Saturday, July 2, 2016
It's a beautiful day for Drum Corps at the Rose Bowl!
Sunday, July 3, 2016
PusherPix 07/02/16
PusherPix
Saturday, July 2, 2016
It's a beautiful day for Drum Corps at the Rose Bowl!
Saturday, July 2, 2016
It's a beautiful day for Drum Corps at the Rose Bowl!
Bedazzled
Corps at the Crest - Oceanside
Friday, July 1, 2016
El Camino High School
Oceanside, CA
Bro, his kids, and their dogs picked me up at my house in the morning and we went to my parents' house down south. After lunch and a nap, we picked up Rudy and made our way to Oceanside. We were able to park in the lot because, unlike previous years, the buses were parked elsewhere. Some of the parking spaces were painted. Bro wanted to park there, but I can't remember which one he chose.
We shopped around for a bit before Rudy and I got food. I tried the cup of corn with all of the seasonings, which was tasty. I thought that I had bought seats in the top row, but we were one row down. Later, Bro found out that they had messed up the ticket sales, and hadn't sold any of the seats in the top row. So they sold them that day at the box office.
There were a couple of little kids that got drum sticks, but when they started to play with them, their parents shushed them. Well, maybe you shouldn't buy them until after the show then.
There were a couple of little kids that got drum sticks, but when they started to play with them, their parents shushed them. Well, maybe you shouldn't buy them until after the show then.
The Star-Spangled Banner was performed by the trumpet line from Pacific Crest. Rudy didn't care for the arrangement. He thought they were too flippity floppity.
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| PC Trumpets |
INCOGNITO
Repertoire: "Falling" - Heaven by T. Nguyen, Earth (Falling Slowly from Once) by G. Hansard & M. Irglova; Hell (Erikonig) by F. Schubert
They have new uniforms. Most of the drums are white with a blue ombre, but one of the snares was black. I don't think that was on purpose. The CG wore white robes with gold crosses. Good equipment work from the color guard, except for the flag work, perhaps due to the wind.
THE WATCHMEN
Repertoire: "Goliath" -- Goliath by P. Rendon
Rudy: "Who is this?" Sherry: "The Watchmen. You know, you ask that every year." Rudy: "I do?" Sherry: "Yes."
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| Watchmen |
IMPULSE
Repertoire: "Music Is ______?" -- Beautiful Dreamer by S. C. Foster; Symphony 25 in G minor (K-183)- Allegro con brio by W. A. Mozart; Firebird Suite by I. Stravinsky; Great Gate of Kiev (from Pictures at an Exhibition) by M. Mussorgsky
Music is annoying when I cannot hear it due to the excessive narration in this show. I like all of the pieces, but the talking was a buzzkill. Bro wishes that the energy they have when passing the stands could also be felt during the show. The emoticon flags are cute!
One of the little kids with the drumsticks said to the other one: "Let's go play Drum Corps now!" Totes. Adorbs.
One of the little kids with the drumsticks said to the other one: "Let's go play Drum Corps now!" Totes. Adorbs.
GOLDEN EMPIRE
They've finished their show. I like the yellow and blue flag with what looks like a dancing man or one of those windsock things that stand outside gas stations. Rudy did not like the trite pattern during one of the songs, and kept singing it so that I wouldn't like it either. Uh oh. The drum major fell while trying to get off of his stand. I hope he's OK, because they had him leave on the tractor that pulls the pit instruments.
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| Red Rose Flags |
GOLD
Repertoire: "Dia de los Muertos (Day of the Dead)" -- Movement 1: Processional; Movement 2: The Offering; Movement 3: Celebration, all original music by S Director, N. Jasniewicz, and S. Gordon
They have new uniforms. The only gold in them is on the drum major's uniform. Rudy told me to watch the DM because he liked the way he conducted, but he wasn't doing anything special by the time I looked at him. They have 6 cymbal players, whom all played on one of the ramps.
<Intermission>
I got a cookie even though it wasn't the trail mix flavor that I wanted. I got the coconut almond flavor, which was still tasty.
MANDARINS
Sounding good! Great flag work, too! I like the part when the horns are playing section by section.
THE ACADEMY
Death starts from the left side now instead of the right upper corner. Awesome guard: here, let me carry this girl on my back, toss up my saber really high, and catch it with one hand without dropping the girl. The xylophone players at the graves now wear skulls on their heads so that when they look down at their chests to play, they look like skeletons. Love the added effect! That "Unchained Melody" solo was gorgeous. I've missed this show.
