Bakersfield, June 24

[davland]

So I went to the Bakersfield show last night bringing a record (for me) 6 newbies, 1 of which had never even seen a video. Ravedodger met us there and helped us find BD's housing site. Thanks Dave, hope the seats were worth it (We were ON the 50, 4 rows below center). So on with the show:

San Diego Alliance: BRAVO! It takes a lot of balls and personal accountability to come on the field with 6 horns and these guys did it, and did it well. Given thier size, they did everything they could to maximize their assets. Their biggest asset, IMO was there FEET! Holy cow! Whoever is responsible for teaching these folks movement and carriage has done an excellent job. I dare say that as far as every single member moving in a uniform manner, they may have been the ONLY corps to do so here tonight. Thanks Allaince for a great start.

Impulse: Very typical, quasi-fun show that is not finished yet. Nice hornline sound, however outbalanced by the percussion. Guard displays a very enjoyable personality on the field, however I could tell who was captain long before retreat, she outperformed the rest of them tremendously. I have to admit that I got a chuckle (intended I'm sure) out of "Drum Majors Omar and Julio, is your corps ready?" Thanks Impulse, good to see you still out there.

Blue Knights: Wow! What a great hornline sound. Diplaying my bias here for a second: Thank you thank you thank you for doing the Bulgarian Women's Choir music. And I am not being sarcastic. I have been waiting YEARS for somebody to put that out there. Now folks, you know how you spend a lot of energy wating for a corps to do what you've been waiting for and then the arrangements or the quality of performance leave you feeling a little, how shall I say it...oh...um..unclean? Such was not the case with me last night. The arrangements are fabulous and well performed to boot. Granted I could have used a little more difficulty built in to the book, but that's just me. I think ultimately that may have you hitting a ceiling musically in the weeks to come. Now, visual. Let's just say that it's a good thing that you spent a lot of time in the winter working on your faces, but maybe you should have spent a little more time working on your feet. Giving you the benefit of the doubt though, I will say that these are things that can be worked out, I'm just not sure if they can be worked out in time for August. Good luck with an aggressive visual package. I really hope you can sell it because I would love to hear that show a few more times, particularly on the Finals CD.

Blue Devils: Precursor: I spent the afternoon watching their rehearsal, so by the time the show came around, I already had some familiarity with the show. Anyway, this show opens quite unlike any you have ever seen before, atleast all in one place that is. The first 30 seconds is all solo and duo snare work doing all the cool tricks and hot licks that you see kids working on in the band room or on the field during water breaks at any rehearsal anywhere. However that is not to say that all those kids are pulling these licks off cause there's some crazy stuff going on out there. These guys, however, do pull them off, and with all the arrogance that you expect from a BD snare line, no offense. The rest of the show, what can I say but Blue Devils have a boatload of talent in their corps and on their staff. The brass sound, particularly the baris and contras, are wonderful. Sopranos and altos, a couple of heros trying to save the day or trying out new mouthpieces or something. Either way the brass line issues, albeit few and small, are in the upper half of the ensemble. Great concept, great flow, most of the time (It tends to get a bit choppy and piecey, but not for so long that it gets distracting), great impact points, great pit. Can they win DCI? Sure. Will they? I don't do predictions.

Santa Clara Vanguard: Once again SCV has given me a reason to like them. For a few years there, I was kind of bored with SCV, an image that I still hold onto today until everytime that I see them in the last few years. Does that make sense? You know how you get so used to certain things from certain people, and then when you see those people again, suddenly they're not like that anymore, but you still have this notion in your head that is difficult to let go of, and it takes repeated doses of those people in different situations to change your mindset? Well that's what SCV has been doing to me the last few years. They enter the field, and I think to myself "what a wonderful world".....oops no that's that Louis Armstrong song. I think to myself "Oh yeah (sarcasm on), here comes SCV. Can't wait for this" yadda yadda yadda. And then they start and I go "Wow, I like this." So, the review. Nice textural/timbral elements happening in the opening percussion with the different mix of sticks, mallets, and dreadlocks, very engaging. The hornline: It is refreshing to hear a hornline that isn't afraid to just let it all hang out there. That used to be BD, but now they are holding it in a little. Not Vanguard. No way. While it may have been a little rough around the edges quality wise, it still has that edge that stirs up the primal emotions in all of us. Thanks SCV, for reminding me that I do like SCV. We'll go through this little dance a few more times I'm sure, but it gets a bit easier each time.

Overall, it's a great year for drum corps. I can't wait to hit the road with the Spirit Lizard Lounge (Souvies) in Albuquerque and see all the rest of the shows. Come by and introduce yourself. I'll be the skinny, blonde guy who looks like he's on vacation!

David

Edited June 25, 2003 by davland

[SilentFlamDrag]

Thanks for the positive review for San Diego Alliance. Being a small corps we have to maximize everything, and we also have little to no room for error. Hopefully we can build on the foundation we have created and show our true potential with as more members join our corps.