jaypet

Other cheese to add: * 86 Cavaliers: believe this was the year of the guard's routine w/the bouncy balls; isnt it even bounced on their heads at one point? kinda cheesy in retrospect (especially considering the guard routines of today) * 88 SCV: the guard unfurling long colorful streamers, culminating in Rocketts-ish high kicking was waaaay over the top imo ha ha * 91 Phantom: the guard w/those shruken head props, what the... * Star: their almost yearly use of the "star" drill set. Star makes a star, i get it already...:) * 02 Boston: I thought the whole theme of 'you are my star' was corny, the singing of 'you are my star' only made it cheesier * 05 Phantom: I found the presence of the male guard member to be cheesy with a capital C, I know its a popular show here, sorry... Bye! JP

Sorry to piggyback on your review....but figured, why make yet another thread of the same....but my thoughts: MANDARIN: never seen this corps live, ever. Only heard them on CD. But I can really see why they are such the *powerhouse* in their division, they can crank brasswise and especially with the drums. I was up pretty high in the stadium, so their singing didn't really project all that well. Liked the theme BLUE KNIGHTS: could be top 12 but it may be a close call for them; show was called Knights Tale so I was expecting, I dunno, a knight theme show :) It wasnt really that, muscially or visually. Show was a tad on the dull side I thought but still very reminiscent of BK's style over last several years. Oddly, I found myself focusing on that *foot maneuver* that I know they're noted for...it really seemed like it was used practically every time they took off to move to the next set! If they make Top 12, we can make a drinking game out of it watching the DVDs, heh... CROWN: No one was in step as they marched in block onto the field to begin their show...I guess it doesn't really count, but geeze were they off! I undertand they're spelling words on the field right off the top....but in the mezzanine I couldnt make any of them out, just squiggly drill from my vantage point, so guess you gotta be WAAY high to read that. This is just a great show package overall, such a shame the amps are getting in the way for most posters here. (I'll say, three guys in my section actually left their seats when the beatnik chatter started, they were grumbling as they went up the aisle). I dont care for it either but oh well, rules allow it I suppose. ANyway, best Crown show, for sure, in all their Top 12 appearances (IMO), Queen was a nice closer. (I think the ending drill was of a crown with the guard lying down spelling 'Bohemia,' maybe we're both wrong,heh) Frankly, though this show beat Blue Coats...I certainly thought the 'package' did at the very least CROSSMEN: I had a sort of ho-hum reaction to this program, not sure why. The musical selections for the most part were enjoyable, guard was ok, performance on the whole was fine. They may be scraping to get a top12 spot too, hopefully they get the job done BLUE COAT: I liked last years show much better and even with that one, I tend to skip right by if I'm looking at DVDS. Perhaps I'm just not into Blue Coates, so take no offense if I don't share the same excitement as apparenly a lot of DCP posters have. Solid show though, not terribly spectacular overall IMO, I can *kinda* see why it was scored over Crown though...but no waaay did I think this was .2 from PR PHANTOM: brasswise alone, I thought that would have increased the points over Blue Coates. PR sounded really nice to me, very rich and controlled throughout, nice challenging runs thrown in here and there. I liked their sound the best, though I can understand why they place where they did. Visually (drill& Guard) was more interesting that last year's show I thought, but not nearly as GE packed. Liked their company front, thought it was very effective visually/musically/guardwise. I spotted the drumline move from last year, where the line crashes thru the hornline block, though this time the maneuver was isolated thru just one small ensemble block of horns. Ending was kinda *eh.* I thought they were a point or two over BCoates BDEVILS: guard euipment is set up in various *track* formations framing the field I noticed, letting us know what we are in for. The Blue Devils are a very very strong corps this year, no doubt they are defending champs. They really have a command of the field when they are out there, no doubt about it. Very strong marchers too, though one guy literally ate turf, falling face down, during some 'jazz run' maneuver that very nearly took down the rest of the people running behind him (it was CLOSE to dominoes going down. lady next to me gasped "OH NO!!!" LOL) but nice save, surprised I'm the only reviewer to mention this, it was quite obvious. Guard, nice program BUT had a considerable number of dropped rifles/sabres, I noticed at least 3-4 occurances, so they weren't really tight in that caption I didn't think. In fact, I'm shocked they won guard at all. Liked the train effects throughout. Overall, not a show I'm gonna go ga-ga over, but I can see its strengths. I thought Cadets won last nite though, given that fall & the guard problems, or at least a MUUCH closer spead than .9. Even with those issues BD managed that spread, so I suppose this bodes well for BD fans CADETS: music is very entertaining I think, & I agree they are starting to make this program work for them. I thought they really turned it on at last nights show and were very clean, particularly their CG. In no way did I ever imagine they'd lose that caption, but I'm no judge. Baton was effective first two appearances, the third appearance though I was like 'oh enough of you' :) Crowd appealing though. I noticed some people had trouble marching that straight leg going backwards, couple people seemed like they almost tripped, but it wasn't widespread, I'm talking maybe two people I noticed struggling. Opener of the show just, Idunno, comes to an underwhelming end, it just does not elicit baby throwing at all & probably never will, think they needed to rework that, but maybe they'll somehow pull it off. And the ending, also a bit underwhelming (visually/drillwise), seems I saw a variation of that move at the end of cadets-01? They are not the cadets at the forefront of drill, thats for sure, this drillwriters creative effects peaked in 1997-99 IMO. But despite my comments, i will say cadets show does rock the audience in places & is poised to do well for the rest of the season. Later! JP

