The Reading review

[Jeff Ream]

Now that the shakes have passed and I have FINALLY seen a DCA show this summer, I took the time to take some notes. As DCW sent another writer to cover the show, these thoughts are mine, and if people want to start wars about them, go ahead, I'll probably just laugh at you.

seats up high, between the 40 and 45 side 2. as always, this show runs like clockwork, and no rain to boot! ( and to the program seller, your guarantee came true. make that promise every year!)

Night started off with Danny Fitzpatrick playing the Canadian and American anthems, doing an awesome job as one would expect from him. Even heard a few people sing along with Canada.

Up first, Shenandoah Sound. Programming wise, a HUGE step up from last year. Show starts with the pit layering with Bali Hai, and ended with the corps doing an effective stadstill hit from the main theme. Nothing Like Dame was quite entertaining, allowing each section to have their moment, ending with a contra solo by the "Dame" herself. crowd liked that.Drum solo of "wash that man" was fun, tho there was percussive performance issues. the pantomime of the lyric s was amusing, as was the limbo, but at times it was like too many stages to focus on. Honey Bun was started with a strong sop solo but kind of lost focus to me from there. Some Enchanted Evening began with a sop/.bari duet. an effective use of the solo guard member was here with her being in the center of the drillforms, but as the forms condensed, it began to look cluttered. The show ended with a quick reprise of Bali Hai in a half time push forward that fed into an uptempo company front charge to the front sideline.

IMO, the corps is better than last year, just in design alone. There were many moments of feet thru the horns, even at some slower tempos, and the brass players in and out of the pit...and reading music on stands in the pit...was a distraction. Also...I appreciated the two performers/soloist/conducters dressed to fit the shows theme, however, they stuck out big time when on the field marching in the drill and did not add to the story much. I did think the pit was the strongest section of the corps, and had some nice musical moments.

Score was pretty much about right.

White Sabers....bring their Cirque show from a few years back, but not a rehash with some different melodies than the last time. the intro caught my attention with the lone snare on dreds playing with the pit...corps really covered a lot of field here, and slowly condensed the forms for the first big hit. For their size, I really felt the 5 snares were overpowering at times, especially since they had many different approaches to the drum between them...definitely affected clarity. Bass runs also seemed really choppy all night.as they push to the end of the tune, the sop soloist needs to face ore towards the 50 so his sound isn't lost under the corps. Ombra had a really nice brass sound, and the battery did set up a nice groove with the snares on the rims. Reve Louge was started by the very talented pit, into the sops, then a mello section that played really well here. Also creative staging with the sabers...a nice treatwas the low end brass at the end of the tune...just a really nie, warm sound.

the corps started the closer with a really strong statement, followed by a nice mello moment augmented by some strong arpeggios in the pit. however the ending came across flat due to some stamina issues in the brass, until the very last lick played up front.

Really, the corps has a nice show. if the balance issues can be addressed in the next week, and the percussion plays better, the score can go up. I will be honest, I really didnt pay much attention to their feet...sorry guys!

Carolina Gold...Primary Suspects a well thought out show, with some serious moments and comedy, as well as not one but two deaths. Really strong Dragnet moment with the pit and brass, and the following battery break was played pretty well too. Psycho had some strond demands musically and visually with the spreds in the drill....especially for a piece like tha where timing is the key...I really got caught up at the end with the flag ensemble moment with the brass countermotion going on in and around them. I didn't get the names of all of the tunes ( I did catch Magnum PI and did recognize a few others). The next tune had a lot of trades between the voices w/percussion breaks in between. The guards yellow uniforms here were eye catching, but it seemed here there were some balance issues ( brass holes?) Ballad began with a battery break that retards into a sop solo, then a duet with said sop and bari. Guard had some nice equipment trades here, and the pit had some really pretty 4 mallet work. The brass backfield stuff was really effective, and will work better next week in Rachacha due to the nature of the stadium....the backfield built into a sop screamer which had the corps turn and play a nice hit.....the trasnition out of the ballad seemed shaky, but the solo rifle was eye catching enough to not get hung on it percussion folowed with a nice break that ended with a cool mysterioso feel.

