Finals week in review

[azul]

This was the first finals I have ever been to without being a member so it was a bittersweet experience. I also went to visit some friends so if there are days missing for some corps that's why. Here we go!

Didn't get to watch all of quarters due to a late wednesday night at the DCIHOF party and watching the troopers rehearsal so sorry to all my open class corps and pioneer who i missed but wanted to see. I was up in section 640 on the 50 all three nights and to my pleasure a lot of the corps got their volume to hit there in ways I didn't expect.

Jersey Surf-Missed them thursday but saw them friday. Didn't grasp the concept but was still entertained! Lady Gaga hits the field and some of the arrangement was actually quite nice. Loved Kiss By A Rose! Bari soloist killed it! Good show and got the volume to hit the top of the stands as well.

SCVC-Missed them as well thursday but saw them friday. A much improved performance from Bellflower, CA and holy cow that drill is cool! Can see why you won visual in open class. Just wish I had a bit more volume from your hornline. Good show.

Cascades-This corps has come a long way after coming back in just 3 years. I remember hoping to beat these guys to get into semis in 07 which we did by a hair. Good volume and definitely loudest corps by this point in the night. Thursday started a little rough but got better as the show went on. Friday they were on fire! Great way to close out the season and though their props worked well for them. This corps will be going places soon.

OC-Missed them thursday. Friday was my first ever viewing of this corps and the win in horns in open class was well deserved. They pumped out some major volume and the show was very entertaining. Seems like them and Cascades are going to have a regional rivalry now. , should be cool for the NW. Can't wait for these guys to go WC. Totally thought this should have beaten BDB as well. Show had way more GE and musicality to it.

BDB-Don't get me wrong, this is a good corps. Great guard and battery section as well as trumpet soloists. I just wasn't sold on the show as much as OC. I also felt they were visually dirtier than OC. Good runs from them both friday and saturday but they didn't really feel like the OC champs to me. But good job kiddos! I would've had you guys medaling in open class none the less.

Teal Sound-I like them a lot. So what if they use EWI's and electric strings, they are the only ones really using those and it's exposing more kids to DCI than it normally would. But I'm not saying for everyone to have EWI's and electronic strings in their pit. That's like saying everyone has to play Malaguena. Variety is good and I feel teal sound gives us just that. Saw them both thursday and friday. The hornline projects well/hit my face up top and the battery plays with a good amount of aggression. Good show and really dug the "snake charmer" sounding section where the battery does a follow the leader with the hands on each others shoulders.

Mandarins-Saw them several times throughout California and both nights they went on in Indy. I really like this shows musical selections. Maybe because I'm a bit familiar with them due to a couple of schools that have used the material as well. Dug the falling at the end of the show. Didn't hit the top of the dome like everyone else but I'm sure brass section size had some to do with that.

PC-Homer alert. Saw them both nights and many times in California. Thought thursday was a little rough in some parts but they brought it friday night. The drill cleaned up a lot as did the brass section releases (They hit the top of the dome with their volume as well). Battery was good but pit was a bit messy. Some great guard moments in there too. Even though the run thursday was a little rough, I still felt they should have been a couple of points in front of mandarins and not a couple of tenths. Good job though and congrats to mark kveaton on a great ageout!

YS-I was impress with our friends from Japan! They played with a consistent sound and a good amount of energy. Really glad that they were able to make it out here even with the crisis that took place in Japan this year. Great response from the crowd.

Bones-SHOULD HAVE BEEN CLOSER TO ACADEMY!!!! This show was so awesome!!! Sat next to a guy who shed a tear at the Maltese Cross because he had been waiting 15 years to be able to see the corps do it live! He's from the UK so that's why he's had such a hard time doing so. Love the opener. The trumpet gimmicks were funny, hallelujah was gorgeous, and I was singing the duet from the closer for a while in my seat. Definitely loud and hit the upper deck with some power.

Colts-I usually like this corps but the performance levels weren't up to par with what I've been use to. I really felt they got gifted with 16th place when they deserved 17th and shouldn't have been anywhere near Crossmen. But what's happened has happened and there's nothing we can do about that. Friday was better than thursday and some drill was very clean and the cymbals dancing in the ballad was cool.

