DCI Atlanta pt 3

[Galen]

Here we go with the last part of the Atlanta broadcast review.

Phantom Regiment kicks off the "main event" portion of the evening with a much more polished and refined version of their show. I noticed several more things in their program this time around, including the half-violin "icon" as their first big stand-still set. Visually they were 3 members short and the holes were glaringly noticeable at times, but they did go a good job of keeping the intervals consistent, which will get them credit on the judging sheets. Musically I noticed that there were a lot of parts in the opener that got hit by the ol' firehose. Musically the second movement still seems out of place to me but they are playing it a whole lot better. Ending of the show featured a "bit of the ol' ultraviolence" with one guard girl slapping another in the face (the wife getting revenge on the temptress), accompanied by a whip-crack from the pit. All in all the changes they made make the show work better and they should be in good shape to push for the top 6 for the rest of the year...

Unless Boston Crusaders have something to say about it. Boston has also done some slight rewrites to their opener, axing the reclining lines on the field in favor of wave-motion marching instead. BAC was nearly spotless in their drill and marching tonight, which indicates to me 2 things. One, their marching program has come along quite well this year and two, they can take on some more challenging drill in some segments, like the closer. As hot as they are right now, I still see this show at risk of tapering out at the end of the season like last year's did. Still, they might have another shot at passing Phantom tonight.

Bluecoats: After the violence and sex from Phantom and Boston, I was wondering if Bluecoats were going to provide the "drugs" part of the unholy triad- then I remembered their commentator wasn't on for tonight. Instead of hosing down parts, they've added some more meat to their show, putting an extended pit and battery solo into the opener. Visually I thought they looked just as good as Phantom and Boston tonight, if not better, but something that stands out at this point is how darker their uniforms are, and how smaller they look, compared to those other two corps. Regardless, they had a great run today, especially the guard. Sky Blue remains my favorite ballad of the year. New ending is taking on some more shape but still doesn't suit me.

Crown: Question is going to be can they regain their momentum after being passed up by Vanguard in the last couple nights. Listening to the opener, it seemed like they either didn't have the oomph they had in the past, or else the video mics just weren't picking them up well, ala Blue Stars. I noticed some improved playing in the second movement- that tenor spot has gotten very good, and the screamer nailed his note at the end of this movement. The ending drill is quite different, including their Crown icon set, but still resolves in a similar way. Lots of subtle nuance to be added and cleaned, no doubt, and I still feel they have the overall hardest show on the field this year.

Vanguard: I thought that Crown might have a shot at Vanguard before their show- and I still think they will (I'm writing this before scores have been announced). Very few mistakes from SCV tonight other than an occasional member out of form and a couple sop stick-outs at the big push. They've added some new parts into the drum solo at the end of the show and they have a new ending that resembles the original Cadets march-off ending. The big question is going to remain for the rest of this season- how far can this show take them, and can they stay ahead of other corps that aren't as clean right now, but have more demand in their shows.

Cadets: Seemed like they added a brief amount of vocals as a pre-show this time, couldn't make much sense of it. But they marched their butts off as usual, and they have the old-school "extended elbows" working on their backward march again. I love how they can keep their quality of sound as high as they do while marching the high-tempo drill they do, especially at the end of the ballad where they go from a slow company front to a jazz-running double front that folds into a box.

Cavaliers: Guard seems to be a lot more involved than I've seen them in prior shows. There was a major musical change in the ballad where they totally rescored the big impact section- this has a pretty nice sound to it. One thing that did stand out to me was they had some bad spacing tonight, but I think this is caused by a combination of very narrow intervals and the white accents on the uniforms.

BD: The show's getting a bit more interesting musically, and they were flawless as always. The fact that they're 2.1 up on their nearest competition, combined with the fact that nobody right now seems to have a show that can have the capacity for the emotional surge that took Phantom to the title last year, translates to #13 for me.

[FTNK]

But they marched their butts off as usual, and they have the old-school "extended elbows" working on their backward march again.

Elbows. Must be that time of year :)

[PeeWee]

BD: ...The fact that they're 2.1 up on their nearest competition, combined with the fact that nobody right now seems to have a show that can have the capacity for the emotional surge that took Phantom to the title last year, translates to #13 for me.

That's what I find so sad...that just because a corps is clean means they win. I mean, where's the emotional impact? Where are the fans jumping up out of their seats to proclaim their winner?

Number 13 for the Blue crew?? ...<sigh>...<golf clap>

Personally, I'd like Holy Name Cadets to win this year

[troopers1]

One comment to add:

Boston had easily one of the most entertaining shows of the evening. Really, a nice performance.