Dragnet came back with a full out perc feature while the suspects were chased....also really liked the moment where the guard was center stage and the percussion and brass played in an arc behind them. the last big push had some front to back timing issues, and then lo and behold...a "DCI judge" ( the green polo gave it away) complete with Vic Firth lanyard was shot dead!

a really fun show. They have some balance issues and one or two timing issues to addres syet, but the score is pretty much about right all ways around.

grenadiers......interesting to see them not playing jazz. Stormworks has long been a favorite of mine. Show starts with the battery throwing down which leads into the brass coming in, but there were balance issues. brass seemed really controlled, and at times a lot of feet thru the horns, and the percussion is a very strong group. The guard had some nice moments especially with the purple/black fags. brass had some more projection issues as the opener went on, but the potential is there. before the Storm started with a nice sop soloist, but as it went on the low brass got a little too heavy behind him./her. the sop duet was well done and worked in conjunction of the guard dance/body stuff that went with it. the pit had some really nice 4 mallet stuff here, and the effect of the flags blowing in the wind helped signal what was to come. The percussion section did a really cool job going Into the Storm with the effects tosignal the gale approaching, and the percussion feature was well done. Brass re-entry seemed a touch timid, and there were some issues with drill forms after this. bass tuning really spoke to me here with some great runs. the push across the field transitioned to the backfield and led to the final push...all a cool visual build, but some stamina issues here seemed to leave the ending flatter than they may have liked it.

I want to like this show, and I think I will next week. The brass just seemed off to me tonight, and there were some noticable feet issues as well. with some good work this week leading into Saturday, i think a Sunday night run is possible.

Fusion.....Changing perceptions....interssting show. the new unis are nice, tho the embroidery does look a touch busy. My guess is in higher stadiums it isn't as noticable. I don't really know Wicked, but I do know jekyll and Hyde, and they made the two musicals blend together nicely. Love the opening body work into the opening statement. The pit is very strong and had a nice moment early building into a standstill hit that felt just a touch shaky, but was covered up by some nice rifle and flag work. it seemed pushing to the end of the opener that the brass was a touch gassed and led t some minor balance issues.

No Good Ded had some really warm brass sounds working perfectly with the pit...what a wonderful blend of woods and metals here. The pit and mello solo with the rest of the corps backfield was really pretty and the stadium next week should enhance that moment. this whole piece just oozed pretty. Murder Murder started strong into a snare break then a mello section moment..and man did the pit break that followed have a lot of clean notes! pretty much every section had a moment here, even the contras. Defying Gravity had good balance, and also was set up to stage the silent flag moment, which led to a big push which recapped many of the themes in the show.

really, my only issues were some brass fatigue issues early and battery performance issues. If those things can be correctedin a week, this is the record score for Class A. Well designed for their size, using all of their talents well. Class A seems to be stock with some great percussion sections, so Fusion needs to address the battery issues to take the show to next level.

Empire.....Oz, and not the HBO version. I wasn't sure what to expect. Chessy to the point of making me lactose intolerant? Their best show since Saigon? Depending on what you read on here, yes.

Well.....it does have some cheese. And that's ok, it's the Wizard of Friggin Oz. And, yes, it is their best show since Saigon. I'd watch this show 20 times in a row before I'd throw in their last title show. it's fun. It's well staged. it was missing, IMO two things tonight, and I'll get to them.

Jimmy starts the show with a mello solo and the corps backfield..the brass crosses thru each other into a solid form touching a few well known melodies that brings us into the big hit with a nice ensemble flag moment on side 2. The storm sequence was cool with Dorothy sound asleep in her bed and the witch makes her entrance ( and she is hysterical)..from here we have a nice half time push ( and sweet bass run too) as the tune ends strong. Ding Dong has some nice solos and a cool drum break...pit is well scored, and the battery book workins well the meldoci content, but had some dirt ( i heard a judge above me say the same thing so I know it's just not me) during all of the hand motion changes. From here we see the yellow brick road, well staged by yellow brick flags leading to the backdrop that has the yellow brock road. We meet the Lion, Tin Man and Scarecrow, all well performed..nice moment with snares and sop especially with the snares stunt sticking, but again some dirt..with the scarecrow, tin man with mellos and tenors and lIon with basses and low brass. cool idea to introduce them all. Ease on Down had a nice grooce, and I actually thought the sops seemed to be holding back. a really nice mello ection moment, and for the throwdown, you add in Ritchie, and yes the crowd will cheer...as happened here. I heard many around me chuckling as the witches army came out to chase and catch Dorothy..did sound like a small ensemble glitch before the witch melts, and I don't care how you feel about shows like this, you have to love her performance as she melts...crowd loved it.

