Lisle Review

[phan771]

I was very excited to see this show and see some groups live whom I had not yet seen.

Pioneer. Their rendition of the Dvorak New World Symphony is ambitious. The drums are the highlight of the group, though

they overplay a lot and their parts seem a bit old school. However, they seem to be having fun and communicate with the audience

quite well, adding to the entertainment value of their show. The members seem to understand and convey the overall mood and

emotion of each segment. Their brass played aggressively and were at times pretty well polished. The guard has their moments of

pretty and seem to be working hard to communicate with each other.

Blue Knights. I tend to like all various types of shows and like to be challenged by art at times. This was too much of an experiment in

drum corps however for my taste and the price of my seats, parking, and concessions. Though playing very recognizable parts of the

original Firebird a few times, the show just did not connect with me and apparently most everyone else. Bizarre, weird, with long periods of

non-focused visual or musical intent. The drum line was pretty clean at times. The drum writing seemed to be from another, unrelated show,

and at times sounded like last season (a great show BTW). The guard seems to have potential and I found the uniform very unique and interesting.

The brass were having a very rough go of it; pitch, articulation, balance, feet in sound, etc. The brass music is scored really low. The guard

seemed random. Sorry guys, but I am still in shock over what I witnessed. Despite some great offerings tonight from other groups, it

was all we could talk about on the way home. I really tried to find the good. I am still considering we all just somehow missed it, though I must say

it seemed there was not one clean move, toss, drill set, step off, attack, etc. through the show. The members seemed to not enjoy performing.

I don't know what else to say other than I greatly respect all the members' hard work and the risk the design took, just wish the results were

different.

Cavies. I was very intrigued by the pre-show and felt I could understand the overall intent. I liked the drum tuning and writing a lot and felt they

were nearly as good as SCV and/or Cadets. The flag designs were my favorite part of the show. The mix of printing, sewing, with the lame fabric was great.

I felt the guard's costumes were not near as bad as some had described and fit a rock star vibe pretty well (they are famous aren't they?). I was also glad

to hear Don Juan, though it didn't quite sell tonight. Despite the fears of loosing Mike Gaines, I felt the drill was written well from a construction stand

point, though I wish it more musical and the guard integrated better. The show seemed to stutter/start and stop a lot. The theme was hard to follow,

though I got snippets of it here and there. The talent level seems down in the guard and especially the brass line. There were constant brass pitch issues

throughout and lots of cracked notes and feet in the sound. The ending almost kicked in, though it seems a pit piece mill. I had heard there were lots of

changes. I could not really tell where those were. I assume there are more to come. They are a good corps and just not matching up to their past or several

othergroups around them this season.

Madison Scouts. I was on the 45 near the top. I got A LOT of speaker volume, especially when the electronics doubled most all the tuba parts. It seems

an odd sound and not characteristic of Scouts, though they did the same thing a lot last year. The Pictures at an Exhibition theme works pretty well and

doesn't really require a lot of recurring thematic support, which is probably smart. I like the use of picture frames though I wish we could see them better.

The corps looks really big. I am not sure exactly how many brass they have. The drums are sooo much better than last year and are pretty final's week clean

already.I do not however care for the fact that some corps still do several old school drum solos in their shows that seem to have nothing to do with the show,

the show music selections,music structure, flow, etc. The brass and drum drill is pretty darned clean, but the guard drill and equipment work is pretty filthy.

I was surprised with Adam Sage being at the helm. The first minute, tuba soli, and ending are pretty terrific. that said, most every else lost me. I did not like

what I perceived as forced arrangements. Many voicings are way too low and the weaving of old Scouts and Pictures just didn't work for my ears at all. The high

brass seem weak to me as of now. Though rare to see in drum corps, I felt the brass were really outperforming their book; creating more GE through

salesmanship than the actual music making. I am sure some will disagree, but after seeing it twice and on fan network, yeah, the brass writing just isn't working

for me. They have really worked to get their showmanship back and I applaud them for that.

SCV. I was overjoyed to get to see them. I wasn't disappointed. A big step forward in design and quality over Madison in my opinion. From the get go, there

was a great physical and musical sense of command and presence along with quality. So much so that when something did "go wrong" it really stood out to me.

