J.C.'s Review

Mid July Report –
July 17-18, 2010

As the mid-summer weather has heated up, so, too, have the Kilties. Two great performances highlighted the weekend that marks the mid-point of our 2010 season. Our Saturday halftime performance at the Racine Raider game at historic Horlick Field drove the locals from their seats, showering us with great ovations. Then we capped the weekend with a well received performance at the Phantom Regiment sponsored “Show of Shows” in Rockford, IL.

Our busy weekend began on Saturday morning under a hot sun at Gilmore Middle School.  After a weekend off, job one was to shed the cob webs, get the rust off of our show and quickly get back into “drum corps mode.”  I liked the strategy that the staff had put together to accomplish this.  While the percussion warmed up and the guard hit the main practice field, the brass line headed to the west end of the grounds and warmed up.  Nothing new there, but our visual basics for the brass line were a bit more “cerebral” and a little less “physical” than in the past. Weekend drum corps, after all, is just as much between the ears as it is between the yard lines. We concentrated on the fine details of horns-up and down, concentrating on “zero-fidgeting” at all times after commands.  Marching block was kept to simple drills like “eights and eights,” concentrating on style details.  I thought it was a great way to get our heads back in the game. Then we went set-to-set on the last segment of the closer which has been pretty dirty all year, but we’ve been getting away with it since it’s so exciting.

As the morning heated up, we could tell it was going to be a scorcher in Racine with temperatures rising into the mid 90s, so I thought it was a great idea to do a complete run-through of the show immediately before lunch, and not get gassed in the heat with a run-through close to our performance time.  This also gave the staff a chance to see which parts of the show were rusty after our week off and decide what to concentrate on after lunch.

By around 4 p.m., I think the heat was starting to get to us a little, and our rehearsal etiquette suffered a bit.  Scott Stewart gave us a little talking to and we finished rehearsal strong, fighting through the heat-induced fatigue and performing a good run of the closer to close out rehearsal and set ourselves up nicely for our evening performance.

Following a two-hour dinner break, we re-assembled the troops at 7:15 for warm-ups and embarked on the short two-block walk east to the stadium just in time for the 2-minute warning…perfect timing. As we entered the field, I got my first glimpse of the crowd, and I’m happy to report that the crowd was larger than last year’s Raider game crowd; I’d say about 750 or so on the front side and another 100 or so on the visitor’s side. I love playing for football crowds.  It gives me a good read on just how accessible and fan friendly our show is.  If you can get Joe-football-fan on his feet at a Raider game, than you know that your program has broader appeal than just the die hard drum corps fan.  We put on a spirited performance that was highlighted by a great guard performance and a great musical performance.  Visually, there were still a few unwanted warts and there was one musical tear at the big hit in Bohemian Rhapsody, but we’re getting there and I was happy with the energy level, especially after our fatiguing rehearsal. The crowd went absolutely nuts, leaping from their seats and going ga-ga when the soprano line parted their hair from the pit area during our big final push. This hit seams to have an anti-gravity effect, lifting people right out of their seats involuntarily.

It was heartwarming to talk to so many people after the performance that enjoyed the show.  One couple that came to watch the visiting team play had never seen the Kilties before and told me how much they enjoyed the show.  I really appreciate that, and that is why I love playing for Raider games.  It’s a pretty cool crowd to play for; different from typical drum corps crowds, but still very much into our performance.

Sunday morning seemed to arrive about the same time my head hit the pillow on Saturday night.  I met the troops at the Wal-Mart parking lot at 6:45 AM and after a quiet bus ride to Rockford, had breakfast in the parking lot of Boylan High School, site of the 2010 “Show of Shows”. It was during breakfast that we heard the terrible news that Aldo Cunningham had passed away on Saturday evening.  Aldo joined the Kilties in 1994 and was one of our most dedicated and fiercely loyal members through the years. He traveled from Michigan every weekend to march with the Kilties until his health kept him off the field recently. He already had his room booked for Rochester and was planning to march in the Kiltie American Section at DCA championships.

The news of Aldo's untimely death hit us all pretty hard, but it hit us veteran mellophones particularly hard. Beth Landbo, Kathy Veerhusen and I marched next to Aldo for many years and had a hard time just keeping from crying every time we thought about it. We comforted each other by reminding ourselves that Aldo is playing his favorite Kiltie mellophone part from "Claire in Heaven" with Lothar and Hoffie in heaven’s corps. Aldo loved that lick so much that he had it tattooed on his arm.

After breakfast we set up camp at the familiar practice field immediately behind Boylan High School. We’ve practiced on this field many times going back to the days when the “Show of Shows” was one of our yearly DCM appearances. It was a hot day, but not unbearably hot, with a nice breeze out of the west helping the cause.  After stretch, the guard took over the practice field, while the percussion and brass headed to the far side of the school to warm up.  The brass line started the day with marching basics in the street, once again keeping it simple with mostly “eights and eights.”  Then we found a patch of shade, warmed up the chops and worked “William Tell” for a spell.

At about 11:30, we got the full corps together and did some coordination work on the opener before we broke at noon for a 40-minute light lunch.  The breezy conditions made it a little tough on the guard, but kept things down-right decent for the rest of us.  We spent the afternoon on movements II and III, and at 2:45 performed a very nice complete run-through of the show. Before we broke for dinner, showers, rest and relaxation, Scott got the corps together and said a few words about Aldo and we observed a moment of silence in his honor. Then we played a very emotional rendition of “Slow Syne” to honor him.  I had a very difficult time keeping it together. I know Aldo was somehow with us in spirit and was indeed honored. The mellophones honored him with a customary “Oy Vay”. I could almost see his slightly creased, super shiny Kanstul mellophone bell in the Oy Vay circle.

We were scheduled to lead off the show a 7:05.  We entered the stadium from the staging area behind a large building on the far side of the old starting line and got our first glimpse of the crowd.  The stadium looked to be about 2/3 to 3/4 full, a little larger crowd than our last visit to Rockford.  From my perspective, it was a good performance.  I felt that I played and marched the first two movements of the show really well.  And just when I thought it was all good, I fracked my entrance to Bacchanale, and followed it up with a few more weak moments.  But in general, I thought it was our best effort to date and the crowd gave it up for us! Mission accomplished.

We gathered around Scott Stewart after exiting the stadium and he told us that he thought that it was a good performance with good energy… we’re making progress and heading in the right direction.  He said he’s excited about the second half of the season.  We’re heading into two straight camp weekends with the show in good shape and only one minor tweak planned. We’ll have time to do tons of cleaning and kick off the second half of the season with a crisper and cleaner performance at our home show “The Kiltie Klassic Invitational” on August 7th at Hammes Field in Racine.   

I quickly changed out of uniform and couldn’t believe it when I was able to score a 50 yard line seat 5 rows up and got my face blasted by Pioneer, Santa Clara Vanguard, Cadets and Phantom Regiment. Loved the shows. Not so much the speakers. I ran into tons of Kiltie alumni and fans during the half-hour intermission after Pioneer. It was really great to see everyone, and they all seemed to genuinely like this year’s show. We all agreed, Aldo, too, would have been proud of his Kilties.

Rest in Peace Aldo. This season is for you, brother.

WWBD,
J.C.