mikespeed

Due to dinner plans, I was only able to catch the last 8 corps. As I am a former (high school) brass player, and I was sitting down low on the 50 where I couldn't see much drill, much of my review will be concerned with the volume and sound quality of the brass line. Also being low on the 50, much of my review will be concerned with how much the amplifiers blew me out the back of the stadium. Boston Crusaders- Good brass, NO VOICEOVERS! I loved Pines of Rome, but other than that the show left me slightly (ever so slightly) flat. They did have a kick*** move or two in the ending, though. I was more of a fan of their 2011 show, but that aside, it looks like they deserve to be ahead of the Cavaliers, and I hope they stay that way! Cavaliers- In the future, everyone will be world famous for 15 minutes. World famous. Famous. Famous. In the future… Future… Future… Yeah, not a fan of that. I'll stick to the positives: Great drumline, and an awesome breakdown at the end of the show that got the crowd pumped. Probably one of the most "different" and/or "innovative" endings we've seen in a while, and I genuinely liked it! Moreover, that famous Cavie "swag" hasn't gone away. The kids seem to be having a blast with this show! Cadets- The brass was definitely several steps up from the previous corps. I hope the soloists at the beginning don't frack for the DVD. The Jingle Bell Jam needs to be a little bit longer (I liked the early season versions better), and in its current state, there is no room for applause at the end of it, which felt very… odd. But they make up for it with a classic Cadets high speed ending! Lots of narration, but they've figured out how to make it effective. This is probably because they have a 5 year start on everybody else. Bluecoats- Outstanding brass, as always. Great blend. I love the dark, slightly ominous sound they carry with them. The narration did support the theme, and I didn't mind it personally (despite a little suppressed giggling), but my girlfriend (never marched, only been to DCI ATL last year with me) had a different opinion. She (wisely) said "You shouldn't have to have words in a show. You should be able to tell what's going on without them." Vanguard- At this point, 3 of the 4 corps we'd seen had been talking at us, and it was getting old. Then came a real breath of fresh air. Vanguard was awesome! Phenomenal drumline, and a much louder brass line and show than last year's production, "Chromatic Scales in Mezzo Forte." A week ago, I complained somewhere around here about the speed of the Music of the Night tidbit they had in the closer. It's much better now. Gave me chills. Keep the ending, spice the show up with a couple more of those neat neat visuals, clean, clean, clean, and watch the crowds go nuts from here to Indy! Great job, SCV. Blue Devils- Actually wait, I'll save these guys for last. Phantom Regiment- Now THIS what I wanted to see when I bought my ticket back in March. Not a single word spoken, and an easy-to-grasp concept performed in a sophisticated manner at window-shattering volume. Best Phantom brass since 2009! Nessun Dorma was phenomenal. I actually like the new extended iteration more than the 1991 arrangement! (I know, I know, blasphemy, burn me at the stake) The crowd was up on its feet and throwing babies well before the cutoff of the last note, as a drum corps crowd should. It seemed like there was a lot of pent-up energy in the crowd- they wanted something to cheer for, but nothing had really happened until Phantom. Carolina Crown- From my seat, these guys 5-pointed everyone else. This is why I am not a DCI judge. I've never heard a brass line play louder, or with more clarity than what I heard last night. My jaw dropped several times in that show. Now I get all the Crown hype- holy cow, they're good. That Star of Indiana-esque (everyone says that, but it's true) bit towards the end where the brass resolves into that big chord? That was the single most awesome brass moment I've ever heard. "Ever" only being since 2008, that is. Phenomenal, phenomenal, phenomenal. Definitely the most entertaining show of the night. (Did you hear that, new judging sheets? No, you didn't? You're the exact same as the old sheets? Oh.) And now... Blue Devils- I appreciate that they're doing something different. I enjoyed the show visually. No matter where you look, there's something quirky happening, and that makes it fun. Watching them perform reminds me of those old "I Spy" picture books. However, the narration really turned me off. There's absolutely no need for some French guy babbling over those great solos and those soft, smooth percussion parts. On the bright side, the amps were at a very low volume, unlike a certain green corps… This show, like most BD shows, was visually innovative, looked quite easy to "untrained" eyes like mine, and featured moments of great music interspersed with random loud noises. I'm not sure why it won. I guess the key to their high scores is their great drumline and guard. When the show was over, I wasn't exactly sure what happened, or why any of it had even happened in the first place, but I guess that's their show concept, so it works. My final impression can be summed up in one word: meh. Overall, the corps were worth the cost of the ticket, but not as fun as they were in 2008, 2010, 2011. The narration is a real turn off for me, and I find it cheesy. Despite my general negativity, I enjoyed myself, and will enjoy myself again in a couple of weeks at Quarterfinals! My Favorite Shows: 1. Regiment 2. Crown 3. SCV 4. Cadets 5. Blue Devils 6. Bluecoats 7. Cavies 8. Boston EXTENSIVE LIST OF DISCLAIMERS I'm a shameless PR honk. I'm not a Crown honk. They aren't even in my "Top 5 Favorite Corps" list. I might have a case of Acute ABBD. It only pops up every once in a while, and I thought I was rid of it for good last year. In any case, I'll have to see a doctor about it. Before you guys call me a dinosaur, I'm only 22. Epilogue: As we were leaving the stadium, my girlfriend said this: "I think I liked the shows better last year… It seemed like most of them weren't even trying to be entertaining." Ouch. Very ouch.

