The Port Huron Pub

[euponitone]

There's more playing than that... I think what you saw was the end of their show. It will probably be changed by the end of the year to be better and all of that….

There are plenty of difficult passages for the brass, but there are TONS of percussion features and the pit contributes to the sound of the show. I think the brass has some difficult double tonguing in the show and runs. A LOT of what they do works for the type of music they're trying to present, which is Asian music. It’s not the most brass laden stuff, I guess. Sorry, the people who haven't liked the show so far don't like it, but the show just oozes sophistication and there’s no doubt that it’s championship caliber even at this point in the year.

Yeah, I saw the ballad and it was a little more interesting. Besides, after all the trashing I do of people that say they hate the cadets show based on a spring training clip or something, I would never make a final judgment off of something like this. Still, based off of the past two years, I'm not terribly optimistic...

[jjeffeory]

Yeah, I saw the ballad and it was a little more interesting. Besides, after all the trashing I do of people that say they hate the cadets show based on a spring training clip or something, I would never make a final judgment off of something like this. Still, based off of the past two years, I'm not terribly optimistic...

I think you've mellowed out in your old age!

Me too. I just want to try and enjoy everybody.

[ChicagoFan]

I'm going to have to agree with Galen's assessment of the Cavaliers. The show left me cold. There are certainly some wonderful things happening -- both visually and musically -- but when viewing the show on Saturday night I got the distinct impression that I'd seen it all before. I think my biggest disappointment was in the music. While the corps has certainly mastered the book and is producing a controlled, mature sound, I found the music to be rather formulaic and uninspiring. It felt as if I was watching a visual production with incidental musical accompaniment.

[KiltieKemo06]

I'm going to burst some bubbles and be brutally honest. They sound that good because their horn book is EASY. Demand-wise, Bluecoats have them beat by a mile, and there really isn't that much visual demand on the field that affects the sound or the playing either. I said in my review that this show barely grabbed my attention. Aside from the lip bend passages, I'd say that there is nothing in the Cavies horn book so far that a HIGH SCHOOL BAND couldn't do just as well as Cavies are doing right now.

Matt, grow up. After doing 40 years of corps, I know high school band has come a long way but there is NO WAY they are even close to top 6 corps as far as execution yet and that's a fact. With regard to demand....you only get credit for it if you EXECUTE it! A simple clean well executed show will beat a highly demanding, poorly executed show every time. Two things have to happen for Coats to beat out Cavies. One, execute the hell out of their show or Two, water it down so they can execute. Plain and simple. 73 SCV played one heck of a diffulcult show and executed it over the top much to the surprise of all the other corps who thought they were going to win DCI that year. And it's happened time and time again over the years. I just love people who march a couple of years in band and a couple of years in corps and can make statements like above. God help us from all the EXPERTS.

[dagenh]

In the three clips posted the Cavaliers brass plays while moving for 3:23 secs. They play while still for :59 secs.

That's 4:22 seconds of playing versus 2:46 of drums where they don't play. In my mind this is very good considering the longest clip here was the percussion break and the longest part of the show the opener is completely absent. I know for a fact they play and move a ton in the opener. It's just a lie to say Cavies don't move and play. Someone said they stand still 90% of the drum break when playing. Well no, more like 50%. It's a freakin' drum break, look at the rest of the show. The break down of moving and playing in the closer is pretty great. I promise this is accurate. I timed it to the exact second.

Ballad 51 secs moving 23 still

Drum break 16 secs moving 15 still

Closer 2 min 7 sec moving and playing. 21 secs still

[FlamInvert122]

In the three clips posted the Cavaliers brass plays while moving for 3:23 secs. They play while still for :59 secs.

That's 4:22 seconds of playing versus 2:46 of drums where they don't play. In my mind this is very good considering the longest clip here was the percussion break and the longest part of the show the opener is completely absent. I know for a fact they play and move a ton in the opener. It's just a lie to say Cavies don't move and play. Someone said they stand still 90% of the drum break when playing. Well no, more like 50%. It's a freakin' drum break, look at the rest of the show. The break down of moving and playing in the closer is pretty great. I promise this is accurate. I timed it to the exact second.

Ballad 51 secs moving 23 still

Drum break 16 secs moving 15 still

Closer 2 min 7 sec moving and playing. 21 secs still

Well there you have it. Care to respond euponitone? I'm sure there are a whole bag full of reason why this shows sucks, right?

[euponitone]

Well there you have it. Care to respond euponitone? I'm sure there are a whole bag full of reason why this shows sucks, right?

Wow....way to be a ###### when i posted a very cautiously worded, non-confrontational post. I also said I only watched one, 2 minute section, and wasnt sure what it was.

And people say cadet fans are touchy....

Edited June 24, 2008 by euponitone

[perc2100]

I'm going to burst some bubbles and be brutally honest. They sound that good because their horn book is EASY. Demand-wise, Bluecoats have them beat by a mile, and there really isn't that much visual demand on the field that affects the sound or the playing either. I said in my review that this show barely grabbed my attention. Aside from the lip bend passages, I'd say that there is nothing in the Cavies horn book so far that a HIGH SCHOOL BAND couldn't do just as well as Cavies are doing right now.

All of that aside, none of that matters (unless your point is that you personally like Bluecoats more than Cavaliers). Until DCI changes the sheets dramatically, The Cavaliers will continue to dominate: they do the best job of consistently designing their shows to the sheets. Complain about other corps doing more difficult stuff (in your opinion), but the Cavaliers do what they do effectively, and maximize the sheets better than most. Add to that The Cavaliers perform their show EXTREMELY well. Yes, they have a winning formula that has proven to win championships more often than not (5/8 since 2000) and until things change on the sheets, debating whether or not they do things more difficult than others is pointless: they obviously do things MORE EFFECTIVELY than anyone else (in that same 8 year span BD has won twice and Cadets have won twice, including a tie with Cavaliers).

[FlamInvert122]

Wow....way to be a ###### when i posted a very cautiously worded, non-confrontational post. I also said I only watched one, 2 minute section, and wasnt sure what it was.

And people say cadet fans are touchy....

I'm sorry but you are so picky about this marching and playing thing it gets on my nerves, and probably others' too. Last year you spend the entire first part of the season breaking down everyone's shows, timing them to see how much each marched and played. Mostly you did it to bash on the Cavaliers, am I right?

But I do apologize, I didn't mean to come off badly, just venting some frustration.

[mobrien]

Hm. Must be first week of the season. Cavaliers are already doing a good job executing a show that's over-rated, too easy, and/or "not memorable" - just like what folks were saying about them in '01, 02, 03, '06, and '07...

Everyone's shows are still in the drum corps equivalent of "previews", and all you can get now from anyone is a sense of the raw material and the general ability of the members to play and move. In Rosemont's case, they've given themselves a concept that lends itself to a lot of musical and visual hooks, and the members have obviously done a great job with their winter conditioning. The show will grow and become more focused in the next few weeks (which will make it even easier to read & remember), so if it's not working for you now, that's cool; check back in about a month and see how you feel then.