cadlag

Can't believe it is less than a week to go when drum corps fanatics will descend upon Indianapolis with baited breath and excitement. By this time next week, this year's champion will be crowned. Can Crown catch BD? How will the jockeying for third place play out? Will a record attendance be set? I love this time of year! Yeah, it's gonna be good.

Hey, there. Thanks for the corrections. My mind started to wander....

Just have time to give a review for SCV, PR and BD. Will try to write some more later. Santa Clara Vanguard: Their visual package is quite good and has the makings of the style of drill that we have come to expect. The music is straightforward, easy to understand and harkens back to “The Planets” by Cavies back in 2000 (at least when it comes to the part of the show featuring the planet Mars). The contra tubas during Mars are downright mean. So hot! Overall, their impact moments are quite effective and the fans really appreciated how easily they connected with the show. The color guard did not really stand out for me, as I found myself paying attention to the horn line most of the time. Their ending is charged with energy, and audience members definitely were ready to be on their feet. Phantom Regiment: So much drama is packed into this show. I agree with some that the beheading is not featured clearly enough so that the typical audience member might miss it. Right now, the horn line is playing in a very controlled manner and they really crank it up only during their last number (Nessum Dorma). But what a number! Props to the trumpet soloist - whose playing was so expressive! The drum feature is very cool (and reminds me of the Cavies’ 2009 show “Samurai”). The horn line has some really tasty and difficult passages that are played with amazing and laser-like precision. The technical proficiency of the performers is at a very high level. The color guard have visually stunning costumes and the contrast of the red against the white uniforms of the horn line really draws the audience to the flag work. Great job, ladies! The ending is solid; however, I know it is dangerous to hope too much, but I want an ending that will just rip people out of their seats (much like the ending to their 2001, 2003 and 2011 show). PR should make the top five on finals night. Blue Devils: I have not always been a fan of BD’s shows, because they seem to go way off the reservation. I know folks are complaining about how weird this show is – especially how there is a voice recording that runs through the whole show. Having said that, I thought the show was genius! It is put together very well, and you forget that there is a football field. There is so much stuff happening that your senses will not be bored. There is something entertaining for everyone all the time. Is it a simple minded show? No. It is fairly sophisticated, and the judges got it right. And oh man, can the horn line throw down or what. The standing back to back rifts (you have to see the show to understand this) demonstrate why these guys and girls are a cut above the rest. As to the horses and them putting on the uniforms…well I found their use to be pretty clever. It seamlessly changes the space, time and the flow/speed of the show. Now if you can trick me into feeling like space and time are manipulated so that all I see is a production (instead of bodies on a football field), then I say keep it up! I felt satisfied at the end of the show, even though there is no bombastic ending where everyone is going absolutely nuts clapping and hollering.

I am no country music fan, but I also dont' dislike it. As a matter of fact, after I heard Lady Antebellum's "Can't Take My Eyes Off You", I started to think that country music could work. It would be very different than what I expect to hear from a drum corps, and it would have to be one heck of an arrangement of this number by Lady Antebellum to do it justice. I think Phantom could pull this off. Any other corps or songs y'all can think of that would be good candidates for an all country music show? And for the record, I am not from the Midwest or the South. I am a from the West Coast.

Is it pretty safe to assume that all the good seats are sold out by now? I have been saving up and tried to purchase a "super premium" seat (e.g., sections 542 and 543) at the terrace level, and I got a screen that said that no such seats are available. Yikes.

Anyone know which movement(s) from Mozart's "Requiem" that PR will perform this year. This is my all time favorite piece of choral music from the classical era. If anyone group can steal from this great piece and field even a bit of it, it would be my darling PR. It is clear that I must see this show. I have been wishing for over 10 years that a corps would tackle this piece. My wish comes true!

I'll be there! Will be my first event of the season! Anyone with me????

Have any open or world class corps fielded this piece as the slow piece in their show (say within the past 10 years)?

The blu-rays are stunning in their clarity of picture and sound. Saber and rifle tosses look just as if one were there. They images look so life-like. And I can’t say enough about the stunning color and texture of the flags, costumes, and corps uniforms. It will blow your mind. Tom Blair, you did a stunning job on this.

I can't remember how many times I have watched the scene during which Uma Thurman's character punches her way out of the coffin and climbs out of her grave. The music that goes with that scene sounds great. For me, the dialogue between guitar and trumpet is downright sweet. Have any of the the Wordl Class Corps done this piece? I would be curious to know how they worked this piece into their show. Also, anyone think that it sounds a lot like the music from the scene in "The Good, The Bad, and the Ugly" where all three main characters stand on the edge of this hugh circle at the center of this graveyard for the final gun battle? This music might work in a production, too. It might even be a good fit for Boston Crusaders who seem to incorporate a lot of Latin music into their productions.

Each year, there is always some discussion about a slotting conspiracy among DCI judges. If 2008 was not proof enough, I think this year is reasonably strong evidence that the judges do not slot, nor are halos granted to last year's champion. I know it is fun to have a conspiracy story, but seriously, DCI judges can pick out winners (even if a large portion of judging is subjective).

The 2008 DVDs did not have the audio tracks for judges' comments. Has anyone heard if these tapes will ever be made available? I would be interested in hearing the percussion and music general effects judges on Phantom Regiment's "Spartacus" -- although it may be impossible to hear anything during the last minute and half of that show! The audience went absolutely bonkers.

Is the orchestration that Phantom used for their 2006 performance of "Ave Maria" different from the one they currently use during an encore or warm-up? I think they sound different but am unsure. Either version is downright killler awesome. Anyone think that both versions are they same?

Anyone know if Phantom is coming out West this year? I checked the schedule on the DCI website but noticed that as far as Pasadena or San Diego go, they are currently not listed.

I would love to have been the Drum Major conducting Star of Indian's "Medea".