Galen Posted July 24, 2010 Share Posted July 24, 2010 A little late to the show, missed Pioneer and Teal. Crossmen: Seemed like their first set wasn't even set up properly before they got started. Opener felt very plodding musically, not much excitement in this show until the last minute. Guard had a couple of good staging moments, especially the set that transitioned from Heat of the Day to the next piece, but felt invisible for a lot of the show. Colts: Ok, musically they're starting to really gel. Brass and drums did a good job tonight. Bari soloists in the ballad were squeaky clean, but the sop soloists in One Man Show started off a bit flat. Drillwise, though, they were pretty rough for most of the show until they hit the closer, then things really started cleaning up. This is strange, because the closer drill was also the hardest of the show. You'd think the easy stuff would be pretty clean and the hard stuff not as much, but that wasn't the case tonight. Seems like they've added some new drill since Denver- there was a really nice set of collapsing and expanding triangles just before a big hit near the end. Earlier in the year I couldn't see how they were hanging with Troopers, but now I think I'm starting to. Scouts: That opener is REALLY clicking! Corps has developed a great low brass sound as the year's gone on. Something new I noticed, they do a great visual buildup to the Fleur de Lis at the end of the opener with lots of small 2-4 man pods scattering from place to place, then finally locking in. Very reminiscent of another corps that Prime, Mason et al once worked for. Show still has some spots to polish, most notably the rotating pods/circles in the first part of Rhapsody as well as the end of the show, but they're coming along fine in general. Another nice new moment to watch for- the good ol' "spinning wedge" is back! Great reaction for that. BK: Strong showing from the Denver crew, albiet with some moments of overblowing in the low brass in spots during the Brahms piece. Guard is really starting to add a lot to this show. I'd have to put them ahead of Scouts tonight- drums, guard and visual seemed a lot tighter. Boston: Big step up over BK- I'm seeing why they're pulling away from that group of corps with this show. Kinda weird to hear Boston playing Shostakovitch, but I'll take it. Nice frenetic, up-tempo arrangement that is fast without feeling frantic. Drums do a really strong job throughout the show. Some really good visual and musical pushes at the end of movements, especially the last move of the show. Hearing the ballad was like taking a bath in chocolate all over again Phantom: Well, looks like the Rockford opener was one night only, as the brass are back to starting on the field. Pit was super-loud throughout the show, don't know if they overbalanced their mics or what. Corps is light years ahead of everybody else that's been on so far tonight in drums and visual- drill in the drum solo was nearly spotless. Definitely had a much better feel of this show tonight. Cavies: Crowd are going nuts as they take the field. Corps might as well relocate to Texas with the receptions they get in this state. I think I've figured out my thing with this corps- I need to not watch them at a show until mid-July, because invariably I don't like them early season but wind up coming around this point in the year. Cavs came out on FIRE from the word go and were amazingly in sync on their feet. I can see why they've shot up so rapidly. Sunday's show with them, Cadets, Crown and Bluecoats is going to be INTENSE. BD: Their streak of being super-aggravating to me continues. It pisses me off to no end to hear a hornline that's so #### good and so #### boring at the same time. They ooze technicality and ability, but there is absolutely NO HEART and NO SOUL in that show, and I hope somebody knocks them off their #### ivory tower for once. Very telling sign that they got little more than golf claps after they were finished. Cadets: Night and day from BD doesn't come close to describing how I felt about this one. Another rock-solid performance tonight, despite being short a bass player. The double-tonguing passages in Dance of the Tumblers were the best I've heard them all year. On my end, I'm not sure if it's me having a bit of overexposure to this show, but it seems that while they continue to get better and better each time I see them, they're also seem to be getting close to maxing out the show concept. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Studman Posted July 24, 2010 Share Posted July 24, 2010 Scores, kudasai! PS. It's 5:44pm in Honolulu. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smj02 Posted July 24, 2010 Share Posted July 24, 2010 Cadets: <snip> On my end, I'm not sure if it's me having a bit of overexposure to this show, but it seems that while they continue to get better and better each time I see them, they're also seem to be getting close to maxing out the show concept. I saw them way back at the season opener, and at that point they were so far ahead of Crown and Cavaliers as far as having the show concept fleshed out that I wondered how they'd be able to grow it at this point in the season. