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I had a bunch of these from a few years ago. I don't know where they originally came from and some are probably repeats of what's already been posted, but here goes: "Take a lap....now take another lap for wasting our time by taking a lap." "It's not raining....I'll tell you when it's raining" "See that tree waaaay over there....run and get me a leaf from it." upon returning from the loooong run "Wrong tree...try again" "That was the FIRST last time. This is the NEXT last time". "The world is full of air...USE SOME!!!" "run and bring me some magic dirt from that dirt pile way over there," "theres a leaf on one of those trees with the word concentration on it. Go get it" "If you do that again I'll hang you by your eyelids and kick you in the nuts till you blink!" BASS LINE!!!!!! YOU SOUND LIKE A BUNCH OF POTATOES FALLING DOWN STAIRS!!!!! "There are a 1000 excuses for losing, but not one reason" "Don't look at the ground. We aren't in California, there aren't any cracks in the ground here." "If you're going to suck, suck all the time so we can at least fix it!" "Would you like an invitation to join the form?" "Are you happy with that sound?" "Pitch is a place, not an area."

I find a good solution to writers block (at least for when you get stuck on one page) is to watch everything leading up to that page in fast forward with the music in your head. Usually the lead-in flow combined with the musical passage renders a clear image of where the drill should go for me. I reckon this is a little easier with pyware than visualizing it all in your head in fast-mo, but that works too. Then again I don't write dozens of shows every year so who knows. Just my 2 cents.

This topic reminds me of the true beauty of being a die-hard Cadets fan. I can appreciate other shows and usually even recognize when other corps should win but in years such as this when there is so much criticism of the Cadets show I can sit back, relax and still love em' to death. Ahhh, sweet comfort. Enjoy your rants.

Nice review...and probably the first on here this year that I agree with 100%. Thanks.

Seems like I remember hearing Cadets had a rather young corps this year as well; battery included. On top of that, although I'm no percussion expert by any means, I am sure their battery book is hard as ####.

I just found another topic with this discussion (about the battery tear in WV). Sorry for the pre-mature post. Here's the thread: http://www.drumcorpsplanet.com/forums//ind...showtopic=81249

When I saw them last week the vocal in the ballad was quiet enough that it just sounded like another (albeit ethereal) instrument; almost like a harp or something. I assume this is the effect they were going for and I thought it worked well. There were a couple of times where I could barely hear the vocals and they came across almost like overtones. Very nice.

Below is an excerpt from George Hopkins' blog posted this afternoon (Thursday 29th). I haven't noticed any references to this yet on the forum. Did anyone that was at the show pick up on this? Sounds huge... On Wednesday night in Huntington, WV a bizarre series of events caused the percussion section to “come apart at the seams” for more than 30 seconds during the percussion break. The “breakdown”, according to George Hopkins, “was the worst I have ever witnessed on a drum corps field. At one point, I thought I would have to re-start the corps”. So what happened … After the tom feature there is a 4 count hold for applause, after which the red queen says “do they always have to do that”. The vocal is on count 5. On Tuesday, Marc Sylvester changed it to count 7 and never told anyone. Now, at the Tuesday night show, with Hopkins at the audio panel, the entrance for the red queen was missed … it never happened. At rehearsal, when the corps works in ensemble, we always stop following the top feature. So … no one knew of the change. Until …. The show in Huntington. With the voice two counts late, and coming in on count seven, the snares, who face backfield, were not sure of the counting. They were expecting to enter on 1, not 3? Meanwhile the keys followed the major and came in on one. The first snare was two counts late with the voice, the second snare tried to rebound, the third followed the first, the fourth did not play etc … Unfortunately, this is a 100 count phrase so for 100 counts, it was nothing but a jumble. It was impossible to make sense at all of anything being played.

I realize the odds that someone has seen all are slim, but one can always hope...

Are there any jet set corps fans that have seen all of these shows in person that can provide some sort of review?

I didn't say it was easy, compared to other corps, it was challenging, but as far as top Div I top 3 corps books go, I would not consider the level of difficulty of the PR hornbook very high. Just my opinion. Maybe I'll feel differently after I see/hear the show some more. I'll remain open minded :)

I also saw them first at Powder Springs last year and agree with SeanOwenSullivan that they are better in all aspects. Most notably they are cleaner (I remember several blown releases last year as well as a couple of near collisions). They play very well in tune and the technical passages are amazingly clean for this early in the season. It'll be nice when they can open up a little more. As far as design, this year's show makes more sense earlier in the season than last year's. I was never too distracted from the overall show by any individual element and some of those elements added to the show. After they work out some design, focus and integration issues they'll have a nice product.

