Acad Dad

I thought we agreed, on yet another thread discussing the same c r a p about Div 1 touring, that the thing being beaten was a KANGAROO!! 79.2 Scoreboard, baby

Awesome! b**bs I'm gonna get close during finals and see which ones are hot. Nothing more exciting than a lady who knows how to handle a rifle!! (just kidding) :P b**bs All you guys should feel great about the product you have put on the field!!

And it showed. Let me tell you, no offense intended, but that guard of yours is something special. I raved about it in my review of Long Beach (another thread) and I do NOT say it lightly that you did blow the crowd away! (my beloved Academy did pretty darn well, too) but you guys were amazing. Can't wait to see the Pasadena show from the field (volunteer anyone?) b**bs

Judge Smells (Caddyshack) to Danny Noonan : Well....................we're waiting..............!!!!!!!! Any word from C-Bass???

How about a simple "C'mon Vanguard! I know you can do it!" Is there a problem with Vanguards progression (or lack of it) or the speed by which their competitors are progressing? Curious. Haven't seen either BD or SCV since So Cal weekend on June 24th, but am amazed at the spread opening up. I love Vanguards show, especially the guard and wonder what is the scoring issue?

BTW, this was posted in the DCI discussion section, vs. the review section, and I wanted to make sure, Ryan, you know how much the local Drum Corps community appreciates what you do: Ryan...you are the BEST! Great job last night (getting a little more comfortable, if that is the word) with the stupid DCI announcement and all the work you do with all the corps around So. Cal....and to top it off, always one of the best reviews! I know I appreciate all you do! Thank you.

Unfortunate, but true! Unless the judges realize the error of their ways in how they scored Academy last night and come to their senses :P I'll be the first to admit PC has cleaned up their show a TON and they look great, but there is no way that, given the 6+ point spread on opening night and watching the two corps perform last night, that there wasn't a similar spread. No knock on PC, they should have their 74....but I think high 79 or 80 was more in line with how I saw Academy perform. (I know, I know, see sig below) :sshh:

Ryan - and those reading. I have never done a review and probably never will. I just don't understand Drum Corps well enough to be informative, but I can certainly comment on what is already done and add my 2 cents. Yeah, right. I'm the guy who comes into the Sistine Chapel and says "wow, great....another flower on that tree over there would make it SPECTACULAR!" :P Anyway, to glom onto Ryan's review with some comments of my own. Right down to the show venue, the weather, etc. First off, I had no plan to arrive early enough to catch all the corps. I had to drive from Temecula (if any of you know where the heck that is) into Orange County to pick up my MOM before heading out to Long Beach. After an hour + drive with moderate traffic (gotta love the 91, huh guys?) I got to OC, picked up mommy and headed up to Long Beach. I must add a thank you to my wife who remembered to ask me if I had the tickets just as we were pulling out of the driveway....uhhhhhh....NO!.......thanks honey! The plan was to arrive around 6ish and have about an hour to wait until I got to watch my son perform. I was anxious to see how the layoff impacted Academy and what they had been working on. I also got a call from him saying they had been kicked out of Long Beach State (where they were supposed to practice, boooooo on YOU guys!) and headed over early to Long Beach City College to get in a rehersal. (Thank you to YOU guys) Traffic was uncharacteristically flowing in So Cal this glorious cloud-dotted evening (nod to Ryan) and I literally flew up to Long Beach. I arrived in time to drive right into the MASSIVE parking lot where the corps busses/trucks were along with regular parking. Nice to not have the usual separation. (BTW, Ryan, I didn't mind the $3 at all given how convenient everything was. I dropped off a couple boxes of Costco food to donate to the Academy's cause (parents, I know we pay a lot of money to send these kids off, but please continue to help when you can, it was only $100 worth of food, but I'm sure it helped make a dent in at least a few meals and they really appreciated it) I went in, paid a visit to the Academy souvie booth to upgrade my grape jelly stained Academy shirt for a freshie, and hoped I could find a seat with a back (so I wouldn't have to listen to my wife complain all the way home how much her back hurt) :) The stadium holds approx 10,000 people on ONE side, with almost 4,600 seats with backs and the rest bench. As the night went on and when the Div 1 corps came up, I'd venture to guess ALMOST every "red" seat was taken with a few exceptions. I'd estimate the crowd at almost 4,000, which is pretty impressive. We settled in just after the National Anthem was played and found some great seats about 60 rows up (my god, that was one weird stadium but cool for Drum Corps) on the 40. GREAT breeze was blowing and the sun was just starting to go down over the press box, casting a welcomed shadow on the field. Unfortunately for Dream Sr., it wasn't there yet and I'm sure the sun was a major reason for some of the guard drops. That sun must have been brutal! For those of you who attended the PC show at Walnut, this stadium certainly lacked acoustics that the natural "bowl" at Mt. Sac has, but it was really a great place to be able to watch drill and get the full sound of the corps. Here is my 2 cents as a fan...not a reviewer. Dream Sr. Nice program. Good sound. Tough timing, as I alluded to earlier as there were a few drops (that were noticiable) in the drill, but as I say again, the sun must have brutal on the field. Thought the show was better than what I had seen in Riverside so keep working on it! Renegades OK, I'm not sure how old Ryan is, but I've got to be close and I recognized the music, especially Evanescence My Immortal. They "sold" the show to me and the hornline, especially the trumpets (great solo's, guys) were awesome. I had not seen a Renegades show but my son had told me about their "mystique" and how he was a fan of their shows. I can see why with this one. I'll probably get flamed for this, but, for ME, I'll take the backdrops like Renegades used to set the mood over narration ANYDAY. Now, don't get me wrong, I don't really like them, either, but on the I don't like it scale, narration is an 8 and backdrops are in the 5-6 range. Mystikal Strong Drum Line!! Lost some of the volume in the show (and therefore, some interest) as it went on. Not sure why....Good show, scored about where I thought it would. Gold I remember them from a couple years ago at some of the local show (like Esperanza Experience) and I think they have continued to improve. I like the visual of the "Gold" instruments (no other corps I've seen marches with the "gold" look) and thought there sound and drill were very disciplined. I agree with Ryan that the Latin style of music needs a bit more "oooomph" (technical term) to be pulled off to the fullest extent, but all in all I really enjoyed the show. Less volume than I remember from this group last year with a similar size (?) Fever Wow, kind of reminded me of the first time I saw Academy perform when we were at a show a couple years ago. I remember thinking "these guys are out of their league....in a good way!" Same thought for Fever. I don't know the rhyme or reason why a corps chooses Div II or Div III, but these guys should take this thing at Div III and could give Div II a real run! Would love to see them take the step up and compete against the best Div II has to offer when they can because their sound was big, their drill was clean, and the guard looked good. The whole package. My hats off to you guys! ---------------------- MORE TO COME, not that anyone's waiting, but I have to play with the new puppy for a bit. Darn these needy living things!!! Impulse I must apologize to Ryan and the show sponsors.....everyone needs a bathroom break. This was mine (not by choice) VK What an improvement. I saw the first show in Riverside (the "burning trailer" show) and I'm sure a month more to work on the show and having their own equipment made a big deal. I thought the show was great. Fun and funny. I totally got the humor in it and something I found missing a couple years ago when I saw my first Impulse show. I had heard about the corps that were "irreverent" and fun and two years ago I didn't get that from the Impulse show I watched. (wow, I don't mean for this to turn into Impulse bashing at all!!!) and I missed last year's championship show from Impulse...but I get it with VK. Down to the (and I"m not sure yet how I feel about it) martini toast during the awards presentation. Good music, fun drill, and the kids really seemed to be able to convey fun and sarcasm throughout the peformance. I loved the "trash cans" and thought the hornline was good. All in all, I felt like I was entertained! A really good show. I was pretty disappointed with the score, but I'm not sure how they've been scoring so not sure if it was a disappointment to them or not. (Note to Pee Wee from your review) I heard VK when they let out that cheer as well, and it was unfortunate it was during another corps performance and that it was somewhere that could be heard. However, the story behind the "roar" is this: When VK suffered from the infamous "trailer fire" incident at the Riverside show and Academy stepped up and gave them everything they needed to do their show (except for their tennis shoes) VK has been #1 on the Academy support team, cheering them whenever they perform or when they march by. It is a "thank you for helping in our time of need" that is quickly becoming a neat tradition between the two corps. Lord knows, we have enough people who view this as Hyper competitive and "bash" other corps. It is absolutely heart-warming to see the "friendship" that has developed this season between the two corps and the support VK has consistently given The Academy. The Academy drumline was marching to the staging area and as they went by VK, they gave a spontaneous cheer. I'm sure no malice was intended and unfortunately, it was a little too close to the open stadium. Blue Devils B I must say, they LOOK impressive. Those uniforms are spotless and sparkling and they really POP. Hornline sounded good (I didn't think great, but obviously the judges did giving them #1 in brass) and the drumline was also well executed. Unlike Ryan, I didn't recognize the music from BD '85 but did recognize the ELP from the 2005 show Crossroads that Esperanza did. Especially Piano Concerto #1. I thought it was nicely done, but for me, the sound and drill didn't match up with the look! The expectation was there