mingusmonk Posted June 22, 2011 Share Posted June 22, 2011 (edited) I was at the Indy show last night. It threatened thunderstorms. Sprinkled and rained a bit. Start delayed by 30 minutes. Way too many connections to be made last night (and I didn't even make them all) so I missed Pioneer. I will say, from the side, big drumline, small hornline. Here is a few comments on the rest: Crossmen This is my kind of show. Familiar and pleasing jazzified charts by Chuck. Friend next to me sez ... (with a surprised tone) "this is like a real drum corps show. I like it!". Everyone that knows and love Chuck's repertoire will be warm and fuzzy inside. The perc writing is good too. Notey and funky. Battery writing certainly has intentional hat tips to the old Bones groove machines. The percussion is ahead of brass at this point in the game. Lots of stuff for the horns to work on. They can play loudly. Not quite Big-Dog-Loud. But they struggle at lower volumes. Middle and high voices especially. Not much of note on the visual side other than the expected dirt. Unis are 100% Crossmen. Also, there is a segment where the entire color guard is doing rifle work. There were some great tosses and not a single drop. And these kids were getting real rainfall during their show. So Kudos to them. This is a solid comeback show. Without seeing the competition, it's not quite a jump into Top 12, but it is moving in the right direction. I look forward to hearing this group mature. Troopers Interesting to see them trying to find a contemporary approach that suits them best since re-emerging from their year off. This year the Americana is more implied rather than simply stated. The song selections aren't cornerstones of the genre, but you feel right at home with the Troop playing it. As far as I know, this is Dave Reeves' first time to ever write a drum corps brass book, but you would not know it. It is somewhat sophisticated. And if you are aware of his work with other groups, you will not be surprised to see how they are striving for a tasteful musicality. On to the performance. Brass balance was a notable improvement from Crossmen. They have a consistent quality throughout the entire show. They sound just a tad more seasoned. Full ensemble blend was also a strength. Perc writing is that deceptive stuff that probably only drummers realize how hard it is to pull of as a unit. Think Hannum. Crossmen have more notes and were at the same level of cleanliness. If Troop gets this stuff clean and maxes out the Quality Of Sound that they are obviously going for, it will be a superior result. Strange how musically strong the corps was at the end of the show. Most of them fall off at this time of year. Didn't feel like they sold the program. Apparently they will not be using the "road home" tarp on grass fields. A lot of the drill works around this road visual. And I guess the end of the show is underdeveloped. Nothing new there. But I wasn't getting the message, regardless. Madison Holy hornline. Just ... wow. They opened with a ballsy classic Madison trill into a power chord and made a fantastic statement. This hornline did not take a step forward this year. They took a leap. Everyone will recognize the influence of DVD and his acolytes, now in their second year. So it probably should not have caught me off guard, but brace yourselves folks ... they are going to New York your face off. ####. Great ensemble. Stretched the field but sounded 5 times bigger than the previous groups. Great Trumpet solos. Fantastic tuba solo. The drumline, has taken a step forward as well. Just not quite a leap. Nothing to be ashamed of though. Book was meatier than last year. Line seems to still be a little young and "green". Speaking of book, as I was watching, it never struck me that Hannum wrote this stuff. Troopers sounded more Hannum than Madison did. Weird. Color guard was nails. Looked sharp and talented. And they sold the #### of of it. They all did. This corps has bought into this show so strong and is going to make you enjoy it ... weather you liked the concept before walking in or not. OK, the concept. I'm going to refrain from giving you the narrative. The music selections on paper might seem cheesy to some. Or come across as a little BROADWAY!!! {FLASHING LIGHTS} to others. But they really put it into storytelling mode, integrating the familiar melodies into a program that you are watching develop before your eyes. How well developed is it? Well, when impact of 9/11 is implied, and they pull it off without it feeling one bit contrived or pandering, it is a success. When Empire State of Mind is thrown down at the end (and I mean THROWN DOWN) as an exaltation, you are going to want to celebrate right along with them. EDIT TO ADD: Can't wait to see what happens when they have a brass judge. I got home @ Midnight and my alarm went of at 4:30. Excuse me while I curl into a ball and try to stay awake long enough to finish my coffee. DCI RECAP Edited June 22, 2011 by mingusmonk 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guizeppe Posted June 22, 2011 Share Posted June 22, 2011 Very nice review. Wish we could see Madison this year out West, sounds like they're fantastic. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BackBeat Posted June 23, 2011 Share Posted June 23, 2011 Thanks mingusmonk for the review.. BackBeat Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeff Ream Posted June 23, 2011 Share Posted June 23, 2011 awesome review Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
madalumni Posted June 23, 2011 Share Posted June 23, 2011 Thanks for your well thought out and very thorough review! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bass5 Posted June 23, 2011 Share Posted June 23, 2011 Great show review. I hope you're going to more shows this summer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TerriTroop Posted June 23, 2011 Share Posted June 23, 2011 Thank you for the review! It's going to be a really interesting year, top to bottom, IMO. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ozarkbugler Posted June 23, 2011 Share Posted June 23, 2011 Just finished watching the Indy show on fan network. Loved the Crossmen sound. Madison far and above the others there. Their show (Madison) is one of my three favorite from having watched the Texas shows too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cardman Posted June 24, 2011 Share Posted June 24, 2011 I also watched on fan network and I gotta say, I was really disappointed with Madison's show. I do not like it nearly as much as I did last year's. I found myself pretty bored throughout most of it, sadly. Hopefully, this will change throughout the year, as I was not familiar with the pieces they played (as far as I can remember.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KellyfromMich Posted June 24, 2011 Share Posted June 24, 2011 Just monkeying around on DCP and found your review. Spot on IMO sir!! I was also at the show and noticed much of what you said - but you worded it way better than I could have! As you, I am very excited about this summer of drum corps! Thanks for the great review! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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