mfrontz

Is there a smiley for "drooling with anticipation"? If not, there should be :) I thank thee for thy review

Tom Moore, heaven has a place for those who pray... Hey hey hey... ^_^ I am enjoying this thoroughly.

What a great line! I usually tell people "I'm not in that department. Some retired pastor in Pittsburgh controls the weather"

Hey Ted, Thank you for your commentary. Paradox is the word I would use to describe my thoughts about competition. It matters, but it doesn't. It is obvious that you are glad Madison Scouts are back in finals and that you believe it is because of an improved product. If you were to take an absolutist position about not being interested in scores, it wouldn't matter to you whether Madison was 1st, 6th, 8th, 14th, or 23rd, as long as the crowd was entertained and the corps members enjoyed the performance. However, it is true to an extent that the quality of a corps performance is recognized with a numerical score. On the other hand, there are qualities that cannot be measured by numbers. There are times when a judge does not see what a staff sees, or what a marching member understands. If a score is lower (or higher) than expected, that is where the teaching ability of a staff and/or judges comes in. A staff member/judge must help the corps to put into context the number they are given. If it means that improvement is called for, then it is the staff member's responsibility to teach that. If a judge had a bad night, then I think a staff member would have an opportunity to say that in a respectful way, too. From reading your comments, it sounds as if your directors had trouble putting the numbers into context. Scores are ONE way to evaluate a performance. They are certainly not the only way, but they do tell you some things. They do not tell you everything. You must take the number and interpret it. No one tells you how to do that. Unless you have a great teacher. After high school band championships, we would all meet back in the lobby of our high school for a sort of "summary address" from our directors. Part of the purpose was to describe our season in ways the scores couldn't. I remember (and this was ten to fifteen years ago) two speeches in particular. One was when we were in the largest division of our judicatory, and placed 5th. I will never forget hearing that we were the only band to score higher the champion in field marching and maneuvering. The second was a year after I graduated, when the band placed second. The director said that we were second across the board, "and as an educator, I can accept that." These are two examples of not letting the scores tell the whole story, but putting them into context for a group of young people. Also, in accepting that other groups can score higher than yours. It does not necessarily mean that you are not interested in scores. Just that you are more interested in the kids. I am glad that Madison's performance level has improved, and that although different people will teach in a different way, you recognize them as the corps you marched with.

Boston Crusaders got the best response Friday night. Phantom Regiment second. Cadets third.

Chuck, Thanks for your kind words. I also would love to hear that mp3. I'm assuming it's from on the field? Say hi to Gary for me if you get the chance and remember with all the other stuff going on. Good luck Sat. night at Allentown and during championships week.

You were wearing the "Drum Corps is Evil" shirt, I presume?

