DCI Atlanta, a Holy review

[pnmtech]

My first attempt at a review, and it is very holy, as in there's a lot of gaps as I was up and down all night attempting to visit with old friends, field my deltas with Spirit kids, and cater to my 9 month pregnant wife who was volunteering at the Atlanta CV souvi booth! Here's what's did see:

Atlanta CV:

I am in the corps again this year so from field level, had a solid run musically, had better visual runs personally, overall, folks I talked to in the stands afterwards love the show, it's tons o fun to play and march!

Colts:

I saw this from the top of the 50 in a 4 miles line to get italian ice for my wife, drill looked good from up where I was, some noticable dirt in the high brass but that was true for all the corps I saw up until Spirit. Liked the music, guard and drums looked good from where I was, not super familiar with the music but a pleasant show to watch over all. Have a good friends sister rooking-out in their cymbal line, which looked very good tonight. Hope to get a better read re-watching on the fan network.

Blue Knights:

Lots of electronis and sound effects, which I historically don't like but they really work with the theme and I LOVE this show! It's weird, it's firebird suite meet the jetsons in outer space but it's funky, cool and a lot of fun to watch, you can't tell the kids enjoy playing it too. More dirt in the sops, and exposed parts Than I'd like and drill can always use some cleaning, but I am not a BK fan historically and that changed this year the guard and their props really see this show and make it believable. Btw I hope the pieces of sh#% that robbed BK's kids and staff of there smart phones and other properties end up gang raped by PR's pike guard props! Unbelievable!

Blue Stars:

Nautical themed show, loved the first half musically, second not bad but not as interesting as the first but that's just me. Ever since 97 Madison, I've loved 'sea themed' shows and BS didnt disappoint! Excellent use of the field props, multiple back drops (or 'blast shields' as we call them in CV) decorated with fish, undersea images, pirate ship, and other sea themes are nicely place and provide a great addition as opposed to distraction, large Dock prop int eh lower side 1 35 area helps set up the guard and horns during their feature, it's got some beef, looks and size wise, but it is placed off center so it's not a distraction until they do something to draw attention back to it when your supposed to be looking at it. Nice rocks/reef prop near the 50 for the sirens to lure unsuspecting guard and horns to a watery grave! :-) fun stuff. My only major complaint is while I liked the synth/electronic for the more futuristic BK show, it was not as great or effective for BS. Madison proved in 97 that all,of the sea sounds, thunder, creaking ship, water sounds, etc could be done acoustically and sound more realistic. BS just used a computer for theirs, had they gone the acoustic route, I think it would have sounded and worked better. That said, I still really enjoyed this show and can't wait to see it again online.

Spirit of Atlanta:

I'm bias being an Alumni, but this show just kicks ### and takes names, I don't care who ya are! They added some new horn visuals and moves since the last time I saw them online, solid, powerful brass and drums, guard looks great and sells the heck out of the Vegas theme. Lots ove minor details help bring it all together Bass drum heads done up like roulette wheels, over sized poker chip stacks which the horns use like 92 BD dice, smoking show girls, all tie the Vegas theme together. What I really like it how accessible and fun concept is, "Sin City", Vegas, while still being extremely sophisticated design wise, music is layered very well, as are the visual effects. Nice light use of electronics as accents without being near as overbearing as some others, though I will say ALL the corps have gotten MUCH better over the years balancing electronic use ( some still need more than other but at least its way more tasteful all around than it used to be!) Anyhoo I digress. Spirit lit up the field from the moment they took the field until they marched out, great home show for my boys in baby blue. Best of luck at finals!

Missed serval due the SOA delta ceremony where the alumni give the current members, their deltas (symbol of SoA if you didn't know formally cut for the cymbals of the corps at the end of the year and given to the, members for each year they marched) to March again at finals. Great time to visit with Spirit but did miss Madison which I was really looking forward to seeing live :-(. Anyhoo:

Cavaliers:

Much improved design wise since I last saw them on fan network, lost of new visuals added, killer drill and hornline, the 15 minute concept is coming through much more clearly from the last time I saw the show. Love the lady gaga flags, and their dance routine at the end had everyone around me going nuts! Green Machine did it up right tonight, still a bit hard to follow in some places for me but I really like where the show is going and can't wait to see it again online and at finals!

Was getting food for the wife so I missed BD and SCV :-(, sounded great from concession area though!

Cadets:

I am a sucker for the Christmas show, drill and brass are smoking and I love the familiar themes and layered arrangements they are doing. The decorative backdrops across the pit and large present props that later cover to a church and a stage for the guard are delightful! Great music and I gotta say I do love the Charlie Brown and Grinch Stole Christmas voice overs at the end. What I really love best about this shown is no one has ever done anything as risky as a Christmas show concept in the top 4 (Close would be Crown last year which is one of my all-time favorites) and Cadets pull this off with a lot of pizzazz! (yes I'm ripping off Steve R. Lol) methinks this show will be on a lot of christmas wish lists come december and I know I will be playing this as my holiday music instead of Mannheim Steamroller this year! Way to go Cadets!

Blue coats:

Again, not expecting to like this show but they really sold it to me. Not sure how I feel about all the pre recorded vocals telling the "reasons they wear the masks" (pain, loss, abuse, fear, rape, hurt, all spoken quickly as the drill and guard build to the finally where the guard pulls off their Masks (clothes) to reveal what they really are underneath (pride, joy, power, talent, etc written on the body suits) neat show, very well executed.

Phantom Regiment:

If your not familiar with the Turnadot opera (which I wasn't), at least check out the wiki on it, makes the show make far more sense. Best hornline of night in my opinion, the show has so much depth and tells the story of the prince's courtship of Turnadot, the three riddles, and price of failing the riddles so well you can't help but to want to know more about the Turadot opera. The drill and visual is so well put together you get a great sense of the story they're trying to tell while still being blown away by the power of that hornline. The guard 'piking' the helmets and having them framed around the back of the field is a particularly nice touch. Can't wait to see where this show ends up at finals!

Carolina Crown:

Without a doubt the most difficult drill I've ever seen and the horns play with so much power and finesse especially during and after all that running it's clear to me who the winner should have been and may still be at finals. The music is accessible, layered, challenging and very well arranged so it doesn't become repetitive. The guard is unbelievable and the integration and interaction of the brass, guard and drums makes this a complete package well worthy of the ring in my opinion. The demand and challenge of this show is at the highest level and Crown's drill design is absolutely state of the art.

2012 has been will continue to be a fantastic year for drum corps. Thanks to all who performed!

Edited July 30, 2012 by pnmtech

[wesleyrp]

Great Review

[pnmtech]

Great Review

Thanks! I finally edited my text on my PC to make it more readable, I wrote the original review on my Iphone so original formatting was poor at best.