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Brief Bridgeport Review


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I attended the Brigeport show last night, sat around the 40-yard line towards the top of the stadium. When I watch shows, I primarily watch the hornline, so I'm sure you'll see that bias in here. However, typically when I do notice another section, it's because they were exceptional. As such, how I perceive each corps in terms of ranking, and how they usually end up is pretty similar.

I'll start from the top.

Les Diplomates - Decent sized corps, and I'm glad that they finally made it down to Bridgeport after last year's border fiasco. They struggled at time, corps seemed out of tune, and not very well balanced. That being said, they were an exhibition corps with a full field show. They played recognizable tunes, and given more time, will be quite the joy to listen too.

Westchester Brassmen - What an unexpected treat! They came out with a huge drumline for a standstill, and a loud, powerful hornline. They played many tunes that are staples in drum corps, including several memorable tributes to other corps (Georgia on my mind, mag 7/mariah, etc.) They really got the crowd going, and set the crowd up well for the competitive portion.

Fusion - I'm not sure specifically about numbers, but I believe they were in the low 20s in terms of horns, decent sized drumline, and a relatively small guard. Everyone in that hornline can play, and it shows. For a small corps, they were clean, had dramatic impacts, and memorable soloists. Good use of screamers mixed in with the corps. The Africa theme was pretty cool, had some solid drum beats, but seemed to be a little hectic. Overall, I agree with their placement, however I thought the spread between them and Cabs was a bit too much.

Bush - Very small, I think 13 horns, 3/3/3 from the Drumline, and 5 guard? Everyone always writes in their reviews, "Oh they'll be fine... They'll make a late season push." I don't see it happening, and I do not think they're fine. They performed well, but it's hard performing a demanding field show with 13 horns. The demand on the individual is too much. Stronger players stick out like a sore thumb, and it becomes tough. Great job by the performers, but I worry.

Park City Pride - As there was no formal intermission, I took this time to go attend to 'other' business. What I did see was well performed and well received. The cymbal line and the colorguard are always a blast to watch.

Cabs - Were a mess. I sat around a group of people who believed, after it was all over, that the Cabs should have won the show(which appears to have been a common sentiment). I wholeheartedly disagree. The nature of their music is exciting, and really gets a crowd going. That's just the nature of the music though, it was performed to varying degrees of excellence. The hornline was loud, but at times it just sounded like everyone was playing different rythyms at full volume, which just blends together to form I don't know what. Also, the drill was a mess. The rotating company front at the end is something that was executed much more effectively by their alumni corps. The guard was solid and well staged throughout. The guard uniforms I wasn't so sure about, but they grew on me throughout the show. Personally, I think they should put their main guard performer in a more distinct dress. She performed extremely well, but I lost her amongst the other guard at times. Lastly, where's the beef? and by beef, I mean drumline. Very small drumline, that got swallowed up by the rest of the corps. I know they've made some personnel changes in the drumline, not sure how well that's working for them yet. Overall and contrary to the people around me, I agree with the placement and believe the spread was appropriate.

Bucs - Left me shaking my head. Shaking my head because they were stupid good and it didn't seem fair. I noticed ALL sections of this corps, and ALL performed extremely well. They did ALL the little things right, and had powerful, talent, and tight execution in all sections. I was a big fan of the dancing theme. It had many recognizable tunes, which were well played. For this earlier in the season, the drill was ridiculously clean and demanding. They appeared to get a little tired at the end, but only in comparison to themselves at the beginning of the show. Them at their worst of the show, was still better than anyone else at their best. I do not think that this is the year that Bucs will be beat, unless MBI comes out with something crazy. As you can see from my first couple sentences, the problem is that "ALL" are contributing. Every section is too good. They lost colorguard, but their colorguard was still #### good, while the rest of the sections were great. Overall, I agree with the placement, and think the spread should have been more. Corps will say, "It's just 3 points," but that 3 points has to be made up by ALL sections of another corps.

Empire - The other group which everyone loved and, if not the Cabs, thought should of won. They came out with a hornline comparable in size to the Bucs, but I was a little dissapointed in comparison. They start the show backfield, and when they turned around before their big hit, I was expecting to get my face ripped off. I was sorely dissapointed. It was loud, but not what I was expecting. The drill and guard work was a bit slow compared to others, but well performed. I didn't enjoy their arrangements of the Michael Jackson songs they played. However, this was their first show, and if anyone knows how to juice a show, it's Empire. So for THIS show, I was a little let down, but I believe that with practice and tweaking of the show, it will be the same crowd-pleasing GE-fest it always is. Their drum major was also a treat to watch, he was AMPED. Overall, I agree with the placement and the spread. But I think they have more upside potential and will end in front of the Hurcs by the end of the season.

