2 posts tagged “nostalgia”
Here I am safely ensconsed in my 80 degree A/C home and watching the National Independence Day festivities from DC on my local PBS station. I just finished a post about why I love Phoenix. But I realize one thing I miss.
Playing in a Fourth of July concert. Outside. Even though I've played more John Phillip Sousa tunes than I can recognize by name, I love the "Stars & Stripes Forever" with its dogfight section and piccolo feature.
However, I can only hope the TV broadcast was edited down. Way down. When the NSO played Tchaikovsy's 1812 Overture, I settled in for something fantastic. Instead, they only played the end. Not the entire heart wrenching piece, the tug of war between the French and Russian forces. It wasn't even anticlimatic, it was just the flash bang part.
I remembered back *crusty old crazy cat lady voice* back when I was in the band, we played the entire 1812 complete with Howitzers. Yeah. Howitzers. I'll never forget rehearshing under the baton of Dr. Rick Blatti (my favorite band director ever, now with Ohio State University), and being told "the part where the canon goes off, we are using Howitzers. Get ready for it."
So here we are, a summer band playing in a glorious band shell on a beautiful Midwestern summer day, playing Sousa tunes and full of exciting expectation for our grand finale.
Nearby, members of the Michigan National Guard were ready by radio for their part to play.
Then we dove into the 1812. During the last moments, when many 'indoor bands' play the part of the final defense with bass drums, we had real canon. I flew out of my chair from the blasts. Squirrels fell out of trees from shock. The moths fluttering around the band shell lights were stunned and dazed all over our music. When the smoke cleared, the audience, comprised of family, friends and almost everyone we knew - was out of their lawn chairs, off their blankets, cheering and clapping as if it was the most amazing concert they've experienced.
It so rocked. Even the NSO can't compare.
Yes, I talk about cowz a lot. I lof dem. I was feeling homesick from some talk of Michigan and running around on the farm as a kid during the summer. So I thought I would change up my banner and icon (avatar?) for a little while to amuse myself.