Here's a few comments, for those of u out there that like to read these things: STADIUM: this must have been a 'last resort' with this stadium, it was small and cramped...I call myself getting to the show early (half hour) but every seat (no joke) was taken. I squeeezed in tight somewhere though.... RAIDERS: this corps has a tough show, when they started in with Short Ride (SCV couple yrs back, CBC91) I couldn't belive they were tackling it. Very ballsy. No, its not all there yet, quite a bit of fracking going on but I gotta say, good luck. JERSEY SURF: they have a lounge act theme going on, zoot suit on the DM, who's full of attitude. Pretty darn entertaining I must say, reminded me of VK from back in the day. Their Elvis section was really a hoot I though...whole corps disappears behind these curtains for a bit, then when they open, whole corps has turned into Las Vegas Elvis, with the hair and glitter suit. Fun stuff...they're all doing the Elvis hip thing while playing Jail House I belive. Entertaining product, nice sound too! SPIRIT JSU: some familiar themes abound, but its arranged within your more typical DC style so it came across to me a lot more esoteric than it really should have been! Maybe its just me. Guard effective at points. But gotta be honest, this one didn't connect all that well w/me for some reason, I thought Crossmen later on clearly beat them (and they did) CROSSMEN: really big opening statement sold WELL, from music and guard both. They really sounded so much stronger than JSU and carried it thru all 11 min, so this jump over them really wasn't that controversial. Again, guard is very very effective all thru this show. And the closer is music I recall from 1991, 1992? Brings back memories of that great show. I know they've been hammered scorewise this past week or so....but they seemed strong and confident to me, so who knows!! CAROLINA CROWN: a terrific, teriffic show package. Big opening statement and really a strong, energetic opening number all the way thru. The stadium was so low that drill reading was practically impossible....but Crown had the best drill moment of the nite for me....somewhere in the opener, they're lined up on like the 40....then they open the form to a big diamond for a big hit, well done!! Must look nice from up high. As for the singing....nah, ditch that. The poetry reading I could *somewhat* take but not that singing. Re: poetry, I was surprised, the guy had the mike and he was practically center field doing his rap...I dunno, I guess I expected the miked people to be tied to sidelines. Anyway....nice program overall, should do well BOSTON: good news: probably strongest corps of all their Top12 appearances since 99. Drill is strong and effective from what I can tell, great sound. Most of all, they have great GE written into the arrangements throughout, which really sells even the lamest of esoteric musical moment (nah, I wasn't all that crazy about the actual music, the least *appealing* music of all their post 99 shows I thought). And guard, really really effective in the whole of the show, nearly up there with CBC in that regard I thought. BUUT....the narration...well, it just seems like its there because "they can." You know? And having seen it, I'd agree with detractors that it really is too much of it. Towards the end, he narrates as colors are introduced,something like "Love, heat, passion....RED!!" and suddenly some guard members emerge in red. This goes on for Orange, Green, Blue, etc. But I gotta say, when he said "Yada yada yada....AQUA!!" well, that made me laugh. Aqua? LOL! Oh well....I doubt the corps will drop the narration, so have to live w/it. But truly, unnecessary, show would work without it I think. We'll see how it goes I guess, stop living in the past.... CADETS: this corps has one heck of a guard show, very well staged and executed. This will likely be a caption they could very well win in the end. Musically, terrific stuff, who knew Jethro Tull was a great source for DC music? The hornline sounded great as did the percussion. Baton guy was great GE, he appears very briefly 3xs in the show and all to great applause....he's tossing three at one point I think, doing splits and all sorts of tricks. Oh, if he drops on Finals though (grrr). Didn't find him cheesy at all. As for the show itself....well, not the total package I didn't think, the opener was particularly cumbersome with its long intro fanfare and, well, lack of effects overall....no real standing O moment at any point which is a shame cause you gotta sell it strong at the start!! I expect something will be changed here. Depending on the tweaks and how it grows, that will determine if they are 1st or 4th. At this point, they seemed extremely beatable by any of the current favorites & I havent seen any of those shows! (But what do I know, I never thought 2000 was a sure thing when I saw it during the season and that show was undefeated) Anyway, those were my thoughts. I say MY thoughts. Feel free to disagree if you must but I mean no harm to anyone in my remarks... Bye all! JP

