crossmen Experience Show San Antonio

[rayfallon]

Crazy lightning and rain delaying start of Experience show out near the San Antonio Airport. Gorgeous facility Texas style with great views for the staff.

Ensemble rehearsal last night cooked. Very mature brass sound for this early and some show stopper licks in pretty much all sections.

Real "Crossmen Style" percussion section - high energy, high intensity.

Guard looks great and well integrated into the show.

Making this kind of concept show (Protest) work is really a huge undertaking, but the preshow and electronics help set it up.

I have to admit that by the end of "We Shall Overcome" at the show's end I had tears streaming down my face.

I very much dig the sound, the intensity of the kids, amd the energy that comes with exploring unfamiliar concepts.

It sounds to me like they'll have time to make this show succeed as these young people are pretty polished.

Looks like they're going to start this up 30 min late as a local announcer attempts to whip up some enthusiasm from a soggy crowd.

I fear that we'll see no pit if this rain doesn't subside.

Well worth making the trip from Dallas though as it's great to see this storied organization in such good shape this early on.

[SFZFAN]

Wish I could be there. I was there just last week...

[soccerguy315]

saw a Russian Christmas video...

[xbones7480]

http://youtu.be/QhBDt33Z_t4

here's the show video unplugged (no pit) but it cuts off

[Crown Phan]

Boy do they sound great. Can't wait to see them on the 23rd

[wesleyrp]

Great Sound Bones- J Buckingham has them smoking!!

[barigirl78]

Here's a different video. It goes all the way through, but the sound is distorted in spots. But, they sound fantastic. The jazzy "She's Too Good for Me" brings back memories of the corps from its jazz era. Like Ray, I had tears just watching a standstill.

[rayfallon]

Here's a different video. It goes all the way through, but the sound is distorted in spots. But, they sound fantastic. The jazzy "She's Too Good for Me" brings back memories of the corps from its jazz era. Like Ray, I had tears just watching a standstill.

I felt the same way about the jazziness... in fact driving back up from San Antonio (man ####### Texas is big) I was thinking about the show a lot. They rock well, they jazz well, they play well... They're breaking some eggs rather than playing it safe. I don't know where "Protest" fits in 2013 - but it may be perfectly placed - that's hard for me to call at 61. If kids (and/or audiences) are paying attention to life in the 20 teens, there's a lot of appropriate feeling being expressed in this show. Don't want to be political - I'm not smart enough - but I give them credit for trying something risky when they're defending their first Top 12 finish in a while. It would be much easier to play it safe. Fortunately, the kids are talented and into it. I think they're going to be a lot of fun to watch this year, and I stand by my observation that they have a couple of absolute show-stoppers written in.

Going to catch some rehearsal tomorrow and/or Sunday - be fun to check it out with my son who began his playing career with Bones in '91. Hope he appreciates that none of these current kids were born when he started his Crossmen time back in Pennsylvania and New Jersey. Also dying to see what his 12 year old son thinks of them, seeing as his dad joined Crossmen at 13.