San Antonio Review

[corps_forever07]

Thought I'd write a little review while settled in for the night's show here in humid Ohio. I was watching both the multi-cam and the high-cam, so I figured I'd comment on some things I observed. Just note that I wasn't there and I'm basing my comments on what crosses the screen and emits from the speakers of a 17 inch MacBook Pro, so take it for what it is!

Here we go...

Crossmen - Bones!!! "How 'bout that Texas?" It's so weird for me to hear the Crossmen are from San Antonio these days. That one's still going to take awhile. It was good to hear them get such a strong response from the hometown crowd right off the bat. Love the guard work and use of color throughout the show, but especially in the opener and very end of the closer. The CG unis look like Machine guard uniforms done even better. Probably the best of the night. Brass was really strong, minus the double tonguing section before the company front in the second (?) piece. Holy sop line. Love their book! Visually, it's a tad rough, but they've got great and difficult drill that will clean up before Finals for sure. Kudos to the person who fell - great recovery! Glad to see another corps that double-time's 99% of their ballad! Seemed to be a contra hole tonight. Overall, I am very glad to see this perpetually entertaining corps back where I think they should be and hope they maintain and continue to grow this season.

Glassmen - This is one of the hometown (-state?) corps, and I hold the Glassmen close at heart. The finish on the drums looks phenomenal close up. I'm loving how Glassmen are putting a big middle finger up to the "boring" shows of Glassmen history with this one. They look decent. Some line problems and it looks like they also have a hole tonight (baritone, my guess). Saw a baritone player on a close-up way off step early in the show, which never leaves a good taste. Nerves? The dancing segment in the closer is a really great effect. Their colorguard is full of performers! They spin really well and are a great asset to the entertainment aspect of the show. Drumline has a long road ahead of them still, but knowing a few performers in the line, hopefully they'll get there. Horns are solid. Definitely rooting for the hometown team this season, as always. Hopefully they can get the small ticks out of their system and clean up that drum book and they'll be golden. Overall, one of the better shows in the past five years from the Glassmen.

Blue Stars - The opening to this show is gorgeous! The concept is so well done and is one of my favorite music moments of this whole show. I think the bike wheels on the ends of flagpoles looks cheap and the stretching on the box in the beginning of the ballad is corny. They spin well, but come on staff, help them out by giving them some drum corps quality body work. The drill is surprisingly hard, probably the hardest so far in the show. With the hardest comes the biggest need for cleaning. There are parts where they hold for 8+ counts - on, 2, split, 2, on - and it's definitely not there. Probably because getting there is so difficult for them. The upper bodies are suffering badly too. On horns to the box, some lean back, some don't. Technique is very unclear here. There looks to be a contra hole here as well - what is up with that tonight? Their hornline is great. They show much greater maturity than the previous two corps and have a great dark and mellow sound. I'm not a fan of the repertoire selections (coming from a jazz girl), but I have to give them credit - they play well. Their pit is great too. They get showcased well in a nice drum feature followed by great lyrical and controlled horn parts. Beautiful. They deserve to be here!

Blue Knights - I love this opening set and the choreography that goes with it. It's such a perfect opening to Cloudburst and they do a great job with it. This has to be one of the most visually appealing BK shows I've ever seen, just in terms of drill. I don't think they overdo the choreography like I feel they do in other years. Their drill isn't as hard as Blue Stars, in my opinion, but it's more effective and cleaner. Very villainous brass sound, which I think they're going for. Little bits of feet in the sound on the more delicate parts of the show, but with their technique, it's expected right now. They're always a very underrated corps and, though I may not necessarily like the repertoire, I respect talent and they've got it. Solid in every caption. If they make some changes into having a harder book all around, they'll have the opportunity to move up by Finals. Without harder material, I think they'll continue to play morning shows throughout the season, but be a fair and sure deal for Finals. Oh, and the first corps tonight with no visible holes! (Possibly harsh side note: I wish the guard staff would monitor the choices of some guard members in the way of uniforms - I know they get to pick their own.)

