troon8 Posted August 8, 2008 Share Posted August 8, 2008 (edited) It's late, I have to get up unusually early (though sadly, not to go to Bloomington :( and I'm still ill, so I really shouldn't be writing this, and yet, what better way to mark Post #300?! What a great Quarterfinals broadcast tonight!!!! The only real downside to our event was the very low attendance...maybe only 20-30 at our Chicago location. But hey, better seats for all. This was my first cinecast experience, and it was well worth it. The volume could've been a little louder instead of being at a "comfortable" decibel level, but everything was still plenty audible, and the only technical glitch was a terrifying 3 second stall during the Cavie's drum break. On to a very undetailed review of the shows...keep in mind of course, that this was all on the big screen, not in person, so your real world viewing experience may have differed considerably. Alot of this is just comparisons from my only live show in Madison waaaaay back in June. PIONEER, ACADEMY, MANDARINS, PACIFIC CREST & TROOPERS CLIPS: Could we have more? Pretty please? Academy seemed fairly talented, I was intrigued by the Mandarins & PC's music, and the Troopers seem to have decided (correctly) that the more train sounds, the awesomer. Congrats on Semis, Troop!!!!! SPIRIT: I try to avoid being so negative, but this show rather bored me, at least in the theatre. I don't remember much, it all kind of blurred together...sorry. COLTS: Surprise of the night for me! I wish I could go back to the "Most Underrated / Overrated Show" poll and change my vote (the underrated part, that is.) Ultra catchy tunes, some neato drill moves (the rising sun at the end put a smile on my face.) "Hey, we've got some bells...why don't we just tell the audience what time it is?" Good call! Colts, thanks for the (gasp!) entertainment!!! SCOUTS: I felt the corps took a little bit to build up energy and really "take" the field musically. By the end of the first tune and into the second, the hornline finnaly had some bite to them. Drill was cleaner. A lot cleaner. Vastly improved since June! CROSSMEN: I thought their guard was much more energetic then Madison's, though I'm not sure which one had the odder uniform. Brass had a very smooth almost "safe" sound, I wonder what would happen if they let loose a little more. Still really enjoyed the arrangments. GLASSMEN: They seem to have gone for Maximum Cheese Effect in all categories. But in a good way! Glad they got rid of the whips, I didn't think they gelled well with that innocent little girl on the field....A few moments here and there when the high brass seemed to stick out a little unevenly, but overall, a pretty darn good performance. BLUE STARS: Loved them in June. Adored them tonight!!! Such a strong package & performance from start to finish! SPOILER ALERT! The cyclist drill at the end was a huge crowd pleaser...only to be topped by a a real bicycle! Also cheesy as heck? You betcha! But absolutly brilliant!!!! BOSTON CRUSADERS: Burly Brawl & closer were certainly their strongest parts, I didn't think the opening had quite as much ooomph to it as I had seen before. Loved how the doppler moments were captured in stereo in the theater! BLUE KNIGHTS: MUCH more enjoyable then in Madison! Even though not as "themed" as anyone else of the night, I thought it made a lot more "sense" then before. (OK, I promise not to use any more "quotes!") Much more coherent all around is the phrase I'll use. And very strong from a performance standpoint to boot, even if we're not quite sure what's going on, the corps seems to be certain of what they're doing. I should note that I am biased towards them, but I respect the fact that their show this year isn't everyone's cup of tea. Tonight, however, I found the tea to be quite tasty. BLUECOATS: Ok, they REALLY need to do better mic checks! Shorted out for the intro once again, and that's the spoken part I enjoy hearing the most. I still love this one, even if it could still use some cleaning. Pre-show music got me PUMPED! I'm starting to appreciate just how sick their drumline is. My only minor gripe is that ten out-loud "counts" (dang, I did it again!) seems like forever during a drum corps show. And boxers w/ rifles? ;) But still, one of my all around favorites. VANGUARD: I had heard a good audio recording from illicit sources, but this was my first viewing of the show. As always, absolutly steller drill! They actually had one of my favorite