Swine Posted July 8, 2010 Share Posted July 8, 2010 Great seats, nice (hot) weather, 7 out of 8 interesting performances. Cincy Tradition and Legend are small but play with a lot of heart and energy. C.T. had two things stick out: 1) DO NOT PLAY CHICK COREA UNLESS YOUR CORPS IS FROM CONCORD, CALIFORNIA! (Ask the Bluecoats how that worked out a few yrs back. And whoever runs the color guard, please teach them to communicate with their audience! They had some nice moments, but they looked like they didn't want to be there. Otherwise, two enjoyable shows I could have sat through again. Teal Sound made quite a statement! They should make semifinals with no problem. They carry themselves VERY well on the field and should be quite proud of their achievement! Normally, I balk at corps that play music that has been done and done and done. Not to be a hypocrite, but Madison was brilliant with "Slaughter" and "Rhapsody in Blue." They NEED this show, and so does DCI. If they don't make Finals, it will be an incredible year... wait, that came out wrong... By August, they will be VERY good and should easily make Finals. That's better. Blue Stars: My favorite show of last year, and my favorite tonight! I have no allegiance to them; before 2009, I thought, "meh..." Their Philip Glass show is JUST as accessible as SCV 1999! The arrangements are fantastic, the drill is exciting and the drumline is way better! But the uniforms aren't blue.. at all. Usually, I don't care about that, but they're the BLUE Stars... Less than 4 points behind Cavies: there's chum in the water! Cavaliers: zzzzzzzzzzz. This is the corps that won 5 titles in the last 10 years? Really? I never thought I'd say that I disliked a show more than "Firebird" from them, but this is it. Sorry fellas. Nice tunics, but I don't want a libretto to figure out what the heck you're trying to say to me. Is this anti-war? Pro Marines? Jeff Fiedler's absence is felt. Strongly. Horn book? No likey. Crown: Mix 1970's Phantom (Mahler) with 1993 Star (body movement) and 1987 SCV (lots and lots and lots of whole notes). That's the show in a nutshell. The sonority pierces the chest, and the hornline is so good. Championship? If I had to lay money, I'd say no, but it's July 7. I'm sure changes are coming. Thank GOD the puke-green is gone! Bluecoats: I'm surprised Crown beat them by over a point. I'm no 'Coats follower, but it's obvious they're trying to beat BD at their own game. Solid horn/drum writing and LOTS of Blue Devil movement (about 5 points down visually). Guard was most entertaining of the night. TERRIFIC silks. Their closer is outrageous!!! Sorry the observations are so scattered; I took no notes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skewerz Posted July 8, 2010 Share Posted July 8, 2010 (edited) Blue Stars grey uniforms hides all kinds of leg movement...possibly the reason they switched to them? also, did stars play a synth form of a percussion instrument, or was it just miked and sounded that fakey? when did blue stars guard steal Crown's uniforms? crown has a nice resolution where they end with a horn line ripple...building..building..building...snap cut off...and cheeeeesey synth playing at cut off...I'd much rather hear the ring of the echo from horn cut off then a mezzo forte synth chord filling up that beautiful instance of silence. Uniforms are still awful. Was pleasantly surprised by Cavies show. They've been on my boremeter with BD the last few years, but they do some entertaining playing, guard work, and antics. Even had some interesting synth work...very appropriate. Teal...lose the guitar..please... Watching Madison seemed like I was watching them again back in '85...and that's a good thing. I had the winner being either Bloo or Crown...didn't have that big a gap between them, that's for sure. Bloo better rewrite soon, or they are gonna be looking at 5th or worse again. Ending of Bloo show leaves me wanting more...dunno exactly what..can't describe it..just seems unfinished... Crown did Madonna as part of the encore, and it's probably the LOUDEST I've heard a drum corps play in about 25 years...of course, they were on the track front and center...liked "Like a Prayer" much more than I liked "Dust in the Wind" Edited July 8, 2010 by skewerz Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drummer5485 Posted July 8, 2010 Share Posted July 8, 2010 So there was nothing redeeming about Cavaliers' show? Not one nice thing? Every other corps was spectacular or well done and all, but Cavies get a "zzzzzzzz"? Really? Sorry if this sounds sarcastic or anything but I'm getting tired of seeing reviews where everyone's show but Cavies was great...I mean really, there had to be something. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brad T. Posted July 8, 2010 Share Posted July 8, 2010 As a member of Cincinnati Tradition, I can say that this was in fact our first performance of the year. We did not finish all of the drill for the drum feature or the end of Zorro, so we went with what we had. This also was our first show ever being judged and being given a score. And honestly, with a 59.538, I'm pretty proud of our first score. It can only improve. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CSGreen Posted July 8, 2010 Share Posted July 8, 2010 Congrats Tradition! So glad to see you guys taking the leap into competition after so many successful years as exhibition. Can't wait to see you guys later in the season! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Swine Posted July 8, 2010 Author Share Posted July 8, 2010 So there was nothing redeeming about Cavaliers' show? Not one nice thing? Every other corps was spectacular or well done and all, but Cavies get a "zzzzzzzz"? Really? Sorry if this sounds sarcastic or anything but I'm getting tired of seeing reviews where everyone's show but Cavies was great...I mean really, there had to be something. Maybe because everybody's show BUT Cavies' was great. That's my opinion, which is subjective. I see DCI in a scary state of flux right now; Cavies were the last holdout to all the gimmicky electrocrap. The drill wasn't the least bit interesting. Without that, they're just Pioneer with more guys on the field. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Swine Posted July 8, 2010 Author Share Posted July 8, 2010 I just saw the recap. WHAT??? 'Coats 1.7 below Crown in Music Ensemble? WTH????? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FHdork Posted July 8, 2010 Share Posted July 8, 2010 yes - isn't that interesting. Todd whoever he is...I've got to say: that's either a bold BOLD statement of fact that all the other judges (and audiences) have been missing...or he had a sudden build up of wax in his ears when the final corps of the night went on... I suspect it's an anomaly of some kind and you won't be seeing this trend of scoring Coats music ensemble down with the 12th place corps of the season - Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Swine Posted July 8, 2010 Author Share Posted July 8, 2010 The judges were right behind us, so we had a very similar vantage point. Granted, he's trained to judge; I am not. But I am an accomplished musician with two very good ears. One of the things I noticed was chord progressions and voicings. 'Coats were ****CLEARLY**** superior to Crown in blend and balance. CLEARLY. e.g., in a major chord, the third can be weak, as the root/5th make a strong interval. Crown's middle voice was weak the 2nd half of the show. 'Coats paid far better attention to this detail (a large part of the very definition of ENSEMBLE). And btw, as an Ohioan, I'm no great fan of Blue (or G-men). Neither piques my musical/visual interest, but the Bluecoats were impressive last night. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kyoti Posted July 9, 2010 Share Posted July 9, 2010 I just saw the recap. WHAT??? 'Coats 1.7 below Crown in Music Ensemble? WTH????? I noticed this myself and checked some other recent shows. This Music Ensemble number seems way out of the norm, both in the spread and as an actual rating. Something seems fishy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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