grimmo

As the ever-shorter season ramps up here’s a collection of thoughts more focused on design side factors. First up, a few general comments… · With that shorter season it seems like corps present their shows at season openers and wait for that first batch of judges scores in a similar way to how the producers of a new theater production must feel prior to those opening night reviews. After several weeks of move-in rehearsals there’s too much time invested to make wholesale changes, and the season is now too concise to allow for much in the way of 2nd half surges. Corps know that these days they must start strong and with momentum! · We seem to have now moved into the ‘matured’ phase of prop usage, where there’s a dwindling of new prop-usage ideas and arguably some shows that could be just as effective without any props. I wonder how long it will be until that circle completes? Do staffs now seem props as a mandatory element where they won’t be able to tick all the required evaluation boxes without them? We can only speculate! · If we’ve moved past peak-prop then we may be in the age of peak-‘dance-inspire-movements’? (for lack of a better term!) The ongoing quest of designers looking to stuff their programs with as much demand and variety that can be achieved has now manifested itself fully in utilizing dance and movement for the musicians more than ever before. For many years in brass and drums it required mastering only the occasional bend or lean to supplement uber-important marching skills. Now members need many more movement skills in their toolboxes… and youngsters today will see all this movement as a completely natural and organic part of a drum corps show. Older fans are maybe less enthused in some quarters! In future, through luck or targeted recruiting, we might witness a small brass ensemble all with accomplished ballet skills, or maybe a tenor section comprised of champion break dancers, but in 2023 we seem to be close to the apex of what is achievable with large groups of young people that, in the main, have not had formal dance training. IMO the pervasion of non-marching movement does come with some trade-offs. More on that later… Colts After a great 2022, could the Colts follow-up it up in 2023. The signs are promising. This is a fun and accessible show that still has a lot of meat for the performers to get to grips with. The Where the Heart is concept is brought up with some audio samples that can be filed under simple but effective. Minuano is currently the standout portion of the show. I’d say it could be the best rendition ever of a Metheny chart in DCI? The use of instrumentation techniques and electronics really bring the Metheny vibe to life particularly in the quieter sections. My only criticism is that it might benefit from some further editing. Towards the end the piece builds nicely through the audio and visual and looks set to power through to a conclusion only to drop the intensity down again with a percussion interlude and the intensity doesn’t quite get back there again. Across the show red costuming off the musicians is offset with a contrasting but complimentary colur pallet in the silks and some challenging marching and playing with a non-stop feel to this show. After returning to finals last year Colts will be wondering how high they can climb this year. Troopers For Troopers, the obvious place to start is with the prop, which, linked to the concept is the epitome of simple but effective. While moving east to west across the field , the premise of capturing the sun is a recurring feature throughout the show. Could this make Troopers too much of a one-trick pony? Potentially yes, but the visual gimmick sits astride a corps that have been given music and visual packages that are a step up from 2022 (which itself was great), and the corps generally moves and plays well. The corps starts around the perimeter of the field and good field coverage and constant motion is a feature. Later, a small detail is where the horns drop to their knees then step out of that position all while playing…it’s definitely a move for the young! This is a show that is easily identifiable as a troopers show, as are the costumes. It’s a show I look forward to seeing develop across the season. The corps has a lot to clean and a lot of potential with it. Mandarins The Sinnerman show is refreshingly different to the rest of the field. I don’t really like it but I wonder if that is the point? The religious smocks worn by the brass in the opener are horrendous from a marching silhouette perspective and later the Smile piece is ambiguous in mood and purpose. But the performers are working well to sell the package and I think…it works. The whole show fosters a sense of off kilter elements from the combination of costumes to the matching of visual and audio. Even the disrobing is chaotic, borrowing from the BD 22 approach of remove and throw! The contrast of the red and white costumed performers allows for some neat Angels and Demons style effects. Later, the revolving props bring memories of Duran Duran’s Wild Boys music video! The ending is rather stationary and lacking in excitement to match the music but will surely be enhanced as the season progresses. Blue Stars In Absinthia is another concept realization that is uniquely Blue Stars in its presentation. At it’s simplest the intoxication from Absinth is represented through the infiltration of the color green across the field. It provides a simple but easy to follow progression to the show. However, it is also an effect with diminishing returns, so I wonder if there is scope to keep surprising the audience with how those uniform changes are revealed. The sugar cube props are simple but work well in conjunction with the spoon slides, and to a less extent, the straws. The sugar cubes as well as screening the costume changes also offer some significant height for performers, and it allows for some interesting visual collages. This corps has a knack for using and moving props well and this year is no different. I like this show and it seems like all the constituent parts are in place to give the performers a vehicle to max out. I expect GE will be a strength for them. This year again there are some high-quality soloists and the brass have a nice, full, ensemble sound, even if the music itself is not as memorable as some of the corps around them. There seems to be more quality in the middle of the pack this year than preceding years that I can think off. Blue Stars can match last year’s placement no doubt! Cavaliers I was keen to see what the returning staff names would bring to the table in this anniversary year. And the show gets off to an intriguing start. There are some nice classic-Cavalier inspired visual moments in the opener and a larger colur guard than last year helps with the overall look. Sticking with the visual, there are clearly some early season readability options due to execution but also some construction issues. In fact as the show progresses, I found I’m thinking back to all the years of fantastic Cavaliers visual productions and it’s a shame there isn’t more of that in this show. Some of the drill could be described as generic, certainly a long way from the levels and uniqueness of the 90’s and 00’s visual packages. This show, perhaps more than any other, has props that seem superfluous. Do designer’s feel props are now a must-have? Dispensing with props might be deemed as impractical as dispensing with electronics, but if one show could have managed without, it would be this one. Musically the corps are rougher round the edges than the corps around them, but even with the shorter season there is time grow. When we reach the closer, construction wise the step over seems to take a long time in the build-up. It might be intentional, but I’m not sure teasing out the delay is working. Also, while the step over itself carries with it a lot of tradition, the actual effect provided in a 2020’s production is arguable. The closing moments with some call backs to shows of year’s past is a goldmine from which they are only scratching the surface currently. Cavies, perhaps more than any other corps, have a wealth of audio and visual snippets that could be combined to have the audience going crazy for the end of this show (some Gavorkna Fanfare anyone?) so hopefully there is more to come in this respect. I think Cavies can have a strong season but will be challenged by other corps who are clearly on upwards trajectories. Phantom Regiment Early impressions are of nice musical books and improved visual elements for 2023. The props create and interesting opening collage and the tarp works well to convey the idea of pods travelling down through the atmosphere. Beyond the opener however, I’m not sure they add a great deal of value. The musical sounds phantom-esque and fits well with the concept. At times there is a Holst vibe evident, but the musical book is a departure in terms of source material, but it works. There are several positive signs around this show. My main doubt currently is that the Exogenesis concept does not have obvious theatrical hooks for a drum corps show, and Phantom appear not to be leaning too hard into telling a story or any obvious signposting of thematic development. I can’t help but wonder if they picked the optimal concept to build around what is a solid set of music arrangement, and an entertaining musical and visual package. One rough edge in the closer is where they set out a neat climatic set piece with the wedge that expands in stages, only to then stop and pause. The music then restarts only to resolve quite quickly into the actual ending. Hopefully something they’ll iron out. Concept doubt aside, I think they’ve put together an exiting product and would be surprised if they’ve not in and around the 5-6 placements come August. Cadets Coming off the ’22 season, many it seems had high hopes for Cadets this year and the release of the concept and musical repertoire seemed only to fuel this. I may have been an outlier then in having a doubt around the Atlas Rising concept. The courage-in-the-face of adversity concept seemed a little nebulous and I was, and remain, interested to see how far this concept can go in enabling the show to develop. What’s not perhaps in any doubt, is that a concept that emphasizes athleticism is a great fit for this corps, even if some of the choreo seems to have been better suited to NYC commuters than athletes in training. There is a cool opening set with the horn line in a connected push-up position. From there Cadets are one of several corps that open up the show with a percussion led intro, together with lots of thematic body movement from the brass. It’s about 70 seconds to the first brass entry and it feels a little long and lacking in a sustained build of tension. On rewatching, I found myself thinking back to the 2000 edition of Cadets and the Millennium Celebration show with the clock effects, back field marching and playing leading into the opening hit. In contrast, a percussion only with brass role play doesn’t come close when comparing the tension and release effect (Cadets have traditionally set a high bar for programming so it’s ok to compare, right?) That said, the brass opening statement itself is