Dallas Review

[shaners]

Great job to every performer, staff member, and volunteer! As per my normal disclaimer to avoid offending anyone, my reviews critique the product; not the effort by the members.

Here is a link to the recap to use as a reference. This one is going to be brief... I have to get up early to take my cat to the vet.

My seats were at the very top, right on the 50, as good as you can get in the stadium.

Forte - 66.30

I missed em' tonight... the will-call line was unnecessarily long.

See my Denton Review for comments on their show.

Cascades - 66.850

Listened from the tunnel... again, the will-call line took for ever.

From what I heard, I liked their arrangements much better than the past few years. I love their uniform.

Sorry, that's all I got.

Crossmen - 78.60

WOW!!! I finally had the pleasure of seeing Bones live. I was so worried that the corps wouldn't live up to the hype, but holy smokes did it surpass all my expectations.

This was undoubtedly my favorite show of the night, and that can probably be said for the majority of the audience, who went nuts for the Crossmen throughout the show.

The pacing and impacts of the music, the Crossmen-esque drill, the groovin' drumline, the guard... All stellar. While they weren't the loudest corps on the field, they were definitely the most balanced. I didn't hear any brass line heroes during loud impacts, nor did the mello section get shred-happy (which is a huge peeve of mine). And how bout the screamer? That kid has some chops. The drumline has found their groove. I heard a clean and groovin' drumline from Bones, which is more than I can say for the next 3 corps that beat them in the caption. I have a feeling that the pit had to do with it, but the on-field battery laid down the law. Not only do they deserve to be scoring well, I had them ahead of Bloo tonight. My only beef with the guard is the outfit. The tan/brown color tends to get lost on the field, adding some colorful accents would help them pop out.

The Crossmen have definitely found their swagger with this show, which I feel hasn't been present since 2003. They have a 'reserved cool' presence that I dearly hope carries into the following years, because holy cow, THAT was the Crossmen that DCi needs. The pre-show meandering worked surprisingly well. Many people in the audience were surprised once the 'map' pops out at you. I love how the flugel horns are utilized for a different horn color, cool.

You could probably guess that I feel they got sacked with the scoring. Going on before Academy and Glassmen, 3 before BK really hurt them tonight. Things that can be improved include cleaning all those little details in the drill. While they weren't terribly dirty, the horn line had far to many interval issues. The down ending works, but it could be more effective with different/better drill. Heck, just make a giant '?' a la 1992 and reap the benefits. I kept waiting for something cool to happen at the end, but was let down when everyone just stops in the scatter set. If you could add GE anywhere, do it. At this point in the game, GE is really what corps needs to compete for a top 12 spot, GE was he only caption I feel the judges got right with the crossmen. I think that under a different performance time, Crossmen would have definitely broke 80 tonight, and possibly passed up BK. I look forward to Atlanta.

The Glassmen - 75.80

Cool music for the first few minutes, but then it got boring quickly. Had I not known the show synopsis before hand, I would have never guessed it to be about glass. Even when they bust out the big glass props during the drum solo, it just doesn't make sense. The way the members march around/enclose the drum line is kinda cool, but it seemed like a ton of effort for very little GE pay off. Sorry, there is a small tangent coming about how I think 'concepts' are pointless (beyond satisfying the judges sheets); If one has to take a few minutes after the show to explain to ones girlfriend what the show is about (which I did), and only be able to do so because I knew in advance, then is the 'concept' really doing it's job... Are the judges really judging the right things? End tangent. The highlight of the show for me is 'ballad.' The battery takes off their shakos and drums, pick up mirror props, then use them while integrated with the color guard. The drumline even dances themselves! While their movement timing wasn't perfect, the moment was really effective. I perked up when Saint-Seans started. The beginning of it started off nicely, musical, lyrical, and then, it got cut short by another idea. The organ integration was more effective than I thought it would be. One last thought about the brass, they kind of shoot themselves in the foot with an awesome opening statement in the first movement. The trumpets hit one of those high-brassy chords (for lack of better terms), it is extremely crisp, in-tune, blended, etc... followed by the low brass ka-pow with an incredible release. Unfortunately, the horn line doesn't come close to sounding this way for the rest of the show.

