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DCA Finals Review. Giggity.


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Well hellllllloooooooo all you out there in the virtual marching pitch. I survived my first DCA finals ever as a spectator. *cue applause*

And no, I did NOT kick the back of the chair of the drunken Homer in front of me who wouldn't shut up the ENTIRE SHOW. The only time it was quiet in front of me was when he went to go get two more beers to double fist during a couple corps. Im certain Rochester was grateful for his liver's economic stimulation of their economy. Hopefully he wasn't driving home.

The old lady next to me though. After he talked through two corps she kicked his seat like a Blue Haired CHUCK FREAKING NORRIS!!!! WHAPOPW!!!!!!!!! Alas, he was shushed, and kicked, and asked both politely and not so to please stop talking. Then he had another beer, and got a little drunker, and forgot. You ever get drunk and forget? yup, happened to him. Sahlen's stadium salutes you sir, for your dedication to liver damage, and for making the babbling baby ten rows behind us look like a well behaved child. bah!

I guess I'm the first to review DCA finals. Does a review even matter at this point? Reading has another ring, MBI still has their big light up ball, and the Cabs got to see the crowd both stand up and toss a few hundred babies towards them AND poop their pants when the results were announced. I ##it you not. You wanna really know what the crowd did when the 3rd place score was announced? I don't care if you say no, I'm gonna tell you anyway... in the form of a 30th anniversary movie quote...

"Ray Stantz: What he means is Old Testament, Mr. Mayor, real “wrath of God” type stuff.

Peter Venkman: Exactly.

Raymond Stantz: Fire and brimstone coming down from the skies! Rivers and seas boiling!

Egon Spengler: Forty years of darkness! Earthquakes, volcanoes...

Winston Zeddmore: The dead rising from the grave!

Peter Venkman: Human sacrifice, dogs and cats living together... mass hysteria!"

Seriously, the educated crowd went all Stewie Griffin "whaaaaaaaa?" and the Homers went "THAT'S ########!"

I'm not saying I agree or disagree with the judges, reviews aren't about that. No sir, we here at CHolland Corps reviews & Taxidermy are about giving you honest hard working (or not) folks out there in cybercorps space a collection of honest, unbiased, & snarky recollections and viewpoints that only someone of our years of experience can provide.

Now i was sitting up in 308, about 8 seats away from the plastic buffet tables of the judges. So my view is aboot the same as theirs. As usual, you'll get the good, the bad, the amazing, and the awful in unbiased fashion, as well as two new games entitled "that ship has sailed" and "Where the H did that come from?" So these are going to be a little more brief than you're used to. Because i was busy watching and enjoying, and sometimes forgot to scribble something down.

Class A:

now as a kid who started wayyyy back when DCI had Div 2/3. I have some love for small corps. I get it. You've got less to work with. But you appreciate the challenge, and you say f it, we roll with the small punches and make it happen. Kudos to you.

CINCY TRADITION: Ok, I dont get the shakos. I feel like you beat up some poor Crown kids as they were walking by UC and stole their lopsided hats. Anyway... Overall, I'm impressed by the sound you all put out in this Copland extravaganza of yours. So when you need to, you all really put some air in the horn and we felt it way up in the nosebleeds. Thanks for that. That being said, they had a couple of split attacks at the start of the show, and towards the end of the run intonation kind of went south. But you pushed all the way through. So booyah to you. The battery, played fairly well, but had lots of spacing concerns throughout the show. The rifles though, WORD UP RIFLES! seriously. Top shelf. Tight work, solid catches, and you all just owned the show. Good job. I think there was some sort of ensemble tear in the closer, and the timing didnt seem to feel tight at the end of the show. Maybe it was nerves, or it was the group simply going for it and say what the hell, DO IT! But the enthusiasm was there, and it was great to see you all in finals finally. As my mentor said to me when I earned my master's "Welcome to the club". Congrats on a great run. Now go build on it and come back better than ever. Cheers.