a great moment from them, with perhaps the best crowd response in the show just now. Another aspect that stands out is the unusual pacing of this show. I’m far from the first person to observe this. The brass open up part 2 with some effective technical passages and the piece goes along at a nice lick for a while before handing over to the battery again. From there, it moves into a slow piece, and it feels a little premature. The brass have not played so much to this point and it doesn’t feel like the audience are reading for the lower intensity so soon. The show utilises several props that are painted to match the guard costumes. The overall color palette helps readily identify the corps. Unfortunately the props remind me of Phantom’s props from last season, they seem quite conspicuous when moved around the field and offer little in the way of support for innovative effects. For Cadets and others with similar props, I’m intrigued to know if raising a feature performer less than two feet of the ground is actually rewarded? In terms of the visual design there’s noticeably less of the standout drill synonymous with the Sylvester and Sacktig years, and I miss been able to spot a Cadets show from the visual alone. For a show based around athleticism there seems to be a lot of faster movement where the brass are not playing, a reliance on four person gates, and too little of the marching AND playing at break-neck pace that we had become accustomed to with Cadets. Overall, I think Cadets will do well to match their 2022 placement, with a better executing set of performers offsetting a less evocative concept. BAC Boston in ’23 continue to explore classical literature-based shows but have they come up with a package to match the likely talent level in this year’s corps? White Whale certainly raised the bar in terms of show announcement production values (does that really matter!) But how about the production values of the show itself? First impressions first. Like many, I suspect, I have a vague understanding of the story that doesn’t go far beyond Captain Ahab chasing a whale. That might be why I was doubtful how well this story would translate to a 12-minute drum corps show, in an idiom that tends to require sprinkling of drama and showmanship, and there is a limited set of effect tropes to choose from. The show is stacked with visual and musical elements that we can now say have become modern-Boston’s style. The corps move and play very well, a contra motion wave move in the brass towards the end of the opener is well handled, and with the continuation of the outstanding guard there are several moments of high exposure. The props lend themselves to the nautical theme, although I find the crows nest and platforms reminiscent of SCV’s Babylon scaffolding props, and less literal and of-the-time of the source material. The guard are costumed in theme, but I’m not a fan of the musician’s costumes. I guess they are representing the ocean, but they don’t really work for me, and I don’t think they have the same ‘cool’ factor as some others, such as Crown. Pacing wise, the show has an extended percussion feature in the 2nd quarter which I’m not convinced is optimal for the flow of the show or in moving the narrative forward. The sea shanty section is fun, and I hope there is more to come from this. The whale sound effects and visual motifs are an obvious addition but effective nonetheless. Right now, I find the show is not quite hitting the mark in terms of storytelling, lacking intrigue or a clear narrative arc. And color guard aside, the brass percussion and visual lack any truly memorable moments to get the audience off their feet. Audience reaction just now seems strongly appreciative of the quality of the performers and all round level of excellence, but some way short of mid-show standing O’s that the very best shows deliver. Mind you some might argue this is a criticism that has been leveled at Blue Devils across may seasons past? Bluecoats The 2023 edition seems to be an obvious next step from the Beatles shows and last year’s show, incorporating elements from both. The Garden of Love perhaps has more scope for how the show can evolve than Riffs and Revelations, but doesn’t yet have any of the big unique moments of that show. That said, this is an engaging production with high quality and vivid props, evident talent across all sections, and some slick marching, playing, and staging. Strip away the electronics, and the music could be described as typical drum corps fare, closer perhaps to Bluecoats' 2016 in feel than any other of their shows since? There is a neat change in color pallette in the second half of the show along with some interesting headless costumes in the guard, and I think we are set for a surprise later in the season when the main prop is turned for a second time towards the end of the show. I like this show, and think it can go a long way, but strangely I don’t have much commentary to offer. Perhaps I’ve been spoiled by all the shiny new ideas from recent editions, whereas the 2023 Bluecoats are more about honing existing ideas into a finely crafted package. Carolina Crown This time last year, I had a sneaking suspicion Crown could have a package to win. It didn’t turn out that way, but I’d wager that Crown’s staff took a lot away in terms of what worked well and not so well from the array of effects deployed. This year’s concept could be regarded as a safe choice in comparison…medieval themes have been well used, with one or two examples that live long in the memory. At the same time it could be a challenge to do something seen as fresh. But I think Crown manage it. The show opens with the featured performer being carried a loft on a throne prop to the round table positioned center field. Echoes of Spartacus anyone? …and I do hope they’ve got their measurements right to fully cover the center field marking at LOS! The brass play a lot but I’d concur with many comments on here that one extended passage aside, it never feels like notes for the sake of it. They march and play as much and as well as anyone, and there’s both excellent field coverage and great cohesiveness to the visual package along with a lot of exposed tosses in the guard that get us layperson guard fans excited. The round table splits in two with a movement that’s well integrated into the program revealing some interesting knight graphics that flip to show complimentary imagery when the battle section of the show is reached. There’s the plunging of a sword into a featured character as we might expect, and the ending is functional just now with surely more to come. Based on these early season viewings, I think this is an excellent package for Crown. It’s doesn’t carry the same bleeding edge risk as last year’s show, and the Round Table concept has plenty of room for nuance and growth. I think the difference between 1st and 4th this year for Crown will depend on how much story telling emotion and effect they can eke out of this production. Time till tell. Blue Devils Can the Devils be anything other than pre-season favorites to this season? Many people will be wondering if the three-peat is on? Based on early season, I’m not so sure…but it would be foolish to count them out. If nothing else, an edition of the Blue Devils with the same staff and more vets than last year, could possibly out execute the competition across all elements on their way to first place. So what of this show? Well to cut to the chase first…after a few viewings I find I’m thinking about Cadets 06 after 05, and Crown 14 after 13…where a very successful template is added to, and super-sized, but somehow comes out as less. There are some obvious parallels that can be drawn from last year’s Tempus Blue production and years before in terms of structured and pacing. The main difference this year is visible from the outset. The ‘cut-outs’ concept is represented with lots of cut out props of varying shapes and colors. While it may be authentic to Matisse, for me it creates a cluttered appearance that is detracting from the visual elements of the performers. Perhaps it improves with a higher vantage point but at this point the overall collage on the field seems distinctly un-Concord like - lacking the overall finesse and inventiveness of props from recent years. I do wonder if there will be further refinement of these props as the season progresses including the final positioning of the cut-out pieces into the final collage. As the show begins there is a neat segue from the samples into the first horn solo. The opening statement really cooks, as does the JoJo piece. The first third of this show is perhaps the strongest on the field this year, and the 2nd two thirds struggle to match The Both Sides Now piece is one I was keen to hear develop. Pride of Cincinnati’s guard show from yesteryear is still one of my favorites. At this juncture however it’s not connecting in the same way as Moon River from 22, in particular the brightness in the arrangements doesn’t seem to gel with the source material. I feel that with this arranging treatment and the outstanding performers, any number of well-known ballads could have been chosen, and perhaps this one wasn't the best. Visually the musicians uniforms work well again this season – the yellow gloved right arm emphases the quality and consistency of the brass marching technique when on the move. All the components of a Blue Devils show are present and counted, and it’s noticeable that they, along with others, have responded to the bar being raised by Boston’s guard, in the level of exposure and volume of work. They might just out-tweak, out-clean, and out-perform the field but it’s by no means a done deal! In summary, I don’t see a standout show this year where we will be talking about a winner in the same way as 2013, 14, 16, and 18 (to pick out a few). But hopefully this can be offset by a top 4 that are nip-and-tuck right through to finals night! Although history tells us the field usually tapers down to 1 or 2 at the top as the judging community’s opinions coalesce. Comparing shows from last year to this, for me there are more corps that are down a notch in design than those up a notch….and as a common thread I find I’m missing exciting marching with full ensemble playing. It seems to have been relegated to feature moments rather than being the most substantial part of a show. Others will no doubt disagree! Lastly, while it might be easy to sit behind a keyboard and offer observations and critique, it perhaps goes to show how difficult and imprecise a process it is to design a drum corps show, and how it’s even harder still to bring new ideas to the table. Staffs that contain the very best designers, and some teams that have been together for years, work through the winter to craft products that they hope both fans and judges will love, but they are rarely sure they’ve nailed it until the judges scores come through. It’s this uncertainty as the season ramps up that creates a lot of the excitement for us fans! Predictions for finals? I’m happy to admit that the evaluation guidelines are too complex and captions too tightly contested to make predictions by one person anything but a projection of preferences… so I won’t go there! 😊 Thanks for reading.

