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Since no one has done a review of this show I thought I'd post one. Only ended up catching World Class due to PC Alumni Tailgate and helping to tear down only to finish by int. I was up high, 3rd from the top close to but not exactly on the 50. Mandarins-As a PC alum (and Bloo) I felt weird wanting them to make finals in '17 but if you can make me root for you then you're doing something right. I believe this show has the wheels to make it as high as 9th, maybe 8th if they really amp up their performance levels. Hornline is the best I've ever heard from them, the drill design is on point and the concept is easy to follow. But it helps I've been obsessed with Rite of Spring since age 4 thanks to the OG Fantasia. The trombones added a nice edgy color through out the show and didn't feel out of place or visually clunky. Battery is throwing down some diddles out there and the guard is on point. Not to mention the guard outfits totally give you that creepy vibe you need from this show. Had them closer to BK. Troopers-Really dug the opening of Black Parade and how they treated the sunburst. Then the Western melodic statements to finish off the opening impact was a cherry on top that brought a smile to my face. If you need melody for your shows, these guys have plenty! Lead trumpet book is hard but they aren't letting it get to them and I commend the lead section facing the challenge head on. There was a moment where the corps was spread out and was beginning to tear but the DM said "nope!" and reeled them all back in keeping em in time. Liked the uniform change and how it connected with the prop colors once they turned. Felt like they saved their volume for the last statement cuz dang did they pump it out there! This show is really dirty right now but can really do some damage once cleaned up. Watch for that. Academy-The opening movement to this reminded me of those Glassmen shows that were almost by the book. Good musical foundation, good marching execution but it didn't emotionally grab me. But as the show progressed it got better and better. Concept came through better and the members seemed to perform it better. I really dug the vocal quartet. I wouldn't call it singing but they spoke rhythmically and with the right pitches. There's a lot visually going on and at times it felt like the members were overwhelmed with the "what" and it effected the "how." Blue Knights-Rite of Spring take 2 for the night and I still enjoyed it as their treatment was different from Mandarins. I know it's an Egypt show and took the opening as Aliens helped build the Pyramids. This hornline and battery can play! Holy hell! When the baris/euphs switch to bones, it got painfully loud. I liked their utilization of their show attire and using it to visually create interest within the program. 8-18 is going to get bloody. This show and the others before it confirmed that. Hope the members in that placement range realize that this is the best this tier has ever been and there will be a lot of finalist caliber programs performed for the last time on Semifinals. Pacific Crest-This was a tough pill to swallow for me as an alumni. I'm not a huge musical fan and disliked LaLa Land. The music book just didn't connect with me and those around me in the stands and for lack of a better description, felt like a show I'd judge during the fall. The visual side of things are in contrast to that. They were visually very clean for this time of year and I found myself applauding the home team for their visual impacts more than their musical ones. I don't know what's gone on behind the scenes but I thought they were going to start contending for a Saturday night appearance after the success in 2012-2013. It seems they've fallen off and haven't recovered from there. The brass staff needs to really work a lot on the pumping sound/volume and articulation definitions if they want to keep up with the visual staffs success. I don't see this show in the 8-18 fight and may even struggle to make Friday night if the newer WC and other OC groups get musically better and amp up their GE. SCV-This is your winner this year unless Bloo does something with their ending that is just mind boggling. There was not a moment of this show where I lost interest. They grabbed you by the shirt and dragged you through mud but you wanted nothing more than for them to continue to abuse you....ok, maybe a weird description but holy hell this is the show! This is the Vanguard of the late 90's mixed with modernized drum corps! Those mellos didn't just give a clinic, they defined what should be done on that horn. Their soloists were just ####### showoffs at everything they did. The ranges, the articulation patterns, the technical prowess. Am I really gushing over Vanguards hornline?!?!? The percussion section is off the charts as always. Their pit made feel very feely types of feelings especially on the more intimate parts. And the guard. THE GUARD!!! Repeat Zingali? Only if they can keep this up and do well against Boston and Bloo. Ballad of the year for me. Nothing else is paced so musically, visually and emotionally better out there this season. The Club Sound breakdown makes Cavaliers fight club look like childs play but that was eventually going to happen with this new direction DCI has been going in. I've never gotten teary eye from a show this early let alone from a corps that I never marched or taught. If you win this, Vanguard, I would have zero complaints. You were long overdue for a corps of this caliber with your history and I'm happy to see the talent of your membership at the level it's at. Blue Devils-I use to be a bonified hater. I won't lie. But over the past 8 years I've grown to love what they're doing. I really liked last seasons visual program and what it did to help represent the history of this corps and the evolution of the activity and was hoping to see something of that caliber again. Unfortunately we didn't get that and I really felt for the corps. Following the emotionally draining act SCV put on was a really tough draw for the Devils. They were technically clean, had some very well executed drill developments and I really liked the visual design especially during the closer when the high brass begins a string like unravel of the block on side 1. I also was impressed by the circles that rotated to blocks around a non moving focal point within the form. And do these guys move! But it was emotionally comparative to Academy's opener. Another note I'll say about the Devils is that I've noticed a trend that when the fans say something along the lines of "move more! play more melody! less weird, dissonant music!" and they listen, they seem to have a tougher time winning. Look at '11, '13, '16 although I don't think in '16 anything was really vocalized along those lines. I'm seeing Devils this season move almost as much as Crown '12. Maybe it's just coincidence? I don't have an answer. That being said I don't see this placing top 2. That's not a knock on them. If anything it's a compliment to their success forcing other groups to step up their game. They could get bronze this year and be 0.5 from the gold. They were really close to getting bronze in '16 with how close things got that year so again, it's not a knock. Their competition just figured out the work ethic and some design elements needed to give em a run for their money. Not to mention parity in DCI would not hurt at all. Do we really want it to be the same top 2/3 every season? Even NBA fans are tired of a Cavs/GS final. Anyways hope you enjoyed the review. My pointless predictions after 2 weeks of shows for finals 1/2 SCV/Bloo 3-7 Devs/BAC/Cavs/Cadets 8-12 There are 10 corps I could put here. Use your imagination cuz everything will be wrong in the end lol

