Drums Along the Rockies Review

[TexasPRfan]

Talk about a perfect weekend & why I love the DATR show. Got to tromp around in the mountains in Colorado, away from the Texas heat, for a long holiday weekend and then catch a great night of drum corps in Denver Saturday night. I'm hard pressed to think of a better venue for drum corps than the Broncos' stadium. The sight lines are great, and the acoustics are near perfect. Outdoor drum corps at it's finest!

I had great seats with a dear old friend who is a local, right on the 50 on row 36 of the first level. With weather in the 70s and barely a cloud in the sky by showtime, what more could you ask for? So right to my thoughts. As this was my first live show of the year, after 25 straight years of going to championships, first as a member, then as staff, then as a fan, I learned a long time ago that my first impressions of each corps the first time I see them can swing radically by Finals. That said, lot's of strong (and mostly positive) first impressions made tonight!

Thunder - I have to say I was very pleasantly surprised by this Open Class corps. Open Class corps can tend to be pretty rough 3 weeks into the season, and this is the first time I had seen the Thunder. I was quite impressed! The corps was strong musically, and visually quite clean for souch a short tour. An enjoyable show that I would definitely watch again if they were continuing on tour. Kudos to the design team for finding accessible music and writing the show to the level of their members. The corps was very well received in Denver, and deservedly so!

Cascades - Perhaps its due to the tiny color guard (quite a shock to see only 7 guard members in a World Class Corps), but the "Inescapable" theme just did not come across at all. Cascades seem to have more brass numbers this year, and that section is stronger. I think the majority of the music was original, and was interesting and powerful at times. That said, the show just didn't seem to have much of a direction, and the small and challenged color guard was almost more of a distraction than an enhancement to the music. It's a shame, as I can remember how large and strong the Cascades color guard used to be - especially the year they burst into Finals in Madison. Still, it's good to see this Northwest corps with such a large hornline & drumline. Hopefully their show rounds further into form as the season progresses. Lot's of work to do on marching technique and form alignment as well. They've got 5 more weeks, and I'm sure they will be much improved by Indy.

Troopers - Wow, the step up from Cascades to Troopers was just enormous. My friend who attends this show with me every year perked up with a big smile, and say, yes - now that's the type of drum corps that I love to come see. Certainly didn't hurt to follow Cascades directly, but Troopers are very much in the hunt for a Finalist spot. I just loved everything about this show. While the corps had a great year when they made Finals a few years ago, I think this group has a chance to be the best Troopers corps of the modern era. The hornline is large and powerful - the best I've ever heard from Troopers. The music is a perfect fit, with a heavy mix of Western & patriotic flair, but with enough modern influences to be relevant and entertaining. And of course, the Denver crowd, with a heavy dose of Troopers alums, ate up the performance. Truly an electric moment for this early in the season. The color guard uniforms look better out on the field than I thought they would, and the guard is large and impactful - though with plenty of room to grow and to clean. Visually, the corps has a great drill that is very fitting to the show, and the 2 sunburst type moments are very exciting. While it is only the 3rd weekend of the season, and Troop has plenty of cleaning to do, this is a great vehicle for them. If they can clean, they will be right there knocking on the door in Indy.

Academy - I have been a big fan of this corps, all the way back to the first time I saw them in Madison the last year they were in Open Class. I've always enjoyed them most when they lean towards more classical offerings and there are a couple of seasons that I felt like they were really knocking on the door to Finals. So far, this is not one of those years. Even after a couple of weeks at home to clean, the corps is shockingly dirty visually - both in marching and in color guard performance. While I know some of this is style - they clearly have some BD visual design influence from all the moments without clear forms and definition, the contrast to Troopers straight ahead visual drum corps approach was huge and not flattering to my tastes. Clearly they were going for something lighter and comedic this year with Piano man, and perhaps that approach will feel more natural and less forced as the show develops. Musically, the book is very demanding, but lots of cleaning needs to be done there too. The Shostakovich piece seems out of place, and at least right now does not hold up well to the comparison still in my head of Phantom Regiment's performance of this same piece. I did like the touch with the singalong at the end, though - a cute idea to end the show.

Vanguard - I've been eagerly awaiting the chance to see this corps live, and I was not disappointed! What a Christmas in July gift to the drum corps fan this Les Miserables show is! The musical arrangements and the visual package are both stellar - though I'm still not sold on the last 60 seconds of the show. Who knows if that is the real ending at this point. The hornline is the most powerful I've heard from SCV in years, and while very dirty in demanding sections, with the expected cleaning they should work through, they will be a force by Indy that will compliment the powerhouse Rennick drumline very well. The drill is terriific, with some great picture sets - including the "VAN" drill form and the corsp logo drill form. And no one does a company front with the impact that SCV does. Execution in visual, however, needs a ton of work if they want to contend. Form alignment & marching technique both have huge opportunities remaining. The guard is extremely effective - particularly on flag and in the dance feature in Bring Him Home - for this time of year, though weapons work still needs a lot of cleaning. I loved the backdrop scenes of Parisian buildings, and they are used very effectively during "Bring Him Home." Also a very cool moment as the finale starts to build with the red, white & blue flags being tossed high behind the backdrops - a perfect touch that adds to the building drama. I would not bet against Vanguard threatening BD and a top 3 spot by Finals week. Throw Phantom Regiment & Bluecoats (based on what I saw at the theatre) into the mix and I think we are looking at a stellar top 6 this year.

