magicdirect Posted June 17, 2012 Share Posted June 17, 2012 You guys are probably recovering this morning but lets see some reviews from Wildwood!! And Cali! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TastyWaves Posted June 18, 2012 Share Posted June 18, 2012 Cabs at the Beach was fun as always! I dont think anyone could have asked for a better day for drum corps! Sunny, blue skies, nice and cool! Im sure the members of most of the corps didnt love the sun right in their face for the performance, but thats part of the deal right?! lol. I was seated at the "top" (which is abot 10 feet high in this "Stadium" between the 35 and 40 on side 1. My personal thoughts with made up scores like we all make. Bucs 78.9 Cabs 70.3 Carolina Gold- 66.5 Fusion- 64.2 Windsor- 55.00 Windsor- Let me start by saying I KNOW its early season. No drum corps fan goes to see a June drum corps to be blown away by great execution. EVERYONE is dirty in June from the Blue Devils to the Blue Saints. But you look for some signs of life out there. Unfortunately, there wasnt a lot happening here. You want to see an evident training program. You want to see a few clean sets. You want to see SOME kind of musical execution. At least there should be something in the opener right? Well, again I didnt see anything here that led me to believe that the direction of WR was a good one. I think the color guard has some potential and is costumed beautifully. The brass also had a few moments where I thought "This could be really nice later". Front ensemble and Battery are really pretty rough. Lots of work to do here. I think they are being put in some unfair positions in terms of what they are being asked to do. Its clear the members cannot handle the majority of what is written for them in most sections. A wise man once said "Write for who you have. Not for who you WISH you had". Best example would be the very long exposed drum feature. Highlight strengths! The drum corps seems to be bigger than last year (although i dont remember for sure), but they also seem to have taken some backwards steps. I am rooting for them though. I wont see them again until Annapolis so I hope to be blown away by then. Carolina Gold- Gold was really impressive right off the bat! You can tell this corps was going to jump a few notches just from the way they took the field. You can just tell when a drum corps has some confidence walking in and it was well justified. The color guard is FANTASTIC! Possibly the best of the night! Brass brought some really solid impact moments as well as a great deal of musical shaping and handled most of their visual responsibilities appropriately for June. Percussion was also very solid. The staff was clearly unified in how they designed this program and it comes off as a total program rather than a bunch of segments who just happen to be on the field together. They developed phrases very well which led to impact points and really are setting their drum corps up well for a successful run. Naturally there is a lot to do, but this is a smart, slick and very enjoyable show. Cannot wait to see them again in a few months! I had this ahead of fusion. Fusion- Made some great strides already since last year! This show was down and dirty and just fun! Truly enjoyable in all areas from an entertainment perspective. In terms of the quality, all i gotta say is WOW to this Brass! They were my 2nd favorite of the night behind Bucs. Truly a fantastic Brass unit. This is going to be SCARY good by Annapolis! Colorguard didnt really grab me much. Could be largely due to staging which in my opinion was rough in general. Front Ensemble seemed lost in the mix and didnt really do much to grab my attention. Battery is a bit overwritten and the members seem to be hanging on for dear life. Bass line handles the musical end well but perhaps at the expense of their drill. Snares and tenors are just generally rough right now. All in all, a great show! Soloists really grab you and take you on the ride! I actually had Gold ahead of fusion but still, Fusion is looking great and is off to a fantastic start! Caballeros- Cabs start to 2012 seemed a bit rough but overall was very entertaining. In most years no matter the competitive result is, I have always felt that the Cabs "Own the crowd". That seemed to be lacking this time. I feel like I am still waiting for an impact in the program that just grabs you and brings you in which for me, never really happened. There were all of the natural "june errors" but there seemed to be more of them. Ensemble issues all over the place, tempos tearing, lack of uniformity from brass to percussion in terms of impacts, and generally some disagreements going on with the arranging perhaps. Much of the musical program felt like it was written with different concepts in mind. That being said, the brass plays extremely well! that big traditional Cabs sound is still alive and well, particularly in the lead trumpet voice. Could have used more lower brass! I kept wanting more and more and it never came! Mellophones had some great moments that cut through like crazy! The battery is confident from a showmanship standpoint. Lots of head bobin going on out there but the beats seem less confident. Snareline clearly leading the way out there. Pit needs