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Jeff Ream

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Everything posted by Jeff Ream

  1. we have annually done a thread for him in the OT topics on that dreadful day. I still miss him, and I remember where i was ( souvie area at break at quarters) who i was talking to ( The Allens) and who told me ( Tom Peashey). 4 grizzled vets just kind of stood still and shed a tear.
  2. Westshore alumni. 3 rehearsals, a show and we sleep in on weekend in the summer :P
  3. looking at the recap, this is a panel with a clue, and many have worked already this season. i dont see anything skewed anywhere but about right
  4. Boof doesnt need a mic :P (just kidding Rich)
  5. odd. i dont remember many cracks. to have 4 lines within a tenth of each other shows the quality in DCA these days. i thought all 4 did a great job!
  6. Dale, it's a prop. I'm in no way saying your show is easy. What I am saying is you guys do it so well you make it LOOK easy. when it looks that effortless, sometimes it can affect the numbers and get you scores where the performer is over the book, which is not a good thing in July to have. i do like your show, and i know it isnt at full potential yet,...no one is...it's July. but at times you ES guys and gals just make it look too #### easy. I know several people around me, including one guy who hadn't spoken to me in 8 years thought so. i know your staff. they know their ####. relax, and let them guide you, and don't get all wigged about a compliment on DCP at 3 am that may not be worded the best way possible.
  7. it's been 10 years, but I loved it when the staff hyped for the on field warmup. it was a nice way to blow off some extra adrenaline and get the emotions in check before we played.
  8. day looked like it was gonna suck, and except for a small rainshower about 4:30, all went well. my rock star moment of the day: stopped out at Mifflinburg, and went over to Cabs Alumni. hornline is working on stuff, and we're standing there talking to Ponzo. corps gets into Cherry Pink, and viola, he's using me as an armrest while he plays his solos. if you thought they sound good from the field, have it right in your ear future food idea for future attendees.....got into Lewisburg, and take Rt 45 into town and cross the river. as soon as you cross the river, turn right onto Rt 45 and go down about 1 1/2 miles. The place is called the Fence, and it's a drive in seafood place right along the river. i highly reccomend it. pre show...lotta fun out in the Lot. mostly dry :P Announcer still horrible. Oh the easily announced names mangled. Fran, your fashion sense is horrible, and I know you can't be at every DCA show, but you were missed sorely. seats: 50, top row. press box made a nice backrest. to the corps, especially 1st read....always tough to catch everything and write. I tried, especially on 2nd reads to catch new stuff. nice pre-show exhibition by the First Class Percussion All Star High School drumline from the Harrisburg area. they gel really well for kids not used to playing together. show opened with the combined Mifflinburg and Lewisburg HS bands playing the Armed Forces Salute, National Anthem and America. all well done. Kudos to Matt Wagner, band director at Mifflinburg for looking so good after a recent heart attack. then, an unexplained 21 minute delay. not sure why. Sabers at the gate just waiting..............and ok, we're off. first up White Sabers. didn't count bodies, but looked bigger than last year. Show is called 'Portraits Of Emotion" Not sure how the songs included tied in, but it's a fun show. Corps starts off "feeling good" with a nice swing feel...liked the bassline here. visually it goes from a scatter into a down and dirty standstill hit that shows the corps has some power for it's size. nice sop work here. after a tempo change, mellos have the lead and builds to another standstill down and dirty hit. moves some more and brings upper brass into pit behind screamers. after the hit, the song fades out with the corps facing backfield and the guard doing a ripple across the field. Save The Last Dance For ME opens with the perc spread way out, as well as the brass spread across the field by voicing. Sabers up front doing some nice work. one nice visual moment here was as the soloist played, the brass behind him/her was mirroring the sabres body work. also notice able wasthe marimba sound carrying up to. battery did tend to be a little overpowering at times here. Drum solo....brass was behind the line using large colored...brightly colored banners. battery featured well visually and every section got a chance to shine.....lots of tradeoffs. some performance issues, and IMO, a few written ticks that may need to be looked at by finals. A lot of it is achievable, but at times, the members do overhype a bit and