Stanford Review

[ToneDeaf]

I know it's late, but here it is.

I went to all 3 shows in NorCal this weekend (Clovis, Stanford, Stockton)

Here's the link to the Clovis Review: http://www.drumcorpsplanet.com/forums/inde...howtopic=126004

Stanford is the best stadium I have EVER been to for drum corps, and I've been to a lot all over the country. Simply perfect. If you are ever thinking of coming to California for a show, come to Stanford. You will love it.

Unlike Friday night, I got there in time to see the entire line-up.

Renegades Simply put, the best show I've seen Renegades do. The new uniforms make them look SOOOOO much better than the matrix look they've been sporting for many years (probably 7 years, knowing them). This year's show seems to have a better balance from a design standpoint. The energy and momentum keep going all the way to the ...... almost to the end. The solos in One More Time Chuck Corea kinda killed the flow for me today, awkward transitions between solos, horn line, and percussion. Should get better with time. Drum line was solid, especially liked the 4 tenors!

Velvet Knights The drum line has some fun rocking beats and are by far the stongest performing section of the corps at this point of the season. The horn line definitely is not balanced well to the percussion ensemble sound (they're getting buried!). The color guard was small and quite honestly, I was distracted (negatively) by the costume design. This show will obviously get stronger and should do better if they can get those brass players to blow. I hope they are able to start telling their story a bit more effectively as they add the rest of their show visually (they stood for the last couple phrases) as well as the characterizations that are there minimally right now. Good to see the red converse!!!

Vanguard Cadets First impression, I LOVE the new uniforms. They are bright and crisp. They make the corps look bigger and are quite sharp. The show is definitely quite a bit more sophisticated from a design and performance stand point than VK. The show is a collection of love songs from different musicals and operas (Rent, Moulin Rouge, and Nessum Dorma amongst others). Although the show is accessable because of all the recognizable melodies, the pacing tonight didn't work for me, I found my interest wandering. The horn line has a nice rich sound, but design-wise there isn't a lot of contrast stylistically, musically, or emotionally. Doesn't seem to be as strong as last year's program.

Blue Devils B Wow, they are huge! This is a very well paced show, good balance for the most part (percussion to brass). This is one of the best, if not the best, BDB corps I have ever seen. The show designers do a great job of delivering impacts every 60 to 90 seconds, keeping the crowd engaged and interested. I was particularly impressed by their percussion section tonight, the class of the class for sure. I know BDB has had these uniforms for a few years now, but I really like them a lot. The corps looks good and sounds good. The brass sound quality was a bit thinner than SCVC, but they also have the numbers to make up for it. I look for BDB to be at the top of Open class, or very near.

Mandarins Nice improvement in one day! Holy cow! The brass really stepped it up today. Although the stadium makes everyone sound LOUD, I could tell that everyone in the horn line seemed to be putting in a stronger effort tonight. They added a few things to the guard performance tonight. There were two costume changes added; a headband with a tall feather in the drum solo, and a skirt/pant thing in the closer. And then there were air matresses that they just dragged around the field during the ballad until they produced flags from under a sheet on the bed... I don't get the beds, hopefully they will do something to make sense of this show, it is a mess right now from a design standpoint. Not well conceived, at least in it's current shape. See my last post for more on the design.

Troopers Seemed like an off night tonight for the Troopers. They just didn't have the emotional connection that they did at Clovis. They drum line seemed to not have as clean of a show either, particularly the snares. The show is interesting in concept, they just need to not take nights off as performers. I know with corps of this experience and skill level, consistency is going to make the difference between them and the folks in their range. At Clovis I felt that they were better than Mandarins in every aspect. Tonight I though their percussion performance and energy/emotional output was topped by the Mandarins. I think it is a cool concept and I DID notice the guard more tonight. I saw some connections to the "indian" theme (the guard is wearing "squaw" costuming). But for the most part I noticed this in the beginning when the guard encircled the soloists. I'm also not sure if there is a love theme (kinda reminded me Dances with Wolves) between one of the corps members and the guard. Once again, if there is a storyline I'd like it to be more obvious. I feel that the guard is still too much of an afterthought for THIS show.

Blue Knights They really stepped it up tonight! I was harsh on the percussion for their consistency at Clovis, they seemed to be much more consistent tonight. All in all, high energy levels from the group. I like the use of the wind theme, but I thought the synth patch was a bit harsh sounding (as in not pleasant to listen to) when they "blow the corps away" at the end of the opener. I would like to see more moments where the corps connects to the theme, right now that seems too minimal to me. They do their usual body movement stuff and knee kick coming out of halts, but let's see more connection to the idea of being in the snow, being cold, being in blizzards. I think these guys are stronger that I first thought, but I don't see them being higher than 9th with this show. Just not as sophisticated, mature, intricate, or well put together as the next 3 corps at Stanford tonight.

Bluecoats A lot of people are making a big stink out of the corps uniform change in the last half of their show, but I like it. I think it gives the corps a fresh look and feel halfway through the show. I'm not sure how it connects to a theme, or if it is necessary, but I dig it. This drumline is really quite good! Wow. The pit is amazing too, they actually catch your attention with what and how they are playing on several occassions. These guys also stepped up tonight at Stanford. The energy in the back half of the show was better than at Clovis, still think the ending needs something more. On the negative side, this show is not as well constructed thematically as the last 2 years. In that aspect, it is a bit of a let down. Great brass sound, amazing percussion, guard gets lost visually a lot with the uniform matching the corps so closely.

Vanguard Well, not every corps stepped up tonight. SCV was a bit flat tonight. They still sound gorgeous and the push at the end of the show is drum corps magic. If you don't get chills, you're not paying attention. Percussion was not as strong tonight, more dirt was evident. I did take more time to focus on the guard. I feel that they are doing what they do VERY well, it is just not as spectacular as last year's work was. Maybe it is more sophisticated and matches the subtlety of the show, but they don't demand your attention. I get the show, I like the show. The whole program is a build with some minor peaks and valleys, all leading up to the arrival at Simple Gifts (as Copland did in the original!). Too many times my complaint about shows is that they are too loud, too much, not subtle, just in-your-face constantly leaving you kinda numb by the back half of the show (leading to less clapping from the audience... see BD from any of the last 6 years or so). This is a beautifully paced show, leaves you anticipating that arrival and when it happens, it truly feels special. All that said, off night for them. :)

Blue Devils Like I said with my Clovis post, this show has it all. I love the music, I LOVE THE GUARD, this is the best BD show I've seen in a long time. I definitely haven't enjoyed them this much since 94 or 95. They seemed to be hitting on most cylinders tonight. The snare line seems to be one section that is not playing as consistently as others in the corps. I noticed tonight that the chairs seemed to be moving well, not any crashes that I noticed. I still am not sure of the connection to 1930. I did see them put the chairs in the form "1930" and the corps shadowed the chairs forming their own "1930" in the closer, I see some of the fast walking with stiff legs (in character) from horn members which are reminiscent of some of the silent films. But still don't get the connection to 1930 yet. Still a lot of fun to watch!!!

[stickman882002]

Great review! Thanks for posting!