ZIM

i may be new but i've been over seeing the forums for a while and well, here goes my review, starting from the bottom. Southwind-Nice show, entertaining, very dirty because of so many holes, i think if they get those fixed up it will help the show a lot. Colts-a lot better show than i thought it would be, very entertaining to the crowd but still needs a lot of cleaning then i'll get back to you. Magic-once again, surpassed my expectations, very fit to the theme of silver voices then beginning is very different shows the all around musicianship of the corps with the brass trying out some percussion. the drill is much more intricate than last years and they are definately doing well at restating themselves as a divison 1 corps. Glassmen-i was not really a fan of this show, when i heard it announced i couldn't wait to see it, then i saw it. it seems like a modified version of last years show, very clean and good and a semi-crowd pleasure at the drum feature, other than that it was a rather flat show, but still good. Crown-the new uniforms=blech, with their drill, the cream uniforms don't help it except for making the drill less definable, personally i didn't feel they earned their placement visual wise, the music however was very good, i'm not sure what piece the opener is but the ballad is a piece from stained glass and the closer is Carol of the Bells which is very good i think, the show is very bell-oriented hence the name bell-isimo but i think going back to the old unis and a lot more work on the drill will make the show a much better contender. Spirit-definately worked the concept of time into the show, i like the glitter instead of the black emblem on the coats gave a little more shine to the outfit. the show was definately an improvement from last year. i also felt that their october was much more original than glassmen's, very beautiful, the closer was of course close to the swing roots of the old spirit and will definately be a contender this year come august. Scouts-True to the spirits of the scouts. very jazz, very lively, very fun. i was hestitant of the new uniforms this year but once i saw them on the field i wasn't. They are easy to define and make them seem more, new millenium. Plus after seeing crown's new cream uniforms nothing could be that bad. The show was good, still needs some cleaning, i think the reason the scores for them seem to continue to drop is because of lack of intensity. It just seemed like there was something missing from the scouts brass last night. I think if something sparked a flame in those brass they'll be kickin it in and getting themselves back into the high ranks in finals. Bluecoats-Great, the opener was much more audience grabbing than it was last year and the drill was much cleaner and easier distinguished. they look like a mature group who's spent a lot of time working on what they have. the ballad has a beautiful flugel/baritone duo in there that was just i believe the best ballad soloists of the night. the closer was great fast moves, hard jazz, drum breaks everything the coats are about but once again it just seemed to lack something special, maybe it was the venue, maybe it was my seats but they just seemed to not be too into it tonite, maybe they were tired but i hope next time i get to see them in full swing rocking the house. Cadets-the whole going straight from warm up to show thing isn't really working out for me. it causes mass histeria in the audience and just wasn't fun to listen to for 5 minutes, "have they started, is this the beginning, what's going on", but after the contras started in i think everyone new. F&A was great, the brass sounded awesome and their percussion is some of the best i've seen of them in a while. Malaguena all though over done was very well done by the cadets. beautiful arrangement and the guard work fit in so well with what the music and the field placement, they definately deserved to win guard tonite, the percussion features were tearin up the field tonite. and the trumpet conga line was a definite nice touch. Every section of the cadets percussion was burnin, maybe they stole the extra pizazz from madison and bluecoats or maybe it was the clinic but they had it goin on tonite. RPH, well what can you say, it's the cadets doin rocky point, of course it's going to be awesome. Cavaliers-i've seen two rehearsales and a performance of this show and it gets better everytime. The opener is crazy first 22 measures=22 charts for those that haven't seen it yet, nuff said. The ballad is one of the best i've heard from the cavaliers. not just the brass but the pit break in the middle is some of the most tranquil and beautiful front ensemble music i've ever heard. and the new contras sound AWESOME!! in the ballad. The third movement is my favorite and has been since i first saw the show. Love the "sit n spin" not sure what it's dubbed but that's what i'm calling it. I notice that there are a lot of blue devilish type things in the show. like the miles part and the on field drums sound to have a blue devil type quality at some parts, oh and can't forget the screamer. gotta love that. mmhmm. i dunno, maybe it's just me but i thought i'd mention it. well that's all i've got for now, if i left something out or you have something to add please please do so because i know i did.