Jeff Ream Posted September 6, 2011 Share Posted September 6, 2011 (edited) I didn't write anything down, this is from the top of my head. Saw almost everyone at least once, seats on the 45 side 2, in the boxes. had a great chat with the cameraman Pretty much first reads live, tho saw a few on the DCI Fan network. I have friends pretty much everywhere, yet no serious ties or a horse in the race. Only real issue I saw in corps from top to bottom was blown direction changes and stepoffs. I mean come on folks...it's finals weekend!!! Here we go! Excelsior and Cincy...sorry, I just didnt get up 390 in time. Cincy sounded good walking in from the lot, but word by my seats was it was over written. I'll have to wait til the videos. Shenandoah Sound.....your best product yet. I remember the Aliens show...and this is night and day. Yes, there are still issues, but every year you get a little bit better. Class A has not only gotten better, but deeper. In order to take that next step, you'll need to take a few big jumps. White Sabers...fun show about Blue, which the sky was! very logically planned out. Going on where you did had to hurt, but I really had you duking it out with Sun. battery book seemed a bit more than the players could handle at times, but the front ensemble had some nice musical moments. High Country brass.....very strong color guard, but I must admit, after a strong opening, it came across as the show was fatiguing you and I had WS above you. BS&T not easy for a small corps, and while the brass handled it well, the percussion clearly had issues Sunrisers....WELCOME BACK! A good easy to follow and flowing Les miz show. Some performance issues, and IMO, the corps proper did a better job with their uniforms matching the concept than the guard. very young corps, and if you can keep that nucleus and add on, I expect the Sun to rise again. Windsor Regiment......very cool show idea, and the pit did a great job musically with it. Battery had some issues...book seemed to be written to GB3's hands, and not everyone had them. Finals night the show showed more fire than Saturday, but it seemed the corps stayed in the mf-f range dynamically, and never explored the outer edges of the dynamic ranges as much as may have been written. That said, great outing for a first year corps! Carolina Gold....I thought you had prelims. Easily the best percussion section in Class A, great screamers, good idiomatic interpretation. Finals night seemed to have more fire, but precision may have suffered, but still, a fantastic show! Fusion...prelims came across flat, but I had you a close 2nd. Easily the best your percussion section has EVER been. African feels expanded upon and worked much better, brass line did a great job. Govies....I wasn't sure about prelims. brass seemed to come across really rough. Finals much better, and i can't argue. You guys are the masters of programming for an A class corps, you put your personal touches on it, and viola, no one has more A Class titles than you. great Vegas show, loved how John Mayer ( who my wife is still dying to meet) worked his annual intro into the show, and comedy galore, especially the wedding. Congrats on another title! Open Class: Bush...I know it has to suck that you didn't make finals. But instead you achieved something more...life. You were all but dead 5 months ago. yet you cobbled together some very dedicated, hardworking bodies, and by prelims, you put out a respectable show. battery especially played well, and the brass came a long, long way. if the membership issues had been resolved by March......that said, congrats on not quitting, and I look forward to see you wreaking havoc again. Tampa...good easy to follow nautical theme, good charts selected. Some snare issues...missing a man? at times drill indicated you were. lots of visual issues both in terms of performer downstairs and some messy transitions upstairs, and this may have led to musical issues. But for a first year group, you made the night show and finals was better than prelims! Kilties...made it in! very cool treatment of ALS, but I have to confess, hearing Mp again is on my list of things I'd like to not hear again right behind Malaguena. I was interested in seeing Interstellar Suite...I know the music well, and here I was pleased for the most part. arrangement was a touch choppy, but it works better as a whole show, so you had issues with how much you could get in there. I think adding a few clicks up on the metronome would have helped it a little more. guard seemed to be the weakness along with percussion, and those are two fixes you'll need to address to get back there next year or rise up the ranks. CorpsVets...not "Spirit Sr" anymore thats for sure. More visual demand than you've ever had, but it seemed also percussion was a big issue. I'll be honest, the book in Ballet Sacra had to hurt in many captions as it was so busy it didnt support the brass book and had performance issues. finals a better run than prelims Alliance...I know people whine about "dci" shows in DCA, but sitting in a box full of old time fans, i gotta tell ya, they loved ya! Drumline usual good to great, but prelims had some ensemble issues musically. Guard seemed to hold you back, as did i think the level of visual demand. That said, one of my favorite shows of the weekend, full of your usual energy, and a great place to build on next year! Renegades....was not sure what to think as last I saw ya, it was the Stanford regional on a laptop. However, i sensed that cool gades vibe was back with 7th sense, and it wasn't all screamers or mello trills ( tho Chris, #### man...did you ever breathe?) At times it seemed that peaks and valleys could have been more defined, but the ballad was gorgeous. Nice to see you guys taking a step forward! Cabs...Um, weren't you supposed to just die back in June? Good prelims run, WOW, what a finals run! Drums came a long way, brass had fire, and visual demand may have been an issue in a spot or two, but this corps came so, so far. I tip my shako to you mr. Ponzo. if you get the ball rolling next year and come out ready, game on. Hurcs....what a guard! they did have some issues at finals, and I think thats why the title went to MBI. Percussion did a great job, but the brass seemed really bottom heavy, and some transitions were kind of forced. best all around package yet tho, and like some others around you, it may take a spectacular off season to take that next step. Empire....I'll be honest...i thought the MJ show had the potential for the bad kind of cheese. It grew on me over the weekend. Teddy, your most musical book yet, and well played. may I also add the most under rated cymbal line of