Drums Along the Rockies 2014

[DrumManTx]

Alright, here's my review as promised, some great pictures to come when I get home.

I got to the stadium around 5:45, made my round of the souvie trailers, and got to my seats around 6:30. I sat on the 50, section 105, row 40. GREAT seats, such a better venue than the Alamo Dome, love outdoor shows. Got a great mix of music and visual. Thank God the rain held off, it was very cool and breezy all night, perfect weather as far as I am concerned. Onto the shows.

The Academy:

"Vanity Fair"

- Rondeau - Theme from Masterpiece Theatre by J.J. Mouret
- Crown Imperial by William Walton
- What a Wonderful World by Louis Armstrong
- Dance of the Hours by Amilcare Ponchielli
- Jazz Suite No. 2 Waltz 2 by Dmitri Shostakovich
- Hungarian Rhapsody No. 2 by Franz Liszt
- Symphony No. 7, Mvmt. 2 by Ludwig van Beethoven
- Paris Sketches by Martin Ellerby

Such an improvement in design over last year, despite the similar score at DATR. This is a very fun show, depicting the high society life in what I took as victorian-esque Europe. The show opens with a small brass ensemble pre show with the rest of the brass escorting the colorguard, decked out in beautiful victorian-esque blue costuming. It builds into a great "What a Wonderful World" company front, guard with umbrellas used to great effect. The show continues on, going through another section into the ballad, and finally into my favorite part of the show, "Hungarian Rhapsody No. 2". Brought back memories of 1992 Velvet Knights. The keyboards all get up front and get 4 or so on a few Marimba's and play some really fun runs and one handed stuff, really fun and got the crowds attention. The show then goes into the closer, with a "What a Wonderful World" reprise to close it out, guard with Union Jack flags. Overall, I really enjoyed it. A few stick outs, and the visual design wasn't anything too memorable, but not awful. A pretty simplistic and fun show, the crowd really enjoyed it. Hornline seemed a little soft to me compred to everyone else, but a nice sound overall. Drumline was throwing down some notes, a little dirty at times, but nothing they can't handle. Should clean up nicely by August. With a super competitive year, not sure how high they could go, but I really enjoyed the show, as did the crowd.

Personal Score and Placement - 69.5, 8th Place
Actual Score and Placement - 68.35, 8th Place

The Cascades:

"Turn"

- Summertime by George Gershwin
- Firebird by Igor Stravinsky
- Turn, Turn, Turn (To Everything There is a Season) by Pete Seeger
- Carol of the Bells, Traditional
- Dies Irae, Traditional
- The Rite of Spring by Igor Stravinsky
- Simple Gifts, Traditional

This was the only show of the night I hadn't seen before, but wow, talk about a surprise, I cannot even stress how much better this was than last years extremely forgettable program. One of the most smartly designed shows of the night, highlighted their strengths very well. You can tell they've had admin and staff changes this year, and with absolutely incredible results. The show depicts the 4 seasons of the year. This was one of my favorite shows of the night. The show opens up with a fantastic soprano soloist playing "Summertime", building into the full corps hit with a mixture of Firebird and Summertime, two pieces they blended VERY well. The next section is Turn, Turn, Turn, the ballad. Great double flag work by the fantastic color guard, leaves on the silks depicting fall. The show then builds into a Carol of the Bells/Dies Irae drum feature. Again, two VERY different pieces blended surprisingly well. Great blue silks here, great drumline! Next is the closer, a mix of Simple Gifts and the Rite of Spring, again, blended very well. Guard has beautiful green double flags to finish out the show, very vibrant. Cascades had my favorite color usage of the night, the uniform, backdrops, guard costuming, and silks blend to make one of my absolute favorite color palette's I've seen in drum corps! Very well designed show, pretty balanced across the board. Visual and Music, solid. Surprising amount of volume from such a small hornline, almost matched The Academy. Simple theme, simple show. Best reception I've seen for the Cascades in the years I've attended shows. Very lively crowd! Congrats on the guard getting 9th! They were fantastic, I see this doing very well in August, I think they'll be ahead of Pioneer and have a shot at Jersey Surf. Well done Cascades!

