Denton Review

[TexasPRfan]

I blogged along the way on this thread last night on the show thread, but I for one hate having to sift through whole show treads to find what are the review-like comments, so I thought I would post here, asumming there may be others like me. I'm going to start with some Kudos to the judges. This is a hyper competitive year, and I thought placements were spot on last night, as well as relative gaps. The top 3 are in a virtual dead heat right now. Who can bring it with emotion and execution every night with consistency?

In reverse order of finish.

BD's show is growing on me a bit. As they re-write and improve, I found a lot more impact and effect in the show than I did in Denver 2 weeks ago.. The first 8 minutes of the show are kinda cool - especially musically. The visual program is way too cluttered, but if you do look closely you will see more drill from BD with some real demand, since say 2008. Yet another phenomenal guard from BD. Where this show loses me is the last 2 minutes. To my tastes, all momentum is lost and it starts to feel wearying and repetitive. BD is definitely still in the title hunt, for sure. If they would reprogram the last 2 minutes, or even the last minute, it could really propel the show forward. One thing I noticed that I really liked, there are several moments where the corps uses their uniform VERY effectively, with a side turn or move that really highlights the white striping on the right side. These types of small touches are the type of things that always set BD apart. Now if only we could get a year with NO PROPS. The poles add very little to this show to me.

Crown - let me say I'm a huge fan & I pulling for this corps to win this year. That siad, I thought they had a bit of a flat or off night - by their standards. Cadets were louder and some of the passion just seemed to be missing from the hornline last night. And to the poster who said maybe it was the close proximity to the stands, LOL. Really? I was 3 rows from the press box, on the 50. This show - and especially the Abyss sectoin can sparkle and take your breath away, and it has to if they want to win. That ballad has the potential to be one of the moments of the year in the activity, along with some of SCV's special moments. Looking forward to getting the upper deck perspecitve of this show Saturday in S.A., and I would bet they have a more impassioned performance.

Cadets - Easily my biggest pleasant surprise last night. Love the first 2/3s of the show. Also, easily the most powerful brassline of the night - with great quality and a variety of musical effects. Awesome drumline. Guard is not as impactful - I think I would have had them 4th in Guard last night, too. The quote of the night, from behind me - "I love this show except for those god awful Harlequin Outhouses on wheels." They ARE distracting and quite dirty from an alignment and spacing perspective, though there is improvement on that front. Will be eager to see if better received from the upper deck in San Antonio tomorrow. The mash of Adagio & Medea is at times cool and at times less than effecitve. I'd like to hear more resolutoin of Medea. I do like the Adagio ending, though. My other struggle is the unfavorable comparison in my head to SCV's legendary, powerful & emotional Adagio in 2000. This corps has the chops to win, too, though.

SCV - This corps is improving rapidly (remarkable cleaning progress since Denver), but still has far more dirt to clean than the 3 above them. I don't see how anyone can say this is a rehash of 89, ummm, no. This is vintage Vanguard with emotion, class, beauty and entertainment, but the design is also vibrant, current & fresh. Love the new (I think it's new) drill near the end with the Fluer De Lis and the full on logo shield in quick succession. Also loved the 2 pieces layered in when corps comes back in from backfield - I don't know if that's new or I just didn't notice it above the crowd roar in Denver. Favorite show this year, followed by Crown & Troopers, so far. I think this show - along with many of Regiment's shows in past 10 years show how successfully a show can connect with a large segment of the audience when you make sure there is not too much clutter - either visually or musically.

Cavaliers - Oh my. Cavalier note to self - never follow Cadets & Crown's hornlines. I think BK is actually stronger, with a better design too. Back to back, BK might have beaten Cavaliers last night. Still, likable moments in this show - especially in the closer. Music ensemble (Ok, Analysis) defintiely a weak point, agree with scoring. The robes are used WAY too long and just make the corps look dirtier than they are. Dirt I'm not accustomed to seeing in guard, too, though they seem to be making reasonable progress there.

Blue Knights - I was worried about BK when Sully left, but this is another great year for BK (makes 4 in a row by my count). Show is growing and gelling nicely. Such a nice mood created & sustained. It's not the intense or driving First Circle/Jazz Crossmen used to bring. It's more like a bit of the Magic (Mass year if that makes any sense) or Suncoast Florida feel to it. The whole show creastes a very effective and chohesive mood. The hornline is fabulous, and has a really nice blend across all sections. The use of the color pallette is great, the guard is strong and the drill is effective and well performed. If they can clean a noticably dirty ending 45 seconds, I think they are a real top 8 threat - maybe even 7th. My only quibble - I still can't stand the blue ball. It's distracting. I concentrated to try to ignore it this time, and that effort was rewarded with more enjoyment and appreciation of the show.

