SCV RR826

To me, there was a huge difference between those two shows. Boston didn't have their guard in firefighter suits, they didn't have the 9-11 pose and they certainly didn't have a pledge. Boston's show was patiotic, but it didn't go too far "out there" patriotic wise as CBC's show did.

I'm a journalist so forgive me for the lengthy review. But I really get into detail about my entire day, enjoy. I started my Friday morning with a ten minute trip to Klein Forest HS to check out The Cadets. Traffic on Highway 249 wasn't all that bad and KFHS was pretty easy to find. Once I arrived there, I parked in the back athletic lot where The Cadets drumline happened to be rehearsing. I watched the drumline for about a good 15 minutes while they worked on warm-ups and parts of the opener. Then they went to the practice field to rehearse with the rest of the corps. Once full corps rehearsal started, they worked on the "first set" of the show. I put it in quotation marks because the corps actually starts off their show during the warm-up---it's pretty interesting. The corps starts off in a block on the 50 yard line and then transition into their warm-up spots. If I can remember correctly, the drumline faces backfield on the left side of the 50 while the rest of the corps is spreaded out across the field. They worked on that for 20 minutes, took a short 3 minute water break and worked on parts of their closer "Rocky Point Holiday". About 15 minutes later, I left The Cadets rehearsal and headed to Eisenhower HS to check out the Glassmen. Btw, I put together a schedule on Thursday so that way I could check out the majority of the corps that were staying in Houston. Once I arrived at Eisenhower, I pulled into the student parking lot then walked to the back of the school where the brass was working on their ballad "October". It was some pretty neat stuff especially when they all started to hum the piece...(they don't really do that in the show) I don't know if there's a chorale version of "October" but it would be really neat if a choir did it. Anyways, after spending time with the brass, I went to the practice field to see what was all going on with the percussion section. They were working on their percussion feature in their show and I must say it's really cool. It adds a lot of groove and effect into the show. I'll get into more detail about it in my summary on the G'men below. After the Glassmen, I decided to head home for lunch since my house is just down the road from Eisenhower...so it didn't delay my schedule all that much. I tell you, the Texas heat is BRUTAL. I was already sweating after spending 4-5 minutes at The Cadets rehearsal. Thank god I had a nice cold can of Vanilla Coke at home. Yum. After lunch, it was time to catch the Cavaliers at Hightower HS in Missouri City (near Sugar Land). It's normally a 35-40 minute drive, but it took much longer then that. The traffic on I-45 in Downtown was a complete standstill. There were some strong storms on the south end of Harris County, and I'm thinking the traffic on the southside of Downtown on I-45 is what caused the problem. After maybe a 10 minute wait, traffic slowly started flowing again. The skies were DARK, I mean not gray but a scary black color. You could see the Houston skyline with all of it's lights on, but the background made it eerie looking with all of the lightning, it was like watching a horror movie or something. After battling out other cars on I-45, I had to get on Highway 59 South towards Sugar Land. Traffic on 59 wasn't all that bad since the majority of traffic comes from Sugar Land. Once I headed south, the skies didn't look too threatening. It wasn't completely blue, but it was more like a peach and pink color, pretty interesting. I turned on the news radio station to see what was all going on in the area and there was a Severe Thunderstorm Warning for Fort Bend & Harris Counties. I was like oh great, how is this going to affect all of the corps rehearsals. While driving I was noticing how Sugar Land is such a beautiful city...I really forgot how beautiful it really was because it's been a while since I've been there. Everything, even the traffic lights looks so high-class it's not even funny. Anyways, I exited Hwy. 6 and headed East towards Missouri City and that's where I hit some strong storms. I thought about pulling on to the shoulder like a few other cars did because the rain was so hard. Even my windshield wipers were set on high and it still couldn't catch up with the rain. I decided not to pull over since Hightower wasn't that far away. Once I pulled into to the parking lot I was amazed at how beautiful [link:www.berridge.com/Hightower-2-smaller.jpg|Hightower HS] was. There was construction going on, on the north side of the building, but it was obvious that they were building a new football stadium. But right next to it, I'm not sure what it's