Presentation of "From Vegas to the Alamo"
the 29th annual UW Varsity Band Spring Concert
is made possible in part by:
University of Wisconsin Athletic Department
Rayovac Corporation
an international manufacturer of batteries and flashlights
headquartered in Wisconsin since 1906.
And Robert D. Goodman, Erwin A. Goodman and Goodman's Jewelers
the diamond store of Madison since 1933
*
( band playing "On Wisconsin" )
*
>> Thank you!
( cheers and applause )
Thank you!
Can you hear us okay, lady?
( laughter )
This is the University
of Wisconsin Band!
( cheers and applause )
Trying to get this band
to play in tune is kind of like
being a mosquito in a nudist
colony.
Well, you know what you're
supposed to do, you're just not
sure where to start.
( light laughter )
We've had a great season.
Tonight, we bring it
to a conclusion.
We're so happy to have you here.
We're going to have a lot of
fun.
We've had a great year.
It's been a long year.
We started our year
in Las Vegas, Nevada.
( cheers and applause )
Can you imagine this band
in Las Vegas?
( cheers )
We're lucky we've still got
instruments.
( laughter )
Then, we went from Las Vegas,
Nevada, to Iowa City, Iowa.
( audience hisses and boos )
We were in Iowa City.
We were there the day
the cheerleaders came out with
a new cheer.
The Iowa cheerleaders
had a new cheer:
"Twinkle, twinkle, little star,
we're not as dumb
as you think we is."
( laughter and applause )
And then, we went from there to
San Antonio for the Alamo Bowl.
Did you see that game?
( cheers and applause )
Great come from behind win.
First time in San Antonio,
but I knew they'd heard about
the Wisconsin fans, because when
we got to the hotel room
all of the Gideon bibles
were on chains.
( rim shot )
( laughter )
We're going to start
with an old tune.
It was written about 1923.
Every big band that I ever had
a record of, made a recording
of this particular tune.
Benny Goodman had a particularly
big record on it.
This is a tune called
the "Bugle Call Rag"
featuring our trumpet section.
>> Band: Hey....
Up!
*
( cheers and applause )
Our trumpet section!
( applause continues )
Well, if you were at
our concert last year,
you know that we had a young man
from the band play a piano solo,
"Rhapsody in Blue."
( applause )
Dan Henkel is a member
of our trumpet section,
assistant drum major,
he's from Cedarburg.
And last year, that's an
11-minute piece.
I said, "No encores."
So, this year, I brought
Dan back.
And he's going to do his encore
from last year.
( cheers and applause )
It's not George Girshwin,
it's Billy Joel.
This is a tune called
"The Root Beer Rag."
*
( cheers and applause )
That's Dan Henkel, Dan Henkel!
( applause continues )
Dan Henkel!
Well, we're talking about
American popular music.
And there is a good composer
that, this year,
is celebrating his 100th year,
his centennial year.
I'm speaking of the great
Richard Rogers.
You know Richard Rogers
as a singer--
a performer--
a composer of "South Pacific,"
"Carousel,"
"Sound of Music,"
all those kind of works.
What you don't know is
he also is a serious composer.
He did a lot of things
for the concert hall.
In 1936, he wrote a song,
or he wrote a work that was
destined to become a standard
in the concert hall.
In fact, it often rivaled
"Rhapsody in Blue"
for performances.
It was a part of a bigger show
called "On Your Toes,"
and it was a ballet.
It was a ballet
that started as a comedy
and ended as a tragedy.
He called it
a "symphonic narrative."
We'd like to play for you,
in tribute to Richard Rogers,
the music from his
"Slaughter on 10th Avenue."
*
( applause )
( cheers and applause )
They don't write songs like that
any more.
And a fact is they don't have
performers like they used to.
I've been watching that
"American Idol" thing
and "Star Search."
You know, I don't get
too involved.
I've always said that I could
come and pick out of
the audience people who could do
just as well as those people.
Oh, you don't think so?
I bet you could.
Looking at this audience
tonight--
Well, not you, buddy.
