Pizazzman Posted July 11, 2003 Share Posted July 11, 2003 First of all, I appologize for the length, but I just want to be as detailed as possible. That being said, tuesday started off with welcoming Vanguard to Orem and helping them get all settled in. It was great to see the reactions of people who don't know anything about corps when the caravan rolled in. After they got everything set, they slept for a couple hours. After breakfast, they started stretching and got right into visual rehearsal. Throughout all of this I was helping give directions to local stores and just making sure they had everything they needed. After some of the logistical things slowed down, I got to sit down and watch rehearsal. Let me say, when they're out on the field, the members are the most mature well behaived group of people I've ever seen. When listening to instruction, they stand at "pistol" and dont move or talk at all. I didn't see any members goofing off or anything even close to it. The weather was pretty good, up in the 90's but with a bit of a breeze so they were pretty psyched about that having just spent a couple days in Pheonix. The biggest problem they encountered seemed to be the altitude. It's close to 5000 feet here so a lot of people struggled with that. In spite of any of that though, they rehearsed very well. Of course the staff got down on them at times, but overall they said it was an improvement over how they've been rehearsing. Now to the show. First off, this show is INSANE!!!! The demand in this show is through the roof. I think the hornline halts once in the opener and is going the rest of the show marching mostly very fast tempos. There aren't really any super flashy wow moments, instead the show as a whole is a wow moment. The hornline sounds great. They're playing a great horn book that is just as demanding as the drill and doing it pretty well at this point. The trumpets are a lot stronger than they have been the last couple years. They don't have the big dark sound from the low brass like they did the last couple years becuase they've switched back to a mixed bari/euph line. The reason is because of the new arranger, apparently he likes to double the mello lines so they put the bari's back in. Also, they just started using new Kanstul trumpets that were purchased over the weekend I think. Now, the drums. WOW!!! The line is so clean for right now, it's insane! I'm not much of a drum guy, but the drum book is meaty! I dont' know that I've ever seen a drumline play like these guys, the cymbals are probably the best performers in all of DCI, and this line is LOUD! Unfortunately, the girl on the snare line, who BTW marched Cascades last year, is really hurting. Both of her knees are giving her trouble and she for the most part didn't march both days. The colorguard. It seems to be that the colorguard is a bit of a weak link right now. They have som good work, but they're struggling with some marching/spacing basics. That afternoon, they didn't join the rest of the corps for the final run of the day, but what the hornline and drumline produced was amazing. There are still some phasing issues at the very beginning but it's understandable considering the demand there. The bright side of it is that no matter how off they get, when they all come in and turn front field it locks in every time, so the problem is very isolated and not affecting the rest of the tune. They wrapped up rehearsal at about 6:30 so they could eat and then do laundry. While they did laundry, I got the chance with some others from our marching band staff to take some of the staff members to a local Brazilian restaraunt. We had a great time, and it was great to be able to get to know a few of the staff. Everyone was was really impressed with the area. They loved the mountains and were really shocked at how big the place is, it really made me sit back and realize how lucky I am to live here. Anyway, yesterday, they started rehearsal at about 8:30 in the morning. They stretched, ran, did some circle drill and then ran through a few changes with the entire corps. After that they split up and ran a visual rehearsal. Stewart Shulman was absent during this first block having been taken to the hospital with some sort of sickness, but was back out there after lunch. I have to say, he is one of the greatest guys I've ever met. I thought he would be aging out this year, but I found out he's only 19. Man, I wish I were that mature at 19, heck, I wish I were that mature now. I could tell the corps was feeling a lot better after a full nights rest. There was a huge difference in how they rehearsed, they were much more focused. They're still struggling with just getting through each set and they're not thinking ahead, so transitions are still rough, but that'll get better as they get more comfortable with the show. After lunch, they rehearsed in sections for about an hour and then had ensemble untiull 3:30. Oh, BTW, in the morning when the drumline was warming up, they played through Electric Wheelchair a few times much faster than they played it last year, very cool. The run at the end of ensemble was great. The hornline only played a couple sections and the very end of the show to save chops, but it was still impressive. Also, I had the opportunity to work with one of the staff members durring ensemble learning what they do and how they do it, it was a great opportunity. Anyway, it was a great day of rehearsal and it was great to have them here. They got some great publicity and it was a great opportunity for all envolved. As for the show, I'll have a full review later tonight. Wow, that was long, sorry about that, but I hope I've given some insight as to how things are going with Vanguard. I'll catch y'all later. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DrumCorpsMom Posted July 11, 2003 Share Posted July 11, 2003 Great review! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SCV RR826 Posted July 11, 2003 Share Posted July 11, 2003 Thanks for the report Chris. Can't wait to hear more. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GMichael1230 Posted July 11, 2003 Share Posted July 11, 2003 Thanks Chris......kinda dispells some "myths" !! ~G~ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JimmySCV Posted July 11, 2003 Share Posted July 11, 2003 Thanks Chris......kinda dispells some "myths" !!~G~ To quote the Talking Heads: Same as it ever was... Same as it ever was... B) GO SCV! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pizazzman Posted July 11, 2003 Author Share Posted July 11, 2003 First of all, which "myths" are you talking about? Just curious. And second, I forgot to mention, yesterday as I was watching the drumline warm up, a guy walked up and started watching with me. Well, we introduced ourselves and I found out he was center snare for SCV in '88 and '89 and then was on staff in either '90 or '91, I can't remember. His name is Fred (didn't catch his last name) he seemed like a really cool guy and he's living up in Ogden. So for anyone out there that knew Fred the snare player and has been wondering where he is, he's here in Utah, and seemes to be doing well. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
asvab Posted July 11, 2003 Share Posted July 11, 2003 (edited) First of all, which "myths" are you talking about? Just curious. And second, I forgot to mention, yesterday as I was watching the drumline warm up, a guy walked up and started watching with me. Well, we introduced ourselves and I found out he was center snare for SCV in '88 and '89 and then was on staff in either '90 or '91, I can't remember. His name is Fred (didn't catch his last name) he seemed like a really cool guy and he's living up in Ogden. So for anyone out there that knew Fred the snare player and has been wondering where he is, he's here in Utah, and seemes to be doing well. :) The center snare in 89 was named Ponce and he was never on staff. Someone correct me if I am wrong, but I don't think so. ...but nice review - it is appreciated. Edited July 11, 2003 by asvab Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
timpanE Posted July 11, 2003 Share Posted July 11, 2003 Thanks Pizazzman for the review, I have a close friend marching contra at SCV this year- and its awesome to get an inside view from an outsider ( ) about how he and the corps is doing.... thanks again! :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BennyASU Posted July 11, 2003 Share Posted July 11, 2003 The weather was pretty good, up in the 90's but with a bit of a breeze so they were pretty psyched about that having just spent a couple days in Pheonix. no doubt! it was a HOT past couple of days here! but try living here year round! you get used to it and dont go outside (except for drum corps!) :) b**bs great review Chris! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skippay Posted July 11, 2003 Share Posted July 11, 2003 Great report Chris! :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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