Personal Score and Placement - 65.9, 10th Place
Actual Score and Placement - 64.45, 10th Place

Mandarins

"Unbreakable, The Human Spirit is Limitless"

Movement 1 - Forged Steel
Movement 2 - Diamonds Under Pressure
Movement 3 - Struggle
Movement 4 - Courage and Inspiration

by Key Poulan, Tony Nunez, and Kevin Shah

Big step up in volume here. Very nice hornline and drumline, not sure whey they've been scoring so low. Great performance by these guys, but the show was a little confusing to me. The first half of the show, is all about Metal, Fire, Diamonds, ect. then in the second half of the show, they tie in the human spirit part of it, with pictures of great historical figures that fought for human rights, ect. like Martin Luther King jr, Mother Theresa, Nelson Mandela, ect. The two halves of the show felt disconnected to me, great in their own respects, but didn't fit together to me. I think they can fix this, they just need to tie them together, more of the human spirit part in the first half. Narration added for the most part, wasn't a huge fan. Great music by Key Poulan though, I think he's worked out really well for them! GREAT drill too! They need to hang on to them. I think last years program was a little stronger, but they're still performing very well. Great to see these guys doing so well, even if the scores don't reflect it as much as last year, because this lower bracket is so dang competitive. Overall, a nice show. Tie the first half into the second and you're set!

Personal Score and Placement - 68.5, 9th Place
Actual Score and Placement - 67.9, 9th Place

Oregon Crusaders

"Nevermore"

- Mind Heist by Zach Hempsey
- Huanpango by Kevin Wolczyk
- The Alabados Song by Paul Bissell
- The Hymn of Acxiom by Vienna Teng
- My Medea by Vienna Teng
- Nocturn Op. 33 by Samuel Barber
- Medea's Dance of Vengeance, Op. 23A by Samuel Barber

When I really hype a show, I tend to be dissapointed when I see it live. Not the case with the Oregon Crusaders, WOW! This is an intense, in your face, balls to the wall, full throttle DARK show depicting Edgar Allen Poe's "The Raven". I loved the unique texture the electric viola?, it really added throughout. Overall, they did a great job performance wise, I can see the visual issues, not quite as polished as those around them, but not a train wreck. By finals week, this show is gonna be a monster! "The Hymn of Acxiom" ballad was GORGEOUS, the feather flags were awesome! Really enjoyed that, although one guard member had theirs reversed where when theirs was purple, and everyone else's was black. No biggie though, it happens! Closer was smoking, a mix of Samuel Barber Music, the eye equipment pieces the guard carries were way more effective in person. Great drumline again in the drum feature. The show closes out at over 200bpm, really cool flags with black birds on them. They added a new section after that to close out the show, with more of the poem, with the corps doing some really cool choreography and the guard exiting on cue with the narration, Brass, drums, and guard are all solid. Hornline had some punch! Get the feet down, and you're set. Incredible show!

Personal Score and Placement - 71.5, 6th Place
Actual Score and Placement - 70.9, 6th Place

Pacific Crest:

"No Strings Attached"

- Shadowplay, from Cirque du Solei's Ka by Rene Dupere
- Firefly by Ryan George
- Original Music by John M. Meehan
- Overture from Orpheus in the Underworld by Jaques Offenback

