July 18 Mesa AZ

Upon arrival in Mesa, the corps rehearsed from 7 a.m. to 11 a.m., then rested and slept until it was time to prepare for the evening show: this allowed us to avoid being outside during the hottest part of the day. The school facility was very nice, and a welcome change from the previous couple of days.

During warm up at the show site ("the lot"), the skies opened up with rain, thunder and lighting. After a delay, the show was cancelled, although a couple of corps then performed a standstill (by then we had already packed up the equipment).

It was off to Texas, going through New Mexico, roadrunner territory! The exhibition show in El Paso has been cancelled due to show sponsor issues, but we still have retained the housing site, so it will be a rehearsal day instead.

The staff has been very impressed by the corps members thus far on tour. They have been resilient and done a fantastic job, particularly given some of the logistical challenges in Southern California and the rainout in AZ. They are focused and hardworking in rehearsal, and appear driven in the task of improving the show rep by rep, show by show. They are doing a great job!

Next show is in Odessa, TX, Tuesday night.