Drums Corps in the Village

[N.E. Brigand]

Unfortunately, I’ve been traveling or working every day since this show, so my comments are now more than a week late, but:

I head up to Kalamazoo -–a little more than a four-hour drive-– every May for a conference, but until last Saturday, I've never gone the extra 15 minutes west to the small town of Paw Paw. Unfortunately, I was cutting it close on time, and didn't have a chance to see much of the town, whose main street looked to have some charm.

Falan Field is at the middle school, but it's the high school's stadium ("Home of the Redskins"). I'd guess the home stands seat fewer than 1000; these were probably more than two-thirds full (but evenly distributed across the entire side – seating was general admission) by intermission. The seating faces east, so the sun (which didn't set until near the end of this show, whose announced start time was 6 p.m.) wasn't in the audience's face. Some of the practice fields are right behind the back stands, so one could watch color guards of later corps warming up. Plus the occasional jogger or dog walker. Drum lines of later corps were also sometimes audible, off to the left.

Forte was listed in the program, but of course absent, so the show started about 10 minutes late. The national anthem was played by the Legends horn line accompanied by the Legends All-Star Band.

What follows are not so much reviews as collected observations.

Blue Saints [9th 54.00]

It's a ten-hour drive (542 miles) from Sudbury, Ontario to Paw Paw, the closest show to home all season for the Blue Saints! This small group appears to have a great many young members, including a sort of "Little Geoffrey" character type who really is little. Late in the show she drops the cloak of her secrecy, revealing a shiny-fronted top. Two members stand in the pit facing the field but don't play; does anyone know why? A clock-like drill move was hard to make out in this low stadium. After one number, the corps pretends to nod off, to be awakened by bird call. At the end, I noticed the drum major has to climb down the podium via a separate ladder, rather than something permanently affixed.

Colt Cadets [7th 68.90]

Many people here have seen this show (more than once, I think) on the Fan Network, and I don’t have much to add to earlier comments. This is a larger group with a mildly-enjoyable show which begins with a group of scientists (some of whom pretended to more ready than others) bringing to life five "monsters" on slabs who then, in eye-catching, brightly-colored full bodysuits (suggestions of Suncoast ’88), serve as the corps’ cymbalists. The purple monster has some writing across its posterior that I couldn't make out -– and distracting as that was, I thought it would be creepy to look too closely or too long. I think the early vocal, “They’re alive!”, was a sample, which could every bit as effective had they done it live.

Les Stentors [8th 59.05]

The evening’s program indicated that neither staff information nor the 2012 repertoire was available at press time. (And I don't understand French, but Les Stentors' website appears not to have been updated with their show information.) However, the show announcer, who went to great pains to pronounce the names of the corps and their drum major correctly, gave their title as "The Sixties". All of the tunes were at least vaguely familiar to me. One was definitely "Wipeout" (although that's not what the corps shouted as the song began -– or if they did, it was with a French pronunciation) and another may have been "Da Doo Ron Ron". Pink rifles and polka dot dresses. Orange drums in the pit for “Wipeout”. The show felt longer than most others. And there’s a tag ending that surprised the audience. Finally, they had some trouble hitching up their tympani trailer as they were loading out.

Genesis [5th 76.75]

Genesis opens with a terribly hokey, amplified, and modulated bass voice intoning a rather complex dystopian science fiction plot that is of absolutely no value to the show: most of the corps represents a totalitarian thought-control state while the guard (in uniforms vaguely suggestive of some Native American costumes) represents the free-thinking rebellion. All that we need to know of this nonsense is already evident in the staging. The fights between heroes and villains are surprisingly physical at times, and the conclusion is admittedly surprising! (I wonder if a change –or sequel– will be forthcoming.) This group was by far the worst offender in terms of amplification. Frequently more sound was coming from the speakers than from the corps – and that's a pity because this is a good-sized and fairly polished group. It can't have helped that the sound engineer (on the track like all of them this evening) was actually closer to the field than the speakers. One of their songs is an Adele tune, and pretty nice.

At intermission, I noticed that about ten cars were parked along the verge of the road behind the home stands fence, with people sitting on the hoods or in lawn chairs to watch the show for free. Oregon Crusaders, Colt Cadets, and Legends had souvenir booths. As a huge Gordon Lightfoot fan, I wanted to buy Legends' 2012 shirt, but they only had one left, and not in my size. The food concession stand was understaffed, but not as badly as those at Allentown can be (especially in 2010).

Spartans [4th 82.45]

The Spartans have no amplification, which is something I appreciate. That said, this good-sized group, while clearly stronger than anyone before them, weren't terribly memorable for me. One thing that hurt their show, I thought, was the staff member sitting a couple rows behind (near the top on the right side 40-yard line) who insisted on applauding, usually by himself, at every half-achieved moment in the show. If he hoped to spur the rest of the audience to join him, he seemed to be having the opposite effect –- no one likes to be prodded into enthusiasm. If he was genuinely moved, he needs to step back for perspective. I work in theatre, where an occasional mantra is "You see how far the show has come, but the audience sees how far it has to go." Still, they seemed solidly in fourth place. The repertoire, by the way, is The Firebird (including passages not used in BK's show) with a bit of Rite of Spring. One guard member seemed particularly strong with the sabre. And there was a nice moment when four brass were featured standing on blocks in the pit.

