Jeff Ream Posted September 2, 2008 Share Posted September 2, 2008 Ok, before we get to the corps, here's some random stuff. Fran and Ace....it's not DCA without you two. I understand the why you couldn't be there issues, and I totally agree with your decisions, but it's still weird. Tom Peashey and the gentleman who spelled you for the alumni show....great job both of you!!!! For short notice, you guys did a great job, and the alumni show guy had the line of the weekend: when introing les Dips, he mentioned some of the cities they come from and then added "and a bunch of other towns I can not pronounce" Sean Holton.........another year goes by, and I still miss you. I was not prepared for that page in the program. ok, on with the show in order of appearance prelims: Shenandoah Sound: definite improvement, and show flows better. Unsure about some of the role playing in the opening funeral dirge. still some individual performance issues, but hands down, your best effort ever and a good place to grow from. Lakeshoremen......new unis confused me. Liked the latin jazz, but needed some horses up top to carry it better. probably your toughest book yet, and if you had the 06 corps, you were fighting for finals. keep working tho, it's slowly paying off. GCS: LOVED the intro of Hells bells. really well done. However, Barracude lost me...seemed mid voice heavy, and we all know Anne Wilson's a diva with range. Open Arms broght me back, but Frankenstein seemed too mechanical. Still, again, your best effort yet, and a good place to grow from. Gold: much better balance than a month ago musically, but it seems while the brass grew, the percussion still had performance issues they had a month ago. Lots of feet issues in the 5/8 in Rutter couldnt have helped.Honestly, the theme was well thought out, but by the end of the year/show, everyone seemed tired. but...welcome back, keep growing. Frontier: I liked the corps musically, but the storyline of the guy with the suitcase and everything....it just lost me and became a distraction where it made me forget everything else, because i was so busy trying to figure it out. Grennies: what a difference a week makes, and i thought you had squeaked your way in. brass MUCH improved, and battery smoking. still a bunch of individual visual issues, but coming back from the dead and just missing says a lot. keep working it, guys, your day will come and finals will see yellow again! Govies.....first thing we noticed was "where's John?" While the traditional intro was cool without him, we didnt notice til halfway thru he was playing snare!! always a fun show, but the design seemed to say "more sops here" and they weren't. You guys looked like you were having fun, but the run seemed flat. havent analyzed recaps yet, but they may have been the issue. White Sabers: more growth in a week. biggest issue was percussion performance. still, light years better than last year, and the 2nd ballad was my favorite moment of your show. keep growing, you're back in the right direction Chops: loved the washboards. bass moment needed to be longer...all that work getting the 8 of them set up, and boom done 10 seconds later. seeing Stu conduct was a riot, and him skipping with his chair was priceless. very fun show, and after freebird in 05, you have me sold on knowing how to take classic rock and put it on the field. Fusion: much more energetic this week. percussion performance still an issue, and a big one. also some individual visual boo-boos. But, that hornline was delicious and the show was programmed very well. more a class corps should follow your lead in writing for a smaller corps So Cal: Loved the Queen show. tough to do when everyone expects Bohemian, but you did it. Some balance issues drums to brass. missle seemed to drag a bit, but the ending made up for it. MCL: fun show, but...it came across as written to make every thing keep building up to the screamer and the contra. Dont get me wrong, they were great, but it came off was what people bashed Empire for the last few years...the rest of the corps came off as a back up band for two leads. the lack of guard bodies in the ballad confused me, and i did hear judges told you there had been too much going on. ok...so then why are guard people visible sitting on the sidelines? hide em! seemed to me visual was the weakpoint. all that said...it WAS a fun show. Loved the DM Alliance: what a ####### drumline! some minor balance issues, and at times, it seemed the horns werent trying as hardas the drums, only becausethe drums were so dominatiing. loved the way the ending tied to the beginning. 