...let's review! THE DECISION: I wasn't going to go to this show. I figured the two days of Allentown would be enough. My mind started to change this morning when I woke up and saw how beautiful a day it was. It took a strong turn to change when I looked at the Allentown weather forecast for Friday. It changed completely when I realized that this would probably be my one and only chance to hear a Phantom victory concert. THE DRIVE: US 15 North from Williamsport, Pennsylvania through lovely, remote, Tioga County, recently hit by twisters, and then west and north through rural valleys in central New York. Wonderful. BTW, they take their speed limits SERIOUSLY in these villages in central NY. No, I wasn't pulled over, but when the car ahead of me slowed to exactly 30 mph coming into the first one, I knew something was up. THE COMPANY: My son, Michael, 4. Has been coming to DC with me since age 1. Claim to fame: did both nights of DCI East in Philadelphia in 2001 as a two-year-old. Has been known to answer question of "Will you be a drummer when you grow up?" with "I am a drummer." Also met our church choir director and her husband there. THE MEAL: Whopper w/cheese, large fries, Coke. Michael had chicken tenders. Met the director of Dansville, NY White Sabers Drum and Bugle Corps, Mark Gerber. He gave me his card, so I thought I'd give him a plug. THE VENUE: Hornell High School stadium. Grandstand with overhang between the twenties. First-come first-serve seating, so we were lucky to get there when we did. Snagged sixth-row seats between the forty-fives (yummy!) Very few drill forms did we see, but the sound more than made up for it. THE ANTHEM: Performed by Melissa (I think that is her name) of Colts, a capella. Very nice mezzo voice with excellent intonation and good transitions into head voice as needed. After the Colts' performance, the announcer said that she was a seventh-year age out. Congratulations and best wishes. THE CORPS (in order of appearance and placement, since they were the same:) CAPITOL SOUND, of Madison, Wisconsin: Only Div. II of the night. Numbers got progressively better after the opener. Unfortunately, with Michael on my lap for all of the shows, I don't get to write down notes anymore, so I really don't remember a lot of this show. I do remember them singing and with decent intonation. The crowd got into them. That is the joy of local shows - they are not jaded and appreciate all levels of corps. KIWANIS KAVALIERS, of Kitchener-Waterloo, Ontario, Canada: First Div. I of the night, and it showed in the improved playing and marching. I don't see a lot of Div. II corps, and I thought maybe Kavs belonged there. FYI (and mine), they belong in Division I. For the second straight year I really enjoyed a Kiwanis show. It is packed with really obvious GE pieces which hooked the local crowd right in. The guard communicated with the audience quite well - they liked the "strip tease" section (obviously) and the playfulness between horn guys and guard girls. Accessible music (the Beatles), which was not as derivative of Bluecoats 92 as I thought it might be, and a confident performance. COLTS, of Dubuque, Iowa: This corps just says "class" to me. The uniforms of the CG and musicians are just sharp. It is too bad this corps doesn't have much of a shot at finals because they certainly sound and look good. A lot of power from the brass at the opening and great solo sounds from several people in the final "Jazz" section. The theme of "Ritual, Song, and Dance" allows them to use a few different genres. I heard from a Colts alumnus that I met a couple of weeks ago that their policy is still "Once a Colt, always a Colt." Translated: if you are a vet, you have a guaranteed spot - a new person can't bump you on the basis of an audition. I have often thought about how gut-wrenching it would be to be bumped on the basis of an audition (unless, of course, you had an attitude problem all year) and I really respect the Colts for maintaining the membership. MAGIC OF ORLANDO, of Orlando, Florida: No doubt a step up from the Colts and then some. This corps also makes a wonderful color presentation (no, not that kind) with their rich purple uniforms in musicians and guard. Fascinating opening to the show with small, high bells seemingly coming from far away - they're in the battery, who are marching them out towards the end zone. Color guard begins the show doing work with little silver panels. Thus we are introduced to "Silver Voices." A really extended percussive introduction to the show builds tension until the first brass hit. Very full, powerful brass sound. Magic marches well and moves constantly, keeping us on our toes with the aforementioned visually created tension. Only question: there is a long section of standing still near (but not at) the end of the opener. Why? Pacing? Brass stamina? Some drill work there might max out your Visual GE even more. Nice full field spread at the end of the opener and I especially appreciated the mellophones absolutely sticking the ninth of the chord right in my left ear. "Sanctus" from "Mass" confused me as I was expecting the Cadet-like transition to the quick section, which never happened. "Sanctus" finished with a quiet chorale. Closer was strong and brass maintained stamina to the end. They gained on Crossmen tonight, which I expected before the scores. I believe they have enough room in their show to pass, as I will detail below. CROSSMEN, sponsored by YEA! I am much more familiar with the next two shows, as I have heard them on recordings several times and seen Crossmen once. Therefore, my reviews of these shows will be longer. Before I launch into this, let me say that I am always harder on Crossmen than any other corps, because they were my corps. The usual disclaimers apply: the members, I know, are working hard, and they are not the target of any criticism. That having been said, the Crossmen will probably max out at tenth place and they have an extremely outside shot of going home Friday night for the first time in fourteen years. The design staff needs to take a good hard look at major changes in their approach for next year (Molotov cocktail edited out). The difference between Magic and even Colts' visual programs and Crossmen's was night and day. Crossmen looked slow