As a Bloo alum and woodwind player I can say just use what you know you. I played flute and saxophone before I touched a brass instrument (sophomore year). One upper hand I had on most brass players was experience playing runs and reading more complex rhythms. Lots of practice will help. Seeing as she plays fluted she definitely has air support. She can do it. i played lead trumpet 4/5 years in corps. If anything, doubting my skills pushed me harder

"All is hell that ends well"- two steps from hell

Won't make it til the top 12 at the earliest today which sucks cuz I really like troop academy and colts shows. Not to mention PC, mandarins and cascades. Just a great season. Best of skill everyone!

I've mentioned it before but Norwegian Pirate and El Dorado by Two Steps from Hell needs to be put on the field.

The main reason I buy VOD/FN is because a lot of the shows I end up liking are not performed by the perennial top 7 or so groups. It ends up being open class or lower seeded world class and folks are usually less inclined to periscope/youtube/etc those shows because they aren't finalists or whatever other reason there is. I couldn't imaging not being able to view Mandarins or Cascades at all this year or Legends, SCVC, Genesis and the likes of others. The music industry itself is digging its own grave by tightening it's grip on copyrights. First muted or blacked out portions of dvds and now this.

Jeeze. Not a crown honk in the slightest. They may as very well win it tonight!

They've had the piper in the show since the beginning. They just changed the drill.

I can't enjoy two left shoes....

Much better musical run from devs tonight. Last night the high brass had some timing issues that they mostly addressed in this one. Only two quarrels tonight 1. The note length of the first stab in the show was longer in the high brass than low brass but that is dang hard with that spread. 2. Dbl tonguing feature was a little wide in terms of attack accuracy player to player. Besides that I think this will take 1st in horns tonight from what I've seen thus far

BD high brass runs cleaner tonight than last night. Whoot!

I guess everyone online feels that after that first impact it felt a little less energetic. I agree as well but the live folks are on the other side of the fence. Should be interesting to see how they place tonight

AGH!!! Pit rushing their runs towards the end of that big FTL! But not as bad as the tear in that section last night

OC sounds great. Their look however.....eek need to clean that show visually! PC has a better Visual ensemble performance than OC at this point. But I think OC should jump spirit

Or Magic of Orlando since there were two of em at one point

After the first grouping I'd have it like this PC Cascades Surf Pio but pio less than a point away from surf

Wow Pio's visaul design has definitely kicked it up a notch!