Hurcs -

Strong showing with their Gershwin theme. Their hornline had a great sound, but the tubas tend to get a bit honky at times. The sound also comes and goes a lot more than other corps, indicative of people dropping out at the wrong times. They have a smaller hornline than the other top corps, so they can't get away with things with that. I thoroughly enjoyed the Mag 7 tag during their opener, and it brought some cheers from the crowd. The drill was a bit slower than prior years, but well written, especially in terms of guard staging. Their guard was INCREDIBLE, and it almost makes the other sections look bad. The drill was a bit fuzzy at times, and individuals stick out musically and visually. I've noticed this is a chronic problem with the hurcs of the past few years. They always come out strong, but don't improve consistently over the season. I hope they have a plan for that, but I think it just comes down to member commitment. Everyone has to be on board. I wish them the best of luck, as I long for a corps other than the usual suspects to break the top 3. Overall, I agree with the placement, and spread, but I think their upside potential is lower than Empire.

Cabs Alumni -

I'm getting a bit tired of typing, so just pretend I wrote what everyone always write about them. Good and loud, a treat to the crowd.

Encore -

Cabs Alumni came out with their cabs competing corps, and played the same exact same iconoic song that the alumni had played minutes earlier. Took forever to set up, and wasn't really anything special to me. I much would've rather had seen a Bucs encore. Was this planned in advance? Everyone around me sort of looked at each other afterwards and said, "Wait... That's it? Are the Bucs coming back out?"

One last thing, the $5 ticket price was fantastic to me. I don't know how it shook out financially for the barnum festival, but there were a ton of people around me that "haven't been to one of these things in years". I even brought 3 people that never go to shows. The $5 is a much easier sell for those uninitiated to drum corps than a $20 show is.

That was a bit more than brief, but I hope you enjoyed it. As usual, these are just opinions blah blah blah, but feel free to light up the barbecue and flame away.

Edited by Phalanx
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Great review and sounds pretty honest ,not far off there other review on here .Wonder why Bush didn't decare Class A ?

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Thanks for the review but I wish you would have hung in there to watch and review The Park City Pride. As an exhibition corps, these reviews mean a lot to us who work hard all year to present a decent, entertaining show. Hope you get a chance to see our show this season.

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Review was appreciated. As a guy from the 'old school' it is sad that the activity appears to be on a downward spiral. Competing with 13 brass - indeed sad, but hats off to Bush. Great for the Bucs that they continue their what - 7 year dominance, but for the activity to only have one corp who wins it all all the time - isn't good over time. Even decades back - there were typically at least 5-6 senior corps who could compete for a win or at least come close on a somewhat consistent basis plus the 'others' in line fielded larger corps with entertaining shows. Now we are down to perhaps 3 - assuming the Cabs are out of it this year based on the first two contests. Hopefully that changes.

As to the alumni corps - obviously you were not in the activity back when or perhaps you marched band and not a corp ? Regardless - give the alumni credit - they practice on a less frequent schedule than competing corps and typically - you have quite a few of us older types in the lines.

Les Diplomates back in the 60's were always one heck of a powerhouse whose brass line could knock you over when they hit their peaks. Always a GE, crowd pleasing joy. If you get the chance - try to get a listen to their 63-70 shows - they were FUN indeed.

Cabs alumni IMHO - have done more to keep the activity alive than any other entity over the past few years. I've talked to quite a few people who only show up at a DCA show if the alumni give an exhibition. If you don't get butts in the seats - you can't afford the activity and corps today usually compete in half or less shows per season than they did back when plus the crowds were appreciably larger.

Barnum was always a good show, but the top shows were always the two in Jersey City - the Preview of Champions sponsored by St Pat's on Memorial day weekend and the Dream in August. These were the only shows in the country which always brought in the best of the best from around the country and Canada. Crowds could run 15-24K at their peak. Roosevelt Stadium was the perfect venue and the corps would rock the place.

Thanks for taking the time to fill us in.

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Review was appreciated. As a guy from the 'old school' it is sad that the activity appears to be on a downward spiral. Competing with 13 brass - indeed sad, but hats off to Bush. Great for the Bucs that they continue their what - 7 year dominance, but for the activity to only have one corp who wins it all all the time - isn't good over time. Even decades back - there were typically at least 5-6 senior corps who could compete for a win or at least come close on a somewhat consistent basis plus the 'others' in line fielded larger corps with entertaining shows. Now we are down to perhaps 3 - assuming the Cabs are out of it this year based on the first two contests. Hopefully that changes.

As to the alumni corps - obviously you were not in the activity back when or perhaps you marched band and not a corp ? Regardless - give the alumni credit - they practice on a less frequent schedule than competing corps and typically - you have quite a few of us older types in the lines.

Les Diplomates back in the 60's were always one heck of a powerhouse whose brass line could knock you over when they hit their peaks. Always a GE, crowd pleasing joy. If you get the chance - try to get a listen to their 63-70 shows - they were FUN indeed.

