Atlanta

[southband]

So, first out of the gate: PIONEER I wish I could write a letter to each and every member of this corps and let them know how much I appreciate their endless efforts and amazing dedication to the activity. This was the best Pioneer I have ever seen. Good stuff!

Troopers love troopers. One of my only "chill bump" moments of the day. I think they whould be beating a few of the corps ahead of them. GOOD JOB GUARD! After all you've been through, you are doing a GREAT, GREAT job!!!

Academy eh. love the colors on the field. but. eh. nothing really jumped out at me. just....... eh. I admire the members for what they are doing and how hard they work.

Pacific Crest was another one that just didnt do it for me. Some nice ideas and concepts and some nice things.... also lots of dirt... everywhere...... BUT some nice ideas.....

Spirit[b][/b]much better than I expected. The guard..... hmmm.... maybe not start on flag during all the AMAZING drum stuff at the beginning. I think their GE could go up some just by re writing the beginning portion for the guard, and not utilize the flags until the but "hit". Some really dirty marching and form clarity issues.... but I was OK with me. Dont get the four girls in the corners...... but hey..... ?? It was OK with me.

Crossmen Some really nice moments. Something about their brass sound really bothers me. Not sure what it is. Guard was very enjoyable. Good to see BONES back in the hunt.

Madison. GREAT SHOW! I do think that with all the green on the field, the designers missed some great opportunities to introduce COLOR to the show. The flags were not very effective from a color/design standpoint. Drums sounded good to me..... some really great MADISONIC moments!

Blue Stars add me to the "I LOVE THIS SHOW" list. Reminds me of the early Crown shows by way of concept, implementing the concept..... corps can play! Whats up with the shakos?

Boston um............ well.............. it was a good show. just not my real cup of teah. BUT AGAIN.... I can enjoy watching shows that I may not connect with and appreciate what is going on behind the scenes as well as what is happening in front of me. I enjoyed watching the guard. The the snareline. They MOVE!

Colts LOVE THE RED! Cool! The show was solid! Guard did an execellent job. Some great percussion moments. Thought the hornline was great. Some dirt in the feet/forms...... but I still enjoyed the show.

Glassmen didnt think I was going to like this.... just because I am not usually really fond of Gmen's shows. But, I LIKED IT!!! Some nice things going on with the crates and the balloon flags (wait... did I just jump corps here???? hope not...oh well... ). Some cool visiuals. Probably my favorite Glassmen show to date!

Blue Knights are another one of those "not on my favorite list" , but I really enjoyed them. Very creative from a visual standpoint. Lots going on with corps proper dancing, posing..... good stuff. Not a fan of the "painted flags"... but really did like the blue ones.

Santa Clara Vanguard where were their feet tonight? they need to go back to wherever they rehearsed and get them! What a GREAT SHOW! Lots of drill/form/transition/individual issues on the field tonight. Love the "blue dress" transition. Need to see that a few more times to figure that one out! Thanks VANGUARD!!

Cadets are one of my favorite corps. First viewing of the year. The narration, in its watered down form as I understand from others, doesnt bother me at all. This corps PLAYS and MARCHES, and SPINS, and DRUMS like crazy. I think their score is about 2 points too low. But hey.... I'm not a judge.....

Bluecoats[b][/b] LOVED the concept! Carried out very well. I found myself watching the boxer way too much and missing out on some other great stuff... dangit!!!! Wanted a bit more of the ROCKY them. I was happy the boxer was more "boxeresque" than guard person.... and I will just leave that for your own personal interpretation.

Phantom Regiment Holy Drum Corps! WOW~! AMAZING sound. These kids never stop! I see people talking about the guard, and, yeah... I GUESS I can see how they kind of blend in, but I thought they were a great contributor to the show. This was one of my two TOPS tonight!

Cavaliers so they run and jump over each other, and they do all these cool visuals..... and the guard is great.... and the drums are great...... but...... where's the music? anyway.... LOVED this show for the visuals, the "gimmicks", etc. I'm a sucker for that kind of stuff!! THANKS!!!

Blue Devils absurd was ALL OVER that field! It's absurd they are as good as they are. I dont get it. But I dont care. They are doing an amazing job.

I probably missed a corps or two, and Im sure someone will let me know. Just got back to my friends apt. and thought I'd jot down a few of MY thoughts.... no one has to agree with me... but thats ok.

I think this was a GREAT day for the activity. So many strong corps..... My favorites of the day: Troopers!!!, CADETS!! CROWN!! PHANTOM!!!

Ok. Next?

Edited July 27, 2008 by southband

[baristeve]

you've got Blue Coats for blue stars... and the bluecoats for bluecoats.

[TexasPRfan]

Thanks for the review!

Harvey

[knightsbari]

the two you missed I believe are Mandarins, and Carolina Crown.

[SunSnare83]

First and only show for me this year. From an enjoyment, entertaining, got chills point of view from my perspective (top section on 40) here they are:

1) Phantom - awesome, Spartacus, wish the guard had colors that were more visible in first half of show. Great perc section and horns.

2) Bluecoats - Great energy & percussion. Nice abs on guard! :+)

3) Cavies - Awe-inpiring visuals

4) Blue Devils - They actually moved alot in their drill this year. Great job and energy. Loved the encore from the 3rd row.

5) Crown - Heard great things about them and wanted them to do good. Horns were phenomenal at times. Show was a little boring at times. Too much slow stuff. Some is good, but too much.

6) Cadets - Look great, march great. Not as good a show as previous years.

7) Santa Clara - Wow! Great job.

8) Blue Knights - Much better than expected.

9) Blue Stars - best I've seen them in many, many years. Picked them to squeek past Boston and they did.

10) Boston - Great job and energy

11) Glassmen - Good job.

12) Crossmen - Good job. Still lots of marching errors for this time of season.