Atlanta musings

[RubellaScurvy]

PIONEER

Nice brass sound and I loved Crown Imperial. Guard was the weakest section

MANDARINS

Very nice brass control and balance between brass and drums. Guard was weakest section.

TROOPERS

Good M & M. I loved the inclusion of the classic Troopers flags (white and yellow with crossed sabres) Weapons were TIGHT!

ACADEMY

Loved the repetoire. The battery drowned out the brass at times. I don't think they are yet performing this show to its full potential and when they do, they could certainly move up in the rankings.

PACIFIC CREST

My first time seeing them and I was impressed. Guard was the weakest section. The pit sounded wonderful.

SPIRIT

Great drumline. Guard was the weakest section. I didn't care for the dancing.

COLTS

Great guard and I loved the feature guard member during the opening moments in the classic Colts uniform of old. I'm not exactly sure why the baton twirler was needed but he was very good. Better than the Cadets baton twirler from a few seasons ago, I thought.

MADISON

Nice BIG brass sound. They had marching and guard issues.

BLUE STARS

My first thought after "YAY! It's the Blue Stars!" was "Where the %#@& are their helmets?" followed by "What the *$#% are they wearing?" The classic Blue Stars uniform is gone but don't get me wrong... I LOVE you, Blue Stars. Even when you were our competition back in the late 70's I have ALWAYS loved you and you have my unending respect for perservering and enduring through good times and bad. so wear whatever you want. BS have a very talented guard and a clever show theme, which they sold well. Nice sound from the brass and drums and great repetoire.

GLASSMEN

I didn't care for the little girl character - she reminded me too much of the dreaded "Solo Interpretive Dancer" syndrome of the 80s and early 90s but overall I enjoyed the show. I thought the boxes looked somewhat cumbersome but nice job by the guard and exciting and well-executed body movement by the brass line.

CROSSMEN

Great repetoire and talented guard. The only weakness I observed was in marching. I do hope they can maintain the momentum and stay in the top 12.

BOSTON

Good overall. The horns and rifles seemed especially tight. The music from the Matrix was wonderfully performed, as was the rest of the musical selections.

SCV

I love the music, as I am a big fan of both John Adams & Philip Glass. The brass and drums had a lot of power and the guard was very energetic. If they could clean things up a bit, I do think they could move up a couple of spots.

BLUE KNIGHTS

I enjoyed the musical selections but the guard didn't seem as clean as in seasons past and I thought there was too much body movement and dance from the brass line.

CADETS

I had to roll my eyes when they brought out the stage set but I was determined to keep an open mind. I guess my opinion of the show is running about the same as the majority here - I just don't think the dialogue enhances the show at all. In fact, I think it detracts from the softer musical moments. And if you are going to have "characters" then you need character development. Eleven minutes and sporadic dialogue isn't enough time to fully develop characters, so I can't say I cared about them. Otherwise, they played, drummed, and spun very well. The ending was somewhat gimmicky and left me feeling cold.

PHANTOM

So nice to hear the familiar notes from Spartacus again! The theme and emotions are conveyed very well. The weapons were very agressive. The guard seemed to have a few issues toward the end but overall excellent. They have integrated men into the guard quite well.

BLUECOATS

Best weapons so far today. Boxing is a somewhat unusual theme for a drum corps to explore but they sold it well.

CAVALIERS

Beautiful, graceful, athletic -- all sections. They included a snippet of a famous Cavalier drill move from the late 80s/early 90s which I was glad to see.

CAROLINA CROWN

They came to entertain and they did! Took over from Bluecoats for "best weapons" Beautiful flag work, as usual. I really loved the numerous musical themes and the brass sounded better than ever.

BLUE DEVILS

Don't get me wrong because I do like BD but my attitude (before the performance) was along the lines of "Oh BD wins again ho hum" but I had new respect for them after the first few seconds of the show. The BD guard is Carolina Crown's only equal in difficulty and execution. Very nice rep - I'm glad to see them exploring other musical themes besides jazz because they carry it off very well. Loved the look of the uniforms.

So that's it. By the end of the night, my eyes were so tired that I was seeing cross-eyed, but as this was the only show I'll see this summer, I wanted to see IT ALL.

RES

[chadwick]

BLUECOATS

Best weapons so far today. Boxing is a somewhat unusual theme for a drum corps to explore but they sold it well.

Can you believe their guard finished 12th???????????