and of course Somewhere Over The Rainbow...nice moments with the brass in pods and some nice 4 mallet pit work going on while the corps plays backfield. This builds to a company front, and man when they whipe out those big flags with all of the rainbow colors, I'm telling you, that's a GE visual moment.

Why were they this close? They performed very well. audio/visual coordination is well done, especially with all of the storyline stuff. What will help most next week IMO is the brass line letting loose. Tonight I felt the bigs should have been bigger. I thought maybe a little more Ritchie could help too. What may hurt is the visual demand. They move well, no doubt about it. But there isn't a lot of velocity, and even when at a hold, there isn't as much body as I expected. Are they out of the running? No. They need to add in Toto, the Wizard, Joey, Gibby whatever tricks they have hidden yet, and max it out next week as well as clean up some of the performance issues. I rule nothing out.

and the Bucs...Rome. is it a Star/Phantom rip off? No. Sure maybe some similar ideas, but I think with the music that's a given. But, this is it's own beast. And if performed well, it could be a great best.

Cool staging to start the show with the Roman Legion in the far back left corner and the basses adding their stuff from the back sideline. Really nice using the heralds from different spots on the field as we first hear the Pines theme and we layer in more and more for a really cool slow teaste build. Conches were very cool, and I loved the weapons being on swords here. At the tempo change i thought it was really blassy to go brass and pit only, and then when the battery comes in, the volume finally gets up there. The battery's metric modulation under the crescendo worked really wekk to max out the moment musically.

as we forge on, Swerv...you da man on the concert snare. Really enjoyed the brass on the back stage, and i appreciated the battery break with all of the WG I body stuff, but there was performance issues. When the brass came back in, they were not holding back and the tune finished strong. Adagio from Spartacus started with 4 mallet ork that seemed a touch off, but the sop solo after it that played with them worked really well. Really dug the groove the battery lays in, and the pit run was dead on.the orange flags framing the brass at thit worked really well, and the pit run out of the hit had a strong blend of metal vs wood sounds and the backfield brass stuff also come across well.

The battery enters next with a break in a pod that had some performance issues the bass solo on the stage was well done minus one unison that was a touch wide. the brass comes charging back in with a nice statement, and the rifle moment coupled with the mello moment thatfollows was well done. The corps is really flying here, and I think stamina may not yet be there yet before the accel/rotating block that's followed by the box pass thru. The finla push, battery dirt aside worked really well. definitely a fun show that's asking a lot of the members.

Can they win? Sure they can. I think visually no DCA corps has been tested like this one has. design wise the team fires on all cylanders.......it's up to performance now, and they had some issues last night. They need to work hard on fixing those issues, because not only is Empire sniffing around, but so is MBI. If they clean this....yikes. Every other corps will be the Christians, cause Bucs could be lionlike.......but with the kind of issues last night, if they happen again...well....Rome could burn.

Bucs Alumni.....this corps has improved a lot in recent years. Thru Naval Hymn, Land of Make Believe, Bellavia (always loved this chart), Russian Xmas and of course, beyond The Sea, the Bucs ALumni took the hometown crowd down memory lane thru some of Bucs finest charts. Nice to see some younger blood out there, as it has breathed life into the corps

great to see many friends and reconnect with a few long missed faces, and the show staff here always delivers. of course having Wawa around the corner helps!!

that's it for this week, see ya all in Rachacha! flame suit now on!

[BigW]

Agreed on 'More Ricthie' and on Swerv.

You caught some stuff I couldn't from Row C. Awesome!

[HornsUp]

Empire.....Oz ......Jimmy starts the show with a mello solo .....