I love the guard costume, though it does get a tad lost on the green field. Interested to see how that comes across in a dome. The percussion is simply spectacular

and would pick them at this point to win drums. There was some dirt, but the demand is way up there. The brass are improved, thank goodness, but have a ways

to go. They seem to handle the park and blows and big volume moments really well, but show some playing issues on the move and at the f and below levels.

Pete Weber has again done a fine job moving all the pieces around. The show music and pacing has a real SCV sense to it, and I got on the edge of my seat several

times. They seem a week or so away form really kicking it in to the point that I feel they will likely give PR and Bluecoats a run for their money. The arrangements are extremely creative but have a few minor bugs yet to be worked out. The end was very exciting. It will be fun to watch tomorrow on the live broad cast.

Cadets. Having seen them once already, I prepared to act as if having never seen them, gaining a fresh prospective. I was actually surprised at how much better

the performance and overall show was since seeing them last. The end was a bit ragged, but in typical cadets style, the are really pushing the simultaneous demand.

All sections and sub sections of the group seem really strong. I had heard the drumline was almost all new and young, but felt the played almost as good as SCV.

The arrangements are commendable and compare to very few arrangers in the activity these days. I often wonder if anyone can tell the difference any longer between

a highly skilled arranger and someone who is just writing effects with little or no regard to structure, melody, development, variety, etc. The big moments are already selling quite well. I loved the ballad! I originally did not think this had the legs to compete for the title. I am not so sure now. Definitely the best corps of the evening.

ENJOYED it corps. THANKS!

Edited July 14, 2012 by phan771

[A Cavalier TDY]

Nice review. Thanks!

I was at the show in Kalamazoo last week and must say, I DID like what Madison's arranger did to blend Pictures with tunes from the corps past. I actually thought this was quite innovative as I had NEVER thought these pieces as being related to one another in ANY way.

Edited July 14, 2012 by A Cavalier TDY

[theCHEZman]

Thanks for taking the time to write a review.

[tigger2]

I agree about Scout's arrangements. I think my composition professors would say that they appreciated what I was trying to do, but would ask me to revise or move on. It seems that

maybe you just cannot put the desired tunes together without compromising those nostalgia pieces or the Pictures melodies too much, creating something awkward, rather than clarity.

The parts that are transcribed, slightly arranged to fit brass, are well done.

[yellvanguard]

I agree about Scout's arrangements. I think my composition professors would say that they appreciated what I was trying to do, but would ask me to revise or move on. It seems that

maybe you just cannot put the desired tunes together without compromising those nostalgia pieces or the Pictures melodies too much, creating something awkward, rather than clarity.

The parts that are transcribed, slightly arranged to fit brass, are well done.

Yes. I feel like I have to work really hard to hear the overlap of melodies and know somethings are there just because I know the old Scout's tunes so well. I feel the switching back and forth at times happens too quickly and all gets muddled.

Agree that the straight up orchestrations from what Mussorgsky wrote are solid. And that coming from an SCV guy.

[Catan]

Blue Knights.

The brass were having a very rough go of it; pitch, articulation, balance, feet in sound, etc. The brass music is scored really low.

Cadets.

The arrangements are commendable and compare to very few arrangers in the activity these days. I often wonder if anyone can tell the difference any longer between

a highly skilled arranger and someone who is just writing effects with little or no regard to structure, melody, development, variety, etc. The big moments are already selling quite well. I loved the ballad! I originally did not think this had the legs to compete for the title. I am not so sure now. Definitely the best corps of the evening.

ENJOYED it corps. THANKS!

Interesting that these two brass books were written by the same person.

[luvah]

thanks for the review. You must have a cultured ear/eye to be able to communitcate your perceptions on all segments of the corps. The kind of thing I like to read.

[kcbari]

"I often wonder if anyone can tell the difference any longer between

a highly skilled arranger and someone who is just writing effects with little or no regard to structure, melody, development, variety, etc."

Taken somewhat out of context, this is still one of the most concise and accurate statements about the state of DCI at the moment.