bandbuck

Great review, and thanks for the awesome pics!

Just got home from a great show in Pittsburgh, so figured I'd write a quick review while I'm still hyped on caffeine (though I did manage to stay away from the deep-fried Oreos in the stadium...). Baldwin High School was the site, with a nice artificial turf surface. Also, my apologies in advance for all the details of shows which I couldn't catch in a first viewing. And to be honest, I was less than impressed by these corps on the webcast and almost didn't go tonight, but I'm glad I did!!!! It's going to be another great season! Capital Regiment (Open Class...64.3) It was great seeing Cap back on the field, and they're off to a great start. They had about 40 horns, a good sized drumline, but only 6 guard. It's a nice show with lots of nice "Storm" moments. The drums seem very strong, and the horns had lots of nice moments garnering good crowd reaction. The small guard was featured nicely, and this should be a great show by season's end! Welcome back, Capital Regiment! Colts (5th place...63.5) The Colts are always a great early-season-show corps, since they always seem to have a more complete package than most corps, with finished flags, finished guard work, etc. Tonight was no exception, with a nice nautical look in the guard, some great show flags, and some great horn hits, especially right at the beginning of the show. The music is all nice and accessible. However, it seemed like the horns were in the front of the field most of the show, so I kept yearning for more field coverage. They also had lots of parked moments. Also, in my first negative amped-keyboard experience, the volume of the amps was SO loud and with such a heavy bass that it really detracted from the nice horn sound. There were keyboard chords and bass backing up the whole horn book, and when it finally dropped out about a minute left in the show, the horn line sounded thin. I'm guessing this was mostly due to the bass overkill the rest of the show. Other than that, a nice show! Boston (3rd place...68.8) There were lots of great moments in this "Temptation" show, with a middle eastern theme to most of the show. The huge guard (41 or 42?) was dressed appropriately for the theme, with lots of skin showing. The new uniforms on the corps look sharp, as does the cool drum finish! This should be one amazing show by finals, with lots of good stuff already. The hornline was very strong, with a sound on the bright side (not in a bad way...). The guard was definitely prominant in the design, but there are some good drill moments as well. I liked it! Glassmen (4th place...66.1) The new uni's look terrific! I liked everything about this show, and again think it will be a very good product as it develops. There was one very odd transition (or maybe a lack of transition) from the Piano into Panis Angelicus. Hopefully that will be fixed soon. The hornline was powerful, but at times the tone suffered with too much force. While the drums sounded good, the only real percussion thing I noticed was the lack of timpani in the pit. It wasn't an issue, but I did notice the absence. The guard outfits were nice as well.... Crown (2nd place....75.4) Wow! I didn't particularly like this show on viewing on the Fan Network over the weekend, but in person it was terrific! They again have ventured into a new color palette, and it works very well. The first flag (the only non-plain one) was outstanding and very visual! While the show is not the instant crowd-pleaser like the last two years, it's a cool, well-planned concept. The guard uniforms deifnitly made me think of Peter Pan and Tinkerbell. The hornline....amazing. The effortless tone, especially in the upper trumpets, was beautiful. The purity of the full horn sound almost made Cadets horn sound seem forced (not that it was....). The drill moves quickly, and the field coverage was the best of the night. The 'fusing' of Over the Rainbow and Somewhere worked pretty well in the ballad, and the use of the Somewhere with the ominous bass notes to end the ballad like last year brought a smile to my face. It's definitely a more intense package than last year's, but I think it works well....really well! Cadets (1st place...76.1) Where to begin.... This West Side Story show seemed really, really fragmented to me tonight, but there were still lots of highlights. There's the typical cool drill moves, great guard (but tonight they seemed to have lots of tangled flag issues...maybe using show flags for the first time?), and good drum stuff, but something just didn't work for me. The jazzy "Cool" feature was my favorite part, along with the fast-moving closing drill (which was complete, unlike the Annapolis webcast). It's another talented corps, as usual, but the updated arrangements of these classic tunes didn't seem to connect. I'm sure it will develop well, but tonight I thought Crown took top honors. What do I know? lol... It was a great show overall, and I'm glad I went! The only downer was the 30-minute intermission (and then another 15-20 minute techical "problem" between Glassmen and Crown), which stretched out the evening. I'm not sure why a 6-corps show needs to be 2.5 hours long (and I left right after Cadets and before the encore/score announcement). Wouldn't the corps (and the fans) appreciate getting back on the road sooner? Just my two cents worth. Respecfully yours....

Glad to hear that! Go Blooooooooo!

Just got a call from a friend at the show....rainout. Corps are just doing standstills.

Saw Bluecoats yesterday, and wow.....what a hornline! With 79 horns (as of yesterday's count), they are poised to become Blue's best hornline ever! They're amazing, they're very talented, and best of all....they're really loud! It's gonna be one cool show.... Go BLOOOOOO!

