Drums on Parade, Madison Wisconsin

[The Original El Guapo]

This was my first drum corps show of the 2011 season.

Here is a quick review of each of the corps that performed.

The Kilties from Racine, Wisconsin. - Three Faces of Drum Corps /

Tradition: Auld Lang Syne (Burns)

Evolution: MacArthur Park (Webb)

Exploration: Interstellar Suite (Bhatia)

The Kilties came on to the field with the old school entrance of

one vertical line accompied by a bass drum and snare drum playing a Scottish

drum cadence. Their variations of Syne was good. For a corps that has 50%

rookies they started out the show very well. Their drill is modern to what

the corps has been using over the years. By the time MacArthur Park came

around the corps started losing their endurance. This show can be a very

very good show. It is still rough around the edges. The sound is harsh most

of the time. There are moments where the corps listens and the sound is full and rich.

This needs to be taught for the whole show. The guard is actually the strong point for

the corps this year. With more quality time this guard can be up there. The drums were

okay but they can be better. Overall, the Kilties show has the potential, it's up to

the members to figure out how to get there together.

Colt Cadets from Debuque, Iowa. - Notorious /

-Overture (from Anne of the Indies) | Franz Waxman

-Overture (from Mutiny on the Bounty) | Bronislau Kaper

-Billy the Kid (Ballet Suite) | Aaron Copland

-Finale (from The Godfather) | Nino Rota

-The Immigrant (from The Godfather Part II) | Nino Rota

-Symphony No. 5 in D minor, Op. 47 (mvt. 4 Allegro non troppo) | Dmitri Shostakovich

The feeder corps for the Colts. Overall a good show for the kids to perform.

Nothing to demanding that they will never accomplish but not too easy where they

can get bored with. The strongest unit is their drums. Wow. These kids have some

major drum chops. Hornline is decent for their small number. Guard the same.

Very nice solist for the Godfather.

Legends from Kalamazoo, Michigan - Skyscapes /

-Cloudburst - Whitacre

-You are (Variations) - Reich

-Pagodas from Estampes - Debussey

-Gold Rush - Veldhuis

Another drum corps with a huge drumline and small hornline.

The staff made sure to show off their talented drumline. Most of the show

was drum oriented. It was clear why. The most impressive part of this corps

was their three member guard unit. They did some major guard work.

Because of their small number the guard really did not enhance the show as a

big guard will do. It's a shame. They have a really good guard.

Wished they had the numbers to show them off properly. Hornline was okay.

The Troopers from Casper, Wynoming - The Road Home /

The Old Church from Prairie Songs, No. 6... Stephen Paulus

China Gates... John Adams

Memory, 2002 from Nepomuk’s Dances, 3rd mvt... Marcelo Zarvos

Muted and Sensuous from Four Piano Blues, 3rd mvt... Aaron Copland

Mama... Edgar Meyer

Nice to see the Troopers whenever possible. It took me awhile

to get used to the new uniforms. Very nice horn balance from the beginning

to almost the end. Fatigue played a factor of some members sticking out.

Drumline was good. Their guard is the best the Troopers have had.

Their choice in uniform and equimpent really went well with the theme of the

show. There wasn't one part of the show that stuck out but overall it

was a very well performed show. Way to go Troop!!!! Keep up the good work.

The Colts from Debuque, Iowa - DECEPTION: The Jagged Edge /

Swan Lake... Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky See who else played this

Danza de los Duendes... Nancy Galbraith See who else played this

The Swan from Carnival of the Animals... Camille Saint-Saens See who else played this

Mind Heist... Zack Hemsey

The Red Team, small horn line compared to past years. I really liked this show.

Very well performed. Their guard did a good job in getting the Swan Lake message across.

One guard member in black, one guard member in white, the rest in grey/sliver.

Simple is sometimes the best.

INTERMISSON -

never fails to bring the crowd to their feet.

Boston Crusaders from Baaaston, Massuchuetts. - Revolution /

Selections from Les Miserables... Alain Boublil & Claude-Michel Schonberg See who else played this

1812 Overture... Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky

When I read the selection of music BAaaaaaston was going to play I

was really looking foward to this show. However once the show began

I was disapointed. The corps chose to just play snippets from the musical.

Once the familiar melody was recongized it was replaced by another one.

I didn't have time to enjoy it. Their movement for the show was actually good.

The one big distraction was the use of a huge white see through tarp that

could be used to cover most of the field. Instead they chose to only use

it to cover a featured brass enesemble with several poles for maybe less

than a minute. Seems like a waste of energy to haul that out.

I would like to think they are still tweaking on how to use it properly.

The guard was good. The drumline the same. The show could be one

you want to hear on the CD. Hopefully the staff will address that.

There is still time. Still a good show.

The Blue Coats from Canton, Ohio. - Brave New World /

Creep... Radiohead

Deus Ex Machina... Michael Daugherty

Harvest... John Mackey

BLOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!

I really loved how they performed Creep as their opener. Very very well executed.

After that the show was a blur. Nothing really stuck out.

just waited for it to be over. Their hornline was solid as their drumline.

Guard did a good job. Again nothing stuck out. Just that opener.

If they can figure out how to capture that and spread it they will have a show to remember.

