Guizeppe Posted August 3, 2007 Share Posted August 3, 2007 Drums Along the Sierras Whitney High School Rocklin, CA VENUE: First off, boy am I glad the weather decided to cooperate. Had been 100 the last few days, tonight was 95 at step off but cooled way down. Typical high school stadium. Special note to the show coordinators, WE NEED SIGNS!!! It’s like this. You pull up to the school. You can see the stadium off to the right, parking to the left. Should be easy to find the gate…right? NO signs telling corps fans which way to the entrance. Many of us who thought we were going the right way actually ended up above and behind the press box, which consequently is where I stood and watched Gold perform. If you’re going to put all of the corps buses and the school pool in front of the entrance, post a friggin sign!!! Moving on. In order of appearance *note: Upon arrival, I realized I had no pen or paper in the car. So the first few corps were/are from memory. GOLD: 68.700 I like the gold horns, distinguishes them from the other corps out there, not to mention it is their namesake. Pretty good show with original(?) Latin music. Brass was good while standing still but petered off when moving. Many low brass members, but not much in the way of sound. Drums were very good. The guard really shined. I really noticed them when they bordered the corps with rifle tosses, very very nice. Good group that has all the potential to move up in a big way in the next few years. Gold Gold CITATIONS: 71.300 Holy drill moves, Batman. Corps moves around a lot. Brass was actually very strong even while moving. Good power coming from the drums, though they lack size. The guard was very well staged and had probably one of the more memorable moments of the night: A male and female guard member stand facing one another, toss sabres way up in the air, dance around each other, then catch each other’s sabre with their backs together. Very cool. Another corps I was impressed with. Citations SPOKANE THUNDER 72.100 Definitely work their theme of 24 hours. The corps starts “asleep”, then wakes up through the warm-up period, then blasts your face off with their opening hit. Big pop. Strong in just about every area. Brass was not too overpowering, drums were strong especially the basses. The only thing that really stuck out was some missed step offs and early entries and exits. Really got a good reaction from the crowd. I had them ahead of Impulse and OC. Spokane Thunder Spokane Thunder *note: At this point, I stuck my quickly filling head into the judging press box to see if I could find something to put my thoughts to paper. Success! A pencil and a piece of cardboard. Now I can at least scribble down fragments. OREGON CRUSADERS 77.400 Big white door frames. Many of them. All over the field. They are however used effectively, lots of movements through them. At one point it looks like the corps is worshiping the middle one. Whatever. The little green machine looks and sounds great. Big sound from a div. 2 size corps. Why aren’t they div.2? Anyway, they have two memorable moments. The first is the corps member in the wheelchair that plays the baritone solo, very nice. The second is another guard toss: This time the guard member tosses/spins a rifle about 20 feet into the air, up and over the center door frame, only to catch it on the other side. Really cool. Very good, just didn’t excite me as much as Thunder. Oregon Crusaders Oregon Crusaders Oregon Crusaders IMPULSE 75.750 Okay. I railed on this corps for losing their image as a “fun” corps. I still am not a big fan of the music, and the dialogue is pretty much pointless…but. Tonight they put out there a very well performed show. That drum feature is A-class quality, clearly they are carrying this group. The guard was okay, mostly unnoticeable to me, except for those weird male guard unis. I guess I would get them more if I was a fan of the Final Fantasy series, but I’m not so I don’t. The brass is not very big but can put out a good sound when they need to. 2008 show suggestion: Music from the Simpson’s movie. Just a suggestion. Impulse Impulse FEVER 82.600 I’m going to go ahead and label them the new Mandarins of old, make sense? Their not very big, but they can really let loose with high quality shows. There really is nothing bad to say about them, except that maybe they should have their uniforms fitted. Too many baggy grey pants out there. The brass is in tune and perfectly balanced high to low. The drums have lots of notes and play them well. The guard work and flags are simply beautiful. The high GE moment is at the end of the ballad, played exquisitely, the guard is encircled by the brass and use these pale peach/orange colored flags that they whip around very quickly. Nicely done. I hope they can sustain their membership for they truly have a shot at becoming the next big thing in div. 2/3. Fever Fever Fever INTERMISSION At this point I found Mr. Disney sitting in the expensive seats, so I moved down with him for the rest of the show. Plus he had a program. BLUE DEVILS “C” 52.300 Cute, cudly, Grease. Lots of fun to watch. Nice to see them headlining