Spirit - I was mentally starting to write Spirit off without ever seeing them live (I should know better) - bit mistake. They are more polished, and with more depth in programming than either Crossmen or Blue Stars at this point in the year. This show sold me much better in person than at the movies or online. Both Crossmen & Blue Stars have more glaring weaknesses at this point. Not saying Spirit can't be passed, but far less certain of that than I thought I was last weekend. Ending needs work, and Sweet Georgia Brown would be much more effective as a complete or longer musical thought.

Crossmen - I protest. :) I think the performance levels are stronger with this corps this year. Their program, though, is not. The visual program is WAY to compact, and GE Visual & Visual Analysis scores were spot on. Musically, way too many different thoughts or pieces crammed into 11 minutes. At times the protest theme seems overdone and a bit forced. Some nice moments though, like the Some Nights phrase. Unfortunately, it's way too short and would be far more effective if expanded and emotion could sustain & build. This is a Top 12 caliber corps and with finalist performance level potential, but program makes them very vulnerable at this point. The guard is also strong. My other reaction - the ending also feels tacked on and too brief. Nothing in this show really grabs you and holds you like the Opening/Closing MJ song last year.

Blue Stars - HUGE volume, but not always with great quality. Loud and intense, but often I struggled to stay engaged with the show. I miss the more melodic shows with more musical depth that Blue Stars brought from 2007-2010. The voodoo theme comes across nicely, and there are some neat moments from guard, horns & drums with visual references to the theme. Hopefully Stars can work on bringing more polish, tone & depth to their brass sound in the next few weeks. Marching execution needs some work too. I think Blue Stars have the potential to make Finals, but there is still something missing here that I haven't put a finger on yet. Last night was my first viewing though, which can often be misleading. Maybe I'll get a better read tomorrow night.

Colts - nicely entertaining. Seems to be a very split opinion on their new uniforms - upon first viewing, though, I hate it. I thought their red uni of past 6 years was FAR better. This uniform makes them feel less mature, and smaller. Obviously a youthful group, but the show is well designed for the most part and fits their talent. As they work to emote and make the Field of Dreams section more fluid and less mechanical, it can be very special. I think they are missing something, though to not have any visual reference to baseball when they both PLAY music from Field of Dreams and use it as their show title? Visually, this design & performance could challenge for Finals, with a huge step forward from last year (thank you, Sully), but I don't think the corps is quite there musically.

Mandarins - Bravo, Mandarins. HUGE step forward from 2012. Great new unis, very tasteful, impactful show. A quality, quality show worth seeing folks. The narration (which I usually despise) is appropriate and complimentary. For original music I thought the show was effective musically, too. I'm sure the corps lost a lot of time traveling from California this week, so I'm looking foward to seeing them again in San Antonio. In our old Semis days of top 17, I would say this is the first Semis caliber show I've seen from Mandarins in several years. Great to see the step up in numbers of performers, performance levels and show design.

Harvey

[wesleyrp]

Great review and blog last night! I'm glad there are a few people that still write reviews for shows we can't see.... Great as always man

[Jeff Ream]

great review!

[TexasPRfan]

Thanks, guys. Wes, you going to San Antonio?

[rayfallon]

I blogged along the way on this thread last night on the show thread, but I for one hate having to sift through whole show treads to find what are the review-like comments, so I thought I would post here, asumming there may be others like me. I'm going to start with some Kudos to the judges. This is a hyper competitive year, and I thought placements were spot on last night, as well as relative gaps. The top 3 are in a virtual dead heat right now. Who can bring it with emotion and execution every night with consistency?

In reverse order of finish.

BD's show is growing on me a bit. As they re-write and improve, I found a lot more impact and effect in the show than I did in Denver 2 weeks ago.. The first 8 minutes of the show are kinda cool - especially musically. The visual program is way too cluttered, but if you do look closely you will see more drill from BD with some real demand, since say 2008. Yet another phenomenal guard from BD. Where this show loses me is the last 2 minutes. To my tastes, all momentum is lost and it starts to feel wearying and repetitive. BD is definitely still in the title hunt, for sure. If they would reprogram the last 2 minutes, or even the last minute, it could really propel the show forward. One thing I noticed that I really liked, there are several moments where the corps uses their uniform VERY effectively, with a side turn or move that really highlights the white striping on the right side. These types of small touches are the type of things that always set BD apart. Now if only we could get a year with NO PROPS. The poles add very little to this show to me.

