Salem's Champions Of Sound

[kevingamin]

This is the review I wrote for Drum Corps World of the July 28th DCA competition in Salem, Ohio. The review will be featured in an upcoming issue of DCW so be sure to check it out!

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July 28, 2007 – Salem, Ohio . . . Performing in front of a “home away from home” crowd, the Empire Statesmen took the first annual “Salem’s Parade of Champions” competition, defeating Minnesota Brass, Inc. by approximately 2.5 points. The Statesmen’s brass line led the way, taking the High Brass trophy, while MBI’s drum line gave a strong performance to take the High Percussion award. Atlanta’s CorpsVets came in third, continuing their 10th anniversary celebration this season. A close fight between Kilties and the Govenaires finished the night with the Kilties coming out on top.

The Kilties (71.513) began the competitive portion of the night with "Of Tartan Hearts and Warrior Souls", a show which features many Kiltie classics, including Auld Lang Syne. This year’s show also features the Three Dog Night song, Eli’s Coming, which gives the Kilties an opportunity to “rock out”. The crowd gave the first of many standing ovations tonight at the end of the Kilties’ show.

The Govenaires (71.025) have another strong corps this year which is more than up to the challenge of defending their 2006 Class A title. Featuring a wide range of musical styles from Phish to Cole Porter, the Govies began their show welcoming their newest member, “Bus Five”, to the corps, and were instantly a hit with the Salem crowd with their entertaining and crowd-oriented performance. Celebrating their 80th anniversary, the Govenaires are the oldest competing drum corps in the world but is young at heart and can look forward to many more years of bringing drum corps fans to their feet.

The CorpsVets (79.863) had a special connection with tonight’s show. Performing the National Anthem and handing out awards at tonight’s competition was Miss Ohio 2005, Marlia Fontaine. Marlia’s brother, Marvin, is one of the drum majors of the CorpsVets. This was icing on the cake for the Atlanta corps, who is celebrating their 10th anniversary with “A Celebration, from Us to You”. The show served as a reminder of the success the CorpsVets have had, including the 2001 Class A championship and four straight Open Class Finals appearances. From the opening strains of Georgia On My Mind to Paul Hart’s Remembrance, the corps’ performance was in your face and led to another standing ovation from the crowd.

Minnesota Brass, Inc. (83.475) asked the question “Who Are You?” and featured the music of The Who. Starting with the pit playing the opening keyboard parts from Baba O’Reilly, the percussion section showed why they earned top honors tonight. The brass line did not disappoint, either, with the low brass featured on many difficult syncopated rhythms. The departure of long time soprano soloist Roger Grupp did not hurt the corps, either, as many capable “screamers” showed their stuff throughout the show.

When the Empire Statesmen (86.013) announced they were performing a tribute to Maynard Ferguson for 2007, there was no doubt that screaming soprano soloists would abound throughout the show. Featured soloists Jeff Gibbens and Joey Pero did not disappoint, showcasing their skills during songs like Birdland and Pagliacci. The Statesmen brass, percussion, and guard more than matched the intensity of the soloists, both in music and visual. The crowd showed a lot of love for their adopted home corps and received the bonus of an encore concert from the night’s champion.

With the Statesmen’s victory, Jeff Gibbens found himself performing three times tonight as he also played with the Erie Thunderbirds Alumni corps. Jeff also showed himself to be quite the quick change artist, changing from his “Maynard” suit from his Statesmen performance to the Thunderbirds uniform, then back to the “Maynard” suit for the Statesmen encore. The Thunderbirds showed why the alumni movement is so strong, giving a tight and energetic performance of many of their signature tunes, including Patriotic Medley and a medley of Hang ‘em High and Magnificent Seven. The Thunderbirds also gave tribute to Maynard Ferguson with a medley of Jezebel and MacArthur Park. While the alumni corps will not be at the Alumni Spectacular in Rochester, they will be in the Mini-Corps competition on the Friday night of DCA weekend so be sure to check them out.