Stanford Show - DCI West Championships

[CaliforniaDCfan]

Hello! I wanted to write this review when I got home on Saturday, but I didn't get back until about 1:15am and decided that falling asleep was more important. Overall, GREAT night. It almost seems like California could have our own Drum Corps circuit - the talent, support, and dedication to Drum Corps is unmatched in ANY state in the country.

Before I get to the actual review, here are some overall thoughts on the night:

-The Stanford Stadium is an amazing venue for Drum Corps. Great seats (with enough leg room!). Beautiful sight lines. Parking is readily available. Lots of space for warm-ups. I do have a couple of complaints. The cost of concessions was too high and there were not enough concession areas open. The lines at the intermission were so long that it scared some people away. The family in front of me (Mom, Dad, and 2 kids) spent $50 on food (4 hot dogs, 4 dirnks, and 2 french fries). That's insane.

-Could those that put on shows hand out a small flyer or make announcements about approriate behavior? There were a fair amount of first-time attendees around me and it would have been helpful for them to know some things (leaving/coming back during a show, answering your phone, talking loudly to the person 5 seats down from you). No one was intentionally being rude, and it wasn't very often, but they didnt know they shouldn't be doing those things (once someone said something, the apologized and didnt do it again).

-It's a shame that Phantom was the only Corps that made the trip. With finals always being in Indy, I think DCI should encourage Corps to make the trip out west. Oh well, one can dream!

REVIEW OF SHOWS

San Francisco Renegades

This show was LOUD and entertaining! I love that Senior Corps perfom at so many DCI shows in California. I enjoyed watching them - some parts are a little dirty (which is to be expected this early in their season). There were some near misses that had me 0.05% nervous. The guard seemed much, much better than Stockton. Random note - I was watching their drumline warmup and there was a small group of high school marching band drummers next to me. They were totally getting into the Renegades warmup when one of them said "These are OLD people. I didnt OLD people could beat out like that." to which someone else in their group said "They are putting us to shame!" Great job Renegades!

Mystikal

Before I say anything, I need to make a confession. Up until last year, I had little to zero appreciation for Open/Div 2 & 3 Corps. I thought they were so small. Seeing VK and Fever last year changed that. However - if you would have asked me on Saturday morning if a Drum Corps with SEVEN horns should be allowed to be in a show, I would have said "no - there is no way that could be entertaining" Well, I was wrong yet again! Mystikal really does only march with 7 horns (all of the other reviews have 7, i thought they had 6 but i must be mistaken). They have a nice sized drum line and a very, very large (and talented) guard. I really enjoyed their show. The horns played their heart out. Drums were good. The guard was VERY good. There were several members who could easily be marching in some of the top World Class Corps. In fact, I was suprised their guard wasn't scored higher than they were. Don't laugh but I enjoyed their show more than the finals show for Spirit of JSU. GREAT JOB MYSTIKAL!

SCV Cadets

Enjoyable show. Not a ton of memorable moments - which isn't neccessariliy good or bad. Drums were the highlight. The brass struggled. They had some good drill - will need to clean ALOT and add some magic to have a shot at the Open Title.

Blue Devils B

I liked the show and it was more entertaining than SCVC. However, I think it is borderline inexcusable to have unfinished work this far into the season. I was suprised how much guard work still needs to be added to the show.

Blue Devils C

What is there to say? These kids are trying their hardest and they succeed! I enjoyed their Wizard of Oz themed show. I can't believe how young some of the kids are in this group. I watched their guard warmup before the show and I was VERY impressed with the 2 guard instructors. They were challenging the kids, but very also VERY supportive. Some of those kids are going to go on to be Guard Superstars. Very entertaining show!

Mandarians

WONDERFUL SHOW. I was a little surprised they didn't score higher. Brass had some really, really nice moments. Guard did well, but I did notice they added a bunch of new work and I think that caused more drops than I have seen with them in the past. It is a shame that more people won't get to see this show. I do think there is a chance (please note I said CHANCE) that if the cards fall right, they COULD make it into finals. I think the Mandarians are one of the best run Corps out there and its so wonderful to see their performance level going up a notch.

Pacific Crest

This was my first time seeing PC live- ever. I was very impressed! Their guard is dressed VERY brightly (there seems to be a theme this year with many Corps). I like the theme - I don't remember it exactly but something tribal. They have a really cool drum feature that starts of the show and reappears several times. I will be really interested to see where this show goes - I think that if they can continue to clean it that they will be at finals. I spoke with some of their members briefly after the scores were announced (they were standing next to me) and I was really impressed with how mature they were acting. I think this is a Corps on the rise!

The Academy

This was also my first time seeing The Academy live- ever. I was REALLY impressed. Their guard has improved from last year, but still needs some serious time cleaning their routine (and no uniforms? come on, it is JULY 5th!) I liked the concept but there were one or two moments were they were flirting with being boring. I didn't think they crossed the line, but they need to work on making sure every part of the show is engaging. I really thought they deserved a better score. I would both Mandarians & Pacific Crest at (at least) 70.

Santa Clara Vanguard

I don't want to sound like a broken record by repeating what others have written, but the ending is BORING. The beginning and middle of the show is so entertaining and amazing to watch. The ending just kind of fizzles. I'm not sure how I feel about the guard's costume, but they performed VERY, VERY well. A very enjoyable show.

Phantom Regiment

HOLY BATMAN! Can you say theatrical? I liked this show ALOT. Great music, awesome design, and an excellent portral of Spartacus. The murder sections were KICK BOOTY AWESOME. The crowd around me really enjoyed the show. This show will take them far - I don't think it has the potential (yet) to win a Championship, but it is an amazing show!

Blue Devils

I really like the added features since Stockton. The use of the giant poles is great - and I really like how they are used at the end (making the man shape) and then the Corps also makes the same image. The guard was fantastic. Drums were insanely hot. The guard uniforms are really, really bright but they work. It would be very easy to see this show taking it all at finals.

Thanks to all the Corps for a great show.

California Drum Corps is AMAZING!

[84BDsop]

REVIEW OF SHOWS

San Francisco Renegades

This show was LOUD and entertaining! I love that Senior Corps perfom at so many DCI shows in California.

That's 'cause the DCI shows are the ONLY corps shows the Srs can do out here...there is no DCA circuit show yet.

I think the onlyCA DCI show that hasn't had a Sr perform is the San Diego one that's in the middle of the week...work and all that. y'know!

Random note - I was watching their drumline warmup and there was a small group of high school marching band drummers next to me. They were totally getting into the Renegades warmup when one of them said "These are OLD people. I didnt OLD people could beat out like that." to which someone else in their group said "They are putting us to shame!"

You'd be amazed how many times we get that...the young kids seem to forget that some of us old guys built the corps they're in...ring, winners, too.

SoCal Dream's very first public performance was the Impulse Family Day in 2002...some of us were missing (I think it was Father's Day??), so we onoy had 18 brass, 4 guard, and 4 battery. We could see the Impulse kids kinda ignoring us....old guys y'know...

At least until we started playing...VERY satisfying to look up at them and watch them counting horns as we parted their hair!!

[TexasPRfan]

Thanks for the straight-forward, heart felt review!

Harvey

[#1PhantomPhan]

Hurray for old guys!!!