guards of the night, too, I loved how they were utilized in the opening, and really, throughout the whole show. The condensing waves in the closer right before the magic guard change was SO well integrated with the music, one of my most intense chills-up-the-spine moments of the night! I would've put them a wee bit ahead of the Cadets at least, and certainly not a full point and a half ahead, but that's just me... CADETS: I have nothing new to add to the conversation about the narration at this point. The backfield brass hits gave them some major echoing issues, probably because they were so far, well...backfield. Ending drill was classic high speed Cadets, and the music had an awful lot of punch. This corps has an extrmely high level of talent, but the total didn't add up to more than the sum of the parts for me. I'm not sure what's wrong with it...oh wait, yes I do. But I promised not to talk about it... PHANTOM: Another one I was viewing for the first time. Holy theatrics, Batman! Along with the Bluestars and Bluecoats, I thought they absolutly excelled at telling their story with just the right bells & whistles. (Wait, Roman slaves with rifles? Hmm... ;) Extremely meaty music! Everyone I was sitting with was holding their breath as the herald trumpets NAILED the opening fanfare! Phew...I can't speak much for them visually since there were hardly any high cam shots, what with all the mayham going on at the field level, but the few shots I do remember, looked very very clean. SPOILER ALERT! One ticket to DCI Quarterfinals Cinecast: $18.00. Betrayer Drum Major conducting the last moments of the show WITH ONE FOOT STILL ON TOP OF THE LIFELESS BODY OF THE OTHER DRUM MAJOR HE'S JUST SPEARED TO DEATH: Priceless!!! CROWN: I really don't have anything to add from my appraisal of them in June. They've tightened it up, and right now, they are seriously cranking one out. The best commendation I can give them: After the show I on the phone with a friend who watched the cinecast in Colorado who's been an avid Crown hater for years (yes, even last year)...he admited to his unconditional love for this show! Awesome awesome performance, what more can I say! CAVALIERS: Another one I'd have rather seen in full high cam, oh well. Love the new Samurai gear for the dueling duo in the beginning, but why get rid of a perfectly good scalp gag? I was a little peeved that the camera missed the hornline leap during the drum break. That is, of course, until it captured something I had never seen before near the end the SUPER Leap of Death!!! This was the only point of the night where my jaw litteraly dropped. An extreme feat of Samurai Skill!!!!! BLUE DEVILS: Visually, I hadn't a clue what I was seeing...but I was utterly intrigued by it. Perhaps the only Blue Devils show I've ever seen that I think I'd rather watch from the high cam. (I mean that as a compliment!) Cool as the half drum things they were using in the beginning were, there wasn't a whole lot else I remembered musically, other then the in-your-face ending. Wish we could've had even more then that...sigh...It's like everyone's been saying, their performance level is off the charts right now. I don't have a clue who will win this one. Shakeups in the Top 4 are still quite possible. I think it's safe to say that regardless, we're going to have some of the best 2nd, 3rd, & 4th place shows of all time here. As for my favorite this weekend, I'm hereby declaring my allegiance to the Roman Empire. And not just because I got a ride to the theatre from one of their alums. Kudos to PRAng & Sutasaurus for putting up with all my coughing! I am Spartacus! Edited August 8, 2008 by troon8 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bluecoats88 Posted August 8, 2008 Share Posted August 8, 2008 wait, you commented on Boxers and roman slaves with rifles, but what about the samurai's with rifles? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
troon8 Posted August 8, 2008 Author Share Posted August 8, 2008 (edited) wait, you commented on Boxers and roman slaves with rifles, but what about the samurai's with rifles? Touche, I'll have to brush up on my Japanese history. Bikers with rifles is also an odd combination. Although isn't that the Summer Olymics biathalon event? Tight rope walkers and rifles seems like a combo that's just asking for trouble... Edited August 8, 2008 by troon8 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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