shawn craig

I don't about 5 corps. But if Troopers made finals all 4 Corps still in existance from the original DCI top 12 would once again be in the top 12 SCV, Blue Stars, Cavaliers, Troopers

I think the OP was just making a play on words. Nothing more.

According to Treuman's Travels, Phantom changed a lot of drill for the opener. I don't think they've got to the closer yet. The next two days (rehearsal days, no shows) I imagine they will be making changes to the middle of the show.

I noticed her in a photo. Colts also have an especially short bass 1 this year.

Chairs were done in the 80's. Les Chatelaines 1983 Class A Champions!

Crown won all but 1 subcaption! GO CROWN!!!

I saw them second show out at Annapolis but had the same basic thoughts. Good show, talented group but missing something.

Thanks for the update. I'm interested in the changes/updates Phantom has after a week of rehearsal with only 2 shows.

Phantom is also marching 16 tubas

I don't have the time to do this right now, but once upon I time I looked up the top corps first score and final score and noted the difference. Most top corps improve by about 20-22 points per season. Phaontom ussually had the biggest jump of about 23-25 points per season. There are some exceptions for example 05 Cadets had a very low first score that season but ended up (tied with Cavaliers) for an all time hight score finals night. So at this early point in the season you can't count out any of the top corps, including Phantom. P.S. IF I have time Thursday maybe I'll redo some of that and post it.

GO PHANTOM!!!

Thanks for your review. I don't get the Glassmen theme either. I still enjoyed most of the show but the theme doesn't come across.

One of the BGSU chorale directors always said the best fortissimos come after the pianissimos.

Have you heard a professional symphony play Mahler? Have you heard a Wagner opera live? The sound of a good orchestra playing full out is exhilerating. It does't mean tone quality and musicianship are sacrificed. Actually being able to play out and do it well is just as important as playing soft. I'd rather hear a music group (drum corps, orchestra, any ensemble) willing to "go for it" and not be quite perfect than a boring well executed performance with little emotion and a narrow dynamic range.

I bought two 1X shirts recently at the same store. One fit well if not on the roomy side. Two days later I put on the other shirt and thought I'd gained 20 lbs. It was a bit snug. Loved this review. You definately get a different vibe from each souvie booth.

Actually that reviewer is a college music instructor and conductor. He's also on the board of a top ranked corps. His comments on various threads and critiques are most often some of the most well thought out and accurate as anyone's here on DCP.

Sorry but I do completely understand. They are covering the speakers for pretection or whatever during rehearsal and they are not covered during performance. I know when you cover a speaker the some of the sound is absorbed and it sounds different then when uncovered (same idea as muting instruments, no). My point is why at some point during rehearsal, especially a music ensemble rehearsal or a run through would they not uncover the speakers for a short time to get an accurate read on the balance? Isn't that what an ensemble rehearsal is for? I think the problem is THEY don't understand how having the speakers different from rehearsal to performance is causing balance issues.

I was responding to a poster who said they had the speakers covered during rehearsal and not in performance. That doesn't make sense to me. I understand that they don't get to rehearse in the performance venue. But corps manage to balance the brass and percussion at the rehearsal site so why wouldn't the same apply to electronics? As for it being early in the season wouldn't you balance things based on rehearsal and then after a few shows and hearing how things sound in a stadium make udjustments and not assume they need to crank them louder? OR If they cover them up to hear the horn and drum line better for cleaning, well if it's too loud for that maybe it's too loud for everything?

Maybe they should leave the blankets on for shows! But seriously, aren't reharsals to make sure EVERYTHING works and is balanced including amps and electronics? Aren't run throughs to be just like a PERFORMANCE? So why would they have the speakers one way for rehearsal and another for performance?

All of 2004 and part of 05. In 05 the perc scores went immediately up when they started using the amps.

It's deffinately prerecorded and it sounds terrible. Bad choice of sound and WAY too loud. Because it's not done in rhythm (like it is in the original score and it should be) it skirts the "music" rule. If they had used a slide whistle or some other kind of real whistle in time with the music it would be a LOT better IMO.

Have not bought anything from Cadets, BD, Bluecoats and several others with heavey vocal use in several years and won't any time soon (and those voting for them). I do and will continue to make Phantom one of my main souvie booth visits.

Outside of the synth issues I did enjoy Glaassmen's show. I don't care that much about theme's to a certain extent. But to score well you have to have a theme and my only comment was outside of the beginning of the show I didn't really get a sense of the theme that much. Still a mostly enjoyable show. I hope they turn down the volume of the synths and get rid of it completely in that one place everyone's talked about.

In Annapolis I was in the top row of the deck at about the 40. The more tasteful amped/electric sounds gennerally don't reach that high but the bad and over amped stuff does. Therefore, I can't comment as much on the possitives. Colts: The wave sounds were ok, but if I heard them well up there they may be to loud down lower? I thought the sea bouey bells (what ever they're suppose to be) would have sounded better with a real one at each end of the pit. Didn't hear much else from them up high. Boston: Didn't really notice much at all. Glassmen: Not so good. As others have said they need to eliminate that one bad moment from the synths in the middle of the show. Crown: Didn't really notice much at all. Cadets: Didn't like the beginning at all. WAY to loud. Didn't have the rhythm of the original score. Piano was ok, I just don't like electric piano sounds that well, even the best ones still don't sound right to me. The entire front ensemble was WAY to loud. It made all the instruments sound electric and fake. To me that volume simply negates all the great work and musicality the performers and doing.

Oh please. Myself and many others are very capable musicians with trained ears. We hear what we hear and a lot of what was heard this weekend in regards to electronics was not up to the standards of the world class drum and horn lines these "toys" were used with. Bad is bad. What troubles me and many others is there is a lot of talent in these groups and a lot of excellent playing that is not being enhanced by electronics but rather the opposite; their hard work is being diminished by poor implementation and use of electronics.