and unimaginative compared to both. Granted, the Crossmen's playing different music is part of this. However, the music Crossmen is playing could easily have been substituted for 1996. The Crossmen may have the most hummable music out there, it makes more sense than Magic or Colts, and I still love it, but - they have been doing the same thing for seven years in a row. It is time for a change - if only to stay IN finals, not even to move up. Somewhere Over the Rainbow is the weakest link of the program. (More Molotov cocktails deleted.) As a former judge who happened to be sitting next to me in New Jersey said to me, "They start with an off-the-line - but it's a ballad." The only thing it does is introduce the "Colors" theme, which is nicely translated throughout the show with different tops for the guard over a grey bodysuit. These were changed while other stuff was going on, so that the newbies behind me were like, "When did they change?" The final flags combine all the colors, so that's cool. The drumline is the best they've had in years and is well featured. I am very pleased with the new ending, which now builds far more logically into the park and wail section at the very end of the show. Granted, they did not have a great show tonight and maybe that's why Magic gained. There were a few drops in the CG and some tosses that just did not come down at the same time. The drill at the end still needs to be cleaned. But I can't help but think that there is something more that could be done with Crossmen - something that would grab everyone's imagination. (Incendiary remark deleted.) They have a good hornline. They have a good drumline. They have a decent colorguard, but they have a show that can only go so far. Close on a high note - the traditions that Crossmen maintain warm my heart. They still carry the same flag which we carried to rehearsals and planted on the stands every day in 92 and under which we marched into Madison. They still march off the field hand in hand. The snares have skulls-and-crossbones painted on their sound reflectors or whatever they call the thing under the snare drum. And I can't wait to see Bones on Saturday night. That is, if I'm still allowed to acknowledge myself as an alumnus after being so critical. God bless you, Crossmen, and prove me wrong. PHANTOM REGIMENT, from Rockford/Loves Park, Illinois - Also known as "The Reason." I told Candy, our church choir director and long-time Regiment fan, that if she didn't go see them this year she was going to kick herself for the rest of her life. After seeing the show, she agreed. This show reminds me a lot of 93, both Phantom and Star, with a sprinkling of 99 Vanguard. The use of balletic body movement in Canon worked quite well for me, and the way the baritone and contra entrances are staged just are perfect. The hit, is, well, all that I could have expected. The entry into "Wild Nights" with the extended pit and brass ostinato is really accented well by the solo guard work which draws your eyes from performer to performer. Some of the lower brass attacks throughout the show are just monstrous, as is the percussion - the corps as a whole is just so aggressive. They have hosed a little bit of the end of "Wild Nights" which should help, but they still have holes in the sound when they march it. In "The Lord's Prayer" the guard uses silver poles, which didn't do a lot for me, at least at this level. They just don't seem to be doing a lot with them. In fact, the only complaint I would have about the Regiment overall is that they are too monochrome. White unis (not that tan would have been better), black unis on the guard, silver sabers, silver poles - and they just don't have the big flags like they used to have. Musically the piece is just an absolutely glorious presentation. The finale "Ostinato" or "Wild Nights 2" (not sure) is a roller-coaster ride of adrenaline. The bari/soprano melody reminds me of the main statement of Symphony No. 5 in 1996. They are that clean and that in tune. The restatement of Canon would be notable for the mellophone licks only - and I love the soprano/alto/bari/contra entrance before the ultimate chords, also remiscent of 96. I did not get that reference when listening to the recordings - the contras were too much in the mud. They weren't in the mud live. Will it win? No. Too little interest visually. Does it rock? Absolutely. To borrow from the Miami Hurricanes: "The swagger is back." As if the Regiment would ever "swagger." That's more a BD style. Any suggestions for a substitute? THE FINALE: Full Olympic retreat with Crossmen drumline playing on the corps. The show committee presented plastic water coolers to all competing corps. Except - the ones for the top three scorers were bigger, like the McDonald's size; for the other three, it was about a picnic-table size cooler for a family of four. BOO! Phantom's DM conducted "America the Beautiful/O Canada" two rows directly behind us. Michael's eyes were glued on him. As I watched him, I also watched the older woman in front of the DM. Her eyes filled with tears and I saw several other people wiping their eyes. As bored as I get with that ending to a show, those who come to one show a year live for it and love it. THE ENCORE: Often at shows, I wish I could just close my eyes because I can hear so much more of the music when more than half my brain isn't trying to interpret what I'm seeing. I got to do that with Phantom's encore, because they weren't moving. Because they weren't moving, all the holes related to marching at the same time were gone. It was as loud or louder as I've ever heard a corps play. Everything was perfectly in tune and perfectly articulated. I also found myself wishing it would never be over - I knew that I wouldn't get another moment like it. That's the tough thing about shows; even the CDs don't replicate the experience, so as soon as it's over, it's relegated to memory. Although I've found that listening to my CDs right after hearing DC live brings back some of the "liveness" of the recorded music. Good night! (I edited this post the second time to slightly revise my comments re: Crossmen.) Defense Counsel: "I'd like to object to that word, Molotov cocktail." Judge: "Reason for your objection?" Defense Counsel: "It's inflammatory, your honor."

