mfrontz Posted July 10, 2007 Share Posted July 10, 2007 OK, the mosquitoes really weren't that bad until we got our funnel cake at intermission and they had a party with the leftover powdered sugar. Jersey Surf: Hooray, Brian Prato! Your corps sounds good and you must be proud of your trumpet line. I also like the uniform changes in the guard. The backdrops make sense. Actually both Surf and Troopers had very good soloists. Troopers: Kudos to the aforementioned good soloists. Good brass sound overall. Nice use of the wooden barstools in the percussion feature - good touch. But could you please stage the feature better? CONGRATULATIONS on returning to the field. Crossmen: Congratulations also to the Crossmen on coming out strong just after a cross-country move. Much nicer visual coverage of the field. I like the accents on the uniforms and the guard "metamorphosis." Also, very nice low brass sound and a couple of really nice sounds from the mellophones. Trumpets are still a bit shaky. The one thing I would complain about: the show is too subtle. The "historical themes" Birdland, Appalachian Morning, First Circle, etc, are not developed far enough nor are they played up enough to get a reaction from the audience. The only real impact point in the first 2/3 of the show is "Russian Christmas." That got a response from the crowd, but then it was back into cerebral theme-weaving. Perhaps this can be attributed to a young, mostly new corps, but even in the "solo show-off" sections, it seemed as if Crossmen has lost its ability to project with the crowd - one of their year-in, year-out trademarks. Note to designers - Writing subtle for Bones is like entering a Corvette in a fuel-economy competition. Blue Knights: I really liked this show. I thought the brass and percussion writing was excellent and the execution pretty darn good as well. I was amazed at how active the hornline was - not just in playing, but in throwing their bodies (and their instruments) around, body-sculpting, dance, WHILE playing. It is a wholly unfamiliar skill set to me but they do a wonderful job at it - the sound does not noticeably suffer. I also thought that both BK and Crown had moments where amplification allowed for an excellent blend of pit percussion and brass, something IMO would not have been possible without the dreaded amps. Finally, the colors and textures in BK's flags were what we have come to expect. Intermission: funnel cake. Carolina Crown: Wow. What a great show. They had a lot of supporters in Chocolatetown tonight. Very accessible, very artistic, lots of fun to watch. When they held a chord in the opening, my arms went up when they went for twenty-four counts. Then they decided "oh what the heck, let's go for thirty-two." No noticeable holes in the sound that I could hear over very happy people. I used to hate Carolina Crown's visual every year, but not anymore. I thought the use of color in their show to communicate the theme was excellent. I don't know whether or not it will show up as well on screen. The only thing I thought was that they didn't feature their guard enough, but now I see that they won guard. Shows how much I know. Blue Devils: I don't know who criticizes their drill and why, but they move out there. Their drumline is fantastic, constantly moving all over the field (remember when drumlines stayed around the center X?) and the hornline just sounds like a pipe organ at times. Musically, their show is a tour de force of technical virtuosity. For ten minutes. Seriously, I love the wings, and does the transition from black in the beginning to white at the end mean anything? If I closed my eyes during the closer, I might have had an Isaac moment: "The corps on the field is Phantom Regiment, but the hornline is the hornline of the Blue Devils." I felt it was more symphonic then I'm used to hearing from them, but then (again) what do I know? The Cadets: I hate to admit being wrong, but I was wrong. After seeing it, I think it works just fine. The narration serves in this show to provide/heighten dramatic tension that the musical and visual ensemble then resolves. For example, the opening where the four different flags representing diversity, practice, expression, and something else start in different sections of the field and then they come together and suddenly at the big hit everybody has the same flag. Effective. The trumpet section is tremendous. The whole brassline is so good that it's just that much more effective when the drumline, behind all of them, hits you between the eyes, carrying OVER a Top 3 hornline playing full bore. As noted somewhere else, the guard had a couple of drops tonight. Maybe their hands were sweaty - it sure was hot last night. I thought that the narration blended very well, but there was a timing issue with the narration in the opener, which leads me to my critical comments on the narration. I'm sure the narration is being judged on the GE Music sheets. That's where it belongs. And Mr. Hopkins, please make sure that the narration is up to the quality of the world-class hornline, drumline, and guard you have. Make sure that the narrators (pit players, all?) BELIEVE - hah! - in what they are saying and can communicate to the audience. Their tone quality, expression, etc. is just as important and perhaps more important than the hornline playing to the end of a phrase or a drumline attacking together. The little things will be the difference from a convincing piece of music (like "Lincoln Portrait") and something that is unconvincing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