in Stanford. Fun show. Just about everyone wants to take the little color guard “Danny” home with them. And big props to the one tuba player that gets no rest. Blue Devils C Blue Devils C Blue Devils C YOKOHAMA SCOUTS 83.350 Holy goosebumps! Forget div.3, this is a div.1 corps. First I should point out that the uniforms have the back of the Troopers and the front design of BD circa 2003. They take the field as if they’ve been there a hundred times before. Fast, loud, a little top heavy in the brass. The guard flags and uniforms are stunning. The drums also look like BD rehashes from the denim colored years. Oh, and did I mention they have 7 outstanding cymbals? Awesome. If you have a chance to see this group, do so. If DCI was truly an international competition, these guys would medal hands down. Standing O. Yokohama Scouts Yokohama Scouts Yokohama Scouts JERSEY SURF 89.550 So having never seen any div.2 corps from East of the sierras, I was a bit worried about any group that had to follow the kids from Japan. Surf’s response…no problem! Their show is fast, loud and fun, everything I want in a corps show. And they play the theme from Shaft, how can you not like that? The brass is in your face fantastic, sometimes a little too overblown during stand stills. Guard is huge…in number, not appearance…and very very good. The drums were good when they could be heard, far too much back field staging for my taste, but a good line nonetheless. Oh, and not to be out done, they marched 6 cymbals. I think they might get higher marks if they had white pants, but that’s just me. Kids of Jersey Surf, you have made a fan in this Northern Californian. Well done. And let me point out, they got their show theme across without narration. I had them over Spartans. Jersey Surf Jersey Surf Jersey Surf SCV CADETS 83.750 I came away from this show with a revelation. Us corps fans here on the left coast don’t typically get to see late season drum corps, especially div. 2. It’s really nice to see how these shows have progressed from June to now. I was pleasantly surprised by their show tonight. I don’t know the music, but it was still enjoyable. The brass is small but well balanced. The guard too is small but have very nice flags and uniforms. The drum line is D1 caliber. Could those bottom basses get any lower/louder…me likey. Show finishes quietly with a soloist being the center of a quickly departing tornado of corps members to the back right. Good effect. Nice show. SCV Cadets SCV Cadets SPARTANS 90.100 Big corps with a big sound. Not quite as big as Surf’s in my opinion, but definitely more controlled. Spartans also tell a story of sorts using big cloths that are revealed at the appropriate times during the show. No narration. I give high marks to the brass for all of their Blue Knight-esque body movement, and there’s a ton of it. To me the corps as a whole got better near the end of the show. Drums were a little dirty early on but cleaned things up by the end. Very strong bass line (can you tell I was a bass drummer). Guard had a great effect near the end when along the front sideline they quickly waved flags from left to right, with the flags changing in color from sunny yellow to black, signaling “Sun” and “Death” (beginning and end).. Neat effect. Overall a strong corps that is very technically proficient. Spartans Spartans BLUE DEVILS “B” 86.600 Like I said for the Cadets, nice to see how they have improved from the early weeks. This has got to be the largest BDB corps ever, and probably one of the best ever. The guard is typical BD out of this world. I really like the zigzag black and white flags that look like checkered flags when waved. Likewise, the drums are stellar, and the brass, though sometime lacking in overall volume, really sounds nice. This year their show is just not up to snuff with those other big boys. But hold your heads up high B corps, you have a very enjoyable show. Blue Devils B Blue Devils B Blue Devils B Well there you go. I had never been to a strictly div. 2/3 contest, but these performances tonight leave me no doubt that drum corps beyond the big boys is just as fun and exciting. Really impressed by every singe group. I hope some of you Eastern corps make the trek once or twice in the next 10 years, it would be great to see you again. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guizeppe Posted August 3, 2007 Author Share Posted August 3, 2007 Btw, let me know if the pitcure links don't work. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gothunder Posted August 3, 2007 Share Posted August 3, 2007 (edited) Drums Along the SierrasWhitney High School Rocklin, CA VENUE: First off, boy am I glad the weather decided to cooperate. Had been 100 the last few days, tonight was 95 at step off but cooled way down. Typical high school stadium. Special note to the show coordinators, WE NEED SIGNS!!! It’s like this. You pull up to the school. You can see the stadium off to the right, parking to the left. Should be easy to find the gate…right? NO signs telling corps fans which way to the entrance. Many of us who thought we were going the right way actually ended up above and behind the press box, which consequently is where I stood and watched Gold perform. If you’re going to put all of the corps buses and the school pool in front of the entrance, post a friggin sign!!! Moving on. In order of appearance *note: Upon arrival, I realized I had no pen or paper in the car. So the first few corps were/are from memory. GOLD: 68.700 I like the gold horns, distinguishes them from the other corps out there, not to mention it is their namesake. Pretty good show with original(?) Latin music. Brass was good while standing still but petered off when moving. Many low brass members, but not much in the way of sound. Drums were very good. The guard really shined. I really noticed them when they bordered the corps with rifle tosses, very very nice. Good group that has all the potential to move up in a big way in the next few years. Gold Gold CITATIONS: 71.300 Holy drill moves, Batman. Corps moves around a lot. Brass was actually very strong even while moving. Good power coming from the drums, though they lack size. The guard was very well staged and had probably one of the more memorable moments of the night: A male and female guard member stand facing one another, toss sabres way up in the air, dance around each other, then catch each other’s sabre with their backs together. Very cool. Another corps I was impressed with. Citations SPOKANE THUNDER 72.100 Definitely work their theme of 24 hours. The corps starts “asleep”, then wakes up through the warm-up period, then blasts your face off with their opening hit. Big pop. Strong in just about every area. Brass was not too overpowering, drums were strong especially the basses. The only thing that really stuck out was some missed step offs and early entries and exits. Really got a good reaction from the crowd. I had them ahead of Impulse and OC. Spokane Thunder Spokane Thunder *note: At this point, I stuck my quickly filling head into the judging press box to see if I could find something to put my thoughts to paper. Success! A pencil and a piece of cardboard. Now I can at least scribble down fragments. OREGON CRUSADERS 77.400 Big white door frames. Many of them. All over the field. They are however used effectively, lots of movements through them. At one point it looks like the corps is worshiping the middle one. Whatever. The little green machine looks and sounds great. Big sound from a div. 2 size corps. Why aren’t they div.2? Anyway, they have two memorable moments. The first is the corps member in the wheelchair that plays the baritone solo, very nice. The second is another guard toss: This time the guard member tosses/spins a rifle about 20 feet into the air, up and over the center door frame, only to catch it on the other side. Really cool. Very good, just didn’t excite me as much as Thunder. Oregon Crusaders Oregon Crusaders Oregon Crusaders IMPULSE 75.750 Okay. I railed on this corps for losing their image as a “fun” corps. I still am not a big fan of the music, and the dialogue is pretty much pointless…but. Tonight they put out there a very well performed show. That drum feature is A-class quality, clearly they are carrying this group. The guard was okay, mostly unnoticeable to me, except for those weird male guard unis. I guess I would get them more if I was a fan of the Final Fantasy series, but I’m not so I don’t. The brass is not very big but can put out a good sound when they need to. 2008 show suggestion: Music from the Simpson’s movie. Just a suggestion. Impulse Impulse FEVER 82.600 I’m going to go ahead and label them the new Mandarins of old, make sense? Their not very big, but they can really let loose with high quality shows. There really is nothing bad to say about them, except that maybe they should have their uniforms fitted. Too many baggy grey pants out there. The brass is in tune and perfectly balanced high to low. The drums have lots of notes and play them well. The guard work and flags are simply beautiful. The high GE moment is at the end of the ballad, played exquisitely, the guard is encircled by the brass and use these pale peach/orange colored flags that they whip around very quickly. Nicely done. I hope they can sustain their membership for they truly have a shot at becoming the next big thing in div. 2/3. Fever Fever Fever INTERMISSION At this point I found Mr. Disney sitting in the expensive seats, so I moved down with him for the rest of the show. Plus he had a program. BLUE DEVILS “C” 52.300 Cute, cudly, Grease. Lots of fun to watch. Nice to see them headlining in Stanford. Fun show. Just about everyone wants to take the little color guard “Danny” home with them. And big props to the one tuba player that gets no rest. Blue Devils C Blue Devils C Blue Devils C YOKOHAMA SCOUTS 83.350 Holy goosebumps! Forget div.3, this is a div.1 corps. First I should point out that the uniforms have the back of the Troopers and the front design of BD circa 2003. They take the field as if they’ve been there a hundred times before. Fast, loud, a little top heavy in the brass. The guard flags and uniforms are stunning. The drums also look like BD rehashes from the denim colored