SA Review

[wesleyrp]

Well it's almost 1 AM and I am going to do the best I can to remember as much as I can about the entire day and give some thoughts.

I was so excited to get to the drum corps show that I had just got on the freeway and realized I had not yet got cash and that my tickets were on the counter back at home!! That's a big "DOH!!!" Anyway my wife just laughed and we still made it on time.

My vantage point was on the 40 yrd line stage left 16 rows up, so drill moves I could kinda read but not like people farther up. Anyway on to the corps.

Revolution- Caught them just in time and really enjoyed their show!! They play well and the guard seems to be the best I have seen of them in a while. I think they are top 5 material for Open Class and wish them the best. I have two current students marching Revo and am so proud of them and their accomplishments! Good luck guys and God Bless!

Academy- I think the crowd and myself were quite taken a back to hear such a powerful hornline @ 12:15 in the afternnoon show. Jeez, they woke us up big time. I really feel as though the corps is playing ok but their visual design and execution seem to be lacking. I don't remember a ton a bout the actual music itself other than I enjoyed it. I can say that I agree with the poster that said the Jupiter Tubas have a resonant tone, but I did not care for the high brass sounds. The trumpets had a very grainy tone and I am not sure if necessarily the students fault. Just my opinion.

Pioneer- When it is all said and done you have to respect Pioneer. They have gotten quite a bit better this year and they are keeping to their corps heritage and yet are playing a fairly modern show. The problem is that they do not have the size or the talent to be a serious competitor to try and be a semi-finalist corps this year. It is a crazy competitive year and there are just some great corps in World Class this year. I really thought the lead trumpets had a great tone and the corps is the best I have seen them in quite a while.

Mandarins- It is amazing to me that this corps has such a big and well rounded sound for such a small hornline. They are bigger than Pioneer but still quite a bit smaller than the other corps around them. The river theme is well conveyed from beginning to end. They play well, have good soloists and are a good drum corps this year. I am not a huge fan of their current uniform, but then I am not partial to burnt orange!!! (I'm a red raider grad!) Anyway I think this show while good is where it is going to stay. They could possibly make a move and catch Pac Crest, but I feel the corps above them just have a little more substance to them.

Pacific Crest- I was really looking forward to seeing them and their show. They play pretty well at the higher dynamic level, but when filtered out in the smaller ensembles they have a thin tone. Not real fond of the trumpet sound. Some decent drill movement, but nothing that jumps out at you. I also think that after quite a bit of early season hype, they placed right where they should have this afternoon. They will be in the hunt for a semi's spot, but I don't see finals for them this year.

Troopers- Man I love the troopers and the crowd did too. They got the best crowd response early on (before X-Men went on) and then they performed magnificently. The Iron horse theme is done very well especially in the opener and the fun second tune. The drill is good, but it doesn't just grab your attention. They are really filling their horns well and this was the first drumline that really played uber aggressive in my opinion. I wish they had been able to secure more guard members as the guard is not adding too much to the design right now. Great show, I had them as a dark horse to pull a finals spot from the afternoon. I would have put them ahead of both Spirit and Colts.

Spirit- Not much to say about this show. It was pretty dry. The hornline at times puts out a decent sound, but the sound is also very frail in the high brass at times. Some stick outs happening in exposed parts of the show. The drill does not sell the show concept adequately and thus the show seems very vanilla. It dos not appear that Spirit will be able to keep their 12th place streak going.

Colts- Honestly I was expecting the sound I heard from the Colts in '07 and got more of a mid 90's sound. I don't mean disrespect, but it seems as though the Colts are just letting it fly and what they get out of the horn is what they get. There are times that they have decent impact and balance but most of the time the trumpets dominate the sound and do so very brightly. I did not get a warm low brass sound like the produced a year ago. The night and day opener was cool and I thought the drumline and guard were the best sections of the corps. The guard outfits I thought should have been different to give the show more contrast. I do not see them them as a finalist. I feel the Crossmen and Madison have stronger overall designs and are performing better.

Madison- They threw down!!! I was thoroughly impressed with them in the afternoon. I really thought that had they gone after the break instead of before they would have made the night show. I still think that for a latin show, this iguana is too safe. They are performing with confidence and the hornline was smoking. I also though that this was the first drumline that really made you pay attention!! I was expecting to hear them called in 4th, but I was not surprised by the Crossmen either.

Crossmen- They have a great show. I am glad that this show did not become the "Planets Greatest Hits." Mind you I am a "Planets" Homer, but this show intertwined the pieces very uniquely. The hornline tends to have a hard time holding phrases on the move and this was where I though that Madison would catch them today. Otherwise I feel the drill and execution was on par with the Scouts today and did not disagree with them being in the night show. The crowd loved them and San Antonio is proud to have a top 12 caliber corps!!!

Glassmen- Have an ex guard student aging out with them after three years in the G-Men. Very proud and it makes me feel old. I have to say that I enjoy the beginning of this show better than the end. The hornline is better this year and the guard is great as usual. Drumline is not at the level they were back in the late 90's but they are also much improved. Overall I would say that this G-men crew is the best they have been in some time. That being said, I don't think they have the drill movement, or the musical difficulty to land them above 11th this year. The young lady that plays the little girl is great and this is a entertaining program, but it just lacks the difficulty needed to be a 7th, 8th or 9th place show.

Blue Stars There was a noticeable jump in both tone quality and sound production from the X-Men/Gmen to the BStars!! I have to admit I was blown away by their first impact. Now I don't want to sound negative because I like this show, but I feel they are not selling the bike theme in the hornline. The guard is good and their props and uniforms alone sell this show, but the hornline really does very lttle visually to add to the theme. I know they do the whole leg flex thing, but this show after such a promising start just kind of lulls in the middle. I feel that BStars are going to be solidly in 10th, but I am not sure they will be able to move up. The level of difficulty in their drill is not at the same level as BKnights and BAC.

Blue Knights- I am beyond biased, but I love this show. I though they had a great deal of energy and their was quite a bit of support here in SA for them. That being said I though they were off from a visual ensemble perspective in the afternoon, but they were much better ensemble vis wise in the evening. Even so they played extremely well in the afternoon and the guard seemed to be on. This show may not be everyone's cup o tea, but it is stocked full of graceful and difficult moves that are just breath taking. The hornline is dancing well and resembles a well groomed color guard in their skill. The marching technique is also better this year than I have seen in the past couple. This is strange since this corps is pretty young, but I really appreciate how they look visually as a unit. The drill is tough and I feel that the hornline and drumline are performing with more and more confince with each rep. They still have a ways to go to clean the final product, but look out when they do. I had them solidly in first in the afternoon and agreed with them beating Boston in the evening. More on that later. Stay Evil Knights!!!!

Well I can't write a review on the night show until I get some rest. More to come tomorrow, but wow what a truly amazing finals. This year is going to be remembered for a long time. More to come tomorrow!

Wes Perkins

BK '97 '98

Edited July 20, 2008 by wesleyrp

[Ryan H. Turner]

Just wanted to give you some quick props Mr. Perkins--really enjoyed your review.

[Matt_S]

I enjoyed the review, but found it unsatisfactorily lacking in exclamation points.

[TexasPRfan]

Another very nice review, Wesley. I always enjoy reading your reviews, as your passion for the activity comes through. I think we disagree on BK this year, but understandably so (and I've been a huge fan in 06 and 07), and to a smaller extent with Glassmen - otherwise, I agreed with your take on the rest of the corps almost to a tee.

Harvey