rgt286

Alright, let me start with an intro so all who read can understand my perspective. I am a 28 year old male with a degree in music education. I marched in the Madison Scouts on the baritone line from 2003-2006, so it's been a while since I marched. The most important thing to know about me is I haven't been to a live show since 2007, but I came into last night perfectly aware that things have changed quite a bit in the activity since my marching days. What I wanted last night was to gain something of an opinion of my own on these changes and what I think is effective or not. I managed that. Here are my thoughts, including tidbits on specific corps and general views afterwards. Academy - This was the first corps of the night that really made an impression. The horns were pretty powerful, and I thought the show design was very fun/effective. The most striking thing about the Academy is their uniforms and the way they use them to create effect. In general these uni's give them an eerie and otherwordly look that I found myself equally fascinated and intimadated by. I really enjoyed them. Also, they will do little things throughout their show that accent the uniform, like pull out their coat tails with one hand while extending their bodies both vertically and horizontally. It was very cool, and I really appreciated the cleverness. So far, not disappionted in the changes since I marched! Crossmen - As for the Crossmen, the best thing I remember was the brass sound, particularly the trumpet line on the big impact moments. They were screaming loud, and this created a very topheavy brassy impact! I really appreciated this, as it reminded me of the way Madison and the Crossmen sounded back when I first started marching. Nothing new school about that, just oldstyle peel your face off trumpets. Friggin' awesome! Madison - I really enjoyed this show. Great brass, good drill, and lots of swagger from the corps. That being said, there were a couple things that were offputting. First of all, the trombone feature. They didn't do much with those bones (actually probably anything) that a marching baritone can't do. Also, because of the speakers/mics they were using, the trombones sounded husky, a lot like a marching baritone sounds!! So the effect of the bright trombone sound was lost in the speakers. It might have also helped if they had used peashooters like most trombonists in a Kenton band (except for the bass of course) would have used, but they went with trigger trombones, which absolutely do not have the same easy cutting/piercing sound of a peashooter. So I ask, what was the point? The next thing was their uniforms. I really liked the way they looked, however I get the idea the lack of color in the uni's was supposed to bring out all the color in the guard's costumes and silks. I felt the opposite happened. I didn't notice the guard much throughout because my eyes were always drawn to white. That being said, this show was a lot of fun, performed very well, and like I said earlier there was a lot of gusto and swagger coming from the corps. They were great performers. Blue Knights - The Blue Knights had a lot of great exciting moments in their show, and the hornline sounded great and knew how to kill it when the time came. These elements were all things I felt were missing from any of their shows when I was marching. I always thought they were sterile, dull, and didn't produce enough energy to fill up a middle school auditorium. This is not the case now. These guys have a great design in their program with lots of great moments, and the hornline was balls to the wall when they needed to be! Great job Blue Knights! They used quite a bit of prerecorded sounds and effects as well as body movement, and...I thought all of it added to the show! Nothing was distracting or silly looking, so great job there too. Bluecoats - Horns were absolutely awesome! They were the best sounding group of the night up to that point. Admittedly, the first half of the show was rather boring, and I found myself losing interest with their repeated musical motifs and trying to get me to look from one end of the field to the other every other second. The second half however, was incredibly captivating and exciting. They were a corps that also used a lot of prerecorded sounds, and also very effectively! The only one that I had a problem with was that little flute melody they played a couple times. I'll get more into that later. Cadets - This show really did not do it for me. It was surprisingly dull; it never seemed like it was leading me forward with anything but the narrative. The narrative itself was difficult to understand at times (even though I was right on the 50 about two-thirds up the stands), and when I could hear it I wasn't impressed with it. It was mainly a distraction. The hornline did not seem very agressive, and at times the sounds they were making were altogether underwhelming, even at the big moments. IMO they did not sound as good as Bloo and maybe even Madison, not to mention Crown. Also they weren't as effective as any of those corps and even the Crossmen on impact moments. A little disappointing all around from what is traditionally a great hornline. One plus I will mention about the Cadets is that they had someone play a french horn solo (fanfare for the common man), and it was perfectly effective. Sounded just like a good dark french horn should sound, and the soloist played it great. Perhaps partly because they didn't use a mic? One last tidbit on the corps, and this is something I haven't touched on yet with the rest of the corps, but I will later. The Cadets were the worst offenders with the goo sound that supports the horns. At times nearly overwhelming the hornline. Real lame. Carolina Crown - Holy friggin' horns!!! So much power, so much aggression, so much control and technique. They were levels and levels above the rest of the hornlines tonight. Every single other brass staff teacher in a drum corps needs to go take a clinic from the Crown brass staff. I understand they have a huge amount of talent in that corps, but I don't believe it is THAT much better than the talent at say the Cadets, or even perhaps the Bluecoats. They've figured something out that no other corps is privy to, so go learn all you teachers! As I have read from other reviews, the show is very very busy. I, for one, really enjoyed the design! Lots of things to enjoy, and I think it makes for a show that wil be fun to pick apart once I get a digital copy. I had a blast watching the show, and have no problem with the amount of stuff going on in the show (this coming from a "just march fast/play loud" Madison guy). The coolest effects of the show I felt happened with the use of all the percussion instruments on the field. When they were rolling and crashing and clanging all at once, it was very overwhelming and thoroughly invigorating. General Observations from a guy who hasn't seen a show since 2007 Most of the choreography/dance that I saw from the horns/drums/whatever else was effective and not distracting. I have no problem with this stuff, and actually I really like the elements it can add to a show. I feel that the sound effects/prerecorded sounds utilized were nearly all done effectively as well. There is one very specific exception. When the Bluecoats used a prerecorded flute sound I thought to myself "isn't that kind of cheating?" I know it's not but hear me out. IMO, if you're gonna make flute sounds, or any other instrument that could be carried out onto a football field and played acoustically, why not just do it with the actual instrument?!! I know we are all so worried about the integrity of drum corps and it staying "drum corps", and believe me I am no different. That being said, what about the integrity of a LIVE PERFORMANCE? Is DCI not supposed to be enjoyed live, with live music and visuals and a live audience. Where is the integrity in taking something that should be as live as you can make it, and using prerecorded sounds where an acoustic instrument and live performer can be used?!! I really don't want woodwinds in drum corps, but this singular incident raises much bigger questions about what the activities fundamentals are. LIVE, when possible, should always be an absolute!!!! Lastly, the goo. I am a hornline guy, so this was something I was incredibly interested in hearing live for the frist time. Let me go ahead and say, it wasn't terribly distracting with a few exceptions (Cadets cough!) however it is not necessary at all. As I feared, it does detract from the brassiness of impact moments from the hornline some, and that brassiness is one of the biggest elements that makes the impact. Volume isn't all you need to make a loud moment!! Also, it does not add to the darkness/warmness of the hornline at more melodic moments or anything of that sort. It once again just detracts from the horn sounds, so that you don't know whether they are making very dark/warm sounds or not. So, and here goes...GET RID OF THE GOO!!!!

I looked for this old thread and couldn't find it. Any idea what it was called specifically?