Euphscott

Last night from my location (general admission 35-40 down low) it was polite appreciation. Stunned silence in many cases. Some dinosaurs behind me commented that SO much is going on with the show they cannot focus. They admitted it was full of talent, but very difficult to like this show. And as a pre-fossil - I have to agree... Random thoughts - in random order even: Loudest corps was Cadets - I'm loving the straight ahead, no story line, no contrived theme (ok - side by side is what it's called, but really what the heck does that mena? This show is all about playing a modern master really well) and found them really likable for the second year in a row. Loudest goo was BD - almost painful to hear all the electronics.. Biggest goosebumps - pick any one of them from SCV - being a fan that got my start in early 80's and a big fan of Vanguard from that era - it's nice to see this corps remind me of that time. High mark times? Cymbal Lines? Broadway? Strong visual presence? Oh yeah - THAT is Vanguard! Crown clearly is marching and playing some serious notes. The sound was magnificent - but volume way off from year's past. Reading through the comments here and the recaps, perhaps it was an off night. But if an off night in mid to late July has one .1 behind the Blue Devils, then one is sitting in a good position. Bones - if they could march as well as they play... I was really impressed with their sound, not so much with visual or even programming choices. If you are gonna tease me with Some Nights - get on with it and deliver some more!! Blue Knights - not a fan of the design - but they perform it will - with multiple viewings I can see how it might grow on me. Did they drop the bicycle step last year or is this the first year? I don't miss it...I think this group has improved visually a great deal over the last two seasons. Cavies - what a mess. They had a tough spot by following SCV, Cadets, and Crown - but wow - they have a long way to return to old form. Big ouch moment was a huge hole in a long chord where Tubas just totally botched the stagger breathing. Half the section must have taken a breath at an inopportune moment. Colts are sporting a new uni that the Mrs and I enjoyed. Gradient purple red and blue I think in the coats that have a similar strip down their legs. Nice look. It is a fun show - I wish this show would have been performed by the Colts of about 10 years ago. That said - show up early and get a nice entertaining show! Mandarins marched the same number of Tubas as Mellos. With a deep bari/euph section, they had a nice depth to their sound most corps their size can't enjoy. The show fits them nicely with the coming to America from China theme. Blue Stars were first corps of night to smack the crowd with sound. I'm not sure I like this theme much - not familiar with the music either. I wanted to like them - really I did! Big crowd - great lineup for a non major. And thankfully the weather was cooperating and made for a pleasant evening!

Weather this year is going to be fantastic - well at least for Texans! Local forecast calling for a high of 93 - although we've had lots of rain all week, so it's kind of muggy...

Reading the notes in the post - this is a group of Freshman and Sophomores in high school. That's not too bad for that age bracket. I'm hoping Soundsport has a lot of different looks. I'm hoping we don't get judging that makes all the groups sound, look, and play alike. This I hope is but one example of what it COULD look like!

I think it was a terrific move and it's been done well.. Also, my ten year old loved it and is a Cadets fan now - this the child of a father not normally big on Cadets shows. As she grows up, she may have a soft spot for an organization I might have soured her on based on my own bias from previous years. I think it is cool to have so much melody on the field and doing something that was almost entirely panned by the DCP crowd as corny and not doable. It's good for the activity to stray from the norm and be recognizable by the masses!

That is what the BD site indicates. And this is what brought me to ask - I've not found anyone on line that sells the hybrid. Of course, I need to contact my local dealer I suppose - but I was hoping to find an online source or ideally buy a used one.

I marched one for 5 years in DCA with Frontier and Vigilantes - this is true! I think it's going to make a nice lamp...

The lighter feel, but full sound is exactly what I am looking to utilize. I love the Euph, but without lots of training, it's just harder and harder to keep holding the monster!

I was poking around on the BD site and found the System Blue Hybrid Euphonium. I'd always thought their horns looked a little unusual over the last few years - this seems to solve that. But what I cannot find is a dealer that sells those - I am guessing this is a BD only model? How does one get their hands on one of these babies?

But the reds were amazing - good call on that change. It's like 8 minutes of a mess of a show, then the red plumes come out and all of a sudden - THIS is what I wanted to hear (and see). Big fan of two to three minutes of BK last night.