supposed to be but it looks like a HS arena, crazy stuff but it looks great with the football stadium. I hope one day that all of the Fort Bend ISD band directors get together to host a FBISD Marching Band Invitational. Because with all of the outstanding directors in FBISD and a venue like Hightower's, I'm sure it would be a great draw for the Houston area bands. Maybe get a few in from the hill country and South Texas also. Anyways, the Cavaliers drumline was in the HHS Band Hall rehearsing with no electricity since the storm knocked it out a couple of times. The BH door was open to let some light in but other then that, it was completely dark. The drumline worked on the third movement of their show "Terminal Velocity". It was anything that a drummer could ask for---fast paced drumming with tons of visuals thrown in. IMO, the Cavaliers produce a top knotch percussion section year in and year out. I was impressed by their commitment to the Cavaliers organization...they were are really classy and professional, the same goes to the rest of the corps. After catching the drumline and pit, they all decided to join the rest of the corps at the practice lot on the other end of the school. I followed them and that's where all the fun began. Once rehearsal started, they worked on the music leading up to the opening statement in the intro. They performed two different versions of the music, rehearsal volume and performance volume---it's pretty much self explanitory on what it stands for. It was all marching and no music during the first run through of the intro, but they later progressed and started adding in the music. To those that question the music of the Cavaliers, I highly suggest attending one of their rehearsals. I literally got goosebumps when they hit the huge statement in the beginning of the show, WONDERFUL brass sound. So after about 20-30 minutes, it was time to visit the Santa Clara Vanguard at Clements HS. First I had to stop by and get gas at a local Shell station ($1.46 per gallon, ugh). Filled up, got a Dr Pepper fountain drink then left. Clements is about 10-15 minutes from Hightower depending on the traffic on Hwy. 6. Once I arrived at Clements, the entire corps was in a huge arch in the parking lot. They were working on their ballad, "One Man Show" from Pollock by Jeff Beal. It was AMAZING. When they hit the loud impact in the ballad I was in awe and so were the other kids that were in attendance at the rehearsal. This isn't the same show as the "Early Season" mp3 (same with the Cavaliers), and I can't wait to see what the final product is like. Also, the Vanguard is so incredibly loud this year. They're louder than The Cadets in some parts of the music, and also a number of people on the West Coast have said that they were louder than the Blue Devils. Anyways, I think that Key Poulan and SCV make a great team and I hope they stick with him in the future. After working on the ballad for a couple of minutes, they worked on the opener "Orawa for Orchestra" by Wojciech Kilar. It's a minimalistic type piece, but it really gets your feet tapping and it can get stuck in your head for hours. Props to the female center snare member for SCV, you just don't see that quite often. It was already 4:00 and I had to report at Rice Stadium at 5:00pm for EOS (exSIGHTment of Sound) check-in. I was pretty hungry after the SCV rehearsal so I stopped by Chic-fil-a and got some food. #1 Combo all the way baby----they have the best chicken sandwiches I might add. I didn't have time to eat at the restaurant so I decided to eat while driving. Yes it's dangerous while driving on a major highway but what the heck. It was only (yes I did some major speedage) a 20 minute drive to Rice Stadium from Sugar Land. Traffic wasn't at all bad driving North until I got to the 610 and 59 interchange---the fourth largest intersection in the United States. Traffic wasn't at a standstill but it was slow because of all of the construction in the area, and everyone trying to get in and out of the Galleria at the Westheimer exit, those in the Houston area should know how bad the traffic is over there. About 10 minutes later I arrived at Rice Stadium and thank god for the free parking this year. Everything was easy to find and I had no trouble whatsoever. Man did Rice Stadium bring back memories from BOA Houston 2001. Rice is such a great venue for marching band and drum corps competitions. No matter where you sit in the stadium, you're still right there close to the action---can't wait for BOA Houston 2003. So, I went into the stadium, checked in at the EOS Office, got my name tag, a show schedule packet, and a EOS volunteer t-shirt. I changed and all of that other good stuff and noticed that I had about an hour to spare before they started opening the gates for the fans. [link:www.percussionone.org|Percussion One], a Houston percussion ensemble made up of