theCHEZman Posted August 9, 2010 Share Posted August 9, 2010 Just returned from the Clifton show. Great night for drum corps, a slight breeze. Its a small high school stadium. I sat three rows from the top on the 50. :-) JERSEY SURF: I thought they had a nice horn line. Its a very basic show. They sounded better than I thought they would since I haven't seen them in 2 yrs. Keep growing guys. Not bad at all. MANDARINS: Really nice uniforms and some gorgeous color flags. They are doing a far east theme show which has great potential as a concept but just never develops for me. Should be cleaner for august. COLTS: I thought they were a nice surprise. Hornline had some pop, decent drill performed nicely and a good guard. I always remember liking Colts any year I see them. Just need to lock into a concept next year and develop it but they have good bones. MADISON SCOUTS: Well, what can one say. MADISON IS BACK! Beautiful full hornline and yeah for using all those tubas vs. turning on the bass synth. It's an enjoyable show and performed at a very high level. I found the drill to be clean, guard complimented the show nicely and it does what it set out to do, which is putting Madison Scouts back on the map. Next year they can go deeper and more complex but 2010 is their welcome back show. BTW, they torn the house down. Congrats to the kids, staff and organization. PHANTOM REGIMENT: The lush, beautiful Phantom that we all love is back! They really have a beautiful brass line and I thought visually they had improved from what I saw on the VODs. Percussion is just sick but I thought their guard was perhaps the weakest part. They are very good but I think the visual in general (drill and guard) is just not quite at the level of the brass and percussion. The crowd enjoyed them and this corps is in a different league from last year. BLUE STARS: This corps is a monster! The brass line blew my face off and they never stop. There are no lulls in this show, the whole thing keeps moving and moving. Mellophones are some of the best of the year IMO. Visually, I thought they did some nice stuff with straightjackets, handcuffs with keys, guard members tied to chairs and getting themselves undone and the guard actually doing flag work in the beginning of the show with one hand tied down. My only small issue is there seems to be some visual clutter when the guard is too close to the hornline in some parts of the show but very minor observation and who am I. Very impressed with this corps and did I say how great their hornline was? Great job BStars! CROWN: This is a very mature corps performing at a very high level. The show is lush and sophisticated in music and visual. It has more ooh movements than wow but so what. They really seem to do everything well except for an early attack by a tuba in the beginning of the show. I thought the rewind section of the end of the show was great and I for one really like the ending of the show. A second chance bringing back last years closer, the guard spinning gold flags, I just really love the show. Many years this show would bring home the gold. I felt sorry for the corps that had to follow this one! CADETS: I almost felt bad for the Cadets having to follow Crown. All I read about Cadets about all the cheese I was just not in the mood for it after being musically stroked by Crown. Well, someone must have put some red bull in the Cadets water because this corps is not the one I saw on VOD from Atlanta a week ago. Visually, I thought they were the winners. Its classic Cadets marching I thought, very well. Its not frantic movement but it is non stop and they were crisp. There is soooo much more clarity now that they put the guard in new deep blue top unis with maroon pant and much smaller plumes when they do wear shakos. No more of the 14 inch high plumes at all different angles when the guard tosses. It's interesting that no one really talks much about the Cadet horn line but they are really really clean and they do a lot of tonguing. Percussion seems very solid and the ending of the show really tore the house down. I didn't mind the Jeffery character. He sells what he does and its one kid out of 150. I really couldnt believe all the banter about it. There is really so much to watch with this corps. They got really really good very very quickly. OVERALL: I thought Blue Stars should have edged Phantom but haven't seen recaps so it may have been Phantom's drumline scoring a 21/20. (they are that good). Madison is back and an absolute joy to see and hear. Cadets/Crown, these two corps are performing at such a high level, it was just an absolute honor to get to see them in an intimate setting where you can see the overall picture but be close enough to watch the field performance. Not sure where they end up when its all done but the BDs,BlueCoats and Cavies must be sick if they are beating these two corps. Yep, I thought they were that good. Good night everyone. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fan of the Arts Posted August 9, 2010 Share Posted August 9, 2010 Just returned from the Clifton show. Great night for drum corps, a slight breeze. Its a small high school stadium. I sat three rows fromthe top on the 50. :-) BLUE STARS: This corps is a monster! The brass line blew my face off and they never stop. There are no lulls in this show, the whole thing keeps moving and moving. Mellophones are some of the best of the year IMO. Visually, I thought they did some nice stuff with straightjackets, handcuffs with keys, guard members tied to chairs and getting themselves undone and the guard actually doing flag work in the beginning of the show with one hand tied down. My only small issue is there seems to be some visual clutter when the guard is too close to the hornline in some parts of the show but very minor observation and who am I. Very impressed with this corps and did I say how great their hornline was? Great job BStars! Thanks for the review. I've been wanting to say this all season about Blue Stars. How can you do a review on Blue Stars and not mention their percussion section? To me Blue Stars have the most entertaining percussion sections going. Not only are they playing a lot of notes but their visual program is out of this world. Those guys are all over the field. Its as if they designed the whole program around those guys. I can't keep my eyes off them. CADETS:I almost felt bad for the Cadets having to follow Crown. All I read about Cadets about all the cheese I was just not in the mood for it after being musically stroked by Crown. Well, someone must have put some red bull in the Cadets water because this corps is not the one I saw on VOD from Atlanta a week ago. Visually, I thought they were the winners. Its classic Cadets marching I thought, very well. Its not frantic movement but it is non stop and they were crisp. There is soooo much more clarity now that they put the guard in new deep blue top unis with maroon pant and much smaller plumes when they do wear shakos. No more of the 14 inch high plumes at all different angles when the guard tosses. It's interesting that no one really talks much about the Cadet horn line but they are really really clean and they do a lot of tonguing. Percussion seems very solid and the ending of the show really tore the house down. I didn't mind the Jeffery character. He sells what he does and its one kid out of 150. I really couldnt believe all the banter about it. There is really so much to watch with this corps. They got really really good very very quickly. No secret that I am a huge Cadet fan. You made some key comments: No this is not the same corps from Atlanta because they have been working their butts off to get better. As for the new guard uniform the color combination is purple blouse with maroon pants. It has added much needed clarity and the uniform change couldn't have happened at a better time. Now what kills me is its the same equipment book which has been monster from the very beginning. A simple color change has enable our judges to see things now that they weren't seeing before? Those kids are flat out good and are one of the four best guards (IMO) out there. This is my favorite comment you made about the Cadets...."they got really really good very very quickly". Can you say peaking at the right time? Irving Fan of the Arts Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Swine Posted August 10, 2010 Share Posted August 10, 2010 Is DCI ever going to upload the recap? It's been a day now... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BCC99Man Posted August 10, 2010 Share Posted August 10, 2010 Thanks for the review. I've been wanting to say this all season about Blue Stars. How can you do a review on Blue Stars and not mention their percussion section? To me Blue Stars have the most entertaining percussion sections going. Not only are they playing a lot of notes but their visual program is out of this world. Those guys are all over the field. Its as if they designed the whole program around those guys. I can't keep my eyes off them. Yes! LOVE the drum solo in the middle of the show when the percussion is right up front doing cool body movement and drill with the hornline blowing off faces to a dramatic conclusion and then finishing off the piece with some fast and furious drum corps. Definitely one of my favorite moments in the show, probably in most of the shows out there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DWEST Posted August 11, 2010 Share Posted August 11, 2010 I think my knees hit the ops back. I planned on sitting in the 40$ section but it was sold out when I got to the gate at 4:15 Sat. Oh Well, asked for the best seat for $75 . Sat on 50, 2nd row down from box (section E, row 29, seat 24) Anyway, I'll comment on some sound issues with electronics with the top corps. (at least for me). Blue Stars. Your horn line is (shockingly) FANTASTIC. Wow. My Problem: The volume of the pit was WAY TO LOUD throughout the whole show! Crown. Your horn line is FANTASTIC. My Problem : The last note (the synth doubling the tubas) BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOSSSSSSHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! This horn line plays with such class. Ruined with a cheap synth. For shame. My 2c Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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