Mini Corps Reports?

[Diceman]

If you go to RAMD (ugh) Ron Allard is listing them and their links. There are quite a few.

Sorry, I posted the links here as well - but I guess that's a No-No as they were immediately deleted...

(Shrug)

Anyway, there will be some Brass Ensemble material at the same place shortly...

:)

Enjoy!

[SoloSop420]

As long as poofy poots doesnt do again, I guess I can let him slide this time. If the shoe was on the other foot, I wouldnt have done it to him. Like Frank said...I would have done the Penguin walk. Not the strutting peacock poof...

He is denying it, isnt he?

Donny

Hey, all I can say is, the Labatt's Blue 12 oz. bottles were $1.00 at the Bodaga across the street from the stadium. Pints of Blue were $1.25. Do the math. I was buyin' 2 (sometimes 3 at a time) Haji Achnad (owner/proprietor of Bodaga) would let me slam one in the store. I was a "valued" customer.

[Cathie Wiener]

People have asked for the reviews of all the mini corps and since no one has done so, I’ll give it a shot. Don’t hang me for this, though, because I’m really a guard girl fakin’ playing in the pit, just joined the DCA family this year, know little to zero of the corps’ histories and tend to lean towards the “exciting” corps and, oh yeah, have little memory in the actual songs played. To clarify, I know NOTHING about playing horns except that it’s hard and that I hope one day to play the baritone… plus, I’m doing this by memory a week later.

Imperials – This is the only corps I didn’t see in its entirety. I saw the last half of the show. They seemed decent, but a bit serious.

From here on out I saw every show in its entirety.

Excelsior – I have the exact same review as Imperials. They seemed decent, but a bit serious. Glad to hear they plan on fielding a corps next year. The more the better.

Skyliners – Loved them, loved them, loved them!!!!! They were so much fun. Even I could tell they weren’t technically the best in the entire world… but who cares?!!? They were fantastic! One of my favorites of the night. To me, they were truly the “start” of the show.

Outlaws – Once again, another fantastic show. You could tell they were having a blast up there. And, in this type of crowd, it’s very evident that if the performers are having a great time the audience is too and these guys were.

Carolina Gold – I can’t remember if it was the music selection or just having an off night, but they didn’t seem to gel. I remember thinking they didn’t seem to be excited to be there. Could have been nerves, plus, they’d just come after Sky and Outlaws. Pretty tough acts to follow.

Derby City Knights – My memory’s a little murky on this one but if I remember correctly, they did seem to be excited to be there. I can’t remember much more. My apologies.

Xtreme – They played VERY proficiently and did a good job, but the drill aspect of it threw me for a loop. No one else was really doing it at that level, and I was really distracted by it. Seemed to have more of a “competitive corps” atmosphere than that of a mini corps performance that happens to be judged, if that makes any sense.

Amoskeay Sound – LOVED this show. I was crying by the solo in “Argentina” because it was that good, plus I’m a theater geek. I’ve heard other people comment that there really wasn’t cohesion in their song choices, and I don’t care! I loved them. So tiny, so passionate, so loud! Thank you so much for continuing even though you knew you would get a penalty. I, for one, am very grateful.

Capital Brass – I remember you guys having an absolute blast up there. Don't remember any of the music, but I remember I had fun.

Golden Eagles – Amazing show. You guys rocked and loved how your conductor “shook his tail feather” while conducting. Fun, fun, fun all around.

St Kevins – This corps played okay, but I was quite distracted by the DM trying to talk in between the songs. I was only 10-12 rows back on Side 2 and I still had a hard time hearing her and it seemed to interrupt the corps’ flow.

SoCal Dream – I loved the show, with or without bias. The screamer everyone’s talking about is Dave and, yes, we are trying to get him to go to BD. He only has one year left. The performers obviously had a lot of fun and I almost died laughing at the cowbell part. I didn’t know about it. Awesome! The Twinkie being on stage was odd, but I secretly think Renegades/Anthrax Ripple is taking over the world and since we’re closest to them geographically, we’re the first victim. :P

Thunderbirds – I recall them having a great show, but for some reason it just didn’t quite click with me. I don’t know why, but I do know they played excellently. Plus, you could actually hear their mallet players.

Ghost Riders – Liked the show, loved the opener. Thought the guard was a bit distracting, not because of their performance, mind you, it was fun. Kind of like Xtreme’s marching it seemed out of place because no one else was really doing it. Those ladies were having fun, though. Excellent job overall.

