Yes, here it is.  My San Jose SOI review.  I took absolutely no notes and no pictures because I wanted to completely enjoy this show.  It started at 4pm but we got there at 3pm so we could eat (pizza) and buy souvenirs.  And oh boy did we buy souvenirs!  I got a program, sweatshirt, cast photo, and photo of Bechke and Petrov, the only one left I might add.  Also I got one of the
little pins and a photo of Katia.  And a free SOI tote bag for signing up for some sort of credit card.  I spent an obscene amount of money, but SOI only happens once a year.  Our seats were row 14, near one of the corners.  Not bad.  It was me, my Mom and dad, and my best friend.  Let the review begin:

Strobe's Nanafushi- I loved this music.  It started out with these voice-overs saying "what a wonderful world" in many different languages.  If anyone has ever been in the clothing store Express, this is the type of music they play in there.  Then the skaters came out in the dark and were introduced individually.  Then the lights come blaring on (and oh did they blare) and the drum music started.  I think this is one of the strongest openings I have ever seen.  Great costumes and choreography.At the end of this, the skaters are introduced again, this time with the lights on.  Katia, Kurt, Tara, and Scott got the biggest applause in the opening.

Bailamos- Tara starts out by herself at center ice and skates around for a bit, then she is joined by Ilia and they skate for a bit, the Meno and Sand come out.  This is the dance/techno version of the song.

Never- Lulu and her fan.  A very short piece.  Liked the music

Demain- Katia and Kristi.  Also very short.  Kind of a sexy beat.  Liked this music too.

Swingtown-  This is also a dance/techno version of the song.  I watched Bechke and Petrov most of the time.

Rag-GIDON-time-  Let me say, now that I've seen this in person, I love it. Kurt is probably the only skater that could ever pull this off.  Hit every jump- 3toes, 2axels. My Mom loved this one.

Ghost- This is the best program I have ever seen from Roca and Sur  The costumes and the choreography could not have been more perfect. The routine had sort of a haunting "Red Violin" feel to it.

Ribbon-  Absolutely no mistakes.  A perfect program from Katia.  Gorgeous triple toe, single axel, and 2lutz.  I think she did get a little tangled in the ribbon once but covered well.  She skates very fast and the way she controls that ribbon is amazing.

Blues For Narada-  I love this program for him.  No triple axel, but a huge double. Ilia Kulik does angst well. This sort of reminded me of that scene in Footloose where Kevin Bacon is dancing in that warehouse alone.  This is an extremely effective program.  It's choreographed so well that it looks improvised, if that makes any sense at all.

Baby Did A Bad Bad Thing-  My father's second favorite performance of the night.  He loved the lyrics to the song.  Every time the "baby did a bad bad thing" part would  play, he would start laughing.  This program is such a great departure for Jenni and Todd.  I have heard people say that Hough and Ladret do this kind of thing better, but the reason this program works so
well for Jenni and Todd is because it's NOT the kind of thing they usually do. It has the "innocent girl gone bad" look without being vampy.  When they did their signature lift at the end my dad goes "Geez!!!"  I think Jenni had a hand down on the throw 2axel, but a great program.

Genie In A Bottle- Wow. Gorsha and Denis carry Tara out on their shoulders. The two guys got a few whistles from the audience.  I just gotta say these guys have very nice bodies.  I had my binoculars out for that part. I love this program for Tara.  I don't think there is too much dancing/posing at all, like I have heard some say. Actually, I think this program would have
looked weird without dancing. Tara has so much energy and charisma and she was just on fire out there! Her injury must still be bothering her because the only jumps she did were two triple toes and, I believe, a triple loop. Great program.  Love the outfit.  Huge applause.

You Can Call Me Al- Perfect song for Scott. My dad liked this one as well. He did a triple toe and double axels.

Me and Julio- Kurt and Steven goofing around with Scott joining in and Katia watching from the side.  This was just too cute.

Cecilia-  Another cute one.  Katia was the little school-girl flirt and Scott was following her around.

Sounds of Silence- Simon and Garfunkle write some pretty music. This was each of the couples (B&P, R&S, M&S). All wore black and did beautiful lifts.  Yes, I watched Bechke and Petrov the whole time.

Bridge Over Troubled Water-  Beautiful.  She hit every jump.  I couldn't think of a better skater than Kristi to interpret this music.  The ending was very dramatic and the audience just went nuts. Kristi is the hometown girl around here, but I think any audience would have loved this.

Old Friends-  This is a very sentimental and meaningful song.  I'm so glad somebody is finally using this music. This whole section seems to be Scott looking back on his skating career: the friends, the happiness, and the times he has felt alone.  Audience applauded several times in the instrumental section.  Great way to end the first act.
 

