with flat grill. Jessica was playing with a doll that another Apache alumnus gave her, Masa, who had just visited them last week. Masa lives in Japan, and arrived in San Francisco without an Asian doll, which is what Charlie & Jackie had been asking him to bring. APPARENTLY, dolls in Japan are mostly white, and the closest he could come to was a French/Japanese mixture. The Barbie clothes fit her, though, so at least she can change clothes, unlike the Disney dolls, which are bigger than Barbie and therefore do not fit into her clothes. If anyone out there finds an Asian doll that is NOT Mulan, let me know, OK?

Lo, Sher, Charlie, Ryan, Jessica & Mo

Jackie stayed behind to watch the kids, and Charlie brought us to lunch at Bay Watch Café, where I had to have breakfast, of course: a nice scramble of spinach and sausage and cheese with eggs. Yummy! Chao waxed philosophical, just like old times. You know how people don't change that much once they find themselves? I have a feeling that Charlie found himself in a past life or something. He just doesn't change, and we love him all the more for it. Of course, if he had never changed from being a jerk, we probably wouldn't be so appreciative of the not-changing, but, thankfully, Charlie is as great and funny a guy as always, and I'm really glad that we got to spend time with him. Of course, it's kind of weird now. Instead of talking about high school crushes or whatever class we were talking about, Charlie and Mo talked about being anesthesiologists and they talked with Lo about being parents. It's not weird that they talk about it as much as it's weird that it's THEM that are talking about stuff, and not some strangers that I don't know. I can't believe how much we've grown up (well, at least THEY all have), and that we can still be such good friends that we can open up about our lives even after not seeing each other for a very long time. Are these the same wacky people that I went to Magic Mountain with back in high school, running around like wacky teenagers? Are these actually the same people in that group prom picture senior year? Wow. We had no idea back then what it would be like a couple of decades later. So different, yet still the same. Like the way Charlie still drives cars the same way he did back then. ;)

After going back to Charlie's house and saying our goodbyes, we drove to downtown Burlingame to meet up with Mo’s cousin Ashok and his wife Ani at their cigar shop. I met a nice old man who didn’t want me to smoke. But the Moonterrace cigar that Ashok recommended, with bourbon & vanilla flavors, was perfect. I just can’t have one for a really long time.

We shopped in Burlingame and I bought clothes on sale at Ann Taylor Loft, and a wooden Hippo bead from Potpourri. After walking out of Potpourri, we almost got caught jaywalking as we took a couple of steps right in front of a police car. Luckily, though, we saw him before actually going into the actual street. The police were present everywhere, giving parking tickets and such, so if you're ever in Burlingame, don't forget to feed the meters!

We drove back to Sunnyvale to meet Krina at her place, where she stated that she discovered that her 9 bottles of wine were equal to all of the rest of us combined. Well, if she hadn't already had 3 waiting for her when she got to Chateau St. Jean, then she and I might have been pretty even. Geez, I don't know when I'm drinking all of this wine, but it will be fun and tasty!

We went back to SJC and said our goodbyes and thanks to Krina. I continued my streak of pulling an Eremita all day with the spilling of corn nuts in the airport. (I had spilled coffee in the room in the morning and water at lunch). KLUTZ! While we were up in the air, we looked in the SkyMall catalog for the crazy garden sculptures that we discussed with Morgan, and I showed the gals my pics from trip.

Lo and I said our goodbyes to Mo, and picked up some Quizno’s for our drive down to Wildomar to extend her vacay away a little bit. My parents were happy to see Lori and catch up with her, since it had been quite a long time since they were able to talk. After a good night's rest, we went to the casinos in Temecula on Tuesday morning.

Our first stop was at Pala, where they are doing a lot of construction, and had just opened a new buffet restaurant, which had a great selection (King crab legs! Big ones!), and we played there a little while, too. Afterward, we tried our luck at Pechanga, where I did have better luck, but didn't win all of the $ back that I had lost at Pala. Oh well.

Since I had a flight the next morning, I needed to get back home, so I brought Lo back to the reality at her house with all of those boys (William included), and finally got back to change out my luggage and sleep in my own bed. For one night. At least I was home!

Next up: Tempe, AZ

Happy Independence Day, Everyone!

I usually spend the 4th of July watching fireworks at Disneyland. Well, that is, once I learned how to get around all of the evil mylar Minnie balloons, I would usually spend the 4th of July watching fireworks at Disneyland.

Last year, though, my favorite drum corps were playing at the Rose Bowl, so I was there with the Bro, V, Rudy and Jeff to witness Brady's 1st drum corps spectator event. That was cool because of the drum corps, but the fireworks were NOTHING compared to those at Disneyland. Perhaps if they had the corps playing patriotic music during the fireworks show, I would have liked it better.

This year, though, I've decided to stay home because I need the rest. I was able to see the patriotic fireworks at Disneyland a day early, and they were, indeed, AWESOME. Today I've watched a summer movie, "JAWS," and am currently watching "Crimson Tide." I absolutely LOVE the score to this movie, especially the arrangements of "Eternal Father."

It's been a good musical day, actually. I couldn't turn off "JAWS" until I heard the song "Show me the way to go home." Then in church tonight, Jerry was talking about how two of the songs we'd be singing, "Amazing Grace" and "As Grains of Wheat" could be woven together due to their similar styles. I mentioned that "Appalachian Spring," more commonly known as "Simple Gifts," could be in there, too. So what did Jerry do? After we sang "Amazing Grace," he had some time left to play, and threw in an arrangement of "Appalachian Spring." He's awesome. I'm always amazed by musical composition and improvisation, so I just smiled to myself. He also did a little bit of it before "As Grains of Wheat." I'm just blessed by having wonderful music around me.

Speaking of wonderful music, Independence Day always brings out all of the patriotic marches and the wonderful songs we Americans love to sing when wearing our national pride. My favorite march is "Stars and Stripes Forever," and thanks to Adrienne, I have this rendition to share with you.

My favorite of all to sing, though, is "The Star-Spangled Banner." This link is of my favorite band singing our national anthem. That final chord is just spectacular!

Happy Independence Day to all of my fellow Americans. Long may our banner wave.

DLR LotD 07/03/09

Disneyland Resort Line of the Day

Friday, July 3, 2009

"Will there be guinea pigs in the Fun House?" -- Sherry, to a seemingly deaf Glenn, repeatedly and with more volume, clarity, and slowness of speech each time until he understood her