Academy-If you can take Little Fugue in G and turn it into what they did, then you are in my awesome people book. The arrangements in this show were very well done. The theme was portrayed very well both musically and visually. They were loud as $%^&@$!!! Battery was really good and it showed in the recaps. Guard could have been cleaner. Really like how the musical phrases were transferred from choir to choir in the ballad. Lalopalooza was fun and grooved really well. Hope they finally break into finals next season because they definitely have the presence.

Troopers-Wednesday night at their rehearsal, they lights went out half way through their run through and the corps hyped it! It was a good run and reminded me of how much I missed marching. Thursday fell flat compared to that run but friday musically kicked ###. Foot time was everywhere unfortunately especially during the 200+bpm section. Infinite chord was cool and they definitely pumped out some volume too. Bass drums were a bit of a crutch but the rest of the battery was pretty good. Great sunburst at the end of the show.

Glassmen-Didn't dig the show very much. Thought both troop and Academy should have been ahead of them but their guard, battery and drill design saved them from that. The drill was really, really well designed and guard had some good moments too. But like SCV the hornline was a bit of a crutch. Good run kids!

Spirit-This corps is way more aggressive than I remember them ever being while I marched (06-10) and they wanted saturday night to be their last night really bad! And they did so by a large spread. All three nights were great and love Death Hunt a lot as well as the shooter being the lady in red. Congrats on making it back into finals after dropping out after 07!

Blue Stars-This drill was crazy hard! I thought the scaffolding was cool and was used well. The third movement grooved pretty well and I'm shocked I haven't mentioned this yet but I'm glad trumpet high note solos are showing up in more shows this season! Those are what got me into corps wanting to march corps in the first place! This show would have made it back into 8th if the shows in front of them weren't as good as they were.

Madison Scouts-Don't remember much from the opener but the drum break was intense and ESOM was worth the price of all three nights and my plane ticket! That was superb boys! Had me shedding a tear or two all three days. Volume didn't hit the top section like I expected but the show was great.

Blue Knights-This show makes me happy. I don't know why but it just does. I smile every time I watch it and it's not because of they switched to "melodic" charts because there were parts of their 07, 08 and 09 shows that I'd hum. Don't know why they were hated on that so much but I'm not everyone. Anyways, back the show. The pre-show with the recording, the guard girl and the snare player doing choreography in the beginning was really cool. The 2nd company front in the opener was my favorite one in this show. Shepherds Hey was fun and that closer was just intense visually! Loved the build into the arc. They hit the top of the stands with their volume as well.

Boston-This show was clean but it didn't do much for me emotionally. The part with the sheet was really cool especially with the lights underneath to help you see the performers. The 100 yard spread between the battery and horns was really cool too. Good performers, just an emotionally flat show for me.

Bluecoats-This show was way more awesome than people made it out to be! Ok so I'm a bit of a homer here too. But come on! The guard all throws an 8 on rifle! Who else is doing that? The only other guard I can see doing that is BD's guard! The hornline was top 3 material as was the battery. Visually the show was clean but not well designed(tough love). The sexy time dance was very entertaining especially when I watched their facial expressions at their finals rehearsal run through. Funny stuff guys. Andrews back flip was awesome as well. All three nights they had awesome runs but finals had the same emotion that we had last year(omg I've been aged out for a year already...sad day) and I felt that all the way at the top. They definitely were balls to the walls loud and the ending company front was amazing! Love you bloo and hope that all of you that can march again go back for 2012! Six words! Also, thanks for playing Two Words and Autumn Leaves in the lot after finals!

SCV-Cleaned up a lot from when I saw them in California. Drill is top notch in design but I don't think it was performed well enough. Battery and guard were great and I like the ballad. Especially the interaction with the hornline member. Loved watching my friend Shelly run and get tossed in the air by the flag poles during the opener. It was a long and tough road but you guys finished stronger than I thought! And THANK YOU FOR BRINGING THE YELL BACK!

