gak27 Posted June 17, 2012 Share Posted June 17, 2012 Greetings all! This won't be a very detailed review, since others have done a GREAT job in offering the look and feel of last night's show. I just wanted to provided a different/additional viewpoint of the show - not that my perspective will be in any way unique or earth-shattering - just different. And I did my best to view the shows from a 'first of the season' viewpoint... I was right on the 50, 10 rows up in the upper deck (above and to the right of JWillis, I believe) Overall impressions - I loved Bluecoats - I loved Phantom - I loved most of Cadets - I loved parts of Crown - I loved parts of Blue Stars - I tried to love Cavaliers The truth be told, I actually liked more of the Blue Stars show than the Cavies. The Blue Stars don't leave much to the imagination, although the guard outfits were, um, interesting...I guess they were intended to represent the 'earth/soil' portion of our world? Anyway, yes, the drill is challenging and dirty, and yes, they had problems throughout the show, but it's entertaining, esp. from a musical sense. My take on the Cavies was their show is all about the 'look at me! look at me!' aspect of fame and how fleeting it is. On the whole, it just seemed disjoint, quiet and uninvolving, kind of like so much of Top 40 music. The guard did do a good job of selling the story in the first half of the show, but overall, I'm not sure about this one... Crown. Yes, I was very impressed with the horn line (horn line in my marching days) and yes, they are all over the place in a very demanding visual program. But there is WAY too much rolling/prancing/foot/body/movement for the sake of rolling/prancing/foot/body/movement going on, esp. in the middle part of the show. Honestly, a couple of times I found myself thinking how much more powerful and enjoyable the show would be if they just marched... I liked the Cadets show more than I was expecting to, probably because the arrangements/treatment of the source music is (for the most part) very well done. Parts of the show are a little too cute, but nothing near "little Jeffrey" level (hopefully this remains the case). The flag feature early in the show is a big impact. I was looking forward to Phantom's show the most (being my 2nd favorite corps behind SCV). The visual impact of the red against the white/black works very well and the guard uniform change is well-done, striking and changes the whole tone of the show. Horns and percussion are powerful (esp. in the first 2/3 of the show). To be honest, Nessun Dorma will need work. Projection of the soloist could be better (he was drowned out on his lower notes); maybe they should double up or mic him (heresy j/k), but overall, the show has great promise. Bluecoats surprised me, in a good way. Their show was engaging, powerful, sharp and didn't need an extensive explanation of what the show designers are trying to convey. But please, please, turn down the pit amplification! YMMV, prices higher in Hawaii and Alaska, cash value 1/20 cent. 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jwillis35 Posted June 18, 2012 Share Posted June 18, 2012 Great review! Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
myopinion Posted June 18, 2012 Share Posted June 18, 2012 Greetings all! This won't be a very detailed review, since others have done a GREAT job in offering the look and feel of last night's show. I just wanted to provided a different/additional viewpoint of the show - not that my perspective will be in any way unique or earth-shattering - just different. And I did my best to view the shows from a 'first of the season' viewpoint... I was right on the 50, 10 rows up in the upper deck (above and to the right of JWillis, I believe) Overall impressions - I loved Bluecoats - I loved Phantom - I loved most of Cadets - I loved parts of Crown - I loved parts of Blue Stars - I tried to love Cavaliers The truth be told, I actually liked more of the Blue Stars show than the Cavies. The Blue Stars don't leave much to the imagination, although the guard outfits were, um, interesting...I guess they were intended to represent the 'earth/soil' portion of our world? Anyway, yes, the drill is challenging and dirty, and yes, they had problems throughout the show, but it's entertaining, esp. from a musical sense. My take on the Cavies was their show is all about the 'look at me! look at me!' aspect of fame and how fleeting it is. On the whole, it just seemed disjoint, quiet and uninvolving, kind of like so much of Top 40 music. The guard did do a good job of selling the story in the first half of the show, but overall, I'm not sure about this one... Crown. Yes, I was very impressed with the horn line (horn line in my marching days) and yes, they are all over the place in a very demanding visual program. But there is WAY too much rolling/prancing/foot/body/movement for the sake of rolling/prancing/foot/body/movement going on, esp. in the middle part of the show. Honestly, a couple of times I found myself thinking how much more powerful and enjoyable the show would be if they just marched... I liked the Cadets show more than I was expecting to, probably because the arrangements/treatment of the source music is (for the most part) very well done. Parts of the show are a little too cute, but nothing near "little Jeffrey" level (hopefully this remains the case). The flag feature early in the show is a big impact. I was looking forward to Phantom's show the most (being my 2nd favorite corps behind SCV). The visual impact of the red against the white/black works very well and the guard uniform change is well-done, striking and changes the whole tone of the show. Horns and percussion are powerful (esp. in the first 2/3 of the show). To be honest, Nessun Dorma will need work. Projection of the soloist could be better (he was drowned out on his lower notes); maybe they should double up or mic him (heresy j/k), but overall, the show has great promise. Bluecoats surprised me, in a good way. Their show was engaging, powerful, sharp and didn't need an extensive explanation of what the show designers are trying to convey. But please, please, turn down the pit amplification! YMMV, prices higher in Hawaii and Alaska, cash value 1/20 cent. Agree on all accounts! We must have very similar views on what our idea of drum corps should be! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.