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PioSop06 Posted July 24, 2010 Share Posted July 24, 2010 Phantom: Well, looks like the Rockford opener was one night only, as the brass are back to starting on the field. In Dallas last night, they started off the field, brass and drums. Confused the hell out of me, not gonna lie. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dwbink Posted July 24, 2010 Share Posted July 24, 2010 BD: Their streak of being super-aggravating to me continues. It pisses me off to no end to hear a hornline that's so #### good and so #### boring at the same time. They ooze technicality and ability, but there is absolutely NO HEART and NO SOUL in that show, and I hope somebody knocks them off their #### ivory tower for once. Very telling sign that they got little more than golf claps after they were finished. That is a very impressive review...I am sure Freud might be able to learn something from it. Not sure DCI fans will. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tez Posted July 24, 2010 Share Posted July 24, 2010 BD: Their streak of being super-aggravating to me continues. It pisses me off to no end to hear a hornline that's so #### good and so #### boring at the same time. They ooze technicality and ability, but there is absolutely NO HEART and NO SOUL in that show, and I hope somebody knocks them off their #### ivory tower for once. Very telling sign that they got little more than golf claps after they were finished.That is a very impressive review...I am sure Freud might be able to learn something from it. Not sure DCI fans will. I hear plenty of HEART and SOUL in the Blue Devil's program. It's just a little different than the emotions one experiences from viewing the other corps. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lord Denning Posted July 24, 2010 Share Posted July 24, 2010 BD: Their streak of being super-aggravating to me continues. It pisses me off to no end to hear a hornline that's so #### good and so #### boring at the same time. They ooze technicality and ability, but there is absolutely NO HEART and NO SOUL in that show, and I hope somebody knocks them off their #### ivory tower for once. Very telling sign that they got little more than golf claps after they were finished. Pulitzer Prize winning stuff right here. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fsubone Posted July 24, 2010 Share Posted July 24, 2010 I'm actually going to agree with some of the BD stuff said above here. I do think that their hornline is really talented, and they're sure showing it, but I just don't find a reason why they're scoring the way they do. I mean, some of the visual stuff is cool, I mean really cool, but a lot of the stuff just doesn't make any sense. I really don't see the demand here. They stand still a lot, and there are no marching transitions in this show. None. Every transition between piece and it seems almost between sets is done by walking, or running, or skipping????? Why are they skipping in the opener? Someone please explain this one to me. And I saw tons of visual dirt at the Houston show. And they're pulling 9s in the vis. captions? I'm lost here. And I heard them repeat music from one of their past shows..... Sneaky, but not that cool..... And before I get torched on here for hating the show, I really wish I could like this show. I'm a huge Kenton fan, and I am a BD fan, when they produce a show that can make me stand up and cheer for them. Yeah, I get it, they're being edgy and different, but where's the line between edgy and different and just plain weird? And where does audience connection fit into this equation? Please guys, don't hate me for this. I came to watching the show again with an open mind, but I still just can't get into it. Sorry. I really hope that for once, BD will put the audience more into their plan than just what show will boost the score up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
saxfreq1128 Posted July 24, 2010 Share Posted July 24, 2010 They stand still a lot, and there are no marching transitions in this show. None. Every transition between piece and it seems almost between sets is done by walking, or running, or skipping????? Why are they skipping in the opener? Someone please explain this one to me. And I saw tons of visual dirt at the Houston show. And they're pulling 9s in the vis. captions? I'm lost here. And I heard them repeat music from one of their past shows..... Sneaky, but not that cool..... You're only creating a situation where people are going to have to point out to you the amount of body other corps are doing / have done for many years, now. Suffice it to say that, in the scheme of things, BD's body movements aren't so excessive. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
3rd Glasgow BB Posted July 24, 2010 Share Posted July 24, 2010 In Dallas last night, they started off the field, brass and drums. Confused the hell out of me, not gonna lie. I think how Phantom start & end their show is dependent on the venue. If they can begin and/or end out of sight of the audience then they will. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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