cause some of the performance issues. tom split roll was cool tho. lots of hand motion changes by the battery, but the one leading into the brass re-entry to Conga had dirt. brass here sounded recharged after the solo, and ensembally this was a nice moment, tho some dirt. "Don't Cry For ME" opened with a nice brass chorale. nice touch bass work by the basses behind the solo. in fact, the perc scoring here really did a nice job catching that Latin feel. the build to the hit saw brass sound tired, but visually here the guard caught your eye with a blue pastel swing flag section. After the hit, some minor timing between the keys and soloist made it feel a touch uneasy, but the recovered for the corps backfield ending, highlighted by a mello and sop duet where both went high. San Pedro had a really strong mello quartet....brass sounded gassed, and it led to some percussion overbalance issues. bass did a nice job on the groove, but slowed down at times. at the 1st standstill hit there was some form readability issues. Also in this tune I noticed a LOT of feet issues in the battery...step offs, direction changes you name it. the build to the big hit was slow developing but was nice when it got there. the tempo picked up here and the corps sounded really tired, as well as looked tired as not everyone could keep up visually. upside: IMO, better than prelims last year. downside: performance issues noted are visible when breaking down the recap. address achievability of some sections, get stamina and clean the feet, and the score will rise, and a lot. the vehicle is there, but the performance isn't. Cru: first thing i noticed...are backdrops of the songs to be in show order? if not, making them that way would help. Bari solo starts Firebird...pit had some really nice rolls underneath, tho the attacks were a little dicey..also the chromatic work was a touch choppy. The mello solo into the sop feature worked nicely. really creative use of battery scoring and shading to build to the hit you knew was coming. at the hit corps proper is on side 1, guad on side 2 on flags too cool to be explained. for the push you had the up tempo build to the big slow tempo push...felt could be more of a difference volume wise between the two..nice double time by battery there. brass strong but filling holes will add a lot. Pit starts off Light My Fire w/some nice design that needs to be cleaned....battery here does a nice job setting a cool groove Dinsmore couldnt have done...tambourines in pit had timing issues. lots of brass voice tradeoffs building to hit...seemed to drag a little getting there. hit was well staged with the guard in the middle of the corps proper on fire flags. nice bass run at end. Stairway begins in the pit...contra entrance designed well, just needs perforemd. guard here has nice purple swing flags. sop soloist a little off, but the build to the hit works well as a ballad. guard very well staged on side 1 for double swing flag work. i felt the ballad section here will be really cool when cleaned up. tempo change starts in pit...again nice design, just some dirt. brass sounded tired leading into big hit "on down the road" section, and battery was overpowering, plus pit hits not lining up 100%. as the hit ends, a solo sop takes us out to a nice down ending with pit and brass playing backfield. (note...i was afraid stairway wouldn't work...it does. needs cleaned tho) Drum solo is a return of Firebird. pit does a good job handling melodic content, tho after bass feature there seemed to be some ensemble unease. nice flag toss over rifles and brass. transition into Schools Out a little abrupt...nice rifle work upfront. snares had some issues on rolls that changed meter midway thru. nice build to hit before perc break. perc is on side 1 with brass backfield that leads into the brass re-entry which pushes front. here i thought some of the perc writing was kinda touchy...made for ensemble unease as pulse wasnt easily detected. visually this leads into a scatter than back into the Schools Out chorus, tho brass aftigue issues were noticeable. uptempo ending looks to be new as corps showed some uncretainty here, tho ended strong. upside: best show since 2002. i had my doubts about Firebird into classic rock, but it works. downside. needs cleaned. when fatigue issues in brass resolved, will carry better upstairs. perc book may be too thick at times. members overhype a little in perc breaks. guard when they caught my eye had great design, but some performance issues. my take...clean the #### out of this, and you could scare some people in late August. if you have to hose here and there to make things acheivable, sacrifice ego for score. Cabs: I know my last review wasn't universally liked. that's ok, you WILL like tonight's. HOLY #### WHAT A DIFFERENCE IN 2 WEEKS!!!!! corps opens spread in what looks to be a sombrero