GeorgiaGirl

Gracious! But all those nice Ivy League schools are so nearby! You mean everyone in New England isn't restrained and genteel? John Adams and the rest of the fathers of our country must be rolling in their graves like so many chickens on rotisseries :P

"Amenities"? Were the rude stadium personnel "amenities"? Manners and civility are free. Ask anybody with YEA how much they enjoyed working with the people at Giants Stadium this summer... <**> Parking is a problem at Camp Randall... maybe, over the winter, we could all work on figuring out the local bus system and simplify logistics. I'm all about finding solutions. It just should not be an ordeal to go to an entertainment event.

Gillette Stadium gets a solid, well-earned, blistering F in my grade book. Overdone, excessive security. Perhaps they were expecting soccer hooligans? And one gate to go in and out? That alone bordered on a legally-questionable situation. Why, pray tell, were the souvies sequestered in a pen accessible only by getting past the yellow-shirted, idiotic gate staff and via a 15' wide "rent-a-fence" tunnel? Could it have been any more difficult? I'm surprised we didn't have to know the secret password and handshake. I *can* tell you this-- DCI was ready to be done with it, too. Theirs is a hard and thankless job. You know how much trouble it can be to arrange a really huge wedding? Know what a pain the "I'm in charge" people can be? Multiply that times 40,000 and you know what it's like to deal with stadium management. Call any big stadium-- NFL venues, big colleges-- and ask them to fax you the list of hoops they demand you jump through if you want to give them money to use their stadium.

Some ol' gal walked up to Spirit's souvie trailer a couple of years ago and claimed to have been in the rifle line in 1980. More so than probably any other year of the corp's existence, it goes without saying that the 1980 alumni sure as heck KNOW who was there that year. The unfortunate poser chose to make her rifle line claim to another woman who actually WAS in that line. Liar, liar, pants on fire... :P

Doesn't matter who it was <**> A little manners go a long way B)

What an odd comment by that writer; as one of my favorite creative writing professors used to say, "If only one ol' boy east of the Mississippi can get your joke, you need to get a better joke." Or, as one of my great aunts would say, with a dismissive eye roll: "Yankees!" That word is an entire description around here Say, what's with that big hole they've been digging since Gerald Ford was in office, anyway? :P

Due to construction at McEachern High School, the July 28 "Masters of Sound", sponsored by the Kennesaw Mountain High School band boosters, will take place at Kennesaw Mountain High School, instead of at McEachern, as previously scheduled. Lineup: 7:10 Troopers 7:27 Mandarins 7:44 Kiwanis Kavaliers 8:01 Colts 8:18 Spirit from JSU 8:35 Crossmen 8:52 Carolina Crown The show's encore will be performed by Carolina Crown. School address for mapping: 1898 Kennesaw Due West Road Kennesaw, GA 30152 Website: Kennesaw Mountain Bands

Thank goodness it wasn't too serious! Hope the kids and the driver, weren't too shaken by the experience. Glad the Colts are A-OK! :) Bunch of nuts driving around this country, and too many people driving in general. Atlanta is just AWFUL-- it's like LA now. Rush hour basically doesn't have a beginning or ending-- it's wretched all day long. The first time my D.H. took me on tour a few years back, I was amazed at how much easier it is to drive in the middle of the night. Couple of bottles of SoBe Green Tea (which is some fine-quality caffeine, lemme tell ya! 4:00 AM, and you could do your income taxes!) and you're good to go. Do ya'll prefer driving at night, or in the daytime on tour?

Thanks for the interesting review, Elmo!

(sigh) Never mind...

We got word from someone at the show that it was delayed, after a kid on a skateboard behind the stadium was hit by a car. They held the show until he'd been lifeflighted out. Much distraction, to say the least. I hope the kid'll be okay. :( So-- who was there? Looking forward to a review!

Y'know, that's interesting-- I was sitting right next to the PA announcer, and when the Cadets were setting up to go on, a Cadets staffer showed up in the pressbox right behind him-- they had a short conversation, and Ross told him, "okay, so you'll cue me?" and the guy did just that. So-- I guess things went the way they wanted. We were running around tying up loose ends yesterday afternoon, and at one point I ended up in front of the Cadets' mellos in a sectional. If I'd have stood there much longer, they'd have melted my hair :) Whatta sound!

... and that was the BEST National Anthem I've ever heard! Hunter Moss and Chip Crotts, you guys wail! Where'd they get that fabulous arrangement, anyway? The crowd went crazy, and the field judges, waiting for the show to crank up, were grinning from ear to ear.

Nobody's mentioned Santa Clara's guard's "I Dream of Jeannie" uniforms, replete with belly-dancer chain jingling at all those waistlines. The sound adds a special twinkle to the show-- like freshly-ground pepper on a salad. The guys in the guard pick up oversized "sabers" and those are very effective visually. Throw in some gorgeous silks, all in Barbie Dreamhouse from the 1970's, candy store colors, and I could hardly stop watching them to focus on the rest of the drill. The crowd was on its feet cheering well before SCV's ending, and they got the biggest ovation of the night. This show is the part of the Finals DVD that'll wear out first! :-)

Hee hee hee! Good job, Baja!

The Atlanta Brass Classic will indeed at held at McEachern High School on Thursday, July 15. Tickets available from www.dci.org or 1-800-495-SHOW Lineup: Court of Honor Marion Glory Cadets Troopers Seattle Cascades Carolina Crown Bluecoats The Cavaliers Spirit The stadium at McEachern High School is surfaced with SprinTurf-- we're looking forward to a great night for drum corps! :-)

I think people are going to really like the show :) What a drill! Lots of folks in position for a touchdown at times :P lots of great guard work (killer rifle stuff) and everybody is on the run at about 196 bpm during the closer, which is jazzy, powerful, and instantly likeable. The drumline has plenty to sink their teeth into, too. Very tender, emotional ballad this year to balance out the heat after the opener. This, from the wife of a '77-'79 vet, who's pretty partial to the "Let It Be Me" years. There is, however, more than one way to light a fire...

We're in front of the current Spirit hornline a good bit these days, and they can set your hair on fire in a standstill, to be sure, but back then when they were in a company front headed for the sideline playing those marvelous, extended chords of "Let It Be Me", people just froze in place. You couldn't scream and hear yourself when they were rolling. You know the Bose speaker ad where the guy has a death grip on an armchair, with his clothes flapping in the wind? It was like that. BD5times is right; you could feel them. I love listening to Jimmy Steele's hornline, and love watching him instruct just as much. Last year's semis performance was so amazing, and had the tingle of deja vu to boot. Wow.

There's more than one set of guard unis, and the other set is at the manufacturer for fittings and alterations at the moment. B)