Carolina Crown Much has been written on this forum and elsewhere about Crown's 22 show. At the season's outset I felt they, if anyone, had the show best placed to top Blue Devils. While the show didn't come together as perhaps I thought it might, I really enjoyed Crown exploring avenues other than large props to create theatrical effect. I hope that the learnings from 22 provide a springboard for a show that comes together and truly catches fire in 23. So what might they be considering? Percussion featuring and integration seems an obvious aspect that may change through new voices in this fall's design process. I guess many may share my view that Crown's approach to brass is something that we hope never loses its sparkle, but!...I do wonder what the technical wizardry sourced from Brass Band repertoires is now in the realms of diminishing returns. Is it feasible to create those crazy brass arrangements from different musical sources and genres? I hope too that they continue to explore the use of different tarps and fabrics, especially if they can find a concept where their use is integral to that concept. With a strong guard that will hopefully carry through into 23 I feel like Crown, as much as anyone, are well placed for next season and a lot boils down to what is crafted this winter. While rings can only ever be earned, I feel like Crown's time for another is well and truly due? SCV Looking back to this past season the final ending was truly 'Santa Clara' in nature and worked great. I do wonder if they were hindered a little by having an incomplete show early season so this tag ended up being something like the fourth increment of ending. I appreciate there are a million things that can get in the way of being ready right out of the gate, but for this show, with such a great closing idea that really coalesced the concept, the pacing of changes through the season didnt quite seem optimal. This fall the brass arranger will have a season on the team under his belt, and without knowing the in personalities involved, it seems reasonable to speculate that that will help the process. Looking back at recent Vanguard shows I feel 18 caught fire due to the way the components fused together, cool prop usage, cool costumes, a couple of great moments music and visual coordination. 19 and 22 to an extent didn't, imho, have such effective prop usage (and to a less importance cool costuming) nor moments, said ending aside, that stood out like 18. With this in mind it will be interesting to see where their concept design and prop usage goes this next season. Looking at MG's WGI work over the years, his units have excelled with clever prop usage time and time again. Can SCV do the same? Prop usage in general seems to have matured now to the point where most clever/innovative/surprising uses have been covered and prop effectiveness is more dependent now on how it enhances a chosen concept, rather than any wow factor due to the nature of the prop itself. Of course, corps could continue to throw increasing budgets at prop design bring more of stage theatre elements to the field, but I hope the activity doesn't go too much further in this direction, which may only widen the gap between the 'haves and have nots'. Back to Vanguard, and we might expect they will continue to heavily utilise props in 23, and a fairly dark musical sound, so it will be interesting to see how things pan out. Lastly, I hope they can bring back a little of the visual magic from the Oroboros show, . IIRC, 17 may have been PW's last year on board, which would explain some stylistic differences, but there were some eye catching aesthetics to that visual book - and even some of MG's eye pleasing magic from his Cavaliers years - that would be welcomed to return.

Ah yes, very true! I fell into the trap of oversimplification in my recollections. How often do we see that! 😀

Fair point. Clumsy wording on my part. Now fixed!

Cadets Rear View Mirror seemed to be well received by the majority of fans, and while there may have been doubts around competitive placement going into the season , a solid six place seemed a great result. Particular in comparison to Regiment and Cavies. I think it's fair to say that they were the best of the bottom half? The program was well pitched and allowed each section to develop nicely across the season. However, I doubt many would argue that their desire package was of top tier calibre? So what might they be thinking about to take the next step on the comeback trail? Will Cadets be in a position to push the level of the 23 production to mix it with the top 5? It would be interesting to know if the 22 show was pitched at a difficulty relevant to member talent levels, and if that might change for 23? Outside of placements, I think Cadets still have a stylistic challenge, one which has been there for most of the last decade. It's more difficult to program a Cadets-style production - that doesn't involve nostalgia - as some of that turf has been taken by corps such as Crown and Boston. Indeed, prior to Bocook's return both those corps would at times sound more Cadets like than Cadets! Also, it would seem finances would prevent the corps from going to far with props and any other expensive production overheads. Again this might shape their design choices. I hope Cadets can continue to find the same balance of mainly-new-sprinkled-with-a-little-tradition in 23. But what might that look like and sound like, design wise?

Bluecoats Looking back to last season, it seems to me that 'Coats had two thirds of a winning show - right up the the end of the Keytar section. The argument being that facilitation of the uniform change created an elongated period of lower intensity that didn't return sufficiently by the show's end. Additionally, the challenge with any dream based concept is that dreams often end with '...and then I woke up' which can lead to a challenge around so 'so what?' emotional responses in the audience. Planning in a dazzling uniform change (I guess it was planned in rather than a later idea?) might have been there to add some theatrical heft to the final part of the show but it's arguable whether the pay off was justified. So what might this mean for 23? Will the team be going in a whole new direction again? 22 was notable in using non- mainstream music. Might they stay there, or return to including more recognisable musical selections similar to Session 44 or whole hog like the Beatles shows. Have they (and others) taken prop usage as far as it realistically can go on a drum corps tour, or might we still see innovations here? Heavy prop usage has become a fundamental party of the Bluecoats image so expect they will continue with it. Percussion became number one without ever seeming to be standout in 22? What design considerations might they be mulling over ready for 23?

With design teams now finalised, October is the time when show ideas are sifted and concepts sketched out. With this in mind, are there any learnings from this past season that we think might be applied to design thinking for 2023? Here are a few thoughts to get the ball rolling... BD 'if it ain't broke...' is the first thing that springs to mind when it comes to Blue Devils programming for the past decade or so. While concepts come and go, there do seem to be patterns - if not as much as a template- to discern. Choosing 6-8 pieces across a variety of styles, with a super melodic ballad to help with accessibility expectations. They are masters as balancing content, allowing for an optimal proportions of melody harmony and technicalities. Likewise for visual, claims of lack a demand and marching are quieter than 5+ years ago but not gone completely. I tend to see the last minute of BD shows as a weak point - I think I go right back to 92 for a BD finale that last gave me goosebumps - but it might be that they go about their programming so that they don't need an ending based on a 'big idea' to tip on them over the edge.. the goods have already been delivered by then and a decent but not great ending is all that is needed to tie a bow on things? Expect we'll see more-of-the-same-but-in-different-packaging from Devils in 23. BAC By most measures 22 was a fantastic season for Boston and for a brief period towards the end of the season they may have seen Devils as catchable. Programming for 23 may be interesting in that we've seen before that it's much easier to slip from 2nd to 4/5th than to go from 2nd to 1st. Will Boston continue to plough the furrow of story based, and classical, concepts? I really enjoyed their 22 show in terms of music and visual but with the caveat that I didn't feel a strong connection to Paradise being lost, and so the down ending didn't resonate as an much as it might. Will Boston try a new direction or did 21's Zoom inform them to stick within a certain bandwidth of topics? All other aspects that contribute towards a successful season being equal, it will surely be an interesting process for their design team this fall. Can they craft a package that takes them one step higher. One might think the safest way to do this is to stay quite close to the design pattern of 22. Maybe not quite vanguard 88 into 89 but not a million miles away!

