bgg80

A great night for drum corps, in a GREAT venue. Following are my thoughts on the six World Class corps. I arrived right after BDC performed. My seats were in the last row, upper deck, on the 50 yard line. I usually sit far closer, but decided to go for the GE and drill vantage this year. Mandarins -- 67.65 They really impressed me. Nice, flowing show (hmmm .. The River is the theme ...). Great design, from music selections to drill. For being the smallest World Class corps competing, they used the field well. Brass volume was ok, as you would expect from a smaller line (maybe 45-50 maximum?) Academy -- 68.8 Vienna Nights is a difficult book, and Academy does a good job tackling it. Drill wasn't as fluid or imaginative as Mandarins. There were segments in the first half of the show (when the guard was waltzing) where I dare say it got a bit boring. Almost like a concert band performance. I don't think the guard had their uniforms, which will help visually. They threw down some great impact moments in the second half of the show. Nicely done, but the show needs to grab the audience more up front. Pacific Crest -- 72.75 It is great to see this corps mature and refine over the past few years. While watching, I was thinking back to the first year I went to a drum corps show -- 1982! In those mid-80's years, we had a second tier of corps from California -- VK (in 1982 they weren't finalists yet), Valley Fever, San Jose Raiders (anyone remember they marched a conga line .. NOT a snare line?), California Dons, etc. After watching these three corps (yes .. I know Academy is from Arizona) I was thinking it was great to see a new generation of West Coast corps that are really stepping up. I know the Mandarins have been around forever, but they too have made the jump to World Class. OK -- back to Pacific Crest. Nice "tribal" theme to their show. Pulsing music. Nice impact points. Strong volume from the brass. Singing by the brass at one point! Shades of Freelancers in the mid 80's! Guard plays up the theme well, although has a lot of cleaning work to do in the second half of the show. Job well done. Their score though was higher than I would have expected, compared to the previous two corps. Santa Clara Vanguard -- 80.15 New Guard uniforms are brownish business suits -- both for the guys and gals. The strength of SCV is their beautiful, flowing drill. Classic, innovative visuals that compliment the music well. SCV has a big challenge this year -- I break down their show into three parts. The opening third has some good, intricate horn playing, but from an audience engagement point, it really takes a long time to wind up and go. The middle "park and blow" section was fantastic. Forgive me for not knowing the music selections (yes -- being lazy and not going to corps site), but the Latin feel was really cool and different for SCV. I was thinking halfway through that this could easily be a BD number. SCV pulls it off well, and got the best crowd reaction of the show here (standing O). The final segment, Cloudburst, I think it is called, is .. I hate to say it ... pretty weak, both in concept and execution. Drill is expansive, but really dirty (moments throughout the show riddled with spacing issues, jagged forms) but in this closer, it was apparent that they don't have too much time under their belts performing it. So while execution can be addressed, composition is a big concern. The music just sorts of chugs along, and then ..... poof ... ends. In all my years watching DCI, I've never seen a more underwhelming close from SCV. The crowd, who clearly had a lot of SCV support in the stands, took a good 5-6 seconds after the show ended, to rev up energy for a standing O. I can only assume SCV is looking to change the ending. Brass was good, not great. Consistent exposures by individual players. Guard showed some great flag work. Rifle work impressive. Nice job. Percussion is clearly the strength of this corps, particularly that snare line -- and cymbal line! So a nice job by SCV, but the show is low-high-low for me. The ending third has the same challenge I felt BD had last year with the "Heaven" segment ... until they threw in the "Ode to Joy" ending. SCV needs to find something else to close this out. Phantom Regiment -- 81.6o Whoa! One of my favorite shows of the past few years was SCV 2004 with Scheherazade. Great drama, great music, great execution. PR reminds me a lot of this show with Spartacus, but