Portland, OR Review

[SNModdison]

Well, it was windy for the guards, and you could tell. Oh well...good practice for them! During a couple performances, you could hear pits, etc warming up. Probably not their fault,...the show folks should've had them further away. It's all good though.

Mandarins: My father really liked this show. The wife and I didn't. They used the "sticks" during the drum feature for the drums to march through...however, I remember when they did the same idea with bambo sticks a few years ago, and it seemed much more impressive then. They had a good horn sound when standing still at impacts, but technical stuff while moving was pretty muddy. Their drumline had their moments where it was pretty good, but still a lot of dirt throughout.

Glassmen: The show was more entertaining than on the webcasts...of course. I love the intro to show, but, after that, it gets kind of blah! I really wish the order of apperance was better, because they should've been on a bit later.

BK: Another corps that should've been on later. They blew me away! Their hornline is terrific! I loved the music, and they were so strong! Great sounding drumline as well. I don't know how the visual performance judge could even compare their rep. # to everyone else. The movement they do is ridiculous, and so impressive! I love it! Congrats BK! You have a top 6 corps and show, but everyone else is SO good this year!

Crossmen: I love the cape intro to the show...but after that, it doesn't do much for me. They try too hard to make all of the different pieces of music work. It doesn't work...from a pacing standpoint especially.

Cascades: Their guard is great. The wife said they are the best (excellence wise) the Cascades guard has ever been. Very effective, and smartly written. Their drumline is definitely the weak point. The horline sounds strong at halted impacts. I have to wonder if the drill is too much for them. The musical arrangements don't do that much for me, from and entertainment standpoint. I definitely had them close to Crossmen tonight though.

SCV: Their drill is great! The intro is awesome, and they hit you once they turn around! But after that...it gets dirty visually, and loses a lot of effect. Again, a top 5-6 corps, but may not make it there, because everyone is so good this year.

Cadets: OMG! This has to be the best hornline I have ever heard! Just a wall of sound, throughout. No matter how fast their drill is. This corps blows me away! The drill is so great, and so clean! Their guard has improved so much! The drumline is awesome! I just can't see any other corps performing better than this next week. This corps is crazy good! I love you Cadets! WOW! I will be pretty darn upset if this corps does not win next Saturday! The demand and performance are simply, ridiculously amazing!

[Scadesfan]

Your review is very much my opinion as well.

High kudos to BK...they brought the crowd to life with their show. I am growing fond of their dark, rich programs. I actually perferred them to Vanguard...even though SCV has more visual demand to their show.

I also enjoyed Cascades more than Crossmen....I think the home crowd got them inspired. Great to see them doing well now. Hope they can sustain this momentum.

Cadets....well... I thought you were spot on. They are at their typical season end execution level. I said it in another post...but you could sense almost immediately that they were at a higher perfomance level than Vanguard...narration or not Won't say more since I am biased...although first time seeing the show live this season...what a treat to have them here. BD and Cavies will need to bring major goods to Pasadena...which I expect. It will be an exciting 3 days to see how this plays out.

[NeutralNovice]

Thanks!