the weekend! Those ladies busted moves, visuals, and also played some serious ####! really brought the house down at finals, and in many years, this would be the one. Bucs....what a run, and this show was no slouch! In fact it would have beaten last years show! deserved hig percussion, and finals, IMO, should have been closer. the finals spread seemed to me more like what the prelims spread should have been. Powerful brass, yet pretty when you needed to be, well developed and great uses of the dance stuff. Loved watching Nick! I bow to you for your run, and know next year, you'll not just be All Good men, but determined ones too... MBI....well...CONGRATS!! Kinda fun winning your first in Rachacha isn't it? Loved the show at lewisburg and told many people if they clean, add, and fill in the holes...well........and I was right. Just an absolute joy to watch, story easy to follow. You didnt need to unleash the mellos in Immigrant Song as i said before, you just needed to unleash Roger! great percussion, strong brass, your best visual product hands down...and there you have it, your first and deserved title. Now comes the hard part my friends...defending it. For now tho enjoy it! Alumni: Got there as Boston took the field. Sorry to those I missed, my alarm clock and I disagreed. Boston did a fun show full of Crusaders classics, and finally this summer I got to hear Conquest. St Joes...best you have been in a while. Good OTL of Bully, kenny can still produce great sounds, and it was always great to hear georgia. Scout House...much better than lewisburg! all of the classics, Col. Bogey, Wooden Soldiers, Matilda...just an absolute gas! Sky Alumni....best I have heard your brass in a while! drums their usual level of good tho the guy up front on the monster triples didnt listen back enough, and came across as being ahead of the corps alot. Jomba fun to watch, and of course Elks Parade....i drummed along as always. Cabs Alumni...good lord. you get ####### better every year. I have no more to say except wow. just wow. TA....great job with the ending. very, very cool. retreat....word went thru the stands DM only. A few people in my area traded horror stories of 1990 retreat but full retreat, knowing what the weather had coming...and hey, I wouldn;t have done it, but the corps seemed to enjoy the hell out of it. Rachacha, thank you for many years of service. No offense, but I'm looking forward to a shorter drive next year, but I'm sure we will see you soon. Just next time, can you get Dino to stay open past 10 on Sunday? Edited September 6, 2011 by Jeff Ream 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
irishbugle Posted September 6, 2011 Share Posted September 6, 2011 Thanks for the review. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Drack1cba Posted September 6, 2011 Share Posted September 6, 2011 Alumni: Got there as Boston took the field. Sorry to those I missed, my alarm clock and I disagreed. might want to get there early next year Jeff. look for an announcement from the Corps soon! Hype! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeff Ream Posted September 6, 2011 Author Share Posted September 6, 2011 might want to get there early next year Jeff. look for an announcement from the Corps soon! Hype! sorry, that whole sleep thing. with a shorter drive next year, it shouldn't be as much of an issue. Now if you could get the field corps to put some Conquest back in.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeff Ream Posted September 6, 2011 Author Share Posted September 6, 2011 quick addition as I realized I forgot them... Park City Pride.....always a fun show, good drumming, and love the brass sound. Also ladies, you switch from cymbals to guard better than some DCI corps that try that approach! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NLTav Posted September 7, 2011 Share Posted September 7, 2011 "Bucs....what a run, and this show was no slouch! In fact it would have beaten last years show! deserved hig percussion, and finals, IMO, should have been closer. the finals spread seemed to me more like what the prelims spread should have been. Powerful brass, yet pretty when you needed to be, well developed and great uses of the dance stuff. Loved watching Nick! I bow to you for your run, and know next year, you'll not just be All Good men, but determined ones too..." Thanks Jeff...I always love a good crowd! :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeff Ream Posted September 7, 2011 Author Share Posted September 7, 2011 Nick, as you do during the fall and winter seasons, I'm sure you'll entertain me more as time goes on! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Latrobe's Finest Posted September 8, 2011 Share Posted September 8, 2011 Shenandoah Sound.....your best product yet. I remember the Aliens show...and this is night and day. Yes, there are still issues, but every year you get a little bit better. Class A has not only gotten better, but deeper. In order to take that next step, you'll need to take a few big jumps. Thanks. I agree that this was our best offering ever. We're aiming for Finals in Annapolis and to get there, we'll need to continue to grow and perform at a higher level. We embrace the challenge! The last two years have seen us present more mature, crowd-friendly shows, and you can bet we'll continue that trend for 2012! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zachariaswmb Posted September 9, 2011 Share Posted September 9, 2011 Thanks. I agree that this was our best offering ever. We're aiming for Finals in Annapolis and to get there, we'll need to continue to grow and perform at a higher level. We embrace the challenge! The last two years have seen us present more mature, crowd-friendly shows, and you can bet we'll continue that trend for 2012! It's been a real pleasure watching you ladies and gents grow. Keep it up! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
posaun1 Posted September 14, 2011 Share Posted September 14, 2011 "Bush...I know it has to suck that you didn't make finals. But instead you achieved something more...life. You were all but dead 5 months ago. yet you cobbled together some very dedicated, hardworking bodies, and by prelims, you put out a respectable show. battery especially played well, and the brass came a long, long way. if the membership issues had been resolved by March......that said, congrats on not quitting, and I look forward to see you wreaking havoc again." Thanks for the kind words Jeff. The Bushwackers are looking forward to being back in the thick of things next season. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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