( laughter )
How about?
Wait, here's someone, here.
Stand up, stand up.
Just stand up, stand up,
come on.
( light laughter )
Okay, what's your name?
>> Alanna.
( laughter )
>> Alanna what, now?
>> Keegan.
>> Alanna Keegan.
Come on up here,
come up with me.
Come here, come here.
Come on.
( applause )
Where are you from, Alanna?
>> Waunakee, Wisconsin.
>> Waunakee.
The only Waunakee in the World.
Waunakee, Wisconsin.
Now, I would normally ask you
to sing with the band,
but I really don't have
an extra microphone, so...
>> Oh, I have one!
( laughter )
Here!
( laughter and applause )
>> Okay...
Let's see.
*
* Somewhere over the rainbow
Way up high
* There's a land that I heard of
Once in a lullaby
* Somewhere over the rainbow
Skies are blue
* And the dreams
* That you dare to dream
Really do come true
* Someday I'll wish upon a star
* And wake up where the clouds
Are far behind me
* Where troubles
Melt like lemon drops
* Way above the chimney tops
That's where you'll find me
* Somewhere over the rainbow
Bluebirds fly high
* Birds fly over the rainbow
* Oh, why
Then why can't I?
* Some day I'll wish upon a star
* And wake up where the clouds
Are far behind me
* Where troubles
Melt like lemon drops
* Way above the chimney tops
That's where you'll find me
* Somewhere over the rainbow
Bluebirds fly high
* Birds fly over the rainbow
* Oh, why
Then why can't I?
* If happy little bluebirds fly
* Beyond the rainbow
Why can't I? *
( applause )
>> That's Alanna Keegan!
>> A number of years ago,
I brought this next young man
to the stage, because I'd been
introduced to him by my son.
He was his roommate in college.
And I heard him play
for a number of years.
And I discovered what you
will soon discover, he's a
musician of exceptional talent.
Ladies and gentlemen,
this is Liam Teague,
the world's finest
steel pan player.
( applause )
>> Band: Whoa!
( whistles )
Liam!
*
( applause )
>> Liam Teague!
Liam Teague!
( applause continues )
Liam!
Liam Teague!
Back in 1976, I saw,
for the first time on Broadway,
a show by the Broadway genius
Bob Fossey.
And it didn't get
a lot of good reviews.
It got some critical acclaim.
But it was a little too morbid
for that time.
It was revived in 1996.
It was a huge hit on Broadway.
Just about a half a year ago,
they made a movie
of the same thing.
It's called "Chicago."
( applause )
Based on a true story
of a murder case in 1924,
it features music
of that period.
But somehow,
it sounds contemporary.
This is in tribute to Bob Fossey
and the great movie
that he inspired.
This is "Chicago."
*
( drum roll )
>> Ladies and gentlemen,
the keeper of the keys,
the countess of the clink,
the mistress of murderer's row.
Matron Jaemie Harley!
*
* Got a little motto
Always sees me through
* When you're good to Mama
Mama's good to you
* There's a lot of favors
I'm prepared to do
* You do one for Mama
She'll do one for you
* They say that life
is tit for tat
* And that's the way I live
So I deserve a lot of tat
For what I've got to give
* Don't you know that this hand
Washes that one too
* When you're good to Mama
Mama's good to you
* If you want my gravy
Pepper my ragout
* Spice it up for Mama
She'll get hot for you
* When they pass the basket
Folks contribute to
* You put in for Mama
She'll put out for you
* The folks atop the ladder
Are the ones the world adores
* So boost me up the ladder, Kid
And I'll boost you up yours
* Let's all stroke together
Like Wisconsin crew
* When you're strokin' Mama
Mama's strokin' you
* So what's the one conclusion
I can bring this number to?
* When you're good to Mama
Mama's good to you...
* Whoo! *
( applause )
>> They don't listen to me.
They never listen to me.
That's the story of my life.
No one ever
paid any attention to me.
Nobody.
*
Not even my parents noticed me.
One day,
I came home from school,
and they'd moved.
