Nashville Review

[radiosteele]

It was amazing to come down for the atmosphere of a DCA show. Nashville has a funny afternoon-shower occurence, typical of the southern states. Saturday, August 4th was no different at about 8:00pm. It poured for about 10 minutes and stopped - all during Allliance's show! It was fun to see my corps friends and some long-lost alumni in MCL. A handful of us sat together in some great seats for the show, which was well worth my $10 dollars.

And now - the corps:

Shenandoah Sound (exh.) - Nine of them made the trip down from Virginia, so this is a smaller corps than I am used to seeing from them. However, the individiual players have improved over past years, with impressive sop soloists and good music selection. Their music was well-written and did they most with visual that you can with under 10 people. They filled their time well and definitely did not embarrass themselves - instead made a great statement on how you can do a lot with so little. It's good to see that in our activity. Now SS, go recruit next year and put 40 on the field - and you should have a shot at the class A title.

Derby City Knights (exh.) - DCK had about 10-12 in the hornline, and 4 percussion. They made a great stride in their first show - and you will see these guys on the mini-corps stage in Rochester this fall. Their director was part of 2006 mini-corps champs Star United - and it showed. Their spanish-flavored show involved no drill, and at their early phase of development, didn't need any. One of the big challenges with a small hornline is establishing balance and playing with one distinct sound. They accomplished that important fundamental with flying colors with maturity and intensity. If carried through to future years, watch out, Class A, because these guys will be on a rampage.

CLASS A

Gulf Coast Sound (68.463, 2nd place) - The corps traveled from Houston, Texas on bus with no AC. So sad, because the way these guys performed they deserved a red-carpet treatment. They won music effect, brass performance and field visual over Alliance. GCS has an outside chance of winning high brass in Class A. With the exception of one very difficult part of their show, their hornline was focused, in tune, and a joy to hear. This is the best corps GCS has put on a field. Their biggest setback was the color guard. During one selection, they held their rifles and smiled at the audience the whole time. This was frustrating. Had they just held their own with Alliance's guard, the show would have broken 70, and they would have beaten Alliance tonight, easily. The horns and drums work real hard and I know the guard is ready to learn some more moves. PLEASE get these guys and gals to a gym so they can throw down, or else the prelims judges will have no mercy on them. I liked the corps' musicality so much I don't want to see them get less than what I know they deserve.

Alliance (1st place, 69.60) - Atlanta's pepto-colored, corps-that-could, showed up and did so during the only rain squall at the show. However, that didn't stop them from taking Visual effect, ensemble visual, Color Guard and percussion. There were some great moments of visual during this show, and good music selection. The color guard will be fighting Govies for the caption this year. Excellent work and showmanship. Their marching was good for a corps their size, especially with keeping the holes. This, however, will not guarantee them a top-3 spot. The hornline has some weak spots, especially in an almost non-existant trumpet (.02 to Stacy) line. There were some holes so it may have been a few people who couldn't make the trip. However, even with 4 more sops, it would be unlikely Alliance was going to catch GCS's impressive and entertaining hornline. Visual and percussion though made this show with impressive marching and choreography.

OPEN CLASS

Music City Legend (2nd place, 74.9) - The spread between MCL and Corpsvets was attributed to corps size. MCL had 1/2 the guard and battery that CV had, and 18 less in the hornline. They were the crowd favorite tonight, given partially to their hometown status, but also their wonderfully entertaining and GE-packed show. They had a balanced, even sound, and at-times, a couple of powerful hits. Their tick-free, 8-man drumline took 2nd overall. With a full battery, MCL would have a top 6 DCA drumline with the licks they are throwing down. The pit, dressed in mobby gangster uniforms, are fun to watch, and very effective with some key musical moments. The closer was added less than a month ago, and it shows with some musical muddiness and slow feet. The runs in the bari line are not very readable in the last 2 minutes and visually they need to look more brisk. Did I mention sick soloists? Holy crap, the pit contra (yes, it's true) soloist, Joe Murphy, played almost as high as (former '93 BD soloist) Scott Steward did on sop. Together, they were nuts to listen to. The ending is one of the coolest you'll see in DCA this year. This MCL corps is the best you have seen on a field in its existence, and I think they'll challenge for 10th. Do not be surprised if you see them on Sunday, especially after they clean up some feet, add 2 or 3 in the battery and sharpen their closer. I was so impressed and would have given anything to be out on the field with my brothers and sisters Saturday night.

CorpsVets (1st place, 83.48) - These guys are friggin huge. Big McLargeHuge. They have sop hatchet man Hunter Moss laying it down, a big sound, and stunning color guard. When you hear them start with "Georgia", you know it's at least box 4 all the way. Some good sounds in spots and huge impact moments make them a winner. They do stand around quite a bit at times, but they make the most of their musicality and guardwork while doing so. There is considerable difficulty evident in their "Rememberance" closer, which was performed much better than Carolina Gold did in 2005. I feel they do need some work in the feet, and a little work in the battery. Intonation in mellos and low brass were noticable a couple of times. Overall, these guys look to climb out of their usual cellar-dwelling spot of 9th or 10th, and could make a 7th place or higher showing this year. They have come a long way in a short time and will wave a banner for the South in 2007. They won all captions based on their immense size and high level of musicality and guard performance. If they work out some marching visual kinks, they'll make the most of what they have. CorpsVets are true champs all the way, and they fully entertained the receptive Nashville crowd.

