Toby Posted July 30, 2011 Share Posted July 30, 2011 Went to the show tonight in Murfreesboro to see the top 8 from last year. The weather was hot and humid, with a side of swamp-butt. I do believe it may have played a part in some of the performances tonight in terms of mental mistakes across all corps. It is getting to the point in the season where these sorts of mistakes shouldn't happen. Anyways, on to the fun. Rankings are based on what I saw, not what the judges had. Music City Drum Corps - Lets Dance! This show is comprised of "I Could Have Danced All Night," "American Bandstand," and "Tennessee Waltz." The corps is full sized for open class. The guard is attired as dancers from different styles, including a native american head-dress. The show is a bit cheesy, with all the dancers getting on a stage set up by the two props at the end of the show. Good hornline, can't judge percussion, and the guard is still in early mid-season form (maybe a sign of moving in late). Blue Stars - ReBourne 8th place I had seen video from end of move-ins and have audio from early season and San Antonio. I do appreciate that they changed the pre-show and eliminated a few of the electronic patches. They rarely got outside the 25's in terms of drill, but they do move quickly. One of the trumpets checked out on 3 visual moves in the middle of the show and I wondered if that was brought on by the weather they've had to deal with (and the drive from White House delaying their arrival). I had them in last for the night of the World Class corps. I think they may break top 8, but they have some work to do in that regard. Bluecoats - A Brave New World 7th Place I was off to the side so only watched from the west endzone. Loved the hornline sound during Creep. I am impressed this season by the use of hornline with guard-type work and they made good use of it. The Cavaliers - XtraordinarY 3rd Place I will say, the visuals are extraordinary, but some of the gimmicks were over-done. The tenors playing upside-down, cool. Trumpets playing upside-down, eh. A lot going on visually, but that guard kinda reminds me of Reagan HS 2002, only with mesh instead of vinyl. The head-dresses were strange, and a bit distraction. Musically, loved it. The writing was good, but I wanted some more volume on the bigger hits. The corps push to field left had a lot of flutter-stepping and it seemed like the hornline lost what the count was. Blue Devils - The Beat My Heart Skipped 2nd Place BD playing music I somewhat recognized, I can't believe it. Still, not quite sold on the props for this show. I like how they used them for integration in the drill. A house on a skipped heart beat? I don't quite see the analogy. They played well, and moved well, but they had some foot dirt (everyone seemed to have problems with that tonight). Should compete for the title, but I think someone may keep them from gold. Santa Clara Vanguard - The Devil's Staircase 6th Place Wow, memories of Moto Perpetuo, The corps does a wonderful job of using the hornline members to run around the field as if they are going up the eternal staircase. The way they reintegrate into the drill is impressive and the visual package makes me quite happy. The music is well written, but I wonder if they can take this show to the next level. They will stay top 6 and could use this as a springboard for next season. Phantom Regiment - Juliet 3rd Place. From the moment they are announced to start the show, they held the crowd. I think they had the best opening statement of the show, and the mello rip made my night. I wish that was utilized more across other shows. Really liked the uniforms with the crest, and the all girl guard made my night. The colors used were fitting for the music. Elsa's Procession was quite the performance. It would be great if this show had the legs to carry it to the top-3, but I doubt it. Tonight was a great performance, but they need to have it every night from here on out. Carolina Crown - Rach Star 4th Place I was ready to rock, and I'm glad they cut down some of the patches. I still wish they would back off on the Queen pre-recorded material for pre-show. You have the vocal talent already, why not do it yourselves? Your piano player has some mad skills during the closer, I was very impressed. Cadets - Between Angels and Demons 1st Place Dear George Hopkins, Congrats, you brought me back to the fold. They performed this show from the moment they entered the stadium until the moment they set up for their encore arc. The new uniforms look fantastic and make the angels stand out. Musically, I couldn't complain about this show. The selections work, and the arrangements help it. Visually, there were a couple horns who forgot that they start on the right foot. The guard's work and integration seemed best tonight of the 8. Please, take this show to the finish. This reminds me of Spartacus in terms of complete show, and I hope it has a similar run. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chaos001 Posted July 30, 2011 Share Posted July 30, 2011 (edited) Phantom Regiment - Juliet 3rd Place. From the moment they are announced to start the show, they held the crowd. I think they had the best opening statement of the show, and the mello rip made my night. I wish that was utilized more across other shows. Really liked the uniforms with the crest, and the all girl guard made my night. The colors used were fitting for the music. Elsa's Procession was quite the performance. It would be great if this show had the legs to carry it to the top-3, but I doubt it. Tonight was a great performance, but they need to have it every night from here on out. Absolutely they did! They were probably the first and only corps of the night that the crowd was dead silent when they began their show. It was if the whole crowd completely focused in on the show and was spellbound. I know I'm a Regiment supporter, but I doubt there would be any who were at the show tonight to disagree with me. Stunning performance! As for the eventual champion, I'm torn between The Cadets and Cavaliers. Either one of those will be fine by me. Edited July 30, 2011 by chaos001 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skywhopper Posted July 30, 2011 Share Posted July 30, 2011 Thanks for the great review! I agree with you totally on Cadets, Phantom, and SCV. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crowncontramom Posted August 2, 2011 Share Posted August 2, 2011 Ah- there's NOT any pre-recorded Queen in Crown's pre-show. That's a member singing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skywhopper Posted August 2, 2011 Share Posted August 2, 2011 Ah- there's NOT any pre-recorded Queen in Crown's pre-show. That's a member singing. Oh really?? Live or taped? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Toby Posted August 2, 2011 Author Share Posted August 2, 2011 Ah- there's NOT any pre-recorded Queen in Crown's pre-show. That's a member singing. Must be good impersonation of Freddy Mercury. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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