Show Review Racine, WI

[Scerpella]

On an almost perfect night at Pershing Park Field situated directly

on the shores of Lake Michigan, 5 longtime favorites of SE Wisconsin

drumcorps fans got together to provide a highly entertaining evening

of drumcorps. Being June 13th and either the 1st or 2nd show for all

the corps performing, glitches and jitters were bound to be present.

But the story of the night had to be how the two main corps in

contention, Colts and Scouts, seemed to have very little of the early

season rust, and both gave polished performances. Madison

particularly, fresh from a two week boot camp in Whitewater seems on

a mission to prove to the drumcorps community that 02 was an

aberration.

With the exception of the blossoming Colts, every corps performing

tonite has either earned a national championship in its history or

come pretty darn close, so the venue fairly reeked with Drum Corps

historical "gravitas".

First up were the Blue Stars of Lacrosse, WI. One thing is certain

when you talk about Blue Stars, they may be small but they are

overachievers. Stepping off with Gavorkna Fanfare, the spunky Stars

made good use of the field. Characteristically, Blue Stars show

maturity that belies its small size and age range. "Chorale and

Toccata" demonstrated some excellent hard work by the horn line. Drum

line was covering real estate in great leaps it seems. Guard and

Rifle line seems a bit small and I dont believe what they were

wearing was more than T-shirts and shorts. Still they smiled and

executed. "Follies" and "Lento" seemed a bit choppy at times and

suffered from the newness of the season. These kids are well taught

and I have no doubt in a couple of weeks you'll see smoothness in

transition. What I would love to see above all is Blue Stars become

the powerhouse they were in the early years of DCI, gving both

Anaheim and Santa Clara a run for the titles in 72 and 73. All in all

a credible performance. Look for good things down the road. Score -

45.85. 3rd place

Next up were local favorite and former juggernaut the Racine Kilties.

As Kilts are a senior corps, I don't know if they typically will

compete against the juniors or use the same judging. Guard was a bit

small but they did not lack for enthusiasm.It looked to me that the

rifle line were all juniors. In any case the Mad Plaid pleased the

partisan crowd stepping off the line with Brigadoon and Braveheart.

Then into Syne Fanfare. Now I havent seen Kilts perform for some

time, but Im used to hearing Syne as a closer. Still it was

spirited. Looking around the field, I recognized people who marched

in my era (70s) as well as folks who were from before. Not having

the fortitude to try Senior corps I have nothing but respect for

them. And you can see it as the vets screw on their "corps face" and

try to recapture the glory of their youth. Next up was Fanfare for

the Common Man. It was a very interesting rendition with truthfully a

few rough spots. But senior corps tend to start out slow as the

weekend warriors prepare for Scranton. There is time and I have no

doubt Kilts will have their performance maximized by then. Kilts

still have a few sops who can wail and they were in evidence

during "Miss Otis Regrets". This half of the show looked a bit rough

and I think Kilts will use this as a yardstick. There might be some

unfinished drill here or a need for rewrites. They finished with a

very beautiful rendition of "Simple Gifts" The crowd was appreciative

of the hard work put in by the Mad Plaid and repayed them with a

standing "O". Score 41.50. 4th place.

Next up were Dubuque's Colts. There is no doubt that you have a top

corps in front of you with Colts as the first note signalled a leap

in sound and ability. This years Colts brought Glassmen/Phantom to

mind, performing a largely classical repertoire. "Ritual" was the

first selection highlighting an excellent hornline. The jump in

marching ability from the 2 previous corps is also quite obvious.

With their slimming uniforms and plumed shakos, they all looked over

6 feet! Next up was "Song" a award winning band selection. Here again

Colts demonstrated balanced playing and excellent execution. The

intrepretive work by the guard was well integrated and appropriate,

and it didnt hurt they were all attractive young women. I will say

here that my vantage wasnt very high (the stands are only about 15

rows high) but that it seemed like Colts drill design was the area

that seemed to be lacking. Pictures seemed to develop slowly and

didnt appear to present more than moderate difficulty for the

individual marchers. Pace seemed to be uniform with nothing

happening dynamically. In my non DCI educated opinion, this will be

an area that needs to improve. In my day Colts would have been in the

top 12 on the strength of their musical execution alone, but as we

know today visual concerns are paramount. I could be all wet here as

I have no idea what the recaps say. "Dance" was next and I have to

say while I had no complaints about it, neither did I find anything

that jumped out at me. The closer restates the themes of the previous

three selections. In it we saw some of the urgency I thought was

missing from the rest of the visual presentation. Horns were crisp

and exciting. In all the Colts were received very well. They are

going to knock on top 12s door yet again this year. Score 61.50 2nd

place.

There remained two questions at this point for the partisan Wisconsin

crowd. Would we see the Scouts we love and who always make top 12 and

how would they compare to Colts? The answer to the first question

gentle readers, is that the Scouts are the Scouts. Sporting newly

designed Cesario uniforms the Scouts could only be described as

attacking the field tonite. Early version of the uniform were met

with to put it kindly "skepticism" on most internet drum corps

forums. Scouts responded with a couple of minor changes which seemed

to "fix" the problems. (Pictures included) The tunic collar went

from the two tone green to white. Strange as it may seem, it went a

long way in improving the look, such a little thing. In the other

change it seems Cesario took a cue from the main complaint repeated

in all those corps chat boards, NO RED. For the DM, The half Fleur de Lis which

was formerly green stitched in red, is now completely red. So for

those of us who wanted a red accent to match the traditional red sash

or baldrick Madison has sported since the late 70s, the red Fleur de

Lis mollifies us. One would hope that this is implemented for the rest of the corps. Who knows, maybe at finals the red sash

comes out like the green football jerseys Notre Dame always pulled

out for the big games. The second question regarding their comparing

to Colts was also answered rather early in the show. Scouts were on

fire from the first count and the 5 point margin Madison had over

Colts last night would spread tonite.

