SteenAZ

Nice jump for The Academy!!! I was hoping for 6 points over the last show but I would guess putting a largely new show on the field for the first time is tough.

I know this must have been hashed over in previous years but some Academy friends sparked a debate with me over the use of the word SUTA. First I was asked what it means and when I said I don't know they said they thought I had used it around them which I quickly denied. It is my understanding that the word is special current and former members of the corps and only they know what it means. Help me out here. Am I right? Related to this was an incident at the Vista show on July 2 where there was a Phantom Phan sitting in front of me. I asked him if he marched and he said no. When the show was about to start he stood up and said (One... two.. three ... SUTA) which shocked me. It was also shocking because I thought his head would explode he was so intense. Did he break a taboo? I thought he did.

Any comments on The Academy? Come on, I can take it.

Thanks for the updates

I am freakin out waiting for the scores tonight. I hope to see a big jump for The Academy. The show went under the knife this past week and I love the changes. Can't say a lot about the drill changes because I was only able to watch from field level.

Just made a second one. Come on with the scores!!!

OK, time for the booze. Tonight I will have chocolate milk and coffee Patron. Yum!

I will cry like a baby if they win. I was in the stands in 1996 when they ""won" and it was a thrill but I am an even bigger fan now than I was back then. I will only regret that I can't be there to see it.

Any idea when the score might be expected? Should I have a cocktail?

I want to go to bed!!!

Sometimes I truely hate using my laptop.

IT TAKES 100 I just passed mine after 5 years. Just put up a buch of sort posts on silly threads and you'll loose your Rookie status in no time

Tim, I am gad you had as much fun as I did in California. I hope at least once to go on a tour stint with PR (maybe learn some recipies) but for now am very happy doing work for The Academy. PR has tons of fans in California and I dare say after a couple of ocal corps we know they are a fan favorite in the West. One can normaly rank the popularity of a corps by the pre-show applause and let me tell you when Phantom is announced out west the crowd goes nuts. I hope they keep bringing them out to us every few years. I don't ever want to go another year without a live PR performance and since 2002 I have held true with the exception of 2005. Back to the Show... I want to talk about the Color Guard. Adam Sage is currently the best mind of the business and he and his staff have solved the problem that has held the Corps since the 1996 win. You will not find a classier performance or for that matter sexier than what PR is putting on the field lately. For Spartacus Adam cearly did his homework and maybe watched a few episodes of Rome from HBO. Finally something I studied in college comes in handy in the DCI world. With a degree in History I declare the PR Color Guard has done a great job of capturing the special nature of life in Rome. They are sexy and beautiful, they are not afraid to kill or to die. THAT IS ROME BABY!!! If anything the show might be too sexy and vilent for some viewers but what is Rome without sex and violence. Top this off with great skills and a few signature moves like the pairs catches and we are starting to build something very special.

What a crazy time. A weeknight show that short should start at 7:30 at the latest so people can be home at a reasonable hour.

I predict a closing of the gap but I woud hope PR does not catch BD till later in the season.

Blah Blah Blah I am 41 years old I started going to shows in the 70's I never marched but that shouldn't matter Here it goes... I love the new stuff and the continuous innovation. For the most part each year is better for me than the last although I am happiest when my two corps give me great shows that finish high. :-) As long as they (DCI) don't add woodwinds I am not going to waste my energy complaining. Change happens... get over it.

Just returned from a mini-tour stint of four days with The Academy working on the food crew and driving and equiment vehicle. The frosting on the cake for me was that I got to see Phantom 4 nights in a row. Sadly I will not get to see it live again but I thought I woud share with my fellow PR devotees thoughts on the show and other tidbits. As always I spent some time when I could talking to the PR vounteers on the food crew and souvie booth. Great group of people! It was nice that several of them remembered me from last year when my friends on The Academy crew joked I was stalking the PR crew. At the Vista show on Thursday I saved them a seat so we could watch together. I wish I remembered the neame of the guy I was sitting with because we sat together a few times last year too. Anyway I think he got a kick out of some of my reactions to the show because it was only my seond viewing and he had clearly a few more under his belt. The Show - - - I love this show, not because of the music only, not for the visual, it is about the complete package. At this point in the season after 4 performances viewed I would say that it is fair to compare it to 06/Fuast. I think this show is light years ahead of where Faust was even when I saw it in San Antonio that year. It is because of this that I know they will finish very high, I mean very! When I saw Faust in SA I coud barely follow the story and figure out what they were trying to convey emotionaly. With Spartacus there is no learning curve and they sell this puppy start to finish and tell the story with clarity. Right now most of the music selections other than the Spartacus pieces stand out to me and that is OK. For the first time for me in a long time the PR show is not dominated by the music. In that regard it des remind me of 05 and Rhapsody wich to me was stunning from a visual standpoint. For me shows connect with me in my EYES, EARS and HEART. This one gives me all 3 equally. There are certainly parts where I know they will tweek it. An example would be the formation of the sword near the end, right now it just doesn't give me too much of a thrill. Another thought on the show is if you can see it in a smaer staduim you will be in for a treat. The sounds coming out of the horn ine this year will send waves of pleasure through you like you have never experienced at a show. The performance in Vista where I was about 15 rows up brought me to tears by the end. I know it had improved greaty at Pasadena and Stanford but the distance at those show robbed me of a ittle of the viseral reaction I got in Vista. Loved the new kill in the gladiatir scene debuted in Stanford. It was much more intense. I love to hear people gasp at those points although I wish they wouldn't snicker when the Drum Major kills the girlfriend at the end of the ballad. Is there a way to diminish this reaction or is it desired? OK - I am starting to ramble so I might come back in the next few days and write more unless I am boring you.

Checking in from the tour caravan on the way to the site. If I have a good signal I will post after each of the performances. Bumming out that this is my last show of the year.

Still waiting.

PR just leaving the field and I am wrecked! That was so much better than what we saw in Glendale last night. Waiting for scores.

I just lost my rookie status! Are you all proud of me?

Sitting in traffic trying to get to the site. Hey! Just pulling up. Wish us well.

We are under way. See you all in SD! BTW I have show music running thru my head and it is... Vienna Nights!

I am with The Academy right now as they eat and load up for San Diego. What a great night! Everyone around me thought Phantom won.

I am with The Academy right now as they eat and load up for San Diego. What a great night! Everyone around me thought Phantom won.