HS/college students, was rehearsing their standstill performance on the sidelines in preparation for their exhibition performance at the competition. They're a close knit percussion ensemble and are truly remarkable with Mr. Burkhalter as their director. P1 has performed at events such as the Cultural Exchange and World Expo in Germany, Russia Concert Tour in Moscow, Russia, and the Midwest Band & Orchestra Clinic in Chicago, IL. I watched them rehearse for a while and then decided to walk around and look at some corps souvies. I bought a Cavaliers and SCV bumper sticker, a Glassmen decal for my car (The Cadets truck wasn't open yet and Boston didn't have any stickers in stock.) and a Vanguard visor for Katie since band camp started this week for her. After going into debt (kidding of course, it's great supporting corps), I saw a few friends of mine that I haven't seen in a while and chatted with them for about a good 15 minutes. After all the talkage I had about 10 minutes to report at the sidelines with the DCI officials. So I went to my car, put away the souvenirs and reported on to the field just in time. When I got there, I was joined by five other Westfield kids since their band was the main host of the exSIGHTment of Sound. We were all given instructions by Mr. DiCarlo (DCI show coordinator), he's hilarious btw, and he told us how to do our designated jobs. Cory, Joanna, (the Westfield kids) and I were assigned to the press box, while the other three were assigned to the sidelines. Our job in the press box was to pick up the sheets and cassette tapes from each of the five judges up in the box, and then bring it all into the tabulation room so they can type in the numbers into the computer. The runners on the field had to go up the elevator to the press box and then give the sheets and tapes to us so we could bring it into the tabulation room. It was a fun job since I was also a judge runner when my HS band hosted BOA Houston 2000. The three of us runners in the press box probably had the best seats in the house that night---smack dab in the middle of the fifty yard line in the press box at Rice Stadium. It was just unreal. So with all of that said and done, it's time for the 2003 "exSIGHTment of Sound" Houston, TX Review: Division II: Revolution - San Antonio, Texas: 1st Place (66.45) 2003 Repertoire: "Connotations: Music by Edward Gregson" ----------------------------------------------------------------- The Revolution was the first corps to perform of the night. I haven't seen a D2 corps in person before but overall I was impressed. There were several splatty moments musically but Revo had some nice brass moments in there, guard/percussion were also outstanding. After winning the D3 title last year, I can't wait to see how they do in Orlando in their first year of D2 competition. Great job Revo, represent. ----------------------------------------------------------------- Division I: Glassmen - Toledo, Ohio: 5th Place (78.20) 2003 Repertoire: "the Elements: air, earth, fire & water" Air - Danza de los Duendes (Nancy Galbraith) Earth - October (Eric Whitacre) Fire Water - Original Composition by Bruce McConnell & Chris Hestin ----------------------------------------------------------------- After a nice performance from the Revolution, it was time to begin the heated competition in the D1 portion of the EOS. I really liked the Glassmen's show this year compared to last years, but it's still going to be tough for them to stay in the top 12. Their show has the quality of being in World Finals, but they really need to work out some kinks. They used the elements theme nicely but they really need to add more effect into the program....it was just missing that sparkle. Their ballad from Eric Whitacre's "October" was nicely performed since it's an amazing piece anyway. But the highlight of the show was the movement "Fire". The drumline forms a circle on the 50 yard line and runs up towards the sidelines while playing with slapsticks, it was pretty cool. It got a nice response from the crowd and that's one thing I wish the Glassmen did more of. In the closer "Water", the guard had vinyl looking balls filled with liquid. It really caught my attention since the liquid was pretty eyecatching. Overall, nice show compared to 2002 but it'll be a fight for G'men to stay in the top 12 with the stiff competition coming from the Madison Scouts, Carolina Crown, Magic of Orlando, and Blue Knights. ----------------------------------------------------------------- Boston Crusaders - Boston, Massachusetts: 4th Place (81.65) 2003 Repertoire: "BRAVO!" Danzas de Pasion (Various Spanish Themes interwoven including Bolero, by Ravel) La Oracion (based on Josh Groban's "The Prayer") Fantasia del Torero (Medley of Spanish Fantasy by Chick Corea & Malaguena by Ernesto Lecuona) ----------------------------------------------------------------- If you