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Phailing Phantom-- How Phar Will They Phall?


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See what I did there?

Anyway I'll be blunt and I'm sure I'll enrage quite a few people.

I saw Phantom three times in California this season and am watching the live webcast tonight.

Geez. I am not impressed. Performance is OK, design is... Not. Performance isn't good enough to make up for design flaws (or, phlaws).

In my opinion, this trend has been occuring with PR for the last few years. What's the deal? Have they just become a middle of the pack 6-8 place corps?

I could see them as low as 10th.

Go ahead, chew me out. :-)

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Rennick and shaw are gone, and are hard to replace. Strengths became weaknesses. Also phantom is restrictive of what music they can perform right? Isn't that why, in part, why shaw left?

Anyway, they are better off than i thought they would be. They hired the glassmen brass arranger to replace shaw, which in my opinion wasn't their strongest feature. As far as i know he has not been replaced. I do prefer this arrangement to swan lake last season though.

They are moving in a positive direction methinks. They will likely finish top 8 again.

Edited by Cleveland1
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Rennick and shaw are gone, and are hard to replace. Strengths became weaknesses. Also phantom is restrictive of what music they can perform right? Isn't that why, in part, why shaw left?

Anyway, they are better off than i thought they would be. They hired the glassmen brass arranger to replace shaw, which in my opinion wasn't their strongest feature. As far as i know he has not been replaced. I do prefer this arrangement to black swan last season though.

They are moving in a positive direction methinks. They will likely finish top 8 again.

and Glassmens battery arranger- Rob Ferguson
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I'll be surprised if they fall out of the top 8. People spelled doom and gloom for Phantom last season too and they ended up kicking everything up a hell of a lot towards the end and overtook Blue Knights. Don't count Phantom out yet. They seem to be late bloomers.

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Years and years of bad decisions, coupled with a judging community that gives them the "benefit of the doubt".

I don't know when the bottom will fall out, but when it does, it could be one of the craziest plummets we've ever seen. I'm thinking probably next year, after they toy around with 7-12, yet again, this season.

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I love Phantom Regiment, but this is definitely an off-year for them. Musically they are pretty strong, but the show design left me flat (just a subjective opinion), and there was a sloppiness I've never associated with this great organization.

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Rennick and shaw are gone, and are hard to replace. Strengths became weaknesses. Also phantom is restrictive of what music they can perform right? Isn't that why, in part, why shaw left?

Rennick and Shaw left, yet the corps was still able to put together competent designs in 2011 (without Rennick) and 2012 (without both). When I saw the Concert in the Park video, I mistakenly thought this was going to be a rebound for them. But I'm afraid I was wrong.

If the designers are "allowed" to program Cole Porter, then why couldn't they be allowed to program what, say, SCV is doing this year? A big lack of sophistication in the show they designed this year, and I don't think it's just a restriction on music.

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I guess I don't buy the "they lost Rennick and Shaw" excuses. That was four and five years ago. 2011 and 2012 weren't terrible. Yet 2013 and 2014 were not stellar, and this year is headed down that same path (in my opinion).

Just kind of waiting for a) something to change or B) the floor to fall out from underneath them.

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I guess I don't buy the "they lost Rennick and Shaw" excuses. That was four and five years ago. 2011 and 2012 weren't terrible. Yet 2013 and 2014 were not stellar, and this year is headed down that same path (in my opinion).

Just kind of waiting for a) something to change or B) the floor to fall out from underneath them.

I honestly am too. I'm hoping someone will kick something into them and make them think about the things that made them successful before and start thinking from that approach. I'm not suggesting they necessarily repeat repertoires or anything, but I want to see them take on shows like On Air and Into the Light again.

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