We mounted miniature microphones on a set of specially trained houseflies and planted them at various corps HQ’s. With design meetings starting up, the contents are explosive! You read it here first!!! Blue Devils <Sounds of chairs sliding across the floor and heels clicking> DGb: As you were gentlemen. JM: Your excellency, we weren’t expecting you. To what reason do we have this honor? DGb: You will know that the clone factory build is behind schedule. I’ve sent Lord Chandler to… remind them of their obligations. Director Seidling, carry on. PS: We added the new judges bios to the algorithm. Here is the output. <Sounds of paper rustling> PS: These are the 2023 show compositions. I trust the team, as usual, can craft a backstory? [Several voices] Yes sir. PS: General Murphy, the algorithmic drill needs fine tuning again. Can you add in some of that scatter drill and other bits to dilute it. JM: Affirmative. PS: Remember, we almost revealed ourselves in 2014. As we progress towards total domination we must keep things believable. DGb: Questions? No. Very well. We shall close this meeting and reconvene at the first assimilation camp in January. Boston Crusaders CH: How are we looking for next year, Keith? KP: Well boss, we’ve formulated a plan and associated budget. Headlines are we’re gonna need a whole lot more brown envelopes to turn silver into gold. CH: I can take care of that. KP: And Ipads, lots of Ipads. We liked Crown’s app this past season so we’re gonna take it and make it our own. We figure that asking people to download an app is way too complicated so we’re going to leave ipads under the concert side seats, switched on and ready to go. In total we think we’re going to need 250,000 ipads. CH: Ok, leave it with me… it sounds like a great idea. Haha, we’ve come a long way since the 80’s huh? KP: And we’re started thinking about the show too- CH: Well I should tell you I already have a plan B for next season. If we get to Indy and things still aren’t going our way, me and some of the Dorchester old boys will start paying people late night visits. Expect the scores to surge from there. KP: <Gulp> Bluecoats JV: …so then the DM yeh , he rides in on this horse and it jumps over the pit and he springs off and lands on the podium and bows TR: Yeh man cool DW: And the horn line, they’re dressed like clowns, no, baristas! DT: Pass me over those chips Jim JV: Yes! I’m seeing blues, and pinks, and greens. Nice happy baristas. JM: And gold and some red and maybe some burnt orange. TR: <chuckling sound> DT: Mmm, I could do some pizza Carolina Crown RS: We’ve reviewed 2022 and understand now where we didn’t get things quite right. We’re gonna fix this next year and are looking at a show called “Everything and Everywhere”. It will allow us to do whatever we want with music, props, fabric. You name it, we can do it. And no-one can tell us it doesn’t fit the theme. Genius eh?! MH: I just want to know one thing…. Are we going to have more brass time? We need more notes I tell you! MORE NOTES! <Sound of large fist being banged on the table> MH: I cannot sleep a wink at night without the sweet feel of the Ott under my pillow! We must crush those other lines next year! Crush them I tell you! CRUSH THEM! <Sound of tables being turned over and chairs hurled> Santa Clara MG: …so to the part of the presentation you’ve all been waiting for. We thought Finding Nirvana was a triumph and in true Santa Clara tradition we’re going to double down on a good idea the following year. Where we had the music of Nirvana we then started looking at more rock music, this time with a 70’s and 80’s vibe. We came up with “A Queen getaway” and “Queen as a whistle” <Indistinct murmurs of approval> MG: But then we decided we could do better than that! And we started to look at music from a great Baroque classical composer. Show title’s we were toying with were “Fly off the Handel”, “Handel in the Wind”, and “Too Hot to Handel”! <Some smattering of applause> MG: But we still weren’t happy, so we worked on it some more and came up with a show that will enable us to build on the existential vibe from 2022. So I present to you our 2023 production; “Float like a butterfly, Sting like a bee!”. We’re going to blend an eco-nature vibe with the music of Gordon Sumner and The Police. An SCV match made in heaven! <Whopping, hollering and the sounds of high fives> Cavaliers MV: Welcome all this this initial staff meeting. As we have some fresh faces this year, let’s have the new people introduce themselves. <Intros still going on when the batteries ran out> End of transcript.

Good points... 1. I suppose it's about aligning a boundary for electronics performance to the rest of the production. The experts can be involved to whatever degree right up to the point the performance starts. I guess this then raises questions about how much is then pre-programmed versus done live, but that tail shouldn't wag the dog. 2. I think this can continue as-is right up to the point the show starts. Same principle as prepping a tarp or prop?

I hesitate to open up this debate, again, but it's a lingering thought that has stayed with me since the season end, so here goes... For all the excellence on display this past season the presence of adult audio engineers - anywhere from two to several - surrounding the mixing desk just doesn't sit right with me. The use of electronics to support the acoustic sound is more pervasive than ever, and there's no doubt it's highly effective in adding texture, impact and other nuances to the sound reaching the stand. Like most innovations it's been led by the top tier and has trickled down from there. This year I noticed in particular how much the soundscape seemed to develop for SCV and Cadets among others as the season progressed, and some where it was present right off the bat. I'm not for one second challenging that this element of the production is not positive, it certainly enhanced the the corps mentioned to my ears, but I do question again how it is achieved. To use an exaggeration to make the point. Imagine a corps is needing a bump in musical effect and so they throw a ton of cash to hire Ben Burtt and a crew from Skywalker Sound. The crew bring an amazing palette of cutting edge electronic sound support, and audio-based 'smoke and mirrors' as hoped. This, together with the presence of a couple of Academy award winning engineers on the sideline, and a world class proprietary speaker setup, all has a positive influence on how things are received by the judging community. The corps receive the bump they hoped for and more. A new standard is then set to which others then aspire. This would surely take things still further away from the principle of what is judged on the night being in the hands of the young performers? Now that electronics has had plenty of time to bed in and then mature, is it time to adjust the balance away from adult pros controlling the mix (and whatever chicanery might be initiated from the desk) and mandate those people are registered marching members? The adult pros can still very much be involved during rehearsal time, but would it be a positive move to preserve everything that happens once the drum major salutes being solely performer led?

