fecontra Posted June 15, 2009 Share Posted June 15, 2009 (edited) The weather report for Saturday was for some patchy clouds, in fact steady rain drenched the whole area much of the day, and then by some miracle the area of moisture decided to leave Bayonne just before showtime. ( it did leave an area of muck at midfield ). The show was to begin at six, and it did: Members of Scout House played the Canadian anthem, and then a young girl did a valiant vocal effort of the National Anthem sans proper amplification. About 35 minutes later the Golden Knights entered the field: ( Bias alert ) This year BS is using two triple horizontal bass and the effect is tremendous! Many corps would die to have a soprano line like theirs, the whole corps can flat out play - my wife ( her of the dance school and piano lesson genre ) commented that their music and sound is so inspiring she would hate to follow this show with one of the modern groups ( especially playing standstill style ) BS has a great show and a healthy size corps to play it! Next up ( I think ) was Fusion Core. Hopefully they will continue to grow in membership, those already there play well, they have a nice show and a bright future. First comic event of the night - the purple tow vehicle they had wouldn't move after their show and their members were nudging it along! All the while Preston Scout House Bugle Band were prancing their way onto the field, they did a full field show in spite of the mud! If you get a chance to see them it's really a great program - " Waltzing Matilda " really gets the crowd going! Very well balanced corps, they show off all their sections - especially the prancing guard. One of the highlights of the evening for me was the return of the Reilly Raiders to the field! They also did a field show, this is a good sized corps with good balance across the sections, and the musical chart is a delight for the older ears! In the age of cookie cutter uniform it's a real treat to see some silk blouses and motorcycle hats! Welcome back Reilly! At this point my fuzzy head may have some corps out of order so pardon me if I err Wayne Raiders have a nice show - IMHO they were more complete than Jersey Surf - they did some drill and then moved into a different block. They are about their normal size - except a large snare section and tubas - they seem a bit better to me than in years past. Nice book - well played - they acquitted themselves well. Park City Pride : second comic moment of the evening : Drum Major shouts to the crowd " Sorry we are late, but they told us 845 ( it was 815 )! Announcer responds " Two point penalty for talking on the field"! PCP played the #1 ( to me ) song of the evening: reprising the 1966 Hurricanes " One of those songs " The contra/tuba underpinnings in this tune are one of my all time favs! PCP also marched their field show - complete with the " Sex Cymbals "! Great show ye from the Nutmeg State! Then came the running of the bulls! Cabs attempted to blow down the stands from a close-up arch! As usual, Russo was hamming/yacking it up with the crowd! Great to hear the musical book up close - especially "Perfidia " for me! Largest corps of the evening, incredible sound and I just love the timbre/voices of that sixties style drumline! Jersey Surf is marching about 56 horns - 10 snare- 5 quads - 5 bass - 5 cymbals - no count on guard. Their hornline is nicely balanced - they played from a large arc - they seem to be early in getting cleaned - at one point they had a piece of music where the pit, drumline and brass sections seemed to be out of time. Their show ended abruptly with { first time I have heard one ) with some kind of sound coming from a synthesizer! Hope they clean up their show fast! Finally - what a way to enter the field - Bridgemen blasted " William Tell Overture " complete with flashing lights and sirens! Bridgemen marched their field show - and it is great! " Big Sound from Winetka " had the dancing sirens enticing players and all! Great sound and a show to remember! I had a 17 hour workday on Friday and an 80 mile trip home- so we left before the massed taps playing! Great Show Bridgemen Org! frankiE Edited June 15, 2009 by fecontra Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elphaba01 Posted June 15, 2009 Share Posted June 15, 2009 The weather report for Saturday was for some patchy clouds, in fact steady rain drenched the whole area much of the day, and then by some miracle the area of moisture decided to leave Bayonne just before showtime. ( it did leave an area of muck at midfield ).The show was to begin at six, and it did: Members of Scout House played the Canadian anthem, and then a young girl did a valiant vocal effort of the National Anthem sans proper amplification. About 35 minutes later the Golden Knights entered the field: ( Bias alert ) This year BS is using two triple horizontal bass and the effect is tremendous! Many corps would die to have a soprano line like theirs, the whole corps can flat out play - my wife ( her of the dance school and piano lesson genre ) commented that their music and sound is so inspiring she would hate to follow this show with one of the modern groups ( especially playing standstill style ) BS has a great show and a healthy size corps to play it! Next up ( I think ) was Fusion Core. Hopefully they will continue to grow in membership, those already there play well, they have a nice show and a bright future. First comic event of the night - the purple tow vehicle they had wouldn't move after their show and their members were nudging it along! All the while Preston Scout House Bugle Band were prancing their way onto the field, they did a full field show in spite of the mud! If you get a chance to see them it's really a great program - " Waltzing Matilda " really gets the crowd going! Very well balanced corps, they show off all their sections - especially the prancing guard. One of the highlights of the evening for me was the return of the Reilly Raiders to the field! They also did a field show, this is a good sized corps with good balance across the sections, and the musical chart is a delight for the older ears! In the age of cookie cutter uniform it's a real treat to see some silk blouses and motorcycle hats! Welcome back Reilly! At this point my fuzzy head