form with a kick ### snare feature that morphs into a full battery lick. brass entrance was very strong and power was felt at the top. visually the build to the block hit was well done. coming out of the hit, the sop solo into the duet carried well, with some nice rifle work. corps was spread out here and the ensemble held really well. loved that snare roll that decrescendos. here, with the perc upfront was notice improvement as an ensemble. Sop trio came across well and the build to end got a little dicey for a second, but recovered really well. i think this issue here is staging and just needs time as brass is on side 1 and perc on 2...as brass enters side 2 it falls together nicely.. loved the bass run at the end. pit into in Malaga was really tasteful with great mello work under the sop lead, and this led built nicely into the standstill hit. the resolution was very well done. this was followed by a bari solo that was still a touch overshadowed by sops...when they do their swells, at the top end, they get a tad too loud....maybe start softer.. the pit scoring building to the hit came thru really well tonight, and the sabre work looked much cleaner. the tempo change was set by the pit. tenors very active here. this led into a tradeoff between voices...snares w/sops, tenors w/mellos into a hit. a little timing due to perc spread into hit...swing section gone i noticed. this led into the perc break with some very active percussion drill and voicing trades. some dirt but held a lot better with pit doing melodic content. keys 16th run lined up well.every battery section had their moment and it built well into the re-entry which held a lot better. after the re-entry a nice sop duet led into a big standstill hit. guard on very eye catching red flags here. nice perc work leading into brass push to the end. HUGE difference in this song. excellent pit work under brass backfield to start closer. sop soloist again very well done, and nice use of chimes here underneath the soloist. really nice tymp pedal tuning here with contras. visually the corps builds into a rotating form on side 1 for standstill hit. needs a touch more power but guard well done here on blue and purple flags. brass seemed a bit gassed for resolution of hit, but sop soloist and contra end the tune nicely with a great high end sop solo backfield. perc break with battery way backfield starts off tempo change build into pinwheel and rumps. well done build musically and visually into pinwheel, and loved the brief pause before the wheel rotated along with sop trio and then the bull call. corps in box form as battery charges front and guard framing corps on big red flags for strong ending. upside: not dead yet. rewrites, additions, deletions all worked well. drill seemed more open and flowing. downside...concert bass player has timing issues multiple times. brass fatigue hurt at spots. fixing that could really help GE. still a few guard and feet issues. IMO, and this may not be popular...i thought they had Bush and had the Cabs within less than a point in perc. if they keep cleaning, someone in the top 3 is gonna drop a spot. Brigs up next w/Moulin Rouge. yeah, they're smaller this year, but not dead. Show starts with corps in pods by section withthe snares buidling up under a sop solo. brass is playing backfield as they enter for a nice effect, and the pit really shined here. this built into a hit of the main melody with the corps pushing forward, and shows off some nice power. tempo change follows with nice mello/bari duet..keys a little timing issue here, and some nice rifle work evident upfront. slow push forward here with tenors under the duet showing some nice stuff. this builds nicely to impact with weapons upfront doing a lot of body work in addition to weapons work..handled well. the corps is seen here in a rotating form that halts for the conclusion of the song. nice version of Show Goes On. Battery starts off Sparkling Diamonds with a nice swing/big band feel...corps spread out here and had minor timing issues....mellos lead on Diamonds Are Girls best friend". strong sops noticed here tho at times they overpowered the mellos. nice sabre rifle work leading into the perc break. lots of tradeoffs between sections building to a cool backsticking lick that adds in players as it goes.. really nice roll leading into end of solo and ties in well with rifle toss. brass got tired after ren-entry and building to end of song. Pit starts off Come What May into a mello solo followed by a nice bari/sop duet with the brass playing backfield...guard staged in between brass and soloist doing nice dance work. Sops had some issues stamina wise when they turned around, tho when clean will be a nice moment. visually at the hit, the brass frames the guard, which is doing well written work on light blue flags that work well against the corps proper