Not much change (for better or worse) from last year. Every time out is filled with introductions of random VIPs, contests (bowling in the end zone, now) and advertising. We now have Emoji Cam, to go with Smile Cam and Muscle Cam.

Piped In Music was noticeable in the first quarter, but then stopped (or at least I stopped hearing it). Unfortunately, the much anticipated "Bear Territory" cheer at the start of the game was drowned out by Piped In Music.

The Cal Band seems to have been permanently, irreparably, whipped into submission. They didn't play (other than "Fight" after touchdowns) until < 5 minutes left in the 1Q. There were at least 2 points during the game (Q1 and Q3) during a timeout, when the stadium announcer ran out of ads to read ... and there was dead silence. Nothing. No cheers, no ads, no bands. I can only presume that the Cal Band director was waiting for permission to play, and somebody forgot to tell him. Which is appalling -- they should be jumping on every opportunity to play, and to hell with "permission".

One other thing: every piccolo and clarinet player in the Cal band should be asked to play some sort of brass instrument on Saturdays. The difference in volume between our band and Grambling's (and Ohio State's) is unbelievable. You can hardly hear our band play even when they do. You may like the tonal qualities the woodwinds bring to a band but in a crowded football stadium they don't matter, volume does.

Yes, the Grambling band was noticeably loud for their size. I don't know about marching band stuff but I would like the Cal band to be louder.

Also, performing after the Grambling band, the Cal band seemed downright lethargic in comparison. I think the Cal band should have been the opening act.

82gradDLSdad;842536479 said:

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One other thing: every piccolo and clarinet player in the Cal band should be asked to play some sort of brass instrument on Saturdays. The difference in volume between our band and Grambling's (and Ohio State's) is unbelievable. You can hardly hear our band play even when they do. You may like the tonal qualities the woodwinds bring to a band but in a crowded football stadium they don't matter, volume does.

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Yeah, the lack of brass is definitely a problem.

JSC 76;842536469 said:

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they should be jumping on every opportunity to play, and to hell with "permission".

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+1

I think the sound impression depends a lot on which side of the field you sat on. Grambling played exclusively to the alumni side, our band to the student side.

We did lose the halftime, no doubt about that but they're in a different league, much as the two football teams.

TouchedTheAxeIn82;842536498 said:

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Yes, the Grambling band was noticeably loud for their size. I don't know about marching band stuff but I would like the Cal band to be louder.

Also, performing after the Grambling band, the Cal band seemed downright lethargic in comparison. I think the Cal band should have been the opening act.

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CMB members are going to fight you guys on the loudness/more brass thing.

I was going to wait and ponder whether to post this - but seems to be the right fit in this thread. And I know up front I may royally p$ss some of you off.

I found the band's halftime show today extreeeemely amateurish, junior-high school level stuff. 'Guardians of the Cal-axy' - really? With dressed-up dancers,
and waltzing around Oski and a Tree-wannabe, with some lame storyline? I've noticed this for the last several years - there's just no creativity there. Yup, I
know it's a student-run organization. Yup, I know it's early in the season. Yup, I know they work hard (I've played various instruments most of my life) and
practice a lot. I honestly think they can (and have) done much better than what I saw today (remember the Thriller piece? Or George Smoot on the field?).
And no, I don't expect them to match up to the Grambling Tiger Band. But especially on a day like today, great crowd - that's the best we can do? Some
of the brightest, most creative students on the planet? No one I was with appreciated the performance; in fact were embarrassed. And I noticed the crowd
around me on the west side completely turned off when the Cal band hit the field.

Cal is a world-class institution, with interesting, exciting things going on; the band should reflect that; embrace that. Simply have to do better.

It was clearly an underwhelming Cal band performance made worse as the following act to the Grambling band. Agree on the lack of brass.

The Cal football team and the Grambling band were equally dominant. A huge buzz in the air during the Grambling band performance.

I agree that the Guardian stuff veered dangerously into Furd band territory.

Grambling band was awesome! Really good and really entertaining. Their enthusiasm and rhythm are infectious. Wow. So glad they came all the way out here, it really felt like a once in a lifetime experience to see them in our stadium. Loved how they just played through that entire offensive series in the second half haha.

Hey Touched, will the dojo be open again this year? I stopped by the other day but couldn't get in. I know it's a lot of work you put in but it's really appreciated! Hope it will be open again but understand if it's too much trouble.

It's open! First post late tonight. Low-res first, and after it seeds then the high-res.

JSC 76;842536469 said:

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Unfortunately, the much anticipated "Bear Territory" cheer at the start of the game was drowned out by Piped In Music.

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This was a bit of a bummer, but i think this can be fixed... I liked they did it, the players were responding... They just need to wait a little longer and just need to have the PA cut the music. I talked with some fokls today about that and think we can definitely have that fixed.

TouchedTheAxeIn82;842536525 said:

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It's open! First post late tonight.

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Awesome news, thanks! Great day just got even better.

The mic man doing a "I believe, I believe that we have WON this game" at the 8 minute mark of the first period was roundly booed (even though accurate).

Maybe the tradition of serious hazing that prevails in Southern college band culture should be introduced at Cal. Sure, you lose a rookie now and again but the result is a tight band. It is the same theory James Brown used to keep his band so crisp. If you hit a bad note JB fined you and gave you a lump on the head to go along with it.

I like our band but they got owned today...

At the game I also thought the Grambling band seemed unusually loud, in comparison to other schools that bring their full band. But I also saw them once in the Rose Parade, where they didn't seem louder than any other band, so maybe my gameday memory failed me.

For those of you who hate the piped-in music, get one of those hearing protection/radio headset combos. The bass drums cut right through them and actually seem louder with the ear muffs on, so you'll know when the band is playing and can take off the headset.

