Action Jackson

[Elmo Blatch]

Scores and recaps

[g00fyg00ber]

Man, Bluecoats are keeping a tight leash on Phantom. Wonder if they'll fight it out over the course of the season or it Phantom could pull away. I would really like to see Bloo medal this year, I really think they have the show for it.

[THeShadeOfNight]

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Edited May 30, 2014 by THeShadeOfNight

[ShortAndFast]

Wow, Cascades are tiny. 8 guard 34ish horns. The drumline was quite good but they don't have much show or effect at this point.

[Galen]

After last year's typhonic fiasco, and getting lost trying to find the stadium in the pouring rain, I decided not to go to this show.

GO CADETS!!!

Yeah, it is a hard place to find. Kinda out in the middle of nowhere.

[Schickmeister]

Was at the show...will post some thoughts tomorrow.

That being said...Cadets were underscored tonight. They should be 5 pointing everyone there...it's not even close. Top 3 without a doubt. Cadets/BD/Crown.

[Kamarag]

Hey all, just got home. Here are some thoughts, cribbed from my Twitter notes. I'll do a more comprehensive review later.

Coastal Suge: Very good new corps. Brass much better than I would have expected, with a very controlled sound. Pretty solid across the board, with a very achievable show. That may hurt them later, as they will be performer over book by the end of July.

Raiders: Good program, if designed like a band show. They use the entire text, sometimes to good effect, and at others it gets lost. Brass plays well, but the book is forgettable. Percussion solid as well, with a couple of nice features. Guard needs some work, but will be fine.

Surf: Great uniforms, loads of color. Designed very well, right to the ability of the performers. Musical book is loads of fun, and it's wildly entertaining. Percussion pretty strong, and the whole corps moves better than they ever have. Guard book is good, but overwritten at times. Brass line just isn't fundamentally sound, and it will hurt them long term. That said, it's a fantastic show, and they have a Hammond B3! If they can clean this and add the usual Surf touches, they will once again steal the show in Allentown.

Boston: Too much gray, though I'd bet my life that will change. Excellent design, both musically and visually. Probably the best musical arrangements they have ever had. Solid in all sections. Brass not quite as powerful or clean as Bluecoats or Cadets, but they should have beaten Phantom in brass tonight (see below). Most upside and potential of any show we saw tonight. Suspect the ending is a band-aide.

Bluecoats: First half of show performed at a much higher level than second half. Incredibly lush and balanced brass line. Far and away the best brass-percussion-pit-electronics balance of the night. Guard design is weak spot. Percussion performance hit and miss. When they are on, it's great. When they aren't, it's not good. Show is Americana without the cheese, and it works well. Need more high-impact moments.

Phantom Regiment: Rolled the dice and performed without electronics tonight. Result: Really bad choice. They really exposed the lack of tuba projection throughout the show, and the lack of low end really hurt their balance. High brass *much* better than low brass. Percussion surprisingly tasty and good. Best section in the corps, by far, is the guard. It's a standard issue Phantom show, but in a good way. High point is Nimrod. I had Bluecoats over them by a couple tenths. I suspect they just had a very bad night.

Cadets: Yes, it's a contender. Musical design is the best in many years, and maybe some of Jay's best arranging ever. The interweaving of various Barber works so well. Probably the best prepared I've heard a Cadets brass in a long time too, and maybe their best trumpet section ever. It's not as intriguing visually yet. Great drill as usual, and I *love* that's it's not all super fast or ballad slow. Lots of middle ground here, and it works. Some outstanding trumpet and mello solo work. I thought the prop boxes were unnecessary, but my wife said they used them well a couple of times (that I obviously missed). Top three for sure, but is it as good as Devils or Crown? I dunno, at least not yet. Suspect they will make the usual Cadets changes.

The venue was once again sold to standing room only. Weather didn't interfere too much (aside from Regiment going unplugged...they should never, ever do that again). Crowd appreciative of all corps.

[Forevergreen]

Hey all, just got home. Here are some thoughts, cribbed from my Twitter notes. I'll do a more comprehensive review later.

Coastal Suge: Very good new corps. Brass much better than I would have expected, with a very controlled sound. Pretty solid across the board, with a very achievable show. That may hurt them later, as they will be performer over book by the end of July.

Raiders: Good program, if designed like a band show. They use the entire text, sometimes to good effect, and at others it gets lost. Brass plays well, but the book is forgettable. Percussion solid as well, with a couple of nice features. Guard needs some work, but will be fine.

Surf: Great uniforms, loads of color. Designed very well, right to the ability of the performers. Musical book is loads of fun, and it's wildly entertaining. Percussion pretty strong, and the whole corps moves better than they ever have. Guard book is good, but overwritten at times. Brass line just isn't fundamentally sound, and it will hurt them long term. That said, it's a fantastic show, and they have a Hammond B3! If they can clean this and add the usual Surf touches, they will once again steal the show in Allentown.

Boston: Too much gray, though I'd bet my life that will change. Excellent design, both musically and visually. Probably the best musical arrangements they have ever had. Solid in all sections. Brass not quite as powerful or clean as Bluecoats or Cadets, but they should have beaten Phantom in brass tonight (see below). Most upside and potential of any show we saw tonight. Suspect the ending is a band-aide.

Bluecoats: First half of show performed at a much higher level than second half. Incredibly lush and balanced brass line. Far and away the best brass-percussion-pit-electronics balance of the night. Guard design is weak spot. Percussion performance hit and miss. When they are on, it's great. When they aren't, it's not good. Show is Americana without the cheese, and it works well. Need more high-impact moments.

Phantom Regiment: Rolled the dice and performed without electronics tonight. Result: Really bad choice. They really exposed the lack of tuba projection throughout the show, and the lack of low end really hurt their balance. High brass *much* better than low brass. Percussion surprisingly tasty and good. Best section in the corps, by far, is the guard. It's a standard issue Phantom show, but in a good way. High point is Nimrod. I had Bluecoats over them by a couple tenths. I suspect they just had a very bad night.

Cadets: Yes, it's a contender. Musical design is the best in many years, and maybe some of Jay's best arranging ever. The interweaving of various Barber works so well. Probably the best prepared I've heard a Cadets brass in a long time too, and maybe their best trumpet section ever. It's not as intriguing visually yet. Great drill as usual, and I *love* that's it's not all super fast or ballad slow. Lots of middle ground here, and it works. Some outstanding trumpet and mello solo work. I thought the prop boxes were unnecessary, but my wife said they used them well a couple of times (that I obviously missed). Top three for sure, but is it as good as Devils or Crown? I dunno, at least not yet. Suspect they will make the usual Cadets changes.

The venue was once again sold to standing room only. Weather didn't interfere too much (aside from Regiment going unplugged...they should never, ever do that again). Crowd appreciative of all corps.

Thanks for the review. I think the Cadet show is fantastic this year, so much that it could stand very much on its own without the props !!!!!

[N.E. Brigand]

Coastal Suge: Very good new corps. Brass much better than I would have expected, with a very controlled sound. Pretty solid across the board, with a very achievable show. That may hurt them later, as they will be performer over book by the end of July.

I think Coastal Surge may be done for the season. DCI's schedule lists tonight as the third of just three performance dates for them, and in none of these were they scored.

[N.E. Brigand]

Cadets: Yes, it's a contender. ...

I thought the prop boxes were unnecessary, but my wife said they used them well a couple of times (that I obviously missed).

I think the Cadet show is fantastic this year, so much that it could stand very much on its own without the props!

Watching the Akron show (that I saw live) on the Fan Network, I noticed that Cadets' props seem to work better from a very high angle. But they do need to work on moving them gracefully.