We JUST MISSED the pregame show because of a back-up on the stupid turnpike (damn that Renaissance Faire traffic. Who the hell still goes there anyway? It's all hypey now...grrr.) but we caught the band just as they were leaving the field. They are HUGE this year. 150 of them (we had 105 the year I was band manager.)
We walked around and found a few people we were friendly with at LVC. Lots of smiles and nods to people you don't remember exactly, but you know they were in some class with you sometime. It was actually a little awkward, we've been back so little, I don't remember anybody! And then found Brenda (we were friendly with her too, don't worry) and we bought tickets to the game. And proceeded to walk up into the stand (in the rain - did I mention that it rains every weekend in fall as a rule?) and found NOWHERE to sit, walked back and got FOOD, cause that's more important, and sat in the Alumni tent, paying no attention to the game at all. Please, that's not why you go to a football game, and everybody knows it. We found out that the trumpet section still leaves the stands during the 1st quarter and sneaks under the away side's bleachers. They play their incredibly loud trumpety fanfare thingy - they all learn it by rote and teach the freshmen. People on the away side either stand up and look below in shock or applaud - it's a good time. So happy that hilarious tradition continues. We later ran into DOC - the man himself! - and he told us all about the band and that they're huge and quite good. I'm a little jealous, honestly.
The band show was VERY good; they've definitely improved the program since we've been there. It's all still student-run, btw, with the exception of Doc who basically books the gigs and taps his watch to make you rehearse faster. Oh, and demands you tell him where the clipboard IN HIS HAND is...ah, my memories of being Doc's bitch that season are sweet.
We ran into a few more old friends in the stands, including Laura, who played in the Tuba line & who I had a few music ed classes with. It's cool, because all the band alumni know that despite the fact that the stands are packed, you can always go inhabit the band's section when they go do the show. Insuring that you have good seats for the part of the afternoon that really matters. It was neat to be mixed in with so many band alumni, even if they didn't march with us. We were all really impressed with the show. Jealous, but seriously, a highly enjoyable band show. Made me miss actually lugging around a mellophone case. Here we have the illustrious "Park-n-Bark", a requisite of all LVC band shows.
Their drill was very well-written, I thought. I can't believe there's so many of them! Doc said they ran out of uniforms and had to put the percussion line in fatigues (went along with the show's theme). I've touched every one of those uniforms several times. What a thought.
Then after half-time we decided that we don't care about the stupid football game - um, who won? Seriously, I have no idea who won...We wandered around the campus to see what we could see of the renovations to the buildings since we've been there last (3 years ago). THIS used to be the under-used gymnasium in Lynch. (I was in there only to register for classes. I don't know what they used it for when registration was done.) Now it's a student lounge with a cute coffee bar. The second story has classrooms around a hallway that's open to the downstairs. Bobby went upstairs and took this pic of Brenda, Laura, and me, chillin'. (Yes, Laura is wearing a highschool band-issue raincoat. One of her students left it behind last night at the game, it was in her car, and HEY, it was raining!) This was also a nice opportunity to rest my pregnant butt. I was feelin' it yesterday, bigtime.
Then we went over to Blair - the music building, our old home!!! *Sniff sniff* I miss Blair. We wandered around - low security at LVC, can you tell? Bobby's here on his old podium. Bob was band librarian one year and librarian and manager the next year, so he spent a good # of hours in this room. We all did, actually, with band, more band, classes, rehearsals, juries, and oh, yeah, band.
Over in Lutz Hall (upcoming winner of the World's Worst Acoustics in a College Recital Hall award) Brenda pretends to play the stage piano. Is that the sacred Baldwin? Cause touching that was grounds for hand-chopping-off, as I recall. Good thing Sweigart wasn't around. Actually, that pretty much goes without saying anytime. (Swiggy gave me so many C's in Form & Analysis...grrr...)
And *Sniff!* here's our old locker! There was never enough to go around, so you only got a big one if you were willing to share. So of course I shared with Bobby. :-) C4, baby. I believe I had it at least 3 years. That thing was a mess by 2003...
Went to the Peace Garden (the home of many pretty wedding pictures) and visited Hot Dog Frank. Bobby feels tall next to Frank. Ok, anybody who'd know: Didn't he used to have glasses???
And the scene of our favorite wedding photo (big one in our living room, as a matter of fact!) I think our faces look thinner now (no more LVC food to fatten your ass up can do that to you quickly) but the tummy is DECIDEDLY BIGGER than in the wedding photo. Oh well, you lose some, you win some - er, you get pregnant. Whatever. I miss that bridge!
We later headed back to the football field (my dogs were done barking and had been pronounced D. O. A. by that point). We ran into Shawn and Christina, who we found out come every year all the way from Virgina (at least Shawn's in Virgina, they do a long-distance thing, God help 'em!) and we all hit the Alumni tent and got our nachos, cheese cubes, crackers, and beer. I had water, relax. Didn't win any door prizes (phooey). The band they hired to play under the tent was SO LOUD (and so not an Alumni-tent choice, they should have had a little jazz combo or a keyboard guy - come on, the department's full of them) that we all ended up yelling little conversations and then finally catching up with people properly when the band took a well-needed (by us) break.
It was great to see so many people and hear what they're doing. Most of them are quite well, teaching, working, living, etc. We decided that we're definitely coming back next year, and bringing little She-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named along.
Except we can't bring the stroller, because we couldn't climb into the band section of the stands to watch the show.
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If you look closely on the picture of Bob on the podium in the band room, on the right edge is Brenda's leg. I was sitting in one of my old seats.
And to make everyone who is concerned about me losing a limb rest easier, I did not actually touch the piano, it just looks like I did.
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