GeneralTsoChicken Posted July 11, 2011 Share Posted July 11, 2011 Random thoughts from a negative internet troll. The site: -Parking was easy and free -Tickets were expensive -Warmup site too close to the field. Got to hear cavaliers bassline warm up for a large part of the show. -It was HOT, but got way better as the night went on. Cascades: -I haven't seen you in a while. I love you, but want you to go back to the quirky SCVish style you had in the early 2000's. Please! -Your props are cool, but they get in the way of the staging. It is difficult to segue from behind the hash to in front of the hash, with all that stuff in your way. -Why is there a mellophone all alone, on the 50, with an 8 step interval, at your loudest impact in the show? Poor person was doomed to stick out no matter what, and they single-handedly ruined your biggest impact moment of the show. -The pandora box is an interesting concept... but the ballad doesn't work with it. She hooks herself into it... and it looks like she wants to be there. It is odd, and she's the visual center of the show for 3 minutes. -Please figure out what you are going to do in case of an injury! That was a bit of an embarrassment. -Awesome show and if this is low tier big kid drum corps, that makes me happy, because that means it is a summer of good product. Santa Clara Vanguard: -Are you ever going to fill those holes? For the Cadets and SCV, those holes take away a ton of the general effect (especially in the pod transitions throughout the show). -Some of the members who were running for so long can barely play when they get back to their spots. You can literally pick them out of the ensemble when they get back, it is a vibrato... like a winded vibrato. -The Santa Clara Vanguard Drumline is the best drumline I have ever heard. I was around for tons of Cavs, Cadets, Devs, PR drumlines for years. Nothing compares to them. Snares are the cleanest I've ever seen. -The hit in the ballad makes me want that sound from you the whole show. -The Cavaliers marching technique only works if you are a.) in step, or b.) wearing black pants. Please do one or the other. It looks like a game of paper, rock, scissors out there. -Cadets going on after SCV only served to exaggerate how bad the SCV hornline is right now. It was a tough draw. -Please clean your show, because if you do, it will be incredible. Cadets: -You are loud. -Some of your hits have individuals sticking out, badly, really badly, and no, I'm not talking about the parts where this is written into the show. -Turn down your synths, they are consistently too loud. -Jeff Sacktig deserves a hug for this drill. -The big hit in the ballad needs work. Bad. Staging doesn't help you, but the greatest moment of your show sounds like your weakest link. -Please fix the fight scene between the angel and the pink guy. It is very immature and not well done compared to the rest of the show. -Holes will kill you when you have alternating uniforms, because it looks like the design is flawed and the holes are much harder to follow. -Too much stuff going on in the pit. Too much wet, metallic sounds in basically every impact point. It is kind of disgusting, annoying, and makes it impossible to hear the harmony in the ensemble. Phantom Regiment: -You have the best "sound" in DCI right now. -Your trumpets are your weakest link. -The pacing of this show is slow going. -Your visual program looks like the classic shows of the late 80's and early 90's. That is both good and bad. -The story of Juliet is lost about 30 seconds in, and is hard to follow for most of the show, then the next thing you know she is running on the podium for the helmet trick. When your entire show is predicated on telling a story... you should probably do more than read the first page and last page to us. -The drumline isn't Paul Rennick, but it is far from a weakness. -You have white pants on and are rocking out the hard visual spots in your show... but the second the drill is easier and has less responsibilities, you are out of step. This is unacceptable when your show is only effective when clean. -The colorguard moves well. -The sabre work is lost in most spots other than the rockford file -Elsa's comes out of nowhere -March the whole closer in double time and show us some drill. The climax of your show is phrases at tempo, then a set or two at double (barely going anywhere). It feels like the show just ends. Cavaliers: -BRASSLINE thank you for finally playing out again. I have missed this Cavaliers sound. It sounds much more like 00' and less like 01'-09'. -There is a little meat to the brass book this year, as well. -The parts of your show people will remember the most are the gimmicky upside down tricks and stilts. That makes me sad with so much other greatness going on. -Don't use that synth recording stuff at the beginning and end unless you can fix your equipment to sound better. It was like a 1989 Emerson Analog Television, in a bad way. -There isn't any work by the guys on the stilts or those around them. -When you have that many contras, all with aussies pointing the other direction... why not just change the aussies for the ENTIRE corps? There is some visual mud because of this difference member to member---now that the contraline is bigger it is exaggerated more. -Why are the fattest members in the hornline making the big X poses? It is kind of laughable, and I'd hate to be those guys getting laughed at. Blue Devils: -I counted at least 14 "impact" moments where you aren't moving or are doing simple bodywork. While SCV, Cadets, and Cavaliers are killing themselves in theirs (PR even is a little more than you). -The guard is UNDERrated this year, they are very nice. -The mic'd trumpets were disgusting and covered the hornline. Plus, they sounded like they were playing on straws, they were so thin sounding. -Tons of mellos and euphs frequently stick out of the ensemble. -When you rotate the box and jazz run, numerous people are out of step. Then when they come back in, playing, it takes at least 16 counts for them to recover. -Some members use the same "spread and wail" moves in each impact... I can pick out and follow people the entire show because of these quirks and patterns. 