Blue Devils - Ok, so as much as Troopers & SCV reminded me tonight how much I love this activity and how it can move you emotionally, BD sits squarely on the other end of that spectrum. I will say that I did not like BD last year upon first viewing, but as the season progressed, the show really grew on me - especially during Finals week. I have a hard time, though, seeing this show grow on me to the same degree. There a few grooving moments that I do enjoy, but wow, there is a lot of this show that just doesn't go anywhere to me, and the ending in particular is just uninspiring to me. At one point I thought, "you know, BD, if you want to go off & do some type of stage show & leave drum corps, just do it & get it over with." I know that sounds harsh, and I'm sure I'll get flamed for it, but that was my reaction to this show. If you liked "Through a Glass Darkly," you will probably love this show. As for me, this show (at least in early July) ranks right down there with that one for me as my least favorite BD shows of all time. I also found the poles distracting and apart from a few cool moments, ineffective. On the other hand, the performers are just awesome, though BD is dirtier in visual execution and even brass playing than I'm used to seeing in July. Still, so much talent and showmanship from the kids. Again, maybe my perspective on this show will evolve over the next 5 weeks - I certainly hope so.

Carolina Crown - So I was prepared to not like this show with all the vocals, but I should have known better. Crown's design team can never be underestimated. I loved this show! The harmonized counting (and it took me almost half the show to realize that wasn't recorded but was actually being sung from the pit) is really exteremely cool. The music in this show is just stellar, from the Opener to the Abyss ballad, just oozing with more power and emotion than I could ever ask for. I do think the narration in the Abyss section is too much, but that horline is so good, I think it will be noticed less & less as the season goes on & you can experience the show more times. Perhaps it's the percussion section that is the equalizing factor - otherwise, I don't see how Crown isn't 2+ points ahead of BD. While I hope this particular uniform is a one year edition, it does fit with the show and the orange stripe from plume all the way down the uniform is a very cool effect. The drill is also very strong this year - with tons of demand but with more effective demand instead of last year, where Crown at times seem to have demand for the sake of demand vs it being effective. I can't wait to see this show again - and there is still a ton of dirt to clean, so there is plenty of upside. If their percussion section can keep up, this might finally be Crown's year.

Blue Knights - Even in front of their hometown crowd, I think it was tough for BK to go on after such emotionally charged shows as those Troopers, SCV & Crown brought to the field. Crown, in particular, had just sucked all the oxygen out of the stadium and was a tough act for BK to follow. That said, BK has a nice, strong corps this year. The drill and music are very well written (though I'm not a huge fan of the First Circle arrangement yet - at least as compared to the fantastic Crossmen version in the late 90s). The hornline is large and strong - perhaps BK's best since their dark years in 06 & 07. The color guard is also very effective - and the color pallette in the flags are terrific. My 2 quibbles with the show at this point are that the First Circle arrangement felt too subdued and that the giant blue ball (globe) was distracting and seemed a bit amatuerish - including a distracting offcolorred square patch on it. I think next time I see BK I'll have to try to ignore the silly things they do with the big blue ball so I can enjoy the show more - because it IS a good show that should clearly have BK back in the 9-11 spots at Finals. One very cool moment for me is the drill set that is basically their old dots logo, with a guard member inside each dot. Those dots need cleaning, but it's a cool moment from a cool show.

Well, there it is - my first show in the books for the summer. Huge kudos to Troopers, SCV, Crown & Blue Knights for bringing great vehicles to the field this summer that will grow and be fan favorites for myself and many others as the season goes on. I can't wait to see each one again. The Denton & San Antonio shows are next for me (these 10 days can't pass fast enough!) followed by Allentown & Championships. Gotta love summer!!!

Harvey

Edited July 8, 2013 by TexasPRfan

[shaners]

Great review, thanks! Where are you sitting for the Denton show? (I live down the street from CH Collins stadium)

[wesleyrp]

Great as always glad u liked the shows... Jealous I didn't get to go to Denver:(

[somerville]

Excellent, thanks!

[TexasPRfan]

Great review, thanks! Where are you sitting for the Denton show? (I live down the street from CH Collins stadium)

Shaners, Hi. I'll be in section C, row 24, seats 18-20