Fran Haring Posted August 25, 2010 Share Posted August 25, 2010 (edited) OK.... not a full show review....BigW and others have already covered that part. But just some thoughts/ramblings, etc. from the weekend in Scranton, from my perspective as a fan: Our drive up Friday afternoon.... somehow, we managed to get all the way up from Baltimore on I-83 and I-81 without a single construction zone. That was northbound. However, we could see that southbound was a disaster with several long delays in work zones, so the missus and I went to Plan B for the trip home and used the PA Turnpike Northeast Extension. Thankfully, we have EZ-Pass, so we no longer have to deal with the PA Turnpike toll card. That thing has always been very confusing. I think you need a doctorate in forensic science to figure it out. Hotels were very nice.... the brand-new Marriott TownePlace Suites near Montage Mountain on Friday night, and the Hampton Inn next to Marvelous Muggs on Saturday. Muggs, as usual, was a good spot for some pre-and-post-show grub. Sometimes the service can be very slow there, but not for us this year. Mother Nature was kind to us on Saturday, holding off the rain until just after the show ended. The show itself: Bushwackers have a terrific "pre-show" routine that sets the mood for their perfomance. In particular, that thundering percussion beat during the pre-show certainly gets your attention! As has been mentioned before, Bush was missing several lower-brass players due to a band-camp situation..... but the corps still was very much improved and more energized, compared to our last viewing of them at the Cabs' show in July. Empire Statesmen, are, in a word, wonderful. My favorite show of the night, and of this season so far. Pure, straightforward entertainment that I would pay to see even if they were the only corps in the show. I hope DCA and the all-age corps activity never gets to the point where everything is so serious that a "fun" corps like the Statesman cannot succeed. Caballeros: just a fan here, not a judge.... but I'm not quite sure why this corps' brass line is not scoring higher. From where I was sitting, I heard a full, balanced, clear, confident, clean sound. And there are some serious horses in the lead trumpet and lower brass sections. Buccaneers' "Pines of the Appian Way" opener is absolutely, positively, magnificent. Majestic. The visual staging, the brass and percussion performance, the visual support from a great color guard....simply overwhelming. The second half of the Bucs' program... in particular the last couple of minutes... is not quite totally grabbing me yet, even though this part of the show was several notches better than at the Cabs' contest in July. Several visual sets that were way off the mark then, were more or less locked in at this show. In fairness, I think I'm comparing the end of this show to the absolutely incredible beginning... and the ending is suffering a bit in that comparison, at least for now. Ther Hurricanes' show seemed a bit subdued compared to the three corps preceding them in Scranton. I found myself wishing I could see this show from upstairs, because it looked there was a lot of nice visual stuff going on.....especially the sweeping forms during the staging of the ballad. Percussion is solid all around... the front ensemble adds quite a bit of musicality and support to the show. And the color guard, once again, is lights-out terrific. No offense meant to any other alumni corps, but the Hawthorne Caballeros Alumni, to me, remain the gold standard of this part of the drum corps activity. Over 60 years of pride and passion is wrapped up in one complete package of sheer audience appeal. The whole corps is great, but three particular shout-outs from me at this show: 1) The snare line. "Old-school" drum corps percussion at its finest. 2) The color guard. The alumni guard seemed to be basically an afterthought when first formed a few years ago.... now, those ladies add quite a bit to the program. 3) My man George Hayek. One of the co-founders of the Caballeros back in 1946, he is still going strong with the alumni corps' honor guard. He is truly a living drum corps legend. A few closing thoughts: Once again, a BIG "thank you" to all of you who stopped by to see Barbara, or who helped her in any way over the weekend (like Joe Taylor of the Statesmen, who doubled as a wheelchair attendant Friday night at Muggs... LOL). It was great to see all the familiar faces from the American Legion at the show. Those men and women have done so much work to keep the Parade of Champions running for all these many years, and they deserve a salute. The last few months have been better for Barbara and me, without question. Barbara is sitting out the festivities in Rochester this year and I'm going up for a shortened weekend, but it is all working out the best for both of us. My thanks to DCA for their flexibility and understanding with my schedule this year. OK.... off to the spectator section at the Bucs' show for the two of us this weekend, then back to work for me for DCA Finals! Edited August 29, 2010 by Fran Haring Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cabalumnidrummer Posted August 25, 2010 Share Posted August 25, 2010 No offense meant to any other alumni corps, but the Hawthorne Caballeros Alumni, to me, remain the gold standard of this part of the drum corps activity. Over 60 years of pride and passion is wrapped up in one complete package of sheer audience appeal. The whole corps is great, but three particular shout-outs from me at this show: 1) The snare line. "Old-school" drum corps percussion at its finest. 2) The color guard. The alumni guard seemed to be basically an afterthought when first formed a few years ago.... now, those ladies add quite a bit to the program. 3) My man George Hayek. One of the co-founders of the Caballeros back in 1946, he is still going strong with the alumni corps' honor guard. He is truly a living drum corps legend. Thank you. Fran!!! Hope to see you in Rochester at our Saturday night/post prelims drum rehearsal behind the Rochester Plaza Hotel. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fran Haring Posted August 25, 2010 Author Share Posted August 25, 2010 Thank you. Fran!!! Hope to see you in Rochester at our Saturday night/post prelims drum rehearsal behind the Rochester Plaza Hotel. Heck, John...I might be going out to get a bite to eat with my sister while you guys work. Linda's welcome to join us, too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andyroo Posted August 25, 2010 Share Posted August 25, 2010 Heck, John...I might be going out to get a bite to eat with my sister while you guys work. Linda's welcome to join us, too. Fran, I don't believe that you quite understand.... When Cap'n John invites one to observe a rehearsal, one observes - especially when there's a river directly adjacent. Just a bit of forewarning.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vanguard Rich Posted August 25, 2010 Share Posted August 25, 2010 Fran, I don't believe that you quite understand....When Cap'n John invites one to observe a rehearsal, one observes - especially when there's a river directly adjacent. Just a bit of forewarning.... What, walk the plank, ay matey??? Orders from the "Captain"!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andyroo Posted August 27, 2010 Share Posted August 27, 2010 What, walk the plank, ay matey??? Orders from the "Captain"!!! Don't worry about it, Rich. If Fran is wearing one of his "special" shirts, the river will probably throw him right back out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fran Haring Posted August 27, 2010 Author Share Posted August 27, 2010 (edited) Don't worry about it, Rich. If Fran is wearing one of his "special" shirts, the river will probably throw him right back out. LOL!!! I'm off-duty Saturday night. So the river and I are safe. Edited August 27, 2010 by Fran Haring Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jami Posted August 27, 2010 Share Posted August 27, 2010 Fran - Thanks for the kind words about the Hurcs front ensemble. I'll be sure to pass it along to them this weekend. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vtmarchese Posted August 29, 2010 Share Posted August 29, 2010 Thank you. Fran!!! Hope to see you in Rochester at our Saturday night/post prelims drum rehearsal behind the Rochester Plaza Hotel. Fran, Besides you wouldn't want to miss the best snare drummer since the "Big Bang" ,(yes I got my title back), doing his warm-ups. That's the Pratt warm up at a dizzying 150 BPM!....LOL Vince Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fran Haring Posted August 29, 2010 Author Share Posted August 29, 2010 Fran, Besides you wouldn't want to miss the best snare drummer since the "Big Bang" (yes I got my title back), doing his warm-ups. That's the Pratt warm up at a dizzying 150 BPM!....LOL Vince LOLOL!!!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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