Phantom-Should have topped Crown I think. Good theatrical show and fantastic (and attractive) guard this season! Feet were also the cleanest I've seen from them ever! Drill design was a bit disappointing and almost seemed like something one of the schools I teach for would do. I'm surprised it didn't come back to bite you guys in the end. Just got lucky I guess. Loved the ballad and the movement following. Brass had a huge sound and the battery didn't sound like it was suffering as most people said it was. Suffering would be crowns battery 06. Good season Phantom.

Crown-Was not loud. Phantom and Bloo both hit the roof but not Crown. Their sound was awesome and they did have 2 none Bb major chord hits in their show! But the show to me felt like something RCC would do or any other college band that would do a corps style show instead of a show band show. Too cheesy and too marching band like (I'm awaiting the flames for this). 2009 and 2010 were a bit more drum corps than this show. Congrats on 2 Jim Ott Trophies! Almost forgot to mention...Herbert, you were awesome!!! Definitely very entertaining to watch and you connected with the crowd well! Gonna miss seeing you getting it on the field next season.

Cavaliers-Crazy show! Michael Gaines has some of the most complex drill designs ever and hope he continues to produce like he has. The performance of the drill was a few steps below the design though. It was really dirty and I've notice the past three seasons they really haven't had that signature cleanliness they usually do. 06 and 08 I feel were the cleanest shows I've seen them do live. Hornline was not as loud as I had anticipated by all the reports people were giving. But the battery did deserve their win in over a decade! Wow has really been that long? What I think stopped this show from taking it was throwing in all the gimmicks too early. If they had waited until say San Antonio to put in the upside down tenors and then the trumpets in Atlanta they would have been up top by the end. Good show cavaliers!

Blue Devils-OMG THIS WAS THE BLUE DEVILS THAT I LOVED AND SO DEARLY MISSED!!!!! The last time I was entertained this much by this corps was TOC 2004! Thank you thank you thank you thank you!!!!! Keep on this track! I would of loved for you to have won this season if The Cadets hadn't had such an awesome product! Reaver did awesome with his opening solos and the rest of the soloists were great as well. I will be listening to this show a lot this fall and winter seasons! Also, the props didn't bother me as much and the drill changes they ended up making were great fixes! Great guard as always! There's a reason why they've won that caption 4 years in a row now.

The Cadets-After seeing this in the Texas fannetwork videos during the early season shows I had predicted this to be the 2011 champion. This had everything it needed to win. Great music books, great drill design, theatrics that everyone understood that also weren't over the top of confusing! Thank you Cadets for this awesome show! You had me on my feet before you were even done moving! Only thing I felt missing was that extra volume that I'm used to hearing you have. But congratulations on #10!!!! I would've stayed for the encore run but I had a limited time to see some friends before taking off but I'm sure it was just as magical.

This was a great season of DCI and definitely a great season to be a spectator! These kids gave it their all and I found myself giving lots of well deserved standing ovations that weekend. Hope 2012 brings us the same amount of awesome products and maybe a couple more!

Favorite shows

1. Cadets

2. Bloo

3. BD

4. BK

5. Academy

Loudest corps

1. BD/BLOO/Phantom(They all felt like they were on the same level volume wise).

2. BK

3. Oregon Crusaders

4. Academy

5. PC

[corpsreps]

Excellent review. Thanks for posting.

[PhilSCV]

Loudest corps

1. BD/BLOO/Phantom(They all felt like they were on the same level volume wise).

2. BK

3. Oregon Crusaders

4. Academy

5. PC

Wow Azul, thanks for calling out Oregon Crusaders and their tremendous show this year. If you haven't downloaded it yet, their semifinals run is one of only a handful of semifinals audio files available for download at dci.thefannetwork.org. Total goosebumps!

[cavies79]

Great review! I think the Cavaliers were very clean in San Antonio, but when they made their drill changes, they just didn't get it clean enough. Overall, it was a great season! I too loved Madison's show. I also really liked Blue Knights....best music they've done in years. IMHO.