June 20th, 2009
When the Show of Shows was ending late Friday night, master of ceremonies Mike Robinson warned people to stay away from the area of South Mulford and Sandy Hollow roads. Big train wreck, he said. Burning tank cars of ethanol, he said.
Right. As soon as the show was over I headed over there to see what I could see. I wouldn’t have learned much had I not tuned my radio to WNTA-AM. For the entire evening they abandoned their syndicated program format and went live, with anchors in the studio on SandyHollow Road, and reporters in the field. They provided up to date information when people, especially homeowners in the area or motorists, needed to know what was going on.
June 20th, 2009
The Phantom Regiment’s Show of Shows went on Friday night, sort of. After debating whether to cancel the drum corps competition because of monsoon-like rain that started a little after 6 p.m. and was still going on at 7:30, officials finally started the event at 8:30 p.m., but with a big twist.
Announcer Mike Robinson said each corps would perform in stationary positions on the Boylan football field, because the turf was drenched and may not have been safe for corps members to perform intricate field exercises.
So, the corps all performed in exhibition, meaning it wasn’t judged by DCI judges and didn’t count. Most corps performed either in partial uniforms or in t-shirts and shorts.
Who was best? Since we’re only able to judge sound, not marching and maneuvering, we can’t really tell. Sound-wise, my favorites were Phantom, Blue Coats and Spirit. I thought the Cavaliers and the Madison Scouts were not as good as I remember them being in the past.
