Hello, all! I saw SOI in St. Louis on Friday, so I thought that I would give a quick review.

First, I will start with my big disappointment. I was sorry to see Savvis Center looking practically empty. In the skating heyday of the '90's, SOI used to sell out in St. Louis. I think a few things have hurt the attendance, not the least being the poor shows in the last few years and the local economy. We have four major skating clubs in the St. Louis area, not to mention two or more across the river in Illinois, and I'm not aware of any of them buying huge blocks of tickets for their members anymore. That's a shame, because the crowd did not seem as skating savvy as it was in the past.

However, that's really my only disappointment! I loved the show this year. It seemed to be based more on pure skating and less on fluff. I can't even tell you when the last time was that I recall seeing so many technically packed programs in the show.

I couldn't believe that Todd opened the show. I had to blink several times and make sure that I was seeing correctly. The boy looks fine in t-shirt and jeans, and he looked very happy and comfortable out there, like he's been doing this show for years. Unfortunately, he splatted the triple axel in the opening, but it was huge. I enjoyed all of his programs, even though he had some jump difficulty. I liked the Buddy Rich number, but Miserere was my fave. Vintage Todd, and it showed just where his strengths lie: deep, smooth edges, pure power and speed, and fantastic spins. Plus a gorgeous triple loop. My friend that went with me commented that the Chanel Suite sounded like Muzak, but she liked the footwork in the program. It's kind of nice that the cast was so small, because that way we get to see more of Todd than we might.

The other highlights for me were Sale and Pelletier and Yagudin. All were absolutely mesmerizing. And of course the cowboys... are they available for yard work? Hee hee...

This was the first show in three years that, when it was over, I said, "I want to see it again!" Snaps up, SOI!