The Academy - 76.30

I basically felt the same way tonight as I did at the Denton show. Tonight I really felt that their drill design is hurting the brass. If you're the blue devils or crown, sure, go ahead and spread your trumpets from 15 to 15 while they are playing a light, articulate, and unison phrase while moving. But doing that kind of thing just isn't working for academy. In fact, I think drill design is hurting them across the board. For more on them read my Denton review.

Blue Knights - 81.00

Again, basically felt the same way as the Denton show, see that review.

Some additional comments... The opening recorded music is cool, and it works when you get into the movement on the field, but then when the horn line came in, playing from the far back corner, I was extremely underwhelmed. That feeling didnt go away for a few minutes.... take it for what it's worth. The staff might be trying to get that build up as the horns get closer and louder, but the let down of loud speakers vs. far away horn line was lame. I really like the GE impacts of this show, everything in between was on the boring side.

I know I mention it in the Denton review, but the Star trek/jetsons sound clips are extremly, terribly classless. Infact, Im pretty sure I stopped paying attention at that point. Ya it gets a few chuckles from the audience... good for the sheets, whatever, but for me, the entire show loses integrity at that point. Luckily the last few minutes (the baritone solo and on) is one of the best endings on the field.

Boston - 83.20

Loved the Pines of Rome intro. Great job getting the original intent of the composer by spreading out the brass calls across the field.

Loved the guard.

Madison - 83.40

Surprised boston was so close. This was the only corps that got more crowd response than the Crossmen tonight. Cool.

The guard work was distracting, I see why they are placing where they are. The malaguena/pictures juxtaposition was one of the coolest (and loudest) musical moments of the night.

Bluecoats - 86.10

I love this hornline. They play on the move extremely well. They maintain tone color, balance, and intonation throughout the music book. That monster tuba section makes other corp's low-end synths sound like a weak whimper. The only thing keeping their brass from over taking the cadet's , IMO, is the 'content' score, which to me translates as, the cadets book is harder, which it is. This will be a show that I wont mind only listening to. The color guard was bland to me. Cool drill design.

Vanguard - 86.60

I wanted to like this show more than I did. It was by no means bad, it just never clicked for me. I want more out of the music arrangements, they just didn't satisfy. Furthermore, I was not happy with the brass sound beyond 'mf / f ' dynamics. The trumpets and mellos sounded tin-canny and unbalanced throughout. There were obvious timing issues. During loud phrases I could hear that 'swiss cheese effect' when you get pockets in the sound. There was one mellophone player shredding metal the entire show. I was literally able to point out the kid doing it. I really don't mean to bash the kid, because it's the staff's fault for letting it slide, but if that kid was not playing, the entire horn line would have sounded better. Aside from those issues, they play with beautiful qualities in the piano and mezzo dynamics, lets carry that into the loud, eh. Otherwise, the Crossmen should have beaten SCV in brass. The drill design is great; I like all of the little details within drill, things that most corps would not attempt, and/or accomplish. the members do a great job marching challenging drill. Best part of the show is definitely the drumline. Holy cow are they clean. Textbook example of perfect stick heights. Not only that, the battery book is incredible; I never felt like it was cliche or overpowering. like most shows that bore me musically, I followed that drum line, not a bad decision. Overall a classic vanguard-esque show.

The Cadets - 88.65

A classic Cadet's approach to drum corps. The music is arranged in such a way that you forget you are listening to Carol of the Bells for 6 minutes.

Cool Drill + Cool Music = cool show.

Just a word on the judging as a whole. I am not convinced that it is working yet. While I like this year's new system more than it's predecessor, I don't think it is being used properly.

