Jump to content

Louisville Review


Recommended Posts

Great review! I sat on the 45 yard line on the other side and agree with everything you said. I've been watching drum corps since I was introduced as a fan in 1992. I never gave myself the opportunity to march with anyone, but it is nice to go to a great venue like Louisville and take it all in.

I dont know what the official scores will be and I don't think it will matter at this point. It is so early that all corps had issues and room for improvement that these performances will be so much more polished by the end o the year. With that in mind, it was pretty clear to me and the rest of the fans there that Carolina Crown has a show in a different league this year. It was very messy, but hardest show of the night and very reminiscent of some of the greatest cadet runs of the past. The crowd gave them the most receptive and emotional response of the night. I am not sure why there are unkind things said about this corps on this site, but the show has everything a fan would love. The sound was incredible. Other than cleaning it up, I hope they can help sell the concept a little more as I'm still not sure it is conveyed effectively. The other issue is there is hardly any color. The whole field is one giant Creamsicle. They need color!

Cadets were really fun to watch. You might not expect a Christmas show to be that good. I don't think it will be a championship contender but it will be a fan delight and still a very solid scoring show.

As you stated the Cavaliers are way better than they are getting credit for and the sound is very typical of Cavies. They need to work on concept a bit but musically there are some nice parts.

I thought the Bluecoats were great. This site really hypes them up and I was excited to see them. They have great execution and a good show design. They could win tonight but their show design is not in the same league as Crown or Cadets in my opinion. The synth was fun but felt like I was in a movie theater listening to the surround sound effect coming on the whole time. This was a very enjoyable show.

I'd rank the corps based on show design and what they could be by the end of the year.

Crown

Cadets

Bluecoats

Cavaliers

Blue Stars

  • Like 4
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Great review guys! Thanks for sharing. I agree with a lot of what you said, but we disagree on Carolina Crown. I simply do not see the show design. Great brass and they have a demanding brass book, but the visual is cluttered by too much dancing, prancing, posing, and a lot of visual things that I can't make sense of; and their guard is hard to figure out. If the visual does not get cleaned, and if they don't make sense of it, and if the guard doesn't develop more contrast, and if their percussion doesn't kick it up a notch, then they will go no higher than 3rd or 4th at Finals.

Now, having said that, they definitely have demand and a very high ceiling. But to me it is clear they can't just clean, they must also tweak this show in order to flesh out some of the more important elements.

Edited by jwillis35
  • Like 6
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Great review guys! Thanks for sharing. I agree with a lot of what you said, but we disagree on Carolina Crown. I simply do not see the show design. Great brass and they have a demanding brass book, but the visual is cluttered by too much dancing, prancing, posing, and a lot of visual things that I can't make sense of; and their guard is hard to figure out. If the visual does not get cleaned, and if they don't make sense of it, and if the guard doesn't develop more contrast, and if their percussion doesn't kick it up a notch, then they will go no higher than 3rd or 4th at Finals.

Now, having said that, they definitely have demand and a very high ceiling. But to me it is clear they can't just clean, they must also tweak this show in order to flesh out some of the more important elements.

Getting a red mark for expressing an opinion? Wow... You weren't the least bit offensive; your only "transgression" was casting a negative light on some of Crown's show. For shame. :huh:

FWIW, I agree with you (and offered a similar opinion in my review).

  • Like 3
Link to comment
Share on other sites

...but in my book, I'll take a dirty demanding show, over something a little more "status quo."

I'm with you.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Crown just linked this review on their facebook page. Great work reviewer!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Good review.

FYI, that's not the "Jaws" theme. It's actually part of Dvorak's New World Symphony. See Phantom Regiment's second-place show from 1989 (which still holds the second-highest second place Finals score ever).

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Yeah, Senior Williams is the one who took that to create Jaws! So it should read something like this: "That Dvorak sounding movie Spielberg made!" LOL

:tongue: :tongue:

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Side A 40 yard line, about 2/3 of the way up...

Bluestars-Some nice musical moments, but obviously a younger corps than anyone else in Louisville this night. Music is the sgtrong point at the moment, and the youth shows up in visual execution issues. Fun program, hope they continue to gain confidence.

Bluecoats-Clean product for this early. Excellent execution in all sections. Amps too loud. Guard has integration issues that distract from the excellence of their execution.

Crown-Amazing hornline, gutsy book...as an old guy, I had to love that at the loudest point in the show the synthesizer players had their hands down and stepped back, letting the brass and pit/cymbals be the music...and the loudest point of the night from any corps (during "Fanfare" in a 100 yard spread). Field percussion were weak, and their 4th place finish helped drag their music score down to 2nd. Guard uni's do not work...I didn't even notice the guard...drill integration of the guard is also weak. Still, they did get a true "old school" response from the crowd instead of the now obligatory "I'll stand up out of appreciation instead of sheer visceral excitement."

Cadets-This show weirded me out...it just seemed too...easy... Great execution in all sections (some weak trumpets are exposed in the ballad stage right); great design...just...eh.

Cavaliers-No idea what the "storyline" is supposed to be, but the show package will take them far. Already quite clean in all sections (a few muddy horn licks, but hey) and obviously missing much of the horn flashes and kata movements that they will put in later. Will end up being a crowd favorite again as well as meeting the sheet criteria.

I do miss when each corps had its own style of drill...It looked like every corps was doing Cavie drill moves from the 2000's. I miss curved path passthroughs and reshapes, etc...everyuthing I saw was follow-the-leader, squad drill or scatter drill...not much visual artistry, just movement for the sake of movement from all of the groups. I want the breathtaking design of '88 Cadets, '93 Star, etc.

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
×
×
  • Create New...