Great review. Spirit of the Crossmen...good to know that traditions stay alive and grow over the years traditio - that which is handed over

At later season shows, DCI East, and during championships week, someone (who is always anonymous) dresses in the old Crossmen uniform of the 1970s, with a "skull" mask on, and watches over the corps from the back stands. The idea behind "Bones" is that you can't get Crossmen out of you, it's in your bones, and if everything else is taken away, the bones are what is left. "Bones" therefore represents the Crossmen of the past watching over the corps. He really hypes up the members, and the alumni and fans in the stands, and has become, over the years, one of the great traditions in Drum Corps, ranking with "Splooie," Cadets singing "For Holy Name Shall Always Be," and other show night rituals. (If I've gotten any of the details wrong, someone let me know. It's been a while.)

????????? Gulke wasnt the 90 Drum major ..... 94 was his first year. ~G~ ampssuck DOH!! Like I said...Khan was killed in the end......that moron never trust a villain... <**> Patrick, Even though you were wrong...thank you for the Khan reference. I love that movie, too. How about this: Downey: We're all with you, sir, but consider this. WE PLAY COOL JAZZ. You have the lead in the power poll, the fans on your side, and more rings than anyone else. You have proved your superior intellect, and defeated the plans of Admiral Fiedler. You do not need to defeat him again... Gibbs: [/i]He tasks me...He tasks me, and I shall HAVE him... :lee:

Yeah, we never got used to those type of things. Ignorance........... Cavaliers drum majors at Giants Stadium had to endure "You stink, Cavaliers, I'm not impressed!" at DM retreat this year. Jealousy... (and ignorance) As for buying the judges, any REAL musician knows how much harder it is to play/sing at a piano dynamic than it is at a forte.

^OO^ ^OO^ ^OO^

Cadets 1983 - Simple Song from "Mass" Cadets 1984 - I Have A Love Blue Devils 1988 - Since I Fell For You

How can 93 Star be "underrated?" It came within .1 of winning the whole dance... And I have seen nothing but fans of the show ever on the Internet. It has been one of those shows which has stood the test of time...unlike their 92 show, which was forgotten as soon as the season was over. Now if you mean it should have WON...and so was underrated... My vote - 1990 SCV - "Carmen." Total beauty, power, and class... and the closing from the tunnel was amazing.