PACIFIC CREST
I thought that there was a duo flag toss in the center of the field, but I didn't see it today. Bro asked if I was confusing this show with Vanguard's show. I don't think so.
BLUE KNIGHTS
That portion with the horn triplets then glissando, then triplets again...Oh, my heavens! Sher re CG: "Damn, she dropped it!" Show is still not done. Rudy was all ready to get into a frenzy, and then it ended, and his frenzy did not happen. He was, however, bedazzled by the show. The horns were absolutely amazing tonight, and those drums? BANG THOSE THINGS!
MADISON SCOUTS
The trombone player's mic was out, which made Bro happy. Rudy asked why Judas gets to wear white at the end. I think that it was part of curtain call, but I don't know. Did Judas go to hell, or was he redeemed with all of the other believers? Discuss. One of these days, I will get a shot of that star formation. I need a new camera.
There was no encore, but I guess I can't complain after the other night.
SCORES
Open Class
5) 37.00 - Incognito
4) 44.00 - The Watchmen
3) 45.20 - Impulse
2) 49.60 - Golden Empire
1) 50.40 - Gold
World Class
5) 58.55 - Pacific Crest
4) 59.95 - Mandarins
3) 63.35 - The Academy
2) 65.60 - Blue Knights
1) 66.65 - Madison Scouts
I'm glad that Rudy could join us and get all crazy like we do. We dropped him off before going to my parents' house for the night.
Next up: Rose Bowl
THE ACADEMY
Death starts from the left side now instead of the right upper corner. Awesome guard: here, let me carry this girl on my back, toss up my saber really high, and catch it with one hand without dropping the girl. The xylophone players at the graves now wear skulls on their heads so that when they look down at their chests to play, they look like skeletons. Love the added effect! That "Unchained Melody" solo was gorgeous. I've missed this show.
PACIFIC CREST
I thought that there was a duo flag toss in the center of the field, but I didn't see it today. Bro asked if I was confusing this show with Vanguard's show. I don't think so.
BLUE KNIGHTS
That portion with the horn triplets then glissando, then triplets again...Oh, my heavens! Sher re CG: "Damn, she dropped it!" Show is still not done. Rudy was all ready to get into a frenzy, and then it ended, and his frenzy did not happen. He was, however, bedazzled by the show. The horns were absolutely amazing tonight, and those drums? BANG THOSE THINGS!
MADISON SCOUTS
The trombone player's mic was out, which made Bro happy. Rudy asked why Judas gets to wear white at the end. I think that it was part of curtain call, but I don't know. Did Judas go to hell, or was he redeemed with all of the other believers? Discuss. One of these days, I will get a shot of that star formation. I need a new camera.
There was no encore, but I guess I can't complain after the other night.
SCORES
Open Class
5) 37.00 - Incognito
4) 44.00 - The Watchmen
3) 45.20 - Impulse
2) 49.60 - Golden Empire
1) 50.40 - Gold
World Class
5) 58.55 - Pacific Crest
4) 59.95 - Mandarins
3) 63.35 - The Academy
2) 65.60 - Blue Knights
1) 66.65 - Madison Scouts
I'm glad that Rudy could join us and get all crazy like we do. We dropped him off before going to my parents' house for the night.
Next up: Rose Bowl
Saturday, July 2, 2016
Encore! Encore! Encore!
DCI on the So Cal Coast
Wednesday, June 29, 2016
Oxnard High School
Oxnard, CA
I met up with Bro and the family at his house in the afternoon. It was hot. Way hot. Especially because I was wearing leggings and it was 95 degrees outside. But I knew we were going to Oxnard, which is by the beach, and it would be much cooler there. We had lunch at The Habit, and I ordered a strawberry chicken salad. The gal said that they don't have it. I pointed to the ad on the stand outside, and told her about it. She looked at her register again and found the button and apologized, saying that the button wasn't there yesterday. OK. We ate outside and enjoyed the cool breeze. The salad was very good; the only thing that would have made it better would be some candied walnuts or candied pecans on top.
At Oxnard High School, spectators were parked in the same lot as the equipment trailers. We parked near the Blue Knights trailer and Bro showed Olivia that there was a place for everything inside, as we could see from the outside. We shopped the souvie trailers briefly before entering the stadium. At first, Bro chose seats on the top row and had to scrape off bird droppings with his shoe. But it was a little windy up there, and V found seats for us next to the press box that were blocked from the wind, so we moved there.