The field performances were followed with a fun parking-lot jam. This was a very successful first show for host corps Legend and the Beech high school boosters, with several hundred people in attendance. Look for this one to be a keeper for the DCA South circuit. My deep thanks especially to DCA South coordinator Vic Kulinski and the judges for their efforts, and the wonderful crew of student and parent volunteers at Beech High school. Unfortunately I can't see it next year, as I will be in the show :)

Edited August 6, 2007 by radiosteele

[blueskysop]

Thanks for the review, Patrick!! It was great seeing you...............only wish I had time to really visit with you. Thanks for running some errands for me!!

[MarkT-GCS]

CLASS A

Gulf Coast Sound (68.463, 2nd place) - The corps traveled from Houston, Texas on bus with no AC. So sad, because the way these guys performed they deserved a red-carpet treatment. They won music effect, brass performance and ensemble visual over Alliance. GCS has an outside chance of winning high brass in Class A. With the exception of one very difficult part of their show, their hornline was focused, in tune, and a joy to hear. This is the best corps GCS has put on a field. Their biggest setback was the color guard. During one selection, they held their rifles and smiled at the audience the whole time. This was frustrating. Had they just held their own with Alliance's guard, the show would have broken 70, and they would have beaten Alliance tonight, easily. Girls and guys in the guard, PLEASE hit a gym and come up with some spinning work or the prelims judges will have no mercy on you, and I liked the corps' musicality so much I don't want to see that happen.

Thanks for the words of praise. We definitely love this show and are having a blast performing it. We did in fact have some A/C on the way home. It wasn't working great but it was at least working well enough that we didn't roast on the way home like we did on the way up. Our guard has been, in my mind at least, the MVPs of our corps so far this season. Sure they are a little behind schedule with where they would like to be at this point in the year but they are busting their butts every week to catch up and overcome the hurdles that have been put in front of them due to staff changes, member changes and show changes that inevitably happen when you start weeding out the flakes. We have every confidence that they will be able to step up their game by Labor Day weekend and will help us get to where we want to be.

We had a blast this weekend and would like to thank MCL for putting on such a great event. We really needed the down time in the gym when we arrived especially after dealing with the bus issues. Looking forward to seeing all of you DCA South folks in Rockmart in a couple of weeks!!

[m_basey]

Derby City Knights (exh.) - DCK had about 10-12 in the hornline, and 4 percussion. They made a great stride in their first show - and you will see these guys on the mini-corps stage in Rochester this fall. Their director was part of 2006 mini-corps champs Star United - and it showed. Their spanish-flavored show involved no drill, and at their early phase of development, didn't need any. One of the big challenges with a small hornline is establishing balance and playing with one distinct sound. They accomplished that important fundamental with flying colors with maturity and intensity. If carried through to future years, watch out, Class A, because these guys will be on a rampage.

Thanks for the great review Patrick. It was great to see you again, and it was great to perform in Nashville for a great (and wet) crowd.

[CallipygianKing]

It poured for about 10 minutes and stopped - all during Allliance's show!

Did the corps spend any time huddling in a bathroom before their performance, too?

[JeffP]

I don't think it was quite cold enough yet to huddle in the bathroom. Give it another month. LOL

By the way, one of the members of Alliance was asking about pictures from the show. He said he saw a photographer out there and just wondered if that person could put a link out there or share the pics.

Can't wait to see everyone in two weeks for Rockmart and Alpharetta. That artificial turf at Chattahoochee HS gets really warm around noon on Sunday. Buy a lot of cold drinks and ice.

[shenandoahsound]

It was amazing to come down for the atmosphere of a DCA show. Nashville has a funny afternoon-shower occurence, typical of the southern states. Saturday, August 4th was no different at about 8:00pm. It poured for about 10 minutes and stopped - all during Allliance's show! It was fun to see my corps friends and some long-lost alumni in MCL. A handful of us sat together in some great seats for the show, which was well worth my $10 dollars.

And now - the corps:

Shenandoah Sound (exh.) - Nine of them made the trip down from Virginia, so this is a smaller corps than I am used to seeing from them. However, the individiual players have improved over past years, with impressive sop soloists and good music selection. Their music was well-written and did they most with visual that you can with under 10 people. They filled their time well and definitely did not embarrass themselves - instead made a great statement on how you can do a lot with so little. It's good to see that in our activity. Now SS, go recruit next year and put 40 on the field - and you should have a shot at the class A title.

Thank you for the encouraging remarks. We were without our contra player this weekend, so not as balanced as we have been. But ok nontheless. Also, thanks to the Beech HS Band boosters for all their hard work. I know what it takes to put on a show and you can't do it without those folks.

Also, I was impressed with GCS. This is the most mature brass line they have ever had. Le't see what they can do minus the hot bus.

[camel lips]

I don't think it was quite cold enough yet to huddle in the bathroom. Give it another month. LOL

By the way, one of the members of Alliance was asking about pictures from the show. He said he saw a photographer out there and just wondered if that person could put a link out there or share the pics.

Can't wait to see everyone in two weeks for Rockmart and Alpharetta. That artificial turf at Chattahoochee HS gets really warm around noon on Sunday. Buy a lot of cold drinks and ice.

I think that might have been Kurt,,a MCL supporter/volunteer.I know he videotaped our performance,,no doubt for our internal use and also took some photos with a SLR film camera.Might be hard to get some photos posted.Ill let you know VIA pm how that turns out.

[JeffP]

I think that might have been Kurt,,a MCL supporter/volunteer.I know he videotaped our performance,,no doubt for our internal use and also took some photos with a SLR film camera.Might be hard to get some photos posted.Ill let you know VIA pm how that turns out.

Thanks!!!