uniforms. corps pushes forward in a box that goes into rotating files. ending seemed downdue to fatigue. Sop Solo begins El Tango with the corps proper doing some nice body visuals behind the soloist. perc does a nice job setting up the tango groove, tho due to brass stamina they were a little overpowering. nice rifle toss to end the tango section. Pit tehn transitions the corps into a fast ending. some ensemble issues due to corps being spread out. soloist lost under corps at times here, especially with the corps pushing forward. perc especially overpowering at the end. upside: well written show. downside: fill holes, get stamina up, clean, clean clean. IMO...when brass filled up and stamina issues resolved, 2nd half of show will shine. til then, it will leave viewers flat. GE is noticeable in design but cant be felt because corps is tired. Bush: 8/9 horn holes? it hurt! maybe not in brass caption, but they were noticable visually and seemed to help lose some oomph out of low end. Fanfare For The New opens with corps spread...nice trade offs in the brass of the famous 16th note patterns...pit work here also ties into brass and adds a lot. this builds to a nice sow big hit with guard framing corps with flags that resemble the corps proper uniforms. hit seemed not as big as Harrisburg. tempo change has nice perc groove that sets up jazz feel, tho walking 8ths in bass seem a touch stiff. nice mello lick out of perc break followed by some strong sop work, into tenors and low brass for a tough syncopated rhythm that adds in the full corps as it builds...minor timing there. corps begins push to hit that holds well but seems flat when it gets to hit. also, the hit seemed a little stiff for jazz. technically sound, but had no "life". tempo change after hit worked beter tonight and perc performance here was noticably better building t end of tune, tho not sure why the quick halts here and there building to end. pit work to begind "Perfect Year" handled well. nice work with rifle and sabre tosses tied into releases with low brass and full brass section. pit work again sets up for sop solo with nice dance by the sabres.. pit scoring lines up well with sop soloist and then into sop line feature. nice flag integration with eye catching pink flags. build to hit seems to go slow tonight, tho the pause will be more effective if tease of resolution is bigger. hit starts with corps at a halt in company front, then builds with corps pushing the front slowly forward. nice high toss by weapons here to tie into release. after release, corps goes backfield with nice pit work and nice backfield sop solo ( nice exit off the field Chris) Rocky Point starts off strong. IMO, seems corps likes this song best. nice rifle work here building into main melody which is followed by a nice pit/cymbal moment. the build to the hit works well with the puase for guard moment without music. brass goes backfield as perc moves forward with some tasty low end writing, brass turns back building to next hit...some fatige evident here as it causes minir timing. releases well into perc feature which highlights all sections....nice stunt sticking here, tho some clarity issues performance wise, tho improved.guard toss at end of feature helps make resolution more impactful. groove section of RPH seemed tonight a tad shaky upstairs at first, as it seemed all sections were fighting to be lead voice, but recovered well. the build into company front push worked well, and the push is cool as the closer to the sideline it gets, the more the volume grows, tho, IMO i felt it could grow more sooner. visually the corps is flying with rotating lines into a box that charges front for the end. upside: perc better, brass plays well. downside: holes hurt, louds need to be louder, battery still has a few issues. show has potential. seemed flat to me tonight...brass holes may have hurt. not a bad show...i'd deem it safe. it seems that the corps needs to make the bigs bigger. Bucs....in my last reivew i said the big difference to last year was fewer horns. i was wrong (thanks CF). it';s the guard. wow. noticed them more tonight and wow. Opening in the big Blue X tonight, with the guard in tan and red unis dissecting the X with a +....tonight i also noticed two circles of flags on the field centered on the 50. looks really cool within the forms of the corps and guard. solo snare starts Bolero with battery adding in to the big brass entrance. guard ends up at mid field with the brass framing them...great look as Blue surrounding the red flags and tan guard unis for the intro hit. pit carried well with triplet run under hit. pit scored well into mello solo. the famous Bolero rhtym is traded by battery pods across the field as battery comes together then with full brass entering under it...sounded a touch tired here, but recovered for tempo change and push to