LOUISVILLE REVIEW

[Tummygoat]

First off let me explain that I am just an avid fan of DCI and I show no preference in any corps but just put my thoughts of what I see and hear. I'm not linked to any corps so everything I say is completely objective. Here goes.

EKLIPSE

Um, Southwind II. Not sure why they had to be Black and Yellow. This will be a very good corps. They seemed much like an average high school band that had a very good sound. They did not play too well and their visual is pretty weak, but this corps looks to be pretty good in just the first year.

MARION CADETS

This was a GOOD show. I noticed they had a really high score and it was pretty deserved. I dont know if it was based off DIV scoring, but they really had a heck of a sound, but they only have THREE colorguard members. THREE. Looked a bit riduculous, but they play well and have a great sound.

CAROLINA CROWN

This was perhaps the most fan accessible show of the night. The crowd seemed to love this show. I think some of it had to do with the weaker corps before it, but Carolina Crown started the show with a pretty bell introduction and them WAM!!!!!!! And they never let up. The show was full of excitement ALL the way thru. They have by far the worst uniforms of all the corps and the colorguard uniforms are wretched. But the colorguard was pretty good. Crown does have one major thing going for them...the Pit. ONe of the better pits of the evening and I really enjoyed this show a WHOLE lot.

SOUTHWIND

Sounded like the Southwind we have seen the last few years. Dark, rich sound, but lacked a visual program. I don't like the black sash and it makes them look like a bad high school. They played very well and their show is pretty fun to watch, but they really need to kick the visual up a notch.

SPIRIT

AWWWWWWWWESOME show. Spirit has become one of my favorite corps. Their opening number was excellent and their ballad was pretty sweet. I really enjoyed Appalachian Spring, but I expected SO much more out of Nutville. To me, Magic and Spirit seemed to be so close in sound, but apparently their scores dont reflect that. You can tell Gaines is working with them...their visual program is pretty solid

MAGIC

Ok, all the hype about Magic was pretty big so I expected a big let down, but they didn't. Other than Cavies and Cadets they were my favorite corps. THey need a better visual program, but they have an AWESOME sound and their show is just flat out fun to watch. Perhaps one of the most crowd pleasing this summer and they play better than anything I've heard and they love to play long notes...and loud....A LOT. The songs they play are redundant, but they play them so much differently.

MADISON SCOUTS

I'll be honest. They were great. But they weren't Top 6 great. Not yet. They have some parts of their show that is super, but they still lack a visual program. Trust me, its a LOT better, but its significantly weaker than in the past. And one thing that really stuck out....Madison really didn't blast the stands. They were really loud in spots, but it wasn't the kind of head rushing Madison performance you'd expect. But one thing is for sure...they are back in finals and have the chance to be Top 7 or 8.

GLASSMEN

This was a good show for Glassmen. Very different than years past and much more fan accessible. They still don't blow in your face, but they are very controlled and had a very technical show. The show was very complete, but the uniform change makes them look like Star Trek. I dont dig the purple triangle.

Bluecoats

Bluecoats are good folks. They aren't Top 5, but they are good. THey have a GREAT visual program and their guard looks SUPER. They have really bright red uniforms that really stick out and I really enjoyed their performance.

CAVALIERS

Ok, so they were the most received upon announcement. The show is really really bland for about 4 minutes, however they have some INSANE drill. Im talking ridiculous. I was in the front row tonight and we were getting a breeze. The music this year is much improved and I about went insane when their solo trumpet player hit these crazy high notes and the whole stadium just erupted. IT was a VERY fast paced show...the fastest of the night. They just kept moving and moving and spinning and moving. This show should have been called Whirlwind. The guard uniforms are kinda weird, but they were good for this show. And so was the guard. Cadets beat them in Sevierville, but I dont know how, Cavs guard was superb. Music was decent, but effect and design was ABSOLUTELY PHENOMENOL.

CADETS

I LOVE this show. I dislike the beginning because its just kinda random and like the Cavaliers you dont get into the show until about 2 or 3 minutes in. Fanfar and Allegro was good but I dont like the introduction. HOWEVER. Malaguena. OMG. THAT WAS FANTASTIC. They could win just by that. I like Rocky Point too, but my concern with this show is the randomness. It just didnt fit for me. Malaguena was hopping and it was a great song for an ending, but then they put in RPH. IT was ok, but I'll have to get used to the transition. THe ending, however was good.

