Readng PA

[Jeff Ream]

These notes are from what I took last night for the upcoming HE Said She said article in DCW. some of these notes will make it there, and none of hers will make it here...so if you want the full story, get the new online Drum Corps World.

The shows, themes etc have all been covered many times, and as this was my first read on any DCA corps live from a good vantage point ( saw C2 from the side in Allentown), I may come off a touch harsh and/or judgmental. I blame the Olympics for rubbing off. seats top row in front of the judges, 50 yard line. thanks AMy!

Shenandoah Sound......in many ways, a step above previous years, but still some flaws. Really tough to tell a story with just 4 guard, and at times I got lost trying to keep up with the story arc. I did appreciate the New orelans funeral dirge preshow, but it did seem to take a while....was a little uncertain about the scatter once the show started while the soloist did his thing....seemed to "scripted" for a scatter. Once in place, the backfield stuff came across well, but once they turned around the battery was overpowering the brass. this trend continued throughout the show, and I think staging is a big reason....when the battery is almost as big as the brass line, putting them side by side can cause issues, and it did. I did really enjoy the "storm cloud" flags, but the perc break had some approach issues that affected clarity. I thought the house being blown down worked well, and the jam session did work well.

The corps has made progress. Continued growth both in bodies and in quality can only make it better. it's just that it seems the rest of Class A raised their game too.

White Sabers...While the indoor world has kind of killed any enjoyment of zombie/people coming back from the dead shows, this one did hold my attention. My biggest peeve was a very active bass book was filled with dropped notes and very choppy interpretation on the way too many runs they were given. The corps did a good job with character development leading into the opening statement which sounded powerful for their size. At times the brass sounded top heavy, but it was humid. I appreciated the body in the 2nd tune, but at times it did affect the music. Moondance came off well, but in the drum break, you couldn't really see the battery they were so tight to the pit. In fact the corps as a whole seemed to be staged very tightly due to the headstones. Ballad was nice, and the closer built nicely until the brass started getting fatigued. Do like the down ending as everyone goesback to the grave.

one of the best efforts ever. I think the biggest issues are how compact the drill is, and the percussion book and approach is still way too aggressive.

Carolina Gold...very cool opening visual moment as the corps is in 2's with the member in the back "shadowing" the member in front while the sop starts us off. Very well done percussion break sets up Hall of MOuntain King, and some really cool effects in the pit to punctuate the isolated attacks. Weapons section very strong and at times do steal the show. really loved the sabre stuff as the ballad built into the hit, great audio/visual coordination, but when the battery comes in, they get too loud too fast and it hurts the impact from truly going where it could. Percussion break againw as well done, but just standing still until close to the end...has to hurt visual numbers as well as diminish credit for simultaneous responsibility. When the corps got their hold, lots of body, but it needs to be cleaned, and then when moving again, some brass fatigue was evident.

Where I thought they had a moment but didn't deliver is when the guard changes uniforms to come out of the shadows...right there where all can see, and because of how it was layered, took way too long to happen, so when they did arrive at the hit and integrated into the drill, you saw it coming for way too many phrases.

Can they take Govies? Dunno. total approach change for Gold, and while it may be too late to address design issues, cleanliness will win.

Fusion Core.....####! love the corps block praying under Ave Maria, and then they transition into the Godfather theme and holy ####### power!! My biggest complaint about Fusion during the A Class years was they were too controlled....not now! Gangsta Jazz worked wel, especially the pit vamping...corps captures the feel well. It did seem at one spot their was some brass balance issues within the voices that muddied up the sound as they moved across the field. Corps did a good job with the role playing during the pit feature, but a week before finals seeing cymbals move at a halt is a NO-NO!!! ( end of ballad) Loved the musical build into nessum Dorma, but visually it kind of hung there...maybe more to come. Loved the mello in Scootin....perc had some issues when the tempo jumped at the end, and loved the "Don" getting his. A little bit of brass fatigue came thru at the end of the Godfather re-statement, but the corps recovered and finished strong.

If they can fix some percussion performance issues, and tighten up some minor details, they could be the corps that sets the numbers up for the rest of the night in Open Class next week. Easily their best effort ever.

