CaliforniaDCfan Posted June 23, 2008 Share Posted June 23, 2008 Hello! I just returned home from the Moonlight Classic in Stockton held at the University of the Pacific. I'll post a full review later, but wanted to share some initial thoughts: -This was a good show and a great way to start off my Drum Corps season! Parking was free and close. The stadium is in decent shape on the outside. Since U of P eliminated their football team, this facility hasn't seen much upkeep. The bathrooms were straight out of 1950. -I had a decent seat, close to the top of the stadium. One MAJOR downside to not having judges on the field early in the season is how loud they are from the press box. Numerous people kept looking up to see where all of the chatter was coming from. I hope future shows do something to minimize this impact on the fans. -San Fran Renegades rocked the house. For a smallish group, they have a great sound. I really enjoyed their show. Blue Devils B & C and Santa Clara Vanguard Cadets were ok. To be honest, I preferred the Blue Devils C (elementary aged kids) over the others. I know it's early in the season, but I am suprised how much work the other open class groups have to do! The loss of Modesto Fever could definitely be felt. I hope they come back strong next year. -Mandarians were good. Really good. It's a shame how small they are - if they were in Open Class, they would be a shoe-in to win at Championships. I feel bad for them - they rocked Division II for so long they "upgraded" to Division One (now World Class) and are always at the bottom. Enjoyable show. -SCV was fantastic. I am not usually an SCV fan, but this show totally drew me in. I was suprised the gap between BD & SCV was so large. So was almost everyone one sitting around me (a fair mix of Mandarians/BD/SCV fans). -I did not enjoy the BD show. It was challenging, but it felt like I was watching a Cadets show without the narration. I'm curious to see how this show develops. Thats all for now. I am SO GLAD the season has begun!! :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeeWee Posted June 23, 2008 Share Posted June 23, 2008 (edited) Thank you for the brief review. I hope you are able to write more later. I'm usually bias when it comes to SCV. I love them regardless. But it's nice to know that they're getting some love from others too this year. :) After watching the videos from Saturday night on the DCI Fan Network, I'm really surprised by the gap between BD & SCV as well. I assume that Vanguard only fielded 8 minutes of their show tonight, or that if they fielded more, it was dirty. In any event, here's hoping they keep that awesome horn and drum book intact :-) Edited June 23, 2008 by PeeWee Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Toby Posted June 23, 2008 Share Posted June 23, 2008 Moved to Show Reviews. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wildabeast Posted June 23, 2008 Share Posted June 23, 2008 Yep. Just got back myself. Good performances from ALL corps. I'm that open-minded about it. I like what Mandarins have done with Ticheli's "Cajun Folk Songs". I think Mandarins were the only "finished" show of the 3 World Class corps here. It's too bad more people don't go to fill in spots. Mandarins are putting out a nice product this year. Santa Clara is just moving AND PLAYING all over the place - marvelous! Vanguard's new uni's aren't ready yet. The corps has them, but hemming needs to be done. BD was "absurdly" good - interesting to see if they get to hang another banner by the end of the year. Interesting theatrics of balancing on yard lines. Make sure that the yard lines in Bloomington are proper & visible. Props to Vanguard Cadets for taking Open Class. After viewing them in their new unis, I want to call them the Vanguard Cadets of Sherwood Forest. BDB has black plumes this year...a nice look for them. Show seems a little conservative, but pretty good. Solid battery with cymbals to boot. BDC has the cuteness factor going for them again. Music from "The Wiz" & "Wizard of Oz" had the crowd in smiles all the way through. Renegades are moving and playing quite a bit. Rock solid sound and a pretty clean battery. Heh, the entire competition was done with the sun still up - amazing....and really not a warm evening as I was expecting. That's all for now. Maybe I'll expand later. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2000Cadet Posted June 23, 2008 Share Posted June 23, 2008 Hello!I just returned home from the Moonlight Classic in Stockton held at the University of the Pacific. I'll post a full review later, but wanted to share some initial thoughts: -This was a good show and a great way to start off my Drum Corps season! Parking was free and close. The stadium is in decent shape on the outside. Since U of P eliminated their football team, this facility hasn't seen much upkeep. The bathrooms were straight out of 1950. -I had a decent seat, close to the top of the stadium. One MAJOR downside to not having judges on the field early in the season is how loud they are from the press box. Numerous people kept looking up to see where all of the chatter was coming from. I hope future shows do something to minimize this impact on the fans. -San Fran Renegades rocked the house. For a smallish group, they have a great sound. I really enjoyed their show. Blue Devils B & C and Santa Clara Vanguard Cadets were ok. To be honest, I preferred the Blue Devils C (elementary aged kids) over the others. I know it's early in the season, but I am suprised how much work the other open class groups have to do! The loss of Modesto Fever could definitely be felt. I hope they come back strong next year. -Mandarians were good. Really good. It's a shame how small they are - if they were in Open Class, they would be a shoe-in to win at Championships. I feel bad for them - they rocked Division II for so long they "upgraded" to Division One (now World Class) and are always at the bottom. Enjoyable show. -SCV was fantastic. I am not usually an SCV fan, but this show totally drew me in. I was suprised the gap between BD & SCV was so large. So was almost everyone one sitting around me (a fair mix of Mandarians/BD/SCV fans). -I did not enjoy the BD show. It was challenging, but it felt like I was watching a Cadets show without the narration. I'm curious to see how this show develops. Thats all for now. I am SO GLAD the season has begun!! :) If you don't mind, please explain that statement. Do you mean the drill was like Cadets drill? Music was like what Cadets typically play? I'm not trying to get on you or anything like that, just need a little clarification because I was kinda anticipating BD's show. Thanks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cardman Posted June 26, 2008 Share Posted June 26, 2008 I did not enjoy the BD show. It was challenging, but it felt like I was watching a Cadets show without the narration. A Cadets show without the narration? Sounds awesome to me!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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