Loudest hornline of the night for me, they could blow! Wow! My family really enjoyed them, really fun and cute puppet show. "Shadowplay" started out the show, guard being manipulated by the straps on their uniforms. This then goes into "Firefly", more great hits from the hornline and the drumline could ram some notes! Noticed a lot of visual issues for them, in ensemble visual and guard, so I wasn't surprised to see them a little bit lower in the visual rankings. Loved the colors though, great scheme. Nice use of the props. Ballad was nice, though it seemed a little bit short. Up to this point I was a tad dissapointed, but the closer really picked up the slack! Really fun stuff, got lots of laughs and cheers out of the crowd! They close out the show strong with Overture from "Orpheus in the Underworld", detatching themselves from those strings and spinning flags with scissors on them. Fun show, solid musically, suffers a little in the visual department, and GE in some aspects, if they can spread the energy from the closer throughout the rest of the show they'll be set. That hornline still has my ears ringing! Thought they would have been a little farther ahead of The Academy and closer to Oregon.

Personal Score and Placement - 70.5, 7th Place
Actual Score and Placement - 68.8, 7th Place

Crossmen

"Alma Gitana, A Gypsy Soul"

- Bulgaria by Peter Erskine
- Erghen Diado by the Bulgarian Womens's Choir
- Emmanuel by Michael Colombier
- Zambra Ojos de Brujo
- Habanera from Carmen by G. Bizet
- Caravan by Juan Tizol, Duke Ellington

Really enjoyed the Crossmen last night! Was nice to see Mr. Bones make an appearance! While the drill was a bit compact, a HUGE step up in visual design, their best visual design in years! A big step up in performance quality from the previous corps. Big sound from the hornline, killer drumline, and a fantastic color guard! Great opener, very in your face. Ballad was nice, the burlap mats actually looked great in person, hated them on the video, it sets up a nice backdrop for the guard to dance against, really highlights that visual moment. Drum feature was great! Very high energy, loved the pink silks in the guard, drumline rammed some notes! The Carmen/Caravan closer was interesting, wish there was a little more of Caravan in there, but they sure rock it out when it does come around! This leads to close out the show in a Crossmen cross. Loved all the 40th, Crossmen hints in the drill throughout. Much stronger show design than last year, and I enjoy it even more than 2012. I could easily see them in finals, great showing! Very strong corps this year, could definitely see why they were ahead of Troopers and less than 2 points behind Madison Scouts.

Personal Score and Placement - 76.9, 4th Place
Actual Score and Placement - 76.85, 4th Place

Troopers

"A Peoples House"

- A People's House by Robert W. Smith
- The Ramparts by Clifton Williams
- A Distant Image by Paul Rennick
- Lincoln by Robert W. Smith
- America the Beautiful by Samuel A. Ward, arr. by Robert W. Smith

These guys were the fan favorite of the night, HUGE support for them from alumni and fans from Wyoming. Love the pre-recorded narration, the voice of Abraham Lincoln's wife. This lead into an absolutely LUSCIOUS hit from the brass, absolutely gorgeous. The guard looked amazing against the corps proper in yellow dresses and period head wear, with yellow silks. An absolutely beautiful moment. This lead into "The Ramparts", a great selection, lost track of the theme for just a bit, but they performed it very well. After this a really cool moment where they lay down in a Lincoln face, with the guard in a circle around the corps to make a penny! Really cool, one of the many Lincoln hints throughout. Leading into the drum feature, some REALLY cool linear drill on the 50, got some big cheers from the crowd. Next was the drum feature, which I believe is an original Rennick piece. You can always tell a Rennick book, absolutely fantastic writing, and they played the crap outta it, favorite drum feature of the night. This leads into a little mini sunburst Battle Hymn hit, closing out the drum feature. The guard at this point changes to a red top with brown pants, leading into "America the Beautiful", the transition here I feel needs some work, but here comes the hit! First huge standing O of the night when "America the Beautiful" kicks in! They then proceed to bring it home and get another HUGE standing O at the end of the show. Fantastic job Troopers, really starting to sell this show! A few spots need some clarity, but a great show. Brass was solid, drums on fire, and guard gorgeous.

Personal Score and Placement - 76.5, 5th Place
Actual Score and Placement - 75., 5th Place

Troopers opener A People's House.