My synopsis on tonights running with the top 7. Can't watch Phantoms show for more than a minute so please excuse me if that's a little salty but it is how I feel about that show. Bloo-From a music ensemble timing standpoint was the tightest of the night. Not the best individual visual run but the guard carried the visual package tonight more than the corps did. But the drill is clean enough at this point. New ending is way more effective that the previous new ending. Should propel them finals week in good ole bloo fashion (see 04, 05, 06, 08, 13, 14). On thing is for sure they still have the design to win this season but they gotta get the individual performers gunning for it. Thought percussion got shafted though especially for how tight the musical timing was BK-This can still catch vanguard. They too had their drums shafted as well. I do believe that they have the ability and talent to take out SCV in brass before seasons end. The warmth of their low brass sound is in the top 6 league and can play with a really nice sonority but it's not as consistent as the other horn lines. I still think they can push to 5th by the end. Cadets-Am I the only one that heard the tear during the big follow the leader when the mellos playing a gallop rhythm and the low brass consistent 8ths? It was tearing there for a while and I think that's what did the drum score in. I knew they had lost it tonight by that moment alone and some visual dirt that was not there in San Antonio and same goes for that musical dirt I mentioned earlier. Crown-Brass has a lot of demand musically with the spreads so those attacks being all over is not shocking to me at least. They march better than cadets and are on par with devils from tonight's runs. Really strong showing from them and the percussion was going nuts at the end like they had the greatest show of their lives. Could still take it in the end. Side note: This is one of the best horn lines consistently this recent decade (2010-present). How do they not have the talent in the tuba section to keep the feature they had earlier in the season? It was a really cool 2 bar phrase that I enjoyed! SCV-Love the changes but too many pit errors tonight. Don't know how this won drums. If it was just purely based on battery performance I could see that but the pit is REALLY holding their percussion ensemble back. The drill is nicely performed but some errors by design are ruining some moments that could be glorious. The ballad is hauntingly beautiful. Love the tuba feature as well. What's killing them is the new ending. Saw a lot of individual error as from a visual standpoint. Devils-Holy cow can they march their drill well! Still lots to clean. Musically (I might be alone on this) their runs in the horns are not as pristine as the other 4. The trumpets triplet figure early on in the show was a little loose and got worse when the leads took it up. The sound of the horns are awesome though. Dunno if that ending will do it though. It's better paced than the earlier one but it's still missing that "it" factor. Cavaliers-Run boy run needs to go. Though it was more audible tonight than I've heard previously. Some really cool moments in there for this corps and they have come a long way since 15 minutes of fame. Though it's not on par with last seasons show. If they clean this they will be back in the top 6. My personal placements tonight would've been this but I'm no judge. Awesome season thus far! Devs Bloo Crown Cadets SCV BK Cavs PR

I honestly think the best is a toss up between bloo and cadets right now. Both shows are equally innovative IMHO with two distinct innovative styles. I like devils a lot which is now only common the past two seasons for me. I know they have tricks up their sleeve cuz it's who they are. They fix the ending and they're gonna be in the mix with that entertaining show! My favorite shows go to BK This show might be emotionally a little bit of a step down from last season by holy Allah is that a fantastic show! I love te ending and how they continue to use the knee pop as an emotional push visually when they musically peak te past two seasons Mandarins Pure, raw, aggressive energy is what this show is made of. I remember seeing it on the Stanford cast and fell in love with it immediately! Seeing it live in Pasadena solidified it and their run in Denver was the best I've seen from them since semis 2013! I hope they give spirit a run for their money alongside SoCal rival pacific crest! SCVC Only saw this show once but they look to be running away with the oc title for now! Their use of the Prometheus soundtrack is awesome! It helps that I like that film as well. Their hornline is full of aggression and energy and I think that alone will carry them. The WC groups towards the lower echelon will have to keep em in their rear view mirrors

After seeing Cascades preview show I thought I got my fix of the planets. Though I felt underwhelmed by MC take on mars I enjoyed the show overall. Designed for some very effective moments but they just gotta clean! How I'd have open class 1/2 genesis/legends either could take it from what I saw and heard. 3 MC 4 CC 5 RS

First viewing of all these oc corps. I agree RS should consider sound sport because I'd hate to see a corps disappear entirely. At least with a sound sport they can still hold interest in the group. Kids working hard with what they got though. Genesis figured out how to play this season! Or their brass staff had an overhaul. They sound better today than they did semis last season. Should be a contender for oc Colt cadets have a fun show that's designed for the members. I thought it would be hard to follow genesis for these guys but they came out swinging and held their own. Very entertaining show. Legends are a very pleasant surprise. Holy cow that horn line can march and play. That percussion section is fantastic as well. Might definitely give last seasons top 3 some trouble. Onto music city!

