- Reaction score
- 0
- Points
- 60
I went to Thursday evening’s performance and I must say that I was very impressed by what I’ve seen. It would be hard to find a setting for the event which would be better suited than Parliament Hill. It provides a big flat green area, delivers a perfect acoustic, shields the bands from wind and enhances the feeling of patriotism among the crowd. Speaking of acoustic, the sound quality was absolutely perfect. There was no speaker screeching, the sound was loud yet crystal clear. In fact, the sound quality is perhaps what astonished me the most considering how poor in can be at outdoors festival. The variety of acts was fine, although as expected, the show is first and foremost pipes and drums (nothing more inspiring). The Army gun race was also a fun (yet short) event which had the crowd cheering as they supported the team on their side of the field. Finally, the weather turned out to be absolutely perfect which is always a definite plus. In short, the evening was memorable.
Only two things bothered me really:
1/ In my opinion, the lowering of the Canadian flag and the National Anthem was done too quickly. By the time I realized they were lowering the flag, it was already half way down. It was immediately followed by the National Anthem which was played at a fast tempo during which practically no one sang the words. I find it a pity since it could (and should in my opinion) have been the most striking moment of the performance. In the future, I would suggest lowering the flag slowly as the National Anthem is played and sung by the crowd, thus reaching deeply into the heart of the audience.
2/ The café owner on the other side of Wellington Avenue decided he didn’t like military bands and increased the volume of the pop music he had playing on his terrace. Although the pipes and drums covered his lousy music while they were playing, it was quite disturbing in between the performances of the bands. I think throat punches are in order.
Don’t let these two comments deter you from going to Friday’s or Saturday’s events however. It was simply grandiose. If the weather remains as it was yesterday and someone stuffs the radio of that café owner up his backside, you may have one of the most splendid evenings of the year.
As a last note, I have some pictures which I have yet to transfer on my computer which I should be posting in the coming days.
A big thank you to the Canadian Forces and all participating bands for this event!
Only two things bothered me really:
1/ In my opinion, the lowering of the Canadian flag and the National Anthem was done too quickly. By the time I realized they were lowering the flag, it was already half way down. It was immediately followed by the National Anthem which was played at a fast tempo during which practically no one sang the words. I find it a pity since it could (and should in my opinion) have been the most striking moment of the performance. In the future, I would suggest lowering the flag slowly as the National Anthem is played and sung by the crowd, thus reaching deeply into the heart of the audience.
2/ The café owner on the other side of Wellington Avenue decided he didn’t like military bands and increased the volume of the pop music he had playing on his terrace. Although the pipes and drums covered his lousy music while they were playing, it was quite disturbing in between the performances of the bands. I think throat punches are in order.
Don’t let these two comments deter you from going to Friday’s or Saturday’s events however. It was simply grandiose. If the weather remains as it was yesterday and someone stuffs the radio of that café owner up his backside, you may have one of the most splendid evenings of the year.
As a last note, I have some pictures which I have yet to transfer on my computer which I should be posting in the coming days.
A big thank you to the Canadian Forces and all participating bands for this event!