Cabs......We've all heard "oh it's cabs, same ole ####....."....well not anymore. This show is such a breath of fresh air. It's still the Cabs, but it's not "pick a tune we did 8 years ago and build a show around it" we have seen in the past. Loved the layering in of the voices after the Bolero tease and Ponzo backfield moment, and the umbrealls were attention getting with the guard. The big rotating box hit was well done, and man, i kept having my eyes drawn to the guard! pit does a really nice job all over the show, but the battery book at times may be a touch too aggressive...maybe it's the approach. It's a lot better than I was led to believe, and their groove under Jesu worked really well for a totally fresh approach on the piece. Bari soloist is a treat in the ballad, and the percussion arrived at the hit spot on dynamically. Loved the claps/tambourines under the sops on mutes, and the re-introduction of Bolero worked well. it seemed the ending was really chugging along, but the last tag seemed to lay flat. I'm told lower it came across well, so maybe it was the venue.

Can they catch Bucs and MBI? Who knows. Lots of cleaning to do, but this show was so enjoyable I don't care where it places.....i'll watch and listen many, many times.

Bucs.....They could have folded after last year. Could have...and didn't. I will say this.....while DCA and DCI have corps in black and blue that do uniform changes, the Bucs approach is far superior to BD....more on that later. Low brass sounded sweet and then more voice layered in until the "Holy ####" hit happened...and #### that was powerful. Oh yeah, loved the blue vs. yellow flags in the build to the hit. pit/tenor feature outstanding...scored perfectly. And man as the chord in Warm Colors grows to the end, the metric modulation from the battery fit in there like a glove. Another great tenor break as well as a pit feature followed, all well done....loved the ballad flags...the shadow effect fit the themeand the guard totally distracted me from my always favoite Bucs pit ballad approach. When the drum break kicked in the brass totally left the sighlines to change, and it was immediately noticed thet the battery was in all black, and the percussion and guard covered the field well. When the brass came back out in black for 1812, you knew this was going to be fun, and it was...loved the colorful wongas that made a brief appearance during the company front push...would love to see them appear again at the end.....loved the low brass moment with the battery groove, and it just builds to end end wonderfully and with power.

Can they reclaim their throne? Time will tell as I haven't seen MBI Live yet. the pieces of the puzzle are there....just fine tuning to be done now.

Bucs Alumni.....set up in an arc playing Pirates of the Caribbean, Tony Yaklich conducted An Affair to Remember, en Sueno, a drum break and Beyond The Sea entertained the partisan crowd.

Love this venue even if parking is a pain. Good to see many familiar faces in the stands, in the judges box, in the staff area and on the field. No matter what stadium the show is at, Amy and crew deliver the goods.

[Jimbalaya]

thanks for the review Jeff and it was good to see you and your bride Saturday nite....hope I didn't distract you while you looked right and couldn't see over my head, but you know what its like......so just when do we get to meet the baby?????

Jim

These notes are from what I took last night for the upcoming HE Said She said article in DCW. some of these notes will make it there, and none of hers will make it here...so if you want the full story, get the new online Drum Corps World.

The shows, themes etc have all been covered many times, and as this was my first read on any DCA corps live from a good vantage point ( saw C2 from the side in Allentown), I may come off a touch harsh and/or judgmental. I blame the Olympics for rubbing off. seats top row in front of the judges, 50 yard line. thanks AMy!

Shenandoah Sound......in many ways, a step above previous years, but still some flaws. Really tough to tell a story with just 4 guard, and at times I got lost trying to keep up with the story arc. I did appreciate the New orelans funeral dirge preshow, but it did seem to take a while....was a little uncertain about the scatter once the show started while the soloist did his thing....seemed to "scripted" for a scatter. Once in place, the backfield stuff came across well, but once they turned around the battery was overpowering the brass. this trend continued throughout the show, and I think staging is a big reason....when the battery is almost as big as the brass line, putting them side by side can cause issues, and it did. I did really enjoy the "storm cloud" flags, but the perc break had some approach issues that affected clarity. I thought the house being blown down worked well, and the jam session did work well.

The corps has made progress. Continued growth both in bodies and in quality can only make it better. it's just that it seems the rest of Class A raised their game too.