Jimmy played "Over the Rainbow" at I&E last year. Now that's the ultimate pre-show warmup !!!

Edited August 30, 2010 by HornsUp

[brassyNsassy]

Empire.....Oz, and not the HBO version. I wasn't sure what to expect. Chessy to the point of making me lactose intolerant? Their best show since Saigon? Depending on what you read on here, yes.

Well.....it does have some cheese. And that's ok, it's the Wizard of Friggin Oz. And, yes, it is their best show since Saigon. I'd watch this show 20 times in a row before I'd throw in their last title show. it's fun. It's well staged. it was missing, IMO two things tonight, and I'll get to them.

Jimmy starts the show with a mello solo and the corps backfield..the brass crosses thru each other into a solid form touching a few well known melodies that brings us into the big hit with a nice ensemble flag moment on side 2. The storm sequence was cool with Dorothy sound asleep in her bed and the witch makes her entrance ( and she is hysterical)..from here we have a nice half time push ( and sweet bass run too) as the tune ends strong. Ding Dong has some nice solos and a cool drum break...pit is well scored, and the battery book workins well the meldoci content, but had some dirt ( i heard a judge above me say the same thing so I know it's just not me) during all of the hand motion changes. From here we see the yellow brick road, well staged by yellow brick flags leading to the backdrop that has the yellow brock road. We meet the Lion, Tin Man and Scarecrow, all well performed..nice moment with snares and sop especially with the snares stunt sticking, but again some dirt..with the scarecrow, tin man with mellos and tenors and lIon with basses and low brass. cool idea to introduce them all. Ease on Down had a nice grooce, and I actually thought the sops seemed to be holding back. a really nice mello ection moment, and for the throwdown, you add in Ritchie, and yes the crowd will cheer...as happened here. I heard many around me chuckling as the witches army came out to chase and catch Dorothy..did sound like a small ensemble glitch before the witch melts, and I don't care how you feel about shows like this, you have to love her performance as she melts...crowd loved it.

and of course Somewhere Over The Rainbow...nice moments with the brass in pods and some nice 4 mallet pit work going on while the corps plays backfield. This builds to a company front, and man when they whipe out those big flags with all of the rainbow colors, I'm telling you, that's a GE visual moment.

Why were they this close? They performed very well. audio/visual coordination is well done, especially with all of the storyline stuff. What will help most next week IMO is the brass line letting loose. Tonight I felt the bigs should have been bigger. I thought maybe a little more Ritchie could help too. What may hurt is the visual demand. They move well, no doubt about it. But there isn't a lot of velocity, and even when at a hold, there isn't as much body as I expected. Are they out of the running? No. They need to add in Toto, the Wizard, Joey, Gibby whatever tricks they have hidden yet, and max it out next week as well as clean up some of the performance issues. I rule nothing out.

and the Bucs...Rome. is it a Star/Phantom rip off? No. Sure maybe some similar ideas, but I think with the music that's a given. But, this is it's own beast. And if performed well, it could be a great best.

Cool staging to start the show with the Roman Legion in the far back left corner and the basses adding their stuff from the back sideline. Really nice using the heralds from different spots on the field as we first hear the Pines theme and we layer in more and more for a really cool slow teaste build. Conches were very cool, and I loved the weapons being on swords here. At the tempo change i thought it was really blassy to go brass and pit only, and then when the battery comes in, the volume finally gets up there. The battery's metric modulation under the crescendo worked really wekk to max out the moment musically.

as we forge on, Swerv...you da man on the concert snare. Really enjoyed the brass on the back stage, and i appreciated the battery break with all of the WG I body stuff, but there was performance issues. When the brass came back in, they were not holding back and the tune finished strong. Adagio from Spartacus started with 4 mallet ork that seemed a touch off, but the sop solo after it that played with them worked really well. Really dug the groove the battery lays in, and the pit run was dead on.the orange flags framing the brass at thit worked really well, and the pit run out of the hit had a strong blend of metal vs wood sounds and the backfield brass stuff also come across well.