Besides the win/loss record, it doesn't take a judging system to tell the difference between a championship baseball team and the worst team, when you watch them play you can just tell, one is better than the other. It doesn't take a judging system to tell a good book from a bad book, at some point, you're going to stop reading the bad book because it is bad, whereas the good book you get lost in and forget you're reading a book. If a drum corps show is good, I'll forget I am watching drum corps and simply be entertained.

All im getting at is that at some point, shouldn't judges use the experience they have in the arts to be able to tell good from bad? Wasn't that the point of this new system in the first place... to reward content

Anyways, ill get off my soapbox.

Adios.

[Jerseyboy]

Great job to every performer, staff member, and volunteer! As per my normal disclaimer to avoid offending anyone, my reviews critique the product; not the effort by the members.

Here is a link to the recap to use as a reference. This one is going to be brief... I have to get up early to take my cat to the vet.

My seats were at the very top, right on the 50, as good as you can get in the stadium.

Forte - 66.30

I missed em' tonight... the will-call line was unnecessarily long.

See my Denton Review for comments on their show.

Cascades - 66.850

Listened from the tunnel... again, the will-call line took for ever.

From what I heard, I liked their arrangements much better than the past few years. I love their uniform.

Sorry, that's all I got.

Crossmen - 78.60

WOW!!! I finally had the pleasure of seeing Bones live. I was so worried that the corps wouldn't live up to the hype, but holy smokes did it surpass all my expectations.

This was undoubtedly my favorite show of the night, and that can probably be said for the majority of the audience, who went nuts for the Crossmen throughout the show.

The pacing and impacts of the music, the Crossmen-esque drill, the groovin' drumline, the guard... All stellar. While they weren't the loudest corps on the field, they were definitely the most balanced. I didn't hear any brass line heroes during loud impacts, nor did the mello section get shred-happy (which is a huge peeve of mine). And how bout the screamer? That kid has some chops. The drumline has found their groove. I heard a clean and groovin' drumline from Bones, which is more than I can say for the next 3 corps that beat them in the caption. I have a feeling that the pit had to do with it, but the on-field battery laid down the law. Not only do they deserve to be scoring well, I had them ahead of Bloo tonight. My only beef with the guard is the outfit. The tan/brown color tends to get lost on the field, adding some colorful accents would help them pop out.

The Crossmen have definitely found their swagger with this show, which I feel hasn't been present since 2003. They have a 'reserved cool' presence that I dearly hope carries into the following years, because holy cow, THAT was the Crossmen that DCi needs. The pre-show meandering worked surprisingly well. Many people in the audience were surprised once the 'map' pops out at you. I love how the flugel horns are utilized for a different horn color, cool.

You could probably guess that I feel they got sacked with the scoring. Going on before Academy and Glassmen, 3 before BK really hurt them tonight. Things that can be improved include cleaning all those little details in the drill. While they weren't terribly dirty, the horn line had far to many interval issues. The down ending works, but it could be more effective with different/better drill. Heck, just make a giant '?' a la 1992 and reap the benefits. I kept waiting for something cool to happen at the end, but was let down when everyone just stops in the scatter set. If you could add GE anywhere, do it. At this point in the game, GE is really what corps needs to compete for a top 12 spot, GE was he only caption I feel the judges got right with the crossmen. I think that under a different performance time, Crossmen would have definitely broke 80 tonight, and possibly passed up BK. I look forward to Atlanta.