White Sabers...While the indoor world has kind of killed any enjoyment of zombie/people coming back from the dead shows, this one did hold my attention. My biggest peeve was a very active bass book was filled with dropped notes and very choppy interpretation on the way too many runs they were given. The corps did a good job with character development leading into the opening statement which sounded powerful for their size. At times the brass sounded top heavy, but it was humid. I appreciated the body in the 2nd tune, but at times it did affect the music. Moondance came off well, but in the drum break, you couldn't really see the battery they were so tight to the pit. In fact the corps as a whole seemed to be staged very tightly due to the headstones. Ballad was nice, and the closer built nicely until the brass started getting fatigued. Do like the down ending as everyone goesback to the grave.

one of the best efforts ever. I think the biggest issues are how compact the drill is, and the percussion book and approach is still way too aggressive.

Carolina Gold...very cool opening visual moment as the corps is in 2's with the member in the back "shadowing" the member in front while the sop starts us off. Very well done percussion break sets up Hall of MOuntain King, and some really cool effects in the pit to punctuate the isolated attacks. Weapons section very strong and at times do steal the show. really loved the sabre stuff as the ballad built into the hit, great audio/visual coordination, but when the battery comes in, they get too loud too fast and it hurts the impact from truly going where it could. Percussion break againw as well done, but just standing still until close to the end...has to hurt visual numbers as well as diminish credit for simultaneous responsibility. When the corps got their hold, lots of body, but it needs to be cleaned, and then when moving again, some brass fatigue was evident.

Where I thought they had a moment but didn't deliver is when the guard changes uniforms to come out of the shadows...right there where all can see, and because of how it was layered, took way too long to happen, so when they did arrive at the hit and integrated into the drill, you saw it coming for way too many phrases.

Can they take Govies? Dunno. total approach change for Gold, and while it may be too late to address design issues, cleanliness will win.

Fusion Core.....####! love the corps block praying under Ave Maria, and then they transition into the Godfather theme and holy ####### power!! My biggest complaint about Fusion during the A Class years was they were too controlled....not now! Gangsta Jazz worked wel, especially the pit vamping...corps captures the feel well. It did seem at one spot their was some brass balance issues within the voices that muddied up the sound as they moved across the field. Corps did a good job with the role playing during the pit feature, but a week before finals seeing cymbals move at a halt is a NO-NO!!! ( end of ballad) Loved the musical build into nessum Dorma, but visually it kind of hung there...maybe more to come. Loved the mello in Scootin....perc had some issues when the tempo jumped at the end, and loved the "Don" getting his. A little bit of brass fatigue came thru at the end of the Godfather re-statement, but the corps recovered and finished strong.

If they can fix some percussion performance issues, and tighten up some minor details, they could be the corps that sets the numbers up for the rest of the night in Open Class next week. Easily their best effort ever.

Cabs......We've all heard "oh it's cabs, same ole ####....."....well not anymore. This show is such a breath of fresh air. It's still the Cabs, but it's not "pick a tune we did 8 years ago and build a show around it" we have seen in the past. Loved the layering in of the voices after the Bolero tease and Ponzo backfield moment, and the umbrealls were attention getting with the guard. The big rotating box hit was well done, and man, i kept having my eyes drawn to the guard! pit does a really nice job all over the show, but the battery book at times may be a touch too aggressive...maybe it's the approach. It's a lot better than I was led to believe, and their groove under Jesu worked really well for a totally fresh approach on the piece. Bari soloist is a treat in the ballad, and the percussion arrived at the hit spot on dynamically. Loved the claps/tambourines under the sops on mutes, and the re-introduction of Bolero worked well. it seemed the ending was really chugging along, but the last tag seemed to lay flat. I'm told lower it came across well, so maybe it was the venue.

Can they catch Bucs and MBI? Who knows. Lots of cleaning to do, but this show was so enjoyable I don't care where it places.....i'll watch and listen many, many times.

