Tim K

I'll do Surf and Academy together since I did not get to do a post after Surf. Surf got the crowd roaring, no surprise, but the show was much cleaner than Allentown. The highlight was Aretha. There also seemed to add few new guard dance moves. As far as Academy is concerned, their show is entertaining and I feel has good content. Had a hard time getting people to join in "Piano Man," but it's a huge stadium. Enjoyed both shows.

Cascades just finished. Their musical show is good, but so few color guard members hurts them visually. Their percussion performs at times with a vengeance which everyone loves. Surf is getting ready to begin.

Pioneer just finished. The audience loved them. They seemed stronger today than in Allentown which I thought was a good show. Cascades are about ready to go. It will be interesting to see if Pioneer finishes higher than Cascades this afternoon.

SCV Cadets just finished Very controlled show. Clean, well performed, it's easy to see why they won Open Class finals. My guess is this will be the highest s owing show thus far,

People behind me said the something and I know that's how I felt last year.

Blue Devils B just finished. Like blue Devils,they have props galore. Had some great visuals and some pretty powerful musical moments. People didn'tknowtbe show was over when it concluded so the response was a bit off.

Genesis: great volume at beginning and end, fast paced drill, very few props, great guard work, drum corps just the way I like it. Judging from the response, I'm not the only one who feels this way.

Spartans had the show I'd hoped they would have had. Their musical show had impact in all the right places. Spartsns have always had a excellent guard but they were in top form today.

Music City just finished. Strongest musical show so far. Music City has shows that are both original and suit them well and this was no exception. I said last year it would be a year or two before they took an Open Class title and after seeing them today, I stand by my statement from last year. My guess us we will see them tomorrow.

Gold just finished. I'm surprised their show did not get more mention this year. They have members visiting from China and some of the most incredible acrobatic moves and some great martial arts demos. They also have the youngest members so far, a few as young as eight but full of talent. This may be the first corps we've seen that will perform tomorrow. If their musical show was as strong as their visual, this would definitely be the case. Music was very good but the guard was exceptional.

7th Regiment just finished what I would think is their bestshowthis season. Saw some drill maneuvers I had not noticed earlier this season. I enjoy their guard and musicallytnecorps seemed stronger. Goldie's now about to begin.

Poor Ichabod does not survive--again. Legends show was very strong. Visually they use very few props, pretty much limited to a bridge and Ichabod's lantern yet they do a good job portraying Sleepy Hollow. I saw them in Manchester earlier in the season and thought then and still do now that they have stepped things up a notch or two. Really enjoyed "Shepherds Hey" and they seem to have fun performing it. Anyone who has tickets for today's show and has not yet arrived are missing a great show thus far. Now it's off to.get some munches before 7th Regiment takes the field.

Raiders made it to Indy, that alone is good news. They have done a summer's worth of work. The guard was shakier early in the season but today they were confident and enhanced the story. Many of their sound effects are intricate and got lost in outdoor venues so the domed stadium may have been an advantage. The show is based on original music which can be a hard sell, but the musicians perform and sell it well.

Not sure how many Colts Cadets join the Colts, but if they do,then Colts are in great shape. The Colts Cadets have all the elements I love in Colts. The "Habenera" from Carmen was a crowd pleaser and they handled Copeland well. Very good soloists, which is not all that surprising since the same can be said of Colts.

First time seeing Taipei Yuehfu. Excellent color guard. The music was very soothing but had power when necessary. Both persuasion and horn line performed well. The marching show was very clean. They were also very precise with props. I'm sure visiting the United States is costly but it would be great to see them again.

Les Stentors just finished. I would love to see this corps increase in size. They used to do the July4th parade in my hometown and they seem to have fun doing #### they do. They have some great elements in their show. Much cleaner than when I saw it in Manchester. The audience loved the rifles tossed over the drum line's heads.

Blue Saints and Racine Scouts have performed. Les Stentor is getting ready. Blue Saints have heart, drum line gave it their all, the sound at times surpassing their size. Racine Scouts, glad they are back (they missed last year), Very ambitious show, interesting rifle solo involving horn line.

I would predict no more than five. I expect SCV Cadets, BDB for certain, Genesis and Spartans are likely as is Music City. I would love to see Pioneer or Cascades make the semi's, but size hurts both corps. I'd also love to see 7th Regiment join Spartans in the top 25, love both of NE corps, but Surf is stronger than people give them credit for being and I've seen Surf recently and I've seen Spartans and 7th Regiment in the recent past, and believe Surf is stronger which it should be since it is a World Class corps.

