Drums Along the Rockies: Denver Edition

[madalumni]

O.k. - after a couple of days to recover from the Festive Drum Corps weekend, here's my review of

the big Saturday show - Drums Along the Rockies - I was fortunate enough to aquire 3 tickets

through my freind and fellow Madison Alum, Michael Allen (Ogre), so I invited my friend Dustin and his son

Jacob - neither have seen live Drum Corps and they absolutely loved the show - especially Dustin.

We were also accompanied by my good friend Steve-O, who is a Sky Ryder Alum (81, 82)

After attending the awesome pre-show Big Brass Party,

we filed into our seats in the nose-bleed section - right on the 50 yard-line!

The dark clouds were advancing from the west (typical this summer) and had me worried that

we would have another rained out show. After 20 minutes of a few sprinkles, the storm front

took a hard left and went to the north, dampening the Boulder Hippies, and leaving us with perfect Drum Corps weather!

First up, the Seattle Cascades - First brass hit was solid. Low brass sounds a little thin from

this high up, but I expected that. Percussion is solid - Bass drums and Tenors are locked

in solid and set up a nice grove. I like the wide open curvalinear form that rotates into a diamond

shaped block right on the second major brass hit! Intervals are a problem here, mostly because there appears

to be 3 or 4 holes in the hornline. One of the toughest things is to hold those spaces at a consistant

interval while moving fast. Nice silks for the guard and they are pretty together on the equipment work.

Pit is creating some great atmosphere with the vibes and ride cymbals. The other night at Windsor, I incorrectly

stated the opener as "Pan's Labrynth" and the 2nd piece as "Into the Forrest" - this is important because those

tree branch/antlers ontop of the guard members' heads for the 2nd piece are depicting the character Pan.

Nice effect and the concept makes sense. I will say again that I would like to hear the Tubas more for their short

feature because right now, they are so far back field that it is hard to hear them. They seem to be overblowing

to compensate and it sounds forced. That being said, they are nailing the part from an attack/release standpoint.

The ballad is very nice and visually makes sense. The forms are more readable in this sections and the

intervals were not as much of a problem. Love the Mello soloist. Closer has alot of rhythm and energy, but hornline

is breathing hard at this point - a couple trumpets dropped out momentarily. Good swell at the end for

a strong finish. I enjoyed this show. the concept came across well and the melodic content was very memorable.

Next up, the Mandarins. It has been several years since I've seen this Corps and they've really grown

in numbers and maturity. Opening Fanfare was strong and well balanced. It is great to hear their take on Festive Overature. They sold it well musically and were able to do a surprising amount of pretty fast drill evolutions

without sacrificing the sound. The battery is clean and solid, but phased a couple times very breifly with

the horns and front line. Wow, nice silks. I just noticed that for each different solid color flag, there is a repeated

black swirl pattern that I later found out is part of their "Absolute" logo. Very effective. It must be nap time for

the guard in the Ballad, because they are pulling out Aero-Beds onto the field. The dance work they do on and around

them is well executed, but I am scratching my head as to how this ties into the theme...not horrible, but a bit odd.

The pace picks up in "Absolute Rhythm". Pit and Drums are playing some nice unison licks (seems to be a trend this year, but a good one). I like the line/block rotations - very clean. Guard is doing some great equipment work here, but

the timing isn't quite perfect. I'm sure they'll clean up from here on out. Hornline is getting winded in the closer,

but the overall ensemble sound is still solid - just lacks a little of the power that was there earlier...I wonder how much

of that is the thinner "Mile High" air. Strong finish and a great colorful show!

As the Troopers glided onto the field, the all too familiar thundering feet from the crowd bellowed through the Stadium.

This Corps gets almost as much support here as the home town Blue Knights. From my higher vantage point, the guard

costumes really popped tonight - the yellows and oranges were a nice accent to the Corps proper uniforms. I will coment

here that even though the Troop still has that classic look, I miss the grey pants. the dark blue helps accent marching,

but sacrifices a bit of the image. That said they look great from up top. Marching is strong and most sets locked in. There

is still some slight phasing of the feet here in the opener, but they are correcting fast. Hornline is really lush - love the

"pyramid sound" with the low brass giving the great support. Like I said at Windsor, I love the familiar WSS quotes

and the nods to 84 Garfield. I also caught the 96/99 Cadets reference this time. Nice. Drums are really solid. I also really

appreciate the dynamic contrast musically...there are some great highs and lows with good transitions in between.

And again, one of my favorite parts...the 84 Garfield quarter notes leading into the Company Front/Heart formation!

Very strong Closer. Very emotional. Strongest hornline so far tonight.

Several verbose people behind me yelled "GO RED TEAM" as the Colts entered the field. As the warm-up/opener began,

Dustin spotted the Albatross flag right away, and thought it was vey cool, so they are communicating that effectively. The wind sounds create the mood for the nautical theme and are blended

better tonight than Windsor. BAM! Great opening Brass chord again. I love that sound...full and powerful. There are some

nice, complex Bari/Mello runs and even though I said last night I would like to at least see body movements here, I do think it helps the effect that those sections stand still during complex runs. Some may look at

that as an easy way out, but I think it's smart design. Keep things moving, but not everyone has to be running their

butts off at every moment to produce a big effect. Drums are playing consistantly clean. The "S.O.S." section is really catchy! Love how the synth plays it first, then drums and brass are added. It has a frantic feel to it. Those multi-shade blue water flags going back field are awesome. That color really pops againts the Red of the uniform. To repeat what I said last night - I love that big open major chord that ends on the held out unison note. Powerful. The Colts have Yet another melodic show that was very memorable. I like this trend in the activity!

And now onto my Corps - the Madison Scouts. Their field entrance drew enthusiastic comments from Dustin..."Wow...these guys are SHARP!" The Crimson sashes and robes look very awesome under the lights. As they set up, I could

feel more energy from them...They really let lose in the opener. There was definitely more power than last night

or today in rehearsal. I was pleasantly surprised that the power and sound carried to the upper deck. I was worried

they would fall short on projection, but they really lit it up. they didn't have quite as much umph as the Colts

, but that will come. The double tonguing Mello/Sop/Bari runs were more together here. At times, the Corps

sounds a little top heavy, but that's probably because of my pet peeve - they put

the Tubas so far back field you can barely hear them. Come on designers - let me here that big bottom sound

that supports the mids/highs! If you look at all the corps above them that had the big, powerful sound, you notice

that the Tubas/Baris are in front, Mellos behind them, and Trumpets in the back. Anyway, off my soap box.

There is alot of high velocity drill, but it's dirty at this point. They need to clean, clean, and clean some more!

I'm sure they will...I heard a staff member say "It's time for the A##-kickings to begin". Love "Two Left-footed Mambo"

great humor being portrayed by the guard and some nice sound effects coming from the pit to carry that mood.

The Trio sounded great in the double-tonguing run with the high note. Ballad was really

nice tonight. The soft sections had great control. In the closer, the "Kryptonite" and battle scene came across better

tonight - the emotion was there and the guy who kills Relampago had a nice moment "slinking" away from

the scene of the crime. Closer was much stronger tonight - better energy. Drill is going to really be effective

once they clean it...it really moves. I wish though, that the final wedge would come forward for maybe 16 more counts

with more of that triumphant power chord. Otherwise - Great show Brothers. POW!

And now entering the field...INT. They look promising and are a refreshing break from the show so far....

I will continue with part 2 tomorrow.

Edited July 14, 2009 by madalumni

[arno0940]

Great review - thanks!

I agree with you about Madison. Once they clean up that dirty drill, scores will rise steadily.