wesleyrp Posted July 22, 2007 Share Posted July 22, 2007 (edited) On to the night show!!!! Fantastic show tonight and this afternoon, best top 21 I have ever seen!!! Here are my thoughts on finals: 12) Glassmen- I really like the Gypsy theme, but my wife summed it best when she said that they lacked the playfulness needed to portray this show further. I totaly agree. The corps is performing well, but I feel they are concentrating on not making mistakes instead of selling their product. The guard certainly is selling their stuff and placed 1st in the afternoon, well done. I have a former student in the guard and thay are fantastic!! I feel this show will be at least 11th in the end. 11) Colts- I loved this show both times I saw it and again my wife hit the nail on the head when she said that she is very impressed at how good of story tellers the Colts are. The design of the show and the portrail of the seasons is really really well written. I think the Colts are fairly clean, but they will be at least 10th in my opinion come finals!!! Welcome back to the top 12 Colts, I really dug you!!! 10) Academy- I have to tell you if you want a review with sunshine about this corps, you might want to look away. I was not impressed either performance. I do feel that the lack of shows under their belt shows!!! They were very sloppy visually and the hornline has the reverse Pyramid of sound. The low brass is very muddy and subdued sounding, while the trumpets are very piercing and way over blow the corps!!! I think they need to spend some time and back the trumpets down and work on brining the lows and mids up with a warm sound. There is no doubt this is a very talented corps with a lot of demand on their shoulders, but I feel they were given the 10th spot based on potential, not by performance level. I truly had them below Madison and Crossmen in the afternoon show. In the end if they make finals I think they will be 12th, but unless some changes happen, I think they will just miss out and the Blue Stars will be in!!!! Just my opinion!! 9) Blue Knights- Now I admit I am very biased and all of you know it!! I love the Blue Knights and want them to rule the world. With that being said, I really feel the got hosed hard core tonight!!! So did many people around me that aren't biased. It's not getting beaten by Boston, it is the fact that BAC and BK have been within a point of each other for a long time including this week and now BK is 3.5 behind??? Horse dookey. (no offense Crown :P ) The judges missed the boat big time tonight. I feel that the time slot they were in left the judges no choice but to give numbers that safely put them above corps 10- 12, but keep them low enough to keep thiongs from getting out of hand!!! As for the show, this is quite frankly the best corps that BK has had since '99 '00 and as friends to all those guys back then, I feel that this BK corps is even better. Robbie Billings and team have done a great job with the show design. I have heard quite a few say that they dance a lot in this show, but to be honest I think there is far less than there has been. By the way the trumpet dance wedge where the put their shakos on the feet is really cool!!! I felt the 83.9 this morning was about right, if not a little low, and the 81.3 was a big insult as the quality in the sound, vis, gurad and drumline was far better. The Evil must have gotten to the judges head!!! ^0^ 8) BAC- This is a very good Crusaders corps. With that being said, I do not feel they will hold on to 8th come finals. The show just kind of lags after the opener. I still have the same problem with the sound that I did last year. As the corps is holding long phrases, the trumpets duck out and create major holes in the sound. I want to get into the Picasso theme, but they are not protraying it visually as well as it could be. I feel that they put the props on the field to remind us what the theme is, but do not suppliment it with flags that truly remi9nd us of Picasso or visuals/drill that stick to the theme. Think of how inventive the Bluecoats and Crown was with their theme and that is missing from the Boston show. It is good, just very vanilla and I think that the more BK and BAC go head to head, BK will over take them. BK is far dirtier than BAC and has the most room for growth especially visually!! 7th) SCV- All I'll say is after SCV finished I said out loud that if that is 7th, I can't wait to see 1st. SCV is off the chain this year!!! Very entergetic music that I'm not toally familiar with, but it was sold very well. When the hornlin ehit that first chord, I felt my hair part!! The cymbal chop was very cool!!! Great vintage SCV drill at the end of the show!! Overall incredible performance that any other year would be in the top 4 or 5 no question, but this year I see it staying in 7th. I really feel BAC and BK will have a hard time catching them!!! 6th) Phantom- I felt if the judges did the right thing Phantom should place 6th. Phantom left me very flat tonight. They followed Crown who brought a ton of energy and they did not follow suit. I really thought there was to much dead time in the transitions and the wings were a little over done. I know it is a big part of theme, but they got old fast. The low brass kind of dissapointed me