Mulder

Ok BDWorld -- have FUN tonight and DO IT UP. This will be a GREAT finals -- West Coast Best Coast. Pray my voice holds up so I can cheer like a ten year old tonight!!!!

Currently waiting to board my flight to Indy and a TV screen said "Hell is empty and all the Devils are here" . It was an ad for a movie or game but made me chuckle. Good omen for things to come?! :)

Since I don't text very fast on my phone, here are some of my additional comments from last night. I should be working but it was more fun to relive last night and write out my thoughts. LOL Spent the afternoon at BD’s rehearsal site then dealt with a SLOW server at the Mission Inn for an early dinner so we were later then we wanted to be to get to RCC. Gold Didn’t get to our seats in time to see Gold so only could get a glimpse of them from the entrance to the stands. Great to see a SoCal Open Class corps with such large numbers, specially when there seem to be so many in the region. Sorry I missed you! Impulse Small group and they look young, but they have some members with real talent. My eye kept going to a guard member – he’ll probably be in a World Class corps someday as will some others. I remember BACK IN THE DAY my H.S. had a year with low numbers and you couldn’t hide if you didn’t know your stuff. Kudos to these kids for the work they are putting in and performing for the crowd size they had. Pacific Crest If you like a fun, happy, light hearted show, then this one was for you. Uniforms looks great in the evening sun, all glittery and Hollywood-esque. By contrast the guard attire seemed…blah? Like off the rack Gap. I wanted more sound (and by that, I mean not amplified sound) from them. More impact. But this show seemed like a great fit for them and follow-up to last year’s Golden State of Mind show; a good contrast to the “dark” shows we see. Maybe a SoCal vibe could be their identity as long as it doesn’t become too cliché or trap them into something they can’t evolve from over the years. Troopers I never get much of a chance to see Troopers live and I have to say, their uniforms in the first half of this show just make them look…professional. Not sure if that’s the word and I don’t want to beat a dead horse (uniform vs costume debate) but they just looked sharp. Some good sound coming from them, in my opinion. Americana-ish musicality but it didn’t beat you over the head or make you think “how many high schools have I seen do this show”. Thank you again for coming to California – wish I could watch you again. Academy Few of us said this last night on here, but this show is so much better live (like they all are, but I think especially this one). If they can tweak this show some more to help improve GE and just sell the music, they could push closer to that 12th spot. Mandarins The visual effect I got from the stage, from where I was sitting (second row on the 50) was great. Wonder what it’s like higher up (I’ll have to wait until Indy). It just draws your attention to whatever section is on or around it. Visually I love this show. The stick people could give you nightmares! They’ll have to get the lit-up rifles perfect because any slight angle or rational difference sticks out big time. I’d hate for them to look sloppy for the sake of trying to get some GE points. Blue Knights I love them and their style! Musical arrangements are fresh, and the ballad when it builds is just heaven for my ears. Color color color…I was eating it all up. And the flags in the closer I could watch all night under the lights. I wish I had gotten a picture of them. SCV I am a BD homer but I loooooove Vanguard this year (and past years too). I cannot stop listening to “My Body Is A Cage”. Something about it just MOVES me. I read a bit of the backstory about the Tower of Babel and it helped me get this show. Plus, its fun learning something new. Dare I say, they have some of that BD swagger? A casual observer that went with me mentioned without me ever saying anything about the shows, that she liked SCV, but didn’t like that they felt on top of her and in her face the whole time. Her words. I could watch and listen to this show repeatedly. It felt so complete and hopefully it doesn’t plateau. Knowing the team behind this creation I don’t think they’ll let that happen. BD I will always love them, even if they do something that makes me think what the heck! I’ll still love them. Their guard work this year is off the charts and I can’t wait to see if once all the layers are in and its cleaned to perfection. I sat in on their afternoon rehearsal and the guard seemed so dialed in and focused. Visually they use the entire field like nobody’s business again this year and freakin’ book it in spots. I know they layer as the summer goes on, but something seemed missing – the segments of the show are all GREAT (great musically, visually, etc) but I felt there needed to be some flow. Somebody who I have taken to BD rehearsals, family days, etc. for 11 years now but never marched anywhere, said the same thing. Maybe I am being too harsh because the standards they set over the decades? I’ll still scream my head off at finals for them and that ballad will get Lucas Oil on its feet again. I’ll trust their process to grow this show and make it another masterpiece. With the talent in this corps they will medal, we'll just see where they end up. To the rest of the country, some great shows are coming your way....ENJOY.

well, looking forward to seeing BD's finished product in Indy. as others have said that ballad is killer.

SCV's guard serving me somethin' fierce!

From where I am I cant get a good read on visuals but BK seemed just a step up musically on Mandarins tonight. Amazing use of color as always. Flags in the closer, under the lights, were great.

Holy Cow Mandarins! The power in this show...by finals night should be phenomenal. and neon, LED (?) rifles? I bet they add more to this.

Academy is MUCH better live!

row B same section seats 1 to 4

Thank you Troop for coming to Cali! What an enjoyable show with some great sound coming from this group. Costume change wasn't that bad either.

I don't post much but right I'm here on the 50...I can try to post updates but might be too freaking excited! :)

Thank goodness the people in front of me were BD fans -- I've never yelled in joy like I did tonight during that show and encore. Congrats to ALL, what a great night.

I literally had somebody tell me after semi's, to my face, while I was wearing a "Metamorph" t-shirt BD buys judges. I smiled and turned away. I mean seriously....

The window was lit up. But I want more--give me more please!

Adding another question related to this: DCI states a shuttle bus running from the warmup zone to Lucas for Friday and Saturday. Does anybody know WHERE the pickup/drop off spots are? Ive never seen them and have asked around the past years with no luck.