OK - as a fossil of sorts - I love to see soloists going unmiced - but here's the problem: I was on the opposite 40 yard line as that solo and all I could hear was amplified pit! So, finally, I see value in micing a soloist (or more appropriately - turn the dang pit DOWN!). The reaction on that side of the stadium was crazy - but I heard nothing. If I'd not looked to see what was going on, I'd have had no idea a solo was being played. :(

We try to once a year! Congrats on the Crossmen dad position - they sounded terrific in Southlake (had to get out of town fast after our performance in Austin), hopefully they continue to climb the ranks.

Fans of melody rejoice!

Beat me to it - I don't suspect we'll have any of this show chopped from the Blu Rays due to licensing issues! Perhaps the rights budget was used for the new unis!

Ellis Hampton (Cap head) works in Denton...SCV drums are also in Denton due to Paul Rennick working here..

I'm kind of surprised no one has mentioned this one - we ran into it on multiple occasions where drafts or maybe even some posters resulted in Drum and Bulge Corps.

Keep guessing! :)

Today would have been a travel day under the normal plan. This is the first time in 8 years I am not headed to DCA Championships weekend. It is a bit of a let down, but given the ridiculous summer weather here in TX (66 days over 100 degrees and counting...), I cannot imagine the difficulties we'd have had in putting a show together! That said, the Vigilantes are busy working to strengthen the organization and hope to see everyone in MD next year. Good luck to our friends from all over the country comepting this weekend. And a special bit of good wishes to one of our own, Russ Skare, marching contra with the Renegades in tribute to his brother. My thoughts are with you Russ - have fun!

I only made three predictions this year - and granted I made them on the night of the first show in Saginaw. TX. I predicted Carolina Crown would win brass (and the hearts of fans) I predicted SCV would take drums and I predicted Cadets would win it all. I did OK. The only one of those three that my friends scoffed at was the Cadets call. Of course it was a mess, but given the complexity of their show, it seemed obvious to me they had the most to clean and fix, and once done, they had the show to beat.

This also pays homage to the greatness of the original work by the Sherman Brothers. Yes, panned and annoying to many, but it's a terrific song written some really good composers.

Who has any left?

Not sure which show you went to but I felt a lot of corps connected with the audience and left positive impressions. I was in an area with a lot of first time fans and their reaction was quite positive. One kid in particular was a Chinese foreign exchange student. He was mesmerized and clapping for a lot of the corps. Crown certainly had the crowd eating out of their hands - especially with the encore section. Troop was dead in the water until the end of their show and the crowd opened up for the extended chord at the end. Boston was fun and rewarded nicely, although it seemed the Bari soloist had a rough night. Phantom got a great reaction and their low brass really sounds nice. BD's show has improved quite a bit from when we saw them in Saginaw and I think the audience is responding well to the color guard more. Cavies still got the big reactions from their tricks - but still a great big question mark over the heads trying to figure out this show... Good show - big show and a great bit of entertainment!

And Labor Day weekend hurts the Texas corps with the students in a big way. School has long since started, so the kids cannot be in a band program and do DCA corps. Recruiting for Vigilantes has always centered on two serious challenges - the cost and the timing of the season. To compete in late August and early September in Texas is almost impossible for those in college and below - unless they are not involved in scholastic music programs. It IS something that will have to be evaluated as the average marching age gets younger. From our perspective, it can be the difference between fielding a corps or not (as is the case this season). We will step up our recruiting further to address the issues (yes - we've heard the snide remarks to work harder on here in the past in reference to the 35 member rule - if only that were the issue!), but some issues such as Labor Day weekend championships cannot be explained away when a student has to choose between passing/failing their courses or marching a weekend drum corps. Guess which one wins?

May I suggest you keep an eye out for Crossmen. Not necessarily a Finalist corps this year - but I think you'll find them very likable this year! New staff, new look, new feel - and pure drum corps!

That was not the case live at Saginaw. They had the least volume of all the corps in my opinion from 40 yard line halfway up. For the record, Bluecoats and Cavaliers seemed the loudest of the evening. But that won't exactly win them any awards!

I was assured that a '92 call back is indeed included towards the end of the show!