Pittsburgh 8.5.12

[mfrontz]

No way there was going to be a drum corps show at Baldwin High School in the Pittsburgh suburbs on Sunday night. No way at all.

At 5:30 pm I'm sitting outside my house with my family in our van, waiting out a DRIVING rainstorm so we can go in and eat dinner. I'm finally living 9 miles from a show site and it's raining buckets. 90 percent chance of storms tonight, said the National Weather Service earlier in the day. Still, I've decided I'm going to at least drive there with my eight-year-old son Nicholas.

Get inside and check the weather. Now it's 40 percent chance of storms. Could there actually be drum corps tonight? I'd settle for a standstill…

6:45. Stuck in traffic on PA Route 19. Flash flooding has inundated the road. (Cue 'Here Comes the Flood'). Detour into some neighborhood on a hill. Tick. Tick. Tick. Trying not to panic that I'll miss the Crossmen. I haven't seen them since 2005 in Hornell, New York. Don't want to miss this year's show, their best since at least 2003.

Not just the Crossmen I haven't seen – I haven't seen any live junior drum and bugle corps since 2005. I have been following corps on the Internet, but it's just not the same. But I did not live close to a show site, can't drop vacation on drum corps, and I'm getting too old to drive back three to four hours after an evening show.

So I can hardly believe that at 7:15 I am walking through a corps warm-up area with Nicholas, and the sky is clearing. In fact, later in the show there is a beautiful sunset illuminating the Troopers. Not the first nor last time I'll wish I had brought the family camera, but I was sure we were going to get wet and I didn't want to ruin it. We go through abouta digital camera every six months.

We sit in front of a Spirit guard mom. Her daughter Christina is aging out. From Christina's mom I learn to my great delight that this is the night Crossmen and Spirit hornlines will play for each other in the lot after the show, a tradition that probably was revived after full retreats were eliminated from the DCI repertoire. At least I assume that's why I never participated in one of these love-fests. Now I'm really upset I didn't bring the camera.

The national anthem is sung by a girl from Baldwin High School. She does everything, according to the announcer: wins drama awards, sings, plays tuba and flugelhorn in the band ('At the same time?' I wonder aloud, which gets a chuckle. Ha ha! I'm funny). As the announcer goes on and on about her, the girl shuffles her feet and rolls her eyes as if to say 'Stop talking about me.' I wonder if the announcer's her mom or something. Anyhow, the girl sings the anthem in front of thousands of people, in a beautiful alto without any pitch issues. Bravo.

Mandarins go on first. The sound is helped byb ouncing off the stands and off the high school on the hill to the right. I like the concept and Nicholas gets into the temple in the backfield. Strong drumming as usual from Mandarins.

Colts are next. They have such a great color presence – both the musicians and guard - and really fill the field. I wonder if their red uniforms are designed for twilight, the time when they usually perform. The Rachmaninoff piano concerto is the strongest part of their show. Their drumline is good, though I have to question the logic of the guard setting a fabric 'boundary' right in front of the quads as they are performing their feature.

I turn into a drum corps lunatic as Crossmen enter the field. They don't disappoint me. The Crossmen groove is finally back. FINALLY. BACK. No offense meant to Crossmen of recent years. But they too have to be just hyping on this corps. Great sound from each section of the hornline. Baritones have some sah-WEET moments.

You miss a lot on the Fan Network. I see for thefirst time the wildcat prints on the flags and the rifles shooting down guardmembers (wild animals). I do not understand, however, the cutout people. Arethey you and me? Are they the faceless people of the planet? Not sure what theyadd to the show.

Why do drum corps mic their soloists now? I'll tell you why,.That incredible soprano (and yes, they are still sopranos, ast hey play in the soprano voice) who has the solo in 'Earth Song:' I cannot hear him from my cheap seat on the thirty. I wish I had beaucoup bucks to sit on the fifty, but no. Can hear him great on the Fan Network with mics set up inside the forties, but not live. Of course, the plus side is that the whole corps is playing freaking loud.

Love 'Here Comes the Flood.' Love 'Finding and Believing.' Love the reprise of 'Earth Song' with the soloists and the Maltese Cross. Love the down ending. Like everything but the cutouts. And where the heck is Australia? And has anyone commented that while in the real world we're worried about global warming, the recording in the pre-show is talking about global cooling? I don't care. Crossmen, thank you for making me proud to be a FMM. Keep pushing through to the end. You never know what might happen. We didn'tin '92, and look where we ended up.