Crown - let me say I'm a huge fan & I pulling for this corps to win this year. That siad, I thought they had a bit of a flat or off night - by their standards. Cadets were louder and some of the passion just seemed to be missing from the hornline last night. And to the poster who said maybe it was the close proximity to the stands, LOL. Really? I was 3 rows from the press box, on the 50. This show - and especially the Abyss sectoin can sparkle and take your breath away, and it has to if they want to win. That ballad has the potential to be one of the moments of the year in the activity, along with some of SCV's special moments. Looking forward to getting the upper deck perspecitve of this show Saturday in S.A., and I would bet they have a more impassioned performance.

Cadets - Easily my biggest pleasant surprise last night. Love the first 2/3s of the show. Also, easily the most powerful brassline of the night - with great quality and a variety of musical effects. Awesome drumline. Guard is not as impactful - I think I would have had them 4th in Guard last night, too. The quote of the night, from behind me - "I love this show except for those god awful Harlequin Outhouses on wheels." They ARE distracting and quite dirty from an alignment and spacing perspective, though there is improvement on that front. Will be eager to see if better received from the upper deck in San Antonio tomorrow. The mash of Adagio & Medea is at times cool and at times less than effecitve. I'd like to hear more resolutoin of Medea. I do like the Adagio ending, though. My other struggle is the unfavorable comparison in my head to SCV's legendary, powerful & emotional Adagio in 2000. This corps has the chops to win, too, though.

SCV - This corps is improving rapidly (remarkable cleaning progress since Denver), but still has far more dirt to clean than the 3 above them. I don't see how anyone can say this is a rehash of 89, ummm, no. This is vintage Vanguard with emotion, class, beauty and entertainment, but the design is also vibrant, current & fresh. Love the new (I think it's new) drill near the end with the Fluer De Lis and the full on logo shield in quick succession. Also loved the 2 pieces layered in when corps comes back in from backfield - I don't know if that's new or I just didn't notice it above the crowd roar in Denver. Favorite show this year, followed by Crown & Troopers, so far. I think this show - along with many of Regiment's shows in past 10 years show how successfully a show can connect with a large segment of the audience when you make sure there is not too much clutter - either visually or musically.

Cavaliers - Oh my. Cavalier note to self - never follow Cadets & Crown's hornlines. I think BK is actually stronger, with a better design too. Back to back, BK might have beaten Cavaliers last night. Still, likable moments in this show - especially in the closer. Music ensemble (Ok, Analysis) defintiely a weak point, agree with scoring. The robes are used WAY too long and just make the corps look dirtier than they are. Dirt I'm not accustomed to seeing in guard, too, though they seem to be making reasonable progress there.

Blue Knights - I was worried about BK when Sully left, but this is another great year for BK (makes 4 in a row by my count). Show is growing and gelling nicely. Such a nice mood created & sustained. It's not the intense or driving First Circle/Jazz Crossmen used to bring. It's more like a bit of the Magic (Mass year if that makes any sense) or Suncoast Florida feel to it. The whole show creastes a very effective and chohesive mood. The hornline is fabulous, and has a really nice blend across all sections. The use of the color pallette is great, the guard is strong and the drill is effective and well performed. If they can clean a noticably dirty ending 45 seconds, I think they are a real top 8 threat - maybe even 7th. My only quibble - I still can't stand the blue ball. It's distracting. I concentrated to try to ignore it this time, and that effort was rewarded with more enjoyment and appreciation of the show.

Spirit - I was mentally starting to write Spirit off without ever seeing them live (I should know better) - bit mistake. They are more polished, and with more depth in programming than either Crossmen or Blue Stars at this point in the year. This show sold me much better in person than at the movies or online. Both Crossmen & Blue Stars have more glaring weaknesses at this point. Not saying Spirit can't be passed, but far less certain of that than I thought I was last weekend. Ending needs work, and Sweet Georgia Brown would be much more effective as a complete or longer musical thought.

Crossmen - I protest. :) I think the performance levels are stronger with this corps this year. Their program, though, is not. The visual program is WAY to compact, and GE Visual & Visual Analysis scores were spot on. Musically, way too many different thoughts or pieces crammed into 11 minutes. At times the protest theme seems overdone and a bit forced. Some nice moments though, like the Some Nights phrase. Unfortunately, it's way too short and would be far more effective if expanded and emotion could sustain & build. This is a Top 12 caliber corps and with finalist performance level potential, but program makes them very vulnerable at this point. The guard is also strong. My other reaction - the ending also feels tacked on and too brief. Nothing in this show really grabs you and holds you like the Opening/Closing MJ song last year.