The Glassmen - 75.80

Cool music for the first few minutes, but then it got boring quickly. Had I not known the show synopsis before hand, I would have never guessed it to be about glass. Even when they bust out the big glass props during the drum solo, it just doesn't make sense. The way the members march around/enclose the drum line is kinda cool, but it seemed like a ton of effort for very little GE pay off. Sorry, there is a small tangent coming about how I think 'concepts' are pointless (beyond satisfying the judges sheets); If one has to take a few minutes after the show to explain to ones girlfriend what the show is about (which I did), and only be able to do so because I knew in advance, then is the 'concept' really doing it's job... Are the judges really judging the right things? End tangent. The highlight of the show for me is 'ballad.' The battery takes off their shakos and drums, pick up mirror props, then use them while integrated with the color guard. The drumline even dances themselves! While their movement timing wasn't perfect, the moment was really effective. I perked up when Saint-Seans started. The beginning of it started off nicely, musical, lyrical, and then, it got cut short by another idea. The organ integration was more effective than I thought it would be. One last thought about the brass, they kind of shoot themselves in the foot with an awesome opening statement in the first movement. The trumpets hit one of those high-brassy chords (for lack of better terms), it is extremely crisp, in-tune, blended, etc... followed by the low brass ka-pow with an incredible release. Unfortunately, the horn line doesn't come close to sounding this way for the rest of the show.

The Academy - 76.30

I basically felt the same way tonight as I did at the Denton show. Tonight I really felt that their drill design is hurting the brass. If you're the blue devils or crown, sure, go ahead and spread your trumpets from 15 to 15 while they are playing a light, articulate, and unison phrase while moving. But doing that kind of thing just isn't working for academy. In fact, I think drill design is hurting them across the board. For more on them read my Denton review.

Blue Knights - 81.00

Again, basically felt the same way as the Denton show, see that review.

Some additional comments... The opening recorded music is cool, and it works when you get into the movement on the field, but then when the horn line came in, playing from the far back corner, I was extremely underwhelmed. That feeling didnt go away for a few minutes.... take it for what it's worth. The staff might be trying to get that build up as the horns get closer and louder, but the let down of loud speakers vs. far away horn line was lame. I really like the GE impacts of this show, everything in between was on the boring side.

I know I mention it in the Denton review, but the Star trek/jetsons sound clips are extremly, terribly classless. Infact, Im pretty sure I stopped paying attention at that point. Ya it gets a few chuckles from the audience... good for the sheets, whatever, but for me, the entire show loses integrity at that point. Luckily the last few minutes (the baritone solo and on) is one of the best endings on the field.

Boston - 83.20

Loved the Pines of Rome intro. Great job getting the original intent of the composer by spreading out the brass calls across the field.

Loved the guard.

Madison - 83.40

Surprised boston was so close. This was the only corps that got more crowd response than the Crossmen tonight. Cool.

The guard work was distracting, I see why they are placing where they are. The malaguena/pictures juxtaposition was one of the coolest (and loudest) musical moments of the night.

Bluecoats - 86.10

I love this hornline. They play on the move extremely well. They maintain tone color, balance, and intonation throughout the music book. That monster tuba section makes other corp's low-end synths sound like a weak whimper. The only thing keeping their brass from over taking the cadet's , IMO, is the 'content' score, which to me translates as, the cadets book is harder, which it is. This will be a show that I wont mind only listening to. The color guard was bland to me. Cool drill design.

Vanguard - 86.60

I wanted to like this show more than I did. It was by no means bad, it just never clicked for me. I want more out of the music arrangements, they just didn't satisfy. Furthermore, I was not happy with the brass sound beyond 'mf / f ' dynamics. The trumpets and mellos sounded tin-canny and unbalanced throughout. There were obvious timing issues. During loud phrases I could hear that 'swiss cheese effect' when you get pockets in the sound. There was one mellophone player shredding metal the entire show. I was literally able to point out the kid doing it. I really don't mean to bash the kid, because it's the staff's fault for letting it slide, but if that kid was not playing, the entire horn line would have sounded better. Aside from those issues, they play with beautiful qualities in the piano and mezzo dynamics, lets carry that into the loud, eh. Otherwise, the Crossmen should have beaten SCV in brass. The drill design is great; I like all of the little details within drill, things that most corps would not attempt, and/or accomplish. the members do a great job marching challenging drill. Best part of the show is definitely the drumline. Holy cow are they clean. Textbook example of perfect stick heights. Not only that, the battery book is incredible; I never felt like it was cliche or overpowering. like most shows that bore me musically, I followed that drum line, not a bad decision. Overall a classic vanguard-esque show.

