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There are a lot of excellent programs this season. :satisfied: I think everyone I've seen has really made a serious effort to create something their performers can do well, is thoughtful, and also a lot of fun to watch and listen to.

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Next in the contest was Atlanta CV (17FE/4DM/24 Battery/48 Brass/24CG with their "Rhythmos" program.

Let's set the stage for this all.

From seeing CV in 2012, 13, and 14, they were striving to create a well-defined individual personality and brand for the corps, and that they were making a hard effort to find something that showed an intellectual bent to it.

I finally got to see the 2015 "Eye-Conic" program on video, and I realized while watching that Jair Klarfeld was giving CV exactly what they were searching for to reach that next level. Everything was wonderfully coordinated and meshed between the musical and visual elements.

Where would they go in 2016?

Dan Detwiler got a hold of me and told me to come see them rehearse before the contest.

Wow! A chance to learn, and to meet people in the corps? Absolutely!

I thought about my past experiences and how CV was at a point that we were with Westshore around 1982. I thought hard about the kinds of things that came together to help us break out that season, and CV has those elements, and more. Examples? Sure!

A voice unique to the corps. Jair Klarfeld's done this, and it's a wonderful voice. All of the top DCA corps have it.

The staff have a very respectful and professional relationship with one another and with the corps membership. The corps membership respects one another and the staff.

Every corps in DCA works hard. Everyone in DCA has bright and capable people on board. It's just that some have the right combination of personalities that interact with one another to separate them from everyone else. I've been part of some school staffs where this was the case, and we did very well... and some where we lacked this chemistry, and well, we didn't do very well.

I sensed a high level of respect and consideration from all involved. Staff could speak to one another about their concerns with various program/design issues and I knew they'd get together and solve the issues. It wasn't a case of "yeah, yeah, right, uh-huh..." and someone getting blown off. The members knew in many cases what the staff wanted before they said anything to them. They're on the same page and want to make things happen. They're very self-motivated to be excellent without getting prodded from the staff. A lot of positive things got done in not a lot of time within the rehearsal framework. It was evident the members retained a lot of items that had been covered earlier in the day, and the staff appreciated that. That's always a great fear when you're on staff with any organization. You want to cover a lot of ground, but you also want to make sure the members have internalized all the necessary information that's been thrown at them quickly.

I know, I know, some of the readers are thinking "This is what happens all of the time everywhere- doesn't it?" NO. If you've been part of an organization where this has always been the case, thank God every day that you had or have that positive an experience.

The different sections of the corps support and respect one another at CV.

This isn't always there in every Drum Corps, either. Sometimes, a corps can have an insanely dysfunctional relationship between the Guard, Percussion, and Brass- and even between the visual and musical staffs. I know about this. It's never good when it happens.

I was watching the Front Ensemble at CV rehearse. I was pretty knocked over by them. Well-drilled, confident, musical, thoughtful, a great team.

The Guard came over and were on a short break before full ensemble block. They sat down and watched them, cheered them on, and were deeply supportive.

I thought about my 6 seasons in corps. I have many close friends in the Percussion and Guard from those times, but I frankly can't remember if something like that ever happened at Westshore. I know if it had happened it would have meant a lot to me to know we had that level of respect from our corpsmates in a different section. Little gestures like that go a long way for trust and morale within a corps.

I've always thought CV had a really solid guard on the field and respected them for their strong and inspired performances. But what they did off the field for their corpsmates in that instance might be more powerful. They were also all dressed in red, white, and blue for the weekend, which was also one of those little things that keep everyone else in the corps uplifted and positive. They keep it fun for everyone. :satisfied:

Even before they got to the show, I knew CV had the pieces in place to be an elite corps. Their final runs were strong, smart, and inspired, and I knew they were gonna hit hard that evening.

The Bucs have their Battleship. Being a military history buff, a "CV" to me is a massive Aircraft Carrier.

300px-USS_Nimitz_%28CVN-68%29.jpg

So... I figured these guys were ready for a huge Alpha Strike at Ijamsville. :satisfied:

Let's get to the actual show, shall we?

The initial hit uses part of "Artistry in Rhythm", and the 8 Tubas lead off CV's Alpha Strike with a massive BOOM. These 8 guys are tough, have their acts together, a real veteran crew. You have to love 'em. :worthy:

The Trumpet features in Piazzola's "Libertango" are rock-hard. The lead off lady has a marvelous, fat sound that sets up the moment wonderfully and the rest of the trio caps off the segment brilliantly.

