jwillis35

Way to go, Madison! No doubt their brass line sounds really good. That may be their best and most aggressive performance yet. Solid tuning as well. They are getting more confident with the music book and visuals and the horns are feeling more confident. Percussion is very solid. Guard is improving by the day. The visual program is still what needs a lot of cleaning...but I love this overall music book. Not wild about those uniforms, mostly the pants. I want more pop from the visual program. Some of that will come when this cleans up. That said this is a nice show. Yes, I have not figured out the prop just yet but there is plenty to enjoy in this show and they are getting their mojo on.

Great ballad starting with the small brass ensemble and then the full group with a big wide open form. Intonation is almost there but they are having some issues. This ballad will speak so much better when this tunes up. Also hope they can fill the holes soon. Maybe some are out due to sickness. Love the silks in the closer. Effective. Some great drill for the brass in that closer. The music is just a tad too segmented in the last minute or so and needs to build more. But this is a nice closer and I love their music. They will be dangerous when this cleans. Definitely a show to keep your eyes on.

I get a real Blue Devils vibe from the guard unis and I like it. Brass and percussion are very confident. This is a strong corps. Like the music so far.

Wow Sprit...that was definitely a step up in volume.

The visual program for Music City is super well done. Especially the ballad thru the closer. Way to go!!! There are a lot of peaks and valleys in this show. It has all kinds of emotions and feels. Keep cleaning because this will be something come DCI Finals week.

Ballad for Music City is really wonderful. Wonderful brass writing.

This right here is a good example of using a mic for a small ensemble yet not really amping up the volume but just providing enough presence so the players don't have to over blow and can provide the right nuance. That was well done.

Still a great show, my friend. Really miss Glassmen. A change in temps can really affect things. If it's not possible to tune somewhere in the Alamo Dome before they go onto the field I know I would be wanting the sections leaders to quickly get a pitch and then tune in their section pods for just a minute. Unfortunately with bringing all the props on the field and other equipment it's just not always possible. But it can make such a big difference.

Nice job Seattle! I enjoy the show. Still needs a lot of cleaning. Music is not as confident yet and a lot of that is due to the feet. Drill needs to be cleaned in a big way. Keep working to sell the show. I love the props and like that they are not being moved but mostly just providing a nice backdrop to the show.

Not sure. I know I would want to. Not sure what the outdoor temps are in SA but if it's in the 90s and it's 78 inside that could be a big difference. If there is a conference room or large indoor hall in the stadium it would be best if each corps got just a few minutes in the room before heading into the tunnel.

No doubt...brass tuning should be so much better today.

GENESIS! Way to go!! I loved everything about this show. It is the perfect vehicle for this corps. Excellent music book and the guard is staged very well and has a nice visual book as well. Show is cleaning up nicely. Big audience response for Genesis. I am sure Texas is proud. This is a fun show!

Way to go, Guardians! This is a mighty fine drum corps and I hope to see them grow and continue their strong presence in Texas. The percussion section is very strong for a smaller group. Brass did one heck of a job. Guard did well but at times seems too spread out for a small group. Maybe a mix of closer-nit forms and then spread out more like they did at the end of the show. That was well done. Outfits are wonderful. Nice overall book for the guard and the whole corps has a lot going for them. It's all about retention Guardians. Keep it moving in the right direction.

OT: I went to see the Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny last night. Not a bad film. I recommend it but don't expect the the greatness of movies 1 & 3 in the series. The movie has a neat story line and some action-packed scenes. The place they end up near the end of the movie is a real shocker and catches you off guard. The cinematography is tremendous here and it is through most of the film. By the way, the John Williams soundtrack is wonderful. He did write some new themes for the film and at times it feels more bombastic. Many of the old motifs do make an appearance through out...and he does it so well. Really great stuff. As the final credits come up you get a nice rendition of the Raiders March from the first film. Enjoying some Starbucks Coffee and writing some field drill for a few local bands (non competitive groups) here in NE Ohio while I wait for the all-day festival of drum corps to stream live from San Antonio. One of these years I need to take a mini-vacation and fly out to Texas for a few shows including the DCI SW Regional. I like the Blue Devils to win this show but I think we are in for a treat with the competition between 2-4, 5-7, 8-11, and the battle for 12 and on. It will be interesting to see how Blue Knights do. I was not wild about them early but I have really enjoyed their show of late and I think they are beginning to find their footing. Brass need to lock in and tune better but they definitely project. I am interested to see how Troopers do. Such a polished and fine show. The Cadets have a much earlier time. They will have to impress the judges because even if they have had better scores than some of the corps going on after them...this is the time of the year where these units begin to find their footing and look to make a move. Cavaliers lost to Cadets by 3.1 at their last meeting, but then Cavaliers cut their deficit with Mandarins (who also beat them by close to 3 points) to about 1.5 points. The Cavaliers definitely have a show that can make a move. Brass and visual need much work as does the timing of various show elements. But that percussion section for Cavaliers is undeniably AMAZING! We shall see what happens tonight. The top 4 should be fantastic for sure. All have different and unique shows and I pretty much love them all.