Vanguard Cadets [2nd 85.05]

What is the proper name of this corps? Are they the Santa Clara Vanguard Cadets (as Brandt Crocker announced them at Stanford) or just Vanguard Cadets (as listed and announced at Paw Paw)? Either way, they came to play! I've seen comments, from those who know the corps, that this performance was flat. If that's true, Oregon better look out! Since the Stanford show, which is all I've seen, the corps has added a lot (and I don't mean just drill for the closer). People sitting behind me commented that the uniforms have a Roman look, which makes perfect sense for the themes. They are, by the way, white pants with a black top and a purple sash -– but that changes. There are large black screens at the back of the field that are used for staging. The program is evocative of 1980s SCV. This is a story show, and much better done than Genesis. Actually, there is much in common thematically with that show, and believe it or not, with Phantom Regiment! The prisoner's beheading is no more convincing than Regiment's, though. The brief preshow has sampled party chatter sound meant to suggest a Roman festival. There was too much bass synthesizer during "Great Gate at Kiev". The climax is otherwise very effective -– especially the costume effect. Someone in the audience tried the "Vanguard" yell near the end, but it doesn't fit.

Oregon Crusaders [1st 87.15]

At this point, there's little to be said that hasn't come up in this thread by supersop. The PVC props (cube and pyramid) initially brought to mind the house from Blue Devils’ show last year. One of their drum majors has a cool name: Happiness Yi. The opening narration, delivered through the p.a. system, is of no use whatsoever and should be cut: the show title and the show itself are more than sufficient to convey the content. I wish the trumpet in the cube at left wasn't miked. One guard member's orange panel didn't get uncovered. I'd swear the poles that line the backfield were white when they were being set up -– how was that green color later achieved?

All but two corps this evening exited the field to the right (side 2) then passed along the home track for fan appreciation (heralded by the show announcer), and usually with a cadence. The exceptions were VC and OC -– a missed opportunity for them both.

Blue Devils B [3rd 83.90]

The long-ponytailed sound engineer very much looked the part of roadie! But I'm not sure about his hearing. A fair portion of the amplified / synthesized sound was distorted. (And if that's intentional, it's distracting.) It’s possible that this show is more difficult than Oregon’s (one late drill move in particular stood out) but is not as well performed, and overall the show just wasn’t interesting for me. I was pleasantly surprised when they came in third, because that’s where I would have put them.

Legends [6th 75.70]

Legends added screens along the front sideline that display a map showing the route of the Edmund Fitzgerald on its final, fatal journey. The panels on the left and right are the same: it would have been neat if one of them read "Gitche Gumme" rather than "Lake Superior". I noticed that Legends appear to be using that new pit instrument, the aluphone. Sound effects, including waves at the beginning, were provided courtesy of an Apple laptop (the logo is clearly visible from the stands). The drum major, Jenna Wojdula, wears glasses when she conducts but only dons them after she salutes. Like the drum majors of Phantom Regiment and Madison Scouts, she uses a baton. The speakers are blessedly small; the sound engineer is actually under the DM podium. I'd prefer a real fog horn to the synthesized one they used, and I'm not sure if the sound effect of rending metal is a step too far toward realism. (The flag or kite that flies over the corps to suggest a ship overcome by a wave is just the right touch.) The corps sounds very strong for their size –-although there were some breathing problems during a late soft passage-– and at times they march quite fast. And the ship's bell, that rings throughout the final two songs, is a masterful touch; I hope I'm not being ridiculous in suggesting that it suggests the effect of the chime in Arvo Pärt's great Cantus in Memory of Benjamin Britten. (Interestingly, Legends' repertoire includes a piece by Britten himself.) But does it ring 29 times? ("The church bell chimed 'til it rang 29 times for each man on the Edmund Fitzgerald.”) I lost count at Paw Paw and only hear 19 rings on the FN Minneapolis video.

Before the encore, Legends' director, Ibe Sodawalla (another fun name!) noted that the corps had been the beneficiary of a Chase grant and that there was a challenge grant (through August) about which more can be learned on their website. He then introduced the eight Legends age-outs, including twin brothers.

The encore was "Simple Gifts", performed jointly by the horn lines of Blue Devils B and Legends, conducted by the Legends DM. This was very nice, but much too brief: less than two minutes long, while it took about five minutes for the hornline to set up in their arc!

When the scores were announced, Legends and Oregon Crusaders got the loudest response. As I mentioned earlier, I'd have put Vanguard Cadets closer to OC, and Legends above Genesis.

I really enjoyed this show, so much that I bought a ticket for Open Class finals tomorrow, and scheduled a half-day off work to get to Michigan City on time. I’m really looking forward to it!