these reviews are only good for 24 hours I guess so let me toss in my thoughts before it's too late :) RAIDERS: these guys played Carmina Burana. It's actually a pretty good rep for DC, I don't recall now ever hearing it done before. Anyway, it's a pretty tough rep music wise for Raiders to do but they handled it well considering the young season. Drumline was really driving hard in the background, almost overpowering horns at times I thought. But Raiders put a smile on my face by the end, I think they did a fine job. CAROLINA CROWN: From a distance, it looked like the ghost of Star 1993 coming on the field in their new duds. LOL Anyway...total surprise by me how well they did! I guess I'm fickle, seeing them in 16th last year I was expecting them not to be *up to standard* but WRONG. All the bells and chimes start the show, then with balls they hit a company front as the opening hit and everyone in the audience around me went nuts! Jersey loved them! And this audience reaction sustained thru the whole show too. Maybe this pumped up the corps, had to. But really great overall job. Guard too was awesome. Their second piece was interesting, seemed driven entirely by the pit, and the guard dancing along with rifles/sabres (not sure which) interpreting the bells. All very effective. Closer had very familiar sounding theme...again, pit given a lot of work, these guys are NOT just background players in this show. Interested to see if they can push it back to Finals now! BLUE COATS: thought Crown out-GE'd them actually, but that's IMO. Show was better executed visually perhaps. The whole capture/escape theme was very intriguing to me, especially in the opener, all the drill sequences illustrating this really pulled me in. But then, I don't know, they moved on to a whole tango sequence, which is fine on its own but it lost me in what that had to do with capture/escape. Maybe next time I see them it'll make more sense, who knows? Musically, parts reminded me of Spirit last year, sinister sounding symphonic music. Guard red looked good contrasted to the rest of corps CROSSMEN: this was a pretty entertaining show musically. I think their strength in the end will come to points they build up in performance and generating response. They look like they're out there to make people feel *happy.* Good thing I say! Yes, a fair amount of park/blow moments, maybe one too many, but audience enjoys this so in that sense it works. IMO they aren't really selling those moments fully yet, but in time I expect that will change. Corps charges the stands in the end (similar to BD96) and then throw down (similar to Cadets Boogie). It's a feel good show, ultimately don't think they'll do much climbing in the standings in the end, but most likely right about even with last year BOSTON: called out sick CAVALIERS: audience around me REALLY acted like they did not want to give it up to this corps (it's Jersey after all)...but as the show progressed, they couldn't help themselves and response got better. All the spinning, very interesting stuff and the varienty of ways its done (drill, two doing it together, individuals doing it by themselves, spinnig around people). Guard, well, I'll say this, their outfits probably aren't met to be viewed from up close...but from my place in the stands, it was fine and not an issue for me. Their packages are not evident from the stands LOL so it's safe to bring your kids! Colorwise they work well in the overall show. Thought the hornline sounded the best of the night, though perhaps not the *loudest.* The set where they spin to a seating position is outrageous. Even the jersey audience had to give it up for that! Current ending not terribly effective, but I expect given the theme, they will do some spin move to take it home. Hate to say it for 4 years, but it definitely looked title worthy to me. I don't think it will overwhelm scorewise like last year, though, should this end up on top, to me they did not *blow away* the Cadets quite like they were doing a year ago. CADETS: did not expect to be confused by the warmup show, but I was. Maybe the timing was off. But after the 'you may take the field' I swear they continued for 20-30 seconds before officially starting. So I presume all that ended up judged? Not sure if that was intended to be that way, so I'll assume it was a timing issue with the announcer. Showise, thought this one was darn good. Corps is marching hard and fast this year, thank you. Rep reminds one of 2001, BUT this year I thought the 3 pieces fit together very well...2001 Moondance stuck out badly like it didn't belong...not so this year. End of opener drill I think was taken from end of Young Persons 01. Malaguena sold well to audience. Liked the guard skirt thing in Malaguena, reminded me of Garfield 87/88, maybe this is meant as a favorite thing too LOL. The *stolen* Madison scouts rotating front I've been reading about, well, looked more like the rotating front from Cadets own 1997 show to me! LOL Didn't think Maleguena flowed into closer though, almost feel like need a brief interlude before Rocky Point fanfare begins. Just IMO. 83 RPH of course better (classic!) but this is good too. Drill compaints: liked the "G" but wish the set stopped to react to it. It just appeared for a bit and evolved to something else. Same with Z pull, thanks, this is the great "Z" from 1983, a *true* z pull live before my eyes, the audience stood up around me as it got going, but it never finished! Show ended with some other drill frenzy, so audience sat down. Frankly, zpull would have sufficed for me as a stronger finish--after all, there is no more *favorite thing* for the 80s era Garfield fan than that, right?! Overall, think this show will be competitive, it's quite good. At the very least, it has serious GE potential, looks like a potential 39+ pointer if done right. We'll see. Hope this review was of some value to someone out there. I know a lot of you will never see ANY of these shows live, so thought I'd share my impressions. Bye! JP