SUN DEVILS: In fire forged... I dig the title. I dig the clanging on the BBQ grill tank to start and the rest of the effects done in real time, by beating on real stuff! I have a feeling this is becoming a lost art. The banging of real stuff for effects. Before you know it, people will be recording the banging of real stuff only to play it via fancy overpriced speakers so it sounds JUST, LIKE, REAL, STUFF. womp womp. Vesuvius and Tempered Steel are two of my favorite Wind Ensemble pieces. Thanks for putting those on the field. Brass, I would love to say you had a stellar run, you had great enthusiam, but releases had players hanging over a little more often than not. I'd love to say that "its too late... blah blah blah" but c'mon man, "that ship sailed long ago" releases shouldn't be messy this late. Yeah I know, "stop being so harsh dude, the season's over" and yes, I'm trying to keep this positive, but that's something that I just needed to say. That being said... i can move on. Again, I'm impressed with the smaller corps as this is two for two who can melt some faces. Lots of oomph on hits, and I am impressed that if felt like you listened down to the tubas to keep your hits blanced. Good job there. RIFLES... this is also two for two in Class A where RIFLES RULED THE FIELD! Gold stars to yall for that. And pit, you listened back for balance and timing, and I'm certain there are some moments in Vesuvius where timing got a little wonky, but kudos to yall for keeping with it and helping to hold it together. I feel like the ballad intonation was in and out, but overall pretty well done. Bass booms, kudos to you all for kicking it on the drum solo in there right after that. Overall good job. congrats on two straight years in finals. Keep building on that success.

GOVIES!!!: "HI GOVIEEEESSSS!!!!!!" aaaahhh the crowd loves ya. Actually I'm certain that was Junko Stewart behind me yelling that. Let's be honest, I kind of love you too. I haven't seen you since I was in Madison. So yeah that's at least enough years to count on all my fingers and a few toes. Thanks for keeping this whole competition thing light, and fun all these years. It was great to see John up there chatting it up with the audience. I love the sound you all have. I counted 13 horns, and the sound you all create just doesn't try to be something its not. Its just tight and controlled and never steps beyond what it is unable of creating. Its this lovely blend of all the brass, like its one big hug telling you to come down onto the field and get trippy with you in the VW van. alllllllright. The front ensemble was probably one of the tightest of the evening altogether, and really blended well with the horns. As Cesario said wayyy back in the 90s you all sound like "bathing in chocolate". Booms, you all are really tight, the toms were especially word up. Your guard, is GINORMOUS, its like you're compensating for something there big boy... or not. whatever. Don't judge my words. But they had a couple issues, nothing they didn't recover from so kudos to them for keeping it together and staying on the horse. Overall, this was a sexy show. "its called Passion numbnutz... of COURSE ITS SEXY" Its designed after John's hair, duh. Top shelf.

"WHITE" SABRES: You're the bluest white Ive ever seen. (don't hate mail me for that, please? I'll give you candy or something... its In the back of my "White" van.) creepy. anyway.

Here's the cut and dry:

Horns: balanced, in tune, attacks and releases are together (except for like... one or two)

Pit: you listen back and blend really well

Bari solo on (sing it with me y'all) Nights in whiiite satiinnnnn... never reachinnnng the ennnddd... was sexy.

Bass Booms: Actually BOOMS in general, you play pretty tight, but your intervals (or lack of) drive me kinda crazy. Like padded room crazy. bah!

Guard, i'd put you against anyone and expect you to hold your own. Top shelf.

Really, why am I reviewing you? You have this Class A thing down to a science like you're Alton Brown teaching us all how to make our own bacon at home using a trash can and hot plate. (Good Eats -season 5, episode 12 in case you're a dork like myself)

OPEN CLASS:

dun dunn DUNNNNNNNNNNNNN.

ALLIANCE: hi yall. what a way to say welcome back. seriously, not just back competing, but back in finals. word up. AND WITH A HUGE CLOCK OF DEATH!!!! Nooooooooooooooooooooo stop the ticking!

To be honest I didnt recognize any of your charts. Then I looked you up, and it said "original music"... of death. just kidding about the death part. mostly.

Brass overall a pretty good sound. Baris, you make a bari player sniffle a little bit, like a manly Bruce Willis sniffle. Good job. A couple of individuals sticking out here and there in brass though, A couple of rough tone spots but again, still pretty darned good. Your feet, were also pretty good. some sense of style, and pushing those toes up. good job.

Snares: lots of notes, and pretty well played, but intervals... oooof. Your second piece was a little rough to watch. Booms overall though, you're players. So wow, there's some really great stuff happening.