may have some corps out of order so pardon me if I err Wayne Raiders have a nice show - IMHO they were more complete than Jersey Surf - they did some drill and then moved into a different block. They are about their normal size - except a large snare section and tubas - they seem a bit better to me than in years past. Nice book - well played - they acquitted themselves well. Park City Pride : second comic moment of the evening : Drum Major shouts to the crowd " Sorry we are late, but they told us 845 ( it was 815 )! Announcer responds " Two point penalty for talking on the field"! PCP played the #1 ( to me ) song of the evening: reprising the 1966 Hurricanes " One of those songs " The contra/tuba underpinnings in this tune are one of my all time favs! PCP also marched their field show - complete with the " Sex Cymbals "! Great show ye from the Nutmeg State! Then came the running of the bulls! Cabs attempted to blow down the stands from a close-up arch! As usual, Russo was hamming/yacking it up with the crowd! Great to hear the musical book up close - especially "Perfidia " for me! Largest corps of the evening, incredible sound and I just love the timbre/voices of that sixties style drumline! Jersey Surf is marching about 56 horns - 10 snare- 5 quads - 5 bass - 5 cymbals - no count on guard. Their hornline is nicely balanced - they played from a large arc - they seem to be early in getting cleaned - at one point they had a piece of music where the pit, drumline and brass sections seemed to be out of time. Their show ended abruptly with { first time I have heard one ) with some kind of sound coming from a synthesizer! Hope they clean up their show fast! Finally - what a way to enter the field - Bridgemen blasted " William Tell Overture " complete with flashing lights and sirens! Bridgemen marched their field show - and it is great! " Big Sound from Winetka " had the dancing sirens enticing players and all! Great sound and a show to remember! I had a 17 hour workday on Friday and an 80 mile trip home- so we left before the massed taps playing! Great Show Bridgemen Org! frankiE "TOS Thoughts": Thanks for the great write up!!! Also Loved Park City's "Sex Cymbals" and the "Durante" opener. Take the rest of the day off, with pay!!!! Elphaba WWW Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cabalumnidrummer Posted June 15, 2009 Share Posted June 15, 2009 fecontra said: "Then came the running of the bulls! Cabs attempted to blow down the stands from a close-up arch! As usual, Russo was hamming/yacking it up with the crowd! Great to hear the musical book up close - especially "Perfidia " for me! Largest corps of the evening, incredible sound and I just love the timbre/voices of that sixties style drumline!" Thank you for the kind words. We try to recreate the authentic drumline sound of the 60's and early 70's with our instrumentation and tuning, since that's the style of drumming we use. Thank you for recognizing that and appreciating it! Incidentally, those are restored, 1960'-70's vintage Ludwig, all-metal snare drums, not new drums, and not chrome on wood. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
overthehillDM Posted June 15, 2009 Share Posted June 15, 2009 Thank you for the great review of our show, fecontra! Although we didn't enjoy very good weather on Saturday, it was obvious that everyone gave it their all, and put their hearts and souls into their performances. Not an easy task under such adverse conditions! I would like to thank everyone that attended the TOS this past Saturday in Bayonne. Every person that was in attendance made the evening special, from the awesome volunteers that gave their time, and hard work to make the show run smoothly; to the fans in attendance, (you were a WONDERFUL audience, and your love and support are greatly appreciated by all of the corps members!); and finally... to the corps members, instructional staff members, and support staff...all of your efforts made this year's TOS one of the best ever!!! And a very special thanks to our director, George Lavelle; our business manager, Nancy DuCharme; and the rest of the Bridgemen Administrative Team Members, for making the TOS a very successful reality, and truly a night to remember! To all of the aforementioned individuals, a very heartfelt... THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU!!!!!! It was a wonderful night, and we had SO MUCH FUN!!! And, last, but not least... On behalf of the Bridgemen, I would like to thank all of the horn players from Blessed Sacrament, Fusion Core, Park City Pride, Raiders, Scout House, Reilley Raiders, and Jersey Surf, that joined us in our very special tribute to the late Jerry Morecraft. Jerry served as Drum Major of the Bridgemen from 1973, until 1977, and he is greatly missed by his family, and friends. Jerry was a GREAT Drum Major, and an even GREATER man. I had the privilege of marching under his leadership in 1977, and I learned a great deal from him. It was wonderful to feel the love, and support of our fellow brothers and sisters in these other corps, as we played "Taps" in honor of Jerry, in front of his widow, Kate, and their daughters, Kaitlin, and Shannon. I can't thank you all enough for your kindness, and support. It meant a GREAT DEAL to all of us, and we are forever in your debt. On a personal note...it was WONDERFUL to lead over 300 horns in the tribute, and I am grateful for the opportunity to have been part of such a special and fitting tribute to a dear, cherished friend, and brother! The sound was simply AMAZING! And, of course, I must also thank the members of the Bridgemen horn line for their outstanding efforts, as well! I know that Jerry was always very proud of our corps, and was never more proud of us than during his special tribute at the TOS. To all horn players that participated... Thank you for making a beautiful moment even more beautiful than anyone could ever hope for!!! Jerry... We love you, and miss you. Rest in peace, my brother. Love, Jim Jordan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
overthehillDM Posted June 16, 2009 Share Posted June 16, 2009 (edited) It was a great night!!! Edited June 22, 2009 by overthehillDM Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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