Madison Scouts

"Time Trip"

- Fanfare for the New by Huge Montenegro
- Fugue from Passacaglia and Fugue by Js. Bach, arr. by Allyn Ferguson
- Concerto to End all Concerto's by Stan Kenton
- Bulgarian Bugle by Don Ellis
- Star Children by Don Ellis
- Open Wide by Don Ellis
- Niner Two by Don Ellis
- Final Analysis by Don Ellis

I'll start with the positive, GREAT hornline and percussion, they sounded phenomenal, definitely earning those scores. The rewrites are helping this show out for sure. They performed the crap outta the show. That said, I'm still not much of a fan, it just feels really disjointed, they picked a BUNCH of music, and it felt really chopped up fast food versions, something I'm not used to hearing from Madison, last year they tore my heart out, this year no emotional response at all. Visual is killing them, I don't feel like the guard is staged effectively and the work didn't stand out to me. I get the color progression, but it hurt my eyes. The big elephant in the room is that wheel and the guy inside it, not sure what purpose that served at all, the costume change for him was super awkward and not well staged, I just don't think it added and got in the way, it looked like they rewrote the drill and added this in on the road, rather than it being a design choice from the beginning of the season. I got the show before they added this. The quiet ending was done nicely, but it just didn't seem Madison to me. Their music scores will help them out this year, very strong there, but the show, I'm not a fan. I loved 2010 - 2013, last year especially. This years, I dunno, just didn't work for me. I want them to prove me wrong and make some strides over the season. I loved their energy and presence, give em a show that works!

Personal Score and Placement - 78.9, 3rd
Actual Score and Placement - 78.3, 3rd

Santa Clara Vanguard

"Scheherazade: Words 2 Live By"

- Scheherazade by Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov

Very strong performance from Santa Clara last night. This show is starting to gel very well. That front ensemble is insane, their runs right before the ballad had me.......moist. Drumline great as well, Colorguard beautiful, and the horns were great. Some really nice soloist back and forth between the mello/bari and trumpet in the ballad. First hit peels your face back with the trombones up front. The drill is pretty awesome, some great nods to 2004 in the second half of the show, the snaking FTL, and the company front, spelling out SCV. The one part of this show I was a little taken aback by was the closer. They go through 3 sets of silks REALLY fast, I felt like nothing really had time to develop, it just felt really fast and undeveloped for the guard to switch silks that fast. Anywho, great show, by seasons end should be fantastic. Fix the closer, and I'm a huge fan. Gorgeous colors. Props overall were nice, though in the second half of the show I kinda forgot they were there. Backdrops look nice as well.

Personal Score and Placement - 84.9, 1st Place
Actual Score and Placement - 85.25, 1st Place

Blue Knights

"That One Second"

- A Kaleidoscope of Mathematics by James Horner
- Breif Eternity by Bobby McFerrin, Roger Treece, Don Rosler
- Hand of Fate, Part 1 from Signs by James Newton Howard
- To Build a Home by Swinscoe, France Page, Watson Smith

I would be lying if I didn't say I was NOT a fan of BK's last few shows, not my cup of tea at all. This year though, wow. I was speechless and a little misty eyed after they got done performing. This show hit me a little personally, as I've lost 2 grandparents and a family friend in recent years. An absolutely beautiful, thought provoking, and emotional experience. The uniforms and silks truly highlight this, it all feels like a dream. Loved the orange equipment with the clock hands in the opener, and the silks to close it out. The ballad, was a tear jerker by the end, the boards being flipped to depict moments one might remember about their life, one being a picture of a drum corps rehearsal. The dialog leading into closer was where I was pretty speechless, saying to the effect that you don't know what I'm talking about, but you will and about letting go, passing on into the next life. The "To Build a Home" closer was a perfect way to end this show, silks from all previous sections of the show appearing, and finally into a rainbow of color, unwinding box drill, and a huge endzone to endzone S to close out the show. I was speechless for a minute, most intimate experience I've had watching a drum corps show. My parents had the same reaction. Just beautiful BK. Guard is fantastic, brass great, and the drumline is HUGELY improved from previous years, Mr Jackson is doing a phenomenal job. Just......wow. By August, I dunno. Gonna be a great season.