We had a while to wait so I decided to go shopping. The Blue Devils' drumline had to go through the same gate as the spectators, so I needed to wait for a little while for them to pass. I still couldn't decide on what BD garb to purchase, but saw that last year's Ladies' polo was on sale at the Blue Knights stand. So I bought that and talked to the cashier for a little bit, telling him that BK's show is beautiful, at least from what I've seen. He said that they had 2 free days and are now about 75% done with the show. He said that he was hoping that they would work on the show the next day since they don't have to perform. I asked if he thought they'd be done before they left Southern California, but he was just hoping that they'd be done before their home show, Drums Along the Rockies.
When I returned to my seat, Bro informed me that tonight would not be a competitive show; instead, the corps would play for each other, without any judges present. Cool!
The Star-Spangled Banner was performed by the Royal Cavaliers, a local performing arts organization. They also played the Universal Studios theme, a US Armed Forces medley, and "Uptown Funk".
The Madison Scouts started to go to their seats in the bleachers, and all I could think of was how dirty the seats were and that their white pants would not be white once they took the field. They stood around for a bit and then the Blue Devils joined them. It was cool to see them sitting interspersed with each other.
BLUE KNIGHTS
The drumline warmed up while facing the stands, then the hornline did the same. The corps in the stands loved it. Then they performed their show. The drum majors do these big arm movements at the beginning to conduct instead of the ordinary stance. We saw that there was a flower pattern on the back of one of the mirrors. So maybe Bro WASN'T seeing a reflection when he saw red on one of them in Stanford. Their show is a little more fleshed out, but still stopped at the same time as earlier in the week. Afterward, the pit played an ensemble piece. Then they all played something that I thought was part of their show, but probably not. They then played "Can't Take My Eyes Off of You" and the crowd went bananas. I loved seeing BD and the Scouts get all into it along with all of us. Drum Corps Love!
And then Sherry's camera died and sadness happened. I'm glad that we have these things called smart phones with cameras in them.
MADISON SCOUTS
They performed their show, and the horns were LOUD, which pleased the other corps members greatly. The solos and duet were much better today, as was the color guard. The CG was missing a disciple. They played "California Dreamin'" for their encore, as well as a song by a smaller ensemble before playing the last part of "Judas". They then played "You'll Never Walk Alone".
BLUE DEVILS
The drums and horns warmed up simultaneously in front of the stands. Hey, that's Shakespeare's face on the back of the CG shirts! I never noticed that before. Bro says he knows that they've had them, but hadn't seen them on the field until tonight. I never noticed the smaller waves done by 6 or 7 people at a time. They were kicking up a lot of dust in the backfield. Afterward, the pit played a piece, and then they all played "Channel One Suite", which jammed.
I really liked watching the show along with the other corps! They rarely get a chance to watch each other, so I'm sure they liked it, too.
On the way home, Bro asked the kids to choose their favorite show from the evening. Brady's favorite was the Blue Knights. Olivia's was the Blue Devils. That was a good show to watch with the kids because there were only 3 corps present, so they didn't get restless too soon. It did start late for a weeknight, though: 8:00 p.m., so I didn't get home until 11:30.
Thank you for a fun time, Family of Mine!
Next up: Corps at the Crest - Oceanside
At Oxnard High School, spectators were parked in the same lot as the equipment trailers. We parked near the Blue Knights trailer and Bro showed Olivia that there was a place for everything inside, as we could see from the outside. We shopped the souvie trailers briefly before entering the stadium. At first, Bro chose seats on the top row and had to scrape off bird droppings with his shoe. But it was a little windy up there, and V found seats for us next to the press box that were blocked from the wind, so we moved there.
We had a while to wait so I decided to go shopping. The Blue Devils' drumline had to go through the same gate as the spectators, so I needed to wait for a little while for them to pass. I still couldn't decide on what BD garb to purchase, but saw that last year's Ladies' polo was on sale at the Blue Knights stand. So I bought that and talked to the cashier for a little bit, telling him that BK's show is beautiful, at least from what I've seen. He said that they had 2 free days and are now about 75% done with the show. He said that he was hoping that they would work on the show the next day since they don't have to perform. I asked if he thought they'd be done before they left Southern California, but he was just hoping that they'd be done before their home show, Drums Along the Rockies.