For me, it's definitely Fire of Eternal Glory or Make our Garden Grow. I also really liked the ballad from The Zone, and Vanguard's last year.

I love BD's formation for the finals block! Edit: Did they just delay the scores to get BD out of the Cadets' business? Even more lols

As has been stated on here many times, VANGUARD WAS INCREDIBLE TONIGHT! Wow. Just wow. Chills. Far and away my favorite show of the season now. That said... I have one fairly major complaint/request: Please slow down the big hit in Music of the Night! It feels rushed, and it doesn't feel like it belonged. I loved everything after that hit, the big "V," the classic quiet Vanguard ending; it was all perfect. But Music of the Night is such a majestic piece, playing it at 190 bpm (and splicing it with Mars) just doesn't cut it. If you're gonna do it, DO IT RIGHT.

With how dirty that was, maybe Phantom and Cadets can both beat Crown tonight... But I wouldn't expect it to last!

You need to look up the word "fascism" in a dictionary.

So let me get this straight, you're upset at someone calling BD's Dada show nonsense?

I have a legitimate question, I'm not trying to be rude or anything. I marched high school, but never got the chance to do corps, so I beseech someone with real experience. What is demanding (visually) about BD's show? I hear a lot on DCP about the demand in their show, but really all I see is blobs, random scatter drill, curvy lines (some with quite bad intervals), etc. It seems like Constantly Risking Absurdity, except everyone is being absurd and I'm not sure what they're supposed to be doing, or how the judges can tell if they're clean or dirty. I get that their brass is phenomenal, and I'm sure that their individual marching technique is second to none. But could somebody who is more knowledgeable than me (or thinks they are) point out a couple of visual moves in BD's show that are impressive so I can check them out on the fan network? More specifically, what do they do that is more difficult than that other show?

Passive aggressive insults, then.

It's ok for some people to not like your corps. It's called an opinion, and there's no need to attack someone for it.

I like bringing new people to a DCI show and having them go "Wow!" instead of "Huh?"

Thanks for the review! But... #1. 1995 #2. 2008 #3. Their 2003 show, Spin Cycle, had a 'down' ending

Yes but I saw a vid and I'm pretty sure they played it.

I think it's Jersey Surf

Yeah, that's what I saw too. Can't believe BD beat Phantom in GE Music, that's just bizarre. Phantom and Vanguard I thought should have both been ahead of BD in that caption. In BD's show, I had no idea what they were supposed to be doing visually, and there was a lot of dirt. Phantom's show, on the other hand, was ridiculously clean. Eventually, BD will clean up and likely beat the heck out of everyone else, but last night I thought Phantom had the cleaner, more complete product, and should have been scored as such.

I was really starting to dig BD, especially after last year. But now that I've seen this video, I can hate them again! Hooray!!!! I feel like a new man!

Well, I still think Charlie Strong is a bad coach.

lol they probably will, Charlie Strong is an idiot. Maybe try WKU in Bowling Green for a Kentucky stop? They've got a great stadium for watching corps, the stands are right on the field and go STRAIGHT up. EDIT: Bloomington would be great as well.

Someone tried to hate, but I got your back! Yeah it did sound like there were some heroes from the vid, but it's June, and it was just a rehearsal. They do sound much improved from last year. I found a very, very poor quality vid of SCV's performance, and it seemed like a neat show! It has a minute long prelude of the slow part from Jupiter, followed by Leonardo Dreams of his Flying Machine, followed by this spectacular rendition of Blue Hour, and finishes up with about 4-5 minute mashup of Mars and Jupiter. In my opinion, the ending is very abrupt, and I'm almost certain (with my limitless optimism) that it can and will be replaced by some other musical piece. I'm not sure what though. Can anyone name a closer that would work well with a show called Music of the Starry Night?

I'm subscribed, but I'm also very impatient.

There's been a lot of talk about Phantom, but what's the deal with Vanguard? I've heard no show music, seen no drill, heck, nobody's even reviewed them yet! Has anybody seen them? What can we expect from them this year, placement wise? What is their show like?

I've had it up to *here* with the Fan Network. I finally get out of class to watch the VOD's, and it tells me I'm locked out, and now I just have to wait for 4 hours. I know FOR A FACT that nobody else is logged on to my account. You'd think for the money we spend, they'd give us better service than "well uh, you'd better just wait or something." How ridiculous. Rant over.

How ABSURD! And do I hear a bit of a trumpet solo from Apollo 13? Hope they expand on that!

Yes indeed. I hope they rewrite that last bit and give us the rest of Nessun Dorma at max volume, instead of skipping into what seems like a "filler" ending. Other than that, I like the intensity! They have a fierceness in their music this year that we haven't heard from them in a couple years. Woohoo 2012! I think it's going to be a good season. EDIT: I'm talking about from 10:40 onwards, and I bet they do change it at some point in the season. Hopefully before Atlanta! Please? For me?

Oh sorry, I thought for a minute you were insinuating that piece was in the show.