and you can certainly see how a program like BD can continue to shine with a "feeder" program like this one in place, but I was left feeling a little flat at the end of the show. My opinion, and maybe I was just anxious to get to the next corps..... Academy Let's get it out of the way....read my name....read my signature. Of course I'm going to be a "Homer" for these guys. That being said. This show was vastly improved over the same one I saw 3 weeks ago in Riverside, Walnut, and Glendale, AZ. However, I am not a judge so I would love to hear some of those tapes, but I don't see how they didn't break that magical 80 last night. As Tom and Ryan said, I thought it was "in the bag". OK, so how come Acad Dad is so concerned with scores when The Academy themselves are not! Call it holdover from a couple frustrating years with Esperanza (score wise) or a strong desire to be able to watch my son march on Finals night in So Cal (and have him experience the thrill and excitement of performing in front of 20,000, 30,000 or more vs. 3-4k) or just I"m competitive. Whatever the reason, it bugged me that the score wasn't higher. A la Ryan Turner. There, it is out of my system. Just about every facet of the show that I thought lacked something was addressed in a positive way over the last few weeks. First, the guard uniforms were bothering me because they didn't convey the era to me at all. Besides that, who the heck was the villain, which one was the hero, and while I could pick out "the girl" she got lost often among the rest of the guard. Enter change number one. The uniforms lost that weird blue/teal color for a more subdued look and I think it helped. 2nd, the girl being in red, the villain in black, and the hero in white just laid out the story in front of me. Pay attention here, from a spectator standpoint. I didn't need narration to tell me who was who, I didn't need backdrops, etc. But the uniform change spoke volumes and helped me follow the story much better. I think the GE scores reflected tht. Secondly, musically, there were areas that were "weak" or where a small portion of the hornline struggled to hit the right notes with the right power. (especially in the ballad) and they cleaned that up by adding a few more musicians to play that part, which sounded much more musical while still maintaining the feel of the piece. Third, jazzed up the "jitterbug" scene. There were some complaints, and I was one of them, that while the music was fun and the crowd got into it, the guard wasn't "selling" the jitterbug. Now, not only does the guard sell it, but the entire corps sells it as well. Fourth, control. Academy decided to trade pure power for control and changed some of their "hits" that were standing and face forward with a backfield turn that brought some drama to the volume. I liked what they did in a couple sections. My only complaint was in the "jitterbug" number, they changed one area where they finish up a run, the crowd is really into it and ready to start rocking, and they start off REALLY REALLY softly. In the old version, they simply started off that part of the number and jumped right in, and, emotionally, I was ready to do that this time. With the soft beginning, I was left with a feeling of "c'mon, c'mon" which they built to. I understand that is exactly what they were shooting for, by building the excitement, but I felt a little bit of a "false start" feeling with that part of the number. The ballad, I think, is beautiful and the effect when the hero and the lady find each other, the corps forms a heart, and they hit that chord gets me every time! I'm such a sap!!! (tear) Finally, the closer was cleaned up and the jazz run (I think Ryan described it a a 12 count silence) near the end is a GREAT effect. Two legitimate standing O's from the crowd and I could have not been prouder. Score aside, they certainly won the night and the hearts of the crowd. (except for the Kingsmen, but that is another story) in my humble and very biased opinion. There is certainly something there that gets the crowd, but obviously, not the judges (yet) I haven't seen the "east coast" corps yet, but did see SCV and BD. The level of complexity in the drill, the fact that the corps is in MOTION almost constantly and maintains the BIG sound you expect from DIV1 while not just moving but doing it in interesting and (to my eye) more complex ways than their competitors tells me there should have been a wider spread last night. What an a s s you must be saying. Complaining about the gold. Well, I welcome your thoughts, flames, etc. But this is how I felt. Pacific Crest I'll be the first to say I wasn't a big fan of the Vegas show (although I love Vegas) MOSTLY because of the narration. Are you kidding me that you can't get that the show is about Las Vegas with Luck be a Lady. OK, with that aside, what a difference between this show and the last time I saw it in Riverside. The musical performance was great! The drill was dramatically better. The guard did an excellent job and I totally felt, bought into, and was swept away with the Vegas vibe. I think Ryan was the one who said (or maybe Pee Wee) that if you are going to do narration, at least get into it (in the Riverside review) and they absolutely bought that hook, line and sinker! The narration (I can't believe I'm saying this) was performed MUCH better tonight and that helped me accept it, as well. Still not a fan (obviously) of it because I think they sold the show so very well w/o it, but it was certainly executed MUCH better. I was (sorry to use this word again) entertained by PC and really enjoyed their show a lot. Mandarin Interesting change or addition to guard uniforms from the all gold from last time I saw them. I liked the "traditional" robe looking gear worn by them and the flag effects of the guard running through the corps were impressive. The drumwork is much improved over their last show and volume, overall cohesion, and feel of the show was substantially improved. I would say I was a bit surprised by the score received as I thought the placement of 1-2-3 was correct, but I thought PC put on a "relatively" better show than Mandarin (in execution) by about the same level I thought Academy put on vs. PC. The scores did not reflect that, however, What I do think is that Mandarin has, what I feel, to be more substance to their show and therefore, more room to clean, and improve. I'm not exactly sure how the scores have been trending vs. PC (and now vs. Academy for that matter) but I'd think Mandarin has the POTENTIAL to have a higher scoring show than PC if they can get all the elements together. For that matter, either one of them could climb over Academy if they continue the strong work ethic that has obviously been in place over the last 3 weeks, because both shows were seriously improved in that time! I take my hat off to both of you and hope Academy uses the gap that you have closed in the last 3 weeks as motivation to keep striving for their own excellence! Kingsmen My wife and mother are not drum corps fans in general. They are there to watch their son and grandson respectively. Often, the other corps are just the appetizer waiting for "his" corps to come onto the field. The Kingsmen changed that for them. Both of them, and myself included, were BLOWN away (literally and figuratively) by that corps. The guard was absolutely mind-boggling in their precision (I can't wait to see how they can improve by Pasadena, but there wasn't a lot of room for improvement) and the 50 yd line rifle twirl that ryan describes absolutely took my breath away. The overall control and PRECISION (I'll say that word again) was thrilling to watch (I joked that no one could afford to drop their rifle because they probably couldn't bend over to pick it up :) ) and the sound that came out of that 300+ group was AMAZING. If that was what drum corps was like in the 70s, I wouldn't mind going back! I loved the guard work and the "snapping" of the rifles as they marched. All in all, it was truly a "special" performance and I take my hat off, again, to each and every member of the corps. I loved every minute of your show and can't wait to see you perform in Pasadena on Finals night. (I'll be on the field volunteering so I get to see the rifles up close!) All in all, a really great evening in Long Beach. A big part of me wishes that they were across the country in Atlanta doing their thing so we don't have to listen to the whole "West Coast" deal, but the corps put on a heck of a show and I'm anxious to see all 3 Div 1 corps perform head to head with the others in San Antonio.

