mikekhs

A Cadet kid went down last night. I was just wondering if anyone had any news on their condition. MIKE

Luckily, Jim's family has a Mutual of Omaha full coverage plan. MIKE

Careful Jim. Those teeth and claws look treacherous. MIKE

Did we find anything out about the Cadet Contra player yet? MIKE Bill...?

We have become spoiled... I still remember the 1 900 CAN DRUM days...now that sucked! MIKE Bill, you in here?

I too, just got back from the Akron show. I will tag on some thoughts as well. Great stadium. We were in section 210 on the 50, 4 rows from the top. Legends. It always amazes me to see the smaller corps with full drumlines and front ensembles and tiny horn lines. I think they are trying some nice things. All the pieces seem to be there, but balancing the battery with everything else will be a challenge. There were some nice color moments in the front ensemble and I give it up for the three ladies in the colorguard. Maybe too much spread drill-wise for the size of the corps? I hope they can fill some of those holes as well. Pioneer. Not slamming - just saying. I am amazed every year at some of the design choices that these kids are stuck with year in and year out. I would cut 4 snare drummers tonight. Give them a bugle. I understand the decision to not march tenors - I have seen it done before in Marching Bands. I am not sure it will help Pioneer to be competitive. The snare line is really loud much of the time and really dirty just as often. The field cymbals seem disconnected from the rest of the ensemble during several sections of the show. The props do help to cut down the negative space. The brass line has some nice moments - they just need 25 more of them. It might be time to visit open class? I was really bummed at no Gary Owen, but the props were not going to carry themselves. Spirit. Yeah! Spirit of Atlanta - was nice to hear that announced. The horn line is loud. Sometimes a bit gross, but they are loud. Not a great night for the battery, but I was digging much of the writing. The music and drill I think are fine. The cheesy voice over and some of the characterization is a bit much. Lose the gal in the red dress. I like the delta references in the drill. I think with some cleaning time and filling some holes, Spirit could be in good shape. Crossmen. First guard statement was great! The Crossmen are going kind of old school and just marching and playing. I can appreciate that. The Spinning Wheel section is great - I wonder if we could have gotten one real good in your face moment of the part everyone knows? Drumline is aggressive and pretty solid. (Maybe a tenor hole tonight?) Intervals and dots seemed to be an issue for Bones tonight. Overall, it sure reminded me of a 90s Crossmen show. Madison. You had the crowd at the gate. Seriously. Great guard costume. Battery is a notch up from last year. Middle section of drumming and scatter got long for my taste, but the end of the show is quite strong. I really enjoy the Beautiful Morning quotes throughout the show. Feet are a strength right now. I would love to hear a bit more dynamic range from the Scouts. Solid show though. Boston. I was a bit let down by BAC. The opening is quite effective. The soloist in the ballad is exceptional. I am not sure I would touch either 1812 or Les Mis as source material in this activity, but to each his own. I missed the Conquest quote. Unis looked great under the lights. Crown. There is going to be a fine line to walk with this show concept. The horn line is of course great. The battery is much improved. The front is great and the guard is very good. I get tired of seeing the metal hand gesture over and over. (I get it - you're rocking.) The ELP stuff is great and I can't wait to see what the real ending is going to be. I am distracted by the front ensemble in the rocker attire like the colorguard - although the pianist costuming works well. I hope the contra kid is okay - good recovery. Lots of energy in this corps. Bluecoats. I left the stadium humming the opener. Very effective. You lose me in the closer a bit, but the ballad is really quite cool (he HAS to catch that rifle toss). The battery throws. Some of the front ensemble sound effects are not quite balanced yet or maybe just not in that stadium. I enjoyed the colorguard. can't wait to see how you end this...maybe back to Creep? A fine night of drum corps in the Buckeye State. Check out the Akron show next year. Great stadium and always a good lineup. MIKE Bill, you in here?

We are on our way to the Akron area right now. Anyone have the scoop on who is staying where? I checked the corps' home pages, but we all know those sometimes change. MIKE

I'll take that action. I say Gahfield comes out on top. Angels over Devils. MIKE Bill, you in here?

Mason, Ohio... I took 16 of my students. Late start which management explained and he warned us ahead of time of problems during intermission sound -wise. Volume seemed to change throughout the night. First half of Devs was thin and treble sounding and then someone found the slider and we were good for a while. Similar things happened throughout the night. Overall not bad. There were I would say 65 or so folks in the theatre. Dennis and Rondo get a little long winded, but add in Cesario and we are box 5! Holy how long can we drag this out Batman! I was blown away by how few people seemed to be at the show in Texas. Those stands looked half full. Quick thoughts... BD - I am curious to see what they keep and what they change. Cavies - Confused by the stilts and the inverted tenor guys. Guard uni is quite interesting. Bluecoats - Looking forward to the progress of this show as well. Liked the snare tuning. Show felt a lot like some of their previous shows. Crown - It will be a fine line to walk to avoid going off the deep end concept wise. Back half of show lost me a bit. Battery is much improved. Pit needs to be in unis I think. Garfield - My favorite of the night. I could do without the play acting stuff in the opening, but they look great IMO. Battery is throwing. All burgundy uni makes some of the members look short and dumpy. Coordinating some of that visually must be a nightmare! Phantom - I like the uniform. I like some of the musical choices although I could do without the 60s/70s Romeo and Juliet. Sops seemed to suffer tonight. Vanguard- Drumline is quite good. Guard costuming not my cup of tea (although seems to be a current trend tonight) I was confused by the people running around outside the forms. More of a distraction and they have already done the perpetual motion thing. I never got a real staircase feel or representation. Music is cool, but will not be real accessible to all folks. (which has hurt them before) BluesStars - I did not dig this one. The drumline can play. The hornline seems quite loud and capable and I am guessing the guard can spin, but this show I think is limited. I would like to see a field perc judge get up on the scaffold with the battery! I thanked the theatre manager for hosting the event. I would do this again. My Thoughts. MIKE

Sco Jo had nothing to do with BD 91-93. He was down the road a bit. Mike

99 SCV Baby! I think she was in Kiwanis before that. MIKE

I think that is true Rich, but I always thought 93 was the bottom. From what I have heard there were not a lot of laughs that year. MIKE

1993 comes to mind...

81 is not the dirtiest BD line I have ever heard...

Suncoast Sound or maybe NorthStar or maybe 2 -7 or maybe Guardsmen Cool Thread. MIKE

Crowd went nuts for them in 2000 in DC. MIKE

1988 just for Suncoast (and the BD hornline) MIKE

Maybe another 3 minute feature ala '93? MIKE

My wife and I still attend a few shows during the summer. Nothing near what we used to do. I will not go into that building in Indy to watch drum corps. I have not purchased a DVD or CD in years. B flats, elecs are whatever to me. DCI lost me with the ticket deal for finals week and by putting what used to be the highlight of the summer in that echo chamber. Can we say we miss it in this thread? I agree however that the lot is still the lot. MIKE

SCV 04. Not sure I will ever forget that line. Shout out to PR 10 and Cadets 03 as well. MIKE

I am going to add... My students watching PR in the lot and realizing how special that drumline was. and Watching Cadets at Massillon and understanding that quality is still quality! MIKE Boycotting finals since 2009

Hey to Schrieber for me. MIKE PS Those were flam taps.

Big News Day! Who writes for Phantom next year? Welcome back Brian Mason? Hannum comes south? Jim Cassella back in the game? MIKE

Nothing a little Galaxy Glue can't fix. MIKE Mandarins have a REALLY loud synth for sale.

WOW ! This could get interesting. MIKE