The brass ensemble is full, and has a bright sound- partly due to the System Blue beta horns, but primarily because everyone knows what they're doing. I got a quick try on a Euphonium and found them to be wonderfully light-weight, well balanced, slotting very well, easy to speak, and also capable of a wide range. I like 'em. If my wallet was fat enough.... :biggrin:

Don't sit there assuming they sound great just because of these instruments. They're talented and smart. I could give the horn line lengths of garden hose with funnels attached by duct tape, duct tape in the mouthpieces and they'd sound great. It's the brains behind that mouthpiece that makes it happen.

The guard was as always, quite good, inspired and energetic.

One of the real highlights of the show, and to me in DCA this season is CV's rendition of "Gabriel's Oboe". They have a young man on Euphonium who is just... wonderful. I then find out he's in 11th grade. :blink:

I.... felt like Morpheus when he realized Neo was The One in The Matrix. :laugh: He's a really squared away young gentleman, and I really think this might be the finest Bari Feature DCA's ever seen. An absolutely gorgeous sound. Another one of those moments of perfection I come to shows and seek out.

The percussion feature is incredibly thoughtful, with a tasty, subtle battery, very smart use of electronics, and some exquisite brass writing to frame the moment.

CV's percussion's getting great numbers without a lot of hoopla. Their membership's very capable determined, but not out there looking for people to toss babies at them. They just do a great job, nod, and go on. Very confident, skilled and quiet about themselves. If you see them, watch, listen and appreciate what they do.

In my notes at that moment, I wrote that indeed this IS a breakthrough program for CV. The heck with any placement, they're one of the elite units in DCA open- right amongst what would be the "presumptive top 6".

I'm very, very fond of the final show segment. When it clicked in rehearsal, I teared up, and I'm pretty jaded. It clicked in the evening performance, and got me again right in the heart. Dan Detwiler was on the podium, he was pushing it, totally relaxed and lost on the moment.. he seized the moment perfectly- and

magic happened.

The corps fed off Dan's wonderful and inspired conducting, Dan fed off of the way the corps was elevating themselves in turn... it was one of those wonderful moments you only see once in awhile, one I will always have with me. The crowd (except for Mabel, who was too shocked from all that excitement and intensity...) fed off CV and Dan, CV fed off of the crowd, the Baris and Euphs were pounding away and making beautiful LB noise.... the crowd lost it.... it was a great ending. :worthy:

Right now, I think CV and Fusion are closer than the final scores indicated. This won't settle until the finals scores are announced. My personal hunch is that they were more like within .4 of each other in ether direction. Both are wonderful, both have much to offer, and each have their own distinct personalities and strengths.

I type slow. I'm tired, I need a break before I get to C2. This all took over 90 minutes to do. :huh: It's real work- but compared to how hard the corps work, it ain't nuthin'. :worthy:

Edited by BigW
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I know, I know. Lazy weekend. The next two won't be so lazy, Nazareth and the Bucs' Classic- and the coming week will be intense at work. I think it;s just as well I got this in late. Kyle did a great job covering the Grand Prix, and I think you'll see some interesting and different perspectives on C2. And I think that's a good thing, because I was going to talk about how the take on this corps is so varied from individual to individual. It can be so extreme, going from "AIEEEE! Burn the Witch!" to "C2 is FULL OF WIN, WIN, WIN!"

I lie somewhere between the two, and so does Kyle. :satisfied:

C2 (17FE/26CG/20 Battery/54 Brass/3DM) is doing "Full Circle", consisting of Metheny's "Third Wind", Joni Mitchell's "Both Sides, now", and Metheny's "First Circle".

I know, many folks are out there thinking this is some warmed over and re-served on a paper plate1990's Crossmen program. No, it's not.

I think it's a positive move on the part of the C2 creative staff to try and find something that will set apart C2 from the DCI Team and also be more DCA-friendly, yet still have the earmarks of the Cadets.

The arrangements are very much in the Cadets style, with those mid-voice touches and sense of urgency at the right spots you expect of the brand, and I like 'em.

The pre-show leads to a really lovely shout, leading from "First Circle" into "Third Wind."

One thing on my checklist for this season's C2 was answered quickly in the performance. The needed to really push the bass section and give them more challenging musical responsibilities this season if they were going to try and create a show to take on the Bucs. It was one of the huge separators between the two corps last season. C2's brass was pretty decent last season and made a huge improvement over 2014, but it needed to be improved further, and when I heard the Low Brass in the opener as well as some of the Mello rips- I knew they're expecting the brass to pull their weight, and they're giving it a very honest effort to do so.