Got in at 4 AM last night from the Meadowlands. They had not one, but two three lanes to one bottlenecks on i-80 going home last night. That, combined with the concession prices, means that I will never go back to Giants Stadium for an early-season show. I agree with Gmichael1230 that the crowd was extremely rude. The woman in front of me actually CALLED someone on her cell phone during the Raiders' show. That, and there was some joker (kindest word available) who yelled, "You stink, Cavaliers, I'm not impressed!" after scores were announced. Seats, in fifth row of mezzanine, on the thirty. Ventiliation system, as well as hot air from people in front of me, disrupted my hearing of the show. RAIDERS: Some nice brass moments and really primo high and middle brass solos. Generally a very confident looking corps with individual exceptions. That will clear up as they go. CROWN: The drill is the only weak point here. It's not even that it's not clean, it's just not written well, as usual. Actually, let me clarify. Certain impact points are written well, but everything else seems to have been an afterthought. I have never understood Crown's approach to visual. But the color guard can do their work, and drums have been discussed on another board. My only thought with the perc. is that the field drums only play half of the show. Three-quarters I can handle, but half? Due to where I requested to sit (another major error) I couldn't really hear the pit too well. BLUECOATS: Much cleaner and more focused drill. They may have too many quiet, mysterious moments from the brass. One neat feature is the "prison lament" solos from the brass. Really neat show idea which needs a lot more emotion and energy to allow it to translate into higher scores and larger ovations. CROSSMEN: Dirty in every way - visually and musically. Other than that, very entertaining show. Only thing I don't like - the ending. Bringing the wghole corps to the sidelines and wailing for about a minute has only been done like, fifty thousand times. Do some more drill and clean the rest up and you might be over the Bluecoats someday. CAVALIERS: The first two sections are forgettable if you have seen last year's show or even encountered it in its recorded versions. It's only with the third section that they begin to do anything new. Jaw dropping demand on the musicians. I don't mind the guard uniforms. The music is even more forgettable than last year - at least last year had a musical phrase that kept repeating over and over again so that you could get it into your head. If drum corps is the sum of its parts, then Cavies are drum corps. CADETS: I was actually on the edge of my seat seeing whether they had what it took to come close to Cavies. The short answer: I doubt it. But I did enjoy the show, a lot. Too much park and bark in Malaguena. High brass seems to be the only weak part of the line - they do have some monster soloists, however. The drumline is featured extensively, which is a good thing. Note to YEA!: If Giants Stadium does not have an American flag visible in the stadium, then you should provide one for the National Anthem.

"May all your guesses be right..." -Dr. McCoy, "Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home"

Very good comments, Benny...especially re: the Div. I corps. I LOVED the clip Vanguard posted on their site in May, and I would love to see them clean the heck out of their show and take the whole thing. It is dirt that has held them back since their incredible 1999 year. The concepts have been/continue to be fantastic, the drumming spectacular, the brass great, the visual inspired: but simply DIRTY! We shall see...

It sounds like we may not be able to get enough... Well described. Thank you for allowing me to imagine now what I won't get to see for another month or so...

1. Too bad because I thought Southwind was full of GE in 2001. Been waiting for them to have a "breakout" year afterwards. Oh well. 2. Why is this a disease with arrangers? The most egregious offender ever was Crossmen 1995 - "School for Scandal." I still cringe whenever I think of how that opener started, and stopped, and started, and stopped... 3. Let's just hope no one yells, "Spank me!" 4. "Canon in D" needs to stay in tune, I would imagine...What is the arrangement like and how are they executing it? Fine review, Jonathan...very detailed and frank in its assessments.