Minni(sp?) Brass – More apologies. Don’t remember much about the show. I kept getting you and Mass Brass confused, but I now have a YouTube video of Mass Brass for a reminder. Again, if someone tells me a. what they wore or b. any drum corps classics that they played I can give a review.

Mass Brass – A lot of fun, a lot of rockin’ standards. I really enjoyed them.

Renegades – Fun, fun, fun and execution, execution, execution. Even I could tell their execution was solid. They always have fun, it’s what they do, dead or alive. ^0^ I found the need to go behind the banner unnecessary. The banner was cool and could have stayed, but you guys would go behind it for about 10-15 seconds and pop right back out again. Psssst… we already knew you were there.

Star United – As someone else mentioned, it was obvious they would win by the middle of the first piece. They were on a whole other level, which I actually give as a compliment and a complaint. As someone else said, “Take that #### and put it on the field.” <-- Also said as a compliment/complaint. You guys were absolutely amazing. I know none of the tunes and yet enjoyed your show immensely. With a show like that you need to be on the field competing. It’s a necessity.

Some notes:

It seems the most “successful” corps were the ones that stuck with the formula of the brass, a set player and a fun accessory here and there. A couple of the corps did some fine work with mallet players as well, but on a whole they, too, were hard to hear. In fact, one of the earlier corps to go on had a full contingency of percussion (battery and pit) and they completely overpowered the remaining horns, which flat out could not be heard in that room.

Other people have mentioned that they thought 18 groups were too many or just right, etc. I have mentioned several times that watching all the mini corps was worth the cost of my tour fee alone. I don’t think going much more than 20 would be advised and I think we actually had time for that in that room this year if it was necessary between the last guard performance and the start of mini corps, but I know there’s a TON of other logistics that go into it that I know nothing about. I love the current set up and had so much fun that I have already recruited my mom and dad for a family vacation to Rochester for Finals next year.

Huge kudos for a well-run I&E. It’s my first and definitely won’t be my last. I’m addicted! Thanks… I think.

Here was the order I placed the top corps in my completely biased “entertainment factor” opinion:

1. Star United – Couldn’t be denied. Not the absolute most entertaining, but still very fun overall and amazingly executed.

2. Golden Eagles – The conductor just kills me. Too much fun!

3. Amoskeay Sound

4. Skyliners

5. Dream

6. Renegades

7. Outlaws

8. Capital Brass!

I’ve already informed the Dream staff that I will be defecting to Golden Eagles, Amoskeay or Skyliners next season. I don’t care if I don’t play a horn, I’ll be content to just be the water girl. I loved those shows! Outlaws get an Honorable Mention as well.

So that’s that. Hopefully, it’s worth something to you all. If not, wutevah.

Here’s a relisting of the scores from another post just for reference/reminder.

1 98.50 Star United

2 95.50 Renegades

3 94.75 Golden Eagles

4 91.50 Thunderbirds

5 90.125 Minni Brass

6 88.25 Ghostriders

7 87.75 Mass Brass

8 86.25 Capital Brass!

9 85.00 So Cal Dream

10 82.00 Outlaws

11 77.25 Sky

12 76.75 Amoskeag Sound (1.0)

13 76.50 Xtreme

14 75.50 Derby City Knights

15 66.75 St. Kevin's

16 63.00 Carolina Gold

17 62.60 Imperials

18 62.25 Excelsior

edit: Fixed some typos, added Capital Brass! to my list and fixed some Amoskeay spellings. Talk about a tough name. :P

Edited September 8, 2007 by Cathie Wiener

[FPonzo]

Golden Eagles – Amazing show. You guys rocked and loved how your conductor “shook his tail feather” while conducting. Fun, fun, fun all around.

Hi Cathie....

Thank you so much for the great review of the Golden Eagles. We really apprecaite your coments and glad you took the time to write this review.

Oh......and you are MORE than welcome to come on over to the Golden Eagles for next year. If need be, I will personally give you lessons over the winter so you can be there for us. And for the record, just so you have a name....Tom Willms is our drum major. He is also a former drum major for the Bushwackers, and Sunrisers, and who in my opinion, is the one of the BEST Drum Majors to ever go thru the DCA ranks!!!

[SoloSop420]

People have asked for the reviews of all the mini corps and since no one has done so, I’ll give it a shot. Don’t hang me for this, though, because I’m really a guard girl fakin’ playing in the pit, just joined the DCA family this year, know little to zero of the corps’ histories and tend to lean towards the “exciting” corps and, oh yeah, have little memory in the actual songs played. To clarify, I know NOTHING about playing horns except that it’s hard and that I hope one day to play the baritone… plus, I’m doing this by memory a week later.

