FIRST SHOW

After having missed the Austin (TX) Tour of Champions show last Sunday, the Hattiesburg (MS) show was the first event I’d get to see.

Shortly after brunch was done our vehicle “The Nest” and the food truck went to the show site to prepare dinner. We were parked in the exact same spot as in previous years, quite a walk from the stadium.

I was excited about this show, because I would get to see three of our Jubal members, Maarten Walraven, who is playing top bass drum for Spirit of Alanta. Dennis Clausing, who is playing bottom bass for the Cavaliers and Melanie Verheul, who is in Santa Clara Vanguard's color guard.

Maarten had travelled to the States several times last winter to attend auditions and camps, and was accepted at Spirit of Atlanta. What a great experience!

Some heavy rainstorm delayed the show by about half an hour. Fortunately the rain held off later in the evening, so everyone got to perform.

Shortly before the show I briefly got to talk to Maarten, as he was already in warm-up. He’s having a wonderful time with the corps. Spirit of Atlanta has a cool show this year. The Bass Drum line doesn’t come to the front of the field all that often, so I didn’t get the best pictures of Maarten yet. Looking forward to seeing Maarten and Spirit again soon.
Unfortunately I didn't get to see or talk to Dennis or Melanie. I will see them again this Friday night in Murfreesboro.

Vanguard has a beautiful show. Les Miserables is working well for them.

Blue Devils’ show “the re-Rite of Spring” is another winner. Very artistic and hard to get at first. With Phantom Regiment as the only closest rival in competition present tonight, it was an easy win for BD with a score of 91.35 versus 86.80 for Phantom Regiment.

And again... BD is the last corps to roll out of the parking lot.
We're off to Murfreesboro for two days.

WHAT ARE THE ODDS

OK, I admit,… I do know quite a few people in various countries… But what are the odds… Monique, a very good friend of mine from my home-town Dordrecht (back in the Netherlands) got transferred to Houston for her work for a couple of months. And guess where we were going after San Antonio!!

Right… HOUSTON.  To be honest, until Sunday I didn’t even realize we were going to Houston. I thought we were heading straight to Hattiesburg Monday night. So we communicated on Facebook a little to see if we could make a meet & greet happen after her work.

Houston was scorching hot. The humidity was ridiculous. And we spent pretty much all day in the food truck, fixing my favourite drumcorps dish: Stir Fry Chicken Teriyaki. The band director of the school we were staying at prepared some delicious Texas Ribs on his barbecue for the food crew right in front of our food truck. Yummie !

The corps rehearsed at a stadium nearby, so there wasn’t really a chance to go there and watch rehearsal.

Monique had sent me a message that she could come to see me and the Blue Devils rehearsal. And so she did. How cool is that!!  She brought three of her colleagues too (also Dutch) and picked me up from our housing site so we could go to the stadium and see the corps rehearse.

I have only been here two days , and they’re the best ever.

Monique is a lot of fun! OMG,.. what a character! Have known her for some 20 years I guess. She used to play in a Mardi Gras Band too, and has come on two trips to Paris with me. It was absolutely great seeing her here,.. so far away from home. Both our parents back in the Netherlands followed our arrangements to meet on FB.

Monique was completely blown away by the Blue Devils. She knew about drumcorps (Jubal), but this was definitely something else. Her colleagues, unfamiliar with the activity, enjoyed it a lot too!

What a fun evening!

Enjoy,

HK

FREE DAY

A free day on tour is always nice! Especially – in my case - if that’s the first day of tour. Blue Devils usually have two free days per summer. The Sunday in San Antonio is always one of them. Every summer I toured with the Blue Devils we had a free Sunday here (together with about 8-10 other corps).
This year the corps had a show in Austin on Sunday night, so they returned to San Antonio for a free day on Monday. And everyone liked it. Less crowded, shops and mall open till 8PM instead of 6PM. Movie theatre discounts,…

The members first had the opportunity to do laundry, and then spent all afternoon and evening in town, and along the popular Riverwalk.

I hung out with fellow cook Mike. Great guy! I met him last summer when he spent a good week on Devils Food at the end of tour. His wife Vicky will join us later next week.

Obviously we walked the Riverwalk, spent some time in the mall, had a great sirloin beef burger (the jalepeño bacon and jalepeño aioli were a perfect accompaniment!

It was a pretty sweaty day. The humidity made it unpleasant. But hey… I shouldn’t complain. I’m here, having a wonderful time again!

Next stop was the famous historical site of the ALAMO. I blogged about the Alamo before here (look it up). Still not impressed. Pretty boring site alright, but the tourists seem to like it. A quick walk through the Shrine and through the premises was more than enough to absorb the story.

Tasted some excellent oil and balsamic vinegar at a new store. Interesting combinations (coconut, fig, white truffle…)!

Dinner was exceptional! We went to Landry’s on the Riverwalk, and had a nice table right at the water. Landry’s is a restaurant specialized in fish and seafood. Not exactly my first choice with my allergy for both, but they were said to serve good steaks too. I was stunned by their service! As I mentioned my allergy, the waiter informed the manager and the chef. The manager came to our table to explain how seriously their restaurant took serving guests with allergies. The grill would be scrubbed clean before my steak would go on. Excellent!! Started dinner with a delicious Mango Mojito.

After a drink at Mad Dogs some  other support staff joined us, and we ended up in Howl at the Moon, a piano bar with a fabulous atmosphere. Two pianists played any request song that was written on a slip of paper and left on their pianos. Pretty unbelievable how many songs (and especially lyrics) they know by heart!

