DCI Akron Review

[iceman]

It's been a few years since I last reviewed a show, and also a few years since I've attended an outdoor DCI event. There is nothing better than live outdoor drum and bugle corps, and this stadium is a perfect venue for a corps performance. I was seated on the 50 yard line, near the back of the first section, and had a great vantage point for the evening's performances.

Partial Review (Hope to finish later).

Madison- Great to see the gradual improvement made by the Scouts over the past few years. Their New York Morning show was well received by the crowd, and it looks like all parts of the corps are headed in the right direction. Good use of electronics throughout, and some very interesting musical selections. The 9/11 section sometimes lacked in terms of clarity, and could be developed further. The Alicia Keys song really got the people in the stands around me excited, and overall it was a very enjoyable performance from the Scouts tonight.

Boston- A strong performance for them tonight. I had them closer to Madison than the judges. The pre-show starts with the corps entering the field singing the "Do You Hear The People Sing" theme from Les Mis. The opening impact is great, but parts of the opener don't gel with the rest of the show. At one point it sounded like they were playing a marching band stand tune (Land of 1000 Dances). It would be great to see some adjustments made to bring this level of the program up to the rest in terms of design. The best part of the show to me was when the battery moved to side 1, while the brass moved to side 2, providing one of the more interesting audio-visual moments of the evening. Musically, I enjoyed the back half of the show, including a great flugel soloist, and a baritone soloist who performed under a white screen that added another dimension to the performance. Definitely a step up for Boston this year!

Crown- In previous viewings of this show (online), it seemed that the level of energy and crowd reaction was at a higher level. For whatever reason tonight, the performance felt a little flat, but did improve as the show went on. The pre show (which I feel is a little too-long), really lacked energy and felt overly contrived this evening. They play with a very full sound that easily gets the audience to applaud at the correct spots, and the audio-visual coordination of elements was clearly a level above the other groups tonight. Sometimes it is apparent that the brass parts are scored in such a way to allows them to really open up volume wise, but harmonically they cut some corners to achieve this. That being said, the really have a brass technique program that is matched player to player at a very high level. Even thought I do not have a colorguard background, it is my opinion that they have one of the best guards in DCI, and I loved the use of the speaker-stand props. Not only are they creatively being used by the guard, but later they are used by the brass during an outstanding trumpet feature. All elements of the corps perform at a very high level, and they were the cleanest corps of the evening. Some tweaks are going to be needed musically to keep this corps in contention for a medal, but they have the talent to competitively go as far as the show design allows them to.

Bluecoats- Being a fan network subscriber, I watched the performance just posted from last week before attending the show. The improvements between then and now is astounding! In my opinion, the ensemble sound that they have been developing for the past few years is second to none in the activity. The brass have such a warm depth of sound, and are able to achieve the louder dynamic ranges without sacrificing tone quality. Looking at the recap, I don't think they are being rewarded for this by the adjudicators (I easily had them 1st in brass tonight). The show begins with a very intricate layering of ideas leading to the first impact of the show "Creep." Watch closely to see the level of demand in the body work by the hornline and drums during the opening... some very challenging and sophisticated choreography. In previous viewings (online), I felt that the rest of the show's energy dropped dramatically after the opening statement, but tonight I felt the rest of the program start to take a life of its own. The quadrophonic section can really only be appreciated live, and I look forward to seeing this part of the program develop. The way the listener's ear is pulled from corner to corner is really quite intriguing, and the changes done with the guard in the negative space at the center of the field really enhances this part of the show. It now features a rifle toss from a member of the front ensemble, which I thought was a nice addition. As has been stated on here, the tuba feature in the closer is a lot of fun, and I look forward to hearing the real ending, which I hope will be a return to Radiohead. I had them a point or less behind Crown tonight, but after seeing this show live, it is clear that where this show will place at Finals is far from being decided.

[Tone Quality Matters]

Great review.

Thanks!