This may be an appropriate place for me to voice what I've been thinking about for a long time...my excitement about the renaissance of drum corps on the Pacific Coast. It seems only yesterday that I logged onto RAMD and read that VK was folding only a year after Freelancers and Marauders packed it in. I could hardly believe it. There were calls for DCI to intervene and save the corps. There were posts castigating BD/SCV for their lack of concern for their neighbors. When I look back on that day, I think of it as the low point of drum corps in our time. Since then... Each area that lost a Div I corps in the mid 90s has gained one back (Washington - Cascades; NorCal - Mandarins; SoCal - Pacific Crest) The Div II/III scene has remained, and Impulse has been added And NW Venture, SoCal Dream, and the Renegades have formed, giving the Pacific Coast a senior DC scene. And I'm sure I'm missing others. Plus the junior/senior corps from Asia that use California as a gateway to drum corps in the USA. As one who can only be a DC spectator and supporter, I feel the most optimistic about drum corps this summer than I have in a long time. DCI did not need to intervene to save drum corps on the Coast - the people were there to do it. Enjoy your summer. Hope to see you in Scranton.

Hello all. In this lengthy review: why premium seats aren't always, the resulting ethical dilemma, and why two porta-johns for a couple thousand people just aren't enough. Plus some thoughts on some drum corps. THE WEATHER: Thunderstorms from around 5:30 to 6:30 cooled off the East Coast, probably gladdening the hearts of corps members who have been rehearsing in this very warm weather. However, it had an effect on the field conditions, thus having an effect on the seating conditions (see below.) THE VENUE: Old wooden bleachers, quite a few of them, but I was a little nervous about my three year old. The show didn't get started until 8 PM due to the rain, and when it did, the announcer noted that "due to the inclement weather" the corps were playing ten yards to the left. This left the premium seating ($18 vs. 15 and 10) not so premium, as those who thought they'd be inside the 40 on the right side of the 50 suddenly found themselves outside the 40. The inclement weather really wasn't that big a deal - the rain wasn't that hard, it's just that the field was in awful shape. It was one of those deals where either soccer or track had used the football field in the spring, and they hadn't resodded early enough or at all, meaning there was this huge hole right about what would have been the ten yard line on the right side. Well, they solved it by moving the field over ten yards. This development leads to: THE ETHICAL DILEMMA: I had arrived at 6:40 and bought two "reserved" seats for my son and I, just outside the 40, low, on the right side. When they bumped the corps over, I now found myself very low between the 25 and 30. Lousy seats. I had happened to notice earlier that there were very few people sitting low on the opposite side, which now was primo territory. So after the first corps, I availed myself of two of those seats, resolving to myself that I would certainly move if somebody arrived with those ticket numbers. No one did, and I sat at what was about the 45 and got great sound. The question for you: was this ethical on my part? After all, the people who paid for premium seats didn't get to move to better seats. Did I pay for the seats I was assigned and was I obligated to sit in those two seats and those alone? Or should I have been able, especially considering the change in the corps location relative to me, to creatively handle the situation as long as I didn't infringe on anyone else? Reply and let me know; I can certainly handle either answer. Oh yeah, there were some drum corps shows. LEHIGH VALLEY KNIGHTS: Debut show for this young corps, playing challenging music which has the double whammy of being familiar to many drum corps fans, being music also played in the "We are the Future" show of Cadets 2000 fame. Inspiring to see such young kids playing drum corps. They certainly are the future. Met Chris Maher of corpreps.com; he pointed out his fourteen-year old son to me as they passed on retreat. 