Whoever said that Glassmen were making a move were right. They had a strong contingent of fans. I really enjoy the sandstorm at the beginning and the flags representing the different types of glass. Also the Daedalus section with the mirrors, although anyone who has seen BD 2010 live probably is not as impressed. The ending, though, is not as strong as is needed. After Crossmen, I am a little bit worried that I like the Glassmen so much.

INT's repertoire consists of a bag of cookies anda Coke for me and a Coke for Nick. Nicholas is great. He keeps saying how nice it is that I could come and enjoy this. When I call home and put him on with his Mom, Nick says, 'Daddy got me cookies and a Coke so I would stay up.' True.

Troopers follow INT. If they just had fifteen more horns. They look and sound sharp. I don't think the theme of the show is really coming through.. I didn't have to know the theme to enjoy the Troopers,though. I could tell that their guard was really trying to sell the show, but the 'wow' sound was not there from the brass. The basics are there of a good corps. Nothing wrong with them, they're just not big enough.

Blue Stars, the corps Crossmen is chasing for a finals spot. I love them and I hate that. They have maybe the most kid-friendly show out there. They've introduced new screens with ocean scenes. Nick says 'Look– buried treasure!' 'Daniel would really enjoy that whale.' 'Look at the dock!' He loves when the guard has anchors. Great move in the beginning with the fish being caught in the net effect.

New World Symphony – I remember thinking during the show – 'This works so well with the visual.' Now I'm home I think I understand. Drum Corps is not just at the movies. Drum Corps is a movie. The music is a soundtrack to the visual story. I know visual has predominated inthese latter years but I have never put it in these terms before. Blue Stars use New World as a soundtrack to what they are showing us on a one-hundred-twenty yard screen. And they use the whole screen. Visually they are on another level from Crossmen. I am not at all surprised that they beat Spirit tonight either. So much to see. They could surprise in Indy. Thatdrumline was throwing down too. I thought they had beaten Spirit there.

Spirit of Atlanta. The aforementioned Christina's mom is sitting with friends (or maybe family) and they're trying to find her on the field. When 'Lady Luck' walks in with her black dress and the feathers in her hair, someone in the crowd says, 'Oh my…' in a voice of stunned disbelief. Laughter. Then when she drops the black dress to reveal what's underneath, the friend says in unfeigned shock, 'That's not Christina, is it?' 'No, no,' says Christina's mom. More laughter.

Spirit's best is Lady Luck and the slower numberafter it. After Blue Stars it seemed a little bit flat. It will be a tight race to the finish. I think Spirit has a finals spot sewn up, it's just where. Theydo not have the field coverage or visual interest that Blue Stars have. But they have a great hornline, an accessible show, and apparently a drumline to be reckoned with.

Madison Scouts get a huge ovation because they are the Madison Scouts. But they earn that ovation and more. They sure do open the show with a bang. During the opener, the drum judge just about got taken out by laterally moving baritones.

My favorite part of this show is 'The Old Castle'/'TheWay We Were.' Really, really tasty arranging for the contras and baritones.

I wonder if local audiences, who do not follow drum corps closely, really get the idea behind the interpolation of Madison favorites with 'Pictures at an Exhibition.' I doubt that they care. The singing of the opening of 'Great Gate of Kiev' is MAGIC. I just close my eyes and listen to a men's chorus in perfect harmony with phrasing and dynamics. Heck, if they did that the whole show they might win brass. Or at least music effect.

Then the company front wheel and I stand up. The entire center section is on their feet from the company front on. Nick is cheering. It's infectious. As well done as the long chords are at the end, I do think that there should have been (probably too late to change) more visual/musicalfireworks for the last twenty seconds of the show. Imagine how nuts people would go if they ended the show with gating drill concluding in a fleur-de-lis? But why complain?

No encore corps, so people are off and running. Nick and I find Spirit's hornline behind the stadium, and they set off for the lot. We follow. Nick and I get to talk to Spirit's 'conductors.' I ask if they are the drum majors and they say 'We're the conductors.' I wordlessly wonder why they don't use the term drum major. One possible explanation is that the 'drum major' is present for score announcements back at the stadium. Such a difference from when I marched – when at most shows we were on the field for score announcements. Some people miss retreat– I don't. I think you see the improvement in the corps because they don't have to spend hours doing nothing waiting for scores to be announced.