20 more horns, welcome to open class finals show. well designed, even if a bit unhummable, but that drumline just pulled me in and never let go. Kilties: props for taking music one would not normally hear on the field and making it mostly work. only problem tho it was all seemed very much the same, with little variety in tempo. ensemble tears hurt, and given the drill, i'm not sure why there were tears. you werent running and spread out all over. i'd imagine the field captions hurt your score as well as visual in general. it's very frustrating...you're so close, yet it seems the same sheets hurt you year in and year out. it's time to take a leap and program some velocity in the show at the expense of a ton of notes and clean. way too many indivisual feet errors for finals weekend. Cru: was expecting the world after last week, but today was flat, even a few minor ensemble issues. noticed the lack of a bassline more this week....seemed like there could have been a lot more there. corps seemed to be trying too hard and forcing things, and as result i'd imagine Ge suffered. still a fun show, but maybe too much home crowd hype. CV: also seemed flat. people had issues marching the 5/4. Got the story arc, but Inferno didnt seem to fit musically. A nice change stylistically for you guys, but again, today seemed controlled, just trying to get in. Renegades: pit on the field had issues on toms...i think maybe too much listening and not enough watching. Loved the DM. was expecting more brass oomph. story arc was...well...i dunno. the evil trilogy in reverse was easier to follow...the backdrops didnt seem to help me. battery much improved, and feet demand evident, but seemed like a lot of boxes morphing into boxes. Bush: wow did this show grow from late July. 20 more horns...sunday night's a real mess. Guard a show by themselves, and that battery was smoking. at prelims, brass seemed a bit tired by the end...the pace was intense. with the holes filled in, everything more readable, and while the score stunned me, i couldnt disagree...you had a mission and you almost pulled it off...one day to go...that Justin guy on the box did ok brigs: again, a corps seemed flat. some performance issues, but i really got into the guard today. the run just seemed to lack oomph, which is easy to fix. a little surprised so far behind bush, but not surprised team evil that close and now the games begin....... MBI: always loved you guys. thought since 04, things got kinda stagnant. not this year. the show didnt revolve around the screamers, but they were used to enhance which worked so well! visual package stepped up, drumline smoking, and great interp of the musical style. of all of the big guns, you were the ONE corps I thought came to prelims with all guns blazing. didnt need a stroyline, everything flowed well. the sting ballad was incredible. already drooling for sunday Hurcs: first read and loved it, tho seemed flat brass wise....nerves? guard a few drops which surprised me given the rep. loved the visual beginning with the corps headed west ( and i checked my rachacha map...you were indeed going west). Murph's book fit like a glove, and the Shenandoah/Mariah ballad gave me goosebumps. Loved the mag 7 tease into Hoedown, and here is the highest compliment I can give: it's tough to take a classic and update it. everyone has the legend in their head. well guess what...mag 7 this year did what so few can do.....you took the classic and made it better. Cabs: smoking battery, but show to me took a while to heat up. the corea section seemed clean, but lacking the oomph the music is known for. Malaguena also seemed to be lacking that special something to take it over the top. still, i thought the corps performed well, but not maxing everything out. Empire: before i begin the lovefest, a complaint. I get why the signs for the broadway stuff and the wins they represent. Yet...why not for the 91 and 94 wins? The ending had several shades of 91 and Moonlight Serenade, as much as everyone made fun of it in the day, was the tune you guys opened with when you finally got one. That confused me to no end. That said....loved it mostly. teddy, best balanced percussion to date. strong brass not overdone by soloists and Gibby was on fire. nice to see familiar faces out there. Saigon ballad made me wish you'd do the 97 show all over again. Being an Empire fan, I loved the big band section and the broadway section. Thought the transition into the patriotic section seemed forced, but awesome to see the giant flag work...tho it's handlers could have hidden better. Bucs: seemed flat tonight. one minor ensemble iffy moment. pit till to die for, and snares performance improved. basses not cutting...stadium? tuning? transition into canon restatement still leaves me flat, but once into the push, all forgotten. guard much better. that said...i thought a 98 was a touch too high. in fact, had ES closer. but hey, there's still Sunday which will come soon Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeff Ream Posted September 2, 2008 Author Share Posted September 2, 2008 alumni show: got there late, needed sleep. arrived as Sky was on, i think in columbia. from there, very fun show with a reduced snare line still clean as balls. Jomba makes a good dm tho he still cant dance Ny ending always great and you cant go wrong with Elks Park City again very entertaining and huge. they obviously have fun and figured out how to blend a zillion corps into one without sacrificing anyones identity. Dips: fun show of Beatles tunes, tho the storyline you had going with the dancers confused more than a few in this old school crowd. Bridgemen: Jerome can play his ### off still. always fun, and knew the original drum parts to all the tunes. Liz, i told you sunday night....you play a ##### well !!! inside joke...watch the video during Winnetka). now...please, i beg...WILL FINALLY PLAY THE CIVIL WAR SUITE?!?!?!?!?!? I dont care if the