I'll take BAC's 91.7 and hope to see them in the top 7, but can we give Cavies the 90.1 and Madison the 91.5?It's not a math thing, or an anti-Cavies thing. I just like Madison's show better than Cavies.

I seem to remember back in the day flags that closely resembled the Italian flag and French flag that were the general flags of the color guard and it never raised an eyebrow. This also would have been the time that the American flag was flanked by two rifles, two sabres, or "pistols." Now what would have caused quite a stir would have been what Bluecoats use this year. But I agree with most people of this post, it's a non-issue.

By 1984 (the last year of the original run) the numbers at CYO Nationals dwindled considerably but I'm not sure it was due to former fans abandoning the activity. The CYO Circuit was either gone or about to fold. When I marched with St. Joe's in Medway (gasp, we had woodwinds but we were a band) in the mid to late 70's, there were still about fifty marching units, not to mention those who competed in Eastern Mass and Mayflower. These groups filled busses with attendees. Add to that parishes sold tickets. Proceeds from CYO Nationals helped fund a variety of youth activities so it was to their advantage to sell, sell, sell. There were 425 parishes in the Archdiocese at that time. First National Bank of Boston, prior to its name change for public relations issues involving the Angiullo family, used to purchase a huge block of tickets for employees. Today the corps that filled most of the seats are gone, parishes wouldn't be able to sell as many tickets, and corporate support would probably not happen. Sadly, as you know as well as I do, our heads have been in the sand for over thirty years.

While I would not call any of the three you mentioned obscure, Stravinsky and Barber were better known in their lifetimes than Philip Glass, though that is due more to our age of instant celebrities and pop culture than the quality of his work. That being said, there does seem to be the theory among some, that music by contemporary composers categorized as classical, is more challenging than the tried and true classics. I'm not sure I agree. The Metropolitan Opera did not perform "Tristan und Isolde" for nearly twenty years because it could not assemble a worthy cast. I don't recall the same issues with "Mahagony" or "Lulu." Now there's no question "Rigoletto" is a better known opera than "Einstein on the Beach." Let's just say you take an opera newbie to these two operas. Chances are the newbie will be whistling the music from one and with the other wonder "What the...." as they hear what a friend refers to as Sesame Street on drugs with the "One, two three, four, one two three four five six, one two, there, four, five, six, seven, eight." Would "Rigoletto" work on the drum corps field? It has screamer potential, and great melodies, and I'd love to hear the Act IV quartet attempted, but it may be wishful thinking. "Einstein on the Beach" is working very well for Crown and it is audience friendly. One of the challenges drum corps face is "it's all been done" and to some extent it has all been done. Newer classical pieces do help with originality and perhaps in some cases degree of difficulty. When it's well done and audience accessible, it can be a great success. However, if the audience is left scratching it's head wondering what they just saw, was it effective? In judges eyes, perhaps, but to ticket holders who help pay the performance fees of corps through the ticket price, not to mention souvenirs, donations to gas funds, etc. it may not be a treat. Remember, most people who want to be educated about contemporary music go to concert galls, not drum corps shows, and I say this as someone who attends both.

I'm talking about high school jazz bands. Most arrangements do not include flutes or clarinets, much to the chagrin of this a former clarinetist. Perhaps that has changed because I have not been to a high school jazz band concert in years but I have a feeling it hasn't--my niece is learning saxophone so she can participate in jazz band in high school. And if you're wondering why I'm a former clarinetist, it's due to crowns. Not the Carolina Crown kind, the kind my dentist gives.

Moving? I'm not sure I've ever seen people moved to tears the way I did in both Lawrence and Allentown as I did for Madison this year so they get the overall moving award. Close second Troopers. Personally I would have to say BAC. I know how hard they've worked this year. If by moving you mean powerful it has to go to Crown. If by moving you mean gets people off their feet and move, it goes to SCV.

After tonight's tie in Buffalo, I may agree with those who said a few weeks back we'd see a tie this year. I wanted Crown to win last year and did not think it was impossible, but they did see to have case of the jitters at prelims and finals. Semi's had a more confident feel. This year I believe Crown's show is excellent, engaging, fits their style and is well performed. It is also a show that feels like a champion's show and the corps has grown in confidence. Now the buzz in Allentown was that BD's musical show is arranged for a domed stadium which made them feel BD had an edge, but unlike last year's show that was original, much of this year's show seems to be a rehashing of some effects from last year. It's not impossible that Cadets could not surprise everyone nor is it impossible that SCV may pull ahead to third.