Partial Sunday Review...

[euponitone]

Ok...so I wasnt really watching the show with the intent to write a review, so if i leave out your corps or glance over it, dont feel like i hate you.

Bridgemen....got there in the middle of the show. Only part that really stuck out was the penalty segment...good play on an old joke

Pioneer...wow, im sorry guys, but it was barely watchable at this stage. Im glad those kids are out there, but marching and drill was rough. Blatantly missed direction changes and coverdowns, things that are covered in marching 101. Music was a step up, and certainly memorable, as I actually found myself humming it later.

Cascades..good, really. I've always kinda liked these guys for some reason,and tonight that didnt change. Overall a good concept and i got it....some creative stuff here.

Crossmen - bones in attendance, at least the corps could see him, most of the audience could not. I see this corps going in a good direction, not making finals this year...but soon. I caught sully at the stadium tonight (sneaking a smoke)...good to see that he's following the corps.

Colts - my suprise fav of the first half. A lot of cool visuals and solid music all around. I predicted them to hop over glassmen and i was right (im not sure..maybe theyve beaten them before).

Blue stars - um. uniforms are....interesting? I get what theyre going for, but in all the times that they arent doing the jekyll and hyde thing, it looks kinda funky

Glassmen - Seems like theyve changed the least since i saw them in annapolis. Addition to the uni looks good, and i like the start of the show. After that I kinda got lost. Couple members lost their shoes somehow during the show....

BK...i tried watched them from up top, only to get shooed away by obnoxious ushers

Blue Devs - Can I see why they won? yes... Do I want them to win....not sure. I get what most people are saying about the 2nd half not matching the 1st. Theyre clean, loud, and good. I think maybe good enough to beat cadets tommorow (and thats alot coming from me). I think they will fall by finals to the cadets, and maybe even bloo. Speaking of

Bloo - my favorite of the night. Theyve come the longest way since i watched their rehearsal and show at annapolis, with guard uniforms, and yes, much more narration. Interestingly enough, the fat guy that got up to leave blocking our view last night because the narration offended him found their performance perfectly fine. I guess apparently he is now the authority on what is and is not drum corps. About 2miutes from the end they lost me, but came back for the finale. I can see this show continuing their climb this year (3rd place at finals)

Cavies - Well, I was one of many who slammed that after annapolis hardly playing and marching, and not being done. Sadly to say, they still arent done. I can understand adding a new ending to your show midseason, but what they had on tonight was abrupt enough to leave my whole group with a 'huh' expression. On the bright side, they have added some to the first half of the show, in terms of marching and playing. Also, i dont mind the rolling on the group...i think its a clever way to cover what would be a boringly small step size. However, as the show went on, some of my old pains began to come back. Play, jazz run, half time play, put break, repeat. Im sorry i cant say anything more positive about that, but i think this formula is hurting them, both in GE and music. I dont think they lose brass because of their sound, which is great, and i think their music is the best its been in years...its just the way they break things down so much...i dont think their getting the credit they want. Pretty much 3rd in all GE and music, first in visual.

On the bright side, I will definitely listen to this show on the cd after this year, which is something I am greatful for.

Thanks for reading...again, sorry if parts were brief or biased, but i didnt really into the night planning on writing an objective review. Also, is anyone else getting the sinking feeling that we're going to be back to the same old top 3 this year? Anyone know when Bloo and phantom meet again? That should provide a good insight as to who has the best chance to break up the party.

[supersop]

Thanks for the review. I can't say that I disagree with 95% of your comments. They seem spot on with my viewings in the past week and I did get to see most of these corps in the past 7 days (sans BK). Cool observation on the party poopers :) For some reason, I just get the feeling everything will keep flip flopping until Quarterfinals. :)

[84BDsop]

Bridgemen....got there in the middle of the show. Only part that really stuck out was the penalty segment...good play on an old joke

Could you explain this one...just for us who didn;t see it??

[euponitone]

Could you explain this one...just for us who didn;t see it??

Absolutely - they do the famous bottle dance set up - Ala VK, only they hold out the Dominant 7th chord for like 40 seconds as a bunch of rotund guys prepare for the dance. Finally, a ref runs out and throws a flag, and the announcer yells '5 yard penalty, intentional delay of gag!'

