Brasstech50345

I think the thing here is that PR was great from a percision aspect, but SCV took everyone on an emotional high not everyone can get. So if you go back out of the moment you may see why PR should have won, even though they didn't. I kinda feel that same way when I watch '96. I love the PR show and the amazing emotion the pour out in that ending, but I could also argue the BD was the better corps. That's why I'm glad I don't judge.

You know watching both of those shows makes you kinda wonder why there wasn't a tie before 1996.

DCI Louisville Review As a person who used to seeing groups later in the season, DCI Louisville was a somewhat interesting treat getting to see so many good corps before their shows are fine tuned. If I seem to critical because of that, I apologize in advance. I unfortunately got there late, ended up with a seat on the 35 at the bottom of the second tier on the right side. It was a great vantage point to see some individual aspects (spacing, technique) and terrible for others (form control). Anyways, here’s the review in performance order. Marion Glory: I apologize that I didn’t get to see this group. They must be doing something right considering how high they are scoring with a reduced hornline and virtually no guard. (I guess they are up to 1 guard member). They should be a force in Div III at Denver. Kiwanis Kavaliers (12th place, 52.85): My first impression of this group is that they are extrememly young. The youth showed in simple things like technique, horn angles, and maturity of sound. With that said they do a good job with difficult material, West Side Story. Before you frown on the music selections it is an interesting arrangement of the music. There are some really fun moments in this show involving the percussive use of trash cans and an “anything you can do I can do better” duet between a trumpet and baritone soloist who are pretty much the stars of the show. The show has some real potential, it just needs a ton of cleaning. Southwind (11th place, 56.80): With a show based on the music of “The Mummy” movies and an improved hornline this is a better Southwind than the one that took the field last year. The drumline is solid through. The hornline is more powerful but not nearly refined enough yet. Visual killed this group tonight and may well be the corps nemesis the whole season. The corps had just learned a new closer which made them incredibly dirty at the end, but there where huge problems throughout, especially in the spacing department. It’s a very enjoyable show which is easily recognizable and a step in the right direction for this group. Capital Regiment (9th place 63.15): This is obviously going to be a year of firsts for Capital with last night being no exception as the beat Magic for the first time. The hornline has vastly improved since last year. They play with very good sound and are dealing with a challenging music book. I think once they are a little bit more comfortable with the book, they’ll be able to fix some music execution problems. They’ve pretty much hit the proverbial wall a show hits when it doesn’t have it’s closer (which will be on next week). They cool thing is the psuedo-ending jam session leaves you wanting more. Unlike the other corps in their block this show is built less around crowd and more around finals. Whether they make it is up to the performers Congrats to an organization that has it all together from top to bottom. Magic of Orlando (10th place, 61.20): I know a lot of people were surprised about this. I honestly wasn’t. I think it is a tribute to the organization that with all the pre-season drama swirling around that corps that they could field a full unit that would be competitive. This show, based on the Pirates of the Caribbean, has many enjoyable moments, especially in the guard with members walking planks and spraying water ever which way. While a lot had been made of their visual problems (they actually were only .5 behind Capital in visual), their music really sunk them (no pun intended). It’s a fun show which will get cleaner but from a design standpoint I’m not sure it has the legs to hold up. Carolina Crown (T5th, 72.90): Let me preface this by saying you will either love or hate this show. Personally, I don’t like it. I think I was in the minority in the crowd. The opener is great with a good balance of music and visual. From there is where the “controversy” begins. I’m for amplification and using it creatively, but the singing number felt too BOA and not enough DCI. The section right afterwards did little for me as well. The final salvo of Bohemian Rhapsody (The Symphonic Queen version) felt stuck between being symphonic or hard rocking. Visually this group is better than last year and I enjoyed the visual design, I just have questions about the music. A great first effort for the group. I’ll be interested to see where they go. Spirit of JSU ( 8th, 69.05): I really hadn’t heard much about