tonight. I felt the y did not support the corps on the move and thus the trumpets sounded very squealy. The end of the show is very fast paced and is played extremely well. The first half just kind of lags until the soloists play in the ballad. The drumline I thought was fantastic and has a shot to be tops again this year!!! 5th) Crown- Yeah, if these guys don't win the Brass trophy then I boycott against the world. They are the only corps I have evr see that has played before Pahntom and made Phantom sound thin by comparison. Unreal, unreal unfreakinreal!!!!! I love this show, and I think it could be a dark horse to pop into the top 3. With that said, I feel even though the horse theme is portrayed perfectly, it doesn't have enough visual impact to win the title this year. Also, even though the battery has made huge strides this year, they are not at the same level as the big boys a head of them. But did I mention that hornline?? Wow!!! Oh yeah, and then there is those colorguard people out there that are just kick butt!!!! YEah they were my favorite guard of the night as well. Crown you are fantastic, keep it up!!! 4th) Bluecoats- Speaking of darkhorses, this one could be a dark horse for the title!!! They are solid in all areas of performance and the hornline is just crazy good. I can't believe the amount of fueguing this corps does sread out 75 yards. The baritones play a melody and the trumpets counter two counts later and 75 yards apart and never waiver!!! The visuals are bar none the best of the night!! The theme is bar none the best of the night!! The drill I think is only behind BD and Cavies although I really feel it is in the same realm!!! Keep pushing Blue, you might push your way to a title!!! 3rd) Cadets- Ok, if the Cadets are going for being the loudest corps in the business, they win!! Man, they peel paint. This isn't necessarily a good thing as the quality of sound suffers at the highest dynamic especially in the trumpets. A good sound, but maybe needs to be backed off a bit to refine it!! Great performing corps, music could be cool, but the narration gets in the way. I feel like I am listening to Oprah with the quotes and life stories. If they would just stick to I believe.... (one word) between each thing then this show would flow a lot better. I feel that in the end this show will not win and could fall to 4th or 5th. I just wish that Mr. Hopkins would stop trying so hard and allow them to go back to being the exciting Cadets that didn't need to tell you a story to make you appreciate them!!! I wanted to like the show as I had heard all the camp clpis from back in the winter/spring. It just got in the way that every dead point was filled with talking and it took away from the flow of the show!!! Sorry, just the way I feel. Great playing, marching and spinning going on, just may not be enough to capture the title this year. 2nd) Cavies- I am surprised I did not recognize one Billy Joel tune played, but I also know that this show was very good. The jazzy stye fits the Cavies as does every style they play. The package is all there, and my wife loved the gurad, but I feel that they lack that reach out and grab you moment that we see from them so often. New ending tonight was very abrubt and left the crowd cold. I do not think this is going to e their year to win, although they very well could. In the end, I fell the Bluecoats could catch them and stay in front of them coming Fianls week. 1st) BD- I will need to see this show again to fully appreciate it. I like the dark style (of course, I am a BK guy!!! ^0^ ) and BD is great at it. Every time these guys step foot on that field they look like champs, just like the Cavies. I think that BD will win the drumline title and also could win brass. The drill was the best of the night by a lot. Man they execute well. They execute so well in fact that it sometimes the show feels dry. I think it just is so intense that it may not reach out and snag the audience like Crown or Bluecoats does. None-the-less, BD in my mind is the clear favorite and has it all!!! The ball is in their court and they rarely turn it over!!! My final prediction after seeing it all today: 1) BD 2) Cavies 3) Bluecoats 4) Crown 5) Cadets 6) Phantom 7) SCV 8) BK 9) BAC 10) Colts 11) Glassmen 12) Blue Stars 13) Academy 14) Spirit 15) Crossmen 16) Madison 17) Pac Crest 18) Troopers 19) Cascades 20) Southwind 21) Mandarins 22) Pioneer Edited July 22, 2007 by wesleyrp Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NeutralNovice Posted July 22, 2007 Share Posted July 22, 2007 Great review, thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ryan H. Turner Posted July 22, 2007 Share Posted July 22, 2007 (edited) 10) Academy- I have to tell you if you want a review with sunshine about this corps, you might want to look away. I was not impressed either performance. I do feel that the lack of shows under their belt shows!!! They were very sloppy visually and the hornline has the reverse Pyramid of sound. The low brass is very muddy and subdued sounding, while the trumpets are very piercing and way over blow the corps!!! I think they need to spend some time and back the trumpets down and work on brining the lows and mids up with a warm sound. There is no doubt this is a very talented corps