Sacramento, Jan 10, 1998
From Tia:
Well, I had a great view, I had on Ice seats. Scott did great on his first performance. I have never seen him skate in person, so this was a real treat!!! In his "With one more look at you" performance, he fell doing a jump right in front of me, and when he got up, I yelled out "It's okay, good job" and he looked at me and smiled and kept skating, for the rest of the performance he did great!!! It was so really funny when Kurt was on top of the stage and Scott ran up and gave him a high five and Kurt fell off backward. Kurt was trying to climb back up, and Scott was trying to help him, and Scott I guess lost his balance and dropped Kurt (it was part of the act) and Kurt fell off again. It looked like Scott almost fell with him, but he didn't!!! :o)
His "Wizard of Oz" routine was sooooo great, I loved it!!!! He really got into the Scare Crow, his legs were wobbly, and he looked so cute!!!! He got a standing O, for all his performances!!!!
At the end after the final performance from the group!!! I got to shake Kristi's hand, I was hoping to shake Scott's but he grabbed the Microphone and thanked everyone for being here, and then he yelled out SACRAMENTO, CALIFORNIA!!!!
I had a wonderful time. I got some great pictures of Scott, doing a backflip right in front of me, a jump right in front of me, and just standing right in front of me. I'm preying the pictures come out!!! I got a shirt with the whole cast on it, and on the back they have all the cities they are performing at with all their signatures on it!! I also got a program with Scott on the front!!!
San Jose Jan. 11, 1998Hello skating fans,
In general, I loved the show and think it's worth the money, even if I'm critiquing in my review down below. They are just my opinions and I realize that many may disagree. That's what makes chocolate and vanilla. I'm not picking on them as people just as purchased entertainment, that I just spent over $140 (2 tickets w/parking and a program). I didn't take notes so please pardon any detail errors. So with that said, here's my review of the 1/10/98 SOI show in San Jose.
ACT 1:
Get the Led Out: I'm a big fan of Zep and thought the group choreography was great. Scott got quite an ovation (but us boring silicon valley techno-heads stayed in our seats). Kurt was dead on in this number (I liked the spins on the Hockey skates) and was for the rest of the show. B&P were very exciting to watch and this number, while a big contrast to their typical classical numbers, really seemed to suit them. The only thing I wished for in this number , was that the arena would've turned the music up.
Muses: I liked this part of the show. It worked well to transition all the numbers. (They were these too cool for school jazz people in black with Ray Bans if you haven't seen them yet)
Gershwin: The choreography is original and fun but Katia was not on her game. Doubled the toe and fell on the 2-axel. The audience cheered to boost her confidence.
SWAK: Too funny for me, my boyfriend started calling her Kristi Yamasmootchi last year when we'd catch her on TV, so this is quite fitting. She's the only female who keeps up the jumps (more on this later). I was sitting in the lutz corner about 2/3 rds up, not that it did me any good, as no one landed a 3-lutz today. She doubled the lutz, but hit the flip and toe. She's so much fun to watch in person, really covers the ice well.
Sleepers: For the record I do like Paul, however this number should be "chacked". It should never have been added. We all know that Paul's Scotvold numbers are all the same. It's OK though. It's his niche and works for him (JFK, Carmina Burana,Schindler's etc.) except here. I don't like this music for him and on top of it he doubled _everything_. Bleh. If they truly want him to have a second number (it being his swan song tour and all), bring back one of his classics instead.
With One More Look at You: Scott has added many more technical elements to this since his welcome back. He put in the lutz, but as I said before everyone doubled their lutz today. This program is great to watch even if he mostly doubled the jumps. It has so much emotion. I do recall him hitting at least two to three triples (toes and/or sals) during the course of the evening but I'm not sure which programs they were in.
Man of La Mancha: I really loved this number for Kat when I saw it on TV. She looks great in the costume. It's a well put together program only she doubled the toe and singled the axel so it didn't come out too exciting. She's still on the recovery road. The audience loved her though.
FUN & GAMES: This whole entire sequence is so much fun. You've read the earlier reviews; you know what it is. Of note, Kurt was on fire and hit the _3-axel_ and the _3toe-3toe_!
