PhilSCV

Many people were complaining about it, and it is the only time that having lost the high frequency hearing in my left ear was a bonus. PhilSCV

The Oregon Crusaders and like a massive tide returning like never before: The Santa Clara Vanguard

5. The standing O for the entrance of the Vanguard onto the field. The rain had passed, and echos of "Music of the Night" could be heard from the tunnel. 4. The standing O for the Bluecoats' finish, accompanied by a resounding "Bluuuuuuu" 3. The standing Os (plural) for the Cadets show. Great sound. Great performance. All around great. 2. The standing O for the end of the SCV show, starting well before the final hit. Everyone recognized what a phenemonal performance the Vanguard had turned in. 1. The standing O for the Phantom Regiment when they received their 3rd place finish, and the other when they left the field just before Cadets did their encore. The crowd couldn't give their performance enough standing O's. Congratulations to all the performers on a great year. What will you remember most from tonight's performance? PhilSCV

This thread gives me a chance to say that while I haven't been a bluecoats fan per se over the years, I thought they cleaned Madison's clock yesterday. From a cleanliness standpoint, I would've put a lot more folks above Madison, but in particular I thought Bluecoats creamed 'em. I was frankly surprised by the tie. It will be interesting to see how it comes out tonight. I'll be there in person again to take it all in. PhilSCV (the look of longing and sadness on his face)

I've been involved in this activity for a while, and I've been trying to do drumspeak for a while. Whenever I hear it, I say "I'd like to do that." But every time I try, I simply can't do it. zigity zigity zat turns into diggity do-do. My theory: It's genetic, kiinda like being able to roll your tongue. What say you?

OK, I'll start: Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah! I'd like to give a shout-out to all the kids on the tour, but 'specially the Vanguard from Santa Clara C-A! That's right! A'ight! And I'd like to give a big shout out to the cooks, the bus drivers, and all those guys and la-deez who keep em powered UP! And a big shout-out to big Key, Danny and Ricky V. And all youz whos been dissin my kids out there, a'ight, now you just listen to big P. You gotta give'em some love this week, mmhhmm, dats right, and you gotta dig'em cuz this week's what it all about. You got it? You got it? You gotta be thinkin big V this week, uh-huh, big V. Peace.

Being a native Hoosier (and drum corps fanatic), I still possess two very fresh memories of the 93 Star show: In Terre Haute, very early season, within the first ten seconds I said: "Well, there it is. The show to beat this year." I just knew. And then at Preview of Champions in Ypsillanti, I watched the battery practice. Just the battery. They ran through the whole show. It still, to this day, is the most phenomenal thing I have ever heard or seen. AND I'M A BRASS AND COLOR GUARD GUY! The precision. The musicianship. The dynamics. It was to die for. That show is still the most innovative show I've ever seen. My dream is that a corps will soon pick up the ball and similarly push the envelope in a way that so uniquely marries precision, power, and innovation. PhilSCV

I have the SCV 1987 finals performance as recorded from inside one of the snare drummers' hats. Talk about up close and personal! PhilSCV

<<GOT THE TICKETS... THIS THREAD CAN BE CLOSED>>

Email me and we can arrange time/place of pickup and payment in Denver. Priced at face value: $80 total. PhilSCV

For all of you who think OhioStateTad is just a whiner, then you might not be open to what he's saying: There is little innovation when it comes to giving us new and different ways of hearing and visualizing this artistic activity. With few exceptions, corps are regressing to what they believe will get the most points, they are regressing to a product which will have general appeal but doesn't strive to give us anything new or different. Sometimes just the "idea" of a show, or the show concept, can be innovative enough to excite us "high maintenance" creativity-seeking fans, and that's why SCV and Cavies continue to inspire the fans that they've gotten over the years. Cadets used to be in that group. They are no longer. Will SCV or Cavies fall victim to the same vacuous populism mindset? Worse yet, are we running out of new things to hear and see in drum corps? Trust me, there are a ton of ways that these organizations can innovate, but only a couple organizations are poised to bring it to you. Bottom line: If you like to count notes, then you're gonna like BD. If you like to chew and pop grape-flavored Bubble Yum, then you'll like Cadets. But if you seek highly creative programs then absorb as much as you can from SCV and Cavies. They may not be turning drumcorps innovation on its head, but they are the most inspired programs out there. So OhioStateTad, cheers to your critique. We all need to push these organizations to continue to push the envelope. PhilSCV

This is a well-stated, very thoughtful and professional review. All are valid points and consistent with my own observation of this otherwise fantastic and enthralling production. Thanks for putting this very constructive review together. PhilSCV

I saw both Seattle and Kelso and Kelso was even stronger for SCV than Seattle (as the scores show). The opener was rock-solid in Kelso, and the closing minute was very tight. In Seattle I didn't have that opinion. Now we wait and see what changes and additions each corps makes before Modesto. I think the featured high soprano soloist in Vanguard's opener is from Modesto, so maybe that's a good omen. Thanks for the thoughtful review. PhilSCV