liked BAC's 2000 show, you will surely love their 2003 production. The opener which had Bolero in it had more of an upbeat feel compared to the 2000 version. But if I had to choose between the two, I'd stick with '00. The brass had a nice sound and drill wise the entire show was similar to 2000. They have that move where they start off on opposite sides of the field and come together at the 50 to form an expanding box. I hope I described that correctly but it's pretty cool. The ballad "La Oracion" is based off Josh Groban's "The Prayer" and man is it a beautiful piece...I love "Time to Say Goodbye" more though. The closer "Fantasia del Torero" which consisted of Malaguena and Chick Corea's Spanish Fantasy was probably my favorite part of BAC's show. During the piece the tenor section put on snares and played on the 50 yard line. I think there were about 14 or 15 snare members total during that section..I can't really remember but it was really jamming. As the closer progressed, they ended the show like similar to '00 with a rope drummer inside of a diamond drill set. Compared to last year, I really love Bravo since 2002's "You Are My Star" was just too marching bandish for me (ala Tarpon Springs). If BAC did this show last year, it could've easily been a top 5 contender, but it'll be tough to conquer that feat this year with Madison and Bluecoats. -----20 MINUTE INTERMISSION----- The Cadets - Bergenfield, NJ (Sponsored by YEA)<---it's just too funny when the announcer says that: 2nd Place (86.60) 2003 Repertoire: "Our Favorite Things" Fanfare & Allegro (Clifton Williams) Malaguena (Ernesto Lecuona) Rocky Point Holiday (Ron Nelson) ----------------------------------------------------------------- As I said earlier, The Cadets actually start their show during the time where you're supposed to warm-up---the drumline did a warm-up while the horn players did drill, I don't remember if there was a DM salute or not. Once Dan Potter said, "Cadets, you may take the field for competition" they did this really cool ripple horn effect on the left side of the field and went into the SCV classic "Fanfare and Allegro". They were pretty clean that night marching wise but the the brass was missing that special Cadets sound. They performed a nice rendition of Malaguena and they do march a little more this year compared to their "fun" pieces in 2001 & 2002 (Moondance & Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy). After Malaguena, they went into Rocky Point and as with the Glassmen earlier, their closer was my favorite piece of the show. The percussion and colorguard sections were great throughout the entire show and they pulled out the famous "Z" pull at the end of RPH. Ever since the 2000 season, it seems like The Cadets are using the same formula over and over. Opener, ballad, park and blow in the sidelines and then a closer, it seems like we're seeing the same type show over and over. The Cadets were REALLY innovative back in the late 80s-90s, but ever since they won their last DCI World title in 2000, it seems like they've lost that punch...I just miss the old CBC style. This year's production isn't a championship caliber show but it's still top five quality. ----------------------------------------------------------------- Santa Clara Vanguard - Santa Clara, California: 3rd Place (85.30) 2003 Repertoire: "Pathways" Orawa for Orchestra Part I (Wojciech Kilar) One Man Show from Pollock (Jeff Beal) Musica Verna - Anima Mundi Mvt. I (Richard Danielpour) Orawa for Orchestra Part II ----------------------------------------------------------------- The corps starts off the show with half of the corps on the left side of the field near the goal line and the other half on the right. I love it how the left side plays a few measures and then the right side plays the exact same thing. It's like a "you can do it, I can do it better type thing". There was some minor phasing for about a couple of measures, but it's rather difficult to perform music with the other half of the corps on the opposite side of the field. Once the corps joined together in the middle of the field that's where the big hit exploded and they were LOUD...as I said earlier they had more volume than The Cadets. Once Orawa was over, the corps went into "One Man Show". It featured around ten or more brass players along the sidelines behind the pit playing the main horn part to the piece. It really reminded me of Marian Catholic's second movement from their 2002 show, since both pieces were from Jeff Beal's Pollock. It's not in your face loud, but it really relaxes your mind. They then went into the ballad which is also from "One Man Show" and the big hit in the piece was even louder than the opener. Their closer "Musica Verna" from Anima Mundi is where all of the fun began. The piece featured a lot of percussion parts especially African type sounding stuff. SCV hands down has