Murfreesboro Review

[membase]

Okay...since nobody has posted a review of Friday night's Murfreesboro show, here comes my first ever review on DCP. This is based strictly on memory since I didn't take notes.

THE SHOW

MTSU's stadium is my all-time favorite place for a corps (or band) competition, mainly because my high school's biggest show of the season was always here. Of course, the stadium has changed greatly since my marching days in the late 1980s, but it's still a great place to watch a show. Good crowds, great town, easy stadium to get to and easy parking.

After a hot and muggy day, the temperatures and humidity dropped just in time. By the first performance, it was a comfortable setting for some great drum corps.

BLUE KNIGHTS

There's clearly some separation between them and the other seven corps in the show - they placed eighth in every single subcaption. The difference in performance level was evident from the stands, too. Not so much that there were obvious errors, but that many members did not seem as poised, experienced, and confident in their individual responsibilities as a performer. I may be wrong, but this would seem to be one of those corps that gets raided of its most skilled members by the contending corps.

I don't recall a great deal about their show. The audience was appreciative for the effort, and the corps certainly performed as if they were excited to be in the top eight. Hats off to this program for remaining a consistent finalist over the past 10-15 years.

SANTA CLARA VANGUARD

After watching SCV, I had difficulty believing they were ranked #7 going in. Perhaps this was because of the considerable jump in performance quality from Blue Knights to them. It was a crisp, effective performance with plenty of energy and excitement. Some recent Vanguard shows have done little for me and seemed to emphasize the abstract and the mechanical over expressiveness and passion, but this one drew me in much more.

Last time I read a review of SCV, there was reportedly no place to shout VANGUARD, but there is now! It surprised me that they were behind Bluecoats, especially in GE, but they are close enough that they could slide into 6th by season's end. This show has more upside than 'Coats, I think.

BLUECOATS

My last in-person viewing of Bluecoats was 2005, when they were breaking into the Top 5. They're still a fine corps, but seem to have lost the performance edge they had just a couple of years ago (particulary brass). The boxing theme and requisite boxing trunks reminded me of something a high school band would produce. Still, the show was entertaining and fun most of the way. It was nice to hear Berstein's On The Waterfront featured so prominently, even if it's not something I would readily associate with Bluecoats.

I just knew, even without reading any review of this show, that Rocky would be the closer. I think they need to work on cleaning that ending up musically. At least on Friday, it sounded a bit muddled - either that or the brass arrangement is not scored very well. There are some nice parts in Mr. Mancini's music that just weren't being played out.

CADETS

Throughout the 80s and 90s, the Cadets were hands down my favorite corps. Over the past 4-5 years, they've dropped to one of my least favorite...and I will admit that the persistent, prodigious use of narration accounts for most of my attitude shift. I was not looking forward to this show at all, even joking to my buddies that I might leave the stands to get a hot dog rather than watch another slap-in-the-face talkie from Cadets.

And then....well, I didn't mind it so much. The narration was less obnoxious as the previous three years, perhaps because it was primarily a single person rather than numerous voices jumping in and out. Also, the voiceovers seemed spaced far enough apart to allow the music to build, and for the audience to enjoy the musicianship (which is still very, very good). The stage and characters were placed in such a way that they were more of a backdrop, which allowed the drill and color guard to assume its rightful place as the primary visual focus. The energy produced during the big push 1-2 minutes from the ending exhibited many of the "classic" Cadets elements, particulary franetic movement and complex musical scoring that throws more at you than you possibly can take in at once. The crowd's enthusiastic reaction was as if to say, "finally, the real Cadets showed up...if only briefly".

As for the storyline itself, I did follow it and it was mildly touching. I recall reading that the woman gets cancer somewhere along the way, but (happily) that got ditched. The final touch with the little girl was schmaltzy indeed, but I guess I've seen worse. I still desperately would like to see Cadets remove the talking as a permanent fixture of their programming. I understand the desire to be innovators and take risks, but this is no longer a novel concept and clearly not something that's gaining widespread acceptance in the drum corps artform, nor helping them connect better with the audience or entertain. Maybe this is part of YEA's mission to artistically educate, but does dramatic acting have to be part of that mission every year? Other forms of art are not.

PHANTOM REGIMENT

Who replaced Cadets as my favorite corps during the past few years? Maybe it's been Phantom. I greatly appreciate their commitment to the tradition and style that has carried them so far over the years. They may veer off a bit some years, but they always seem to come back. The look, the sound, the design is unmistakably Phantom Regiment...yet they tweek things just enough to stay near the top of the activity creatively.

This show kept our crowd intrigued from start to finish. The theatrical elements and dramatizations are tastefully integrated in such a way that they complement, rather than distract from, the drill and musical ensemble. Performance-wise, they are clicking on all cylinders musically. The percussion is razor-sharp (even to me, a brass guy), and I saw/heard no noticeable execution errors anywhere, although I see from the recaps that visual scores are clearly what's holding this corps back from beating out BD and Cavies. I wonder if these are minor flaws that can be corrected, or something inherent in the design (such as lack of demand) that they're stuck with? It was hard for me to tell from the 13th row.

