Hamilton, On

[Quinny]

Ok so I havnt done reviews in a couple of years.. just havnt had much chance to see shows... and this will be my first ever DCI review of any kind i do believe.

ok first.. Im going to get my one annoyance out of my way.. The announcer, I do not think had seen a drum corps show.. Cause she kept pronouncing the "p" in corps.. instead of keeping it silent. However she did change after a few times of saying it. I think this was due to a few corrections made by people in the crowd.

Now my disclaimer. I am not a drummer.. or really dont know much when it comes to the technicality of whats clean/dirty/hard/ easy/.. so please understand if dont say anything of the drum lines.

General observation.. there were a few moments where the wind picked up a little bit so some guards had the odd issue with that.

Stadium.. actually really nice.. general admission.. I was sitting between the 50-45 stage left. Stadium wasnt that high.. but i was just high enough to make out forms.

Weather..humid.. thought it might storm but didnt.

There was a misunderstanding I think with concessions so at first there was no concession stand but an announcement was made and finally there were at least refreshments.

Ok.. onto the corps.

Im going to start with the exhibition corps.

Preston Scout (House).

I do know there name is Scout House.. but the announcer forgot half the name and just called the Preston Scouts.. anyway..

The music was very fun.. also very recognizable. There were probably the most comfortable corps on the field.. in that they didnt seem to have a very heavy uniform on. But still looked and sounded good.

Toronto Optomists

Missed the first part of your show.. I had to take a minute and get into the shade i was getting very hot by that point. But the last half was very good .. again very recognizable and fun tunes. Good Job.

Now the competators in order of appearance.

Les Stentors

my score.. 66.75. judges score.. 60.05

Ok say i may have been more lieniant with the but heres how i see it.. I really didnt know what to expect from Les Stentors. I was suprised with them.. in a good way. To get the negative out first.. I will say I noticed the feet were messy in parts. I noticed in the brass that there were some toning issues as well as either members over playing or staging problems. As for the guard..aside from my general observation. had some control problems today.

With that said. I still think it was a pretty good show.. the music seemed entertaining and the brass did have some nice moment.. Maybe even a little more sound then i was expecting. which was good. The guard for a seemingly young guard had a good vocabulary and I could see them working hard and performed well. Also really loved the flag designs. The drill from what i noticed.. though simple.. was pretty clean formation wise. So good job.

Legends

my score.. 69.00 judges score.. 71.55

Ok so they surprised me .. I was looking forward to seeing this new corps.. and they were good.. Nice brass line..a lot of sound.. maybe lost a little towards the end. really entertaining enjoyed the music a lot. Guard was pretty good.. great performers.. love the "fork in the road" equipment... made sense and very creative. Used well on the field for a small guard. I didnt notice much in the feet.. Formations seemed pretty clean. Over all.. liked this show a lot.. would like to see it again.

Beatrix

my score.. 79.75 judges score.. 79.10

This show was good.. really nice sound from the brass. Good music.. great to watch on the field. Brass had a nice tone. and seemed very balanced. Definitely the brass line with the most sound. But size does factor in there.. twice the size of any other brass line. Guard besides my "general observations" seemed to have some issues with control as well. But again preformed well, had a nice book.. will look really good if they clean it up. I noticed feet were very dirty in spots and transitions could be a little off. But as in actually hitting the forms.. seemed pretty clean to me. If they clean the show up.. it will be a great product to contend at DCI.

Raiders

my score.. 72.55 judges score.. 75.15

Ok. Like Stentors. I would like to get the negative out first and focus on positive. First thing.. sorry.. I just didnt like the music. Second.. i was hoping to hear a little larger sound. Ok..Brass still had a nice tone.. still some cleaning needed but nice tone. Also they seem to have more energy towards the end of the show.. Which is good in that they dont seem to have stamina problems. Guard.. other then the "general observation" also had a few issues with catches.. but.. they still performed well. I really like the guard book.. i do believe its very well written. tighten it up.. and I think this guard will do well at DCI's. love the flag designs as well.. especially the blue/green flags. As for form and marching, it seemed pretty clean nothing in the feet stuck out as dirty to me.. and formations were definitely readable. Good Job.

Dutch Boy

my score.. 75.20 judges score.. 73.40

I did have them ahead of Raiders today. I enjoyed this show. My one negative.. I guess I was hoping for a little more sound. That being said.. its a really entertaining show.. creative way to open for sure. The brass had some really nice toning going on.. but i did think it was a tad muddy in one or two parts.. and maybe some stamina issues right near the end.. but other then that good job.. This show is very visual.. and I think there strength lies there. The guard I thought was the tops of the day.. well controlled and well done. The saber soloist in the ballad .. was very good.. maybe she could do a little more. Very well done by her. Feet and form seemed to be good.. nothing really stuck out as dirty.. but i was really focused on the guard during this show. so hard to say if they were really dirty. Gad to see you guys. My friends who came with thought you should win.

Overall great day.. glad I showed up.. best of luck to all corps at DCI.

[kusankusho]

Nice review - thanks!

[sdstar]

Thanks for the review! I hope to see some of these corps at Open Class Finals.