Boston Crusaders - The show concept, after "getting it" is way cool and the sound they create with this image is really spot on. It's really surreal at points and reminds me a lot of the video game Bioshock's soundtrack. The muted section in the opener is absolutely stellar and the mello runs that accompany it are clean! This hornline does not mess around (minus some early attacks in the opener)! There is a chord in their company front at the very end of the show that absolutely makes me cream. The drill is a perfect balance in difficulty and effectiveness (with another hole). I don't have a whole lot of bad to say about Boston - they really have a good mix of product and talent this year and that's good to see.

Bluecoats - And now my Bluecoats. Once again, it's nice to hear such a strong presence from hometown supporters in Texas. I have to say, all bias aside, they have the moment of the summer in their moving warm-up and introduction of the boxers. How that pans out is chilling. The announcer does such a great job with his acting. They are getting better. The show is entertaining, but it's hard and hard is, unfortunately, synonymous with dirty right now. I think Bluecoats need a new drill designer because staging is such a big issue. Every single person they closed in on the multi-cam looked B.A. in technique. The guard's jumpsuits look great and the work is getting so much better. I don't personally like how much narration covers up drum parts. People always complain about it covering up brass, but never percussion. With the drumline Bluecoats have, it wouldn't be my preference, but it's done so convincingly with the show that it is difficult to complain. Overall, the Bluecoats are on a different tier than the rest of the corps we've seen so far. The show is the ####!

The Cadets - I know that the majority of people hate the narration and I'm no different, but I'm looking past it tonight. I don't really have a whole lot to say though. They look huge. They're really good. Their high brass is phenomenal. Their colorguard is like late-ninties, early-millennium Cadets guards. And they talk a lot. That's it. It's a great show!

Santa Clara Vanguard - Pete Weber really outdid himself! That being said, it's dirty. The only reason this show isn't top 3 is it is dirty. I'm loving this visual package more than anything. The uniforms, the guard, everything. Some inconsistencies in the hornline, but I'm nitpicking. Their show is by far one of my favorites of the night so far, and I don't see that changing. It's old school Vanguard at it's finest and toward the end of this decade. That's cool as hell and they were wonderful (minus the girl out of the diagonal that they did a close-up on at the end - oops).

Phantom Regiment - The show I've been waiting for. From when they walk on the field with the chains (amps?) and the slaves, they conveyed Spartacus so well. The new color scheme is absolutely perfect for them. The guard still blends into the field a bit, but they convey the image, so it almost doesn't even matter. The opening fanfare is sick and it's very apparent why they're scoring at the top in brass lately. Their feet look better than any corps (except for maybe The Cadets) and they're in white pants. Drill is harder than anyone so far and proportionately dirty. They move. Some of the close-ups while doing so looked a little less than stellar in the upper body. Overall, what a phenomenal throwback and product in general. Phantom is the perfect example of taking entertainment and class and putting something great out on the field every year. This year epitomizes that statement.

Blue Devils - This show reminds me of Not the Nutcracker - weird for the sake of being weird - but much, much more intense and better. The thing the guard does with the tenors - lifting - is gimmicky and it takes away from the music. The guard is great though. Fabulous use of color from the absurd unis to the flags. The tightrope effect is cool (a little reminiscent of the Bluecoats 07 jailbreak) and the running theme they do throughout is a good effect as well. The pit is strikingly good, but I thought the drumline sounded significantly more dirty than Phantom's. Love the show, but not enough for it to win. It just isn't hard and impressive enough for that. What a great ending though.

The Cavaliers - I don't like the samurai garb at all, unfortunately. The show, on the other hand, I do. The horns are s-o-l-i-d and the visual program is typical Cavaliers - hard, clean, good. Worthy of a championship, as it stands right now. There are a lot of little nuances that make this show and give it 'wow' factors. The thing is to make it consistently a 'wow' factor straight through the whole show. That's what shows like Four Corners and Frameworks had that this doesn't yet. Overall, a fantastic show, all things aside.

