Geneva Posted July 6, 2010 Share Posted July 6, 2010 The Beanpot Invitational Saturday July 3, 2010 Manning Field, Lynn, MA OK. My first show of the season and it was a good one at this relatively new field built upon the site of fabled old Manning Bowl which was the location of the World Open. Good crowd which was packed around my seat on the 50 and far beyond. The scores: World Class 1 Carolina Crown 83.500 GE 33.600 1 Visual 16.900 1 Music 33.000 3 2 Bluecoats 83.200 GE 33.200 2 Visual 16.700 2 Music 33.300 2 3 Phantom Regiment 81.900 GE 32.300 3 Visual 16.000 4 Music 33.600 1 4 Boston Crusaders 79.900 GE 32.100 4 Visual 16.300 3 Music 31.500 4 5 Spirit 71.800 GE 28.500 5 Visual 14.100 5 Music 29.200 5 6 Jersey Surf 68.600 GE 27.100 6 Visual 13.900 6 Music 27.600 6 The Corps: Jersey Surf This corps is in their second year of World Class competition. 48 Horns 34 Percussion (21 battery and 13 pit) 28 Guard Repertoire: Living the Dream - Organ Variations on America * America the Beautiful * Festival Variations On A National Air This corps was really appropriate for the 4th of July with their patriotic numbers. They seemed to play every variation imaginable of "America the Beautiful". They had a very rich middle sound, but were thin numbers-wise and sound-wise in the sopranos (I know, trumpets). At one point they used the synthesizer to create fireworks-like sound effects. They were a quality corps, but as you can surmise from their score, it is hard to compete in World Class with 40 members under the maximum allowed. Spirit This year finds the corps once again hailing from Atlanta with the corps no longer sponsored by Jacksonville State University. 59 Horns 28 Percussion (17 Battery, 11 Pit) 34 Guard Repertoire: Forging an Icon - Piano Concerto No. 1* Symphony No. 5 in Bb Major * Prelude (from Psycho) * Brooklyn Bridge * Serenada Schizophrana Heavy use of synthesizer effects by this corps mostly in a tasteful fashion. For example they came off the line with the factory-like sounds of metallic clanking and whirring power wrench sounds accompanying some martial sounding musical strains. I guess that was them "forging an icon". Ironically, the delta shaped uniform emblem is gone and it was difficult to identify much of the old Spirit of Atlanta in the corps' look or sound. The uniforms this year are also a confusing pattern of gray, blue, white and black which I did not find visually pleasing. The guard wore contrasting colors of orange, yellow, silver, and white. Musically, they are world class, but not very exciting. I predict they will be hard pressed to make finals. Phantom Regiment It seems as if the corps is on a mission to add more visual demand to their show this year. This has often been a weak point for this corps. ?75 Horns 32 Percussion (18 Battery, 14 Pit) 30 Guard Repertoire: Into the Light - The New Moon in the Old Moon's Arms Well, once again Phantom has a beautiful sound with emotion, impact, and volume. You know, all those good drum corps things. However, I have to take issue with their visual program. Most of it seemed like movement for the sake of movement and it did not complement the music well. In fact, I am sure it was making things much more difficult for the musicians. The program just did not seem coherent to me. There was some strange symbolism with a gold-clad flugelhorn soloist who would be featured at various points by the drill. They do some funky hand signs. Man, I needed a libretto to understand what they were doing! Despite this show scoring very well this night, I think in its present form it will slip as the season progresses. I really think that Boston's program is stronger (more on that to follow). Carolina Crown This corps is the Star of Indiana of the 21st century from the uniform perspective. Every year they have a different look. This year they have abandoned their "Grass is Greener" shades of green for Sepia/Brown tones which they complement with all-new brass lacquer horns. 76 Horns 31 Percussion (19 Battery, 12 Pit) ? Guard numbers (I was getting tired of counting, but total corps members near 150) Repertoire: A Second Chance - Resurrection Symphony (Symphony No. 2) * Symphony No. 2 * Danzon No.2 * Nimrod `from Enigma Variations' * Resurrection Symphony (Symphony No. 2) Get it, with all the second symphonies and a "second chance" (at the championship?)?? They come OTL with a colossal sound spread end line to end line with unison moving lines in octaves from both sides producing a bold stereo sound. The line really speaks! Throughout the show their ensemble voice is a flawless wall of sound. It sounds meticulously honed. Having said that, however, I found the sound almost too monotonous at times with the style being too uniformly connected and smooth and lacking variation. At one point in the visual program, they are all laying on their backs doing choreographed arm and leg movements like synchronized swimmers! They are undefeated in their first eight shows through July 3rd. It will be interesting to see how they stack up against the Blue Devils. Bluecoats This was my favorite corps of the night. Whatta hornline! 