As the season moves into its second half we’re reaching that time where shows are coming together, most big changes are in, and the competition is getting spicy. Here’s a rambling collection of thoughts on the design packages for the top 12 (ish) as things stand. Hope it’s interesting to some to read. Blue Devils Unexpectedly, after watching the Scott Chandler explainer video I found I was less enamoured about this show than prior to watching. The concept felt a little tenuous in linking to the choices of music. However those doubts we soon extinguished on next viewing as Tempus Blue is undoubtedly well thought out and becoming a super cohesive package. Like an upmarket box of chocolates, Devs take a bunch of disparate flavours and wrap them up in rich BD design chocolate. It’s not to everyone’s tastes but certainly one for the chocolate connoisseurs. Enough with the food analogy, the show opens up with some effective body work and narration that wouldn’t sound out of place in a Lord of the Rings trailer. They use spoken word and sound effects really well throughout the show to blend together the differing sections of music proper with some exotic ambiance. It’s also noticeable how segments that were rather functional early season are now starting to shine through added nuance, and polished high points. A particular example being the section between Moon River and Tank. Speaking of Moon River, for me this is the best couple of minutes of melodic and harmonic bliss on the field this year. The visual package is up to their usual high standards of overall integration, with props that are well deployed, and the show has great control of focus to minimise the distraction when the props are moved. I always enjoy the BD style of visual design with undulating transitions and forms that move like shifting sands but also some moments of high ‘linear’ exposure, and this year is no different. In my view, the last minute of the show is presently the weakest. While the corps are really moving, the music, for a finale, leaves me cold. But this will most likely change as Devs head towards LOS. Overall this show is clearly strong across all aspects and will take some beating. Crown I find the narration and RHRN tagline to stand up to repeated viewings. I guess the design team may freshen up the opening narration later in the season, and especially for finals week? It might be splitting hairs, but the opening doesn’t quite work for me in using a countdown – which is great – that then leads into a relatively slow build opening. On the plus side, the linear visual transitions in the opening work well leading to a full sounding opening hit that allows Crown brass to shine. To me, this show seems the strongest in 2022 if measured in terms of pure marching arts pageantry. They cover the field well and for a show that’s light on props, at times it seems like Crown have more members on the field than their rivals due to the sheer scale of effect moments. This show for sure contains several wow moments. I like that Crown are marching a lot of drill and the final part of the show is arguably the most spectacular marching on the field this year. Perhaps the best compliment I can pay is that it reminds me of Cavies in their 00’s peak drill heyday, but super charged some more for the current decade. I’m less enthused though with the final crown set that then breaks down into free form and some over-hyping. While some will write off Crown’s approach as too cheesy, I’d say it’s easy to underestimate the challenge in getting the pitch of a super accessible show just right. The four word mantra is used throughout the show, and while Crown are well on the way, they don’t yet have the design optimised, or cleanliness of execution in place, for maximum crowd response. When they do, watch out! Bluecoats I really enjoy how Bluecoats design and utilise props in their shows and this year is no different. The second part involving the wheels is perhaps the strongest and most sophisticated couple of minutes of audio visual coordination on the field this year. Earlier in the season I had a doubt that the show dipped a little in intensity following the excellent keytar feature, but the new ending has helped with that. The wheels return (drum corps loves its ‘rule of two’!) along with a tilt-esque musical effect. Then finally, the narration and closing sleep visual ties a neat bow around the production. There’s perhaps an argument that the show has a prolonged stay at quite a low intensity through the slow piece and then into a pit and guard feature but that latter feature is particular effective. Bluecoats approach could be likened as closest to Cirque du Soleil of any show this year. At any given moment there is a lot going on - and I see this as a show that gets better with repeated viewings. I like that this show is inherently cool, and the colour palette is dazzling. One observation is that the busyness of the musician’s costumes doesn’t give as crisp a silhouette as some others, and I think they will need to get squeaky clean to seem clean, if that makes sense? But given where they are right now I’m sure they will get there. And most importantly, underneath all the razzmatazz is some seriously good marching, playing, and spinning! Listening to the shows back to back, it’s apparent there’s a step change in the amount of electronic effects used to broaden the soundscape between the first three corps reviewed and the next few that follow. For BD, Crown and Bluecoats their shows would diminish more noticeably if performed in a power cut than Boston, SCV or Blue Stars. BAC As Boston’s show starts the mood is a mix of crisp and aggressive in the battery, and majestic fanfare sounds in the brass. Thinking about Boston’s show in general I come back to that adjective… crisp. From the look of the performers on the field, to the props, to the general performance execution, everything is crisp and clean. Boston started the season well prepared and I think they will trouble the corps around them through simply being a small step ahead in cleanliness and polish right throughout the season. One lingering observation of this show is being unclear how much of the Paradise Lost story they are trying to convey. Presently when the down ending is reached I’m not sure how much I should be caring as the featured guard performers exit together stage right. How much of a sense of regret and tragedy should we be feeling by this point in addition to appreciation of a great drum corps show? It may just be that the main closing idea is not yet on the field and that will be a game changer – thinking back to how SOS ended for example. Small quibbles about the current story telling aside, there are some really effective moments of marching playing and spinning in this show. The opener gives vibes of Star of Indiana (that just me?) and What a Wonderful World remains a high point, particularly through the prop coordination. I love the change in mood following the intense percussion feature (what a talented soloist). They use the silence and slow start to CTMEOY to create an evocative mood and well matched visual pictures, which is simply great! The choral backing in the closer adds another level to the effectiveness there too. Comparing to renowned classical story shows of years past, such as Scheherazade or Faust, this show is right up there with the best of them. SCV After mentally filing this show as a grower, I’ve probably watched it back as much as any so far this season. I think there are some aspects of it that work really well and some that prompt questions. A case in point being the opener which starts with interesting visual pictures and builds in an intriguing fashion. However when the hornline comes in with the stabbing attacks I find it jarring. Understanding that uncomfortable moments can be just as valid as effect moments, perhaps it’s more I’m not yet so clear about the journey Vanguard are taking us on. The hornline possess a solid dark and meaty sound, as has been a feature for the past few seasons, and the repeating Nirvana motif works well, to a point. I find the show works well for the first 75% moving smoothly through the gears up to the end of the slow piece. There seem to be lots of subtleties in the visual book, things that line up for a count and are gone again, that will start to shine as execution cleans up. But I find it a strange construction choice to follow the slow piece with a lengthy percussion feature which seems to drop intensity from the show that isn’t full recovered by the end. When the Smells Like Teen Spirit motif returns again in a triumphant motif, it doesn’t quite generate the payoff that might be intended. I think this is a show that is perhaps lacking specific wow moments, and that may be by intent considering choices made around costuming, colours, props and the general pacing. Figuratively, it’s perhaps a show that is trying to work in shades of grey than dramatic bursts of black and white. Finding Nirvana moves as well as any show through gears one to four, but isn’t quite hitting fifth gear at times where it might? Cadets Cadets take a more simplistic approach than some in the use of narration and telling of a story. Their representation of Jack Kerouac’s On the Road eschews exploration of the deeper aspects of the writer’s work and is essentially a four stop tour across America, using some relative straightforward prop backdrops and effective narrative soundbites to signpost the way. For those looking for Cadets to move forward from nostalgia but still remain Cadets-y, I think they should be well pleased with this edition. The opener in particular is fast and aggressive, and strikes a good balance in conveying a wanderer in New York without laying it on too thick. The 2nd part contains some neat choreography and bodywork in the brass that is committed to well, including a well-integrated de-jacketing, but I can’t shake the feeling it’s a little long and lacking a standout moment musically or visually. In retrospect, I wonder if they might have shortened this section and then found room for a fifth stop on Jack’s tour, or more focus on the journey than the destinations? The 3rd part handles a nice switch in mood supported by the hornline in supine position. The build to a climax in the back corner of side 1 will create a nice effect, particular in the domed venues, and ties in nicely to the spoken word. The fourth movement prompts some uncertainty from me in that its hoe-downy vibe is more in keeping with a mid-show tune than a closer, so the finale seems to arrive quite sharply. I do think the circle unwind to ascending pit runs will be a great moment - it could be an equivalent moment to the Babylon horn snap from a couple of years back - but presently the way the company front forms and music wise in the final few counts, it isn’t quite hitting the bullseye…yet? If Cadets creative team were taking requests, then I’d ask for more music and visual fireworks in the closing bars please! The closing narration as-is is really nicely done. While Cadets have taken a more pragmatic approach to their programming this year than some contemporaries - this show undoubtedly works, and is a great vehicle for them to take on the road - all the way to Indy! Blue Stars Blue Stars costuming of musicians means the guard really standout on the field. Also taking into account the assortment of props, there’s a visual