When I returned to my seat, Bro informed me that tonight would not be a competitive show; instead, the corps would play for each other, without any judges present. Cool!
The Star-Spangled Banner was performed by the Royal Cavaliers, a local performing arts organization. They also played the Universal Studios theme, a US Armed Forces medley, and "Uptown Funk".
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| Royal Cavaliers |
The Madison Scouts started to go to their seats in the bleachers, and all I could think of was how dirty the seats were and that their white pants would not be white once they took the field. They stood around for a bit and then the Blue Devils joined them. It was cool to see them sitting interspersed with each other.
 |
| Spectators |
BLUE KNIGHTS
The drumline warmed up while facing the stands, then the hornline did the same. The corps in the stands loved it. Then they performed their show. The drum majors do these big arm movements at the beginning to conduct instead of the ordinary stance. We saw that there was a flower pattern on the back of one of the mirrors. So maybe Bro WASN'T seeing a reflection when he saw red on one of them in Stanford. Their show is a little more fleshed out, but still stopped at the same time as earlier in the week. Afterward, the pit played an ensemble piece. Then they all played something that I thought was part of their show, but probably not. They then played "Can't Take My Eyes Off of You" and the crowd went bananas. I loved seeing BD and the Scouts get all into it along with all of us. Drum Corps Love!
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| BK Drumline warmup |
And then Sherry's camera died and sadness happened. I'm glad that we have these things called smart phones with cameras in them.
MADISON SCOUTS
They performed their show, and the horns were LOUD, which pleased the other corps members greatly. The solos and duet were much better today, as was the color guard. The CG was missing a disciple. They played "California Dreamin'" for their encore, as well as a song by a smaller ensemble before playing the last part of "Judas". They then played "You'll Never Walk Alone".
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| "You'll Never Walk Alone" |
BLUE DEVILS
The drums and horns warmed up simultaneously in front of the stands. Hey, that's Shakespeare's face on the back of the CG shirts! I never noticed that before. Bro says he knows that they've had them, but hadn't seen them on the field until tonight. I never noticed the smaller waves done by 6 or 7 people at a time. They were kicking up a lot of dust in the backfield. Afterward, the pit played a piece, and then they all played "Channel One Suite", which jammed.
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| BD Drums Warmup |
I really liked watching the show along with the other corps! They rarely get a chance to watch each other, so I'm sure they liked it, too.
On the way home, Bro asked the kids to choose their favorite show from the evening. Brady's favorite was the Blue Knights. Olivia's was the Blue Devils. That was a good show to watch with the kids because there were only 3 corps present, so they didn't get restless too soon. It did start late for a weeknight, though: 8:00 p.m., so I didn't get home until 11:30.
Thank you for a fun time, Family of Mine!
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| D'Saints Selfie |
Next up: Corps at the Crest - Oceanside
Thursday, June 30, 2016
PusherPix 06/30/16
PusherPix
Thursday, June 30, 2016
Throwback Thursday: 06/30/13 at DCI Western Corps Connection
Thursday, June 30, 2016
Throwback Thursday: 06/30/13 at DCI Western Corps Connection
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| Sher and Roo |
Wednesday, June 29, 2016
PusherPix 06/29/16
PusherPix
Wednesday, June 29, 2016
D'Saints Selfie while waiting for the drum corps show to begin
Something Special Special Special
SCV Family Day
Monday, June 27, 2016
Santa Clara High School
Santa Clara, CA
It's Family Day! After checking out of the hotel, Bro and I hung out in the hotel lobby so that I could use the wi-fi to buy Rockapella tickets that had gone on sale at noon. We then made our way to Bro's old stomping grounds and ate a delicious lunch at Thai Basil. This chain is the reason that I have a standard Thai dish that I order upon going to any Thai place for the first time: chicken with basil. Mmmm.....so good!
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| Pad See Ew |
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| Chicken Basil |
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| Happy Bro |
We walked around a little bit and found nothing to buy, and then drove around to look for something to do. We checked out the sale in Sports Authority, but whatever we wanted was still not at great prices. No wonder this store is going out of business. V had an errand for us to run, so we went to the Party City in Cupertino; you know, where Apple is based. While we were in Party City, Bro tried to send pictures to V, but couldn't get a signal. On his iPhone. In the city where Apple is based. Lame, right? He eventually just ended up calling her when he got near the doorway, and it still took a while to decide on the product. Tiara with veil in hand, we drove to Santa Clara High School for some more drum corps goodness.
