mrjaydub

Are those minions?

At the start of Hallelujah, you see him/her break formation toward the front. During, the French Horn is off camera on the right in front of the battery. It's a hard catch in the video; however, right before the end of the Hallelujah - the French horn player comes through the battery and meets back up with the stagecoach. In the next shot - you see him/her joining back up with the brass. (Of course, I haven't seen this in person, so I could be wrong.) ;)

Bluecoats (without all the coughing) https://www.periscope.tv/BrianCeltics1/1eaJbeAAqNvGX

Perhaps they might have anticipated this by holding off releasing photos of the uniforms before the show. Like you, I had the same reaction - love the unis with the show.

Any chance the entire pipe comes together at some point (ending) with the entire corps sliding down?

Home and will go ahead and throw my 2 pennies in as well... Boston: Looked great - ballad beautiful - props meh. Have a lot of work to do visually. Ended better than it started. Where's the sound? Phantom: Didn't do anything for me. The two - separated ballads were good, the second better than the first. Felt like the marching and design was a bit dated. The guards were beautifully expressive and their unis were nice. Apparently I need bloodshed in order to like a Phantom show anymore. Cavaliers: Impressed from last year's lack luster show. Dirty, but fun to watch. Trombone soloist - so good. Duet, nice touch. There were many glimpses of the old Cavies... I'm still on the fence if I agree with it or not (keeping the traditions.) I like the uniforms, but for me they could have even pushed it further. Hillary for President... nicely done! Cadets: I like the all black unis! (There, I said it.) Better than the video i watched the other day, but was still left with a 'meh.' They slowed it down quite a bit which made me wanting that moment back. Dirty but they all are going to be. Horns and drums are just crazy good. Did the mic go out on the violin? Seems like it did, but wasn't sure. I couldn't help think this reminded me of Avon HS's show a few years ago when they did Statuesque. I still don't understand the theme or the front staging - but that's okay as long as I'm still entertained... and I was. Bluecoats: Umm.. wow. Wasn't expecting that. People were crazy when the purplepantsband appeared, so expect the same responses here, but I love you for pushing the envelope and breaking the rules of tradition. Trend setters rarely are embraced, but I'm all in - love the changes. The sound is great, drums are phenomenal, and those props... just thinking beyond expectations. Timing's going to get better and hopefully prop integration will improve. Wouldn't mind seeing a little more development in the drill area and going to be excited to see an improved ending. Guard is - again - a bit sloppy this time of year - some kinks to work out, such as tossing over the ramps, etc. I'm in the minority when I think that there doesn't need to a clear understanding of why or what the program is about. As long as it sounds amazing and I enjoyed it - that's really all I care about. What I think is going to be interesting, is to see if they continue to push the art next year. With such a massive leap forward this year, doesn't seem possible to ever go back now. Crown: Opening was so impressive. The hornline to beat this year, perhaps? The soloists are just mesmerizing. Percussion, I felt, was a bit too strong in the opening part of Hallelujah - need to soften that up a bit - let the soloist soar here. Battery can't be so overpowering either. Guard is darn good for opening night - this design team is very strong. I'm not crazy excited about the ending, which I know is never the real one until August roles around. My initial placements had: 1/2. Bluecoats 2/1. Crown 3. Cadets 4. Cavaliers 5. Boston 6. Phantom Of course, all of this is mute until you get the same judges on the same night for all of corps: BD & SCV are top-level competitors, so will need to see how they fare against this group.

Just my early initial couple of thoughts, from a shaking and poor quality video stream, so... grain of salt folks: While I thought the trombone soloists was very impressive, I couldn't help but think a few more bones would have increased the richness. The Hallelujah piece... good, really, really good; however, this song is both haunting and enthusiastic - you're supposed to feel a rollercoaster of emotions. I felt the tone could have been a bit more saddening at the beginning - but the ending was incredibly special. I'm certain they are still layering, which I think will only improve an already inspiring show. Finals performance surprise... real horses?

So apparently they won't be live broadcasting the actual show tonight.

Link to preview: http://fb.me/1sLZDnRfi

Here you go...

This is the first thing I thought as well - very steampunk.

I know this show is mostly known for its ending, but 1996 Phantom Regiment's opening to A Defiant's Heart... the field entrance, incredibly timed movements, all black unis, and haunting build to the intro of Ballet Suite.. simply breathtaking! To be fair, I'm a Shostakovich fan but this just lays me out.

Or it could have been the only photo with enough space to include the graphic.

BD dropped rifles in finals... go figure.

BD was good, but it wasn't flawless. A few hiccups here and there - left room. We'll see!

BD's guard is smoking it!

Did someone fall off a prop from the Bluecoats?

Will we see the drums light up tonight?

I'm never going to get tired of that knee bend step off - love it!

Side Bar: Just saw "An American an Paris" on Broadway - fantastic show - if you get the chance, go see it!

I will forever enjoy the young men in green. Feel bad, but proud of them for finishing off a tough year with some determination and heart.

Cavies guard is off tonight. Rifle drops, flags off. Not like them!

Banners worked yesterday, they were going to work today. Have faith young yedis.

Duh! (Hahaha)

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