years. Oh, and did I mention they have 7 outstanding cymbals? Awesome. If you have a chance to see this group, do so. If DCI was truly an international competition, these guys would medal hands down. Standing O. Yokohama Scouts Yokohama Scouts Yokohama Scouts JERSEY SURF 89.550 So having never seen any div.2 corps from East of the sierras, I was a bit worried about any group that had to follow the kids from Japan. Surf’s response…no problem! Their show is fast, loud and fun, everything I want in a corps show. And they play the theme from Shaft, how can you not like that? The brass is in your face fantastic, sometimes a little too overblown during stand stills. Guard is huge…in number, not appearance…and very very good. The drums were good when they could be heard, far too much back field staging for my taste, but a good line nonetheless. Oh, and not to be out done, they marched 6 cymbals. I think they might get higher marks if they had white pants, but that’s just me. Kids of Jersey Surf, you have made a fan in this Northern Californian. Well done. And let me point out, they got their show theme across without narration. I had them over Spartans. Jersey Surf Jersey Surf Jersey Surf SCV CADETS 83.750 I came away from this show with a revelation. Us corps fans here on the left coast don’t typically get to see late season drum corps, especially div. 2. It’s really nice to see how these shows have progressed from June to now. I was pleasantly surprised by their show tonight. I don’t know the music, but it was still enjoyable. The brass is small but well balanced. The guard too is small but have very nice flags and uniforms. The drum line is D1 caliber. Could those bottom basses get any lower/louder…me likey. Show finishes quietly with a soloist being the center of a quickly departing tornado of corps members to the back right. Good effect. Nice show. SCV Cadets SCV Cadets SPARTANS 90.100 Big corps with a big sound. Not quite as big as Surf’s in my opinion, but definitely more controlled. Spartans also tell a story of sorts using big cloths that are revealed at the appropriate times during the show. No narration. I give high marks to the brass for all of their Blue Knight-esque body movement, and there’s a ton of it. To me the corps as a whole got better near the end of the show. Drums were a little dirty early on but cleaned things up by the end. Very strong bass line (can you tell I was a bass drummer). Guard had a great effect near the end when along the front sideline they quickly waved flags from left to right, with the flags changing in color from sunny yellow to black, signaling “Sun” and “Death” (beginning and end).. Neat effect. Overall a strong corps that is very technically proficient. Spartans Spartans BLUE DEVILS “B” 86.600 Like I said for the Cadets, nice to see how they have improved from the early weeks. This has got to be the largest BDB corps ever, and probably one of the best ever. The guard is typical BD out of this world. I really like the zigzag black and white flags that look like checkered flags when waved. Likewise, the drums are stellar, and the brass, though sometime lacking in overall volume, really sounds nice. This year their show is just not up to snuff with those other big boys. But hold your heads up high B corps, you have a very enjoyable show. Blue Devils B Blue Devils B Blue Devils B Well there you go. I had never been to a strictly div. 2/3 contest, but these performances tonight leave me no doubt that drum corps beyond the big boys is just as fun and exciting. Really impressed by every singe group. I hope some of you Eastern corps make the trek once or twice in the next 10 years, it would be great to see you again. Guizeppe: On behalf of Spokane Thunder I say "THANK YOU" and we appreciate your kind comments.... The show is well designed and we need some more cleaning. Comments like yours give the corps members added confidence and incentive to keep working their *^&&*()% off!! Mike Jessup -- Greater Spokane Drum Corps Association. Edited August 3, 2007 by gothunder Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lancerlady Posted August 3, 2007 Share Posted August 3, 2007 (edited) Yes I discovered in Brockton, Mass. the same thing you did. Division 2/3 is as entertaining and fun as division 1. Great review! Edited August 3, 2007 by Lancerlady Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
one4drumcorps Posted August 3, 2007 Share Posted August 3, 2007 (edited) Thank you so much for this wonderful review! Great pictures, too! It does make it a little easier for those of us who can't be there with our kids when someone shares their show experience with us. :) Edit: OMG! Those kids in BDC are soooo cute! Edited August 3, 2007 by one4drumcorps Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
div II fan Posted August 3, 2007 Share Posted August 3, 2007 Nice review! From the looks of things, we were sitting pretty close to each other. It's also gratifying that our impressions were pretty close. Thanks for the photos, too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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