Ryan...you are the BEST! Great job last night (getting a little more comfortable, if that is the word) with the stupid DCI announcement and all the work you do with all the corps around So. Cal....and to top it off, always one of the best reviews! I know I appreciate all you do! Thank you.

Man....the Kingsmen were SOMETHING to watch. My wife and my mother were there watching my son and they gave Kingsman a standing O when they were done. The rifle drill work is amazing and I absolutely LOVE the marching tympani (sp?) The finals crowd will eat it UP!!! b**bs

Keep having bartenders that look like that and food that good and it will be, my friend! I also caught a minor league hockey game while I was there. It was actually a pretty fun trip....although very cold.

That's the one! (and I might add a very nice looking bartender) Just South of downtown Ft. Wayne. Be sure to add this to your itinerary for those of you making the trip to Indy. Only a couple hours north, right?

We need about 100 more of you, Renthead!!!!! Brother, can I get an AMEN!

Machine Thanks for the California compliment. Funny, I didn't see you were from Ft. Wayne, but I almost put that down as a MUST SEE destination because there is a little Italian Restaurant right in the middle of downtown Ft. Wayne that was one of the best I've been to...but I can't remember the name. (kinda a hole in the wall and I guess they've opened another site more out in the suburbs) I was in Ft. Wayne on business 6 months ago and want to go back there. I'll make the drive down and find it again when I make my trip to Indy!! Go Bloooooooooooooooo

Agreed, but poor Phantom. From South Orange County to Pasadena on Friday rush hour. Hope they get started around 1 p.m (and that's if they are in the top 6) That, my friends, will be a pretty brutal drive.

