DCI West Review

[bgg80]

Second (and last) show of the season. Beautiful, warm summer night at Stanford Stadium. Apologies to the Open class corps -- I didn't arrive at the show until the intermission. My thoughts on the six World Class Corps:

Mandarins: Nice solid corps. Good sound. Nothing very memorable, except for the guard pulling air mattresses all over the field during one segment. Didn't really work.

Troopers: Surprised me. Nice visual package. West(ern) Side Story. Some nice moments from the brass in the ballad sections. I saw a starburst drill at one point ... nostalgic. Guard did a good job.

Blue Knights: Show just didn't do it for me. Winter theme. Brass didn't give me much more than the Troopers did. They'll probably break into finals -- but no higher than 10th.

Bluecoats: Nice show -- enjoyed 'Children's Hour of Dream' (something like that) a-la Blue Devils 1996. Saw a poor guy in the guard with a completely bloodied face. Must have been hit by a rifle. He kept going, but his entire face had blood. He may have stayed under the front black walls for the the last 3rd of the show to put something on his forehead. Saw him walking off afterward, and seemed to be OK. GREAT drumline. Really enjoyed their playing. Brass was solid, but not quite as powerful as I was expecting. GREAT jazzy ending. Some good park and blow. They had some good humor too -- flags featuring pigs with wings. Got a good laugh when the guard threw em up in the air. 6th-8th place come finals.

SCV: Musically, I love this corps. They play with incredible control. Beautiful moments throughout their complete playing of Appalachian Spring. Very, very refined. The drum break is a surprise, with some really nice playing. Then, the buildup to the company front push. AMAZING -- crowd goes nuts. Standing O. Then they drift backfield for the soft ending. Musically they are simply (no pun intended) wonderful. Placing at finals? 4th or 5th. Why? The drill is simply not championship caliber ... at all. There is no real demand (save the drum break). Mostly 8 to 5 marching. Some nice forms. Good technique. But NO sustained demand. Its strange to see the Blue Devils drill and marching completely outclass SCV. If this show had the kind of daring, difficult drill I've come to expect from SCV over the years, they would be a contender for #1. It's a shame ... but on the plus side, the easier drill REALLY lets them play with high quality and CLASS. Thanks to SCV for a great show. I don't know if its too late for a drill rewrite. If not, they will deliver a beautiful show every time.

BD: Different league. I read some of the comments on the Webcast thread. All I can say is ... you have to be there. The crowd was amazed, and many around me were making remarks like "holy ... ", and "wow -- complete step above". The opener is just outstanding. Sets a great mood. Nice, classy soloists. The drill works beautiful to build toward the first push. Brass seemed a bit off tonight .. but still were LOUD, balanced and great to hear. 'Happy Days' is a great, great moment. And you can't say enough about BD's guard. They completely own the field. I was honestly surprised to see SCV's guard that close in the captions. Don't get me wrong ... SCV's guard was great. But BD's was in a different league. The middle section is interesting. It's come together a lot more in the past two weeks. The staging and sound effects are really quite interesting and cool. You hear these samplings coming from all different places, and the drill stages it perfectly. Still needs some work, but live it is quite intricate, and seems to be very difficult to tighten up. 'I've Got Rhythm' is awesome. When they kick it in to the Jazz park and blow, it is pure bliss. THAT'S the BD I like to see. They added their closer. Every year, BD seems to search for its final 1-2 minutes. I can't remember the last time the closer of a BD show in June sounded/looked the same as it does in August. Seems to be part of their strategy every year. See where the show takes them for the ending as the season progressing. This year's late June offering is nice -- heard some "Untouchables" soundtrack (guess that was set in the 30s eh?) and some reprise from earlier tunes. Drill, as with the whole show, is HARD, and well conceived. great last BANG with the horns. Closer didn't really do it for me ... but I'm sure they wil be tuning this for awhile. Horns lost some of their intensity in the last minutes. You can tell they've recently put this on the field. Great show -- I've seen the Cadets, Cavies and Phantom on the Fan Network. Hard to compare what I've seen live with on the web ... but I do think BD is a notch ahead right now. My guess is that it comes down to BD and the Cadets this year. For those of you who haven't seen BD live this year ... they are just outstanding. Better than last year, IMHO. BTW -- the chairs are starting to really work. They provide staging and "height" to the show when the members jump up on them, pose, etc. I thin they will be even more effect with a good paint job.

Great night of drum corps. Can't wait to see how BD matches up with the Cadets, Crown, Cavies, etc. I would love to see SCV get into the top 3. Just need a more challenging and interesting visual package.

Encore -- BD's was nice. SCV's was amazing. Good luck to all of the kids this summer!

Edited June 28, 2009 by bgg80

[08ThunderBass5]

Thanks for the review! Great to get comments from someone who was actually there unlike me! haha.

[NeutralNovice]

Great review, thanks!

[Plan9]

Second (and last) show of the season. Beautiful, warm summer night at Stanford Stadium. Apologies to the Open class corps -- I didn't arrive at the show until the intermission. My thoughts on the six World Class Corps:

Mandarins: Nice solid corps. Good sound. Nothing very memorable, except for the guard pulling air mattresses all over the field during one segment. Didn't really work.

Troopers: Surprised me. Nice visual package. West(ern) Side Story. Some nice moments from the brass in the ballad sections. I saw a starburst drill at one point ... nostalgic. Guard did a good job.

Blue Knights: Show just didn't do it for me. Winter theme. Brass didn't give me much more than the Troopers did. They'll probably break into finals -- but no higher than 10th.