If someone stood up in a crowd,
raised their voice way up loud,
and waved their arms
and shook their leg,
you'd notice him.
If someone in a movie show
cried, "Fire!
There, in the second row!
This whole place
is a powder keg!"
* You'd notice him
* Even without clucking
Like a hen
* Everyone gets noticed
Now and then
* Unless, of course
* That personage should be
Invisible, inconsequential me
* Cellophane
* Mr. Cellophane
Should've been my name
* Mr. Cellophane
* Because you can
look right through me
* Walk right by me
And never know I'm there
* Mr. Cellophane
Should've been my name
* Mr. Cellophane
* 'Cause you can
look right through me
* Walk right by me
And never know I'm there
* Cellophane
* Mr. Cellophane
Should've been my name
* Mr. Cellophane
* 'Cause you can
look right through me
* Walk right by me
* And never know I'm there
* Never even know...
I'm there *
I hope I haven't taken up
too much of your time.
( applause )
*
( cheers and applause )
( band playing "Space Badgers" )
*
( cheers and applause )
>> Thank you!
Isn't that the way James Bond
would've done it?
But he can't conduct a band.
We're going to play--
We try to play a little bit
of everything.
And one of the things
we're going to do tonight
is play a little Gloria Estefan,
a little Latin American music.
And to do that,
we picked a piece to feature
one of our percussion players,
Rob Vandersteen.
This is an old Gloria Estefan
tune called, "Go Away."
>> Band: Hey....
Up!
*
( band members yelling
for him to hit cymbals )
Whoa!
( drum solo continues )
( cheers )
*
( cheers and applause )
That's Rob Vandersteen
from Sheboygan, Wisconsin.
Rob Vandersteen!
( applause continues )
I think that calls for a little
fifth quarter action!
How about it?
( cheers )
( band playing "Tequila" )
A little "Tequila" now!
*
Wait a minute.
Wait, wait, wait, wait.
Folks, I said fifth quarter.
You don't sit and watch
in the fifth quarter!
You participate!
You've got to move!
Now, there's two parts to this.
You've got to get your hands
in the air, like this.
No, everybody!
No slackers, here.
Even up there
in the cheap seats.
( cheers )
Everybody...
And then, the hard part is:
"Da, da, da, da, da, da, da!"
( audience imitates
Mike Leckrone )
Now let's see you do that part.
>> Da, da, da, da, da, da, da!
>> Now we're going
to do it again!
( band playing "Tequila" )
Here we go!
*
Here we go, now!
*
Da, da, da, da, da, da, da!
*
Da, da, da, da, da, da, da!
*
Tequila!
>> That's more like it!
( cheers and applause )
Now, if you're not standing,
get on your feet,
because it's now time
for the "Chicken Dance."
( cheers )
( band playing "Chicken Dance" )
( cheers and applause )
Now, now...
Just a minute, now.
Normally--
Normally, we'd try to go real
fast and maybe set a record.
But last night's crowd, the
Friday night crowd set a record
that's unattainable.
They set a record--
No, no, no.
No, they set a record.
( audience groans )
They set a record of 32 flat.
( crowd boos and jeers )
You want to try?
You think we can?
( cheers )
Okay.
I won't be responsible!
*
( cheers )
Twenty-nine point six!
( loud cheers and applause )
( band playing
"You've Said it All" )
>> When you say, Wisconsin,
you've said it all!
( cheers and applause )
>> If you've been to our
concerts before, you know one
of the things we like to do
is do a mini version
of one of the greats bit
of musical theater.
And we've done a lot
of the great ones.
We've done "Les Mis�rables"
and "Phantom of the Opera,"
"West Side Story."
For this year, I chose one by--
Actually, I chose the first work
by one of my very favorite
musical theater composers,
Andrew Lloyd Weber.
His very first piece,
only lasted 20 minutes.
It was for a theater group
in a grade school in London.
And he kept adding to it
and adding to it
until Broadway called
and he was able to put it
on Broadway.
And it became a big hit there
and in London, and really,
all over the world.
