US Marine Band

So we’ve been back and the blogging has stopped since the return. It’s not that I don’t have anything to write, it’s just tough to close out the posts. I have several in the works and just can’t seem to close them out. Some of the posts are old and actually from China so I have a hard time going back in time to get those done but it’s time to stop polishing the apple and put it out there. I’ll get better but it’s going to take a little time to get things rolling again.

Friday night we had the opportunity to go and see The President’s Own United States Marine Band. I have to admit that I have been to a performance of the band in my youth (geek!!!!). When we lived in Eastern PA we went and saw the band perform. My father, a former Marine, heard of the band coming and so we sent away for tickets to the concert. It was a simple exercise, the tickets were free, all you had to do was send in the form and they would mail you the tickets. Originally, we had planned to go as a family but Warren had to be at the football game as part of the marching band. Jacob escaped by going to his friend’s house. So, we were picked up by my parents and headed to Furman University to see the band.

When we arrived, it became apparent very quickly that there must have been a ticket giveaway at the local funeral home (don’t let your loved one pass away without taking advantage of this offer) or AARP meeting because the amount of old people was incredible. Perhaps the “free” cost for the tickets was a good excuse to escape the nursing home? I would say the average age of the audience was probably 60 and I’m pretty sure I say a dark robed figure carrying a large scythe lurking by a tree nearby watching the crowd. It was very odd as we looked around and knew that Tammy and I would be called the “children” by the group. The smell of Ben Gay and other various ointments was thick in the air as we waited outside to be let into the auditorium. I thought Florida was where old people went to die…..I now think its Furman University. They just kept on shuffling around like some kind of odd scary movie, “Zombie Grandparents take over (very slowly)”. I know I should not make fun of the elderly since there will be a day when I hit that age but since I have not yet…they are fair game (otherwise it would be ageism wouldn’t it?). To top it off (pun intended) here come this old gentleman that is bald, however he refuses to concede this point. How do I know? Well, it’s because he had the worst comb-over I’ve ever seen. He had maybe 30-40 hairs that came from the remaining hair he had near his neck and he had them swirly combed around the left side of his head to do the final swoosh at the front of his head. It was like a swirly top comb-over. This group of 30-40 hairs probably was 20” long since it had to reach from the back and then go around the head to the front. It looked ridiculous because he had such little hair everywhere else, the remaining hair he had was about the thickness of an eyebrow so it wasn’t like he didn’t know he was bald (or maybe he needs to change his medication. His doctor needs to be brought up before the medical board and explain what combination of medications provides this hallucinogenic effect.) It didn’t get better for us as the bald man sat directly in front of us in the auditorium and the guy sitting in the row behind us made the comment “look at that bad comb-over”, which made us snicker even more. I can understand the desire to try and keep the belief that you have hair but at some point, reality has to take over. Cut it and be done with it.

The doors open and the crowd moves forward as fast as their walkers would allow. Odd to have so many old people (who are from the generations where respect is engrained) and watch them slowly cut you off to get in front of you as you enter the building. I found the bathroom when we got in so I separated from Tammy and my parents and then had to walk into the auditorium to find them. I had to go for the obvious, look for Tammy’s brown hair in the sea of gray. I was able to find them along the far left wall. So we sat for about 45 minutes waiting for the concert to start watching and listening to the musicians warm up. At 7:15 ticket holders were to be seated and they would open the doors to anyone else left outside that could take up the remaining seats in the auditorium (very slowly). Right around 7:25 they turned the lights down and out came the band to start the performance.

They started with the National Anthem and then went through the performance. Some of the music I recognized from various movies, movies like The Dirty Dozen and of course…Pee Wee’s Big Adventure. When they started to play the tune from Pee Wee’s movie, they had a guy on the xylophone that was excellent. He went to town on the instrument and it was probably the best performance on the xylophone I’ve ever seen (not like I’ve seen that many so it’s not an “expert” opinion but it is a true statement). I still don’t know who the composer is but I don’t think he had Pee Wee Herman in mind when he wrote the piece. Either way, that’s how I’ll remember the piece. They played some other music before the intermission that, for me, was not really good. It didn’t seem to end and it didn’t flow very well. I think that perhaps I am more accustomed to the John Phillips Sousa music with the crashing symbols and quick pace. The Mexican composer music they played, I couldn’t follow and just didn’t like. It reminded me of the Simpsons episode where Homer and Marge are listening to Lisa’s band perform and the ever impatient Homer (who has tickets to see Tuck-A-Saurus) asks Marge “How much longer was Schubert planning on making this piece of junk?”. Of course, I turned to Tammy and asked her the same question. After the 15 minute intermission, they performed some of the hits during WWII with one of the Marines singing the hits tunes like the Andrews Sisters “Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy of Company B”. Then they went on to another composer that wrote a piece about a walk along the Thames River in England. After listening to that, I wouldn’t want to take that stroll along the river. Finally it was on to another Sousa piece and then homage to all of the branches of the military where they played the anthem for each of the military branches one-by-one. They received a standing ovation and played one extra piece “God Bless America”. I am sure the “Occupy Whine Street” groups would be very offended by the show of patriotism (you know the belief that your country is the land of opportunity rather than the land of the oppressed) but it was appreciated by the crowd in the auditorium.

The President’s Own US Marine Band doesn’t ask for money and aren't hawking CD’s and other memorabilia before, during or after the performance. They are just a group of talented musicians that serve their country in the best way that they can. They hold performances all over the country and are well worth seeing if you get the opportunity. Just don’t be surprised if you go and you see a lot of the senior citizens.