When we picked up our wristbands, one of the ladies at the table told Bro that he must be an alumnus because she recognizes his name. No, he's just an uberfan, that's all. Our wristbands were really cool: they have a picture of the SCV shield. It's a day later and I'm still wearing mine. Bro is going to try to wear his until Finals week. Whoa. That's a long time.
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| Best Wristband Ever! |
The seating was General Admission, so Bro found us seats on the top row near the center, on the right side of the field. We didn't have shade, but it was a good viewing position as we could stand up whenever we wanted to do so. We had arrived during SCV's rehearsal, so we sat and watched that for a while. I like how the corps director talks to them in such a positive, inspiring way. Like "You have to finish this moment...perform to the last breath." Between runs, he said, "Find something to make better." Not any condescending talk when he was being specific to certain people, just very respectful. I like him. Thank you for your leadership, Charles Frost, or whomever it was that was speaking!
We were then treated to run-throughs by all 3 corps present: SCV Cadets, Madison Scouts, and SCV. The horn lines of all of the corps also rehearsed the encore together. We giggled at how much they had to rearrange their arcs because there were so many of them. I texted Jen to ask if her daughter's friend was still in SCVC, and she said yes, Brandon is now the Baritone Section Leader! Great! Another friend, Tracer, is also in the corps, but I do not recall meeting this person. I thought I found Brandon, but when I sent a picture to Jen, she wasn't sure. So Brandon, if this is you and/or Tracer, hi!
The corps took a break to take showers and to have dinner together, and the audience was left to fend for ourselves. There was a Whole Foods truck there to promote the opening of their new store in Santa Clara, but I wasn't hungry enough to stand in line and I wasn't really interested in what they offered. Instead, I bought souvenirs. I bought a brown Madison Scouts shirt with a big fleur de lis on it, and writing inside the design. The guy that sold it to me said that it was designed by a corps member, and asked my advice for next year's shirt if it was offered again. I asked for a shirt that flared out a little bit more at the bottom. Thank you for asking! I also bought a pink/gray shirt that I'd been wanting at the SCV trailer. I got a free Scheherazade shirt with it! I have the teal one, and now I have the purple one so that I can match Miss O until she grows out of her dress.
Bro refused to buy a shirt when I told him to go get one so he could get a free shirt, too. But...it's 2 for 1! He's so not like me sometimes. That's probably a good thing.
While we waited for the corps to perform, we were treated to a performance by the Santa Clara Big Band, which is sponsored by SCV. Its members include corps director Frost as well as other alumni and a couple of local high school kids. I liked the more upbeat songs because I was sleepy and needed a pick-me-up. Then the corps took turns performing their shows in uniform.
SANTA CLARA VANGUARD CADETS
I noticed while they were setting up that the pit members had a tattoo sleeve on their left arms. Bro said they were real tattoos. No. Then I noticed that everyone had tattoo sleeves. It matches the design on the drum major uniforms. Brandt Crocker was present and attempted to announce the names of the drum majors, but had a major fail with one of them. He kept trying and just cracked himself up, as well as all of us. He then just used their first names. Then while still giggling, said, "Seriously, is your corps ready?" He needs his own blooper reel. The corps performed beautifully anyway, like the pros that they are.
MADISON SCOUTS
During the company front, they held their note longer than I remember them doing so before. I hope this is now part of the show. The low brass are hanging on the scaffolding at the end. We noticed that the brass players do a lot of poses as if they were on a cross, so we've decided that they are portraying Christ. The show gets more and more interesting as it develops. Oh, wow! As I was writing this, I found out that "Jesus Christ Superstar" will be shown on TCM this Thursday night! RECORD.
SANTA CLARA VANGUARD
Vanguard yell! They did it 2 or 3 times, so I'm choosing to do the yell during "Winter". I hope I remember by the time I see them again.
Mr. Crocker then told us to stick around because "we have something special...special...special." It was cute and totally true. We let the lady in front of us stand next to us so that she could take photos/video of her son, a baritone in the Madison Scouts.