takes it to a new level. I may be wrong, but I think several of SCV's staff are now with PR? This corps will be no lower than 3rd, in my opinion. Only thing that may hold them back is their visual/drill book. But musically, they really kick xxx. I was surprised to see them take brass from BD, but not THAT surprised. Marching was quite clean, if not hugely demanding. But PR is about theatrics and great impact moments this year. The guard plays the parts very well. Some great work, and great acting that projected all the way up to my seats. The crowd was engaged throughout. I read comments that PR sounded top heavy. I disagree, and maybe it was the high vantage point. I definitely heard that classic PR low brass come through. Percussion was very strong, and will battle BD throughout the season for high percussion (I assume Cavies and Cadets will have something to say too, but I'm going off of the corps I saw tonight). The murders were cool, and the crowd loved it. Before the first kill, the stadium had a "Gladiator" moment, with many giving the thumbs down. Was a great moment (sorry for the poor guy, but it was fun:). The SECOND kill, with the drum major taking out the cute guard member, right after the dramatic musical moment, was pure theater. The best (well .. most shocking part) was how the DM lifted up the slain member, and then just TOSSED her to the ground. Crowd ATE IT UP. Violence? Yes. Cool? Very. So shoot me (there I go again with violence) for being a tad non-PC . :) The chants at the end were really effective. They were spoken with a unique accent. Wow - just a great, grabbing show. As they left the field, I was left wondering how BD would top it. Blue Devils -- 83.3 Well .. top it they did. BD just OWNS this show. They are truly in a different league right now, and they are because of their virtuosity. This show is a stronger package than last year's Winged Victory, in my view. While last year had perhaps the best 6-7 opening minutes in drum corps followed by a good, but not great final 5, this year's Absurdity show is compelling, and masterfully performed, throughout. The biggest takeaway from BD this year is their drill. While their drill isn't quite as ... beautiful .. as SCV, but it is really new, innovative and risky. I've never seen BD move (and play!) more than this year. In past years, my eyes were always drawn to the percussion and guard. This year .... and maybe because of my vantage point, I was continually drawn by the drill. There was one move in the final piece where (and this is hard to explain) a long line "whips" across the field, and "undulates" while moving in a way that accents a brass run perfectly. It was a "whoa" moment for me ... one I usually only have when watching a Cavaliers show, where the music is always written to the drill. Opening piece was great, starting with the pit "tightrope" playing before the opening backfield chord. My favorite part of this show is (I believe) the Elfman music in the middle, with the back and forth between the different horn voices (often while doing something crazy). The climax of that piece, with the corps closing in an arc, with the guard dancing and throwing their rifles VERY high, was a true "throw babies" moment. The ballad was classic BD. Beautiful, restrained and very balanced -- particularly the backfield playing. The closer is different than the preseason CD ... not the Untouchables anymore, which actually was good for me. The arrangement I heard sounded more like a marching band closer than a DCI closer. The replacement music, "I Will Wait for You" (?) is a great, growing piece of music. But make no mistake, the star of BD's closing statement is the DRILL. Brass already plays with depth and color you don't expect to see until August, but you also feel like they can add way more. Guard is visually LOUD and great. Percussion, particularly the solo after the ballad, is off the hook great. BD is a machine this year, and they have a show that can absolutely win ... a better total package than last year. Well .. those are my opinions from last night. A true pleasure to see all of the kids working so hard, and putting such great products on the field. I expected greatness out of BD, but I was very pleasantly surprised by PR. GREAT show that will contend. SCV was somewhat disappointing, but there's a lot of time to improve (the upside is there!) between now and August. It has to start with a better ending. Thanks for reading!