ACT 2:
The act opens with the muses marching like lemmings through the arena, very cute. Then you get to see just who can lace up their boots the fastest. This group number is also well choreographed and fun.
Time to say Goodbye: Roca & Sur- eh -ok. This leads to the sermon of the review.
My thoughts are this...These guys don't do it for me and I would dump them next year. As I previously mentioned Kristi's the only woman with jumping ability, so most of the female programs are heavy with dance and choreography. I n general the entire show is heavy with dance and choreography and I would rather see Kat, Roz and Katia dance then these two so they need to be dumped to even thing out. I can only imagine how much more the show will be desperate for jumping when T&D replace Kat (and obviously I would rather watch T&D than R&S). For next year, Elderidge, Stojko and Bobek (fresh blood) are all possible additions. It would be great if SOI picked up one or two of them to even out the jumping side of the show.
Story of my life: Brian did a nice job and hit great 2-axels and 3-toe and 3-sal.
Aside: This was a little marred for me because a row behind me there was a crying _infant_. Please, Please, Please, if the child is not old enough to actually be watching the show- Leave Them at Home! You bought the tickets way in advance-book a baby sitter way in advance. Have some common sense and courtesy. You wouldn't bring your dog to the show, would you? Well bringing either a dog or a baby has the same result: annoyance to everyone else in the entire arena. (You can tell I feel strongly about this issue, can't you)
Sweet Roz: Scott was her muse and was fantastic at setting the crowd up for her. I liked this number, although I liked Mouth a little better and would have rather seen that live. She hit her 2-axel, but as you know that's it for her jumps.
Antares: This number rocks and Kurt as I said before was "on" tonight. The never ending spread eagle is even better live than on TV and got big applause. His 3-loop is a sight to behold. The 3-toes, 3-sal and 2-axels were first rate (as Button would say).
It's a man's world: This is OK. Kat again, doubled the toe and singled the axel.
Joue Jusq' au Matin: B & P are by far the best pro pair. They've got the lifts, the jumps (dbls still w/her injury) and the choreoagraphy. They hit it all today and the audience responded accordingly.
Go the Distance: This is sooooo much better than Sleepers, but Paul's jumps weren't on tonight. He doubled the lutz (for sure) and the flip too (I think). His spins were amazing-dead center and fast. I also think his split jumps are among the best in the business. Good luck in law school Paul. I personally think he is correct to retire. While I suppose Hamilton, Browning and Boitano could and should skate til' their 50, many of the others are past their prime and should consider retiring soon to make space for the up and comers. I wouldn't want to see struggling in the current pro leagues-Namath playing football, Jabbar playing basket ball or Bobby Orr playing hockey. You have to know when it's time to retire and Wylie does. He's exceptionally bright and like a slew of skaters (Debi Thomas comes to mind) before him he's capable of having another fulfilling career.
Aside: Some silly teenager tried to give flowers to Paul and when he didn't skate to her she threw them out into the darkened ice. Katia had to avoid them in the opening of the Elvis sequence and then gracefully picked them up and tossed them away to cheers from the rest of the educated audience. As the announcer said "Don't throw flowers". As far as the flash photography, most folks were polite and only broke the rules during the bows. Both flash and flowers can be hazardous to the skater's health.
Elvis sequence: Kurt and Kristi hit their jumps while Katia continued to struggle. I especially enjoyed the closing Surrender with Kurt seducing both Katia and Kristi in turn.
The Show...(you know the rest) This is such a great show piece. Scott doubled most of the jumps but who cares, he entertained us non stop for what-like 6 minutes or longer. He got the only standing-O of the night after he back flipped those ruby slippers at the end.
Stairway: I love this finale. Again, the group choreography is great. Cool- when they rippped off Kristi's muse outfit to the hot red costume. This number moves fast and everyone shines.
Catch the show if you can.
Risa
1997-98 Reviews | SOI Reviews | SOI Programs | SOI Links | Stars on Ice Official Page Joelle's Skating Pages
