LAMystreaux Posted July 19, 2003 Share Posted July 19, 2003 Another great night of drum corps in Texas was seen and heard by all in attendance tonight at Rice University. The stadium there is really great for drum corps, and we had much better seats this year than we did last. I was also at Dallas last night, but had not so good seats in a not so good stadium. I will definitely say I was glad to have a 2nd viewing of a couple of these corps tonight. Pre-Show. . .Percussion One, a local group of high school kids performed and did a nice job. Something unique for me was having a soloist sing the anthem tonight accompanied by a battery only. It was nice! On to the corps. . . Revolution- I am so excited and proud of this group. I remember seeing them only 4 years ago when they were in exhibition with about 25 kids on the field. The growth they have achieved in this short amount of time is amazing. Although the music is not as catchy as some may like, I enjoyed it. It is arrangements of the brass band piece "Connotations". I was afraid of overkill of the theme, but I was pleasantly surprised at their use of the musical themes of the original piece. The design of the show was quite nice. All sections are fairly strong, although at times the upper brass had some troubles projecting, especially the mellos. The corps' strength is definitely percussion. I am not hip as to how well they are doing in div. 2 but I would assume from what I saw tonight they are doing just fine. If they continue their growth and make a name for themselves within this state, then they will be knocking on finals door not too far away from now. Glassmen- My second viewing was more enjoyable. I really like their projection of sound, and I appreciate the body movement of the show. I still feel the theme is way too understated. There is a world of possibilities that I don't think they tapped into in order to sell it, especially the middle two portions. Boston Crusaders- While I appreciate their high performance standard and the growth they have achieved the past 4 or 5 years, I could not get over the rehash of this show. It is a complete collection of all the moves (body and drill) they have done within the past few years, as well as music that we have heard more times over than some of us care to say. It is possible to be original while performing stuff that has previously been performed. My beef with them since 2000 (aside from 2001, and especially this year) is that they don't claim an identity. They went out on a bit of a limb in 01 and I enjoyed it a lot, but aside from that everything has been the same thing, IMO. They have a great corps which leads me to say that I feel their performance of the show will get them in at least top 8, but speaking of content, I was quite disappointed. The Cadets- Remember what I said after seeing them in Dallas?. . . .well scratch that! I was simply blown away with them tonight. I think having a higher view and more near the 50 helped. Also, I feel they stuck the show moreso tonight than last, especially the guard. The drill is vintage Sacktig/Cadets. . .very fast and very effective. Also, it seems the transitions are working much better than before. The warm up is no longer a point of confusion, and once the show begins, it flows. The ending got the crowd on its feet tonight big time (for the 2nd time). The end zone to end zone z-pull was awesome! They could very well end up 4th mainly because there are at least that many contendors this year, but after seeing them tonight I also think they have a shot at 1st or 2nd. SCV- I have never had a problem with their abstract music picks until this year. As much as I tried, I still cannot get into most of the show musically. It is very effectively designed. . . .the guard is great, percussion very strong, and the visual package is nice. . .but beyond that they did not too much for me tonight. The jam session was nice, and I will say they are the loudest corps I ahve heard thus far. Cavaliers- I've thought about what to say about them the entire 2 hour ride home. Let me start off by saying they are very clean, hornline is tight, and all sections are strong. With that said, I feel they are being given too much credit in terms of design. The past couple of years, something we have all been able to say (whether we liked it or not) was that they were doing things noone had done before, and in a way they were "revolutionizing" the activity, at least in terms of visual design. I don't think this is any longer a true statement. The visual is nice. . .don't get me wrong, but I don't they feel they are doing anything different than a couple of other corps I have seen. They move a lot, they move fast, and they are well integrated. Also, the music book is completely forgettable. I've listened to recordings, and I heard it live tonight, and I could barely hum any of it if I tried. The show is full of spinning visuals within the body movement and drill design and the music seems to simply be a soundtrack for it all. They are a great drum corps and perform at a very high level, but this show is not as well designed as "Frameworks" and should not be getting the high music scores it is receiving, IMO. I would have given Cavies about a 1.5 edge tonight. . .the .60 differential in Music GE and the .40 in colorguard are too much of a spread, IMO. Without having seen Phantom, I would say that both Blue Devils and Cadets have a shot at catching Cavies. The Cavies have cleanliness on their side for now, but IMO the other two corps have a better "total package" based on effective visual programs and great music books. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hester Posted July 19, 2003 Share Posted July 19, 2003 Cavaliers- Also, the music book is completely forgettable. I've listened to recordings, and I heard it live tonight, and I could barely hum any of it if I tried. The show is full of spinning visuals within the body movement and drill design and the music seems to simply be a soundtrack for it all. They are a great drum corps and perform at a very high level, but this show is not as well designed as "Frameworks" and should not be getting the high music scores it is receiving, IMO. wow dude... so, you think a horn book/music is better when you can go home singing tunes that have been around since friggin' 1974 and previous???? I hate to put you down, but how is coming up with an original show meaning the music is forgettable?? I've been to 2 shows, and I can sing the show top to bottom. And did you ever do any research on the way they designed the shows?? it pretty much IS a soundtrack to a visual show... using a marriage of music to vis to make the most perfect complete package they can. By your comments, I can tell you're not much of a music guy making statements like those. But that's okay. We're not all music people. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DCIPhreak Posted July 19, 2003 Share Posted July 19, 2003 Why does music have to be "hummable"? You know, the first time I heard anything by Schwantner, I didn't leave humming the music, but I sure did enjoy it. Same goes for the first time I heard Maslanka #4, Resonances 1 by Ron Nelson, and many other pieces, even Niagara Falls. But that certainly doesn't take away from the quality of the music. You should broaden your range of music, or at least learn to listen with some objectivity. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CadetsDad Posted July 19, 2003 Share Posted July 19, 2003 Great review. I agree that the Cavies music is very forgettable. Just like elevator music. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WOOHOO Posted July 19, 2003 Share Posted July 19, 2003 (edited) Great review. I agree that the Cavies music is very forgettable. Just like elevator music. Im sorry, but the Cadets are the king of elevator music! People always down the ones at least making an attempt at something different. My opinion of the Cavaliers, or the Cadets for that matter, aside, I dont want to hear music that has been done by others for the last 30 years. That defeats music as an art form. While Spin Cycle isnt easily "hummable", its hard to say that Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy is an innovative, expressive, and artistic form of music. Edited July 19, 2003 by WOOHOO Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sburstall Posted July 19, 2003 Share Posted July 19, 2003 Cavaliers- Also, the music book is completely forgettable. I've listened to recordings, and I heard it live tonight, and I could barely hum any of it if I tried. The show is full of spinning visuals within the body movement and drill design and the music seems to simply be a soundtrack for it all. They are a great drum corps and perform at a very high level, but this show is not as well designed as "Frameworks" and should not be getting the high music scores it is receiving, IMO. wow dude... so, you think a horn book/music is better when you can go home singing tunes that have been around since friggin' 1974 and previous???? I hate to put you down, but how is coming up with an original show meaning the music is forgettable?? I've been to 2 shows, and I can sing the show top to bottom. And did you ever do any research on the way they designed the shows?? it pretty much IS a soundtrack to a visual show... using a marriage of music to vis to make the most perfect complete package they can. By your comments, I can tell you're not much of a music guy making statements like those. But that's okay. We're not all music people. Hester, I think you need to lighten up here. Not everyone is falling heads over heals over Cavies show. Accept that. Cavies, again, have designed a show that doesn't appeal to the general audience. Not all of us have chosen our paths to be in the music field and thus are "neanderthals" (as you are impling) when it comes to arrangements/compositions. We want shows that are fun to listen to and some part of it can be taken home (the humming part). If the show doesn't do that, then guess what, it didn't connect to the audience, instead it's built around the judges. I, personally, still can't listen to 2002 because it was bad. So get off your high horse and accept the fact that Cavies may be able to play the #### out the piece and might win DCI, it won't be a memorable show. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mobrien Posted July 19, 2003 Share Posted July 19, 2003 Viva la difference, folks.... Hester's absolutely right in defending the Cavaliers choice to write a musical book that is designed in conjunction (not necessarily after the fact) with the visual program. This is the way they've chosen to go over the last couple of years, with great success. For my money, "Frameworks" felt like the first fully "through-written" drum corps show, in that the musical and visual didn't feel like they should exist away from each other; fully integrated and very well matched. The Cadets are using a more traditional approach in music and design philosophy (though it's somewhat amusing to see George Hopkins defending the "accessibility" of their music these days when the Cadets modern-day reputation was built on using unfamiliar music - they've turned into a "retro-corps" in a lot of ways, and as a dinosaur from the 70s and early 80s, there's not a thing wrong with that to me...). But trying to point to that approach as being "better" than the other is kind of pointless - the scoring system isn't supposed to automatically reward one approach over another, otherwise judges would simply reward corps whose tunes they were pre-disposed to like more than others whose books might be unfamiliar or dis-liked. A great competition should (hopefully) include both extremes of music and approach - in the mid 90s it seemed everyone but Madison had the same philosophy (wind ensemble literature), and as a result, going to contests was a bit of a bore. The more variety in styles, the better. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bssop97 Posted July 19, 2003 Share Posted July 19, 2003 I'm going to voice my opinion on this Cavy music issue.... I'm in the minority...... I dig the music. It has a jazzy quality to it but I will say a few things...... I can hum it....actually can't get the opening out of my head (reminds me of the conceration exercise for some odd reason).... I would also like more volume. I think I'm sure that the volume of the hornline goes up a little each week BUT that is the drive/energy that I'm not hearing and want to..... It leaves me flat. However, the timbre, intonation and balance is amazing....... but I think all can be done. Shannon Jeffreys Blue Stars 97,99 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LancerFi Posted July 19, 2003 Share Posted July 19, 2003 Thanks for the review... As always people will come to the defense of their corps. But that one was a tad over the top. To insult TXMystreaux's opinion, as well as his credentials is a bit much. ^0^ I don't believe you need a degree in anything to know what you like. But I also believe if I remember correctly that TXMystreaux does have degree and history in music! His review not your cup of tea? Too bad! It's tough at the top, and tough to keep up the level the Cavies have become accustomed to in these years of original this and that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
glory Posted July 19, 2003 Share Posted July 19, 2003 Hester, I think you need to lighten up here. Not everyone is falling heads over heals over Cavies show. Accept that. Ditto. The assumption from certain corners seems to be that an integrated show precludes interesting/accessible/hummable (or whatever adjective suits you) music to go with the fascinating drill. My opinion, Cavies designers lately haven't been as diligent on this issue as they have been on others, which is a shame because they might well be the most talented in the business. HH Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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