Bluecoats: Nice show -- enjoyed 'Children's Hour of Dream' (something like that) a-la Blue Devils 1996. Saw a poor guy in the guard with a completely bloodied face. Must have been hit by a rifle. He kept going, but his entire face had blood. He may have stayed under the front black walls for the the last 3rd of the show to put something on his forehead. Saw him walking off afterward, and seemed to be OK. GREAT drumline. Really enjoyed their playing. Brass was solid, but not quite as powerful as I was expecting. GREAT jazzy ending. Some good park and blow. They had some good humor too -- flags featuring pigs with wings. Got a good laugh when the guard threw em up in the air. 6th-8th place come finals.

SCV: Musically, I love this corps. They play with incredible control. Beautiful moments throughout their complete playing of Appalachian Spring. Very, very refined. The drum break is a surprise, with some really nice playing. Then, the buildup to the company front push. AMAZING -- crowd goes nuts. Standing O. Then they drift backfield for the soft ending. Musically they are simply (no pun intended) wonderful. Placing at finals? 4th or 5th. Why? The drill is simply not championship caliber ... at all. There is no real demand (save the drum break). Mostly 8 to 5 marching. Some nice forms. Good technique. But NO sustained demand. Its strange to see the Blue Devils drill and marching completely outclass SCV. If this show had the kind of daring, difficult drill I've come to expect from SCV over the years, they would be a contender for #1. It's a shame ... but on the plus side, the easier drill REALLY lets them play with high quality and CLASS. Thanks to SCV for a great show. I don't know if its too late for a drill rewrite. If not, they will deliver a beautiful show every time.

BD: Different league. I read some of the comments on the Webcast thread. All I can say is ... you have to be there. The crowd was amazed, and many around me were making remarks like "holy ... ", and "wow -- complete step above". The opener is just outstanding. Sets a great mood. Nice, classy soloists. The drill works beautiful to build toward the first push. Brass seemed a bit off tonight .. but still were LOUD, balanced and great to hear. 'Happy Days' is a great, great moment. And you can't say enough about BD's guard. They completely own the field. I was honestly surprised to see SCV's guard that close in the captions. Don't get me wrong ... SCV's guard was great. But BD's was in a different league. The middle section is interesting. It's come together a lot more in the past two weeks. The staging and sound effects are really quite interesting and cool. You hear these samplings coming from all different places, and the drill stages it perfectly. Still needs some work, but live it is quite intricate, and seems to be very difficult to tighten up. 'I've Got Rhythm' is awesome. When they kick it in to the Jazz park and blow, it is pure bliss. THAT'S the BD I like to see. They added their closer. Every year, BD seems to search for its final 1-2 minutes. I can't remember the last time the closer of a BD show in June sounded/looked the same as it does in August. Seems to be part of their strategy every year. See where the show takes them for the ending as the season progressing. This year's late June offering is nice -- heard some "Untouchables" soundtrack (guess that was set in the 30s eh?) and some reprise from earlier tunes. Drill, as with the whole show, is HARD, and well conceived. great last BANG with the horns. Closer didn't really do it for me ... but I'm sure they wil be tuning this for awhile. Horns lost some of their intensity in the last minutes. You can tell they've recently put this on the field. Great show -- I've seen the Cadets, Cavies and Phantom on the Fan Network. Hard to compare what I've seen live with on the web ... but I do think BD is a notch ahead right now. My guess is that it comes down to BD and the Cadets this year. For those of you who haven't seen BD live this year ... they are just outstanding. Better than last year, IMHO. BTW -- the chairs are starting to really work. They provide staging and "height" to the show when the members jump up on them, pose, etc. I thin they will be even more effect with a good paint job.

Great night of drum corps. Can't wait to see how BD matches up with the Cadets, Crown, Cavies, etc. I would love to see SCV get into the top 3. Just need a more challenging and interesting visual package.

Encore -- BD's was nice. SCV's was amazing. Good luck to all of the kids this summer!

Spot on!

[PeeWee]

Thanks for the review. I was there too, with the other SCV '89 alums.

I agree that BD is looking at another championship with this show. From what I read online, their only obstacles right now? Cadets and Cavies.

I LOVE the sound coming out of SCV this year too! But also agree that the drill isn't very challenging...right now. I hope that changes. If it does, can SCV make a run for the top? You bet!

On a side note, it was great getting to see come of my corps mates from SCV 1989, and equally great to have the 2009 corps serenade us with "Music of the Night" and "Send in the Clowns". Not a dry eye Vanguard. Thank you. Vanguard has a spirit and flame that lives in every member who ever marched.

[BOSMarcher]

Vanguard has a spirit and flame that lives in every member who ever marched.

Amen to that. Its true.

[Jeff Ream]

Untouchables was based in the 30s FYI

[Wildabeast]

I agree that BD is looking at another championship with this show. From what I read online, their only obstacles right now? Cadets and Cavies.

Might want to add Crown to that.

Good show all around. Renegades had to be hot in their new unis. Blue Devils "C" had no hint of synth . Huge thank you to the Bluecoats for coming out West (there's always room for another "Blue"). Troopers were a wonderful surprise.

It's a beautiful venue for drum corps.

I've started to post my pics.

[davland]

Good show all around. Renegades had to be hot in their new unis.

Did you see what we USED to march in?!?! Now those mother suckers were hot. These are much better on the heat factor.

[84BDsop]

Did you see what we USED to march in?!?! Now those mother suckers were hot. These are much better on the heat factor.

And they can't hide the knees anymore!