end. box pass thrus at end work well and great front to back lining up of 16th run between pit and battery. Caprricio starts off with pit then battery entering..nice use of cowbells. brass enters with trades into a unison hit with very good rifle work upfront. great low brass running line into the block hold with rifles fully integrated. corps backfield turns into a tempo change...some ensemble unease before turn but resolved nicely with a cool guard ripple. great battery work on push to end in between unison brass hit...bassrun at end made me laugh out loud. Claire starts w/nice 4 mallet lateral work in the keys....great use of metallic and wood voicing here. brass entrance nice, and works well into mello feature. nice sabre work staged on side 2...eye catching. flags doing body w/swings flags as corps builds to hit..at the hit the swing flags of blue and purple play nicely under the lights....corps builds to hit...needs a touch more oomph at release. pit transtitions out of hit to end the song. very tasty. Scheherzade starts off blasting with brass very active and great mid voice runs lining up with keys. weapons work here ties well into the brass sections melodic trade offs into resolution of phrase. this is followed by pit to sops to baris to mellos trade offs. a nice tenor feature and bass drum work builds to perc feature. perc slows down for the marketplace section with a nice groove that gets its licks in...pit does a nice job here with melodic content. tempo changes with battery charging across the field, brass begins to build under the perc still getting there licks in...ends in unison hits with great battery to pit work under. more perc features up front as again brass builds to push to hit with brass charging front as perc goes backfield....push to end features guard on side 1 with huge red flags....battery roll under hits charging to end was very clean. upside: ensemble demand galore, no real weakness, perc better than last year. downside: brass still a tad tired at end...stamina needs addressed. also big hits could be bigger. IMO:..and i'm not saying this cause I have friends here ( ####, i know someone in every DCA corps), this show doesnt seem capable of peaking. yes they have work to do, and after watching 30 minutes of rehearsal, this staff is fully aware of what needs to happen. if they can keep building and no one else jumps up to catch them, game over. but, it's July, and the fat lady hasn't sung yet cause.... Empire. The corps opens in pods with the pit out on the field between the 30 and 40 on side 1. Contras and Pit start and the tempo picks up for Ritchee on piano prop about the 25 on side 1. Corps is moving a lot here to build for the hit you feel coming, and they don't fail....brass very strong and guard catches your eyes with great integrated work with bright yellow flags. snares and tenors have some great stick work at the end you cant help but catch. corps displays a nice swing feel throughout this opening statement. next tune begins with contra and sop tradeoffs with nice perc work underneath...sops featured next coming across the field..builds to snare feature that's well done. perc lead voice here with brass underneath, then mellos take over followed by a nice sop solo. rifles staged well on keyboard tarp....solos ends way up there for hit with screamers till going with corps wailing, tho at times i was unsure to listen to corps or screamers for lead line, but resolves nicely into a big ending. flags well staged up front at the end. piano prop moves center for ballad with Joey soloing, nice backfield playing by brass...pit cut thru well here...nice mello feature from backfield sollows and the guard is featured visualy with some nice dance work. as the corps builds to hit, the guard is on side 2 with nice white flags. brass sounds a tad tired at hit. snares really dominating here, tho not by design.nice Joey solo with pit vamping to end the tune. bass transition leads into snare feature that grows as players are added...goes from 3 to 5 to all into full perc break. snares again really strong, to the point i couldnt notice tenors and bass. strong ending thats in your face. Joey solo starts off America that you can imagine Ray doing if he was a soprano, then Ritchee takes over and goes way up there as corps builds to big release behind the two screamers...could be bigger. This got the crowd really going. A full corps vocal announcing Ray is in Lewisburg follows with corps picking up the tempo...nice sop feature here. tempo again picks up with a nice swing feel. rifles very active here around the sop and mello tradeoffs. here the corps does some audienace interaction and comes back in for down and dirty jam with screamers wailing. at the end the pit is soloing a run with brass coming in at end...some dirt, but held well side to side. here the crowd thinks ES is