My friend sitting with me called this his favorite show by any corps in the past 15 years. I'm not ready to go that far, but this is a classic Phantom Regiment show and it's not difficult to imagine it coming out on top in Bloomington. Impressive as they were on Friday night, I don't think they've peaked. They are within striking distance of Cavies...but can they perform at the level necessary to catch BD?

CAROLINA CROWN

I think what pleases me the most about Crown's success this year is that they are doing it with what is, to me, an "old school" show with no readily-apparent theme, storyline or abundant props and gimmicks. Not that those things have no place in "my" drum corps universe (they do), but a little stylistic or design diversity is a good thing...even if it means going back in time for it. Still, I get the feeling from looking at their GE scores that they're just not pushing the envelope enough for the tastes of the DCI judging community.

Crown has power, 80 horns worth, and you feel every bit of it. The opening hit in Candide was probably the highest volume level reached by anybody, and the crowd ate it up. The next thing that impressed me about Crown was the advancements they've made in demand and sophistication. My friend and I agreed that it was like the "old" Cadets were now wearing Crown uniforms...there were plenty of very exposed brass runs executed cleanly and confidently. I noticed several minor errors in the middle of the show, especially in Claire De Lune, where I was able to pick out very few in Phantom's performance, so it did not surprise me that they slipped behind Phantom.

CAVALIERS

I enjoyed this Cavaliers program better than any in years. For the past decade, I've found this corps to be technically fabulous, but not particularly engrossing musically or emotionally. In fact, I found the title of their 2006 show, "Machine", particularly humorous because I have thought most of their 2000s shows were machine-like. This show, however, catches on with me much better. I love the guard costumes! The musical book is exciting and full of all sorts of treats, and of course they remain at the top of the activity visually where they've been for years and years. The acrobatics are amazing...and the slow-motion sword action at the end was probably the most crowd-pleasing moment of the evening.

The San Antonio recording I listened to didn't come close to doing this show justice. Maybe it's because this corps is visually oriented to a greater degree than others, and so it is almost impossible to pull the music out by itself and feel entertained. Whatever the case, after several years of rooting against them to win, I'm happy to say that it wouldn't bother me at all if this corps came out on top in 2008.

BLUE DEVILS

I probably have twice as many Blue Devils shows in my historical Top 50 than anybody other corps, but it can be hit and miss with them. For instance, I loved their musical books from 2002 and 2007 tremendously, but I don't even bother listening to 2001 or 2005. Honestly, I don't know where this year's edition is going to fit on that continuum. I had listened to the audio recording 6 or 7 times before Friday and found lots of musical stuff in this show I liked. In person, however, I was disappointed. It was almost the reverse of the Cavaliers...a show I largely ignored on the iPod but very much liked in person. Maybe BD was just flat Friday night.

Visually, there's lots of interesting stuff going on, and more than perhaps any other BD show in memory it really highlights individual perfomers, whether doing things like "walking the tightrope", playing hopscotch with guard equipment left on the field, and the like. They undoubtedly deserve the high marks they're getting in both Visual GE and Visual Performance. I'm afraid they also deserved the 4th place they got in GE Music...lacking in volume, dynamic contrast, and impact. We wondered aloud if the visual demands, which are greater here than in the typical Devils show, aren't taking their toll on sound. This just wasn't the Blue Devils musical intensity we were expecting. I was also hoping that they'd have changed the ending, which doesn't quite seem to build to a satisfying climax.

I see they bumped up to #2 in GE Music (and #1 in total GE) on Saturday, so it may have indeed been an off night, but from listening to the muted crowd response you'd think they have a long, long way to go in winning the crowd...insomuch as that matters competitively in DCI. That was quite a surprise, since I've read almost nothing but positive reviews of this show, including from people who aren't usually Blue Devils fans. I am a Blue Devils fan, and while I really wanted to like this show for its fun and lighthearted nature, that particular performance on Friday just didn't sell me.

My rankings (score)

1. Cavaliers (93.0)

2. Blue Devils (92.5)

3. Phantom Regiment (92.2)

4. Carolina Crown (91.8)

5. Cadets (91.0)

6. SCV (88.0)

7. Bluecoats (87.5)

8. Blue Knights (84.0)

Overall, there's lots of good material on the field this year. My friend, who has really been down on the corps activity the past 5-8 years, was won over again, and that was great to see. We're eagerly awaiting August 7th so we can go to our local theater and watch the semis live.

Edited July 28, 2008 by membase

[Three Fingered Jack]

Excellent review! Sounds like your friend knew what he was talking about with Phantom.

[membase]

Excellent review! Sounds like your friend knew what he was talking about with Phantom.

Yeah...he gets one right every so often

[k1001001]

My friend and I agreed that it was like the "old" Cadets were now wearing Crown uniforms...there were plenty of very exposed brass runs executed cleanly and confidently. I noticed several minor errors in the middle of the show, especially in Claire De Lune, where I was able to pick out very few in Phantom's performance, so it did not surprise me that they slipped behind Phantom.

Maybe because Phantom doesn't have any exposed brass runs to slip on?

Don't get me wrong. I absolutely love Phantom's show, but there is a reason Crown is currently winning musicianship. They actually play musically.

[Lancerlady]

Thank you for this review. It was well written and I appreciate it. Now I can get an idea of what I can look forward to at the cinecast.

Edited July 29, 2008 by Lancerlady