with a lot of demand on their shoulders, but I feel they were given the 10th spot based on potential, not by performance level. I truly had them below Madison and Crossmen in the afternoon show. In the end if they make finals I think they will be 12th, but unless some changes happen, I think they will just miss out and the Blue Stars will be in!!!! Just my opinion!! LOL!!! Nice shot at the corps. Amazing. I can't dispute your opinion--I mean, if you think their trumpets were overpowering and they were sloppy visually, then so be it. That's what you saw and heard. But do you REALLY think the judges would reward potential in such a way as to have them up THAT many placings--at least, in comparison to where you think they should have been? WOW. Apparently you don't like the judges very much. Nice review otherwise. Edited July 22, 2007 by Ryan H. Turner Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DCfan76 Posted July 22, 2007 Share Posted July 22, 2007 On to the night show!!!! Fantastic show tonight and this afternoon, best top 21 I have ever seen!!!Here are my thoughts on finals: 10) Academy- I have to tell you if you want a review with sunshine about this corps, you might want to look away. I was not impressed either performance. I do feel that the lack of shows under their belt shows!!! They were very sloppy visually and the hornline has the reverse Pyramid of sound. The low brass is very muddy and subdued sounding, while the trumpets are very piercing and way over blow the corps!!! I think they need to spend some time and back the trumpets down and work on brining the lows and mids up with a warm sound. There is no doubt this is a very talented corps with a lot of demand on their shoulders, but I feel they were given the 10th spot based on potential, not by performance level. I truly had them below Madison and Crossmen in the afternoon show. In the end if they make finals I think they will be 12th, but unless some changes happen, I think they will just miss out and the Blue Stars will be in!!!! Just my opinion!! CAUTION... any attempt at telling the truth about Academy will label you as a "hater"!!! On another note, very good review one the entire show. Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
corps e feldman Posted July 22, 2007 Share Posted July 22, 2007 CAUTION... any attempt at telling the truth about Academy will label you as a "hater"!!!On another note, very good review one the entire show. Thanks! Especially if you are one of about 4 or 5 "regular haters" with DC included that you can find SLAMMING them on every thread possible. Nice try, DC. The HATER police are out and you are on the Most Wanted list! ^0^ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DCfan76 Posted July 22, 2007 Share Posted July 22, 2007 Especially if you are one of about 4 or 5 "regular haters" with DC included that you can find SLAMMING them on every thread possible. Nice try, DC. The HATER police are out and you are on the Most Wanted list! ^0^ I've just been giving my opinion. And now, from reading the reviews and talking to people who were there, it seems many agree with me. Some don't, that's OK. I am still at a loss as to how pointing out the foibles of a particular corps labels someone as a hater. I think finishing 13-14 would be a wonderful success for Academy. I just don't see that show at the same Finalist level as the others. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
84BDsop Posted July 22, 2007 Share Posted July 22, 2007 I've just been giving my opinion. And now, from reading the reviews and talking to people who were there, it seems many agree with me. Some don't, that's OK. I am still at a loss as to how pointing out the foibles of a particular corps labels someone as a hater. I think finishing 13-14 would be a wonderful success for Academy. I just don't see that show at the same Finalist level as the others. There's a major differance between honestly pointing out flaws in the actual performance that might allow another corps to pass them up, and claiming that they don't deserve to be in Div I in teh first place because of their touring model....or claiming that they got special preferences from DCI on their SA start tie compafred to the actual facts. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lancerlady Posted July 22, 2007 Share Posted July 22, 2007 (edited) Oh geez, come on people, it's his opinion, isn't he allowed to have it? Thanks for the review! I enjoyed it! Edited July 22, 2007 by Lancerlady Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ryan H. Turner Posted July 22, 2007 Share Posted July 22, 2007 Better not be putting me into that little pigeon hole about being the "Hater Police". It's just amazing a 10th place finish is, according to this poster, about 5 or 6 placings too high. I can't dispute his opinion at what he found dirty. Just curious how he thinks the judging crew missed it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BbTrpt1 Posted July 22, 2007 Share Posted July 22, 2007 Wes! Great review. Hope all is going well. I wasn't able to make it out for San Antonio this year but I am flying in to Midland tomorrow. Is that anywhere by you? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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