Though I have largely abandoned this site, since it served the temporary needs I established it for. It seems a shame not to make use of it from time to time as I still have the occasional thoughtful observation about the world of drum corps or marching band. Maybe I might even make this a full time blog like I dreamed of doing when as the DCI season approaches again. Since I'm pretty sure no one ever reads this blog anyway, I don't think the lapse in postings will bother anyone. Until such time as I can create meaningful content I'm planning on just throwing up a stray post here or there related to marching music.
Recently I was back in my home town to attend an old friend's wedding (BTW: Congrats Ashley and Adam!). In a stunning coincidence I discovered it was also the same weekend that my alma mater ( high school edition) was hosting their annual marching band competition. While I haven't been able to stay involved with the old band program since I started moving around to different states, I will always hold a special place in my heart for my memories of high school marching band. On top of that I was told that this year's show would be the largest in the history of the competition including the best collection of top level bands that our town had ever hosted. I was especially excited to hear that one of the local bands had a show based on the music of Led Zeppelin, which I thought was bound to be either awful or excellent but fascinating either way.
This serendipitous occurrence was too good to pass up. So, I made arrangements with some friends and fellow former band geeks to meet up at the event after the wedding and reception. We got there just in time to see the cream of the crop perform. We arrived toward the end of the competition and rushed to purchase tickets and find seats. We were fortunate enough to stumble onto some of my family members (there to watch my cousins who had now joined my ol' marching band), and they were able to get us a spot in the stands. Sadly we just missed the Led Zeppelin show (well done according to those I spoke with later), but got to see several top notch bands put on very exciting shows. Because it was already late in the marching band competition season the all the bands were clicking with no serious flaws or glitches. The students had memorized the drill and polished the music and the overall design of the shows had come together into clear artistic visions. The weather was good. The performances where sharp. The stadium had been recently improved so the facilities were outstanding. Most importantly, the company was as good as I could have hoped for. My companions and I had a great time.
When it was over my old friends and I chatted together about how it was odd to look at a marching band from the outside after all those years being on the field. One friend commented that she was more impressed than ever with how well our high school band director manages the show. A long time friend said that he couldn't get over how weird the activity seems to him now. I expressed my wonder that you could get hundreds of teenagers to do anything involving that much complex coordination and it not turn into a giant rolling disaster. We all agreed we should try to see more marching band shows. So that's my recommendation to anyone who reads this. Try to save a little bit of energy after those Friday night football games so you can make it to the band show on Saturday.
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