to "Color the picture" a lot more. Didnt get a lot of variety or impact there. Colorguard is busy and always active but again, from a concept standpoint i found it a bit muddy so they may just be trapped in the middle. I thought there would be a few more points between Cabs and Bucs. Buccaneers- For anyone who thought they might disappear after finally losing a show last year, boy were you wrong! This was clearly an inspired effort first and formost in the offseason. Clearly a well thought out design and a homerun job of arranging the book. On this night (and im sure this will be tru all season), this corps is on a level of its own. A different level of preparation altogether and it shows ON the field as well. Strength and power in all sections. Again folks: This is NOT to say that its not dirty! lol. OF COURSE there is dirt! Its june drum corps. But you can tell by watching and listening which types of dirt will go away with time and reps, and what kinds are pretty much not going to change. This show will be SCARY good by September! Brass line is powerful, clean and controlled. Great Balance throughout! Front Ensemble just has it all! Great contribution and support and IMPACT! Thank you! First front ensemble of the night to really grab you. They are a show unto themselves! Battery is the most ambitious Bucs battery I have ever seen. Playing some great musically tasteful moments as the Bucs are known for, but they are also letting the dogs off the leash a bit! Some crazy complexity and intense drum vocabulary going on in all sections! Percussion feature is NASTY (in a good way) and when cleaned up its going to just hit people in the chest! Colorguard is beautiful and scary and complex and everything else you would want in a colorguard. I thought this was 8-10 points better than the field. Nothing was close in any area. Raiders- I saw this corps last year at West Chester and kinda thought "Yeah.. this could be something". First impression this year, I wasnt really sure what to make of it. It was all very difficult to read but this is clearly a young corps and severely under rehearsed. Now that school is out and they can put some time in, Im sure it will get moving. I will see this a few times so I am looking forward to seeing what they can bring to the field. Cabs Alumni- Seriously... Does anyone do it like these guys! What a blast! So much power out there. That sound just hits you in the chest and you go DAAAAAAYUM! A very enjoyable program, loved by the crowd and so much fun to watch and listen to. Great Drum Feature! I didnt start out loving this style when I moved to the east coast 10 years ago, but I really have grown to love it. Such a joy! All in all, a great night! Wildwood is such a great drum corps town and I look forward to being there again next year! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cabalumnidrummer Posted June 18, 2012 Share Posted June 18, 2012 Cabs Alumni- Seriously... Does anyone do it like these guys! What a blast! So much power out there. That sound just hits you in the chest and you go DAAAAAAYUM! A very enjoyable program, loved by the crowd and so much fun to watch and listen to. Great Drum Feature! I didn't start out loving this style when I moved to the east coast 10 years ago, but I really have grown to love it. Such a joy! All in all, a great night! Wildwood is such a great drum corps town and I look forward to being there again next year! Thank you for including the two exhibition corps in your review. And thank you so much for the kind words about our corps and our drum feature! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
A Cavalier TDY Posted June 18, 2012 Share Posted June 18, 2012 Cabs at the Beach was fun as always! Man, what a great review. Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fran Haring Posted June 18, 2012 Share Posted June 18, 2012 Terrific review... thanks!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ray Priester Posted June 18, 2012 Share Posted June 18, 2012 Now THAT was a review! Pointed out what impressed him, praised some areas and pulled no punches with stuff that didn't come across, but without being smug or derisive. Thank you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeff Ream Posted June 18, 2012 Share Posted June 18, 2012 great review! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HBD Posted June 18, 2012 Share Posted June 18, 2012 This is truly one of the most fantastic reviews I have ever read here on DCP. Thank you for your insights, It was truly wonderful to read them. Jay Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CabsMelloGirl Posted June 19, 2012 Share Posted June 19, 2012 Thanks for the kind words for both of my corps'. However, I believe you have the scores wrong. There was no 8 point spread between Cabs and Buccs. Here are the correct scores from the show, just to set the record straight. Buccaneers 77.700 Caballeros 73.050 Fusion Core 67.750 Carolina Gold 65.800 Windsor Regiment 59.350 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
luvscorps Posted June 19, 2012 Share Posted June 19, 2012 You may want to re-read the review. The numbers the reviewer used were his/her own. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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