The Madison Scouts from Madison, Wisconsin - New York Morning /

New York, New York from the musical "On the Town"... Leonard Bernstein See who else played this

Oh What a Beautiful Morning from the musical "Oklahoma!"... Rogers/HammersteinSee who else played this

New York Mourning... Robert W. Smith

Requiem... Robert W. Smith

Empire State of Mind... Alicia Keyes

They decided to switch spots with the Cavaliers I guess to save their

chops for their encore. I don't know if this actually hurt them in the end.

I got to see them during their rehearsal earlier in the day.

They really were into the show. Their last run through gave me goosebumps

during the big hit in Empire State of Mind. Sadly that did not transfer during

the competition. Their show was flat to Madison Scout standards.

The energy was missing from the rehearsal. The crowd really wanted to

throw their babies at them but instead got a very good show. I'm sure the

staff will adress this with the corps. I have no doubt the Madison Scouts

will give a solid performance full of power for finals.

The Cavaliers from Rosemont, Illinois - XtraordinarY /

Footprints... Wayne Shorter

Jungle Tango... Jazz Mandolin Project

Nature Boy... Eden Ahbez

I heard from one of my best friends that this show was like Avatar.

I had no idea what she meant until I saw the show. The guard uniforms

reminded me of Avatar meets RIO. Unlike past uniforms (SpinCycle)

this choice actually blended in the show theme. Once again the Cavies showed

off their strength with insane drill manuevers and crisp guard work.

Their drumline especially their bass line was insane. The upside down quad

players was a nice touch. The guards on stilts made them look like creatures

from the Dark Crystal. Overall a very well executed and enjoyable show.

Their ending though could be reworked.

This was a good night for drum corps. Most all corps faded towards their show.

Lack of endurance played a factor in this but there is still plenty

of time left to work on that. As most know endings of these shows will

change dramatically from here to finals. These members have worked their

##### off to achieve their goal. i would like to thank each and every

one of them for the constant bad assness. Best wishes towards the end of the season.

This is my opinion so take it for what it's worth or not. I really don't care. :)

Edited July 11, 2011 by The Original El Guapo

[corps-mudgeon]

Thanks for the review. Good descriptions and appreciated the reminders of the reps.

[Elmo Blatch]

The picture of Boston in the end zone, with horns on one knee and guard spinning, is epic.

[Galen]

Boston Crusaders from Baaaston, Massuchuetts. - Revolution /

Selections from Les Miserables... Alain Boublil & Claude-Michel Schonberg See who else played this

1812 Overture... Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky

When I read the selection of music BAaaaaaston was going to play I

was really looking foward to this show. However once the show began

I was disapointed. The corps chose to just play snippets from the musical.

Once the familiar melody was recongized it was replaced by another one.

I didn't have time to enjoy it. Their movement for the show was actually good.

The one big distraction was the use of a huge white see through tarp that

could be used to cover most of the field. Instead they chose to only use

it to cover a featured brass enesemble with several poles for maybe less

than a minute. Seems like a waste of energy to haul that out.

I would like to think they are still tweaking on how to use it properly.

The guard was good. The drumline the same. The show could be one

you want to hear on the CD. Hopefully the staff will address that.

There is still time. Still a good show.

This. Seriously, it's like you read my mind because I felt exactly the same way about this show. One additional thing I could do without is the random bleeps and bloops from the synths that were totally distracting and didn't add anything at all to the show- but I guess that's worth something on those "G8" sheets.

[jwillis35]

Great review, and I love the photos. The show that grabbed me a lot at Akron was Boston. They might have been my favorite of the night, but as you have pointed out they do have some weaknesses. A few tweaks (and the right tweaks) and this show is a gem. Bluecoats are becoming extremely dangerous if you ask me, but I think your points emphasize the need for GE in the later portion of the show, which they are working at. And Madison blew me away in their opener, but the rest of the show was good but not great. The crowd just didn't go wild like I had expected them to at Akron. I think this may be due to drill issues that they need to fix in the closer. At any rate, your review was great and as you said, there are many good shows this year.

[Scerpella]

I must have been paying attention to something different than Guapo because Madison essentially received a standing O for the entire last minute of their show from an admittedly homer crowd. Except the same thing happened at DCI Minn Saturday. Some folks apparently are having trouble understanding the story track of the show, which is somewhat understandable since my first viewing of the dress rehearsal left me puzzled as well. BUt its not really that hard to see what an ingenious bit of programming NY, NY was which then morphs effortlessly into Oh what a beautiful morning, which might confuse folks as to why there is a tune from Oklahoma here, but once one understands that we are talking about the morning of 9-11 then things make perfect sense. The payoff is a ominous front with OWABM played in a minor key full of foreboding and portent by powerful baritones.

I have not been a fan of Madison shows which sandwiched a great opener and closer around an emotional ballad in previous years. It seemed like they were trying to add contrast for contrasts sake. This years show once understood, is one of the finest examples of taking a powerful emotional subject and putting it into music and marching in a way that does not become cloying or maudlin. You are taken on a journey starting in a New York morning, experiencing first the foreboding then horror of 9-11 and end up with healing and hope. Not your fathers Madison Scouts at all. To me this show gives me goosebumps like the only corps who has done it to me in the last 10 years 2008 Phantom Regiment (and you dont know how it hurt me to admit that!) The visual performance is completely appropriate to what is being conveyed. Perfect geometry is counter intuitive to the idea of the chaos of 9-11.

I am completely at a loss as to how this show is ranked 10th in GE. It seems powerful emotional themes are reserved for only the perennial top 4.