Blue Stars - HUGE volume, but not always with great quality. Loud and intense, but often I struggled to stay engaged with the show. I miss the more melodic shows with more musical depth that Blue Stars brought from 2007-2010. The voodoo theme comes across nicely, and there are some neat moments from guard, horns & drums with visual references to the theme. Hopefully Stars can work on bringing more polish, tone & depth to their brass sound in the next few weeks. Marching execution needs some work too. I think Blue Stars have the potential to make Finals, but there is still something missing here that I haven't put a finger on yet. Last night was my first viewing though, which can often be misleading. Maybe I'll get a better read tomorrow night.

Colts - nicely entertaining. Seems to be a very split opinion on their new uniforms - upon first viewing, though, I hate it. I thought their red uni of past 6 years was FAR better. This uniform makes them feel less mature, and smaller. Obviously a youthful group, but the show is well designed for the most part and fits their talent. As they work to emote and make the Field of Dreams section more fluid and less mechanical, it can be very special. I think they are missing something, though to not have any visual reference to baseball when they both PLAY music from Field of Dreams and use it as their show title? Visually, this design & performance could challenge for Finals, with a huge step forward from last year (thank you, Sully), but I don't think the corps is quite there musically.

Mandarins - Bravo, Mandarins. HUGE step forward from 2012. Great new unis, very tasteful, impactful show. A quality, quality show worth seeing folks. The narration (which I usually despise) is appropriate and complimentary. For original music I thought the show was effective musically, too. I'm sure the corps lost a lot of time traveling from California this week, so I'm looking foward to seeing them again in San Antonio. In our old Semis days of top 17, I would say this is the first Semis caliber show I've seen from Mandarins in several years. Great to see the step up in numbers of performers, performance levels and show design.

Harvey

Pretty interesting. I find that I agree with a whole lot of what you observed. Different perspectives here and there but by and large that's what I heard. Lots of time left too.

[shaners]

Thanks! I was sitting near you. I agree completely about all corps minus one (bones).

LOVE BKs show... Brass book is by far my favorite of the year. HATE that darn blue ball. I understand what it is suppose to represent, but it's so distracting. I really hope BK. continues with this mood/vibe/design approach.

My first read of Cadets was a lot to take in. The designers did a great job creating a dualistic show with out being cheesy. I love the cadets approach to the pit and electronics. They are the only corps who approach it like a mic'ed pit orchestra. I was able to hear everything going on in the pit without being distracted by what's happening on the field. I went to their rehearsal the next day and was able to see all that was happening. I cool easter egg that most ppl dont seem to know about... the adagio melody is layered into the entire show! Could be my favorite show of the year....

Spirit... While I agree that the show was much more exciting in person, it's still way too chop n' bop for my liking. Also, the brass book seemed very low in demand.

Bd, agree. Love the music book (minus the last 2 minutes). The ballad... Wow... Leave it to Bd to make Rite sound like a chuck mangione tune.

Crown- I like how their show is much more simple and transparent then bd or cadets, but still competes despite not having 5000 things going on at once. I hope they win too. Thy brass did seem flat tonight, but considering their entire book, holy cow.

SCV- wow. I was smiling the entire time. The only part that bothered me was that the company front comes out of no where. It seemed disjunct from the previous music. Aside from that, if a corps can make me stop thinking and forget that I'm watching drum corps and just simply be entertained, then they are definitely doing something right.

Crossmen - ya, the music is not as catchy, but the show design is definitely a step up from last year. The team seems to be finding a unique style that I really like. They were the first corps of the night that stood out with their own personality. The pacing, difficulty, and attitude is far beyond BS and colts, IMO. The obvious kink in the gear is the drill. I like how they are trying to be different than the generic drill in corps around them, it just needs to better. The whole idea of ' this shape influences that which influences that, etc.' is really nice, fluid, and fitting for the Crossmen considering the design of their previous hallmark shows, it just needs to be done better. There is far too much clutter and dense shapes that will never read, even if clean. I agree about the ending... It feels unnecessary. The crowd goes nuts for giant peace sign... Make 'some nights' longer and end it in the peace sign. That will make the message clear without any doubts of intent. The down ending does not add anything but more content.