Guard: I missed yall at prelims, sorry about that, but im going to guess this was a tougher show. Timing seemed a little wonky. The book is most certainly there, and you're busy. I get it. I just wish it was a little tighter.

Overal i think I was expecting a bigger boom at the end. I was kind of expecting the pit bass drum to just erupt with fire and some creature like you'd see on the cover of an Iron Maiden album "What's an album you old fart?" LEAP OUT OF IT AND START EATING THE JUDGES! (or at least the drunk jerk in front of me) But alas... no huge boom. Meh. its cool. Good show. Welcome back to the pitch. Cheers.

GOLD: Honestly I was just watching this show and enjoying the charts. This is a seriously listenable show, and one worth buying the CD for. I love the tombstones. The horns have a great blend. They know when to get really bright and Blue Devilsy. And they keep it soft and sexy too. They had a great melli solo, and a small ensemble that simply gets, it, done. Nice job. There were lots of mess in the feet across the board. So I think I stopped watching some of it and started to try to look at all the names on the stones. Guard, you're big. And I think there were a couple snafus in there. But nothing that drove me nutz. Booms, same deal, you're good, had a couple issues, but nothing you didn't recover from and nothing worth being all "WTF!!!!" about. Good job. Keep this up and we'll see you in finals next year.

HURCS: There needs to be a most improved corps award. Where you started when i saw you in Secaucus until now are like two different corps. Again, you played loud really well in Bridgeport, and now you played soft well. Good air support brass. Was it always perfect? No. There was some melli fluff, and some visual fluff, and some battery issues that I dont remember hearing in CT. I think I can label those "where the heck did those come from" because they just sounded not together, which i dont remember you doing the last time I saw ya. Battery releases of phrases were a little... smh. That being said, snares in the percussion feature were spot on. Booyah! Guard, you're big, and you loves those light up watering cans. Heck I loves them. But I don't think this was your best run. There just didnt seem to be this effortlessness that you've had the last couple times I saw ya. These are minor concerns because I feel like the corps spent tons of time this week on the closer. They had a really strong finish. So yeah, yknow. Way to push through the little stuff, not let it become big stuff, and then come out with a big Batman Style BLAMMO at the end. good job. I hope you keep this energy up starting next year and take everything up a notch from here.

BUSHIES: can i call ya bushies? too late. The fX was either changed, or tweaked in the console to better match the real sound of the marching blocks. THANK-YOU!!!! seriously. I want to buy whomever tweaked that the finest Genesee Cream Ale that a happy hour special can buy. I still love your show. Its still one of my favs. Your feet, are not one of my favs though. File them under "that ship has sailed" because... just... grumble.

Mellis i think were improved over last time i saw ya. Both in time and intonation. Your small ensemble section... not my favorite part this time intonation wise. The feet in the Hitler march (can I use Hitler march as an adjective in this forum or will DCP #### me on it?) and at slow times though are miles better. Thanks. The rlease in the big peace sign was WICKED sweet. sexy. Bari solo, you rocked that again, and front ensemble pit-type people you rocked this peformance. You listened, you held it together and added some great frosting to the cake. I have "WOOT" as the adjective to describe you in my notes. In fact from the MUSE hit on, I have BOOYAH listed. So BOOYAH! to yah. Good strong finish. Battery and Guard both got a HELLS YEAH in my notes for the overall show. So hells yah. (hopefully DCP wont #### my choice of words here)

CADETS Deuce: You played a "best of" DCI show. And you played it REALLY well. You've got some REALLY frackin fast fingers brass. Nice work. I know you've taken some flack for being the feeder corps. But your show, kinda reminds me of a feeder corps show. (please dont hatemail me, i do love that you rocked this show, and I love these charts, i grew up seeing these peformed) I just hope that next year you get a show built around you, and something that doesnt feel pulled from the stacks of music collecting dust in the head corps office. Because you are fracking awesome, and to be honest, you deserve a show that doesn't come from someone elses stack. You are awesome enough peformers to deserve a show that creates Cadets2 classics. Not someone elses classics. That's just my $0.02.

Now... your brass opening was hot. And I may have the only opinion of this on DCP but your foot and leg technique was really defined on both the front and backstep. Youre one of the few corps to really rock some marching style. That being said... low brass, your foot timing was a little off. And phased quite a bit.