I had no idea their entire line was mic'd.

So I may be wrong about this. As I mentioned in the post above The Cadets do mic a small trumpet ensemble at the end of their show when they do the double tongue flurry in the closer. So perhaps I am not clear on what is allowed. Maybe just solos and small soli ensembles. When this was brought up SCV 2017 was the first thing that came to my mind because I absolutely hated it. It made their brass line sound so distorted and fake.

I remember speaking with someone about this very thing and that was my take. I suppose I could be wrong. I don't think I have heard anyone doing this sort of thing this summer. I appreciate you posting that. Interesting to see the names on that proposal. To me it would be ridiculous to allow ensemble amplification with such large horn lines now. Perhaps they mean small ensembles or solos. Because everyone is amping the solos, and it did just come across my mind that The Cadets do use a small trumpet ensemble at the end of their show that gets some amplification when they do the double tonguing feature. So perhaps you are correct.

Yes. I remember SCV doing this. But only solos are allowed now.

I thought the Cadets put on a heck of a show last night. To me the only segment that needs work (as in rewrites) is the section before ballad 2. Other than that they looked and sounded wonderful. Still a lot of cleaning to do in the feet. They are doing some very difficult body choreography. It will not be easy to clean this visual program but I hope they get there. The closer is so awesome. Keep pushing Cadets! That was a fantastic performance last night.

Boston was really stunning last night. Once again this is a corps with very few weaknesses. Brass, percussion, guard are all just amazingly good. The visual program is really difficult. They are marching a lot of very traditional and difficult drill. I think that caught my eye more last night. I still say the baritone/euph section in this corps may be the best I've ever heard in DCI. I was not wild about the props...I think I wanted more color, but they are growing on me. The music book is just incredible. They have some visual cleaning to do but how could you not with the demand of the visual book. Keep pushing, Boston! This is definitely a show I am loving this summer.

This is NOT what is happening despite any rumors you hear. DCI only allows the solos to be amplified, then those mics have to be turned off during ensemble passages. When I listen to the Cadets balances during ensemble brass passages I can clearly hear a good blend of all players. And no, it is not a weak brass line with only a few good players. I think for a while some corps were experimenting with this (not Cadets) but it is no longer allowed.

Crown was awesome! Musically a killer good show. Ending is much better now. Just watched most of Cavaliers show. Much improved. New ending that I think is much better but not quite there yet. Percussion are just amazing.

Phantom is beginning to hit the next level. Much more pop and energy tonight. This is just fabulous.

If you can just focus on the brass and percussion I think you can enjoy Madison's show. I don't care for all the arrangements but I like most of it. The music itself just needs more direction and build. But that said they are producing a decent overall sound and are vastly improved from early season. The guard is obviously young and inexperienced and I am sure they are working super hard. The ball does nothing for the show. Visuals are still very dirty. If they can clean the feet and continue to improve the music ensemble they should offer up a nice musical presentation come Finals. I hope they can retain these kids and build for next year.

Nice write-up about the entire show. Well done. I agree here and in fact when I watch this section take note of when the brass gets wound-up into the circular form for the big climax of the ballad. As they begin this section you eventually see players snaking out from within the form, almost as if Matisse (who is bed ridden and is unable to move like he used to) is reaching out mentally with his creativity. His inner thoughts are pushing out of that form into a new form even as his body is diminished in ability.