RemixTim23

George! naaa not a new career. i just saw that websites were lacking div 2/3 reviews so i decided to try to write one. johanna and i didn't see you at the show. guess you couldn't make it down? oh well.. as for me, no more marching. just going to help out with marching bands and work for college. if i can make it up to wayne, maybe i'll see you up there. later -tim

hey Malika, wow i definitely didn't catch that at all. thanks for the heads up. hopefully, i'll get to see ECJ again before season's end. really awesome job and sorry to not catch the girls in the drumline.

hey BCC99Man, we were actually introduced after the show. i marched baritone with phoenix in 2000 and 2001. glad to hear you had fun with the home show. always a favorite of mine. -tim

hey BCC99Man, we were actually introduced after the show. i marched baritone with phoenix in 2000 and 2001. glad to hear you had fun with the home show. always a favorite of mine. -tim

Phoenix Home Show 7/20/03 Great day for a competition minus the wind that picked up later on. Venue: Drum Point Field in Brick, NJ. Small, low stands. Pretty tough to read drills. Crowd was overflowing with a huge amount of corps and little seating capacity. Oh well. One of the better renditions of the national anthem was sung by 2 members of the Phoenix Cadets (5 and 7 years old). Phoenix Cadets came out and did their show afterward and Quest Explorers would go on later due to the Quest corps getting to the competition late. NY Skyliners Alumni also put an exhibition, with Johnny Grass blowing the house down with his screeching soprano solos, playing favorites like "On the Town" and "Elk's Parade." Definitely the way to open a drum corps show, especially with the bugles. East Coast Jazz - ECJ were the first to perform for some reason. A weird schedule. Looked like they were missing 2 mellophones out there but went out there with around 26 STRONG horns. Great rendition of Concerto in F with a strong contra section. Beautiful ballad. Great drill during their drum solo, very Cadets-esque. And they put out some power during their jazz movement, but afterward seemed to lose some gas. Heat must've been affecting them. A very powerful colorguard and an overall awesome Gershwin program Jersey Surf - I was somewhat skeptical. I had no idea what to expect from them because they were scoring low with judges but high with audience. But then they walked onto the field.... Lifeguard chair as a drum major stand? Classic. Nice size hornline but colorguard looks small. "Lifeguard" does a wave with his arms for the salute. Ha. "School's Out for Summer" was the best opening of the day. Loud and in-your-face. Contras were a little overpowering though. That'll be worked out I'm sure. Me writing about this doesn't serve justice. See this show if you can. Very innovative. Beautiful pass-throughs but guard needs work. Marching seems alright with a lot of exposure with wearing shorts. But I'd stick with the shorts. Has my vote for coolest uniforms. Somewhat dirty crab-walk later on. Cool mix with "On the Waterfront" and "WipeOut." Like to see more audience-oriented shows like this. Guard work seems to be unfinished at the end of "WipeOut". That's fine though. Loving the pummel horse moves. Awesome visual with the drums pounding and the crazy pass-throughs with the hornline. "Surfer Girl" seems to be a recurring theme with "Under the Boardwalk." Pass-throughs dirty towards the end. Fantastic show though. Most entertaining of the night. See it if you can. Finally, a show Jersey Surf is meant to do. Targets - Tough act to follow. Overall though, not bad. They're bigger and better than previous years and seem to be moving up the ranks. Some minor problems with marching (like out of step and horn angles) but not a bad sound from a 13 or 14 member hornline. "The Wiz" fits them well I think. Drill is much more difficult than in recent years. I also noticed their uniforms seem to look like wool jackets. Can't even imagine how hot it is. A very nice mellophone solo during the third movement. Great soloists all around actually. Working on the marching seems to be the key with them though. They sound and it's a decent program with which they have to work. Quest - Got rid of the black uniforms (Thank God). Maroon and cream now. Like Phoenix, also doing the Planets. Missing their drum major stand I guess. Whoops. But he's using a baton which you don't see anymore. Cool. "Mars" opens. There seems to be no build up. Members seem to be unsure of the music while other members are trying to carry them along. Don't move much. Seems to be a rebuilding year for them. Think flags would work better instead of cardboard cut-outs of moons and stars. And hula hoops? Hmm.. guess it represents the rings. 