Spirit's and Crossmen's hornlines face each otherin a small confined space between buses and a fence. They are about twentyyards apart, maybe? In between we join an audience of fans, staff, guard and drumline members. I am surrounded by Spirit's guard. I see them watching with rapt attention. The Crossmen hornline watches with rapt attention and is in perfect focus. Some of these young people are doing this for the first time. Some are aging out this year - and are taking part in this tradition for the last time,drinking in every moment.

Spirit's horn instructor tells the story of the link between Spirit and Crossmen. Then the hornlines take over, each corps cheering the other on. Spirit plays a tune I don't recognize, and Crossmen also one I don't recognize (they tell me it's 'Twin Peaks.') Then 'Salvation is Created' from Spirit. Crossmen: 'Here Comes the Flood' from the show. We are right in front of the soprano section and it is spectacular. My hands are over Nicholas's ears.

Spirit plays the finale to Mahler's Eighth. (This is my most silly part of the night – I say to the Spirit guard girl next to me 'That music was Mahler's vision of God. Did you know that?' to which she says, 'Yes.' Oh, I am such a dispenser of knowledge to the younger generation. Why can't I ever just shut up?)

Crossmen – 'Earth Song.' Holy smokes, that hornline is GOOD. Then the obligatory finales of the corps songs: 'Georgia,'and 'Russian Christmas.' and the love feast breaks up. Corps members are mingling and hugging and maybe saying goodbye. Who knows if they'll both be on the field Saturday night in Indy? This may be the last time some of them will ever see each other.

I find Christina from Spirit's guard and tell her the story about her mom's friend asking if she was the showgirl. She finds it very funny too (or maybe she was just being polite? I hope not). I wish her luck and congratulate her on her age out. Tell Crossmen guys I see to push through till the end. Tell a Blue Stars color guard girl that even though I am a Crossmen alum, I really enjoyed their show. We are among the last people left. Nicholas tells me he wants to make coming to this show an annual father-son tradition.

Wish I had taken more notes, but then this review would be twice as long. If anyone's still reading, I hope it was worth the time.

Edited August 6, 2012 by mfrontz

[DrumManTx]

Fantastic review! Very professional.

[Benspop]

Also one of the best descriptions of a DCI experience I've read (and not just because you said nice things about Blue Stars!). I really enjoyed reading this--thanks much

[barigirl78]

I turn into a drum corps lunatic as Crossmen enter the field. They don't disappoint me. The Crossmen groove is finally back. FINALLY. BACK. No offense meant to Crossmen of recent years. But they too have to be just hyping on this corps. Great sound from each section of the hornline. Baritones have some sah-WEET moments.

You miss a lot on the Fan Network. I see for thefirst time the wildcat prints on the flags and the rifles shooting down guardmembers (wild animals). I do not understand, however, the cutout people. Arethey you and me? Are they the faceless people of the planet? Not sure what theyadd to the show.

The figures have both a symbolic and practical purpose. Symbolically, they are meant to be carbon footprints.

Practically, there is guard equipment hidden behind them that is retrieved mid-show.

You also mentioned how the voiceover mentions "global cooling". There was a theory circulating among scientists that climate change would actually lead to cooler temperatures in Europe and the Northeast because the Gulf Stream that brings warm currents to Europe would shut down. I don't know if that's where the Crossmen got the voiceover.

The theory is discussed here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shutdown_of_thermohaline_circulation

[ChrisVT2003]

Awesome review, I liked your take on the shows!

[WPendergrass]

Troopers follow INT. If they just had fifteen more horns. They look and sound sharp. I don't think the theme of the show is really coming through.. I didn't have to know the theme to enjoy the Troopers,though. I could tell that their guard was really trying to sell the show, but the 'wow' sound was not there from the brass. The basics are there of a good corps. Nothing wrong with them, they're just not big enough.

Oh, how the times have changed when 72 horns isn't enough.....

[Will]

Great review!!

So cool that you took your son with you - I hope you honor his request in making the show an annual father/son outing (truly a great bonding opportunity not to be wasted).

Hope you review some more shows!!