OVERALL IMPRESSIONS

Cavaliers have title in the bag if it was just over these corps. Not even the Cadets can touch them. I liked the Cadets music and show way better, but visually and technically, Cavaliers are in a league of their own. Its a shame its that way, but they just move so much and do so much on the field thats just so intricately done and it all just fits together. Cadets were good, but they just dont have that kinda fast paced drill that they usually do, but their music and overall appeal to crowd is 10 times better and I cant wait to hear Malaguena again.

Other notes. Magic should be higher. They need better something, but I just thought they were really good. Spirit, Magic, Crown, Colts really just seem to all be the same corps with differnt uniforms. COme finals time, who knows what will happen.

[Matt_S]

Nice review.

I've heard mixed reviews on Malaguena. Some love it, some hate it, some think Madison could do it better. I'll have to wait til Indy to judge it myself.

The only corps I've heard or seen so far has been Cavaliers. I've watched a practice, and I have a recording from the Toledo show. I think some people like a show based on number of notes, so hopefully this year will satisy them. IF not, hey, they've got screaming (and I mean screaming) sops this year, so maybe that'll do it.

About october... I've heard different votes. Some like Spirit, some like Glassmen. I'd be interested to hear which you preferred, since it's a very good piece.

Really disappointed in the pictures I've seen of Crown's new unis. Any comments on that?

All in all, a lot of corps seem to be doing well this season. too bad I'll only be seeing 12 at Indy.

[Tummygoat]

October is such a great song for DCI. Both Spirit and Glassmen had similar versions of it, but I think I liked Spirit's from a musical standpoint. It was much louder and more emotional. I think Glassmen had more control of effect and visual aspects of the song, but It was just more pleasing sitting in the crowd to hear Spirit's version of it.

Crown's uniform is not awful by any means, I just dont like it. Basically its the same color as the Cadets and Colts pants on top and bottom, but it just looks really cheap. Its somewhat effective on the field though as it makes them look REALLY big. THe colorguard uniforms are this shiny silvery with an abundance of colors. They kinda look like tin foil, but either way, bad uniforms or not, this is my favorite Carolina Crown show I've seen and heard.

Cavaliers dont play long notes this year. THey actually play a LOT of notes and really fast. They have a nice jam session and often have difficult parts of music. ITs not a real melodic sounding show...lacks a melody, but it has a lot of effect built into it. Much diff than last years show IMO, but there are pioints in the show where you feel like its 2002. Some similar sounds. But this was a COMPLETELY different show than in 2001 and 2002. Nothing similar about them at all.

I've never seen Madison in person with Malaguena so I dont really have much to compare it to other than recordings. If you dont like Malaguena by the Cadets, then they really are not offering much else. Fanfare and Allegro is ok as is RPH, but neither are anything super spectacular. They do play MUCH louder than the Cavaliers do. The Cavalliers are much like Glassmen, they have a lot more control and precision than sound.

[TarheelTrumpet]

Crown's uniforms....well, what can you say...they're buttercream in a big way. I'm not crazy about them (then again, I'm sort of biased since I marched with them last year) but I think they achieved what they were going for. The idea was to brighten up the corps and make it more "audience accessible."

As far as the guard unis...I heard them described at the preview as "guaranteed not to burn upon re-entry."

My favorite Crown show remains the 96 Chess show, but then again, I haven't seen them march this year, just the standstill Thursday night.

We'll see how they do Tuesday when they're back in their home Carolinas...they sure shocked me with their score in Louisville.

[ccdrummer923]

What about Colts?

[ContraFart]

Yes October is an awsome piece. I was fortunate enough to play it with my college band. I cant wait to hear a midseason mp3 so I can hear how it translates to drum corps.

and yes what about the Colts?

[Tummygoat]

So sorry about the Colts. Completely forgot about them. However, thats no real surprise. The Colts kinda just molded into everyone else. During the strech of Crown, Magic, Glassmen, Spirit and Colts, they all just seemed so similar to me.

The Colts in my opinion have one of the best uniforms. It is very striking and looks great on the field. They play very well and very loud, however their show is nothing to scream about. It seemed a lot like Magic's show, but just didn't do anything for me. Their visual presentation really needs to improve because nothing really stood out and looked neat. Looked like a very good high school marching band production. I did like this show, but not my favorite Colts production. Seems like they are just blasting away at their music and not really putting any emotion into it. I really cant say many bad things about them though because they were good and in any other year they might make finals with this show, but this year they are going to be competing mostly with Southwind, Capital Regiment, Mandarins, among others. Not a very competitive show.