Personal Score and Placement - 81.9, 2nd Place
Actual Score and Placement - 81.0, 2nd Place

Loved BK's encore, agreed with scores for the most part. The kids in front of me, I wanted to kick their heads in for being so obnoxious. Also, saw a drunk guy get in a very heated argument with the guy behind him, started cussing in front of a little kids and then he was escorted out. Afterwards I met up with my favorite Blue Knight, went to Denny's, hung out, and came back to the hotel around 1:30. Fantastic venue, shows, and experience.

Favorite Use of Color:

1) Cascades
2) Blue Knights
3) Crossmen

Favorite Visual Programs:

1) Santa Clara Vanguard
2) Blue Knights
3) Crossmen

Favorite Music Programs:

1) Oregon Crusaders
2) Blue Knights
3) Troopers

Favorite Overall Shows:

1) Blue Knights
2) Oregon Crusaders
3) Crossmen
4) Santa Clara Vanguard
5) Troopers
6) Cascades
7) The Academy
8) Pacific Crest
9) Madison Scouts
10) Mandarins


 

Edited April 29, 2017 by DrumManTx

[BRASSO]

What a comprehensive and fantastic review... repetoire, and pictures were included too !... wow!

Thanks for sharing your obsevations, DrumManTx.

Edited July 13, 2014 by BRASSO

[DrumManTx]

What a comprehensive and fantastic review... repetoire, and pictures were included too !... wow!

Thanks for sharing your obsevations, DrumManTx.

Of course, and I am currently uploading the fantastic pictures my mother took.

[Zeke]

Excellent and Thank you for and awesome Review.

Edited July 13, 2014 by Zeke

[Jplan72]

You had great seats. Such a good venue for Drum Corps.

Thanks for sharing you thoughts on the show!

[TexasPRfan]

What a throrough & well written review. I don't know why I even bothered - I think we saw almost every corps the same last night - except I was less enamored with SCV (I think I'm still guilty of how much I loved their 2004 version). Thansk for the review!

[DrumManTx]

You had great seats. Such a good venue for Drum Corps.

Thanks for sharing you thoughts on the show!

They were amazing seats, best since I have started attending shows.

[DrumManTx]

What a throrough & well written review. I don't know why I even bothered - I think we saw almost every corps the same last night - except I was less enamored with SCV (I think I'm still guilty of how much I loved their 2004 version). Thansk for the review!

I'm just a guy who hasn't marched sharing his thoughts. Glad to see we see things in a similar way, I feel a little secluded in my views a lot. No problem, was a lot of fun to write!

[wesleyrp]

Great Review!!

[TerriTroop]

Great review, thank you!!! (You probably saw me there, even if you didn't know it. Section 105, row 27 right on the 50, Trooper jacket. Spent a lot of time talking to some alums on the stairs at the intermission, waved my yellow Troopers scarf at the end of their show.)

The only thing I disagree with is Madison - but that's just personal preference. I just enjoyed the heck out of their show, even the trombone feature. (GASP!) I enjoyed watching the changes in the guard from the early to the later jazz style, and I felt the wheel portrayed a kind of "inevitable marching on of time" theme. My daughter (age 10) wanted me to find the double handspring moment on the Fan Network the next morning because she was so impressed by it. She most enjoyed Madison, along with Troop, SCV and Crossmen. She was freaked out by the OC show - dark shows are not her thing yet. Too young! And she didn't know or understand the poem so the context was totally lost on her. Give her a couple more years and she'll totally love it. But what's funny is what really impressed her most - being in the same stadium where Peyton Manning plays.