Van Buren

[BlueStarsBari]

Hey Everybody!

Long time no post from me. So I figured you all were missing out so figure I would give you a show review. I attended Battle on the Border VIII in Van Buren, Arkansas. A short 50 min drive from my place in Fayetteville. It has been quite toasty in Arkansas (and many other places in the country), but we lucked out as it cooled to the upper 80's lower 90's with a slight cooling breeze that was much appreciated. The facility is very good as it has decently high stands and a large pressbox that provided plenty of shade until the sun had set. Ok now onto the show.

Open Class

Genesis - 1st 66.00

This was the corps first performance of the year. And it showed. I was quite impressed with the sound they put out at the beginning of the show. The theme was a bit hard to grasp...dreams and a circus??? There was a color guard girl running around and waving a lot as the main character. They lost some energy as the show progressed, but overall a good first performance and def has room to grow and expand. We will see where they take it. On a random side note...not sure how much I did a uni with purple and red on it.

World Class

Seattle Cascades - 6th 67.30

Very bright to say the least. I do like their new uniforms much more distinctive than previous ones. The Seattle Sounders Green plumes are kinda ######. Again another show I had a hard time grasping. They have a bright orange box at midfield and several other cubes. I am not a huge prop guy....but if you must have them use them...they moved the the cube around a bit, but did not add to the show. The center box they at least used to hide members and did some other stuff with it. They seem to write the drill around the box or it was just added in as sometimes the members were playing behind and into it. Odd I thought. Overall it was ok. There are some solid hornline moments and the drumline did there thing. If I had to guess I would say 18-19 at Indy.

Pioneer - 7th 66.00

This is a case where props are not a bad thing as they shrunk the field, which Pio needed this year. Very small size overall, which is a bit disappointing. They had some decent hits and the snare were quite loud...mainly because there are no tenors just snares (a lot of them) basses and plates. The music was not bad, kinda unmemorable. Overall I just do not know, I hope Pio will start to have some growth again and some success. 20 at Indy

Colts - 5th 74.55

First off not really digging the lighting bolt on the unis. But onto their show. This was the first show I was actually really able to get a theme of what was going on. The horns were producing a big sound, but a lot of the time that big sound was sounding forced. I was quite impressed with the drums they def seemed to be the strongest section of the corps tonight. Visually it was not super exciting, but that can always change. Right now I would say 13-16 in Indy.

Scouts - 2nd 82.350

First off love the unis. And now Welcome back the Madison I know and love. While there is always going to be scoring and pleasing the judges. There is something to be said for a very entertaining, high energy show. This was it (also props for not using props) Holy tubas was one of my first thoughts and was backed up on the first hit. The whole show was really entertaining and kept me drawn in the whole time. Horns were rocking, percussion had a alot of action and the pit members were all over the field and joined by the colorguard at the end, and the colorguard was also very good. Dare I say that this reminded me of some vintage Madison, which is not a bad thing at all. I did wonder as I will about a few other shows is how much more growth this show will have as the season finishes up. Right now I think they will be in that 7-10 area.

Blue Knights - 3rd 81.40

This was my surprise of the evening. I was very entertained by the Blue Knights. I can honestly say that is the case. I had always liked their sound, but this is one of the first times I was overall entertained by a BK show. The hornline was great and very good drill for BK. I do not remember anything sticking out about percussion and guard so will call that a wash. This is a show that I felt has some growth and should pleasantly surprise people as they see it. This should be another 7-10 show at Indy

Blue Stars - 4th 80.15

This was the most intense show of the night. If you have not seen it, there is so much going on in every section. There is the ramp on the field but used well and not too much of a distraction as some props can be. I did watch the corps rehearse during the day so I probably noticed more than I did with other corps. Compared to the other shows I saw tonight this felt the most exposed of them all. I mean this by saying there are many points where different sections are taking center stage. This can be a very big risk versus reward, but I think it is def a reward in this case. Guard had some cool work, which means I noticed it which is big for me. Percussion features were well integrated with the show and not overkill with synth. There was some dirt (again watched rehearsal so was kinda looking) This show reminded me a bit of 06 Bluecoats which I enjoyed. I would say that this is the show I have enjoyed the most since 08 Blue Stars. Of all the corps this show has the most room for growth in my opinion. Right now I would say 7-10, but it would not surprise me if the placement is higher at Indy.

Phantom Regiment - 1st 84.90

On Phantom how I remember the days of thinking you had the most ###### uni. That was not the case tonight. The crest does not add and just makes the uni seem cluttered on the chest. Ok got that out. This was a very what I consider typical Phantom show. The brass sound was amazing as I have come to expect from them and the crowd really enjoyed. I did have to keep telling myself that this was not 2006, as the whole show I just kept thinking "wow this show keeps reminding me of their Faust show" I do not have alot to say again I felt it was typical Phantom. I will also say that along with Madison I wonder how much more growth this show will have as the season nears its end. I would say 5-7 at Indy.

Just a few overall thoughts. Good crowd who seemed receptive and fairly drum corps knowledgeable. Weather was good and glad that the heat did subside a bit. I do agree with the placements. I will say one thing I did like that Madison and BS actually pulled their speakers out and that allowed for a better listening experience with the pit and synth. Great show and thanks for the Van Buren HS for putting on the event and the other area schools for providing the housing sites. It it great that there is a show like this in this area and cannot wait til Battle on the Border IX!

[Fan of the Arts]

Hey Everybody!