You gave us one SCHWEEEEETTTT company front.. Then you had some step off issues coming out of it. Guard, your work is tough, and i dig it, but again, timing... grumble. However, your ballet and dance work smoked everybody else of the evening. Really great body control in that. Battery, you're good, lots of notes, space that pops in fairly clean, but the pit was where its at on finals night. word up pit. Overall, the closer was a step up from everyting. So kudos to you all for finishing really strong. Again, I love the charts, and the show was tough. So your staff acknowledges your talent because they are challenging you with it, and you brought it. You had me on my feet easily so hells yes.

HOTLANTA CV: Lets try this review in the third person for once, and see if I can actually do it. (failed already)

They had a really BIG, FATTY McFATTERSON brass sound, and then the pit blended really well with them to create an UBER FATTY FAT O'FATTERLY sound. So they sounded way bigger than they are, and they're pretty big so yeah... yknow... big. They had some intonation concerns when the streamers came out in the guard, and they have these trickle drill sets that were a little sloppy, but overall performed everything at a very high level. There were moments facing backfield where body control started to get loose and sound started to wave. They create a sound very close to a Blue Devils growl that pierce through the audience on hits, which is a great effect and is pulled off again and again very well. The guard is huge, and had a little bit of an off night with some drops. The battery also is huge, and felt a little off. These concerns were minor as the ensemble held it together and finished Hex out strong. The show is really just old school drum corps. Go out and just charge through and crank it out. It had the audience on its feet early and was both exciting to watch and listen to. Overall a good, hard show. It had some dirt in it, but really, with the reaction it got who cares?

FUSION: Solid guard. I can't say I enjoyed the new guantlets. (they look out of place versus the rest of the uni) Actually, i had a moment of what the heck are those doing there and wherever you got them from give them back. Oh well. I dont need to say the guard was solid. They were. You got a plaque for it. Congrats.

Brass had some double tongue parts that were really solid. And blend and intonation for the most part was solid. Foot technique was still really sloppy on an individual level. (see also Ship has sailed... on this comment) I feel like Fusion went for broke on this peformance, and their prelims performance was better. They got a little sloppy at the end in both music and vis. So I think there was a bit of overhype going there. Battery bass drums though... giggity. Top shelf. Good tight playing going on there. Overall, the show starts slow, and then picks up quick. So if you're not paying attention, you miss things quick. What you can't miss though, is the guard's vocals. I'm not sure if they are planned, or aren't, but they are loud, and in some places they are REALLY loud when the horns arent. So that was distracting. Otherwise great work on the surprises that keep coming and coming. The bed, still looks a little wonky. Maybe its just me. Its probably just me. But overall, this core had come a looooooonnnnngggg way in a short time. And I would say they are knocking on the elite door in ALL sections. So Cabs, Bucs, MBi... etc. Watch your butts, team purple is coming for ya.

BUCS: You had a solid show, and you got another crown. congrats. I dont need to review you, but i'm gonna. mwahahahahahahahah.

Time in the opener felt a little uneasy. Like it was on the edge of a breakdown between the pit and horns. Something felt way weirder than prelims or even Seacaucus. This really was a "where the heck did that come from moment" because maybe it wasnt on the field, but i felt it up top. Corps marching intervals overal felt a little off, and there were a few that looked just funky. But recovery was quck and consistent. Mellos, nice work on intonation. Way to be sexy like that.

Brass overall had some great intonation, and a very good dark sound. Attacks weren't always perfect, there were a couple fracks but minor at best. The bari solo, was sharp. Good job dude or lady. Battery was the tight and way clean. Tough licks are in there and they played them really well. There were some sloppy points in the show, but recovery again, was everywhere. You're like Tiger Woods in his heyday hitting from the rough and putting it right into the cup. Top shelf y'all.

I can tell they really beefed up the air flow in the end. So you had a wall of sound that wasnt there before. Nice work on that and again, congrats on another title.