Props to the Grambling State band. They were ridiculous. Gave me chills. Best band I've ever seen.
Think how great the Grambling State-Southern halftime must be live.

Gotta agree about the Stanfurdesque performance by our band. We'll never be able to get down and nasty like Grambling, but hopefully we learned something today. I think we should concentrate on playing songs with passion and power.

I thought the Cal band's halftime show was a bit hokey but their performance after the game when they played with the Grambling band was a lot more spirited and entertaining😀. That Grambling band was worth the price of admission alone- I'm surprised they didn't announce that they would play again after the game?

They did play again after the game and it was even better than their halftime show imo. Particularly "breakdown" and their exit. They know what they're doing and do it very well.

GB54;842536515 said:

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I agree that the Guardian stuff veered dangerously into Furd band territory.

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Sadly, yes. Felt like a big in-joke and not a performance designed to actually entertain the audience . . . as opposed to Grambling's performance, which was generous entertainment all the way.

(I know the movie they were spoofing and I am a big fan of that movie, but you can't expect a large enough percentage of a football crowd to understand your recent sci-fi movie references. Know your audience.)

It does frustrate me when the Cal band doesn't play enough to the alumni side. Sometimes it seems they forget there are two sides to the stadium (Grambling's performance was loud enough that it probably didn't matter where you sat).

GB54;842536515 said:

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I agree that the Guardian stuff veered dangerously into Furd band territory.

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The whole announcer explaining what the costumed characters were doing thing, the bad puns ("Guardians of the Calexy") and listless playing was exactly like the Furd band--we even had the Tree on the field.

Why would the Cal band want to imitate the Furd band?

At least they had a better example to follow today.

They were spoofing a movie? I thought it was just generic alien abduction shtick.

Not a great showing by us. At the end of the day, if they're not entertaining.. what are they?

Halftime AND in the stands, Grambling was the only band with a pulse.

Horrible... i am sorry but that was horrible and embarrassing

OldBlue1999;842536598 said:

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They were spoofing a movie? I thought it was just generic alien abduction shtick.

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They were playing the soundtrack to Guardians of the Galaxy. It would have been a perfectly good show, without the characters & schtick.

I don't expect the Cal Band to have the volume of an all brass band like Grambling, Ohio State or USC. But jeezuschrist, I do expect them to play. That was the most disappointing part of the day.

OldBlue1999;842536598 said:

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They were spoofing a movie? I thought it was just generic alien abduction shtick.

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Hah! I'll take this comment as proof my criticism of the show was on the money. Yes, this was specifically a spoof of this movie:



My criticism of the show is nothing against the movie . . . it's a lot of fun. But it's also a pretty recent movie (just came out last year) and not one you can assume a majority of the crowd has seen (as opposed to, say, Star Wars). The movie also has a solid soundtrack of 70s pop/rock/funk songs, so doing music from the movie is not a bad idea either. Problem is the announcer had to spend too much time describing the lame sketch and never told anyone what the songs were.

Looking forward to Alumni Band Day next week.......more liquid and herbal influences.....or so I've been told.

sycasey;842536584 said:

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Sadly, yes. Felt like a big in-joke and not a performance designed to actually entertain the audience . . . as opposed to Grambling's performance, which was generous entertainment all the way.

(I know the movie they were spoofing and I am a big fan of that movie, but you can't expect a large enough percentage of a football crowd to understand your recent sci-fi movie references. Know your audience.)

It does frustrate me when the Cal band doesn't play enough to the alumni side. Sometimes it seems they forget there are two sides to the stadium (Grambling's performance was loud enough that it probably didn't matter where you sat).

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Back in the day, the Cal Band used to play most all of their halftimes to the West Side. Now, it's about 60/40 the other way... and it absolutely DOES make a difference, in terms of volume.

Regarding other posts about lack of quality brass players in the Cal Band, this is true. Believe me, they would LOVE to have more brass, but struggle to attract them, due to a number of factors, such as a) no music performance major at Cal... b) some qualified students choose to concentrate on their studies instead of joining the band... c) some need to work part-time or graduate ASAP due to now-high tuition... d) some Cal-type students don't think it's that cool to play in a marching band.

Can someone provide the Grambling band set list (other than September and California Love)?

egbear82;842536571 said:

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I thought the Cal band's halftime show was a bit hokey but their performance after the game when they played with the Grambling band was a lot more spirited and entertaining😀. That Grambling band was worth the price of admission alone- I'm surprised they didn't announce that they would play again after the game?

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They did announce it. Maybe just once, but it was the reason I stayed after. I thought the Cal Band redeemed itself a bit in the post game set. And if you stayed you got to see Grambling do a drum piece. We should have them back once a decade. I think they had a great trip and they put butts in the seats. It was win-win. And it was nice of them to bring their football team.

sycasey;842536584 said:

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It does frustrate me when the Cal band doesn't play enough to the alumni side.

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Maybe if they filled their seats. All those empty prime seats are embarrassing, and disrespectful to the team.
The band SHOULD play to it's primary audience, which these years is on the student side. Besides, when seated in the stands, the band is always playing to the alumni.

bearister;842536555 said:

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Maybe the tradition of serious hazing that prevails in Southern college band culture should be introduced at Cal. Sure, you lose a rookie now and again but the result is a tight band. It is the same theory James Brown used to keep his band so crisp. If you hit a bad note JB fined you and gave you a lump on the head to go along with it.

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Interesting that you bring up the Southern College Band Culture of Hazing as one member of a Southern College Band just got sentenced 4 years for his role in the death of a Drum Major via hazing.

GB54;842536515 said:

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I agree that the Guardian stuff veered dangerously into Furd band territory.

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This is exactly what I said to my wife in real time.