texture to this show that is different to everyone else this year. It all helps engender a sense of time and place to sell the concept. This is further enhanced by the accordion sounds in the opening and quality solo work that gets the show off to a strong start. This show is a narration free zone and in truth I have little clue of any narrative structure, but this doesn’t take away from enjoyment. The classical repertoire is refreshing and Blue Stars produce a nice open sound and some effective visuals. I particularly like the section with the ostinato phrase starting in the high brass as the low brass rapidly split and rotate a block across the field. The assortment of props are ‘interesting’ choices in themselves as befits the concept, but they are moved well and support some effective visual compositions throughout the show. For me, initial early season reservations about clutter have dissipated. The corps seems to be firing on all cylinders and have a show that could take them to their highest finish in years. Mandarins I have no idea what the Otherside is, or why or how they are trying to get there. But I don’t think any of that matters with this show. Following the march-on opening they set a cool and mysterious vibe with an opening statement led by a large compliment of glissing trombones and a visual picture dominated by a large wall prop and several Czech Hedgehogs giving a militaristic vibe. This is all offset by some futuristic, and imo cool, costuming for musicians and guard. When the wall prop rotates with increasing velocity and performers passing through it, the effect is ably matched musically with the trombones. Pink Floyd’s The Wall in the next chapter adds to the dystopian feel although the show does then dip a little after this during a ‘restaging’ period where props move and musicians play but to little effect. Things soon pick up again with the addition of electric guitars to the soundstage and a cool zombie walk(?) during a percussion feature. The next movement includes a male live singer set against acoustic guitar backing before moving to pit and then full ensemble playing. The single and musicians are well balanced. I’m not sure live singing is a feature I’d want to see being taken up in every show, but in the context of this show, and with this talented singer, it works. One possible weakness is that there’s not a great deal of dazzling full ensemble marching and playing compared to their peers. From a design perspective perhaps the best compliment I can pay this show is that it could easily be a Blue Devils show in look and feel. This looks set to be Mandarins most successful season to date. Great stuff. Cavaliers It seems likely that Cavies have struggled with a lack of full ensemble rehearsal so far this season due to unfortunate Covid issues. The Signs of the Times concept has a time and time-travel element to it, and I think there’s a really effective show here once the corps have time to get it to where they want it, both design and performance wise. The show opens with a Harpsichord and clock effect that is evocative. Prop wise the two clock hands serve the purpose of being shallow ramp stages that are manoeuvred through the show. At this time, the show feels a little underdeveloped compared to its peers. The first part leading to the opening hit showcases each section well, and part two contains a neat section where the music plays with the tempo while flags spin with related velocity. Once clean this will be great. Likewise the pendulum effect and accompanying chimes is effective. From here it seems the show doesn’t quite reach those heights again. Unfortunately the changing of wording on the side two sign pales a little in dramatic effect, and the slow part three takes a while to develop and feels a little undercooked. Likewise the final chapter is quite busy and energetic music wise but the visual doesn’t seem to take full advantage of this, only at sporadic points do we see the performers motoring with geometric precision as we know Cavies can. There are some pleasing cavie-isms in the show with familiar chord patterns, some well-known rhythms in the percussion, and pod rotations and slick sequentials in the drill, so it’s easily identifiable as a Cavaliers production. I hope that given a bit more time this show will flourish beyond its present form. The concept seems to be one where there would be plenty of opportunities for effects linked to past, present and future, so it will be interesting to see how things progress from here. Phantom Regiment Regiment are another corps that has been hit with illness but nonetheless have a fan favourite show on their hands this year. Kicking things off, Phantom’s DM salute and removal of helmet is neat, and the show opens with a soloist stood on one of several moveable white crescent shaped stages. The movement of these stages does seem a little cumbersome at times. The approach of having a great deal of full ensemble marching and playing, while pleasing to many fans, does come with the caveat that it’s not so easy to manipulate the viewers focus away from prop restaging. Does the absence of any discernible deeper theme or story hurt the scoring of this show? Perhaps. But the show still works very well in terms of marching, playing, spinning and dancing. Parts two and three of the show both have great energy and will sparkle once clean. For me, right now the slow piece is the weakest part of the show. It’s solid but probably won’t go on the list of classic Phantom Regiment ballads. The closer however is great and unmistakeably Phantom. The performers are really motoring throughout, and the meaty low brass and choral high brass shine through. There’s still plenty to work on, but it seems Phantom will rock the house come finals week. Crossmen If I’ve understood the concept correctly Crossmen have linked what would traditionally be the opening and closing sets of the show to create a loop, thereby enabling them to start each performance at a different point in the show. I wonder if this is a conceit that many designers have toyed with using at some point when thinking about new show ideas? The challenge with this conceit is that there will most probably be an optimal point to start and finish the show, the one at which the pacing of the show overall works best. And so deviating from this version risks not playing your best hand of cards. It raises the question of whether the concept actually adds any value given that shows are judged on their merits for performance ‘on the night’? That aside, in terms of the show itself, the Mobius Trip props of polished metal look effective on the field. As do the performer’s costumes, including the musician’s avant garde head wear complete with ‘sprouting’ plumes. Perhaps the weakest aspect for me just now is the musical book, which is solidly played and ticks many boxes in terms of showcasing and features, but is not particularly memorable. Watching contemporary Crossman I find I miss them putting out jazz focused shows, but appreciate it’s daft to harken back to editions of the Crossman that existed years before today’s performers were even born. The movement that begins with the props aligned on the 40 yard line is the most effective imo, with some neat spatial effects in the brass and eye catching yellow and orange flag work that will be effective as it cleans up. Blue Knights The large dot props are effective particularly in how the light reflects off whichever surface is uppermost. The show starts with brass and guard body movement in and around the dots and culminates with instruments being picked up. I’m not sure this first section is needed as starting with the percussion entry that follow would mean a shorter, and perhaps more effective opening. The opening hit itself is strong with the brass in a triangular wedge that mirrors the dots. The corps are performing in fairly traditional white uniforms with an eye catching decoration on the torso, but plumes that I can’t get past thinking about as resembling feather dusters. Overall the look on the field works well with the guard costuming distinct in magenta colours. The middle portion of the show has perhaps the strongest ‘vibe’ currently with the brass congregating in and around the dots and playing a lot of notes before some eye pleasing drill leads into a park and play with strains of ‘Don’t Worry…’ that’s well received by audiences. The slow piece She includes samples of the original and is faithful in staying low key and maintaining a tender vibe. They give full value to this chart with a long slow build, and with further refinement it could culminate in a really effective high point as the musicians and guard meet on side one. It’s not quite happening for me, yet, but it’s not far off. A slight disappointment is the closer with the hornline form a tight block towards the endzone as the percussion are featured. It seems like the setup for a highpoint to follow as the corps move back towards front and centre for the finale, but it doesn’t really happen. The finale being solid rather than spectacular as things stand. Colts Colts set the scene for their Silk Road show with wagons, crates, and lanterns positioned on the field. The show opens with a now almost de-rigueur percussion feature but this one includes the metamorphosis of a butterfly, and then leads into an energetic opening number. The show evokes sounds of the Orient and is full of energy throughout powered by a strong and well featured battery. The hornline are marching double time steps at multiple points in the show which creates a challenge from a clean feet perspective but there is still plenty of time to clean. One challenge for all corps like Colts where musicians are wearing slim fit trousers is that it leaves less margin for error when it comes to marching technique and phasing. This show music strikes me as something the Glassmen might have performed at their peak many years back – I mean this as a compliment. Later in the show Colts use a trombone duet to good effect and the show motors on to a solid conclusion. Coming back to that description of energetic, Colts competitive position will perhaps come down to how much polish is added to this show without sacrificing that energy but with this show Colts seem to be in the thick of the fight for a finals spot. ---------- In summary, I think 2022 is shaping up to be a stronger than average season with several corps producing banner editions. While comparing the merits of apples and oranges often enflames opinions between fans, it’s important to embrace the differences, and cherish having a variety of ‘fruits in the basket’. As corps become ever more proficient at producing shows that tick all the boxes, the risk is we end up with a basket containing only different strains of genetically modified apple! Drum corps is all the better for variety – long may it continue! While in most seasons scores thin out as the season progresses leaving a couple of corps to battle out for first place, or even a lone front runner, I remain hopeful that this season could be one with three or four corps in the mix for 1st place come finals week. Drum corps is surely at its best when competitive standings are undecided and in the hands of the performers on the night.

I've written quite a detailed review of the season so far if anyone is interested? Signposting here as the review section doesn't attract much traffic.