I haven't liked Boston the last couple of years but I have high(er) hopes for them this year. If they can work out a few design issues, clean the drill and open up their hornline I think they can get back into the middle of the finals pack. I really enjoyed the show and thought it flowed well. It's one of those shows (reminds me of Glassmen from late 90s, early 2000s) that comes off clean but doesn't have a discernable melody or peak moment.

I agree, while the Cadets have some focus and clarity issues to work out from a design standpoint their show made more sense to me than Magic and Southwind. Boston's was somewhere in between. It didn't make sense on a conscience level but some part of me "got" it.

Thanks for the in-depth review. I've posted my own that expresses most of my opinions but since this one is more in-depth and more people seem to be reading this thread I thought I'd toss in one last thought concerning last night's show that I just remembered. Aside from all my other comments on Phantom (no nuance, too tight drill, etc.) I realized that all the things I did't like about Phantom's show aggregate into one main concept: I've seen this show at least 15 times before. Not literally, but I don't know how many DC shows I've seen over the years that involved tight drill, so-so integrated guard, and a loud as #### hornline throughout the whole show. I enjoyed getting my ears rung as much as the next guy but I'm getting old enough that when I go to a show I want to see something that I haven't seen before. and the Cadets can fairly regularly deliver that. Just a final thought...

I imagine even DCI judges would rate Phantom's hornline over Cadets right now but I just can't hear the "magic" that everyone is loving about Phantom's horns. Here are the thoughts that ran through my head when I heard Phantom's horns: -They're loud -If they aren't really loud they are not quite as loud (read: no nuances) -Their show began to bore me because of the lack of volume change -The loudest parts were out of tune -I constantly heard members sticking out -Their book is not very difficult and the harder parts are dirty -They never combine difficult movement with difficult music Just because I would rate Cadets brass over Phantom, here's why: -They play loud where need be, but they also play F, mf, mp, p, pp, etc. -They are very well in tune (not perfect, but much more so than PR) -The softer parts still have great support; they can play soft and maintain velocity -Their book is harder -They play hard licks (rather cleanly) while doing difficult drill I realize all these elements are not directly brass related, some involve GE, visual, etc. Let me also say these are just my opinions. I respect other opinions and appreciate all the reviews on here.

By the way, I was really tired when I wrote the first review in this thread so I skipped the whole proof/spell check part. Pardon me. Oh, and feel free to rip my opinion to shreds. It's just this one man's thoughts.