The Santa Clara Vanguard was eagerly anticipated last night by the very small slice of Americana which is Woodburn, Oregon. Following the Seattle Cascades performance the pit set up with the first amps of the night. The stark red uniforms entered this small town stadium like a torch, led by the very elegant and theme-setting harem attire of the colorguard, and cheered on by instructional staff. Appropriate for the maturity of the show (but to my personal disappointment) the hornline did not warm up on the field. I had heard an SCV hornline warmup earlier in the season and was hoping I could hear it again. However, the drumline warmup gave the crowd a taste of things to come. At this point, it was evident that the crowd was very conservative and, although appreciative of the previous performances, not easily aroused. But with Stu's extremely firm salute (what my friend who used to be an officer in the Navy called a "very smart salute"), I got a sense that much of this mostly novice crowd knew that something special was about to happen. The first chord of the low brass, positioned on the right, set the bold tone of the entire show. The men of the colorguard helped the bold theme to be visualized as they emerged from the low brass' block form. The bold theme softens slightly as the low brass turns to play the two backfield chords. That sonorous and romantic Scheherazade theme is now introduced by a sequence of soloists and echoed by the introduction of the pit and select female members of the colorguard on the left. The soloists escalate into the final theme played beautifully up an octave (way to hit it!), the contras snap up on the right in a rapidly escalating curvilinear form and pow ! A wall of color and sound... The first hit of the night and the crowd responds! The form then sets out in a rapid escalation featuring the high brass in that incredible lick that has been featured on the SCV website for the last several weeks. The colorguard accents the hornline and drumline in a level of visual ensemble far greater than previous years' Vanguard shows. The drumline, now fully engaged, helps support an enormous Vanguard sound that I haven't heard sustained so completely in an opener since 1987. At times cheerful but always grande, and with no less than an additional 5 impacts, the corps turns backfield with a beautiful and rapid lead into a front-facing blast of high screaming brass, enter the rapidly moving melophones and low brass to end in a folding block form with a massive and final POW! familiar to the veteran Vanguard fan. I don't know what the rest of the crowd was doing - I barely remember jumping up and down perhaps 3 feet or so off the ground. The ballad, beautifully introduced by the melophones and accented by a fluid colorguard, leads to a pit feature that helps this extremely talented (and amped) group to highlight the delicacy and beauty of Rimsky-Korsakov. One of the most beautifully played baritone solos I've ever heard leads to a beautiful soprano solo that builds to a dramatic big, bold melody now accented by these enormous and stunningly beautiful flags carried by the male colorguard members. The ballad then ends with a set of playful and softening backfield solos and tones, ending in a wonderfully balanced chord "umph". Unlike previous years when such a softening end to a ballad may not have much of an effect, the crowd responds with cheers. Little did the crowd know at this point that it was about to be presented with a 4.5 minute-long, hair-raising, dizzying closer as powerful as any I've heard. And it doesn't start shy. Far from it, it starts with a pounding sequence of hits. But then softening, the tympani and contras rumble and that beautiful Scheherazade melody rings out with the choir of sopranos and before you know it you get hit in the face with a blast that gets the crowd going once again. The pit then rings in with a melodic undercurrent that is joined by the rest of the corps, leading to a balanced and fun interchange between the pit and the hornline/drumline. Accented by a lot of movement (perhaps too busy at times), the men in the colorguard are now highlighting the theme with fantastic Semitar work. Plenty of 8th and 16th note licks highlight this bountiful and bold movement that builds to a rapid fire barrage of notes - and you know SOMETHING has GOT TO GIVE. Just then the clouds part and the angel's sing. The hornline, now positioned in a horizontal curvilinear form in the center of the field, plays this rapid ripple of trilling, thrilling notes that reaches down, grabs your breath and ... with a slight pause ... hits two chords that are perhaps the most exciting I've ever experienced. Please God, when I die, can I just hear this sound forever? BUT WAIT, for the next 30 seconds they hit us in the gut with the most brilliant piece of drumline composition that I've witnessed since '93 Star... imagine 30 people in the battery and pit creating a mind-numbing, pulsatile rapid-fire barrage of sound that makes the entire crowd sit on the edge of its seat in amazement. And it winds down ... bam bam bam! I'm pretty sure the screams of cheers were delayed a moment by the fact that none of us have taken a breath in the last 45 seconds. The low brass starts to build and it's clear- HANG ON FOLKS, WE'RE GOING TO POUND THIS THING TO THE END! Brilliant musical composition... building, building, building..... and then the famous VANNNNGUAAAAARD! (I may have been the only one who knew when to yell, but it was a great moment... at least for me!) the low brass provides the perfect anchor to this show with a huge, bold, left-sided melody that somehow capitalizes on the crowd's enthusiasm following the Vanguard yell The low brass piece is played twice and balanced perfectly by the pit and high brass (thanks to Rimsky-Korsakov for writing that section in twice... once would not have been enough). The corps turns backfield for some buildup and maneuvering, and then the visually familiar company front and miraculously, the volume and intonation are incredibly sustained for this overpowering press to the front. Unlike any Vanguard performance in recent memory there is absolutely no hint of exhaustion. Just confidence and glory reminiscent of the end of 1987 Pictures at an Exhibition. The bells chiming... liberty and celebration. A solid block to the sweet, grand end. The crowd is on their feet... not exactly sure what hit them, but they KNEW they liked it! The only sustained standing ovation of the night... sustained right through the exit off the field. <pause> And yet, no matter how deep and wonderful this performance is today, I know it can do so much more. I've seen posts that feel that SCV doesn't have a lot of growth left in their show this year. Let me tell you something - the brilliance of Key and the rest of the staff and the members at Vanguard this year are not going to rest until this show has the emotion, the clarity and the impact that is needed to cement this one in the history books. The show isn't very clean. The colorguard hasn't learned many of their closer impacts. The visual program is often more busy than effective. The confidence hasn't completely solidified. And there is just something... something that they'll add that just puts it over the top. I don't mean in "over the top" that their show will be the defacto point-winner this year. What I mean is that from a drum corps performance point of view, this will allow many of us to personally re-experience what we felt the last time we saw (what was at least up until now) our favorite drum corps performance of all time. PhilSCV