The hornlines of all 3 corps played a joint encore of both corps songs:
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| SCV Leaf Formation |
We were then treated to run-throughs by all 3 corps present: SCV Cadets, Madison Scouts, and SCV. The horn lines of all of the corps also rehearsed the encore together. We giggled at how much they had to rearrange their arcs because there were so many of them. I texted Jen to ask if her daughter's friend was still in SCVC, and she said yes, Brandon is now the Baritone Section Leader! Great! Another friend, Tracer, is also in the corps, but I do not recall meeting this person. I thought I found Brandon, but when I sent a picture to Jen, she wasn't sure. So Brandon, if this is you and/or Tracer, hi!
The corps took a break to take showers and to have dinner together, and the audience was left to fend for ourselves. There was a Whole Foods truck there to promote the opening of their new store in Santa Clara, but I wasn't hungry enough to stand in line and I wasn't really interested in what they offered. Instead, I bought souvenirs. I bought a brown Madison Scouts shirt with a big fleur de lis on it, and writing inside the design. The guy that sold it to me said that it was designed by a corps member, and asked my advice for next year's shirt if it was offered again. I asked for a shirt that flared out a little bit more at the bottom. Thank you for asking! I also bought a pink/gray shirt that I'd been wanting at the SCV trailer. I got a free Scheherazade shirt with it! I have the teal one, and now I have the purple one so that I can match Miss O until she grows out of her dress.
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| Thanks, SCV! |
Bro refused to buy a shirt when I told him to go get one so he could get a free shirt, too. But...it's 2 for 1! He's so not like me sometimes. That's probably a good thing.
While we waited for the corps to perform, we were treated to a performance by the Santa Clara Big Band, which is sponsored by SCV. Its members include corps director Frost as well as other alumni and a couple of local high school kids. I liked the more upbeat songs because I was sleepy and needed a pick-me-up. Then the corps took turns performing their shows in uniform.
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| That's corps director Charles Foster pointing |
SANTA CLARA VANGUARD CADETS
I noticed while they were setting up that the pit members had a tattoo sleeve on their left arms. Bro said they were real tattoos. No. Then I noticed that everyone had tattoo sleeves. It matches the design on the drum major uniforms. Brandt Crocker was present and attempted to announce the names of the drum majors, but had a major fail with one of them. He kept trying and just cracked himself up, as well as all of us. He then just used their first names. Then while still giggling, said, "Seriously, is your corps ready?" He needs his own blooper reel. The corps performed beautifully anyway, like the pros that they are.
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| SCVC Drum Major |
MADISON SCOUTS
During the company front, they held their note longer than I remember them doing so before. I hope this is now part of the show. The low brass are hanging on the scaffolding at the end. We noticed that the brass players do a lot of poses as if they were on a cross, so we've decided that they are portraying Christ. The show gets more and more interesting as it develops. Oh, wow! As I was writing this, I found out that "Jesus Christ Superstar" will be shown on TCM this Thursday night! RECORD.
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| Disciples |
SANTA CLARA VANGUARD
Vanguard yell! They did it 2 or 3 times, so I'm choosing to do the yell during "Winter". I hope I remember by the time I see them again.
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| SCV |
Mr. Crocker then told us to stick around because "we have something special...special...special." It was cute and totally true. We let the lady in front of us stand next to us so that she could take photos/video of her son, a baritone in the Madison Scouts.
The hornlines of all 3 corps played a joint encore of both corps songs:
- Madison Scout's "You'll Never Walk Alone"
- Santa Clara Vanguard's "Send In The Clowns"
Drum Majors arm in arm as they listen to "You'll Never Walk Alone"
It was awesome. I got all teary.
We got in the car and drove to Gilroy, and had a late dinner at Chevy's. Margaritas! The server could not resist photobombing my picture of Bro.
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| Mmmmm....Mango |
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| Hi! |
We checked in to our hotel and agreed to wake up early because Bro needed to get home in the early afternoon. In the morning, we had hotel breakfast, but since we were next to a Black Bear Diner, I needed pictures of bears.
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| Bear butt |
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| Fishing Bear |
I slept for much of the way home, sorry about that Bro. I hadn't slept well during the night. We had a great trip and Bro's already going through drum corps withdrawal despite the fact that we're going to another show tomorrow night.
I am having SCV withdrawal, though. We won't see them until August, at least in person. Thank goodness for the internet!