It's late so this will be a bit brief. Also consider I was a brass player/drill designer so I apologize in advance for lack of comments on percussion and guard. I arrived late and missed most of CorpsVets so I won't mention them here. Finally consider that I tend to write reviews as I would comment on my own band after a show thus focusing more on the bad than good. When great things happen I try to mention them but for the sake of improvement, I tend to focus on the band. That said don't misunderstand me when I don't have many good things to say, but I'll try to balance it out. Teal Sound I don't see too many Div II shows anymore but this seems to be like most I can remember. There were a few "moments" although even those were lacking all aspects of a solid sound. Truly all aspects of the show from design to execution were lackluster. Marching was not too bad with your usual number of people out of step, out of forms, bad intervals, etc. The hornling played fairly well but was very sloppy and had multiple missed attacks and releases, all seamingly easy fixes. I can't really say much more about them. I know they're young and I'm glad they're getting involved now and hope they can improve over their individual DC careers but as far as tonight's Teal show, I'd say they scored it about right. The Magic I haven't seen magic in a few years and had my hopes up. Unfortunately they were somewhat of a let down. I remember wondering all through their show why they are DIV I and not II, which I assume is solely due to their numbers. The drill was rather stagnant and didn't always flow with the music and even when it did the members were often unable to execute it properly. Guard/battery/horn integration was also lacking thus resulting in a very modular performance. The hornline played well in places but as with Teal had too poor attacks and releases to make a good call. Finally, the hornline was terribly out of balance in many places. This may be due to not having done enough field ensemble or what but balance was often a distraction from the show. GE wasn't bad, but wasn't great either. Southwind I haven't seen Southwind in at least 5 years and was pleasantly surprised by their performance. Theirs was what I would consider to be the first DIV I level performance of the night. I admit that I probably thought they were better than they actually are since they went on after Teal & Magic but I thought they had a fairly solid run. The effects created with the unis were pleasent and unexpected at several points. The hornline was rather well balanced and in control (if not even timid; there were times were I felt like they held back a little too much). Guard and percussion intrgration were fair (it at least looked like a vis. coord. had some sort of plan in mind) and overall GE was good. I think with some work they have the show and talent to move up this year. Boston I loved their show in 2000, not quite as much in 2001 and hardly at all in 2002. It was then that I noticed Boston seemed to be without any sort of corps vision, i.e. what is their "thing". I was deathly afraid for a while that they'd turn straight BOA style, which I don't really care for. But tonight's show brought me hope. The props were rather minimal and incorporated well. Pit amplification was a bit much at times, but they'll work that out. I loved hearing some music on the field that I had never heard before, albeit music that isn't exactly toe tapping and doesn't really stick in your head (I couldn't hum a bar if I tried). The show flowed incredibly well from piece to piece, more like a 10-11 minute piece than the traditional "2 songs a ballad and a closer". I especially enjoyed the drill, mostly in the first roughtly 2/3 of the show. It wasn't classic Kevin Ford drill (is Kevin still writing there?) but was very free flowing, indicative of music passages and incorporative of the guard. On that note, I thought Boston may have had the best guard integration of the evening (that's the drill writer coming out in me). There were numberous parts of the Boston show that were greatly enhanced by a block or form of guard that was layered in with the horn line thus incorporating musical and visual elements (that worked together) into a cohesive moments. So kudos to the design team at Boston as well as to the members. The hornline was very capable. Their book doesn't sound incredbly hard (i.e. should be possible to work out before finals) and they did a heck of a job with it tonight. First corps of the night with some nice subtleties and nuances in passages which were also integrated well visually and with guard. All in all, I liked the Boston show, it sort of reminds me of the late 90's early 2000's Glassmen shows. It was quality and will get better but doesn't quite have the magic to climb too many steps up the old finals latter. Cadets I only saw last year's show twice and found it confusing and inaccessible. This year, however, was quite different. There was some strangeness to it (obviously the vocals, the drum/pit/vocal/visual section, etc.) but it actually worked out as a complete package and with the time they have left I think they can turn this into a heck of a show. All amps, vocals, etc. debates aside I (a generally older school type guy) really enjoyed this show. Although the wierd factors worked and contributed it was still the classic stuff that made the show great. This hornline, as others have mentioned, has nuggets. They are very talented technical players with amazing capability and control. All they were lacking was volume in a few places and that will come over the next few weeks. I loved their ability to play with such support and energy even at low volumes. Attack/release wise they were mostly clean, a few minor things, mostly midpassage (circular breathing entrances, etc.) Guard integration was good but will probably change and improve as the show comes together, which it needs to. The battery was great as usual but I'm sure they have things to work out as well. All in all I think they have a great package and if you can suck up your old school pride and watch it for what it is (a well written AND well performed show) you'll probably agree with me. Phantom I gotta say I still miss Phantom in all black. That said, here we go. Phantom was loud as crap. They peeled the paint of the stadium throughout 80% of their show. That's great and all but loud is just loud if you don't play something softer and soft to compare it to. As far as all the talkabout how close PR and Cadets started off, I think that'll quickly go by the wayside. PR has a strong show, strong hornline, but the hornbook is not incredibly demanding (at least by DIV I champ standards) and the drill is written to allow the members to blast their guts out. I never saw a hard musical passage combined with a difficult move. Additionally the entire show seemed too tight, as in within the 35 yd lines and mostly in front of the back hash. I'm sure that is a slight exageration but I think they're drill would be cleaner (and readable) if they opened up a bit. Then again they wouldn't be quite as loud now would they ;) All in all PR has a solid show and will definately rack up some GE and music points as they play loud and well and the people like that. But, I'm not sure it'll take them too far. Spirit Eh, same old Spirit. I don't having anything against spirit and they actually marched and played very well. I personally found their show more entertaining than Pantom's but it's the same thing they've been doing for over 20 years now. Yeah, they do it better, they play b flats, they have a cleaner, more well developed and well balanced sound, but they always have still do lack any level of programming and design that will get them closer to the top of the pack. Congrats to them over the last few years, though. They've built a strong corps out of one that was on the verge of folding. I'm sure I'll think of other thoughts later but it's 1:00 in the AM and I need sleep. I look forward to reading other reviews. Later on. I can't remember now if it was Phantom or not (either them or southwind) but one corps also spent about the 2nd half of the show with all their contras split up. I presume this will work itself out later in the season but for now it seemed to cripple our friend the "pyramid of sound" i.e. the bass was lost.

I predict traffic will stink. I live 15 miles away and am leaving 1.5 hours early and will probably be late.

http://www.dci.org/scores/ It's legit

Hence the "lurker" part of my statement. I read a lot, submit little.

Member # 223 here.

I was like the 200th something person to join here and have 18 posts. I guess I'm an official lurker.

Favorite show? depending on the CBC score, this one.

My F5 key is really hating me right now...