Wichita Review

[TexasPRfan]

What a treat to get to see a 2nd show in 4 days, with a whole different line up. While I don't get to go to SA this year, by the time I go to the Enid show tonight (my parents live around Enid), I will have gotten to see the top 5 and almost all the top 16 in just 5 days. The facility in Goddard is quite impressive and what a great crowd! A Huge crowd for such a location. And a fun crowd. Many don't realize how strong the drum corps heritage is in Kansas, with Skyryders, Argonnne and many other smaller corps from long ago. I sat right next to a guy who marched with (forgive me if I mess this up), the "Mid-Continent Ambassadors" from Wichita in the early 80s. On the other side was an elderly lady who first started following drum corps 50 years ago living in a small town called St. Francis in N/W Kansas that had it's own Drum Corps. She said the small town's nightly summer entertainment was to go watch the corps practice. It's sad to think how DC has dissipated from such deep penetration of the American culture. It was great to see how much she still follows drum corps, though, going to shows every year. We had so much fun talking throughout the night. Hi, Patty!

Now, on to the show, which had a great lineup.

Capital Regiment -- It's great to see another solid Div I corps who I hope is in it for the long run. They seem to have taken a step backwards from last year in all areas but color guard ( a very strong guard). Musically, I don't care for the over-arranged treatment of New World Symphony. Seems everyone is cashing in on the spread an old melody out throughout a show of other music them these days, and this attempt is not overly successful. Visually, the corps does not stand out like last year, and I miss the grey pants. They don't have the same impact with black. This show is a contradiction. At times written above the heads of their young performers, and at other times uncomfortably watered down musical arrangements. This corps may find itself well out of semis, fighting with Troopers for that next to last spot above Pioneer in Div. I. On the other hand, they are quite young, and there is plenty of demand if they turn it on in rehersal. Right now, Southwind deserves to be solidly in front of them. The only area they seem much stronger than S/W is in Color Guard. I hope Cap Reg can keep these young kids together for a few years. If they do, I can see them make the same kind of rise that Colts did in the 90s.

Southwind -- Wow, much improved from Louisville. Musically, a solid show. Their sound at times is a bit harsh, however, with too many individuals with edges to their sound in places. Visually, the drill seems to have been improved since June, and they are starting to perform better. This show is not close thier memorable 2000 show (which deserved to make finals that year over either Madison or Crown, in my opinion). Drill, like BK's is far too compact and unreadable, but does seem more interesting than it was a month ago. CG was not fun to watch at all in KY, but has improved solidly. This corps COULD challenge for 17th this year, although, I haven't seen Pacific Crest or Mandarins and would imagine they are behind both of them. S/Wind has a beautiful ballad, I might add. The closer is pretty effective, too. Nice show & another solid Div. I year for the crew in yellow this year!

Colts -- This group seems to have improved more than their scores have since Louisville. Musically, and their horn line in particular, is definitely their strength. I think their drill (not the kids' fault) is the WORST I've seen from Colts in 10 years. It's a big unreadable blob that sparks little interest. They had some terrific wide open drills with difficulty and great designs in the late 90s. What happened? I think this corps is no better than 16th, and could get pushed out of Semis by Mandarins & Pacific Crest. I know I'm in the minority, but I still hate their uniform -- and particularly the black shakos & plumes. The CG has really been working hard since June and has shown great improvement. I would love to see the Colts return to their success of the mid to late 90s, but it won't be this year unfortunately. They also seem to be getting younger & younger. Maybe that has to do with difficulties recruiting with the bland music they've played for the last 4 years? Could be... This year's music is ok, though. It is better. Just not up to 99 levels or before.

A huge jump in peformance quality after the break.

Crossmen -- Alright! I really like this show. The opening "rainbow" music is great. I really wish the guard would open with flags though, instead of the fabric panels. That would make the openign hits SO much more effective. They do deserve to be getting whipped by Boston in Color Guard. I like this show, and the music book in particular. X-men are another crops with the too-compact, blob drillitis problem, though. A comment from Patty beside me -- that's the most boring uniform of the night. I agree. They do spice up the show visually though with great silks -- right to the "colors" theme of their show. I can see a great battle at Finals between Crossmen & Scouts for 8th or so. I think both Boston & Bluecoats will distance themselves from X-men due to better drills & visual programs.