Rather than review each song individually I would prefer here to give

my general impressions of the performance tonite. First and foremost,

the visual prgram has been turbocharged. A larger more experienced

guard (last years fatal flaw) is in evidence this year.

Knowledgeable fan Jim Anello, remarked to me that there was more

guard work in 2 minutes of this years show than there was in all of

last years. Drillwise, the difference between Colts and Madison was

pronounced. Madison hornline started lined up on the left sideline

and performed a breath taking high speed 30 yard company front as the

front ensemble is making its opening statement. Pictures were flying

fast and furious and Madison looked like they were track athletes in

Mid July form. Foot technique, a favorite hobgoblin of the Madison

detractors was much improved from last year. The music of Cirque du

Soleil was exciting and the performance level was considerably better

than their Open House performance. This show, it seems, has

everything DCI today wants. Unless of course Hopkins Cadets rendition

this year of Malaguena signals a return to more accessible, and

entertaining repertoire fare. Due to a large number of ageouts,

Madison is at an average age of about 18 down from the typical 20 or

so. Like a rebuilding sports team, the presence of so many talented

underclassmen means good things for the future. This years group

though I believe is already off to a good start. If I know anything

about drumcorps, and last year proved I didnt, Madison will be back

in the top 12 this year, all other things remaining constant.

Madison has taken every possible knock on them from the two last

years and addressed them. Its though they are daring DCI to find

some fault with them. I think its also a safe bet staff will be

attending all critiques this year. You have to hand it to the

organization. They have taken decisive action this year, and if they

dont somehow regain some of their lost stature, then it will not be

from a lack of sheer effort. And they have taken great care to let

all who ask that Scott Stewart is still an important figure to them.

Director Sal Salas was quoted this week in the Wisconsin State

Journal. "I'm not trying to fill Scott Stewart's shoes" Sal

stated. "I'm trying to walk beside him." Very classy not to mention

political of him. Look for Madison to add many more to its legion of

fans and believers. Score 68.75 1st place.

60 odd days to go.

The "Chrome Domes", (Racine Scouts) another former national powerhouse, performed in exhibition.

To see photos of Madison at Racine, follow this link and select Photos then Racine, WI folder

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/madisonscoutsgrp/

Edited June 14, 2003 by dans24103

[bill]

B) ...Thanks for your kind review about the Kilts...tonight's performance was the first "run thru" of the show..literally!!...we never did a run thru until we hit the competition field this evening.....being a senior division corps, these Friday night shows can be tough, we had 12 or 14 members who could not make it, which can make it tough!!...............

BUT, we've got the first one under the belt, and we'll move on from there....we know we have a lot of cleaning to do, and reps, reps, reps, to get the continuity (sp?).....and believe it or not....our average age has dropped drastically.....our biggest age group (about 60%) is between 17 and 28...

Tomorrow is another day.!!...and if anyone knows the Kilties...the intensity has kicked in and a steady solid climb throughout the season is self-demanded upon ourselves as individuals and as a corps..........

Bill

Kilties

:D

[mrshowfan]

Great review.

I particularly like the use of the word "hobgoblin". I dont think I've ever seen that in a review.

Good times.

[mrshowfan]

Just saw the uni. pics. Not a big fan. To get rid of the sash and the citation cords is a mistake. Also, how bout a green stripe down the pants? How come they got rid of the silver on the ausie's. :(

To me it just looks too much like other corps...oh wait Cesario makes everone else's uni.

Ahhhh, I'm just being a sour tooth cranky old alum, and am probably too critical. Oh well, I wish them the best of luck this year, I hope to see them down the road in late July through finals. b**bs

Best of luck!!

[Newseditor44]

I too am not a fan of the new Uni's, and think Cesario should be benned from making uniforms for a year for this one. Plain and simple... Yuck! But gald to hear that the Scouts are doing well.

[bluestarsfco]

Based on what I've seen so far...definately NOT a fan. There's nothing on them! The pants are too tight, and look bare without the stripe. The light green doesn't look very good, nor the half Fleur de Lie. I would rather seen the top be all the same color (dark green), with a full Fleur de Lie, the sash, and the red sparkle gauntlets.

Maybe I'll like them when I see them in person for the first time in Menomonie, but I highly doubt it. It's going to take a lot of convincing for me to like this uni...

[RobH]

Great review, Dan!

Kudos for getting the pics posted - obviously there's still much mixed feelings about the new Scouts uni.

I'm just going to continue keeping an open mind about it - maybe it will grow on me, or something.

[sburstall]

I agree that the white collar is an improvement....but improvement over what??

I'm going to miss the stripe down the pants, the sash, etc. They look so generic now.

[JT76]

Based on what I've seen so far...definately NOT a fan. There's nothing on them! The pants are too tight, and look bare without the stripe. The light green doesn't look very good, nor the half Fleur de Lie. I would rather seen the top be all the same color (dark green), with a full Fleur de Lie, the sash, and the red sparkle gauntlets.

Thank you for putting into words what I was thinking. I am really trying to like this uniform, but to me it is so plain. I don't know maybe it is just my perception.

[Eddie]

I know that stripe makes a difference in looks.... but also might have helped boost their visual score up a ways. Probably why most corps today don't use the leg lines anymore. But, I do hope the red sash is added back. I think it would look great with the new style.

Thanks for the review.