corps_forever07 Posted July 10, 2007 Share Posted July 10, 2007 Great review! It's good to see a more positive view on The Cadets' narration. I was beginning to think I had no chance in hell of liking it...ever. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NakedEye Posted July 10, 2007 Share Posted July 10, 2007 Crossmen: Congratulations also to the Crossmen on coming out strong just after a cross-country move. Much nicer visual coverage of the field. I like the accents on the uniforms and the guard "metamorphosis." Also, very nice low brass sound and a couple of really nice sounds from the mellophones. Trumpets are still a bit shaky. The one thing I would complain about: the show is too subtle. The "historical themes" Birdland, Appalachian Morning, First Circle, etc, are not developed far enough nor are they played up enough to get a reaction from the audience. The only real impact point in the first 2/3 of the show is "Russian Christmas." That got a response from the crowd, but then it was back into cerebral theme-weaving. Perhaps this can be attributed to a young, mostly new corps, but even in the "solo show-off" sections, it seemed as if Crossmen has lost its ability to project with the crowd - one of their year-in, year-out trademarks. Note to designers - Writing subtle for Bones is like entering a Corvette in a fuel-economy competition. Interesting comments, and similar to my impression after listening to the 'designer's copy' of the music and explanation that was on here. I kept thinking "this is technically great and isn't it interesting how careful everything has been woven in." BUT, the segments were SO woven and reimagined that much of the impact seemed to be missing. Wondered if it was different live. Perhaps they will adjust and pick a few themes to pull out more forcefully as time goes on. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CrossmenAlumni Posted July 10, 2007 Share Posted July 10, 2007 (edited) Just to clarify on a couple things: The main musical themes in the Crossmen show are not really the old material, but rather the three or four main Metamorphosis themes. Except in the first production when it's reversed. The Metamorphosis material weaves in and out of the older stuff. But for the rest of the show, the older Crossmen material is meant to be the stuff that weaves in and out of the new stuff....the new stuff being what the show is really about...a metamorphosis from old to new, but still the same corps. Subtle? Sophisticated? Intellectual? Perhaps. Lacking impact? At times, but that is being rectified as we speak. Also, "writing subtle for the Bones" is just going to be a new addition to what they do from here on out. As will "writing powerful" and "writing creatively" and "writing with texture and contrast and style." Trying to pin down the Crossmen (or any corps for that matter) into being a one trick pony is probably not the best way to go. Make no mistake about it, from a programming standpoint, as much as the corps will attempt to retain certain qualities that make them uniquely "Crossmen," they are indeed going (and NEED to go, IMO) into new directions. I have such great anticipation for what this corps and this design team does in the future. I believe they are setting a very strong foundation that will propel them to greater heights than they have ever been before, on and off the field. Time and patience. Edited July 10, 2007 by CrossmenAlumni Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guizeppe Posted July 10, 2007 Share Posted July 10, 2007 Excellent review. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeD Posted July 10, 2007 Share Posted July 10, 2007 I thought that the narration blended very well, but there was a timing issue with the narration in the opener, which leads me to my critical comments on the narration. I'm sure the narration is being judged on the GE Music sheets. That's where it belongs. And Mr. Hopkins, please make sure that the narration is up to the quality of the world-class hornline, drumline, and guard you have. Make sure that the narrators (pit players, all?) BELIEVE - hah! - in what they are saying and can communicate to the audience. Their tone quality, expression, etc. is just as important and perhaps more important than the hornline playing to the end of a phrase or a drumline attacking together. The little things will be the difference from a convincing piece of music (like "Lincoln Portrait") and something that is unconvincing. Narration comes from a variety of players...some of them wireless micced brass players on the field. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jamesdrum007 Posted July 10, 2007 Share Posted July 10, 2007 Troopers: Kudos to the aforementioned good soloists. Good brass sound overall. Nice use of the wooden barstools in the percussion feature - good touch. But could you please stage the feature better? CONGRATULATIONS on returning to the field. A good review! I may be wrong, but I thought that the barstools in the percussion feature was performed by Jersey Surf. Am I wrong? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KRtrumpet182 Posted July 10, 2007 Share Posted July 10, 2007 Great review, and great comments thus far in response. I agree with your thoughts on the narration. I feel like, for the most part, it fits very well. My only real gripe about it is in the rehearsal section, where I feel it gets too childish. It sounds like Crown got a great crowd response, as they did in Allentown on Saturday. How were the crowd responses for BD and Cadets, in general? And how crowded was it last night? Thanks for sharing! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shaners Posted July 10, 2007 Share Posted July 10, 2007 great review. about bd's drill, ya they are moving alot.. but it doesnt ever seem to be effective.. i guess it s working, they are in first place.. but just because members are moving alot does not mean the drill is cool or effective. and about bones, like always, gary hit it right on the nail Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mfrontz Posted July 10, 2007 Author Share Posted July 10, 2007 Troopers: Kudos to the aforementioned good soloists. Good brass sound overall. Nice use of the wooden barstools in the percussion feature - good touch. But could you please stage the feature better? CONGRATULATIONS on returning to the field.A good review! I may be wrong, but I thought that the barstools in the percussion feature was performed by Jersey Surf. Am I wrong? You could be right...I am relying completely on memory, and thus am subject to change :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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