Some background info. PC and Bloo alum. Taught a group that won it recently but not on staff anymore or anytime soon. Here it goes! Got into the stadium late since security made it difficult to get into the tunnel so sorry incognito and watchmen I miss you guys. Golden empire Really fun show. Dug the jazzy crime theme and really appreciated the screamers. Mello soloist made a nice recovery and the crowd showed their appreciation for the recovered delivery. What a "sophomore year" for these guys! Hope to see them strive some more. Impulse Was definitely rough around the edges but for 19 horns they definitely put out more sound than GE. Really cool visual development towards the end of what they had. Still an incomplete product. Gold Gonna be really honest on this one. The kids are marching, spinning and playing their butts off but this show is a real turn off for me. It feels like a bad riverside community college show. I honestly expected something along the lines of what they've done the past years. This pop star theme is also I think what Dino fans thought electronics would go. The kids are great but the staff let them down design wise. Mandarins Holy cow this show is aggressive! Love the uniforms now that their in and how some of the guard members play and spin. Crowd really dug it and I was on the edge of my seat the entire time. Clean it up and they'll be tussling with the likes of spirit and colts! Lots to clean in this show so there's plenty of room to grow! Best mandarins since 2013. Academy Such a fun show. Crowd are it up! Simple to follow and definitely a family show! The kids will love this one! The hornline sounds really refined compared to the last couple of seasons. Trumpets are strong too. Visually though this could use some work. Again it's early so it's all cleanable! (I'm a vis judge for a local circuit so I'm sort of good at it but not DCI good). But as for tonight I saw PC having the visual strengths with academy havin the musical ones. Gonna be great by finals week! Side note: academy had the best clarity as far as the double tonguing goes. You heard a consistent space between the notes and every note spoke and rang very well! BK That hornline cannot be hyped enough! I heard them on the very choppy live broadcast and was impressed. Hearing it live was another level! Cant wait to see the closer to this! Also, those drums are on a killer level. Should be a top 6 finish from that line again this season. PC Softest corps from a volume standpoint but definitely the secon cleanest from a visual standpoint. The drill and guard killed it tonight but I'm sure the "catalyst" not being covered in silks hurt this and GE as it left much to be desired. There's a virtuosic trumpet feature that is pretty cool and intense. Hope they can pull a top 14 finish and maybe a top 12 if the design cards align this year. Btw, the unis looked stellar in this stadium. Phantom Not gonna lie, this might be my hot dog corps just because it leaves much to be desired. Drums are better but I guess I expected more from this program. I guess I miss jd shaw arranging for them more than I thought I would. The talent is there but the arrangements leaves me flat. Guard is fantastic though. But that's been a trend dice Juliet. Side note, hope that euph player that took a spill early on is ok. Looked like an ankle roll. Speedy recovery kid! Devils Such a great show from an entertainment standpoint. Loved what they bring to the table and as time has gone by im really appreciating the athleticism of the members. There is a high amount of individual demand out there. Each member is giving it their all and I applaud them for it. Only quarrel visually is that there's too much scatter and it takes away from the possibility of better effect. Just feels like an abused effect. Also, the k pop section feels like forced electronic integration. Personally (not everyone's opinion) I think replacing it with Duck Sauces "Big Bad Wolf." It would've made better sense I would've laughed. Loved this show either way. Side note: don't watch that songs music video. It's made for a drug enduced experience. Scv Ok, definite top 3 dark horse of the year. The only thing keeping that spread between them and Devs is that their show is less produced than Devs. The horns have a chunk of holds that will be embellished with the proper visuals and body work to make this show pop. Jd shaw has done wonders with this group and it's paying dividends. Tubas sound spectacular in their feature and didn't sound phased by the simultaneous visual demand. Reminds me of Bloos tubas...oh wait ;). All in all in mostly agreed with the placements. I personally would've had bk over phantom and maybe a closer gap between academy, PC and mandarins. Things will change later though. Great night save for rose bowl security and a couple of other non performance related things. Good night and I've got lot watching to do tomorrow at RCC.

Thank you blue devils. That was a treat two nights in a row. If this wins I am 100% behind it. Great show from top to bottom. The horns move and play so much that it's astounding how good of a sound they're getting this early. Great show. Not staying for scores but here's how I'd have it w/o numbers 1. BD 2. SCV 3. BK 4. Bones 5. PC 6. Mandarins 7. Academy 1. Gold 2/3. Impulse or GE 4. City sound 5. Watchmen 6. Incognito Thanks for tuning in!

Bones-"Alma Qitana" is a cool show. I really like the top through the first big hit. Some cool moments in this show and California appreciates them coming out west. Thank you bones! As far as design goes though my only quarrel like last season was the drill is still too clumped up in the center of the field. Besides that great show