2nd drum major wasn't watching the other so there was an awkward moment there. Drumline is pretty decent though. A lot of holes in the music and total presentation. Wish them the best of luck though. Would like to see them where they were when I marched Phoenix in 2001. Lehigh Valley Knights - Change in unis a bit. Better than the whole shining plate thing. Great opening with pass-throughs and jazz running. Very smooth marching. Very balanced hornline and will be giving the Raiders a run for best horns. Some guys didn't make it on time for the end of the opener. The 2nd movement with rasping horns was awesome. What they do with their feet reminds me of the Cadets '97 show. Nice hold in their ballad. A moment where the drill was really congested on the right side. They had the sun right in their face though. Nice transition to the Firebird. And even more jazz runs. These guys can MARCH! Good ending w/ the Firebird. I didn't see them in front of the Raiders though. Raiders - What an improvement since Giants Stadium. Beautiful balance in the horns, as they're known for. What a drumline! Wow. 6 snares, 2 tenors, 5 basses all playing pretty cleanly. Big improvement since last year's drumline. Carmina Burana works well for them with their dark music. Reminds of Phantom Regiment. Guard is decent, having issues with the picked-up wind. Company front doesn't work for me like it usually does. It seems misplaced for me and it doesn't seem to hit its impact. Part in the ballad where nothing happens but death camp is coming. I don't understand the poles they use. Beautiful hit in ballad after awesome sop solo. Great blue flags. Awesome drill, reminding me of their silver medal run in 2001. Seem to die at the end but a really strong program. Raiders and LVK will duke it out all year long. Could see gold on either of them. Haven't seen Marion or Blue Stars yet though. Cadets of NYC - Small guard but talented nonetheless. What a drumline! Two great drumlines in a row. Nice balancing hornline and very big. I'm still wary on their pink feathers. "Fanfare for a New Era" opened with a bang. Literally, I think I saw people fall back. The sops with the mutes is a nice touch in the ballad. Some phasing issues with sustaining notes. Nice-sounding bari to end the ballad. Leaning into new drill moves also seemed to be a problem with them, giving away their impacts. Drumline is absolutely great though. Featured at the end, I guess saving their best for last. Spartans - Best Div 2 of the night IMO and the judges (sorry Surf :) ). If Patriots beat these guys, I best go see the Patriots. Marching cymbals. Very nice. Beautiful marching, like they're gliding across the ground. Guard is excellent and a beautiful balance with the horns in the ballad. Right afterward, a driving bass line to make the transition. Horns pass through each other and their sound seems to get muffled until the closing hit. Sops play in a Phantom kneel. I KNEW they were Phantom's Div 2 corps ;). Guard is total top-notch. Great, although the ending seemed to come out of nowhere. I'll watch a 2nd time. Crazy Robert W. Smith music... Phoenix - Last but not least, my old corps. Cavalier 95 type spinning ball things (except more oval). I don't understand the purple. I always thought Phoenix was red. Colorguard is the best in Div 3 today. Wouldn't be surprised if the guard was at the top of Div 3. Didn't like how they threw the songs together in the beginning. "Mars" in 4? Uh... I don't like the horn arrangements that much but they're playing the #### out of em. Drumline : 2 girls on snare. Haven't seen that. Awesome. Great drumline. Up there with the Raiders. Dirty hornline seems to be the weak part. With death camps coming soon, see that to improve dramatically. No dynamic contrast as of now. Ending was very hollow but hopefully they catch up to the top corps again. Overall a great show. For $5? Awesome. Think Raiders should've been ahead of LVK but maybe I missed something. Phoenix went down from last night and the week before? What? Judging is weird..