TLDR Mandarins – strong edition. Attention grabbing concept and props. Key melodic line is sung rather than played – how do you find it? Blue Stars – lots of props and literal imagery supporting War and Peace theme. Excellent brass. Remain distinct in approach PR – relatively gimmick free no-nonsense drum corps. Soon to be classic arrangements & fan friendly Cadets – back on form with Cadets-y written books. Conveyable theme Cavaliers – some neat effects but more to come to add value from the theme SCV – solid rather than spectacular just now. Likely to be a grower Boston - strong execution. Remains to be seen how high Paradise Lost theme can lift this production Bluecoats - bring their unique brand of music and visuals with a trippier theme than ever before Crown – a potentially magic combination of Crown strengths allied to pageantry and tech effects BD –have form for making these esoteric concepts shine. Too early to tell if this will be another 2014, 15, 17 or a 13, 16, 18. ---------------------------------------------- Here’s an assortment of thoughts on the design side of this year’s shows, purely based on Flo impressions so tends to be quite remote in perspective, and largely agnostic of performance aspects. As a general comment I wonder if we will look back on 2022 as part of the time period of known as ‘peak prop’ – where the late 00’s was ‘peak drill’? For prop driven effects, arguably, Bluecoats raised the bar with Tilt then Downside Up, SCV with Babylon, and then Devils set the latest standard for prop utility and theatrics with Ghostlight. For me, the key considerations for prop usage are how: a) versatile/slick are they to move? b) quickly can performers get on and off? c) well do they enable effect (aka surprises)? Certainly the c) becomes more difficult with each passing year as corps become ever more proficient at programming then delivering ‘the process’, and this brings with it a risk of increasing homogenisation, and for props in particular; a law of diminishing returns. Where might drum corps innovations go next? Onto the shows… Mandarins Mandarins have gone big with their props this year utilising a large wall prop and several Czech Hedgehogs to support their Other Side theme. The costuming is, imo, great for the musicians and gives them a flatteringly athletic Tron-like appearance. The guard is striking too in futuristic pink tones. The show starts with a military march on vibe and strains of Pink Floyd’s The Wall which makes for an effective opening. Mandarins are one of several corps this year that use Trombones to good effect. One interesting part in the show is when the wall prop is rotated and brings real world jeopardy to the notion of hitting your dot! With it being early days I’m not yet getting a strong sense of what The Other Side is or getting to it entails, but expect this will develop. The slow section of the show may divide opinions due to the inclusion of a male voice solo, but I like it - and to date I’ve generally been anti-microphoned-singing. This soloist has a soulful voice and using a headset enables him to be integrated into the visual picture. He returns again at the close out of the show - drum corps loves ‘the rule of two’! Would this solo part be better served by a screaming soprano? Opinions will no doubt vary! Early impressions are that 2022 will be a good year for DCI with many corps, Mandarins included, who are on top form. Blue Stars It took me a while to recall what the guard costumes reminded me of, with the brightly coloured Victorian dresses…Sky Ryders 88…love that show! It’s part of Blue Stars going whole hog with commitment to the theme in their costuming. I’m less enamoured about the musician’s costumes which combine variations of a military overcoat with different coloured tops underneath that are of a more modern look. For me, the adherence to the theme comes at the expense of a powerful and uniform marching silhouette down the line. The start of the show includes a skilled baritone solo leading into a hit that indicates Blue Stars have some brass chops again this year. Prop wise there is a lot on the field. Chez-lounges, desks with tankards, dressing screens, and canons! It won’t perhaps be to the taste of those who prioritise ‘cool’, and I have some concerns about the cluttering effect, but in current times variations in approach should be embraced, and Blue Stars will certainly stand out this year. Mid show, a high brass fanfare leads into an up tempo section of the show replete with drill in the aesthetically pleasing style Blue Stars have become known for. If there is a story being told I’m not yet getting a sense of it, but there is plenty of high quality marching, playing, and spinning on view. This looks to be another strong, and distinct year for Blue Stars. Long may that continue! Cadets Cadets start on side two, setting up a show based on an East to West coast journey inspired by the beat poet Jack Kerouac. The show gets straight into representing the hustle and bustle of New York – no yellow taxi’s (yet?!) – with some fast and frenetic drill and music alongside body work that will be effective through its snappiness. For the first show the opener seems to be the most well developed section of the show, as one might expect at this stage of the season. Spelling things out in the drill does risk seeming hackneyed these days but the NYC forms nicely and lines up well with the narration. Cadets are perhaps caught between a rock and a hard place with expectations around their costuming. Personally, I like this year’s incarnation of the white with burgundy accents. There is an argument about how well the costume fits the theme but see earlier comment. Perhaps more value are observations around the fit of the jackets. The on-field de-jacketing works pretty well to reveal a burgundy t-shirt underneath. While balancing the need to be physical performers (and the challenges shakos and plumes present to this), it’s still quick and easy to spot who this corps is and I think that’s refreshingly different in this age of show specific costuming and something to retain. The guard are dressed in lemon shades and on the video at least they seem to lack a bit of contrast with the musicians but it might be fine in person? The nature of this show built around some narrated musings is likely to invite comparisons with Bluecoats but the subject matter and interpretation is quite different. At the season’s outset, Cadets have quite limited effects conveying ‘the journey’ but I guess that is likely to change as things progress. The second number, for me, is the weakest currently. I’m not sure St Louis Blues is an ear-worm in the same way as Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy or Swing Swing Swing, with which it may well be compared. The visual picture seems quite congested at times and two and a half minutes is a long time for free form and cut loose. As I type that last sentence the contradiction is apparent between the wish from many for music that’s less chop and bop and like the one above when that’s just what you get! I suppose there are no rules, only how well something works on its own merits. The slow piece contains some nice work musically and visually but I'm not yet seeing the narration reflected on the field. I enjoy it when corps find effects that are simple and effective. The transition into the 4th movement is one of those with the solo musician and talented featured dancer leading to an exposed solo rifle toss. The closer is not all run and gun as has been the case in years gone by, but there is a neat section where the hornline unwinds to ascending runs in the pit leading to a company front that starts the finale. A small gripe is that the corps seems to hold the final chord for a long time, seemingly inviting the audience to stand. Those extended sustains have been a feature of the last ten years or so and used by many drum corps. Personally I prefer it when the culmination of a melodic phrase is used to get the crowd on their feet. Cadets do have form for refining their endings as the season progresses. It remains to be seen where Cadets take this show and how much layering is added to convey the journey / beat poetry / time period. Will there be any effects based on the Rear View Mirror / reflections? Based on first viewing I’d say they have a good vehicle here to set them up for a strong season and great crowd reactions. Phantom Regiment It took about the first minute of watching their first performance to allay any doubts as to what PR are about this year. While the show is called No Walk Too Far, it could equally be called Powerful Music with Great Drill, and that would suffice. This seems to be one of those shows where no deeper concept is needed and shoehorning too much in to in theory add depth could actually detract? The corps is costumed in white, with the black lattice lines that are also mirrored on the stage props. The guard are in red costumes and overall it’s a strong clean look. The stages are able to be moved around quickly and serve to give height to performers but I’m not sure the program would be any weaker without them? Musically, the Phantom sound is back, none more so in the second movement where the trumpet riff brings back memories of Freelancers playing John William’s Adventures on Earth. This movement may well generate a mid-show standing O later in the season. The slow piece includes some nice solo work and eye pleasing purples and pinks as the brass are staged across the field for a rousing peak. The closer seems set to be a Phantom classic, complete with contras charging down the 50. If the early reactions are anything to go by it will likely be a crowd favourite too. This program seems set to get Regiment back to where they were 10 years or more back and I look forward to seeing how it progresses. Cavaliers Signs of the Times is a concept which seems to be based around a play on words. Cavies have been on an upswing in recent seasons and their fans will be optimistic about what ’22 may bring. The opening of the show includes a warped clock tarp and a large “the time is now” screen prop on side 2. Is it just me that thinks Alice in Wonderland regarding the clock tarp? The show kicks off with some clock effects reminiscent of Cadets 2000 before quickly moving off in a different direction. Like a couple of other productions, as things stand I’m not sure if the concept will add value beyond ‘cool music and visuals’. The side two prop changing the words to The Time is Now and then Our Time Is Now seems a little passive and may well pale in comparison to Crown’s take on the ‘being in the moment’ concept. The costuming is neat with the palette evoking Cavaliers traditional colours and a different look when facing front and back, along with a blue accent that pops. One small gripe at this early stage is that because the blue accent is on a free moving clothing part, it does detract from the sense of crispness and uniformity during ensemble body movement, but that might just be me, and only when viewing through a computer? An early highlight is a section with runs in the brass and three sets of silks that slow down and speed up with the music. Soon after there is a neat visual swinging pendulum effect – more to come here? IIRC Cavies are the only one of the top corps to go with 16 contras and they have a solid pyramid to their sound, at least to my untrained ears. The movable props are low wedges representing clock hands and the corps use them to restage while the percussion are playing a feature which is neat. Otherwise their usage is fairly standard for modern props. Currently, the recently added closer seems the weakest portion – the flag toss and Harry Styles sample is not yet the highpoint it could be and the corps transition towards the wedge props but with less velocity than normally associated with a classic Cavies ending. While there is some classic Cavies visual effects in this show, I hope there’s more to come! Overall I expect they will be right in the thick of things competitively and this show may well be a grower for me. SCV I’m intrigued to know more about the off-season discussions for this show. The concept seems to be a play on the dual meaning of “Nirvana” - the Buddhism inspired transcendent end place and the 90’s indie rock band. For me, it remains to be seen how well this concept translates to effect realised on the field. First impressions are that Vanguard are very proficient across brass, drums and guard, but there may be some questions that will be answered in due course around high points and a lack of goosebump moments. The program starts with an interesting opening set and the musicians dressed in white offset against the guard gives a strong visual look from the stand, particularly when the bicycle step technique is married to clean feet. There have been a lot of opinions expressed to date around the costuming and I share some of those around the silhouette of the musicians. Put succinctly, the costume isn’t cool in the way 2018’s was, and seemingly would benefit from some colour or other adjustments. 