Imperials – This is the only corps I didn’t see in its entirety. I saw the last half of the show. They seemed decent, but a bit serious.

From here on out I saw every show in its entirety.

Excelsior – I have the exact same review as Imperials. They seemed decent, but a bit serious. Glad to hear they plan on fielding a corps next year. The more the better.

Skyliners – Loved them, loved them, loved them!!!!! They were so much fun. Even I could tell they weren’t technically the best in the entire world… but who cares?!!? They were fantastic! One of my favorites of the night. To me, they were truly the “start” of the show.

Outlaws – Once again, another fantastic show. You could tell they were having a blast up there. And, in this type of crowd, it’s very evident that if the performers are having a great time the audience is too and these guys were.

Carolina Gold – I can’t remember if it was the music selection or just having an off night, but they didn’t seem to gel. I remember thinking they didn’t seem to be excited to be there. Could have been nerves, plus, they’d just come after Sky and Outlaws. Pretty tough acts to follow.

Derby City Knights – My memory’s a little murky on this one but if I remember correctly, they did seem to be excited to be there. I can’t remember much more. My apologies.

Xtreme – They played VERY proficiently and did a good job, but the drill aspect of it threw me for a loop. No one else was really doing it at that level, and I was really distracted by it. Seemed to have more of a “competitive corps” atmosphere than that of a mini corps performance that happens to be judged, if that makes any sense.

Amoskeay Sound – LOVED this show. I was crying by the solo in “Argentina” because it was that good, plus I’m a theater geek. I’ve heard other people comment that there really wasn’t cohesion in their song choices, and I don’t care! I loved them. So tiny, so passionate, so loud! Thank you so much for continuing even though you knew you would get a penalty. I, for one, am very grateful.

Capital Brass – I remember you guys having an absolute blast up there. Don't remember any of the music, but I remember I had fun.

Golden Eagles – Amazing show. You guys rocked and loved how your conductor “shook his tail feather” while conducting. Fun, fun, fun all around.

St Kevins – This corps played okay, but I was quite distracted by the DM trying to talk in between the songs. I was only 10-12 rows back on Side 2 and I still had a hard time hearing her and it seemed to interrupt the corps’ flow.

SoCal Dream – I loved the show, with or without bias. The screamer everyone’s talking about is Dave and, yes, we are trying to get him to go to BD. He only has one year left. The performers obviously had a lot of fun and I almost died laughing at the cowbell part. I didn’t know about it. Awesome! The Twinkie being on stage was odd, but I secretly think Renegades/Anthrax Ripple is taking over the world and since we’re closest to them geographically, we’re the first victim. :P

Thunderbirds – I recall them having a great show, but for some reason it just didn’t quite click with me. I don’t know why, but I do know they played excellently. Plus, you could actually hear their mallet players.

Ghost Riders – Liked the show, loved the opener. Thought the guard was a bit distracting, not because of their performance, mind you, it was fun. Kind of like Xtreme’s marching it seemed out of place because no one else was really doing it. Those ladies were having fun, though. Excellent job overall.

Minni(sp?) Brass – More apologies. Don’t remember much about the show. I kept getting you and Mass Brass confused, but I now have a YouTube video of Mass Brass for a reminder. Again, if someone tells me a. what they wore or b. any drum corps classics that they played I can give a review.

Mass Brass – A lot of fun, a lot of rockin’ standards. I really enjoyed them.

Renegades – Fun, fun, fun and execution, execution, execution. Even I could tell their execution was solid. They always have fun, it’s what they do, dead or alive. ^0^ I found the need to go behind the banner unnecessary. The banner was cool and could have stayed, but you guys would go behind it for about 10-15 seconds and pop right back out again. Psssst… we already knew you were there.

Star United – As someone else mentioned, it was obvious they would win by the middle of the first piece. They were on a whole other level, which I actually give as a compliment and a complaint. As someone else said, “Take that #### and put it on the field.” <-- Also said as a compliment/complaint. You guys were absolutely amazing. I know none of the tunes and yet enjoyed your show immensely. With a show like that you need to be on the field competing. It’s a necessity.

Some notes:

It seems the most “successful” corps were the ones that stuck with the formula of the brass, a set player and a fun accessory here and there. A couple of the corps did some fine work with mallet players as well, but on a whole they, too, were hard to hear. In fact, one of the earlier corps to go on had a full contingency of percussion (battery and pit) and they completely overpowered the remaining horns, which flat out could not be heard in that room.

