spiritsop01

After just hearing the APD (and the show for the first time) I can stop being worried. I'm not saying that they are going to make finals for sure or anything of that nature, but the horns and drums sound really good. You can definitely tell they are on Kings now. I think they need to tighten up some of the parts and improve the pacing of the show some (maybe add some more moving lines and cut down some of the long chords). The drum book from the 2nd piece on is really cool too. I have a feeling they may add a little more "beef" to the beginning, and I am excitied to hear how the drums progess throughout the year. I am really pleased with the arranging for both music sections... especially the "evil sounding" section towards the back half of the show. Very cool. Looking forward to ATL....

They sound great!

Cool clip! Thanks a lot for posting that!

I would give Cadets the trophy right now if the first line was ... "I believe... that we have your wallet cody ham!!!"

There is more narration than horn or drum

He was joking

I'm wating for someone to jump the fence...

Cadets will be on shortly...

Good to see you too Fro' :)

I can't believe I just missed Spirit... sad day.. :(

Spirit is on King this year

BK 2003 all the way... I love that show

I've got a brief one from Troy, AL Teal- A very enjoyable show. I dug the music. The percussion was a little underwhelming... didn't they win drums recently? Some individual errors stick out, but overall good execution. I have seen limited div2/3, but this seemed like a very competitive show. Magic- Jeez... maybe they just had a good show tonight, but they seem to be fairly underscored at low box 3. They were loud and their drums were fantastic. The guard didn't seem to be as bad as they were being written about (but I know very little about guard) either. Their most noticable problems were visual (foot phasing... some spacing stuff, minior feet in the sound). Their drumline really impressed me. They had a lot of notes and played them clean (they had one meltdown in the snares about 8mins in the show when they changed to some lighter sounding sticks, but that was it). Plus, their onfield warm-up was really cool. I had them closer to 75. Cascades- This is another corps that I think is underscored. I think I enjoyed Magic more, but 'scades were visually and musically cleaner. A few nice features in the brass were the hightlight. My main complaint was that the horns didn't reach the upper volume level. I enjoyed the soft ending, but I think to make it more effective and reach the more casual fans, you have to get much louder in your "big moments"... especially the one that sets up the last move to the back right corner (where they end). On a side note, their drill seemed cleaner than most tonight (excluding BD and SCV). Bones- They have certainly improved over the earlier stuff that I heard. This show was hard to gauge. It was the most creative show of the night for sure, so it's hard to compare to the others. Their horns we solid, though it seemed like they only had two volume levels.... 10 and 2. The "traveling music" wasn't very captivating because it was almost inaudible at times (maybe the pit amps were turned up too high?)... not that they were nessecarily playing too soft, but because it sort of faded into the background of the rest of the show. There is a ton of stuff going on. I need to see this show a few more times to fully comprehend it. I thought based on the merit of their execution they could have broken into box 4 tonight, but the show is kinda lacking.... something. Im not sure. Pizzazz perhaps? Is that a real word? Either way, it was one of my favortes to watch from a pure fan standpoint. I had a lot to look at. I felt like I was at a tennis match. Spirit- Bias aside-- ok nevermind... this is with bias. This show rules. I do see why it's in 12th place from a competitive standpoint (instead of higher), but I give the show the "toe-tappy" award for this year. The hornline is as good as advertised. They had the most "sizzle" of the night. It was hard to gauge the drums considering the number of holes, but they played their book clean. A lot of good guard stuff too... it was one of the few guards that got me to notice them tonight. The solos were excellent. My main beef is the drill. It needs more meat to move the corps up to the next tier. It's fairly clean. Feet still need some work, but I didn't see much phasing out there. Either way... they are loud as crap. This is my favorite Spirit show. I love it. I was dancing in the aisles. Vanguard- This is a fun show to watch, but I think following Spirit hurt some of their fan-appeal tonight. They weren't nearly as loud as their bookends (BD and Spirit) tonight, but their hornline was impressive. They had a moment in the ballad when the contras hit a note that made my bowels do something funny (in a good way).... and they held it for a long time. It was the best ballad of the night. The visual package was awesome. It's not that they move any faster or march bigger steps than any other corps... but the sheer design is so good. The constant movment is... well, stylish. This show is like a well-tailored suit (I guess.. I don't own a suit). BDizzle- I don't think I need to tell anyone that this is a good show. Eveyone knows that. They do everything well. Their drumbook is so cool... it was a little hairy tonight for whatever reason, but still... Amazing writing. Their drill is great, their feet are great. Their guard had a few drops tonight, but they still outperform every guard in dci. This is another show that has to be seen a few times to fully comprehend. Ok, so since I think it's important to end on a positive note, especially in an activity where people work so hard in and take it very seriously... here's a few highlights from the shows: Teal- Hornline was half the size of everyone else's tonight, but a blind person wouldn't have known that. Magic- My second favorite drumline of the night... they smoked. Seattle- Kudos to their vis staff... their drill was noticably cleaner than most. Crossmen- If they don't make finals, it's the competition's fault. This show woulda coasted into finals 5 years ago. They are performing it well. Spirit- I didn't know they literally threw babies... I figured it was an expression. The crowd gave it up. SCV- The most lush ballad of the night... perhaps overshadowed by their stellar visual package. BD- Everything was a highlight... the top bass got a nosebleed right before the encore, but kudos to her for jumping in right before her first note. Booyow.

Happenes every year. It's in the judging contract.

Yeah... I don't know what it is. We always feel like we have a better show in the night show... but the score always drops about 2 points from the afternoon.

yo-yuh

maybe... but the afternoon top 4 scores almost always go down at night. It's a conspiracy!!

diff

its a hole... tendonitis.

I was wondering if someone could help out a curious alumni... I have yet to see Spirit this summer, but from all the reviews i've read (and the APD), it seems like they are doing really well. People seem to really dig their show this season... but I was wondering what those of you who have seen the show think it is that is keeping them from moving up competitively. People rave about the hornline, but they continue to get smoked in music GE/brass by everyone in the next tier (the 11-6 bunch). Colts (who are right behind them in overall ranking) also beat them in brass very recently (head to head). I guess what im asking is: in your opinion, what needs to happen to get them off of their little island in 12th place? What separates them from the next tier? Thanks!

The borrowed part was the 3rd tune "Waltz of the Mushroom Hunters," a classic madison Scouts number.

Yo... Spirit... You're Awesome!

I miss all of the antics during bus rides I miss playing georgia after shows I miss having 3 months to forget about real life and focus solely on one special thing I miss scantily clad-ness (perhaps clad-dom?)

Hmmmm.... after marching on hundreds of fields, it's kinda hard to pick just one. How about a top 3? (In no particular order) Im keeping in mind the venue as well as the actual turf on most of these... Invesco Field @ Mile High (most expensive turf in the country) Franklin Field in Philadelphia Benedetti-Wehrli Stadium in Naperville, IL

They werent in europe for THAT long... I dont think it will have that much of a negative effect. Mid to High 70's are likely. I dont see them dipping below 75.