In fact, it's one of
Lloyd Weber's most endearing
and enduring works.
It's the story of Joseph,
who's sold into slavery
by his jealous brothers.
And he makes his way
to be second-in-command
to the Pharaoh in Egypt.
It's got wonderful music.
It's music that's sometimes
rock 'n roll,
sometimes show tunes,
sometimes a cowboy song,
and there's an Elvis song.
And we'd like
to present for you our version,
Andrew Lloyd Weber's
"Joseph and the Amazing
Technicolor Dreamcoat."
( applause )
*
( applause )
*
* La, la, la, la, la
La, la, la
* la, la, la, la, la, la, la
* La, la, la, la, la
La, la, la
* La, la, la, la, la, la, la
* La, la, la, la, la
la, la, la
* La, la, la, la, la, la, la
* La, la, la, la, la
La, la, la
* La, la, la, la, la, la, la
*
( applause )
*
( cheers and applause )
Give 'em the old razzle dazzle
* Razzle Dazzle 'em
* Give them an act
With lots of flash in it
* And the reaction
Will be passionate
* Give them the old hocus pocus
Daze and dizzy 'em
* How can they see
With sequins in their eyes?
* And baby, if I
Will keep on tryin'
* I'll be as famous
As Bo Ryan
* Razzle dazzle 'em
And they'll never get wise
*
* He said
Give 'em the old razzle dazzle
* Razzle dazzle 'em
* Give them a show
No other man can do
* Show them the old guy
Still knows a trick or two
* Give 'em
The old three ring circus
* Stun and stagger 'em
* Show 'em the first rate
Sorcerers we are
* Maybe if we keep them
Way off balance
* They'll never know
We got no talents
* Razzle dazzle 'em
And they'll make us a star *
Thank you.
( applause )
*
( band playing
patriotic medley )
( pyrotechnic explosions )
*
( cheers and applause )
Thank you so much!
*
We close, as we always close,
with a medley
of Wisconsin songs.
Isn't this a great time
to be a badger?!
( cheers )
Alamo Bowl champions!
Back-to-back Big Ten basketball
champions!
( cheers and applause )
These are
"Songs to Thee, Wisconsin."
*
* Songs to thee, Wisconsin
ever let us sing
* Praise to alma mater
ever let us bring
* Queen of all the west
College we love best
* Queen of all the west
College we love best *
*
( band singing and playing
"If You Want to Be a Badger" )
( tubas playing "Varsity" )
* Varsity
Varsity
* U rah rah
Wisconsin
* Praise to thee we sing
* Praise to thee
our alma mater
* U rah rah
Wisconsin *
*
Sing!
* Varsity
Varsity
* U rah rah
Wisconsin
* Praise to thee we sing
* Praise to thee
our alma mater
* U rah rah
Wisconsin
* U rah rah
Wisconsin
* U rah rah
Wisconsin
* U rah rah
Wisconsin *
>> Thank you for coming.
What a great way for us
to end our longest year.
You've been terrific!
Boy, we love playing for you.
( band playing "On Wisconsin" )
We never say good-bye.
But tonight, we do in a way,
say good-bye to our seniors.
I'd like for you to see them.
Would you seniors please stand
so these people can see you?
( cheers and applause )
We never really say good-bye!
We never
really say good-bye!
'Cause we're going
to see you some place,
maybe here in this building,
next April 15, 16 and 17,
for our 30th Annual
Varsity Band Concert.
You ain't seen nothing yet.
Or, maybe we'll see you
out at Camp Randall,
or here for a basketball game.
Or, I've been there three times,
I'm greedy, I want to see you
at Pasadena again.
Wherever it is,
we'll see you real soon!
( cheers and applause )
And On Wisconsin!
*
( cheers and applause )
>> We have a tradition
at the last concert
for the seniors,
"Elsa's Procession."
*
[Captioning services provided by Wisconsin Public Television.] www.wpt.org
( band playing "1812 Overture")
( cheers and applause )
( band playing "You've Said It All")
* When you say Wisconsin, you've said it all! *