Other people have mentioned that they thought 18 groups were too many or just right, etc. I have mentioned several times that watching all the mini corps was worth the cost of my tour fee alone. I don’t think going much more than 20 would be advised and I think we actually had time for that in that room this year if it was necessary between the last guard performance and the start of mini corps, but I know there’s a TON of other logistics that go into it that I know nothing about. I love the current set up and had so much fun that I have already recruited my mom and dad for a family vacation to Rochester for Finals next year.

Huge kudos for a well-run I&E. It’s my first and definitely won’t be my last. I’m addicted! Thanks… I think.

Here was the order I placed the top corps in my completely biased “entertainment factor” opinion:

1. Star United – Couldn’t be denied. Not the absolute most entertaining, but still very fun overall and amazingly executed.

2. Golden Eagles – The conductor just kills me. Too much fun!

3. Amoskeay Sound

4. Skyliners

5. Dream

6. Renegades

7. Outlaws

8. Capital Brass!

I’ve already informed the Dream staff that I will be defecting to Golden Eagles, Amoskeay or Skyliners next season. I don’t care if I don’t play a horn, I’ll be content to just be the water girl. I loved those shows! Outlaws get an Honorable Mention as well.

So that’s that. Hopefully, it’s worth something to you all. If not, wutevah.

Here’s a relisting of the scores from another post just for reference/reminder.

1 98.50 Star United

2 95.50 Renegades

3 94.75 Golden Eagles

4 91.50 Thunderbirds

5 90.125 Minni Brass

6 88.25 Ghostriders

7 87.75 Mass Brass

8 86.25 Capital Brass!

9 85.00 So Cal Dream

10 82.00 Outlaws

11 77.25 Sky

12 76.75 Amoskeag Sound (1.0)

13 76.50 Xtreme

14 75.50 Derby City Knights

15 66.75 St. Kevin's

16 63.00 Carolina Gold

17 62.60 Imperials

18 62.25 Excelsior

edit: Fixed some typos, added Capital Brass! to my list and fixed some Amoskeay spellings. Talk about a tough name. :P

Enough is enough! You have FAILED to mention the near catastrophe that happened at the mini-corps show.

Since no one has brought it up, I will.

The Kegs were "kicked" and my cup was empty for 15-20 minutes during the show. I couldn't believe it! I was angry! I reacted harshly! I was seriously upset!! I almost went home! Then they tapped a full keg.......everything was fine after that.

[brassomaniac]

Enough is enough! You have FAILED to mention the near catastrophe that happened at the mini-corps show.

Since no one has brought it up, I will.

The Kegs were "kicked" and my cup was empty for 15-20 minutes during the show. I couldn't believe it! I was angry! I reacted harshly! I was seriously upset!! I almost went home! Then they tapped a full keg.......everything was fine after that.

THAT ... is the kind of thing that can totally RUIN a mini-corps show!

I would like to ask the infamous powers-that-be: Just what is going to be done to ensure this does not happen NEXT year?

Back-up venue?

Rain gear?

Just order LOTS more beer?????

[Gary Matczak]

Thunderbirds – I recall them having a great show, but for some reason it just didn’t quite click with me. I don’t know why, but I do know they played excellently. Plus, you could actually hear their mallet players.

thanks for the kind words,.....................see Jimbaroni?,.................I was there!

[Jimbalaya]

LOLOL.....yepper I know you wuz......I seen a pixture and a pixture of Nick as well........

As far as kicked kegs are concerned Nick, I feel your pain........after shooting the 'breeze' enroute to refill of my empty cup, I happened upon the dispensing site only to find it secured............aaaarrrrrggggghhhhhhhhh!!!!!!!

Jambalaya

thanks for the kind words,.....................see Jimbaroni?,.................I was there!

[Gary Matczak]

aaaarrrrrggggghhhhhhhhh!!!!!!!

Jambalaya

wow,..............that's pretty good, and I don't see the Buccs in your sig anywhere,............. ^0^

[Sunrizer]

Oh......and you are MORE than welcome to come on over to the Golden Eagles for next year. If need be, I will personally give you lessons over the winter so you can be there for us.

...and keeping it clean, he means that in a good way!! :P

Frank, we'll have to make sure we bust on Tom about his "tail feathers"...He'd probably say that's the only part of his body that doesn't hurt!! :)

Thanks for the great review though - Who cares about placement, when you have people wanting to join/defect based on a peformance!! That rocks! ^OO^ (Hell of a commute though!!)