78 Horns Percussion and Guard-I gave up counting, suffice it to say total corps size near 150. Repertoire: Metropolis: The Future is Now - Asphalt Cocktail * AHA! * Metropolis * 160 BPM from Angels and Demons The show moves fast and is very forceful. The drill reinforces the aural presentation with sharp geometric forms and is non-stop with movement. You have to hear this hornline to appreciate them. Words will fail me here. There are some serious players in all sections with a very mature sound and resounding fortissimos. My kind of drum corps! At one point the tubas (all 16 of them) play split parts with some incredibly fat sounding pedal tones. I can't wait to hear them again. I will put them on my "must see" rehearsal list at DCI East. You know a line is good when you don't recognize any of the melodies, but it still is exciting and fun to listen to. I think this corps is top three with a hornline second to none! Boston Crusaders OK, I guess that I have become a "homer", but their program this year is really good. I thought they were very good last year, but they have really stepped it up a level. Apparently they had very good member retention from last season and the increase in maturity level is very apparent. I had the opportunity to watch them rehearse at Manning Field prior to the show and the energy and focus is incredible. It is really neat to get a sense for how much they enjoy performing this show and how enthused the staff is. 79 Horns Percussion Battery 9 snares, 5 multi-toms, 5 Bass plus a full pit. Guard was large, but I didn't count Repertoire: Thy Kingdom Come - Throne Procession and Fanfare * Tenth Symphony, Second Movement * Power Shift * Planet Damnation * Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini (variation 18) * The Quest for Glory Their show is a true celebration of 70 Crusader years. It is regal and aggressive, very much befitting the Crusader brand. Their OTL builds from the rear left corner like the approaching legions with clear rank and file pictures. As it works to a frenzy with repetitive urgent rhythmic figures, the whole corps does a series of quick hops in formation. Wow, what an effect! They utilize a large throne well to feature soloists and to frame a duel between two snare drummers. Their ballad number is particularly beautiful. My only criticism is their closing number which I think takes too long to develop and lacks finality in its conclusion. The staff seems very savvy and I am sure this will improve as the season progresses. My prediction for the corps is 5th to 7th. As I mentioned earlier, I feel this is a stronger program than Phantom, but right now there is a significant spread in percussion. Phantom once again has one of the premier percussion sections in drum corps. The Crusaders must have been very disappointed in their score this evening a full 2 points beneath Phantom who they had tied the previous meeting. I hope that you all have the opportunity to watch some drum corps this summer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gigiandjim Posted July 6, 2010 Share Posted July 6, 2010 I saw the show In Bristol And everyone was saying they loved the Boston show but the ending was a let down Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nero14 Posted July 6, 2010 Share Posted July 6, 2010 very well-written and intelligent review. I concur with your analysis of Crown/Bluecoats/Phantom brass lines- will be nice to see if the judges do too :-) thanks for writing! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BRASSO Posted July 7, 2010 Share Posted July 7, 2010 Thank you for taking the time to review the show. I enjoyed reading it... Good detail here... thanks again. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ssorrell Posted July 7, 2010 Share Posted July 7, 2010 SpiritThis year finds the corps once again hailing from Atlanta with the corps no longer sponsored by Jacksonville State University. Just for clarification, this is the first year for Spirit to be back in ATL, but Spirit and JSU broke their relationship a couple of years ago. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Geneva Posted July 7, 2010 Author Share Posted July 7, 2010 Just for clarification, this is the first year for Spirit to be back in ATL, but Spirit and JSU broke their relationship a couple of years ago. Thanks, Steve. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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