Next up: Oxnard
Monday, June 27, 2016
PusherPix 06/27/16
PusherPix
Monday, June 27, 2016
SCV Cadets, Madison Scouts, and SCV Drum Majors at Vanguard Family Day
Snow Day Sunday
DCI West
Sunday, June 26, 2016
Stanford Stadium
Palo Alto, CA
On our way from Sacramento to Dublin, Bro's fuel indicator lit up, so we stopped in Livermore for gas. Aw, I saw the hotel where I had previously stayed and immediately missed Wendy and Rockapella. We decided to eat while we were there, and ended up at Denica's Real Food Kitchen. Well, this is a popular place! People were lined up to order their food (at least 10 people in front of us). I would have ordered a big breakfast because that's my favorite meal of the day and they had plenty of choices, but we had dessert plans and I wanted to save room for that. I had a lot of trouble choosing so I changed my mind at least 8 times before we got to the front of the line. Even then, I didn't know what to get and finally blurted out "Breakfast Sammie". Bro ordered a Turkey Avocado sandwich, which came with a side salad. The free water available had fruit slices in the dispenser, and I chose the one with strawberries and lemons. It was very nice and refreshing. They also had bowls of tortilla chips and salsa to eat while you waited for your food. This was perfect for Bro, whom wanted an appetizer before his meal, but there weren't any on the menu. We chose to eat at a table outside, and enjoyed our food when it arrived. I'll definitely be recommending this place to Pella and the posse the next time we're in town.
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| Lunch! |
Then we made our way to Dublin, CA, home of Snowflake. Mmmmm....shaved snow! Bro ordered the Tropic Mango, which is what I was going to order. So again I needed to just decide on the spot and ordered the Guava. The tables were full, so we opted to take our goodies to go, and ate in the car. Both flavors were yummy, though I preferred the mango, naturally, as that is my favorite fruit. Bro finished his first and started to drive while I kept eating and feeling the inside of my cheeks get numb.
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| Guava Snow with Strawberries, Mango Popping Boba and Composite Jelly |
We checked into our hotel and relaxed for a little while before taking off for Stanford University. We weren't early enough to park on the pavement, so we parked in the Eucalyptus Lot. I don't know why they don't just pave this area. It's not like anything else happens there except cars parking in a disorganized fashion. I guess they're trying to save the trees from being uprooted, I don't know.
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| They love their Trees here |
Anyway, we briefly looked at the souvenir stands and I think I might be getting some BD rehearsal leggings at some point this month. We went to the ticket gate, and I got rid of my bottle of water because they wouldn't allow them in with liquid. I was all confused and threw mine into the bin, and the lady said that I could take it in. So I took it back. Then she said I'd need to empty it first. So I threw it back in there. Then Bro said I could have watered the plants and then fill it from the drinking fountain. Oh. Forget it. I needed to use the restroom and clearly wasn't paying attention to anything else, so I met up with Bro at our seats.
Our seats were awesome! We were on the left 40, top row, and Bro's seat was at the top of the steps, so he had nobody in front of him. I had maybe half a seat in front of me. We were by the railing, but I could get most of the field in my pictures if I stood up. Section 124, Row DD, Seats 1-2. Thanks for the great seats, Bro!
Hey, even the DCI Logo is yellow this year. It's a yellow year!
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| Big Board |
EXHIBITION
Alisal Union School District Drumline
The Star-Spangled Banner was performed by Blue Devils Alumnus Marcel on the trumpet. I'm loving all of the live renditions of our National Anthem.
GOLDEN EMPIRE
Nice percussion feature. I don't think that this show is done, and I'm still trying to figure out why it's called "Music Matters". I mean, that statement is a given to musicians like me, but I'm trying to figure out the "story" of the show. Or at least the theme of the show.
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| Golden Empire |
Dude came up the stairs and sat down in the row in front of us, and called over the refreshments guy, whom blocked my view of the field. Dude was wearing an SCV cap. Couldn't he have waited until after the next corps, then?! Annoying. I wanted to throw something at him (not the refreshment guy), because this is the one day that I can get pictures from a high point in the stadium.
SANTA CLARA VANGUARD CADETS
Great job today! Much better entrance after the solo. Very nice trumpet solo after that, too. Beautiful sound during the piece when they are kneeling.
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| Crossbow |
Then the dude got up to go to his actual seat and commented to us that we got the best seats in the house and asked how we got them. I let Bro talk to him because I was still annoyed.
