U.S. Stars on Ice tour April/May 2010: articles, fan reports & more!

[~tapdancer~]

Here's my fan report from the Orlando show..April 3. Turnout was decent but I went to SOI here back in 2000 and the attendance that time was quite a bit more. The upper seat area wasn't even open this time. No need. Still, the applause was very good for all the skaters.

I've been a skating fan since the 80s and I've watched SOI all 24 years of it. I miss the charisma of Scott and Kurt but Michael W did a good job of host (he got quite of lot of loud applause, too). His banter with Todd doesn't quite equal Scott and Kurt, though. They are a hard act to follow. :)

The group numbers aren't as theme oriented as the past ones like Colors, Ice, Spagetti Western, Queen, and Led Zepplin for example but still enjoyable. Maybe could use some more rehearsal but it was only the 3rd show. There were a few falls here and there in the solo numbers and poor Meryl did a faceplant during one of the group numbers. She jumped up right away and seemed fine after.

Mirai N - did her Pirate SP, fell on her first jump. Spins were on the spot (as are Alyssa's and Sasha's).
Jeremy A. - wow, he's so lyrical and melts across the ice. I loved watching him live. He had one fall in one of his programs but overall he was hitting the jumps.
Sasha C - did her Espani Cani, was beautiful, she also missed one jump. Her "Hallelujah" program was gorgeous. She did a duet with Alyssa, they seemed to be watching each other carefully throughout.
Denny/Barrett - did "Proud Mary". She has enough perk to reach the cheap seats! They seemed a little tired, had to abort one lift they attempted but she landed their throw jump. She seemed to be almost as tall as him from my vantage point.
Michael, Todd and Yuka all had very nice programs. Todd and Michael can still land their jumps very well. Todd even did a triple axel. Yuka's "Claire de Lune" was beautiful, she just draws you into it. Alyssa's solo was nice, I remember thinking I enjoyed her spins more than her jumps.
Joannie R - beautiful program to "My Immortal". She's very expressive and the audience gave her a (mostly) standing ovation.
Evan L - excellent program to "Man in the Mirror". My husband who's a casual skating fan said, "now that looks like an Olympic champion". He just completely filled the ice and landed his jumps so well. Loud, long applause.
B/A - loved their solo number. To "If it kills me" by Jason Marz. They had several small costume changes throughout and they progressed from playful kids (he pulled her ponytail) to sultry adults and the program totally worked. Also Ben plays a mean electric guitar! They also did a number with D/W and it was great. Loved the song..."Brave" by Leona Lewis. Ben's back may have still been acting up as B/A couldn't quite hit the position on a sbs lift they were attempting with D/W. But it was still a very enjoyable program.
D/W - of course they were my reason for going! Loved seeing their Indian folk dance live, Charlie wore the black costume for this one. I could see their speed and unison better live and they still looked Olympic trained to me. They along with B/A did all the group numbers as well.

SOI isn't quite the skating show it used to be, but I still enjoyed it very much and glad that we have the opportunity to see live skating like this still. Very glad I was able to go.

[skamper23]

Thanks for your review tapdancer! Looking forward to seeing SOI when it comes my way in a couple of weeks.

[RD]

Thanks for the reports you guys. Doing your part to get me pumped for Thursday.

For those who attended- how long was the show?

[jlai]

Thanks for the info, Tapdancer. I just got my ticket.

[~tapdancer~]

Thanks for the reports you guys. Doing your part to get me pumped for Thursday.

For those who attended- how long was the show?

Show start time was 7:30, we didn't start quite on time but maybe only about 10 min later...there was a 20 min intermission and we were out by 10:00pm.

[shan]

Thanks for the report tapdancer!!

[RD]

Show start time was 7:30, we didn't start quite on time but maybe only about 10 min later...there was a 20 min intermission and we were out by 10:00pm.

ok thanks. These shows never start on time but 10 min late is a bit extreme. Usually in my experience it's about 3-5 min, maybe 6 is the longest I've had to wait.

I thought the intermission was 15 min unless I'm confusing it with another show or they lengthened it.

[paskatefan]

Well, if it does start a little late (I consider 10 minutes still within a reasonable range), it does give people a chance to get there in time (especially for a Friday night weekend show with heavy traffic or unusual weather - heavy rain/fog., etc.).

tapdancer, thanks for your review! :encore:

[Chele615]

The intermission has been 20 minutes for several years now. In the past, they used to have a 20:00 countdown on the tv screens. And it always starts a bit late....I would say 6-10 minutes sounds about right.

[Debbie S]

I think it was written in one of those books on COI (anniversary coffee table book?) that the show always started 8 minutes late, to make sure everyone was seated so there would be less disturbance with seating people after the show started. I think SOI generally follows the same rule. One year at COI, it was raining, plus there was a baseball game that started at the same time (stadium is right near the arena) so traffic downtown was a mess, and about 10 min after the official start time, they made an announcement that they were going to wait a bit more to start the show, due to the weather and traffic. At that point, there were still plenty of empty seats. I think the show started about 20 min late. It was a Fri night, so at least most people didn't have to go to work or school the next day.

[WildRose]

I think it was written in one of those books on COI (anniversary coffee table book?) that the show always started 8 minutes late, to make sure everyone was seated so there would be less disturbance with seating people after the show started. I think SOI generally follows the same rule.
The same thing happens with SOI. If people would arrive on time they wouldn't have to begin late, but I'd rather they hold the show than have my view blocked & the show disrupted by people who don't take their seats on time.

[barbk]

To be honest, I don't understand why it is so much tougher to get people into the arena for SOI (or COI in the day) vs. getting into the baseball stadium. With baseball, you walk up, plenty of entrance gates, they scan your ticket, and in you go. Somehow with SOI/COI it is always a much, much slower process involving lines that seem to move very slowly.

[kirkbiggestfan]

To be honest, I don't understand why it is so much tougher to get people into the arena for SOI (or COI in the day) vs. getting into the baseball stadium. With baseball, you walk up, plenty of entrance gates, they scan your ticket, and in you go. Somehow with SOI/COI it is always a much, much slower process involving lines that seem to move very slowly.

The demographic may be older :lol:

[Debbie S]

To be honest, I don't understand why it is so much tougher to get people into the arena for SOI (or COI in the day) vs. getting into the baseball stadium. With baseball, you walk up, plenty of entrance gates, they scan your ticket, and in you go. Somehow with SOI/COI it is always a much, much slower process involving lines that seem to move very slowly.As you pointed out, most arenas have only 1 entrance, so everyone has to go through that. Also, security inspections take longer - I'm not sure I've ever had my bag searched at the baseball stadium - I imagine the difference is due to arenas being indoors. Plus, at SOI, they are looking for cameras and food and bottled water - I'm pretty sure all of those items are allowed at ballparks.

Something else to consider, at baseball games, not everyone necessarily arrives at the same time. Gates usually open an hour early, so some fans come to watch batting practice and/or catch a player for an autograph. Generally fans trickle in from about 20 minutes before the game to about 20 minutes or so after - unless it's the World Series or the All-Star game, you don't really need to see player intros and the nat'l anthem. OTOH, at SOI, the doors open only about a half hour ahead of time and the intro number is part of the show, so you've got a much smaller arrival window.

[njtoddfan]

Thanks for the reviews so far... sounds like a great show! Looking forward to seeing it Saturday!