Long time no post from me. So I figured you all were missing out so figure I would give you a show review. I attended Battle on the Border VIII in Van Buren, Arkansas. A short 50 min drive from my place in Fayetteville. It has been quite toasty in Arkansas (and many other places in the country), but we lucked out as it cooled to the upper 80's lower 90's with a slight cooling breeze that was much appreciated. The facility is very good as it has decently high stands and a large pressbox that provided plenty of shade until the sun had set. Ok now onto the show.

Open Class

Genesis - 1st 66.00

This was the corps first performance of the year. And it showed. I was quite impressed with the sound they put out at the beginning of the show. The theme was a bit hard to grasp...dreams and a circus??? There was a color guard girl running around and waving a lot as the main character. They lost some energy as the show progressed, but overall a good first performance and def has room to grow and expand. We will see where they take it. On a random side note...not sure how much I did a uni with purple and red on it.

World Class

Seattle Cascades - 6th 67.30

Very bright to say the least. I do like their new uniforms much more distinctive than previous ones. The Seattle Sounders Green plumes are kinda ######. Again another show I had a hard time grasping. They have a bright orange box at midfield and several other cubes. I am not a huge prop guy....but if you must have them use them...they moved the the cube around a bit, but did not add to the show. The center box they at least used to hide members and did some other stuff with it. They seem to write the drill around the box or it was just added in as sometimes the members were playing behind and into it. Odd I thought. Overall it was ok. There are some solid hornline moments and the drumline did there thing. If I had to guess I would say 18-19 at Indy.

Pioneer - 7th 66.00

This is a case where props are not a bad thing as they shrunk the field, which Pio needed this year. Very small size overall, which is a bit disappointing. They had some decent hits and the snare were quite loud...mainly because there are no tenors just snares (a lot of them) basses and plates. The music was not bad, kinda unmemorable. Overall I just do not know, I hope Pio will start to have some growth again and some success. 20 at Indy

Colts - 5th 74.55

First off not really digging the lighting bolt on the unis. But onto their show. This was the first show I was actually really able to get a theme of what was going on. The horns were producing a big sound, but a lot of the time that big sound was sounding forced. I was quite impressed with the drums they def seemed to be the strongest section of the corps tonight. Visually it was not super exciting, but that can always change. Right now I would say 13-16 in Indy.

Scouts - 2nd 82.350

First off love the unis. And now Welcome back the Madison I know and love. While there is always going to be scoring and pleasing the judges. There is something to be said for a very entertaining, high energy show. This was it (also props for not using props) Holy tubas was one of my first thoughts and was backed up on the first hit. The whole show was really entertaining and kept me drawn in the whole time. Horns were rocking, percussion had a alot of action and the pit members were all over the field and joined by the colorguard at the end, and the colorguard was also very good. Dare I say that this reminded me of some vintage Madison, which is not a bad thing at all. I did wonder as I will about a few other shows is how much more growth this show will have as the season finishes up. Right now I think they will be in that 7-10 area.

Blue Knights - 3rd 81.40

This was my surprise of the evening. I was very entertained by the Blue Knights. I can honestly say that is the case. I had always liked their sound, but this is one of the first times I was overall entertained by a BK show. The hornline was great and very good drill for BK. I do not remember anything sticking out about percussion and guard so will call that a wash. This is a show that I felt has some growth and should pleasantly surprise people as they see it. This should be another 7-10 show at Indy

Blue Stars - 4th 80.15

This was the most intense show of the night. If you have not seen it, there is so much going on in every section. There is the ramp on the field but used well and not too much of a distraction as some props can be. I did watch the corps rehearse during the day so I probably noticed more than I did with other corps. Compared to the other shows I saw tonight this felt the most exposed of them all. I mean this by saying there are many points where different sections are taking center stage. This can be a very big risk versus reward, but I think it is def a reward in this case. Guard had some cool work, which means I noticed it which is big for me. Percussion features were well integrated with the show and not overkill with synth. There was some dirt (again watched rehearsal so was kinda looking) This show reminded me a bit of 06 Bluecoats which I enjoyed. I would say that this is the show I have enjoyed the most since 08 Blue Stars. Of all the corps this show has the most room for growth in my opinion. Right now I would say 7-10, but it would not surprise me if the placement is higher at Indy.

Phantom Regiment - 1st 84.90

On Phantom how I remember the days of thinking you had the most ###### uni. That was not the case tonight. The crest does not add and just makes the uni seem cluttered on the chest. Ok got that out. This was a very what I consider typical Phantom show. The brass sound was amazing as I have come to expect from them and the crowd really enjoyed. I did have to keep telling myself that this was not 2006, as the whole show I just kept thinking "wow this show keeps reminding me of their Faust show" I do not have alot to say again I felt it was typical Phantom. I will also say that along with Madison I wonder how much more growth this show will have as the season nears its end. I would say 5-7 at Indy.

Just a few overall thoughts. Good crowd who seemed receptive and fairly drum corps knowledgeable. Weather was good and glad that the heat did subside a bit. I do agree with the placements. I will say one thing I did like that Madison and BS actually pulled their speakers out and that allowed for a better listening experience with the pit and synth. Great show and thanks for the Van Buren HS for putting on the event and the other area schools for providing the housing sites. It it great that there is a show like this in this area and cannot wait til Battle on the Border IX!

Thank you for the review. I'd like to make a comment about Blue Star's drumline. They are, by far, one of the most eye pleasing drumlines to watch perform. As you described, intense! I'm generally a color guard person but Blue Star's drumline demand I watch them, I can't keep my eyes off them.

Irving

Fan of the Arts

[wesleyrp]

Thanks for the review!! Awesome job, sounds like good entertaining drum corps experience!!