Open House Wows Full HouseAll sections of the Madison Scouts converged at Madison Country Day School (MCDS), Friday, 27 April, 2007. It was good to see the color guard return to camp after a busy WGI season. After check-in and a brief meeting, Friday night was spent in sectionals. The guard traveled to Waunakee High School (WHS) for a focus rehearsal with the full color guard staff.After breakfast Saturday, the guard went to WHS while the brass and percussion spent 1.5 hours with Chris Martingilio. Chris took time from a busy weekend, (he got married Sunday afternoon), to lead the corps through their stretch, coordination, and physical training session. You could tell the extra 30 minutes this month was appreciated by all. The remainder of the morning was spent in warm-up/sectionals.Following lunch, more time was spent in sectionals. New parts for “Tango” were tackled by all sections. The battery spent most of Saturday outdoors behind the school while the front ensemble also took advantage of the great weather to work outside. (What, no shade?) Andy Bliss, front ensemble caption head and Brad Meyer, front ensemble instructor, together with the members, assembled new racks for their instruments. They also utilized the sound system for the front line. Mid-afternoon the brass line had a visual session on the field. Jon Newcomb and Brent Turner led the guys through this session of marching technique.After dinner, part of the brass line left to donate a performance to the ALS benefit. The percussion and front line went to the gym for ensemble while the remaining brass line went back to the field. After a quick break, they met inside and Matt Gregg led the guys through the vocal version of “You’ll Never Walk Alone.” Two hours of full ensemble ended the day. The guard, at Waunakee HS, returned to MCDS to hear some of the music in person for the first time in a full ensemble session.Sunday started with breakfast and then the school clean-up/pack-up. The truck was loaded and the transition to Waunakee HS was started. With cars and the bus, which was driven by Dan & Mary Butz all weekend, all sections except the guard traveled to the open house site while they remained behind to stretch and warm up in the gym. They then traveled over for some outside sectional time.At Waunakee HS warms-ups were begun as family, friends, alumni, and curious onlookers started to fill the stands. Capital Sound arrived and began their warm up. After 1.5 hours of full ensemble, the Scouts ran through Never Walk and a drum line warm up with Capital Sound members. The doors officially opened at 12:30 while both corps grabbed a quick snack and prepared for their performances.There was standing room only as the Madison Scouts Alumni Honor guard, led by Dan Veerhusen and accompanied by a Capital Sound guard member, entered the field house. After announcements by Jeff Spanos and Mark Gofstein, Capital Sound played excerpts from their summer program to enthusiastic crowd response.The anticipation was high as The Madison Corps entered the field house. Following a program description by Matt Gregg, Drum Major - Alex Houston took the ladder to begin. Everyone knew they were in for a treat.“76 Trombones” announced to the crowd the Scouts were in the house. “Ice Castles” made more than a few eyes water. Then, starting with “Uninvited”, the Corps played the show music. The performance was outstanding.The brass and percussion are making great progress in emoting and interpreting the music as written. Any corps can play a chart, but Madison makes it our own, connects with the audience, and leaves them wanting more. This show will be one that fans, family, and alumni will listen to for years to come.As if these two fine performances were not enough, the Open House ended with the combined horn and percussion lines playing “Double Drag Hip Hop” and finally Never Walk Alone. The crowd responded with their fourth standing ovation of the day.Immediately following, there was a meet and greet in the lobby. Souvenirs from both corps were available, Steve Vickers provided copies of Drum Corps World, and Deb Krebs and Joni Wright provided cake and cookies for everyone. Alex Houston debuted the new superman suit to the crowd. The uniform received an overall positive response. Many present cannot wait to see the uniform as it is meant to been seen… from the stands and under the lights, where the gradient colors of green will meld into a gradual fade… unbound.Special thanks must go to the sewing crew for unselfishly donating their valuable time and effort fitting the members this weekend. They went above and beyond the call of duty during a very busy camp weekend to make certain that the Men of Madison will be the best looking corps on the field in 2007. Thanks too to Doug Hayes, who donated his time and semi to transport our equipment truck to and from MCDS during the winter camps.As Waunakee High School emptied, there was one uniform thought from members, fans, family, and alumni­---The Madison Scouts are going to have another successful season!