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The Ninth Thing to Love About Madison: Rhythm and Booms (Also, Sunday at Devil's Lake)

July 2, 2007 1:23 AM

esterday was Rhythm and Booms, a day-long celebration of America and awesomeness. Mr. Vice, PH, Mr. Utah, RPM, Bluebunny and I spent the day watching the Madison Mallards get their collective asses handed to them by some team called the LaCrosse Loggers. First off--this is Wisconsin, and there's a brewery in LaCross. The team should be called the "LaCrosse Lagers." But, whatever. The point is that the Loggers embarrassed the Mallards. The final score was 16-7. It was pathetic. In fact, it was so terrible that if you took the Mallards' final score and the total number of errors they committed, it would have barely equaled the Loggers' final score. Pathetic. You know how the pitcher sometimes throws the ball to one of the bases just to keep the runner from stealing the base? And you know how the runner never, ever gets tagged out that way? Well, one of the Mallards runners got tagged out that way. It was ridiculous.

The fact that the day was still in the black in terms of awesomeness is a testament to the company I shared, the food I ate, and the fireworks and music. One of the highlights during the game included the announcer making a Red Dawn reference as military helicopters flew ominously over the field, causing Mr. Utah to pretty much lose his shit.

Right after the game, I saw one of the most American things I've ever seen: four fighter jets flew over the field, afterburners ablaze, into a bevy of fireworks. It was pretty much awesome.

After the game, the fans were allowed to set up their blankets in the outfield to watch the fireworks. I was pretty excited. Fireworks are one of those things that just have never lost their magic for me. I know that they're just glorified firecrackers. I know that the colors are due to the burning of various different salt compounds. I know that it's an almost completely frivolous waste of money. But it's beautiful and, yes, magical. So I was excited. I have to say that this was the best fireworks show I've ever seen. Granted, neither Nogales nor Madison had an extensive fireworks budget, but, still.

The whole schtick with Rhythm and Booms is that it's a fireworks show set to both live (in the form of the Madison Symphony Orchestra) music and recorded music. I have to say that the music went really well with the fireworks, especially during the Beatles "All You Need Is Love," during which the sky was filled with red heart-shaped fireworks. This was the first time I had ever seen fireworks that created shapes, and I was very impressed, especially with the spiral ones.

The grand finale did not disappoint at all. It was just plain awesome.

After the show, we hung out at PH's for a while, then we went our separate ways. It was a bittersweet moment because it was Mr. Utah's last night in town--sort of. I see this turning into one of those "Steven's Last Night in Town" things. Still, it'll be sad not to have him around all the time. He was the first person I met in Madison, and one of my best friends throughout my time here. Mr. Utah--you will be sorely missed. See you next weekend.

Today, we got a (relatively) early start and headed up to Devil's Lake. We spent the day cooking out, lying around, chillin' out, maxin, relaxin' and coolin. We didn't shoot any b-ball, though. It was a perfect day--sunny but cool, breezy but calm. The scenery was beautiful, the food was tasty, the friends were good. We walked around a little, but didn't do anything too strenuous. I didn't get in the water, but I'm told it was very nice.


All in all, this was an amazing weekend. I wish I didn't feel guilty for not doing enough bar studying. But I'll get to that, and it'll be fine.

Man--summer in Madison. Is there anything better?



6 Comments


TheExpat said:

Sounds like an awesome time. I only have one question:

Utah, could you ever love a woman with cellulite?

July 2, 2007 6:41 AM



tRJ said:

I opted for Sunday's Mallard's game, in which a Mallard stole home. That was awesome.

July 2, 2007 8:23 AM



Ismael Tapia II said:

Expat,
I'm confident that Mr. Utah, not bein a superficial asshole, could totally love a woman with cellulite. I mean, he's loved Falcor the Luck Dragon for years.

tRJ,
I heard that the Mallards trounced the Loggers in Sundays game and that there was an amazing comeback towards the end. It sounds like an awesome game. All in all, though, I'd still rather have been there on Saturday. Cause of the fireworks and whatnot.

July 3, 2007 3:33 AM



Vice said:

Love the nod to Fresh Prince of Bel-Air in there.

Also, that was the best fireworks display I've ever seen as well. The grand finale had my heart pounding, it was so loud.

July 3, 2007 8:58 AM



Lauren said:

This post makes me feel all nostalgic and patriotic and I wasn't even there! Still, it reminds me of maxin' and relaxin' in Oak Creek or playing beer pong at the House. Yay for summer!

July 3, 2007 10:03 AM



Utah said:

Well, it depends if the cellulite was separate or connected.

July 6, 2007 8:00 AM



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