the best percussion feature of the year. The snare section lined up along the right side of the 50 near the sidelines and performed an in your face snare feature, it was awesome. Also I can not say enough about the SCV cymbal line. If you're going to see the Vanguard this year, you're really in for a treat, especially the closer. The cymbal members practically bang their heads into the instrument, it's incredible. The show ended with another statement from Orawa and compared to the early season mp3, they really juiced up the tempo, I don't know what the bpm was but it was fast. As the show came to an end, the cymbal line did some wacky moves (I loved 'em) and then forms the classic fan favorite "V" with their cymbals at the end of the show----that really got the Houston crowd roaring. Overall, Vanguard still needs to clean drill wise because it was a bit noticeable that night. Brass and percussion were execptional and the colorguard uniforms looked outstanding. I'm glad that SCV decided to do away with black colored guard unis this year because they looked really sharp. Great show. ----------------------------------------------------------------- Cavaliers - Rosemont, Illinois: 1st Place (89.20) 2003 Repertoire: "Spin Cycle: Original Music by Richard Saucedo, Erik Johnson, and Brett Kuhn" Propulsion Resonance Terminal Velocity ----------------------------------------------------------------- After a nice showing from the Vanguard it was time for the defending DCI World Champion Cavaliers. I really liked the show when I saw it at the rehearsal and I couldn't wait to see how everything blended together in the press box. The corps started off with an "+" as their opening set and used the Spin Cycle theme really well throughout the entire program. There's this one part in the show where the corps is sitting down while two members rotate in a circle with different members playing different notes. It's hard to describe really, but it I thought it was really cool. The percussion feature in "Terminal Velocity" was WONDERFUL and the drill complimented the feature really well. Also the sop soloist hit the high notes dead on that night and it really got the crowd into it before the final push in the show. I doubt they're going to use that ending that they used in Houston because it definitely made me want more. I heard that they're rewriting the last 15-20 pages of drill in the closer with a few "tricks up their sleeves" for Murfreesboro and Indianapolis, so I can't wait to see that what the real ending is like when I get my DCI World DVD's. Overall, I loved the show (guard uniforms too) and I can see why they have been dominating DCI over the last couple of years---they're just light years ahead of the rest of the gang. The music and drill goes together so well that it really makes you sick. "Spin Cycle" was a wonderful offering from the "Green Machine". Quote me on this---you will see a back-to-back-to-back-to-back World Champion be crowned in August. ----------------------------------------------------------------- Overall, the scores and placements were pretty much right on target and it was a wonderful night for drum corps in Houston. You could see the downtown skyline and medical center in its beauty from the home side of the stands. After retreat, The Cavaliers did a standstill performance of their opener and ballad, a couple of battle marches, then closing it out with the corps song "Over the Rainbow". Special thanks to DrumCorpsTexas for hosting a wonderful event and letting me having the opportunity to volunteer at the exSIGHTment of Sound, and to the Westfield Band for being a wonderful host school. Can't wait to be at Rice Stadium again for BOA Houston.

Good morning: From what I understand, SCV wrote a new closer that features the cymbals in a wild center drill into the famous "V" at the finale. Also something about two guard members and two horn members - this is all second hand and I haven't seen it yet. Anyone care to elaborate? MAV You're right about the "V" at the end of the show. The crowd just went completely nuts in Houston when they saw that.

No joke!! Anyone else feel like offering their insite? Mike Bui's got a review coming soon, taking him a while to write it, so it should be pretty good. That would be me peoples. Anyways, hey Matt...I didn't go to San Antonio remember? I'm doing a review on the Houston show since I went to that. Give me a some time and it'll be up pretty soon! b**bs

Thanks for the report Chris. Can't wait to hear more.

Can't wait to hear Esperanda's version of Mishima. That was our opener for our 2001 HS marching show. Very nice piece.

All you colorguard fans, currently the 2003 Winter Guard International World Championships is taking place in Dayton, Ohio. To see the results, go to the "WGI Scores" section of MarchingBandDrumCorps Plaza. More results will be posted ASAP once they come in!