MBI: Intergalactic Planetary! Well Now don't you tell me to smile
You stick around I'll make it worth your while
Got numbers beyond what you can dial
Maybe it's because I'm so versatile... ahh the beastie boys were the only thing missing from this show. seriously, this is another show that started slow, and then cooked later on. That being said, i think they had a better run in prelims. Guard had a better prelim run. This corps is big, and sounds big. They sound like a big corporate music machine. boom! The pit seems always on point listening back, and the guard is another that dances and moves really well. The show overall is full of little surprises musically, so I found myself listening for "whats next". 2001, Holst, and a ton of other spacey themes are just frankensteined together and out pops this awesome mix of galactic mayhem that somehow all works together. Good job space team. I think feet were a little iffy, but forms popped pretty well. There's loads of fast fingers parts, too many to name so the book is tough, and they play it eerily well. I was waiting for Sandra Bullock to come crashing down in the middle of the field to close it out, but alas, i think that would have been a penalty. doh. Good job MBI. You're always in the thick of it and you continue to be the driving force in the midwest for all age drum corps. Keep these shows coming.

CABS: Its not a secret the crowd loved ya. And I loved ya. This show is like a whole new generation of the Cabs starting. The brass I felt was the best of the night. (Sorry Bucs) They had the least split attacks, best intonation, and best releases. I can't say the entire corps was as tight as prelims, but it felt great from where i sat, the dance moves were on point, and this was a great mix of old school and new school drum corps that really got everyone on their feet. IT got drunk dude in front of me to shuddup for once, seriously. you got the drunk guy quiet vote. (mostly) YEEESSSSSSSSS!!!! thanks. The he talked at some soft solo... way to ruin it ya jerk. Feet were pretty good, there were a couple phasing bits, but not many, and forms and intervals hit really well. The shirt ripping was strip-tastic and the trumpet and melli solos were on point and in tune. Best soloists of the night. Booms, i dont know. 99% felt great, and some little bits here and there stood out. Guard timing was the same. You know, i'm not a trained judge. But honestly this was a great show. And its so enjoyable to watch and listen that I just stopped taking notes. Because it just doesnt get old watching it. So cheers to you for being one of the tracks that make purchasing the CD worthwhile. I can't wait to see what yall do next season. I feel like the Cabs have taken on a new identity with this show (compared to what Ive youtubed) and the crowds are in for some amazing surprises in the seasons to come.

STAR UNITED: brought their A-game. I'm sure that the venue change affected the GE of this performance, but man, they are in another league with their playing. Solid fast fingers and intonation, tight articulations, and enough movement to keep you guessing on what they do next. I hope DCA continues to keep this mini-corps thing, and that Star keeps doing it. Heck, they dont even need to bring S of I back as long as they keep doing this mini-awesome corps thing going, i'm sold. See also the mini-corps review on these guys, and the rest of the mini-corps. They rock.

Windsor: Yeah, I'll go ahead and register my vote that I didn't think a corps that didnt place in finals earned a performance on sunday. (see also, please dont hatemail me on this) but you played your best show of the season. Intonation was as good as anyone in finals, and the corps was way tighter than i remember you this season. So nice work showing that though many didnt feel you belonged, you could still hang. Timing was the best i remember it being, and forms popped better than ever. Kudos to you for a great performance.

So yeah, that's it. Stop reading and get back to work. Youve got TPS reports to file and excel docs to edit. CHOP CHOP!

And thanks for a great intro to DCA. You've all gained a new fan with this season.

Cheers,

CHolland.

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Another terrific review... thanks!!!

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FUSION: .... What you can't miss though, is the guard's vocals. I'm not sure if they are planned, or aren't, but they are loud, and in some places they are REALLY loud when the horns arent. So that was distracting.

I wrote the same thing last week at Reading, and apparently it was addressed to the Guard since it was mentioned at critique. I do agree that they had a really good show, but I can't help remember the bad rather than the good.

Windsor: Yeah, I'll go ahead and register my vote that I didn't think a corps that didnt place in finals earned a performance on sunday. (see also, please dont hatemail me on this)

Good luck with not getting hate mail (see the Championship thread.)

Overall, I really enjoyed your review!

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Chris, I just LOVE your reviews :worthy:

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CHolland: I sure hope you're a writer for your real job. What an entertaining review! Love the little side comments (and the drunk guy updates). Hope to see more of your reviews next season.

You'd never believe what I do for a living. But its enough in the entertainment business that if I didn't have a sense of humor, heads would roll on a regular schedule. hahahah.

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Chris, I just LOVE your reviews :worthy:

awww thanks all. this review was brought to you by Baltimore's (now brewed in Milwaukee) National Bohemian.

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