2019 attracted some criticism for being a little one paced, and while I don’t think there’s the exact same here, there does seem to be an absence of full throttle marching compared to some rivals. This may be partly remedied once the closer is on the field, and Mr Gaines is the master of ‘how do they do that’ transitions so who are we to doubt? One aspect that is a little surprising is the choice of props – which have less utility and contribution to the show than most of the top tier. For much of the show many of the twenty or so props remain unused and are only climb-up-and-downable right now. Once they are restaged in-field it gives a segmented feel to what we are seeing, which I felt was a similar issue with 2019’s poles. Musically there is plenty of meat in the brass book and snippets of Nirvana are woven in, particularly the “Hello, Hello, How Low” motif. However, it doesn’t immediately grab me as a barnstorming book, but I will file in the grower pile! There are perhaps more negative comments here than for others, but undoubtedly SCV have another very solid product and strong corps. I’m just not sure, at this early stage, how high it will fly in a season where maybe half a dozen corps have similar competitive aspirations. That said, I may well read this back at seasons end and think what complete rubbish I wrote! BAC Boston have been clear their multi-year programme is “Building a Champion”. Some are wondering if this might be that year? Either way, Boston are on an upwards trend this year and I think this concept gives them more scope for innovative theatrics in keeping with 2017 and 18, above 2019. The 2022 costumes see the hornline in white, with what seems to be a Napoleonic period drama influence. The drums in black (Satan the serpent?) and guard in bold red sets a very strong presence on the field, as do the large polished metal tree sculptures. Boston are another group who this year seem to have strong sections across the board and their execution scores will likely be right up there. They seem as well prepared as any coming out of ST. Visually their programming seems notably more sophisticated this year. Some transitions and evolutions seem more BD in style but retaining some elements of more linear run and gun. Time will tell how far the Paradise Lost theme will take them. At the outset of the season it’s plain to see the story telling is still embryonic, and I’m intrigued to see how well they can suck the audience in as things refine. Presently I’m struggling to apply my basic knowledge of the story to what is evolving in front of me across 11 minutes but I’m sure that will change. My initial concern was that the large, and presumably heavy, props would necessitate being static, but the slow piece mid-show see the props tipped over into a rather cool effect as they are rotate around in unison. The view into the cone shape, with the members perched within, giving the impression of being caught in a spider’s web? At this time, I’d say the Wonderful World movement is the strongest and the effect mentioned above does leave a sense of playing their strongest card quite early in the show. There are plenty of notes and demand elsewhere, and a percussion section who look set to more than hold their own. The fourth movement brings plenty of energy and a great trombone visual – we’ll see your half dozen trombones and raise to twenty! - that is simple but effective, and what to my eyes appears to be crazy fast pair work in the guard. Props too to the soloist in the percussion feature who plays a lot of notes whilst ‘cavorting’ across the field. Who knows how high this show goes? I would find it difficult to make prediction in this uber-competitive top tier, but they too will be right in the thick of things in this top tier. Bluecoats For several years now Coats have represented the leading edge of ‘soundscapes’, based upon programing which I would guess has included the most widespread, and well integrated, uses of electronics. On first viewing the opening of the show suggested to me that there were props from at least three different shows on the field together, but the reasons for this soon become apparent. This year’s show takes a turn further left field from The Beatles into what could be described as an Easy Rider inspired road trip, and all the 70’s psychedelica that this entails. For me, this is a great example of where narration works well to enhance a show. Curiously what is actually thematic exposition, seems anything but, largely due to the rather bizarre subject matter! As with all of the top tier it seems this year, the corps is strong in all sections. Musically I think the selections are growers, it’s the visual effects that grab the immediate attention, and they’re marching as well as any. Some Bluecoats tropes are evident such as the running introduction of the hornline, slickly executed body movements, and plenty of electronic effects in the music. The wheel axle props and the movements around them are really cool. The costuming continues in the vein of recent years with a stand out aesthetic. Interestingly, one feature of the diagonal stripes on the musician’s costumes is that from the high cam it gives the impression of the members marching in a half squat position rather than standing tall as they actually are. I’m not sure if this perception is also there when viewed live? I’m sure that this show will be highly competitive and highly entertaining. If I have a doubt, it is whether this concept, which is basically a retelling of a dream, will enable as strong an emotional finale as some years - does the viewer become accustomed to the wackiness by the latter portion of the show? How will they make the ending resonate? … but then the same could have been said of Downside Up early season and look how that turned out! Carolina Crown Crown’s intro and overall approach is bound to generate opinions. It’s different gravy to anything else in DCI this year. For me, the choice of narrator is great, and the intro works really well in setting a new agenda. One observation is that the countdown leads into a low key intro when a big bang might be a more logical conclusion but that is soon forgotten as Crowns brass line thrown down a ton of tonguing technique in the opener. Lots of notes in the pit and battery seems to be the default approach for most corps opening shows these days! Rather than props, Crown have raided other elements of the pageantry portfolio. The hide and seek silks work well, and the full field streamer effect later in the show is of epic proportions. In contrast to the grand scale of much of the show, the slow piece has very little movement among the musicians allowing the glorious choral sound to shine. The opener and closer have plenty of musical demand as you’d expect and this year I feel the visual design is leading edge too. For the first ten minutes or so I was thinking the wobbly-rolly prop was superfluous but then it does integrate well in the closer’s frenetic drill. I’m not sure on the specifics of the app but it seems to be encouraging crowd participation at key moments. This show already has a 2013 vibe about it but if the app effectiveness gains momentum during the season then this show could be set to take Spartacus’s crown for crowd buy-in to a theme come finals. Blue Devils The props for this show, and indeed the show in general, generate fleeting resemblances to Metamorph, which in fairness isn’t a bad comparison to endear! The use of shading on the props gives a neat sense of angles and perspective from the stand. An observation is that that the props don’t seem to harbour the potential for theatrics compared to the 2019 edition, and 2022 might well come down to such fine margins! The costumes follow what I suppose could be described as a standard look now for BD - this time with shimmering blues in keeping with the theme. The opening set of this show resembles a corps photo but taken by a trendy contemporary photographer, and the ensemble movement is effective performed to a scene setting voice over. It’s a while though – 90 seconds or so – before the brass play a note in the show. In years past this opening might have been a pre-show? Once they do get going, and as we’ve come to expect, BD throw down a ton of notes in the early part of the show. The Moon River portion evokes similar emotions to the slow piece from 2017. The soloists and woozy harmonies create a powerful musical soundscape. This is sure to be one of the highlights of the summer. The Tank section is another strong part of the show with a cool groove leading into some challenging tongued sections. Visually, Devils are written off year after year by some but for me there is an aesthetic quality and sophistication of transitions to their visual package allied to top notch performance. That pattern looks set to continue this season along with some moments of high exposure. If there’s been a weakness in some BD shows then, for me, it can be the last minute of their productions which can be solid close-outs rather than goose bump inducing. I wonder which camp this year’s closer will fall in to by season’s end? It won’t be controversial to suggest that Devils will be duking it out at the top this summer, and I think any other groups are going to have to have to catch fire to beat them.

Any thoughts on how this percussion book would stack up these days in terms of field and effect scores? Would the musciality of the book and skills required still hold up well? Let's assume finals clean and copious amounts of modern body movement factored in too 😊 To this non drummer modern books are, while just as impressive in their own right, less easy to simplify-and-approximate-via-tapping-hands-on-knees than days gone by, that's for sure!