bobchilds Posted April 10, 2006 Share Posted April 10, 2006 I was just reminiscing about this, and thought I would share... One night in early 1999 - I think it was one of the first two shows of the season, in northern California. Right in the middle of BD's show, during a ballad section of "Adios Nonino," all of the lights went out. I'm not talking about some of the lights. I'm talking about a COMPLETE BLACKOUT. Amazingly, the corps continued and completed their show, WITH DRILL. It looked like a few people were shining flashlights at the drum major til the end of the show. It was just light enough to faintly see the horns and silver uniform parts moving around, but I couldn't see anything else. I made an audio recording of that performance, and you could hear the audience gasp when it the lights first when out. Then the crowd started going nuts as the corps continued, and when it was clear that they were continuing even though they easily could have stopped at the end of the song. I mean, how could a corps prepare for something like that? Moreso, how could a corps respond to something like that so well? What an amazing corps. I'd love to hear from anyone who was in that corps and hear their recollections... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FrankA Posted April 10, 2006 Share Posted April 10, 2006 (edited) I had already thought that BD 99 was the best show ever. Turns out they were even better then I thought. :) Edited April 10, 2006 by bd euph some day Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
afd Posted April 10, 2006 Share Posted April 10, 2006 yup..i was there. Was really freaky. The corp played on like nothing had happened. Because of the time frame and a sound curfew, they could not perform their show again. I think they got only half of the lights on after about a half hour. Div. 1 was declared an exibition. I believe the Devils headed to the midwest to do their stage show series and i think their first judged show was not until about 2weeks later. Really an amazing year. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BD020304 Posted April 10, 2006 Share Posted April 10, 2006 does anyone have audio or video from that nights performance, or is it illegal for that to be shared?? i'd love to hear the crowd go wild when the continue the show in the dark!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cire Posted April 10, 2006 Share Posted April 10, 2006 (edited) thanks for sharing! that was an INCREDIBLE night! it really pulled the corps together too.. honestly.. i doubt we would have had such a good year if that hadnt happened. it was by far the most emotional show that ive ever had. once the lights went out we kept playing.. and the drill (the ending box move was learned that morning too!) we kept marching.. no collisions.. nothing. but as we kept playing, the audience got louder.. we got louder.. by the end of the show though whole place was just crazy.. half the members were in tears because it was so emotional.. half the audience was in tears.. definently a night noone who was there will ever forget.. if you still have the recording of that i would LOVE to hear it! oh yeah.. the lights in the whole city went out.. half way through the ballad. and came back on soon after we finished the show.. i think we got like a 10 minute standing ovation.. from scv members/staff as well! Edited April 10, 2006 by cire Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SkyRyder_FMM Posted April 10, 2006 Share Posted April 10, 2006 Someone posted a recording of that show during hte summer of 99, and I heard it. The crowd response was amazing - from the sounds of shock when the power went out, to the cheering and amazement that they kept going. I lost the recording when my computer crashed a few years ago, but it was really cool just to listen to. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Liam Posted April 10, 2006 Share Posted April 10, 2006 (edited) Slight bit off topic -- but a related story .... I was in an establishment in Chicago a few years back listening to a band and having a few refreshments when the electricity went out in the entire neightborhood (excessive summer heat being the culprit). There was that same gasp and it could have gotten nasty except that the drummer never stopped playing (ahhhhh .... drummers !!). After about 10 minutes or so, the trombone player figured out that his horn wasn't plugged in, so he started riffing (or whatever trombone players do in this situation) as well. This went on for about 45 minutes and the crowd went nuts -- and continued drinking warmer and warmer beers. When the electiricy came back on, the rest of the band came back on stage and picked up the same song they were playing before. What could have been a difficult and dangerous situation turned out to be one of the coolest and most memorable evenings out. When I heard what had happened that night with BD, it reminded me so much of that night in Chicago -- I wish I could have experienced it first hand. The stories of the Blue Devils professionalism and class never cease to amaze me. Edited April 10, 2006 by Liam Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eqlou Posted April 10, 2006 Share Posted April 10, 2006 That was my first Precision West ever! It was amazing how they just kept playing. People started taking alot of pictures and the only thing you could see were the silver sashes across their chests when the flash went off. Lou Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maestro767 Posted April 10, 2006 Share Posted April 10, 2006 Wow, wish someone on here had pics like that to post. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
afd Posted April 10, 2006 Share Posted April 10, 2006 I also remember the staff running around...i think trying to tell the guard not to toss their equipment in the dark. Not sure if they did or not. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.