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VERY brief comments on what I saw from the Side 2 30. Again opinions are my own and not representative of corps I have marched with in the past, nor will I let these affiliations influence my read on the corps. I will be honest in my opinions and my apologies if I offend anyone personally even though that is not my intention.

Bush - A lot of pride with a very young looking corps going out there, but I didn't see much of a competitive show. Last minute or so was in the arc. Very brave players including a single Mellophone player who definitely played to the best of their ability as they were the only one on the instrument. Way too much field coverage and way too technical of a brass book for a corps of this size. I hope that Bush can get the holes filled and make a push to make finals.

Empire - I love the show idea. The "magic" trick is cool and definitely got the crowd into it. Dave "Blue"ni (if you saw the show you know what I'm talking about) was definitely getting the crowd into it. Some nice solo work and of course the Empire power chords were there, despite a smaller than usual hornline. I saw a good amount of feet/form issues. Definitely could use some cleaning.

Reading - I have never played the 1812 overture and I have always wanted to. The version I heard here was very reminiscent of the arrangement done by Crown in 2008. I didn't really buy into the uniform change mid show but the crowd definitely appreciated it. I loved the percussion break. They were the cleanest corps of the night.

MBI - The effect of this show is out of this world. The Bonnie and Clyde theme is a great idea and features some really swingin' music. Amazing percussion section (although not as clean as Reading), Roger Grupp solos and a real life Bonnie and Clyde complete with car definitely highlights the program. I saw a replica Thompson going on the field but I didn't see it used much on the field. Members "die" on the field and the crowd definitely had a "Is this part of the show or did they just go down" feeling. I also didn't see the demise of Bonnie and Clyde at the end as I expected (it just kinda happened). This was my favorite show of the night and I thought that the score should have been MUCH closer to Reading if not ahead (but this is why I'm not a judge).

Hurcs - An amazing colorguard that is WAY TOO LOUD. I hear a lot of people complain about dutting drummers, but where I was sitting is where a lot of the guard work was happening. I could hear every count, every "OUT!" every "SMILE!" that was said. It was really distracting to the show. Smaller hornline blending classical and 60's pop English music was done nicely. I really liked the writing. From a writing perspective this was my favorite Hurcs show in a while. Performance was lacking in the visual package and music execution at times.

Cabs - As others have said they are very well prepared for this time of the season in comparison to previous years. The show theme "Alegria" blends the music of Alegria, Jesu Joy of Man's Desiring, and Bolero, all which are done in "non-traditional" ways. This was a pleasant surprise as it was very enjoyable. Battery percussion is light years ahead of last year at this point. Endurance is an issue with the brass as some of the big chords towards the end were lacking. Great baritone soloist complete with a very nice dance transition into a bari/trumpet duet. Too much movement at times when its not needed for my taste, especially in comparison to the other corps in attendance. Cleaning must be done but the Cabs are on the right track.

For what it's worth I had the placements different in a couple of places but again this is why I'm not a judge. I don't think that we can assume that any place is set in stone this year.

One thing I noticed on retreat was a very rude gesture by the Connecticut Hurricanes tenor line. They lined up with their backs to the Buccaneers with their heels over the line and technically in Reading's boxed area. If this were the 60's or 70's there probably would have been some heated words exchanged at least and possibly some fisticuffs as well. Kudos to the Bucs hornline for keeping their composure and I personally lost a lot of respect for the Hurricanes for this act as well.

The show itself had a lot of people who were inconsiderate during the show by talking, moving around during corps etc. but this is to be expected with a large crowd and a lot of non drum corps regulars. Hopefully we have gained some fans in the process as it was definitely an entertaining show for everyone. Thank you to the City of Bridgeport for the warm welcome for DCA and for the $5 dollar tickets to a star studded show which brought me the 5 1/2 hours up to the show.

Buffy

Edited by CorpsBuff
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Great review man! Thanks!

Tony

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Excellent review!!!

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well if they say out better than all the others than their out wins, as they did. thanks for the colorful input. im sure you heard the drumline dah dah dahing into second as well.

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Uh, what?

I think I can help. Here's the translation:

Well, if they say "out" better than all the others than their "out" wins, as they did. Thanks for the colorful input. I'm sure you heard the drumline "dutting" into second place as well. Personally, I love MBI!

There's my version. Hope it helps!

SMK

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