Spoken like a true snobby Californian....no wonder people hate us. :P Just kidding Pee Wee, I'm one of those myself and I couldn't agree with you more! No real knock on Indianapolis meant, but it is sure no California in terms of things to do. However, it IS only a 3 hour drive from Chicago.....Now THAT is a tourist destination. Or, as my esteemed poster LaSqueegee suggested, only 4-5 hours from Detroit and Windsor (for the more Adult-oriented distractions!!!) ^0^

I think this topic is sooooo overdiscussed, it needs it's own metaphor. So, henceforth, from now on, when this topic comes up, we can say....STOP BEATING A DEAD KANGAROO TYPE-THINGY THAT KINDA LOOKS LIKE A DEAD HORSE! :P and then include this picture.

Hate to even reply...... Because, like all Div 1 corps, there is an option for a "Regional Div 1" touring schedule vs. a national touring schedule. Submitted and APPROVED by DCI as part of the process for inclusion in Div 1.

Everyday...EXCEPT, July 2nd. Bus ride to Pasadena and then an off day when they reached the beach. July 3rd and 4th, ran through the show, but a standstill performance. Perhaps some drill practice at their housing site on the 3rd, but 2 parades and a performance on July 4th. July 5, 6, 7, 8 Corps was given time off. So, the better part of 2+ weeks.

The person I was talking to said DCI was "waiting" to see how they scored coming out of this weekend. If they appear that they will be going first (as has been debated in other forums) but are scoring like evening in San Antonio is a possibility, they want them to stay closer to SA. If they are scoring as if they will only play Saturday morning/afternoon, they may stay somewhere further out. Not sure how/why score relates to where they are staying, but.....that's what I heard.

Again, the seats in the end zone around to about the 20's are bench. Those "pinkish" seats in the middle are seat back. But, there are some benches that go around the stadium on certain levels. Weird configuration, but most of the area between the 20's is seats w/backs.

Good question and I wish I had a good answer. I was just there for the Academy's 4th of July performance and fireworks and was trying to figure out the same thing. It appears that about 4/9's (that's right, I estimate 4/9ths :P ) of the seats are seat back. The rest are bench w/o seat back. The majority of the seats, however, WITH backs are between the 20's. So, a good majority of the seating for DCI SHOULD be in the section with the Seat Backs.....but if you are down low, or off to the sides beyond the 20s, I wouldn't count of a seat back. Confusing, isn't it?

I have heard from a source (not deemed as reliable so please don't flame me if you LOVE DCI) that DCI is who is working on getting the housing arrangements and that they have not yet secured housing for The Academy at this time. I'll post here ASAP when I get the news as I have heard from a few of you that San Antonio is as far west as you are going and wanted to see Academy.

I would agree with the above post, but still say...get GOOD directions, go to the school where you are going, watch the rehersal, go back. A couple wrong turns in or more likley AROUND Downey and ?????.

Uhhhhhh, drive around in?? I'd get really good directions, drive to the rehersal, watch it, and drive back. Downey is a bedroom community of downtown LA and, in and of itself, not bad, but large parts of the area in and around Downey have gone, shall we say, "Down -ey Hill over the years. For the "newbies" to So Cal, I'd stay in Pasadena (especially Old town area), Hollyweird (I mean Hollywood) not the greatest area at night, but enough tourist types during the day, think old school Times Square, Glendale, Universal City, WESTWOOD (Go Bruins!!!), Century City, Beverly Hills, Santa Monica etc. By the way, the Union Station area and Olvera Street are great, as another poster recommended, for the French Dip Sandwich corridor (cole's and Phillipe's) and good Mexican food. Generally, the areas you don't want to be in advertise themselves as such (graffiti, bars on windows, etc as the other poster said) but I would absolutely KNOW where I was going and feel comfortable with the directions when headin there as neighborhoods do and can change pretty quickly from nice to not so nice. Not being paranoid...just overly careful for you out of towners! Lot's and lots to do (YOU MUST HAVE an IN n Out burger if you haven't already) and watch out for the traffic! Believe it or not, even on the Saturday. One little accident on the wrong freeway and your 15 mile drive to Pasadena can take 90 minutes :)