north, south, east or west win, just play it!!! St. Joes...huge rise in quality this year,and definitely had the hometown edge! and the Cabs:...the rolls royce of the activity, be it going for scores or in alumni corps. a more modern drill ( aka 70's) and as always the soloists are top notch. Loved seeing the field corps run in to catch you guys as i guess they got in late and seeing the energy level of the alumni go up as the "kids" filed in. Frank...thank you. if you do Brett Farve it, no one will complain. Olive Garden out the marketplace mall...bravo. fast service, good food, and cheaper than here at home. ok quick break then finals Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeff Ream Posted September 2, 2008 Author Share Posted September 2, 2008 ok, finals: SoCal...not sure why the score drop, thought the show was better than prelims. was able to appreciate the pit even more tonight Chops: again a better show, even if Stu was conducting. really got into the ballad tonight Fusion....a drum score from a win. seemed a little flat compared to prelims. Alliance....not sure why the score was lower than yesterday. thought the whole corps was on fire and much better than prelims. what a drumline. Cru...better than prelims, still didnt reach me like at Reading. a few perc issues in places they hadnt been...home town hype? still, a step up from last year. keep building! CV: much better at finals, it had that oomph. again, unsure of the score drop Renegades...better at finals, with added power. mello soloist a scream. screamer a scream too. thought ya had brigs...still cant get that elusive 7th brigs:...thought prelims was better, but did feel the odd meter stuff finally clicked all the way at the end Bush....en fuego part 2. man Justin works hard on the box! battery absolutely smoking. horns no issues tonight and....coulda been 5th. Cabs...i know this wont make some friends happy, but I agree with the judges. it just didnt click at finals and others around you stepped up their games. Hurcs...wow a first that i can remember...same score both nights, but a much better show! totally hyped for the ending as was the crowd...welcome back to the big time! Empire....thought the show has more GE, but at the expense of some field stuff. you owned the crowd tho, and in the end, thats what it's about MBI....yes!!! yes!!! what a show...you cranked it up from prelims and threw the #### down!!!! my favorite show of the weekend, and a deserved 2nd place. so much for those east coast only conspiracies Bucs...snare issues, but overall a better show. pit to die for, power evident, and walts solo golden. congrats on #4, it was yours Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeff Ream Posted September 2, 2008 Author Share Posted September 2, 2008 oops....Star United....wow. what quality of sound. When you wish made me misty for the field corps. loved rocky point. you guys are too #### good!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kamarag Posted September 2, 2008 Share Posted September 2, 2008 Great review, Jeff! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CallipygianKing Posted September 2, 2008 Share Posted September 2, 2008 Chops: loved the washboards. bass moment needed to be longer...all that work getting the 8 of them set up, and boom done 10 seconds later. seeing Stu conduct was a riot, and him skipping with his chair was priceless. very fun show, and after freebird in 05, you have me sold on knowing how to take classic rock and put it on the field. Many thanks! Chops: again a better show, even if Stu was conducting. really got into the ballad tonight Well, he is entertaining in many ways, on and off the field. It's the "off the field" ones that we keep him around for. Like lawn mowing and rum drinking. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeff Ream Posted September 2, 2008 Author Share Posted September 2, 2008 Stu mow a lawn? surely you jest, thats what cabana boys are for in his mind Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jimbalaya Posted September 2, 2008 Share Posted September 2, 2008 Thanks Jeff...........good to see you and the light of your life Sunday night. Sorry to not have spent a little time. Joe oh, my lips are sealed......LOLOLOL Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peerno Posted September 2, 2008 Share Posted September 2, 2008 (edited) Bush....en fuego part 2. man Justin works hard on the box! battery absolutely smoking. horns no issues tonight and....coulda been 5th. Thanks Jeff! We could have been 5th place, a feat that no one could have predicted even a month ago. The drumline came a long way, too... with the best snareline in DCA this year, hands down. We look forward to doing this all again next year... anyone else want in? Chris Perna Edited September 2, 2008 by Peerno Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peerno Posted September 2, 2008 Share Posted September 2, 2008 (edited) By the way... just wanted to comment that Bushwackers this year was a drum corps with a ton of heart... we came a long way in a short time. For all of the ups and downs, it was a summer I won't forget. Cp Edited September 2, 2008 by Peerno Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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