Boston Crusaders -- A nice show. It stops short of their 00 greatness though. I don't mind the snippets of the 00 show spread throughout, but they don't overly excite me either. To me, they serve best to remind you that the Music book is NOT to the level of what they had in Maryland in 00. In particular, the opening 1/3 of the show is severly overly arranged and does not flow well. Of course, I thought this about their show last year for a while too, but they grew on me. The same could happen again this year. Once again, Cru is marching very, very well. They have a nice style & technique. The color guard is terrific and could very well beat SCV for 5th in Guard at finals. I like this show a lot after a first viewing & look forward to seeing it again. I love the intensity & aggressiveness the kids bring. I don'tmind the visual & musical fallbacks to '00, because they are effective. They don't have the same impact this tie around though -- I think largely because their music book is not of the same continuity and caliber. I wouldn't count them out from a late season tear, as they seem to have mastered that. They might challenge SCV at the end, but for now, they are a good 4-5 pts behind in terms of performance.

The Cadets -- I appreciate the fact that Hoppy's crew has focused on reaching the audience. I wish,however, they hadn't done that at the sacrifice of innovation. I used to love that about the Cadets, but havent' seen innovation from them since 97 and 98. I give a hearty shout out to them, though, for a return to a demanding drill this year, apart from Malaguena, which has far TOO much park & blow & scatter blow. Muscially, the arrangements are growing on me from 1st viewing last month to now, but are still to choppy. The change in guard unis to red is very appropriate. I don't however, like the red silks in RPH. To me, they should change color to set the mood off more from Malaguena. They have certainly improved the musical package from Louisville, however. The guard was disappointing last night. While everyone fought the wind, the Cadets handled it very poorly in comparison to Boston & Cavies. More drops than I could possibly count (not to mention an horn player falling --on an artificial turf field -- at the end. I love the z-pull, and I'm sure it will get mroe reaction at finals. It doesn't elicit much from a "locals" show crowd though. After seeing Regiment 4 days ago, bias aside, I think that they can take Cadets and finish ahead of them in Orlando IF they clean effectively. They have more difficulty and much more GE. Their horn line is superior and their Guards are at least equal (although with the juding circle in CG, whether or not they will get that credit is debatable). It's not hard to see Cadets in 4th or 5th this year. It's time for some new ideas from Jersey in my opinion. That doesn't have to mean new music. I've heard they are consideing WSS for next year & I would love that. BD has proven you can take the old and make it fresh. the key is making it fresh while maintianing musicality.

Cavaliers -- Clearly last nights winnner, although I think the gap in score was about a point too high. The Green Machine's greatest strength? They are clean, clean, clean. Musically spotless, if at times lacking in volume and excitement. A very nice sound, but not a sound that really fills a stadium, similar to last year's effort. I wish they would find a much more meaty musical book. They obviously have the talent. Can you imagine the power of a show with their visual brilliance matched by an equally stellar musical package? On the visual side, I don't see near the difficulty in this year's drill either. To me, BD, SCV, Cadets and PR ALL have more difficult shows than do the Cavaliers. Cavies, though have made an art out of writing for the judging sheets. I would certainly have BD in front of them at this point. BD's show is more captivating, engergetic and original, in my opinion. We'll see tonight what the judges think in Enid. I was disturbed by the leap in Cavies score since Saturday -- and conveniently in the night before they hook up with BD? That doesn't smell completley right in my opinion, but again, I didn't SEE them on Saturday, so who knows. This show could win again, but it could also be 3rd.

Well, I'm off to the Enid show tonight for the clash of the undefeateds! Can't wait.

Harvey Phelps

[DrumCorpsRadio]

Excellent review - and nice to hear comments from someone who has seen ALL of the top corps!

One question - you refer to (I believe) Southwind and Boston's show as being over(ly) arranged. What exactly do you mean by that? Too many notes, too much difficulty or something else?

[glory]

BD has proven you can take the old and make it fresh.

Thanks for the insights. Curious what you're referring to above. This years show? Another?

HH

[TexasPRfan]

Thanks for reading the reviews, guys.

The over-arranging I was referring to was for Boston & for Capitol Regiment. What I mean by that is that musical phrases are not brought out to completion, or at times not very recognizable or true to the original music. The first part of that is the real problem when it prevents you from receiving the desired effect from the music. After seeing CReg in Enid last night, I'm even more convinced of that. Their are major portions of their show that are not that enjoyable to listen to.

As for my comments about BD, they seem to have mastered taking some old jazz standards (previously played by corps & also some that have not) and making them very fresh on the field.