BLUE DEVILS B
People like that bass drum action at the beginning of the show. The duet was gorgeous. Why doesn't it end with the USA flag being planted on the moon? Is it because Apollo 13 didn't get there? Or will this happen during Finals week?
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| Blue Devils B |
BLUE DEVILS C
All of the other corps marched in from the right side. BD-C walked in from the right side tunnel, all the way to the left side, and then marched onto the field from the left. I guess that's the only way they can do it so far. Who cares? They're too cute. Uh oh. Steps! Use the same foot as the others! I guess they need to learn how to double step to catch up, or whatever they do in drum corps.
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| Smooth Criminals Busted |
<Intermission>
ACADEMY
Beautiful "Unchained Melody" solo. OH! "Ghost"!!! That's the other reason they're playing this song. I get it. Bro told me later that there is a ghost formation. I'll have to look for that. I think I may have seen it but didn't think about it. Heart beats with the big bass drum and the corps moving with each beat. Very cool. Unlike the movie, there are no butterflies at the end of this show.
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| Time is eternal for those who love |
PACIFIC CREST
They do a reprise of "I've Been Working On the Railroad" at the end of the show. I hadn't heard that on previous nights. The last pose by the color guard is the same one as the famous poster of Rosie the Riveter. Two people lost their plumes. The audience was not very receptive of this show today.
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| PC RR |
MANDARINS
The siren is portrayed by two different people. Good color guard work! Someone dropped their stick. It's good that they have extras.
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| I like this color scheme |
During the show, the guy in front of me felt a spider on his arm. This may have been the same spider that I felt on my arm, and shooed away to Bro's seat. The guy got all freaked out, brushed it off of him, and immediately squashed it with his foot. Poor spider. The guy was scratching himself for the rest of the show, probably from the heebie jeebies.
I haven't mentioned the seagulls. There were seagulls on the other side of the stadium, and sometimes a lot of them were flying around and kind of freaking me out because I've watched "The Birds" too many times. After the Mandarins show, one of them had a huge piece of bread and dropped it on the field, prompting all of the other seagulls to fly down to "help" him eat it. The lady next to me said that the gulls wanted to provide us with entertainment between shows.
BLUE KNIGHTS
Bro said that he hadn't noticed before that the backside of the mirrors were red. I informed him that the red is the reflection of the seats in the stadium. They were not red yesterday. Oh. I really like the crescendo while the brass is in a rectangular-ish shape on the lower right corner of the field. The CG woman at center field was looking at the mirror and reacting to the different impact sounds. The show is still not finished. I'm hoping that we'll see more when they get to So Cal.
MADISON SCOUTS
Judas yells now. I saw a skull formation. Bro did not. He asked if I saw the star. There's a star? APPARENTLY, it's very quick, before the last fleur de lis. I'm not sure if you can see the fleur de lis in this picture, but it's there. I like their formations, but I wish they'd stay in each specific formation (their trademark ones) a little bit longer.
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| Fleur de Lis |
SANTA CLARA VANGUARD
The white is very pretty from up here. Beautiful music! I missed getting a shot of the SCV star formation, but I did get the shield.
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| Oh, it's a snowflake! |
BLUE DEVILS
I just noticed "Stormy Weather" in the opening of the show and throughout. Where have I been? I can't belive that I'm writing this, but they need to clean the brass runs at the beginning of the show. Not that everyone else is cleaner than them, but I noticed it and I usually don't for this corps.
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| Pinwheel / Whirlpool |
SCORES
Open Class:
4) 38.90 BD - C
3) 46.15 Golden Empire
2) 51.15 SCV Cadets
1) 51.80 BD - B
World Class:
7) 56.35 Mandarins
6) 56.55 Pac Crest
5) 60.45 Academy
4) 63.25 BK
3) 65.30 Madison
2) 69.25 SCV
1) 71.40 BD
ENCORE - MADISON SCOUTS
- California Dreamin' - Awww, because they're here! I don't know why they need to have a trombone solo, but OK.
- Selection from "Judas"
- You'll Never Walk Alone - this is their corps song, and a few alumni were in the stands watching while arm in arm. The arrangement is different from what we're used to hearing from the Scouts, but I was still glad to hear it
Madison performing "Judas"
We did not go out to eat anything afterward because we both had half of our sandwiches from lunch, so we ate those for dinner with some of our snacks as our side dishes. Did I mention that I brought way too many snacks? I did.
Next up:
SCV Family Day
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