BLUE DEVILS! Unbelievable quarters score. 1 point this year feels like 3 ... but you never know. Cadets -- there has to be a penalty, but I'm not aware of 3-point penalties?

re: Hornline -- it looked awkward .. so then I suppose the answer is both: didn't like execution, nor the fact they were doing it re: Guard -- it just seemed overdone. I was rather close to the field though, so maybe it's a matter of overdoing it to project up high. Honestly it was campy up close.

Simply wonderful to see many of the top corps here in California one week before finals! Here is my review -- I was sitting at the 45, about 15 rows up from the field. Not a good vantage point for drill. Great for sound! This review will cover the final 5 -- and before any starts with me on disrespecting the other corps .. we couldn't get a babysitter to our house until 8 pm! SCV GREAT: GREAT brass sound. Deep and rich. A lot of nice impact moments in this show. A nicely marched drill. Loved the cymbol line. NOT SO GREAT: Guard uniforms were almost distracting. Looked like a bunch of extras from one of those 60s dance scences in an Austin Powers movie. Their weapons were ON tonight -- very clean. Music was actually disjointed to me. Can't remember a thing the played. FINALS PREDICTION: They seem to be surging -- good for 6th, maybe 5th Blue Knights GREAT: Nice dark music. Interesting drill, if not too demanding. Nice, intense percussion. NOT SO GREAT: Horn player attempting ballet. Angry guard faces -- they were actually growling. Doesn't work. FINALS PREDICTION: 9th or so... Bluecoats GREAT: BRASS line is off the hook good. Just a wonderful sound. Great theme -- fun watching the guard do their thing. They really take the criminal theme and take advantage of it. "You have the right to remain silent" section. NOT SO GREAT: Visual/Drill isn't outstanding. Good, but not great. Marching technique not quite up there with the top corps. Ok .. I have to say this one -- the Drum Major looks completely disinterested while conducting. She looked like she could barely raise her hands above her waist -- very casual, and no energy. It was distracting at times. PREDICTION: 4th Cadets GREAT: AMAZING horn line. Excellent drum line. Guard was clean (but I'm not sure about best of the night). Wonderfully talented kids. I do think they deserved to win tonight, as I think BD was a bit off. SIMPLY HORRIBLE: Narration was worse than I thought. "Athletes of God". Last guy sounded EXACTLY like Napolean Dynamite. And what he was saying was beyond cheesy. The musical book seems rather choppy -- the only thing I really remember was the big impact moment where they rocked out -- I think SCV played a few years back? Narration -- I can't say this enough -- what a COMPLETE distraction and way to overshadow what is an amazingly talented corps. God .. the talking was AWFUL. Worse than BD Yowza 2005. Lots of eyerolling in my section. What a shame -- while people were looking at each other saying "did she say athlete of God?!?!" they should have been enjoying the great playing and marching. Oh -- and why do the Cadets bounce so much when they march. They all do it the same way -- so I suppose it is their particular technique. PREDICTION: 2nd, maybe 1st, but starting next year, BAN narration, or accept 2 point penatly (5 points for HORRIBLE cheese factor) BD GREAT: Opening six minutes is simply the best, most bad ### drum corps I think I've ever seen (been following since 1982) Just commanding. Guard's black wings are cool (except for one part, see below). The drill move when they wrap around the guard member is awesome. The ballad was beautiful. Very rich. Closer -- starts blah, and then picks up steam. Yet another new ending from what I saw in Indy webcast. And it works -- gave me chills at the end (only of the night). Drum line was amazing. Pit was amazing. Drill was beautiful, and demanding. They spread things out, and are running all over the place. They attempt to play with elements ALL OVER the field. It usually works (see below). I didn't see anything harder from that standpoint. Marching technique is simply the best. The last 20% of the show has much greater impact than I saw earlier in the season. But it still, and will never, measure up to the first 6 minutes. NOT SO GREAT: Guard was off. Tosses looked a bit dirty. In the opener, after the corps winds through the guard with black wings, they kick into Pegasus. Guard fans out, but it muddies the drills until they clear. Brass had an off night. Heard a few exposures/fracks. They had some minor phasing as well in the opener and near the end. I will say though, when they had phasing, they had the drum line running backwards towards the one 20, with the brass spread out from 20 to 20 running backwards in the other direction. It seems incredibly demanding, and they had a few issues tonight. PREDICTION: 1st if they execute. The content, the GE, the drill, the music are all there to win it. Guard needs to clean up some more. Brass needs to clean up. Everything else is off the hook great. Best of luck to everyone next week in Pasadena. May narration be banished forever. It was simply cheesey, and detracted from what was otherwise a great performance. "Athelete of God"..... "In high school I always felt like I was different" AAAAAAAH! Give me freaking Rocky Point Holiday

Cavies drill is great, but I have to say -- I don't see it being far more difficult than BD. I see a rotating block every 30 seconds. break off into line segments -- rotate -- etc. Looks great, but I'm not seeing a big disparity in drill between Cavies and BD. Cadets IMHO have the most difficult drill marched this year. Musically they are off this year. Doesn't keep my interest -- lots of snippets to me. Brass performance -- periodic fracks from mellos and sopranos. All this said -- they are incredible -- I just don't see them winning on finals night. 2nd, 3rd at worst.