9 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Directorofbands Posted July 11, 2011 Share Posted July 11, 2011 Thank you for your brutal honesty. Great review/commentary! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bawker Posted July 11, 2011 Share Posted July 11, 2011 I found absolutely nothing to disagree with. Most all criticism was constructive, and was a good mix of "+" and "-" for each unit. Please continue your trolling reviews. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mobrien Posted July 11, 2011 Share Posted July 11, 2011 (edited) -The parts of your show people will remember the most are the gimmicky upside down tricks and stilts. That makes me sad with so much other greatness going on. Everytime I watch the show, I'm not paying attention to the upside down tenors (which is still pretty fun) - I'm looking at what might be MGaines' most impressive visual design yet and enjoying the most creative percussion book any of the top corps are playing this year. That being the case, I don't see any sadness there at all. Edited July 11, 2011 by mobrien 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
corps-mudgeon Posted July 11, 2011 Share Posted July 11, 2011 Insightful review from someone who sounds like he knows what he's talking about. Thanks very much. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wesleyrp Posted July 11, 2011 Share Posted July 11, 2011 GREAT READ GENERAL!!! I also am fed up with the amount of park and blows and the bright mosquito sounds that BD is producing! Theyre getting rewarded for it why? I'm not a BD hater, I'm a music educator and if we heard people sticking out of any ensemble I wouldn't tolerate it! Let alone having that happen to the Blue Devils!! I'm sticking to my guns about SCV, the show is perfect for the drumline and too hard for the brass!! You could add an extra month to the season and I don't think they'll fix their sound issues!! Love SCV over the years and BD but it's high time that judges start holding them accountable for performance issues that everybody hears and is still being ignored!! Wes P 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jwillis35 Posted July 11, 2011 Share Posted July 11, 2011 Well done! I agree with the assessments in most cases. If those corps make the fixes that you are talking about they will have significantly improved shows. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
craiga Posted July 11, 2011 Share Posted July 11, 2011 GREAT READ GENERAL!!! I also am fed up with the amount of park and blows and the bright mosquito sounds that BD is producing! Theyre getting rewarded for it why? I'm not a BD hater, I'm a music educator and if we heard people sticking out of any ensemble I wouldn't tolerate it! Let alone having that happen to the Blue Devils!! I'm sticking to my guns about SCV, the show is perfect for the drumline and too hard for the brass!! You could add an extra month to the season and I don't think they'll fix their sound issues!! Love SCV over the years and BD but it's high time that judges start holding them accountable for performance issues that everybody hears and is still being ignored!! Wes P This. Thank you....I could not agree more. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rocketman Posted July 11, 2011 Share Posted July 11, 2011 General: While I hate chicken, this review is RIGHT ON! I commented about the guys on stilts doing nothing after the first weekend, thinking they might eventually do something. This does not appear to be the case. Cadets absolutely can "bring it" and need even more of a contrast between the angels and demons. BD, while I actually enjoyed their show musically when I saw it live, visually it is very "low budget." Lets move from here to there, without any real reason, play with these props, then blow the doors down. Whatever. Santa Clara, if this keeps up, they will have the drum line playing 75% of the show ALONE! Sorry, musically I'm not digging it. Regiment, my homies, visual is definitely late 80's early 90's as the general mentioned. You are marching for the sake of getting from one place to the next with very little, if any, "WOW" moments of note. I know there's some power in the brass line, I'm just waiting to hear it. I think the drum line is less musical than in the past and is looking to set some sort of record for the amount of notes played in 11 1/2 minutes. If I had to guess, the book sounds more "winter indoor" appropriate as opposed to summer field corps. Elsa's is a major disappointment musically and visually. First, I don’t need to hear the tuba entrance at the beginning, turn them back field if you must. Eliminate half the notes for the snare line during Elsa’s, and there would still be too many. Umm, is this a ballad or not? I say yes. You play it as if it were a John Phillip Sousa march! Now, on to two corps not at the show, Bluecoats and Crown. Bluecoats are solid, but at least for me, somewhat forgettable. Crown has a nice little break in their schedule and I believe this show, as cheesy as some my think it is, can win it all. They are totally in to their show and carried to the max will be hard to beat in August. Just my 2 cents. Rocketman Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GeneralTsoChicken Posted July 11, 2011 Author Share Posted July 11, 2011 Everytime I watch the show, I'm not paying attention to the upside down tenors (which is still pretty fun) - I'm looking at what might be MGaines' most impressive visual design yet and enjoying the most creative percussion book any of the top corps are playing this year. That being the case, I don't see any sadness there at all. Well, MO... that's one of the reasons I like you! You appreciate the excellence on the field, the excellence that is marching and playing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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