Bucs.....They could have folded after last year. Could have...and didn't. I will say this.....while DCA and DCI have corps in black and blue that do uniform changes, the Bucs approach is far superior to BD....more on that later. Low brass sounded sweet and then more voice layered in until the "Holy ####" hit happened...and #### that was powerful. Oh yeah, loved the blue vs. yellow flags in the build to the hit. pit/tenor feature outstanding...scored perfectly. And man as the chord in Warm Colors grows to the end, the metric modulation from the battery fit in there like a glove. Another great tenor break as well as a pit feature followed, all well done....loved the ballad flags...the shadow effect fit the themeand the guard totally distracted me from my always favoite Bucs pit ballad approach. When the drum break kicked in the brass totally left the sighlines to change, and it was immediately noticed thet the battery was in all black, and the percussion and guard covered the field well. When the brass came back out in black for 1812, you knew this was going to be fun, and it was...loved the colorful wongas that made a brief appearance during the company front push...would love to see them appear again at the end.....loved the low brass moment with the battery groove, and it just builds to end end wonderfully and with power.

Can they reclaim their throne? Time will tell as I haven't seen MBI Live yet. the pieces of the puzzle are there....just fine tuning to be done now.

Bucs Alumni.....set up in an arc playing Pirates of the Caribbean, Tony Yaklich conducted An Affair to Remember, en Sueno, a drum break and Beyond The Sea entertained the partisan crowd.

Love this venue even if parking is a pain. Good to see many familiar faces in the stands, in the judges box, in the staff area and on the field. No matter what stadium the show is at, Amy and crew deliver the goods.

[Donny Drum Corps]

FTR...The White Sabers were missing bass #1 who also was the caption head last year and a percussion section leader. The bass line (and overall music ensemble) had some issues because of it, and we are hoping for that NOT to occur next week. The corps goal of the Sunday show looks achievable.

Didnt see much of Gold...Cabs were wonderful except the brass tuning really bothered me.

Bucs were....OMG. MBI will have to be awfully good to top that.

Cossetti was short as usual. Bill Powers was there and I said..."Hello Cocko"!

DA

[Jeff Ream]

thanks for the review Jeff and it was good to see you and your bride Saturday nite....hope I didn't distract you while you looked right and couldn't see over my head, but you know what its like......so just when do we get to meet the baby?????

Jim

she will be at Big Sounds next year!

[Jeff Ream]

FTR...The White Sabers were missing bass #1 who also was the caption head last year and a percussion section leader. The bass line (and overall music ensemble) had some issues because of it, and we are hoping for that NOT to occur next week. The corps goal of the Sunday show looks achievable.

Didnt see much of Gold...Cabs were wonderful except the brass tuning really bothered me.

Bucs were....OMG. MBI will have to be awfully good to top that.

Cossetti was short as usual. Bill Powers was there and I said..."Hello Cocko"!

DA

that explains a lot. I wasn't sure because I didn't really see any spacing that made me think someone was out.

[Fran Haring]

Terrific review as usual, Jeff!!!

[Jeff Ream]

thanks!

[Jimbalaya]

just for that I'll stand next to you with Frank on Thursday and we'll make a Joe sammich

FTR...The White Sabers were missing bass #1 who also was the caption head last year and a percussion section leader. The bass line (and overall music ensemble) had some issues because of it, and we are hoping for that NOT to occur next week. The corps goal of the Sunday show looks achievable.

Didnt see much of Gold...Cabs were wonderful except the brass tuning really bothered me.

Bucs were....OMG. MBI will have to be awfully good to top that.

Cossetti was short as usual. Bill Powers was there and I said..."Hello Cocko"!

DA

[Jimbalaya]

LOLOLOL......Hello Cocko.........

[amysnook]

These notes are from what I took last night for the upcoming HE Said She said article in DCW. some of these notes will make it there, and none of hers will make it here...so if you want the full story, get the new online Drum Corps World.

The shows, themes etc have all been covered many times, and as this was my first read on any DCA corps live from a good vantage point ( saw C2 from the side in Allentown), I may come off a touch harsh and/or judgmental. I blame the Olympics for rubbing off. seats top row in front of the judges, 50 yard line. thanks AMy!

You're welcome, Jeff! As you have learned, the earlier you send in your ticket order,the better your seats. thank you for attending. I look forward to seeing all three Reams next year.