Cabs alumni IMHO - have done more to keep the activity alive than any other entity over the past few years. I've talked to quite a few people who only show up at a DCA show if the alumni give an exhibition. If you don't get butts in the seats - you can't afford the activity and corps today usually compete in half or less shows per season than they did back when plus the crowds were appreciably larger.

Barnum was always a good show, but the top shows were always the two in Jersey City - the Preview of Champions sponsored by St Pat's on Memorial day weekend and the Dream in August. These were the only shows in the country which always brought in the best of the best from around the country and Canada. Crowds could run 15-24K at their peak. Roosevelt Stadium was the perfect venue and the corps would rock the place.

Thanks for taking the time to fill us in.

Personally, I do not think Hurcs and Empire are the only ones competing with the Bucs this year (since you said the Cabs appeared out). MBI will most likely give them a run for their money based on what has been said about them and their scores out of the gate. It is possible that the top 5 could look very different this year, and I do not necessarily mean just in placement.

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Two posters have now said "the Cabs are out" and I'm stopping it right there. A 3 point spread with a second place guard means the Cabs are out???? Multiple reviewers have stated that the Cabs have a very difficult book this year, perhaps the most demanding in DCA this season. I am excited to see this corps progress throughout the season and clean up their show. That guard was really good yesterday. Their guard and hornline seems to be the two strongest sections. Let them get their percussion up to

snuff and they will be competing just like they always do.

I know my posts over the last few weeks have been pro-Cabs. The truth is I wish every corps a successful season. I am just getting annoyed by posters counting the Cabs out.

Edited by irishbugle
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I know my posts over the last few weeks have been pro-Cabs. The truth is I wish every corps a successful season. I am just getting annoyed by posters counting the Cabs out.

You're not the only one.

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Two posters have now said "the Cabs are out" and I'm stopping it right there. A 3 point spread with a second place guard means the Cabs are out???? Multiple reviewers have stated that the Cabs have a very difficult book this year, perhaps the most demanding in DCA this season. I am excited to see this corps progress throughout the season and clean up their show. That guard was really good yesterday. Their guard and hornline seems to be the two strongest sections. Let them get their percussion up to

snuff and they will be competing just like they always do.

I know my posts over the last few weeks have been pro-Cabs. The truth is I wish every corps a successful season. I am just getting annoyed by posters counting the Cabs out.

I hope the Cabs will move up, but it isn't a 3 point spread it is a 6 point spread from the Bucs and under the current adjucation system - verus tics- I have not seen any corp close that big of a gap at the top end of the corps - ever. Cabs have always been my fav - but to imply they will beat Bucs this season - be real. I loved the days when 'on any given night...' but that does not apply with today's judges. Corps compete to WIN - not finish second. The point is that the Bucs obviously have the total package - money, talent, staff etc. that produce the Ws - the other corps do a phenomenal job, but they need to replicate what's going on in Reading.

Of course - I recall 1959 - enters Reilly Raiders with an Irish heavy repertoire - a heck of a drumline/brass line - and when the judges were announced - Mallen ,Kelly, etc. - you KNEW who was going to win that show ...lol

Edited by coloradocorp
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I hope the Cabs will move up, but it isn't a 3 point spread it is a 6 point spread from the Bucs and under the current adjucation system - verus tics- I have not seen any corp close that big of a gap at the top end of the corps - ever. Cabs have always been my fav - but to imply they will beat Bucs this season - be real. I loved the days when 'on any given night...' but that does not apply with today's judges. Corps compete to WIN - not finish second. The point is that the Bucs obviously have the total package - money, talent, staff etc. that produce the Ws - the other corps do a phenomenal job, but they need to replicate what's going on in Reading.

Of course - I recall 1959 - enters Reilly Raiders with an Irish heavy repertoire - a heck of a drumline/brass line - and when the judges were announced - Mallen ,Kelly, etc. - you KNEW who was going to win that show ...lol

I think it is a compliment to any corps that they can be considered "in." There are some groups year after year that are "out" before the season even begins... by that, I mean out of the running for the title, not second place. Honestly, it does seem that the Cabs have a shot at the 2nd-4th spots, and any of those would be an improvement over the last couple seasons.

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I think it is a compliment to any corps that they can be considered "in." There are some groups year after year that are "out" before the season even begins... by that, I mean out of the running for the title, not second place. Honestly, it does seem that the Cabs have a shot at the 2nd-4th spots, and any of those would be an improvement over the last couple seasons.

Agreed, although I hate being at the second competition in the season and hearing the phrase "competing for 2nd-4th/5th", there is some truth to that. One of the advantages of having a difficult book mind you, is that your potential ceiling is higher than that of a corps who comes out clean on day one. Yes, the cleaner corps usually always takes the top spot (deservedly so) but the corps that has more room for improvement can make big strides during the season and close the gap on any given night.

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