Sully-fried

[Galen]

If you haven't noticed- I'm on a Wagner kick, hence the titles of the reviews.

After the 1st intermission, Academy kicked off the second segment of the show. After struggling with show design for the last couple of seasons, it looks like they've found a vehicle that lets them comfortably showcase their talents without being too much of a stretch for them. Drill was very crisp, lots of symmetrical stuff going on through the show. The "mountain climbing" theme was on display at the end with a guard member climbing a pole and finally making it to the top after an early slip. Horns had a bright sound, but still had a good feel to their sound rather than being sharp or blaring. My feeling is they'll be this year's version of last year's Troopers.

Madison: It was good to hear the breakdown of the show before it got started. Knowing the background helped with comprehending the show altogether. Scouts' hornline sounds like it always does, with bright sop voices, wicked mello lines and a deep low brass sound that's mainly there to support the high voices rather than blend in for a full ensemble sound. Visually the show's just "there", but they are getting their forms clean and their performance and energy level is certainly a step above Academy. Since this show's about a superhero, why not introduce a villain to give the show some more direction to grow? They've come a long way, but still have a long way to go if they want to taste finals again.

Troopers: THE feel-good story of 2009. My thought on this show when I first heard it was that they'd either have great success with it or it'd blow up in their face. So far, the former definitely seems more certain at this point. They looked and sounded VERY tight tonight, with a couple of glaring rifle drops being the only exceptions. I had two goosebump moments, one at the big hit in the ballad and another at the end of the show. Hearing Ralph Hardimon describe the show was a treat and I look forward to seeing where this show goes.

Colts: They've been in a real tight race with Troop the last few shows, and right now the various sections of each show are very close. I'd give Colts the edge in guard, Troop the edge in music and pretty much dead even in visual. What really stands out is this: Colts have a nice, pretty show, but Troop's show really captivates you and pulls you in emotionally. It's too close for me to call tonight, but I think that'll be the difference at the end of the year.

Glassmen: They were good to watch visually- very proficient in marching and guard with some big forms, but musically they were not at all captivating. Sops had lots of intonation and tone-spreading problems all through the show, which the large visual spread may have contributed to. Looks like another 11th place show from them, because there are other groups with more interesting products on the field.

Blue Knights: Hands down the best commentary of the night, courtesy of Mark Sylvester. From the moment he said "Time for some kick-###, er, kick-butt drum corps", I knew this was going to be a treat to listen to. In fact, I was paying more attention to the stuff he was saying then BK's actual show. Visually they looked good most of the time (although Sylvester was pretty critical of the marchers and guard, saying "It's dirty as hell right now" and "Ok girls, now don't move out of your spot when you catch it"). Even though it seemed like Sylvester's commentary was more of the focus of the show than the actual show, it was pretty helpful in seeing all the nuance in BK's program, especially the demand in the snowflake and snowball sets. It's definitely a level above last year's program.

Boston: Hot #### they had a good show tonight! They had the loudest- and cleanest- hornline of any other group that went on and absolutely tore the house down with their performance. Earlier this month I was going through my "drum corps doldrums" and thinking this wasn't going to be a good season, but this performance got my hopes going again. If this is 8th place (currently, above Phantom and Blue Stars), the rest of what's left is going to be amazing. Last thoughts- Regiment better step their game up big time tonight or they're going to get torched by BAC.