ACT II

Here comes the leopard print couch.  Kurt is sleeping on it.  When he leaves, we have Kristi, Ilia, LuLu, Steven, Denis, and Gorsha all lounging on it.

Luv Me Luv Me-  Tara arrives, wearing a great outfit I might add, and dances with all of the guys.  Now I have read so many reviews of people saying how horrible it is to have these guys after Tara, but I have to disagree.  I think this number is fun. I liked the guy's outfits.  Catchy tune, good looking men, Tara looks like she's having a blast. Who wouldn't be? I missed a bit of this because some people were late getting back to their seats and stood in front of us for a long time trying to find their seats.  How annoying.  But this is a pretty short piece and I enjoyed it.

It's About That Walk- What a dancer Steven Cousins is.  Perfect song for him. Kristi is lounging on the couch watching him the whole time.  I wish he were used more in the show.

It's Not Right (But It's Okay)-  Oh Lord, what have they done to LuLu?  She just did not look in to this at all.  The movements were kind of lazy and she only hit a double toe and a double axel, that one just barely.  I miss the soft, lyrical LuLu.

Jazzin-  Now I liked this. Kristi's outfit is nice.  Steven's facial expressions did it for me.  I loved how he ended up tied to the couch.

He's Got A Way- This was adorable. Kurt is being this complete doofus, but Tara is completely in love with him anyway and loves every goofy thing he does. Cute dress on her. Lovely lyrical skating.

La Valse Moderne/Dada Je Suis- One of my favorite performances of the night.  I know, I've read how this one is supposed to be so creepy because he's older than her, but I didn't get that at all.  This number is just so sweet and I can't see how anyone could take it any other way.  The dance lifts were nice, SBS triple toes perfectly in unison, but it was the interaction between Kurt and Tara that made this number.  She is quite the actress. Great facial expressions. Big applause.

Czardas- THE performance of the night. I will say this now - Elena Bechke and Denis Petrov are the two most under-rated skaters in the history of skating.  It's almost as if when these two started their routine, the audience had some kind of awakening. Maybe it was Elena's smile, the bright red outfits, but people sat up straight and clapped along with the music and applauded just about everything they did. The "Impossible" death spiral at the beginning got a chorus of "oooooh's" from the crowd. The throw salchow was right in front of us and perfect. My dad loves them and went nuts when they came out. I was almost crying knowing that this might be the last time I see these two. When they hit their ending pose, the audience went absolutely crazy with applause.  Partial standing ovation. I was on my feet. One of the greatest pair teams ever.

Casi Un Bolero- Beautiful music. I watched both couples equally I think.  Interesting lifts and positions.

Si Tu No Estas/Casi Un Bolero-  This is wonderful in person.  I don't really see it as a "pair" number, but a duet by two gorgeous singles skaters. Katia and Ilia look very nice together and she does not look a bit nervous to be lifted by him. The highlight for me was the long and lingering pair spiral at the beginning of Casi Un Bolero. The facial expressions were everything in this routine.  She does look very happy to be out there with a partner. The ending pose was right in front of us so their faces were more visible than in the TV broadcast.  Loved it.

Play That Funky Music-  Now this is the Kurt I know and love. The guy can move. I'm glad they took out the "Brickhouse" section of the program. Kurt hit every jump and the audience was completely in to this one. I can't blame them.

Smooth-  I like this program, but the choreography is kind of generic. Kristi did a good job selling it though.

Baseball Cap- This is a great program for Ilia, but the only problem was that the arena sound system had the bass turned up so much that you couldn't understand the words to the song.  I could only make out the "baseball cap" part.  But I liked all of the different catches and tricks Ilia did with the hat.

American Woman- starts off with the Guess Who's old acoustic opening, which Ilia skates to.  Then BANG, up come the lights and there's Tara.  I think this was another number some people claimed to be offended by, and again I disagree.  Nothing offensive about this whatsoever except the bass was turned up again.  Some great dance moves and skating by Tara.  She impresses me more every time I see her skate.

Don Quixote-  Liked this MUCH better in person. Again, a routine only Scott could pull off.  My dad and my mom liked this one as well.

What A Wonderful World-  A great ending to this show. I noticed how flattering the design of this dress was on Tara.  Maybe she should consider wearing something like this again.  There was a lot to watch, but it is pretty much like it was on TV. I think I am one of the few who liked last years finale, but I liked this one more. I was sorry to see the show end. But Scott did announce the show would be back here next year:-)

P.S.- I thought the announcer guy sounded like the host from Soul Train.