[xbones7480]

Crossmen - bones in attendance, at least the corps could see him, most of the audience could not. I see this corps going in a good direction, not making finals this year...but soon. I caught sully at the stadium tonight (sneaking a smoke)...good to see that he's following the corps.

The position of Bones was intentional. He felt that he should be seen by the corps and not the audience. He's not a mascot.

[euponitone]

The position of Bones was intentional. He felt that he should be seen by the corps and not the audience. He's not a mascot.

So THATS why they put him in the back stands at every other show ive ever seen....ok :)

and yes...i know the corps is often facing backfield at the start of the show....chilllll

[Rocketman]

Absolutely - they do the famous bottle dance set up - Ala VK, only they hold out the Dominant 7th chord for like 40 seconds as a bunch of rotund guys prepare for the dance. Finally, a ref runs out and throws a flag, and the announcer yells '5 yard penalty, intentional delay of gag!'

NICE!

RM - Bmen

ampssuck

[ajedrummer]

I too was not going to do a review - but here goes! Short and sweet.

Bridgemen - fun to see, loved the 27th tribute, very well done! I assume that was George Bonfiglio (sp?) on the sideline? Was interesting as I have to think they were bitter rivals! The SCV "bottle / walker dance" was a hoot!

Pioneer - As with many smaller corps, I think they try to overshoot their membership's abilities. Nice music tho! Was more impressed with Jersey Surf last night.

Cascades - I disagree here. Have not seen them much (If ever?). Music is too esoteric. If I can't recognize it, I would at least like to be able to hum it! A collection of notes - IMHO. Nice uni's and drums!

Crossmen - I LOVE the opener! The interwoven medley of Crossmen tunes is SO well done! They have a great future in Texas! We miss you here in PA though.

Colts - I agree about being a surprise as I usually do not like them - much like Carolina Crown last night! Not sure about the opening guard uniforms, but I guess you are trying to set the scene. I disagree about beating Glassmen though.

Blue Stars - LOVE the uniforms!!! I am an old Blue Star fan as the corps I started with in Wausau WI had many Blue Star staff and they were the corps we looked up to. Happy to see them back! On the bad side?? I wanted so bad to love them! Like last year, I don't get their musical arrangements. They play a few notes of a song and then play a bunch of 'filler notes' and runs to make it more difficult, then a few more notes! Play the song please?!

Glassmen - Like 'em, like 'em, like 'em! Can't tell you why? I just do. And I have never been a big fan (See Crown earlier!). Only complaint? See my posting about the DUT's!

Blue Knights - No offense, but have never been a favorite of mine. Like them better this year, but are still rather non-descript. I miss the dots on the uniforms! Not bad, but did not really do anything for me.

Blue Devils - Saw them from the upper stands (thanks Mike!). Liked them a lot except for the soft legato horns and the driving drums. If Pioneer or Cascades did that, the judges would kill them for being unmusical. BD gets scores for it because they do it well.

Bluecoats - Saw them from up top too. Parts better than BD..parts not. Not as sophisticated, but that is not necessarily a bad thing! Not as clean as BD yet which works in their favor.

Cavies - Machine is a tough act to follow! They have some cool moves and AWESOME drumline!! I have not seen the recap, but if they did not win drums????????? The music has some nice Billy Joel moments, but after having seen him in concert a few times, I was hoping to relive that feeling! The ending was an absolute disappointment. This show is good, but it is far from done if they want to repeat.

This is a great year for drum corps! Pasadena should be REAL interesting!!

[84BDsop]

Absolutely - they do the famous bottle dance set up - Ala VK, only they hold out the Dominant 7th chord for like 40 seconds as a bunch of rotund guys prepare for the dance. Finally, a ref runs out and throws a flag, and the announcer yells '5 yard penalty, intentional delay of gag!'

BWWHAAA!!!!

For the love of God....SOMEONE please tell me you're YouTubing that!!!!

Better yet...Google Video...THAT I can save to my hard drive!!

[barigirl78]

I want to say a few words about the Crossmen tonight. I had seen them their first show (Toledo), a week ago (Giants Stadium), and tonight.

One of the biggest differences tonight vs. those previous performances in the volume of the horn line. They are finally getting louder and it's long overdue. They really sold Russian tonight and the crowd responded. It definitely seemed to help their GE score. The ensemble score also popped tonite. They came in 5th ahead of the Glassmen.