BD .1 behind Cavies in Effect and .05 behind Cavies in Visual. You wouldn't think so after reading all of these posts about BD's simple drill, blah second half, etc. It looks strange to see BD 5th in brass and 4th in CG. I'd be surprised if they end up there in those captions at year end. In any case, this is looking like one of those rare years where three different corps win quarters, semis and finals. Cool!

BD just installed a completely new drill for their ballad ... two days ago.... and they widened the gap from last night (lol ... by just tiny bit..)

Disagree -- chances are high that BD will end up very strong in brass, and CG.

BD third in CG and brass, and still won. THAT is surprising, and probably encouraging if you are a BD fan

My guesses on captions: BD takes GE Music, Visual performance, CG, Percussion Cavies take GE visual, visual ensemble 'Coats take music ensemble, brass

BLUE DEVILS!!!!!!! First clash between West and Midwest.

"Pedestrian drill" comment is simply off base. I've been reading that for years about the Blue Devils, and yet this corps ALWAYS finishes in the top 3 in visual GE, performance and ensemble. They don't get consistently high scores in these captions every year for marching a "pedestrain drill." I saw park and blows from each of the last three corps this evening. Also saw more block drill for Cavies. All three have amazing drills, IMHO.

Wow -- BD was really impressive. Opening six minutes of visual/drill is the best I've ever seen them put on the field. Brass sounds outstanding, but drumline is just smoking. CG is always solid. Ballad in the middle is beautiful (not all loud, like I've been reading) They need to work on the last 3 min or so of the show both visually and emotionally. But overall, this is a wonderful show with a lot of potential and room to grow. Great to see the wings --- haven't seen those since the 80s!

The ending -- run out of batteries -- not exactly a way to bring it home...

Listen -- this is great technical playing -- but I hate to say it -- sounds like notesnotesnotesnotesnotes. Drill -- no one better

cavies -- was there a melody involved in that ballad? This is a great gimicky show.

Cavies -- amazing drill -- really non-descript music -- Guard is great technically, but really looks goofy

BD .375 away from first (could be first by Sat.) Phantom .500 away from second (more than likely will be third by Sat.)

Die-hard BD fan -- so a few BD openers before I get to what I believe are the top 2 all-time: BD: 82 -- T.O. 84 -- Bacchanalia 88 -- Happy Days 91 -- Adventures in Time (awesome) 01 -- Awayday 03 ALL TIME: 83 Cadets -- RPH -- Game changing 87 SCV -- RCM -- Chills

DIVISION I 1 Blue Devils 86.080 2 The Cavaliers 85.500 3 Blue Stars 73.800 Last two to perform (vs 5th last and last). Two days for Cavies to clean. Somewhat less time for BD with a show last night. Same spread. In any case .. this will be a tight race to finals, not to mention PR! Cadets -- listen to the audio feature on dci.org. Even the drum major struggles to talk about the show. "well .. its kinda .. sorta .. kinda like..." Announcing characters for their show. Ugh.

Nice score from BD. Very nice showing for PR.

"Intonation problems" was a quote from a BD critic who posted last night. I attribute "rich dark sounds" to both the brass and the overall ensemble. BD has a great sound this year. The first 1:30 is all percussion, and sets a great mood. You don't think Downey is involved with BD anymore?

Holy over analysis... I think the best path to the championship is one BD took in 1994 and 1982 (there is a history of undefeated corps before 2002). Just don't lose.

I don't buy it. Cavies drill is excellent, and I will say a bit more innovative. But I see a lot of follow-the-leader stuff and shifting blocks. Same thing that BD gets slammed for year and year. To me .. the visual package needs to interpret the music book and provide staging for the various elements as they need it to make impact. In that category, I believe BD does extremely well, and is why they score so well in GE visual and visual captions, even though folks consistently say their drill is "easy". Oh .. and their drill is NOT easy.

Each panel is a unique mix, and even though the tick system is long gone, performance and mistakes still count. The No. 1 criteria for putting these scores into perspective is that for the first time this season, the top 3 (or so) corps were compared side-by-side. That is more significant than a CG score being "off" from the previous trend.