The Cadets - 88.65

A classic Cadet's approach to drum corps. The music is arranged in such a way that you forget you are listening to Carol of the Bells for 6 minutes.

Cool Drill + Cool Music = cool show.

Just a word on the judging as a whole. I am not convinced that it is working yet. While I like this year's new system more than it's predecessor, I don't think it is being used properly.

Besides the win/loss record, it doesn't take a judging system to tell the difference between a championship baseball team and the worst team, when you watch them play you can just tell, one is better than the other. It doesn't take a judging system to tell a good book from a bad book, at some point, you're going to stop reading the bad book because it is bad, whereas the good book you get lost in and forget you're reading a book. If a drum corps show is good, I'll forget I am watching drum corps and simply be entertained.

All im getting at is that at some point, shouldn't judges use the experience they have in the arts to be able to tell good from bad? Wasn't that the point of this new system in the first place... to reward content

Anyways, ill get off my soapbox.

Adios.

On the NEW sheets if the crowd goes nuts for the crossmen the judges are SUPPOST to take that into consideration.

[PeeWee]

Thank you for posting a review! I wish I could see all of these corps live. As it is, I've only seen BD, SCV, Phantom, and Academy live this Summer when they were in So Cal in June. Really, the rest of the country doesn't know how good they have it! But I wouldn't move for the world, so I guess we just have to live with the table scraps here in California. <sigh>

Looks like the judges agree with you on Vanguards hornline. Yikes! They've had Bluecoats and Madison nipping at their heels all season. The arrangements are beautiful for SCV, but the book isn't difficult and the brass training still isn't there. Hopefully next year they'll come out of the chute stronger.

I LOVE Petes' drill, and hope (beg actually) that he doesn't leave to the Cavaliers now that Gaines is gone.

Thanks again

[Magbo]

I am surprised to see Boston so close to Madison, as well. Madison knows how to entertain a crowd. If there is a new category for the judges to consider crowd reaction, the Scouts don't seem to be benefiting from it. Everywhere they go, they blow the crowd away. Boston's guard has nice flags...that's about all I'll say about Boston. There is no comparison between these two corps...in my opinion. i really DO like SCV, though, and thought they had a great show when I saw them in San Antonio.

[BRASSO]

I am surprised to see Boston so close to Madison, as well. Madison knows how to entertain a crowd. If there is a new category for the judges to consider crowd reaction, the Scouts don't seem to be benefiting from it. Everywhere they go, they blow the crowd away. Boston's guard has nice flags...that's about all I'll say about Boston. There is no comparison between these two corps...in my opinion.

hehehehehe!

It must have been those " nice colored flags ", Magbo that convinced the judge to place Boston 2nd in guard over your favorite Corps. ( lol! )

Edited July 26, 2012 by BRASSO

[mobrien]

If there is a new category for the judges to consider crowd reaction, the Scouts don't seem to be benefiting from it.

Because there isn't. There's rhetoric from DCI about it, but if you look at the sheets, they're not markedly different in that regard.

That being said, it's time to recognize that different types of programs appeal to different types of audiences, and that "screaming enthusiastically" does not necessarily equal "better." Madonna isn't necessarily "more entertaining" than the Joffrey Ballet just because her audiences are making more noise during the actual performance.

[Storkysr]

I am surprised to see Boston so close to Madison, as well. Madison knows how to entertain a crowd. If there is a new category for the judges to consider crowd reaction, the Scouts don't seem to be benefiting from it. Everywhere they go, they blow the crowd away. Boston's guard has nice flags...that's about all I'll say about Boston. There is no comparison between these two corps...in my opinion. i really DO like SCV, though, and thought they had a great show when I saw them in San Antonio.

nice to hear from an un-tarnished apolitical "rookie"