Akron OH Cinecast - June 23

[jwillis35]

Here is a review of my theater experience in North Canton on June 23. Most of my comments below are what I was posting to DCP during the show, but I have edited and refined a few things. Overall, the show was fantastic! I thought DCI did a wonderful job with sound and video, and the special features were excellent. The interviews with the corps directors and/or program coordinators were very helpful.

Overall impressions: Cadets will be tough to beat now and down the stretch, but Crown, BD, and Bluecoats could certainly challenge. All 4 of these corps have wonderful shows, and all are very different. Madison is strong in brass and percussion and weak in show design, guard, and drill. Boston is strong with drill and brass, but weak on show design, guard, and theme. The Cavaliers can definitely challenge for top 6 with this show. Not sure about top 5. My comments below are mostly what I thought after each corps performed.

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Cavaliers just finished at the theater. I have a different view of this show now. Much better sound in this theater and the video is wonderful seeing these corps full screen. This Cavaliers brass line will be very good. Much better than last year, and they play some demanding material. Their percussion is a beast, especially those marimbas. WOW, their front percussion ensemble is really amazing! Drill is really good but not clean. However, I think they have one of the better drills on the field this year. When that cleans I can see this show shooting upward, but how high we will have to wait and see. Not sure about top 5, but this is a dangerous show when clean. The baritone soloist was wonderful as he plays in a somber manner, knowing the vampires are going to take his soul, and when they finally take him, the acting was wonderful. That whole segment was really well staged. This is a gem of a show, but very rusty at the moment. Thank you, Cavaliers.

Madison has a solid show. Top notch brass line, and the percussion has taken a huge step up. Love the opener, but their drill is cluttered. Some of this is design, some is marching...very sloppy. The corps is very dirty visually, and marching technique really needs some work. Musically they are far along and sound amazing. The 2nd tune didn't allow for more movement in the legs (due to meter and tempo) and because of that I felt the drill was stagnant. The percussion feature is awesome with a nice trombone feature. This section is good, but the mallets over balance the soli trombones. I really love the music of the closer...WOW; but again the drill is cluttered and difficult to read at times. Madison will be hurt visually, but it's an enjoyable show musically. The new uniform is nice but too much white for me.

I'm not wild about Boston's Animal Farm show. Tough theme to pull off. Brass sounds good, but not as good as Madison and maybe slightly more balanced than Cavaliers, but with less demand. Drill is better than Madison with better focus and use of the field, but nowhere close to Cavaliers drill. A very loud horn line. I do like the Conquest at the end in minor mode. Powerful and dark! However, this show will be a tough sell with audiences. Let's see what the judges say. The guard has the most difficult task of trying to sell this production, and I believe they have a lot of work to do.

I love Phantom Regiment's uniform this year, despite some criticism (the beginning of the show uniform). And the guard outfits are gorgeous. Their Swan Lake show is a mixed bag. They perform wonderfully in all captions but percussion needs some cleaning. Brass is lush and in tune. Music GE will be a challenge. Drill is very readable and good, but not overly demanding by drum corps standards.

I like the uniform change but the outfit is not my cup of tea. Half of the brass goes to all black uniforms along with percussion. The helmet with the plume is not good and hurts the visual. Drill is effective for the bi-tonal look and the music is exciting during that section.

Musically this show is wonderful until the end of the closer. It goes flat, as does the visual program. With some tweaking this should be a good Phantom show come world finals in Indianapolis, but top 5...probably not. But you never know what surprises they have in store. With some tweaking the closer could be wonderful.

BLUECOATS: WOW what an opening statement!!!! TILT is an amazing show! Love the opening trumpet solo with synth effects. Then after the first big hit the full trumpet section plays an amazing soli section. The musical colors in the opened are wonderful. Drill is crisp and well written to take advantage of the the Tilt theme. They need to accurately lock in that marching style to really pull off the effect.

Brass sounds big and bold with a high level of demand. They have that amazing Bluecoats balance. Percussion may contend for a drum trophy this year...and they are usually in the hunt for top 3.

The synthesizer bell effects are wonderful and help to transition into the 2nd section of the show. The use of pit instruments is really the best I've heard this year. I also love the whistle effects which are used a few times. This show oozes colors and great music. What a JOY! The end of the ballad is to die for. What beautiful music played by a killer brass line.

The tuba section may be the best in DCI again. Their soli feature was wonderfull with chordal tones and all.

Finally the ending treats us to some special glissando effects that not only get the crowd going nuts, but they help set up the ending in grand fashion. The effects are mostly done via synthesizer in the pit, but it's really cool and the visual moves are stunning at this time.

This show has serious potential and can easily contend for top 3 come mid- to late-season. I was a little taken back that their score was not closer to Crown, but I believe the will move to within a point or under very soon. The marching is GOOD. The visual program is top notch. Best Bluecoats show, for me, since 2007 Criminal and I think better than 2010.

Way to go BLOOOO!!!!!!!

Carolina Crown has for the past 6 years been getting my full attention, and this show will as well. Their space theme is much like a drum corps version of Disney's Mission to Mars. Interestingly, the Cadets show is much like Disney's Hall of Presidents. Nice coordination guys. Make sure Disney chips in. :-)

The brass is to die for!!! Just amazing playing and they will be the odds on favorite for the Jim Ott high brass award. Percussion is vastly improved and we'll featured in this show, although in the long run I see Cadets and Bluecoats being stronger.

I love the turquoise pants, but they get lost a little on the field at Akron. Not sure how this will look at other stadiums, but they didn't stand out as well on the Akron field.

Visually this show is not as strong as Cadets. Drill is good but cluttered, and often there is too much going on. In the long run this will be a great show and should also contend, but they have work to do.

The Cadets...just WOW! This is a championship potential show in all ways. They have the potential to be top 3 in every caption come finals, and that is often what it takes. They are clean and amazing for so early in the season, yet with so much room to grow.

This patriotic presentation featuring quotes from American Presidents has all the elements of good drum corps, showmanship, and theater. It's a musical history lesson and an emotional journey of what it means to be American.

The narrator was magnificent and he did an interview after the show for the theater presentation. What a voice. It's definitely him. I love that some of the narration is straight out of Copland's masterpiece Lincoln Portrait. It really doesn't clutter the show as some might think. I believe it enhances the meaning and very professionally links to the music.

The drill is impeccable and the marching technique is wonderful. The cadets are giving a lesson in how to march for so early in the season. Brass and percussion are monster lines and will both be top 3 come August, along with guard.

Is this a winner? I think it has a chance. This is a very artistic show that might not be everyone's cup of tea. But Cadets and Bluecoats were my favorites tonight, and just happen to be my favorites any given year. I'd be shocked if this wasn't top 3. The crowd in our theater hollered out bravo and cheers at the end of this show. Just WOW! Thank you, Cadets!

[shaners]

muchas garcias