2nd Div II/III: 55.45. MAGIC OF ORLANDO: Someone reviewing this corps' show earlier said that they weren't that impressed with it, given the staff that Magic was fielding. I couldn't disagree more. Of course, Magic doesn't sound like BD yet and doesn't march like Cadets. They shouldn't be. They're just back fielding a corps. In fact, what Sacktig, Gino and company are doing is tremendous; they are refusing to give the corps more than they can handle. The brass is not overplaying, the visual is clean, but the kids don't have to run around, and they are getting a great foundation for the future. They don't need to be the Cadets yet. They're in Division II. Watch out in two or three years; with this foundation, they'll be tremendous. The show itself has a lot of good impact points, but it's not finals material. Nevertheless, for where it will be placed in the context of shows, it is extremely satisfying. The guard does some good work too which should not be overlooked with the proficiency of the horn line. 1st Div II/III: 77.60. KIWANIS KAVALIERS: The masks that the corps wear (really sort of visors over the eyes of the corps (and I think the guard as well) makes the corps look imposing as all get out. I think that's the first time I've used "imposing" and "Kiwanis Kavaliers" in the same paragraph. I really like their show idea of superheroes. They perform it pretty well; when the horns have to play melody lines instead of impact points they sound a little thin, but hey. Recognizable music and the look make this a show I want to see again if I can. 5th Div. I: 59.65. SPIRIT OF JSU: I saw this from the side, since I had to take my three-year-old son to the bathroom, and he wasn't about to wait in line for the two porta-johns, so I had to run and find my way into the school and use a bathroom inside. By the time we got back, Spirit was playing. Even from the side, I could tell this is not a finals show this year. They play and march and spin well enough, but that's all. It is simply not a memorable show by any stretch of the imagination. But this should not take anything away from the perfomers - again, I think they're playing well enough. They just need a better vehicle. As Crown adds, they'll pull away. Fourth Div. I - 69.30 CAROLINA CROWN: I have been critical in the past of Crown's show design. Granted, I was low, but I like them much better this year. The guard unis and flags work really well together color wise, the mythology props (Zeus's lightning bolts, Cupid's arrows, the Medusa snakes) work also, and the music, including Samuel Barber's Medea, are appropriate and well played. A couple beefs. One: during the ballad, when the brass forms an aisle, and the men in the guard kind of leap their way through it to where the rest of the guard is, then duck behind a screen for no particular reason, it doesn't work. I have to assume there's something more there. Second, I wish they would do something more with a Medusa motif in the closer. Some of the guard carries some pretty realistic looking snakes which I suppose are supposed to be reminiscent of Medusa. How about some big serpent flags? I hear from Chris there are more props coming (ugh). 3rd Div. I: 70.65 CROSSMEN: Watch out Phantom and Glassmen. This show is much more demanding visually and musically wise than last year's seventh place offering, and it's also better executed. The key will be this: can the Crossmen get the opener, "Heat of the Day," to groove effortlessly and consistently by finals week? If so, then look for them possibly to debut the TV broadcast. Of course, I haven't seen either Phantom or Glassmen, but Crossmen look great and deserve the scores they're getting. Some phasing problems tonight in "Heat of the Day:" again, this will be key. Bones are marching what I believe is the only flugelhorn section in DCI this year: five horns which have some very tasty but extremely exposed parts, including the opening soli in both the opener and the ballad. They were a little bit tentative tonight: they need to be spit-clean. The program as a whole is enormously satisfying. The horn line packs a wallop - those who say they cover the drums too much at times are right I believe. The guard is very aggressive and use these great ten-foot poles in the balllad: when they spin them at the push, the reflections from the lights make this wonderful effect. Strawberry Soup works. Ten years after I marched, my heart still goes faster when they take the field; and it's especially great to see them doing so well this year and over the past few. Second Div. I: 77.40 CADETS: You know, the '40s style dresses and suits are so classy on the guard. They really do look and dance like the cast of a Broadway musical. This show is excellent and works on a story level so well. Church-like silence from the crowd at the end of the ballad, when the boys have changed into soldiers ready for war. Everybody loves the jitterbug. The percussion and the brass play so clean and loud during "Boogie Woogie Bugle." The finale is all one could ask for. Unfortunately, I believe no one can catch Cavaliers this year, but this will be a Cadets show to remember nonetheless. They are all that and a piece of apple pie, and that's before the changes. 1st Div. I: 81.50 Full retreat with America/O Canada - new arrangement with a little more frilly stuff thrown in for mellophones; everyone sounded a little tentative. No encore by Cadets "due to the late hour." Some boos. To be expected. It was about an hour later than people had planned. May be the only show I can attend this year. Heck. It really sounds and looks like it's shaping up to be a great one. I can dream - and live vicariously through the Internet.