Review From Arlington

[cadetzoid]

The stadium was good for drum corps, though it did not hold sound as well as many other venues. The crowd was eager and receptive to everyone. There seemed to be an air of anticipation I have not felt in several years.

Jersey Surf: This is a punchy corps with lots of confidence and drive. The Americana theme often works, especially for groups looking for that immediate hook. This year's offering from Surf is no exception. The show is well done and pulls at all the necessary heart strings. From the stars and bars flag designs to the recognizable sing along melodies, this show makes you feel warm and fuzzy and gives exactly what you expect. All captions seem pretty equal. For a young world class drum corps there is much to be proud of in 2010. Keep doing what you are doing. I enjoyed it very much.

Spirit: This was a huge step up from Surf. Spirit's new uniform is nothing short of brilliant. After reading other descriptions and seeing some actions shots, I was still blown away by its class and sophistication. Bravo Mr. Cesario for nailing this one. Old school colors in a very new and sleek presentation that I thought matched the sights and sounds that the show delivered. The guard is much improved. The horn line loud and playing some hard stuff. The drum line is the best since, well the 1980s and the show theme seems so perfect for their return to Atlanta and for recreating themselves as competitors. There are some areas yet to be developed, but a very sound structure is there. Props need a little more attention and a few moments need messaging, but a confidently entertaining and artistically grounded production is incredibly evident. The show theme is clear and ends with the whole corps in a huge ### delta. Keep plugging away Spirit, great things are awaiting you.

Crossmen: This corps hit the field with seemingly a lot of crowd anticipation. The beginning was fairly good and it left us all wanting that next level of communication and energy. It never really got there. Spirit's energy was hard to match as well as its show sophistication. The brass sounded balanced and tuned most often times but they never really opened up or played too much from a technical standpoint. The Methany source music was kind of lost in the wondering arrangements. I enjoyed the color guard and thought they contributed well to the overall visual package. Drums sounded lacking to me in many instances. As a drummer, I was expecting more from a Methany show, and certainly more clean beats considering their staff. I enjoyed it, kind of. I was surprised they placed above Spirit.

Boston: What a solid performance from this corps. The show is well thought out and all sections certainly have their time to shine. The show theme was not evident so I just stopped trying to make sense of it. The uniform (modified last year) is very clean and classy. Some good volume and good visual coordination makes this show pretty solid.

The guard is strong again and the overall visual package varied and intriguing. There were a few rough brass and percussion moments, but this early, who really cares if the show is working. I would have this over Phantom Regiment in terms of sheer raw drum corp value. The opening strains and ending strains are highlights.

PR: I like many things about this show. The first and last two minutes are very strong. The middle leaves lots of question marks. What can I say except they drum. play, and spin very well. The show currently has too many bumps in the road so to speak. The talent level is high. The guard sells it well and the brass and drums are great. I liked Boston better and feel like they currently have more show appeal and potential. Phantom however is smart and is good at making the right changes. Drum line is amazing and will be hard to beat.

Bluecoats: The real deal. Unless BD, SCV, Cadets, Crown, and Cavs are really strong, Bluecoats are waiting in the wings to trounce. This show was awesome tonight. Pretty #### clean and very entertaining. What can I say except all captions are strong and pretty relentless. The brass are maybe their best ever and the guard and drill is superb.

I was just so overwhelmed by how strong and prepared they were. I really loved it. The drum line had some pretty big glitches tonight. Overall however, clearly my favorite of the evening. Seems the crowd agreed. Seems top four status for sure. New uniform is clean, but not too much different.

[shawn craig]

Nice review agree with most of your points.

I would disagree about the stadium being good for drum corps. It was way to low. I was in the top row (row 17) and couldn't get a good read on most of the drills.

It was a good crowd. I took two fiends to their first drum corps experience and they enjoyed it a lot.

Surf, good middle and low brass, trumpets strugled a bit. They have some holes but don't know if they're looking to fill them or already have some folks still learning the spots. Don't care for the show design but that's just personal preference.

Spirit was a definate step up. Brass had some stamina problems. Drum line is good!

Crossmen, good show

Boston had a great first show. Strong visiuals but with room to grow. Best brass sound from them I can remember.

Bluecoats are strong and the contra feature is great. Must be there best ever guard. Overall I enjoy the show. Not that it matters much to me in terms of enjoying the show but the theme doesn't come across at all to me. My main critisism is to much synth! I also don't understand prerecorded brass when you have talent like that on the feild. The mellow solo wouldn't need to be miced if they'd just TURN DOWN THE SYNTH!

Phantom: Agree with what reviewer and others have said. I imagine the middle section will be much more developed in terms of the theme as the summer goes on. The drill was the most difficult to read in this low stadium becuase of the way it uses the extremes of the feild.

[OICMR corps]

From the stars and bars flag designs to the recognizable sing along melodies, this show makes you feel warm and fuzzy and gives exactly what you expect.

??? ? ? ???

[bluecoats88]

Bluecoats are strong and the contra feature is great. Must be there best ever guard. Overall I enjoy the show. Not that it matters much to me in terms of enjoying the show but the theme doesn't come across at all to me. My main critisism is to much synth! I also don't understand prerecorded brass when you have talent like that on the feild. The mellow solo wouldn't need to be miced if they'd just TURN DOWN THE SYNTH!

my understanding is they are miced, not for volume, but for effect. They are running the soloists through some effects on the board which changes their sound.

I wasn't at the show, but I watched their practice all day, and don't recall any brass being prerecorded. They had the vocal stuff and the techno stuff, but I don't recall brass coming from the synth.

[shawn craig]

my understanding is they are miced, not for volume, but for effect. They are running the soloists through some effects on the board which changes their sound.

I wasn't at the show, but I watched their practice all day, and don't recall any brass being prerecorded. They had the vocal stuff and the techno stuff, but I don't recall brass coming from the synth.

At first I thought they were miced but I couldn't see them which made me think maybe they were pre-recorded. Maybe they're hiding behind the pit or somewhere.

It's my favorite Bluecoats show to date. My personal taste is for less synth or at least turn the volume down.