Windsor and Coke, and a little ice

[denverjohn]

I missed INT tonight because I had to run and get mosquito repellent. No tornado in Windsor tonight but the skeeters were bad down on the track. First year at this location and the local band/parents/volunteers/etc. were great hosts and helped a lot. I won't give any reviews so as to remain neutral as a partisan for INT.

Edited July 11, 2009 by denverjohn

[madalumni]

Anybody at the show tonight?? How was my beloved BK tonight?

WP

Bk '97 '98

Your beloved BK tonight was better than I've ever seen or heard them!

I will get into more about that in my review of tonight's show.

[madalumni]

So I just got home from the Windsor show. It was decent weather - a little hot and uncharacteristically humid

for Colorado, but it cooled down as the show progressed. The house was packed and there were even

a few people in the back stands. This was a very entertaining evening and my newbie friend Lana really

enjoyed the shows. So I took a few notes during the show and here are my impressions....

First up, the Cascades. The opening fanfare into Pan's Labyrinth had some nice power and is very effective.

Trumpets were a little sharp and were sticking out of the ensemble a bit, but fell into place by the end of the opener.

Mellos have some nice runs and were clean with good tone quality. Although there are only seven Tubas,

the sound was very full. Drum section was tight. Very nice silks for the guard.

In the 2nd piece, "Into the Forrest" there is a nice unison run on vibes and battery that is catchy. Guard has what looks like tree branches. Good Baritone/Mello runs. Contras have a very nice feature here, but might be staged too far

backfield. That big full sound they had in the opener suddenly seemed very hollow and forced. They still played

it very together though. I just think by placing them more toward the front, there would be alot more impact.

Great drum feature, snares started the phrase a bit dirty, but recovered quickly. Gorgeous ballad. Baritones were

getting a bit winded toward the end. Like the Tubas earlier, the Baris seemed to be staged too far back field.

Great Mello soloist. Very rich tone quality with a natural vibrato on the held note. Very strong and upbeat

closer. Fast paced and powerful sound. Overall I liked this show. It was very melodic and entertaining.

Next up, the Troopers. The crowd treated them like they were the home town Corps...but that has become

typical at Drums Along the Rockies. They entered the field with confidence and swagger.

Tubas start out playing backfield. Very smooth sound. Nice long build-up to the oipening fanfare/hit.

There are some nice quotes from different parts of WSS, but they are woven seemlessly into the

phrasing so they flow very well. Strong Mello section and overall much more mature sound from

the horns than previous years. Nice subtle quotes from "America" that fade backfield as the ballad begins.

Very lush, nicely controlled pianissimos. Excellant Baritones. Going into the 3rd piece, very clean Tenors.

Nice grooves being played with great accents from the horns. Low Brass supports this part well and

gives it alot of punch. Closer has alot going on. Pace is picking up with the drill. Spotted a couple straight diagonals

that need to be cleaned. There is a nice counter-melodic run that the Mellos and Pit double up on and they nailed it. As they approach the company front, I am delighted as they do a short quote from 84 Garfield...nice! Strong finish for the Troop. Another very entertaining show with strong melodic content. Best Troopers in my opinion since 85/86.

Next up, the Colts. They have one of my favorite uniforms. I loved it when they switched to these

in 2007 and I hope they keep them for awhile. Show starts with alot of wind and sea sounds. I girl in the

guard runs around the corps with a flag that looks like an Albatross. For a moment, I think I smell the faint fragrance of fish being sold down by the dock. Brass builds out of the wind sounds into a very powerful sustained chord - very loud

and well blended. Nice Danny Kaye-esque/Sailor outfits on the guard, support the theme and the mood well.

Great brass runs that are very impressive sounding, but the corps seems to be standing still alot during these passages.

I would like to at least see some body movements here. Another lush ballad. Very haunting. Trumpet soloist was struggling a bit with tone quality and breathing, but finished strong. Very cool S.O.S. figure being played by brass and percussion as

the guard runs back field with gorgeous giant multi-colored "water" flags. This is followed by a giant Copper/Gold Brass flag going off to the back left corner of the field. Nice low brass/midvoice chords building to the end of the closer. Getting louder and louder. Big open triad chord into an insanely loud unison note to end strong! Crowd favorite so far. Great show!

Next up Madison Scouts. Putting as much bias aside as I can, the guys came out with a forboding presence that is good to see. The guard looks mysterious and yes, creepy wearing the crimson robes. There is a nice backfield build-up as the guard roams around the field. Big fanfare followed by a bigger hit as the guard "dis-robes" and reveals the striking blue and black Super Hero outfits. They strike various muscular poses as the brass plays the familiar Malaga quote. The guard is alot bigger and alot better than last year, but they need to keep working on selling it. They seemed a bit tentative in the opener. Awesome mello/sop/bari tripple tonguing. Very fast drill, but dirty...The sound suffers as a result at times, especially when whole notes are played. But I am confident they will adress this. Love the red/yellow lightning flags!

Left footed Mambo is very fun and entertaining. Nice grooves being played by the percussion - they are cleaner than I was expecting but still need some work. Trumpets fracked a few times, but overall nice sound. Great Trio at the end with

the high screamer. Lush ballad (do I use that word alot?) very chilling at times. Nice crescendo/decrescendos as the pit

does 16th note runs. Contras need to clean up their horn angles at the end of the ballad - some were pointing at the box

some were pointing at the front sideline. Closer has the potential of being very effective, but lacks power and emotion right now. It also ends a little abruptly for my taste...or put another way, there is a build-up of tension and dissonance, followed by a sudden major triad chord that felt tacked on. It needs something more, but I'm not sure what. On the positive side, the guard really locks in at this point and shows that confidence and strong execution. Great stuff. Overall, this show has great potential. The demand is there and I think they can overtake a few Corps that are ahead of them, but they will have to keep tweaking and working their collective butts off from here to the end. They are better this year than last year, but so are several other corps. It seems like it's getting more and more competative each year. EVERYONE is stepping up their

game, and that's great for the activity. Anyway, keep it up boys...bring on the POW!

Int was up next and I will conclude this review tomorrow. Now it's bed time for me. :)