over......but...................... they come back in pushing front with Joey and Ritchee screaming, and this builds to a Georgia reprise and the corps upfront wailing to the finish. in fact, i could hear Ritchee over the corps :P upside: great brass sound, great snareline. corps has presence to spare. downside: often lose pit, tenors and bass. i know staging is part of the cause for the pit. look into mallet selection and add plexiglass. when featured, they do well. has to hurt upstairs. didnt notice tenors and bass unless featured. also pause after fake ending drags...shorten it a touch. here's the thing w/Empire...i like the show, and 95% of the time, it's programmed well. however, they make it look too easy, and it seems that they could be peaking soon and end up performer over the book. with all the showmanship and GE, it's easy to think that. however, there is work to be done. I wont name names, but someone from ES told me they see the writing on the wall. I disagree. clean it. make lead lines easily distinguished, get pit audible and...lol....show a little sweat...and this race aint over yet. Plus, if you give up now, there's 2 corps right behind you that dont seem to be slowing down. Enter the show stoppers. After Ponzo's Bull Call, out they come, the Cabs alumni to that beat we all know and love. (nice nd from the field Frank). starting on a company front on the 10, the corps Rumped their way across the field led by DM Jimmy Russo. crowd lit up for the old time entry. Ponzo solos while the corps sets up into a block backfield for push forward. Rumpes restatement was wow powerful as the corps condenses the block. this was followed by a nice perc break. with some cool backsticking. brass strong out of perc break into next tune with a great sop trio by Frank, Steve and Duke. Jimmy went into the stands for McArthur Park...really nice brass sound to start, followed by a nice solo by Steve. Ponzo wails his solo into the hit and then the groove section, well done by the percussion. a slight tempo change is evident as the corps starts the push to the ending with Ponzo screaming away. at the hold at the end of the song, Jimmy cuts all but the mellos, then the brass comes back in to end the song. Pagliaci starts w/Ponzo on flugel which blends well with brass behind him. corps begins to move backfield with honor guard coming out, and as corps turnsd around, we have a good ole fashioned color pres which gets the crowd on their feet as the corps pushes forward in a company front. Ponzo goes wayyyyyyyyyy up there leading into the "clown laugh" and a strong ending. drum solo with more backsticking and drum to drum work ends up with serious old time singles powering to the end, which leads us into the closer. perc sets up with a groove behind brass quintet as corps starts togo backfield and pushing to the end line...as corps gets out there, they turn and halt for the Rumps ending with a Ponzo solo into the trio with again, a strong mello line leading to the end. the corps then lined up to play Cherry Pink and more to play the competing corps on for retreat. i know not everyone digs alumni corps, which is a shame. but i think if you check these guys and gals out, you'll see age and experience can rock the house everytime. I'll be honest, i got too into watching the corps to take really good detailed notes. if Ponzo were in a competing corps today, he'd be in the running for soloist. Duke and Steve are no slouches either. SEE THIS CORPS!!! great show. weather held out, and everyone came to play. a lot of people said this show would set the race up, but, IMO, it only left things more unsettled. Lots of time yet for the top 4 to make a run.
  9. this is on last nights numbers. Gold wasnt out
  10. got some rain about 430 for about 45 minutes. threatened a few times, but not a drop. field was in great shape considering they area got 3.5 inches friday night into saturday morning
  11. interesting night and results. good show
  12. wow. it's a shame because normally I love seeing guys i marched with in DCA Corps in the Marines. on the plus side, the Cadets singers need a groupie, so you have a place to be!
  13. having been at Lewisburg, I hate to tell you, but the best crowd reaction of the night went to the Cabs Alumni Corps. They own that stadium.
  14. if there was slotting this year, we'd see the same ole faces at the top. Cavies, Cadets, BD and SCV. right now Phanton and Blue are there, cadets and SCV behind them. And, given that the next pack back is tight and has room to grow, we could see someone do a run like Boston in 00. Remember them? They came out of DCi East sitting about 8th. ended up 5th. as people keep tweaking shows, or even peaking, ya never just know, and this year seems to be the most unpredictable year in DCI since I'd say probably 1992
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