Spirit this year other than the part of the Cavies design team was doing their show, which was great news. I really couldn’t get into this show until the second movement when they play a lush version of Savannah River Holiday, which is reworked just enough to be interesting. I also enjoyed the final movement which brings together Bernstein and Daugherty. I would have liked a more smooth transition between the two but the connection is definitely there. You gotta love Spirit’s cymbal line. I would not want to meet these guys in a dark alley. They really got the crowd going with the cymbal head chop. This has Top 12 potential but they will be fighting tooth and nail with everyone else to make it. Crossmen (7th, 71.00): I agreed with most placements this night, but not this one. I think this is the best edition of Crossmen in many years. This was the first brass line of the night to really impress me with their sound. There are numerous moments that are technically difficult which need some cleaning, but once pulled off should make big impacts. I hope that too difficult a visual program will not hurt this group again. It may have just been first run jitters but there were some visual problems from an execution standpoint that glared. It’s a show chocked full of energy and excitement and one of the fan favorites of the night. Bluecoats (T5th, 72.90): Being a music guy and a brass player I tend to over look color guards. You can’t over look this year’s Bluecoats guard. They forcibly grab your attention from beginning to end. The brass line has improved as well. They don’t have the raw power/energy that Madison or Crossmen bring but they appear to be more technically sound. I takes a lot of guts to open a show with a percussion feature but the Bluecoats drumline steps up to the challenge. I’m not really impressed with the overall design of the show. It has individual moments, those need to be strung together. Madison Scouts (4th 73.25): I wasn’t a huge fan of Madison’s big comeback last year. Maybe call me old fashioned but they just didn’t seem like the old Madison. This year it feels like their back with that same power and energy that made them fan favorites for years. There’s just the right mix of old Scots goodies and new inventions to make this show enjoyable. The hornline has some quality issues, I think partly because they are trying to create so much effect. Those can be resolved. The biggest issues were probably guard related. They look to have a lot of attitude, they need to back it up with more accuracy. The fans really never got into it, why I’m not sure. I think it may have just been the crowd. A really enjoyable show. Boston Crusaders (3rd, 75.20): I think some people will have a hard time connecting to this show. Unlike the previous couple of Crusaders shows which grabbed you, this show is more cerebral. BC uses the amps to help explain there show. I wasn’t a huge fan as I thought they could have found more creative ways to explain the colors. The music is something you won’t be humming on the way home as it is original and works to fit both the marching band arena and the visual concept. The show’s beginning and end are quite effective. While I found this show to be like Crown in it being a little more BOA than DCI, I enjoyed it more because of what the performers brought to the table. A great showing for a group that is notorious for slow starts. The Cadets (1st, 80.70): Once the initial shock of the Cadets doing Jethro Tull wears off, the reality that this is a great group sets in. The brass line sounds the best it has since 2001 and the guard is incredible. There were some individual visual problems that I think hurt them and had me putting them behind the Cavaliers. This was the first group who used the amps to really boost up the pit’s volume. Early groups had their pit with mics but it wasn’t noticeable. I’m not sure what the point of the baton twirler is. He’s pretty incredible, just seems like it would have better fit in last year’s tribute to drum corps show than this year’s show. Only thing that I can see rally hurting the corps is the lack of any real WOW moments where we ask ourselves how did they do that. The Cavaliers (2nd 80.65): Yes, they are that good. This is such an enjoyable program that is so easy to connect with. You can tell this show where it is centered more around the music than the visual. There are some really great moments in the show where random horn players run out of form like they are being chased and the corps whistling the 007 theme. The brass line is improved over last years version of the corps, actually beating the Cadets in the brass sub-caption. The battery didn’t come off as well. That might have been partly due to the missing bass drum but not solely because of. Can’t wait to see the real ending in Indy.

They'll all be at Kennesaw Mt. tomorrow.

I like the "shorter" DCI season. I think it's made every one of these contests means a little bit more.