The battery enters next with a break in a pod that had some performance issues the bass solo on the stage was well done minus one unison that was a touch wide. the brass comes charging back in with a nice statement, and the rifle moment coupled with the mello moment thatfollows was well done. The corps is really flying here, and I think stamina may not yet be there yet before the accel/rotating block that's followed by the box pass thru. The finla push, battery dirt aside worked really well. definitely a fun show that's asking a lot of the members.

Can they win? Sure they can. I think visually no DCA corps has been tested like this one has. design wise the team fires on all cylanders.......it's up to performance now, and they had some issues last night. They need to work hard on fixing those issues, because not only is Empire sniffing around, but so is MBI. If they clean this....yikes. Every other corps will be the Christians, cause Bucs could be lionlike.......but with the kind of issues last night, if they happen again...well....Rome could burn.

So basically, you are saying Empire's best shot is to add more sizzle and Bucs best shot is to keep perfecting their steak? Personally, I think, based on an earlier season matchup betweeen ES and MBI, it willl come down to Buccs and MBI again with Empire fighting it out with the Hurcs. We shall see in a few days!

[TchMuzk]

Good review. I enjoyed it. By the way, Fusion's ballad is "For Good." (not "No Good Deed"). We use "No Good Deed" in part III (the same tune we use "Murder, Murder")

Looking forward to a great weekend with good friends and great competition!

"I love the week before DCA Championships"- author unknown! (Sorry Jeff, I had to)

[euponitone]

So basically, you are saying Empire's best shot is to add more sizzle and Bucs best shot is to keep perfecting their steak? Personally, I think, based on an earlier season matchup betweeen ES and MBI, it willl come down to Buccs and MBI again with Empire fighting it out with the Hurcs. We shall see in a few days!

I dont know about that...as a drum guy he noticed plenty of dirt in some sections, so cleaning that up should help. Additionally, there are a lot of sections where some body moves may be added to help beef up the visual package...which is definitely the steak . Lastly (and this is surprising, he noted that he could have used even more brass volume, which I love to hear ....except for the fact that I'm on lead bari, and we already get yelled at for playing too loud

Anyway - the point is that while Empire may be known for their "kitchen sink' mentality when it comes to finals - not everything they do is characters and props and fire extinguishers. You dont have as much success over the years as they have if you dont have some good steak behind the smoke and mirrors....

[Jeff Ream]

basically anything since Jamestown means little until all the players get into the mix. I didn't speak to MBI and Hurcs yet since I have seen neither.

helps when you read along.

So basically, you are saying Empire's best shot is to add more sizzle and Bucs best shot is to keep perfecting their steak? Personally, I think, based on an earlier season matchup betweeen ES and MBI, it willl come down to Buccs and MBI again with Empire fighting it out with the Hurcs. We shall see in a few days!

[Jeff Ream]

you know my hand writing LOL....and the tunes were scribbled in the margin of my notepad ...and definitely out of order too LOL

Good review. I enjoyed it. By the way, Fusion's ballad is "For Good." (not "No Good Deed"). We use "No Good Deed" in part III (the same tune we use "Murder, Murder")

Looking forward to a great weekend with good friends and great competition!

"I love the week before DCA Championships"- author unknown! (Sorry Jeff, I had to)

[Jeff Ream]

I dont know about that...as a drum guy he noticed plenty of dirt in some sections, so cleaning that up should help. Additionally, there are a lot of sections where some body moves may be added to help beef up the visual package...which is definitely the steak . Lastly (and this is surprising, he noted that he could have used even more brass volume, which I love to hear ....except for the fact that I'm on lead bari, and we already get yelled at for playing too loud

Anyway - the point is that while Empire may be known for their "kitchen sink' mentality when it comes to finals - not everything they do is characters and props and fire extinguishers. You dont have as much success over the years as they have if you dont have some good steak behind the smoke and mirrors....

yep. hey as long as a boat doesnt roll across the field, I'm down with the smoke and mirrors...especially if say, Dorothy tried to climb the fences from Saigon

GOD I LOVE THE WEEK OF DCA FINALS!!

[A Cavalier TDY]

Sounds like this weekend is going to be a lot of fun ... regardless of the Class! What a great way to wrap up the 2010 season.