Carolina Crown - Why are they performing last? I thought this show was boring. A show about finishing, you would think it'd be okay, but it was boring. Brass was good. Visual, not as good as Cavaliers. That's all I really have to say. It just bored me. Not a hater, just bored.

So that's that! Take it for what it's worth, an old marching girl's mildly bitter (oxymoron?) take from home. I'd rather be marching.

Overall favorite - Bluecoats, Bluecoats, Bluecoats!

Let's go Bloooo!

Edited August 8, 2008 by corps_forever07

[TastyWaves]

So that's that! Take it for what it's worth, an old marching girl's mildly bitter (oxymoron?) take from home. I'd rather be marching.

Nice Review!

And so would I! lol...

Tony

[St_Marys64]

Thought I'd write a little review while settled in for the night's show here in humid Ohio. I was watching both the multi-cam and the high-cam, so I figured I'd comment on some things I observed. Just note that I wasn't there and I'm basing my comments on what crosses the screen and emits from the speakers of a 17 inch MacBook Pro, so take it for what it is!

Carolina Crown - Why are they performing last? I thought this show was boring. A show about finishing, you would think it'd be okay, but it was boring. Brass was good. Visual, not as good as Cavaliers. That's all I really have to say. It just bored me. Not a hater, just bored.

So that's that! Take it for what it's worth, an old marching girl's mildly bitter (oxymoron?) take from home. I'd rather be marching.

I agree, but was shocked to see crown beat the cavies in GE Visual

Cavies were 4th from both GE Visual judges?

Edited July 20, 2008 by St_Marys64

[flamparadiddlediddle]

I agree, but was shocked to see crown beat the cavies in GE Visual

Cavies were 4th from both GE Visual judges?

Yeah. Cavaliers 4th place visual = trouble. I would prefer much better than that. Guess this fans season won't be quite as joyous as I had hoped.

[Musical_Spinner]

Wow, I disagree with you on so many things. BUT MAINLY

Cavaliers visual was NOT clean at all unless you are referring to the VIS GE. The difference from person to person was very apparent to me. I was shocked at the level of their marching.

[PhantomPhanatic]

Had Crown gone first in the last group of 3, I have a feeling that they wouldn't have beat Phantom. Their show is good - but nowhere near the depth of Phantom, Cadets, or SCV. Phantom just barely missed Carolina and I have a feeling when they start going head to head - they will overtake them.

[voodoo sweet]

So that's that! Take it for what it's worth, an old marching girl's mildly bitter (oxymoron?) take from home. I'd rather be marching.

No you should become a DCI judge!!!!

[voodoo sweet]

Wow, I disagree with you on so many things. BUT MAINLY

Cavaliers visual was NOT clean at all unless you are referring to the VIS GE. The difference from person to person was very apparent to me. I was shocked at the level of their marching.

I agree with you too especially if your marching the same patterns just diffrent shows!!!

[mistofflies]

I agree with you too especially if your marching the same patterns just diffrent shows!!!

I don't think he's talking about forms. The Cavaliers, form-wise, are generally pretty clean. Especially from up top where their uniforms really help out.

He's talking about visual style from person to person.

Personally, I've always though the Cavaliers are weak at this. Their upper and lower body technique is generally very different from person to person. However, their style is very hard to get uniform from person to person (especially in the lower body). The trick is, the uniforms distract from the lower body so you notice the forms over the style of movement between forms.

And of course, because I'll get flamed if I don't say it, I'm not "bashing" the Cavaliers just pointing out that I've always noticed this problem with them. Bicycle is just harder to make uniform than straight leg. But that doesn't explain away the relatively lax upper body posture I've noticed from them over the years.

But really it's something you mostly only notice either from close-up or side views.

[Tone Quality Matters]

Had Crown gone first in the last group of 3, I have a feeling that they wouldn't have beat Phantom. Their show is good - but nowhere near the depth of Phantom, Cadets, or SCV. Phantom just barely missed Carolina and I have a feeling when they start going head to head - they will overtake them.

Look.

I like Phantoms show. However, Crown exectued their show cleaner and with more intesity.

Both go head to head in a couple of days and lets see how things go there