Wow, wow, wow! Last night reaffirmed what I've always thought....there should be a DCI regional at Paul Brown Tiger Stadium! It really is an amazing venue for drum corps, and last night's huge and very excited crowd appreciated every moment from eight great corps. There were probably 7,000 or so in attendance, and the close sideline seating, the beautiful field, and the small overhead roof all make it a perfect place for DCI viewing. If you've never come to the Football Hall of Fame contest, you need to venture here to see it. First up were the Troopers, and they were definitely "on" tonight! The crowd ate up everything they did, from the cool railroad effects in the opener to the comical segments in the middle. Lots has been said on here about the small color guard (17-18 tonight), but with some beautifully designed oversized flags, I didn't see this as much of an issue at all. The guard had some really nice moments, but the horn line was the most impressive part tonight. What a great sound, with a nice, deep sound. The drill has some cool moves and great visuals. I was VERY impressed! Mandarins followed next, and while at first they seemed to suffer by following the crowd-pleasing Troopers, but once they hit the end of "Cajun Folk Songs" with the huge impacts at the end, the crowd was very involved! The hornline sounded good, with only a couple times where things seemed forced. Guard colorings seemed odd at first, but worked out well as the show progressed. I had yet to see Blue Stars this season, but had read much about their "Tour" show. Incredible! Whoever designed and planned this product....congrats! What a great concept, and what a performance tonight! From all the obvious visuals of a very talented guard to the great sounds of the horn line, it's a great package. I love the shako look personally, adding a great sophistication to their appearance. Everything about this show had the crowd on fire! Spirit followed, and again suffered a little from following such an entertaining package as Blue Stars. There was lots of great playing and many nice drill moments, but I could've done without the four 'perimeter' guard members whose presence wasn't really needed. I know, I know...that was the show theme, but it seemed like "oops, we have too many guard members, so let's just stick these four on the corners of every form". Just a personal thought there. Again, as the show progressed, the crowd got really involved and let them know it. After intermission, Boston took over with a very high-energy performance. The high-speed drill in the opener got a huge response from the crowd, as did many other moments and horn hits during the rest of the show. Tonight it seemed like marching technique is the weakness, with some pretty dirty drill and spacing issues. Other than that, it's a very fun show! Blue Devils....amazing! What can one say about the color feast for the eyes, the non-stop production of visual effects, and the amazing sounds? Whether it's absurd, kooky, fun, loud, intense, energetic, or creative, it's all there! I can't wait to see this again in Bloomington on Thursday! The guard was incredible tonight (as they usually are) and the response from the crowd made it obvious what their feelings were! It's hard to imagine having to follow BD's production, but SCV was just fine, thanks to some great drill moments and another creative product. The middle section was definitely my favorite, but it all works well. They definitely have the word 'impact' figured out, from some great visual and musical hits throughout the show. The ending segment was a flurry of color that gave the crowd yet another reason for a standing O! Bluecoats were up last in their home show, and they had no trouble getting the crowd on its feet with their "Knockout" production. The horns and drums had a great night tonight, and the boxers again stole the show with some very realistic boxing. The Paul Simon horn hit again is a crowd favorite and seemed much louder than usual tonight, and the huge final chord works really well. Drill was very clean and the guard was terrific, especially some amazing sabre tosses! And what a bass drum line.... Again, it was just a great night of amazing drum corps in a phenominal venue! Can't wait 'til Bloomington.....

And while we're at it, what about: Esperanza Magic East Coast Jazz

Amen! They all had great shows and were much more fun to watch and listen to than the top three! I loved 'em all!

Just remember that Bluecoats have moved up during finals week for the past three years. Don't fret....they'll be fine! (I hope!) Go Blooooooooooooo!

Add some 90's stuff, like: '90 Bluecoats (Duke Ellington...some really, really nice playing) '90 Crossmen (New York Voices) '91 Star (the Roman stuff) '94 Crossmen (great stuff, like Land of Make Believe, and very well played!) '94 Blue Knights (Trittico...very cool!) Just some suggestions, but I've got 'em all on my Pod!

Bluecoats won all music captions!

Cavies 91.3 Bluecoats 90.05 SCV 87.4 Academy 79.25 Crossmen 78.45 Mad 77.25 Troop 73.8 Pioneer 68.9

Go Bloooooooooo! (-: b**bs

But isn't that unfortunate? To me 'effect' should mean that it actually has some on the people paying the ticket price. Is that wrong?

bump to the top, since this is all such useful stuff!

Awesome review! Thanks for all the great details! Plus, I totally agree with all your Bluecoats comments! (-: Go Blooooooooo!

Bluecoats. They have one of the cleanest, purest tones and some of the nicest ensemble playing! They're awesome!

I just got $200 r/t from Cleveland to LAX last week. That doesn't seem too 'excessive' to me. P.S. I love Ave. Q! (-:

I saw PC at the Normal, IL show a couple weeks ago, and I enjoyed it alot, as did everyone around me. Their use of narration isn't even close to the nonstop narration that Cadets use, so don't compare the two! Pacific Crest was a big hit with the Normal audience!

Is there a big difference about people leaving vs. some of the posters on here who don't get to shows until the 'big corps' start? How rude is that to corps who appear before intermission, like their shows don't matter? Read recent reviews from Columbus and Allentown, and you'll see perfect examples of this. Maybe any open seats when the first corps starts should be 'open season' to fans already there? Just a thought....

I'm not complaining about it....I'm looking forward to it! Don't let the complainer from this post represent all of us! I feel bad for all the folks on or near the west coast that never get to see shows in August when corps are at amazing levels! I can't wait to get to the Rose Bowl next month....

But, they've also only beaten two corps on that list..... (-: Just adding fuel.

I agree! If a team like Boise State can win a BCS bowl game, why can't corps like Bluecoats or Carolina Crown win DCI? Go BLOOOOOOOO!

And Bluecoats guard scores continue to go way up, thanks to finally having work to the end of the show, guard costumes, and show flags!

recap's finally up!!!!!!!!