This weekend was the start of the ‘true’ season: the performance and Competition season! Cincinnati Tradition performed our show for family and friends, with some “obstacles” and changes; Greyhound became “Greyhound 2019” again; and another big(ger) Saturday is on the horizon. Back in a moment.Friday 6/14
Welp, my 3-week streak of greyhound not being more than an hour late ended on Friday. The physical bus was on time; however, a new driver for my portion of route didn’t arrive in Louisville until 5:45 – about 2 hours late. This was the first of many “delays” for the weekend, although it was Greyhound’s only one, thankfully.Saturday 6/15
Showers and Thunderstorms threatened the Cincinnati area all weekend. We adjusted our rehearsal plans to the impending wet weather: a lot of drill and music work on our first 2 pieces, with whatever music work we can squeeze out of “Sanctuary” (our ballad) and “Wind River” (our closer).
Our Morning Block, after warm-ups and PT, started with Sectionals with Andrew. The back half of the morning, plus most of the afternoon block, was Visual and Drill. Kendra and Brian (Visual Tech) taught us a new set of Visuals and Body Movements for “Without Warning”. It was a physical 30-45 minutes but we got it ‘on the field’, so to speak. It’s going to look pretty sweet, once we all get used to the movements and clean it up.
The Afternoon Block was more marching, this time with the Guard and Battery (the Front Ensemble was in a Sectional). We added Kendra’s visuals (the Trumpets learned it, also) to some revised drill that the Tubas and Mellophones learned (while we were with Kendra and Brian), and ran at least a dozen total reps on that section of music. Unfortunately, that block was cut short by another thunderstorm. The rest of the day was called, due to lightning, high winds, and a pretty solid burst of wind.
The above video was the 2nd of 3 severe and tornadic storms that hit the Cincinnati area, from Saturday afternoon to early Sunday morning. It’s been a while since I heard or saw (or felt) a good storm!
Sunday 6/15
It’s “Preview” Day!
… and it’s still raining, so early warm-ups were pushed back to 10:00 AM. Yay for an extra hour or so of sleep!
We got about 40 minutes of a Brass Warm-up in before the rain returned. With the amount of water on the field, plus the new drill for the Tubas/Mellophones and the visuals for the Baritones/Euphs/Trumpets, the Staff decided to make our performance a Standstill: we would play our show in a “concert arc”, but there would be no marching. I didn’t mind.
What that decision did was not only allow the Staff to run dozens of reps of other spots, it allowed the early arriving audience members to see and hear some of the ‘behind-the-scenes’ stuff: the mini-sectionals, the ins and outs of a Sectional and a Full Ensemble Rehearsal, and so on. By the time we took the break before the performance, I was pretty tired. However:
- I felt great about the “Phyrigian Gates” music, pretty good about the drill
- I felt great about the “Without Warning” music, pretty good about the first 1/3 of the drill, OK about the 2nd third (still need to work on the Body Visuals; need to get more comfortable with the drill, overall), and OK on the last third
- I felt great about the “Sanctuary” music, decent about the drill (a little rusty)
- I feel OK with the “Wind River” music (no drill yet)
Show Time!
There were, in my best guest, between 80-100 people there – awesome! The rain had previously stopped and we were enjoying some warmth and sun. I was excited but not as nervous as I thought I would be.
The performance went well! “Sanctuary” had a couple of rough moments but I think it was more a mental fatigue thing, versus not knowing the music and messing up big-time. I think my best song was “Without Warning”, while my ‘worst’ song was… “Without Warning”: I missed some Mark Time halts. To cap it off, the Picnic food was amazing – kudos to everyone involved in prepping and cooking the food. I wish I had grabbed a roasted Corn on the Cob, in perfect hindsight. 😉 I also had a cool conversation with Danny and Bruce (the 2 oldest marching members) and Ray (the Trumpet Tech) about our favorite Drum Corps, favorite shows, and other odds and ends. All in all, it was a great afternoon!
Sunday evening and Monday were the sorest and stiffest I’ve been in a long time, including some leg cramping on the way home (while I waited in the Greyhound Station)… and that’s not a bad thing! I put in a lot of work but feel like I made some improvements in my marching and playing.
Sunday, June 23rd and Tuesday, June 25th are our official debuts on the 2019 season. We have a big review rehearsal on Saturday to hammer out any rough spots. It will be my first DCA show since the 2010 World Championships and my first marching show since 2008. I can’t wait!
The Nexus 