They're pushing hard- and the battery is as good as they've always been.

It was a real pleasure to see that they're going to let the horses out of the stable this season with the brass, and I think "Third Wind" is a really fun opener.

"Both Sides, Now" is a really gorgeous arrangement. There was some clutter and timing shimmer in the beginning- but this stuff will clean.

The end sequence with "First Circle" is also well arranged. Cadet-style voicings, some power... Bass Drums doing some nice work in the re-entry segment...

Here's where the corps really needs to tighten up. there was some pull, everyone kind of forced things at the end and it got nervous, and the mellos needed to blow the descending feature loose and out the bell- but this will be a very fine show ending when they get it locked down and it comes out energetic and not as forced.

The Guard didn't have their work contest-ready for the final 30 or so percent of the program, which was also a factor in the outcome.

The thing is, this will be a very enjoyable show when they get things lined up with the ensemble and the Guard squared (circled!?) away. Mabel liked it, it has a very friendly aspect to it at times. :satisfied:

As I said at the beginning, people seem either to want to know, "Is this show BAD" or "WILL IT WIN WIN WIN EVERYTHING IN SIGHT!????"

Can we wait and see how the next few weeks unfold with C2? :satisfied: The show has a lot of solid content and potential. Can we see how C2 negotiates the traffic that's ahead of them right now in the race over the next few contests first? Right now, they need to get ahead of CV and Fusion, and Fusion opened the gap on them at the Grand Prix. There are still a lot of laps to go in the race, and my thought is, for Lord's sake, let's give C2 some space to just go out and compete and see where it heads. Obviously, Fusion isn't sitting around and waiting for them to catch up- they'll have to earn it. We'll also have to see how things shake out in the Mid-West and South, and also how the Cabs relate to them. Enjoy the good shows, enjoy the competition, and let in unfold. :satisfied:

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Time for the Fistbumps!

There are no repeats in a season for any sections, them's the rules. :satisfied:

One for the White Sabres dancing Bari. Most of us can't march.... let alone dance. :satisfied:

The feature ensembles with the White Sabres. Much better this week.

CV's Tubas and battery. They do a lot that's not in your face that's real quality.

The C2 brass for taking another step forward. Keep it going!

Next stop- Nazareth. If you're looking for things to do before the contest, two things in town- One, the Martin guitar Factory, the museum's neat and if you can get a guided tour, it's great. I enjoyed it myself.

Rios Brazilian Steak House rocks.

http://riosbraziliansteakhousepa.com/

It will cost you some money... but it's all you can eat and pretty good. Plan on at least an hour or more to sit and enjoy it.

I look forward to this contest- the Cabs finally get a number and butt heads with the Bucs, C2, and Fusion. The T-Birds will be out for the first time, they've been working hard over the off-season. I'll also get a good look at the Hurcs and Sun. I'm curious to see how they all present on Saturday. See you there! :cool:

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Thank you, BigW, for the review! For all of the reviews. I want to add something not from the show. Several of us CV folks had the opportunity to stand in front of White Sabers during their "performance on the lawn" before the Catonville parade and I want to say what a pleasure it was! Their horn line is easily top 5 caliber. Hands down. Every single member was playing at 100%; no slackers in this line. They had a powerful sound that anyone would think would be coming from a line much, much larger. That's what playing in tune and with a full grasp of the basics will do for you. Best of luck this season from one very impressed CV mello member!

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Next stop- Nazareth. If you're looking for things to do before the contest, two things in town- One, the Martin guitar Factory, the museum's neat and if you can get a guided tour, it's great. I enjoyed it myself.

Rios Brazilian Steak House rocks.

http://riosbraziliansteakhousepa.com/

It will cost you some money... but it's all you can eat and pretty good. Plan on at least an hour or more to sit and enjoy it.

There's also that new Nabisco snack-food store in town:

Cheeses of Nazareth. :innocent:

I'm here all week, folks. :tongue:

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  • 3 weeks later...

Loved reading these reviews! I was at this show myself, and found them to be full of depth and representative of what my eyes saw and ears heard. I had Atlanta CV ahead of Fusion Core...felt like Fusion Core benefited from playing behind Carolina Gold, and that CV possibly had a disadvantage playing right behind Bucs. But that's nit-picking. Great show for how early in the year it was! Would love to see Caballeros, Minnesota Brass, etc. all in one line-up at the beginning of the year at a show like this, but I guess that's a pipe-dream. Again...thanks for the time and effort for the in-depth reviews of each corps!

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