All Blue Devils vehicles left the Convention Center around 10:30PM and we’re on our way to Houston. I didn’t even know we were stopping in Houston until today. I thought we were going straight to Hattiesburg.

Good night everyone!

Enjoy,

HK

PICKPOCKETS, DELAYED FLIGHTS AND MISSED CONNECTIONS

Yes, it was a very short night! As far as nor sleeping before I leave for the States this year was no exception. Took a taxi to central station little after 6AM, and the train to Schiphol airport at 6:38. It was pretty quiet on the train. At Rotterdam more people came on board.

They when we got to The Hague and I wasn’t paying attention pickpockets took my laptopbag. I noticed and ran after the guy. They worked in a group, so my bag had already made it out of the train. When I looked outside on the platform I saw this guy carrying my bag and shouted. Railway security stopped him and handcuffed him. Fortunately I have my belongings back, but it sure scared the shit out of me alright.

Couldn’t stay obviously to report the crime as I had a plane to catch, so they took a photo of my passport and took my number. I was called by the police when I had just checked in and was on my way to the gate to file a police report. I am glad they bastard got caught. His companion ran away.

AT the airport the line for checking in was ridiculously long. I was able to go through the Delta Sky priority check in line (for Gold, Platinum and Diamond members), so I was done in no time.

No time for tax-free shopping this time. Well, not at first but  at the gate it was announced there were some technical problems with the intercom on the plane. Guess it’s not safe to fly if we can’t hear the purser or the captain. All in all good for a 3+ hour delay, so I already knew I was not going to make my connecting flight to Austin. Oh well,…

The flight itself was very smooth,… at least the part I didn’t sleep. Gotta keep up with traditions,… sleeping at least two third of the flight. Tried to watch a film the last hour or so.

Once in Atlanta every non-US citizen has to go through Homeland Security. Obviously I picked the wrong line and ended up going through as one of the very last passengers of my flight. My connecting flight to Austin was long gone, so I tried getting on a later flight. Only possibility was stand-by. Not a good idea, as the Blue Devils would not stay in Austin. I had them rebook my flight and flew to San Antonio instead, where the corps will have a free day all day Monday.

Little after ten PM did I get to the school, where our bus had stayed. Felt like coming home! All of Devils Food staff were there. I will be working with some great people again! As if the day had not been long enough yet, I went to a bar in town for a few drinks with fellow-cook Mike, and drivers Warner and Dan. Now off to bed! Let’s see how and when my jet leg kicks in this time.

Oh,... and HAPPY BIRTHDAY DAD !

Enjoy,

 HK

PACK, UNPACK, PACK, UNPACK, PACK

It is generally known that I love travelling and that I regularly go on trips abroad, but these last weeks have really topped the list of planning. By far. What a ridiculous schedule!

I had to be in Moeskroen (Belgium) Saturday July 6, drove there with my friends Ivo and Paul, then I had a performance with Jubal in Douai (Northern France) on Sunday the 7^th. Fortunately I could stay overnight with some French fiends near Lille so I didn’t have to go back up to the Netherlands for 220 kilometres, and back the same route the next morning. After the performance we drove straight to Paris, as the bus for the annual school excursion to Paris that I organize was to leave at 2AM on Monday morning, so I hooked up with them at 8:30 upon their arrival. Another fun trip, taking 72 teenagers on a trip to Paris, with three jam-packed days!

Eiffel Tower, Notre Dame, Champs Élysées, Montmartre, Moulin Rouge, Sacré Coeur, Quartier Latin, boat trip on the Seine, La Défense, Louvre, Place de la Concorde,… and a full day in Disneyland Paris. I was pooped when I got home.

Thursday was the last day at school. I was glad I was able to finish everything I had planned to do to finish this schoolyear and get ready for the next adventure: We were taking the corps (Jubal) to Italy for 8 days! And the bus would be leaving that same night at 11PM. Well,.. I don’t need all that much time to pack, so I had my stuff together in no time.

I wasn’t looking too much forward to a 16-hour bus ride, but hey,… the trip would be more than worth it. One hour after arrival in Vicenza the corps was marching through the streets of Vicenza. I don’t think Jubal has ever had a performance that quickly after such a long busride.

Saturday all day rehearsal and a performance of our show in Cogollo del Cengio, plus a parade into town. Sunday all day in San Felice sul Panaro. Monday another rehearsal day and a parade, concert and town festival in Cogollo. We stayed in Cogollo del Cengio all week. What a beautiful venue!! Surrounded by mountains.

Tuesday we had a day off in Venice, Wednesday rehearsal and free time in Verona, Thursday a 12-hour busride to Ludwigshafen (Germany), Friday on to Geleen for an afternoon and evening of rehearsal. Saturday was the day of the World Music Championships in Kerkrade. We participated in World Division Show and took first place with a score of 90.18 points.

When I got home around midnight I had to unpack my duffle bag and repack a suitcase, as I was leaving for the USA 6 hours later to join the Blue Devils for three weeks. I don’t think I ever packed this quickly! It was a very short night!!

HK-Blog to be continued

It's the time of year again... Back on tour with the Blue Devils this summer. Quite a few friends have asked me if I would be updating my blog again. Way back when I started this blog and updated on a pretty regular basis, but it soon turned into a "Summer with the Blue Devils"-only blog.

I hadn't intended to write this summer, but as we have LOOOOOOOONG bus rides I should have ample time to write and post photographs. So yes.... the blog will be back.

Enjoy,

HK