Blue stars - generic.com. The only thing that said 'blue stars' to me was the drumline. The color guard/brass choreography was cool. Other than that, I was very underwhelmed. Brass = stick out city. Drill = boring been there done that.

Colts - I love the first few minutes! Cool vibe... Then they lose me. I have no idea what the field of dreams portion is trying to do. It almost feels like a different show than the first half.

Mandarins - cool show which reminded me of mandarins of late. Obviously a young corps, but lots of energy with much potential.

So that's my 2 cents for discussions sake. Sorry for any typos or incoherent sentences, I'm typing this on my iPhone while watching a baseball game.

[TexasPRfan]

Thanks! I was sitting near you. I agree completely about all corps minus one (bones).

LOVE BKs show... Brass book is by far my favorite of the year. HATE that darn blue ball. I understand what it is suppose to represent, but it's so distracting. I really hope BK. continues with this mood/vibe/design approach.

My first read of Cadets was a lot to take in. The designers did a great job creating a dualistic show with out being cheesy. I love the cadets approach to the pit and electronics. They are the only corps who approach it like a mic'ed pit orchestra. I was able to hear everything going on in the pit without being distracted by what's happening on the field. I went to their rehearsal the next day and was able to see all that was happening. I cool easter egg that most ppl dont seem to know about... the adagio melody is layered into the entire show! Could be my favorite show of the year....

Spirit... While I agree that the show was much more exciting in person, it's still way too chop n' bop for my liking. Also, the brass book seemed very low in demand.

Bd, agree. Love the music book (minus the last 2 minutes). The ballad... Wow... Leave it to Bd to make Rite sound like a chuck mangione tune.

Crown- I like how their show is much more simple and transparent then bd or cadets, but still competes despite not having 5000 things going on at once. I hope they win too. Thy brass did seem flat tonight, but considering their entire book, holy cow.

SCV- wow. I was smiling the entire time. The only part that bothered me was that the company front comes out of no where. It seemed disjunct from the previous music. Aside from that, if a corps can make me stop thinking and forget that I'm watching drum corps and just simply be entertained, then they are definitely doing something right.

Crossmen - ya, the music is not as catchy, but the show design is definitely a step up from last year. The team seems to be finding a unique style that I really like. They were the first corps of the night that stood out with their own personality. The pacing, difficulty, and attitude is far beyond BS and colts, IMO. The obvious kink in the gear is the drill. I like how they are trying to be different than the generic drill in corps around them, it just needs to better. The whole idea of ' this shape influences that which influences that, etc.' is really nice, fluid, and fitting for the Crossmen considering the design of their previous hallmark shows, it just needs to be done better. There is far too much clutter and dense shapes that will never read, even if clean. I agree about the ending... It feels unnecessary. The crowd goes nuts for giant peace sign... Make 'some nights' longer and end it in the peace sign. That will make the message clear without any doubts of intent. The down ending does not add anything but more content.

Blue stars - generic.com. The only thing that said 'blue stars' to me was the drumline. The color guard/brass choreography was cool. Other than that, I was very underwhelmed. Brass = stick out city. Drill = boring been there done that.

Colts - I love the first few minutes! Cool vibe... Then they lose me. I have no idea what the field of dreams portion is trying to do. It almost feels like a different show than the first half.

Mandarins - cool show which reminded me of mandarins of late. Obviously a young corps, but lots of energy with much potential.

So that's my 2 cents for discussions sake. Sorry for any typos or incoherent sentences, I'm typing this on my iPhone while watching a baseball game.

Nice recap. Looks like more than our seating vantage points were similar. I, too, am very impressed with Cadets. And you are right, the layering of melodic phrases from Adagio throughout the show is very cool.

[shaners]

you mentioned that the BK show did not read as well in SA as it did in Denton, care to elaborate?

also, i'm curious how our opinion on crossmen's show could be so different. does the show fail to keep your interests?

[TexasPRfan]

Hey, Shaners.

Related to BK, I didn't think they had nearly as clean of a run as they did in Denton - either musically (the ensemble blend wasn't as terrific) or visually (more individual errors. From an effect perspective, The whole vibe of the show that I enjoyed so much from Denver & Denton was just not projecting as well upstairs. Hard to put my finger on why.

Related to Crossmen, I don't dislike their show, I just don't enjoy it nearly as much as last year from a music book perspective. For my tastes, there are way to many snippets and not enough long, sustained musical thoughts. Visually, I think the guard is strong, but the drill is just really compact. I much prefer bigger more open drill. Crossmen blew me away last year, and perhaps I'm suffering from having too high of expectations for this year.

Harvey