Chambersburg - Guard

[MiamiNight]

In a last minute organizing effort, my friends and I roadtripped up to Chambersburg from DC. We are all guard people, so that's what I can judge. We watched Bluecoats ensemble - I remember why I have a love/hate relationship with outdoor. Here are my thoughts, coming primarily from a guard perspective.

C2 "Les Miserables" - Enjoyable show music. Can't say I'm that familiar with DCA, but they are comparable to an Open class DCI corps. The hornline was carrying the corps tonight. Unfortunate for the members that they had to warmup in rain and preform in the mist. From a guard perspective, I was surprised that their show is still very incomplete. Several members marched without equipment work, and there was a lot of tuck and carry from set to set. The guard uniforms weren't particularly effective, although I liked the color combination. The costume, to me, is too modernist for what is straightforward show/music concept. I liked this corps, but the Guard has a long way to go.

Raiders "The Raven" - After watching them warmup, I was pleasantly surprised with how well they preformed. I loved their costumes and flags. Very effective in the show concept. The rifles have a door knocker on them, which they actually used. Unfortunately, there is a wide variety of achievement levels in the guard. Technique was not apparent in much of their work, especially the weapons. I think some of the book is overwritten. To me, Raiders CG would benefit greatly from a simpler, more refined show that demonstrates some solid technique.

From a whole show perspective, I liked Raiders. Please tone down and take away the large majority of the narration. The Raven is evoked with the open line of the poem and the characterization of the guard. I'm okay with some of the more famous quotes, but it is frustrating to hear the whole poem, which drowns out the sound of the corps.

Boston Crusaders "Rise" - A big step up from Raiders. Solidly a finalist. I loved the musical choices, and the corps was very effective at presenting the concept. Two kids lost their shakos, which was distracting for a moment (find the hornline with the missing shako!). The guard is a big visual aid to the corps because of the color variation from the flags and rifle. I thought the guard was pretty solid, but with some critical errors. The transition from taking almost the whole guard onto rifle was so exciting, but the final soloist dropped, which unfortunately ruined that effect. I was impressed with the rest of that feature though. For a long part of the closer, the guard is all on flag in a unison moment and mostly in the back. I think this section could use more variety, and I wouldn't be surprised to see a rewrite coming. Overall, thoroughly enjoyable.

Bluecoats "To look for America" - I cautiously am liking Bluecoats. Someone else said that they seem to be flirting on the line between being totally patriotic and being more controlled, and I agree. I would not have minded a more patriotic, pops brass style. The voiceovers are a little much at times, and I don't understand why Agnus Dei and Hallelujah were included. The bleachers are a cool prop, and are well used, but the final staging doesn't seem right. Compared to other corps, the guard doesn't carry as much of the visual responsibility. That said, the staging was great. From a performance perspective, Bluecoats were opposite Raiders in that they seemed more nervous in their run than in their warmup and earlier practice. I didn't feel the performance from the guard. Overall, I'm not sold on this show yet. I think it's possible, but for me it hasn't clicked.

Phantom Regiment "Triumphant Journey" - Diametrically opposite from their competitors Bluecoats. Bluecoats guard was aggressive with challenging work that showed that the members were not yet confident in it. Phantom's guard took the approach of simple, pretty and CLEAN. With the exception of the middle third of the show, the guard was graceful and pretty. I will admit that perhaps because it was clean I didn't see it, but I did not see much complexity or difficulty in their work. Their dance work and technique was impeccable, but I don't feel it was exceedingly challenging. My other big complaint with Phantom is the disappearance of the guard for two extended stretches of time. And in another section, half of the guard is performing, first on flag and then on sabre, while the other half carries the white tree branches. I should mention that I thought spinning the swords (and I mean swords not sabres) was very cool.

The excellence of the Guard was exceedingly high (absent some sabre difficulties in the middle), but the substance was just not visible to me. I applaud them for looking finals clean by early July, but I think that should translate to some more difficulty in the writing. As a corps, I liked Phantom but this is not the fan favorite of other years.

Cadets "Side by Side" - Wow. Wow wow wow. Extremely impressive. I though this show would be an "Angels and Demons pt. 2" but it was clearly not. A lot of duality, but very well balanced and not antagonistic. The corps was great, but the guard was simply awesome. Challenging work that was mostly well achieved. I don't like the uniforms, but the color choice is right and gives the show structure. Their props are towers that rotate for each color choice (yellow, orange, red, and purple) and roughly correspond to a movement in the show. The guard also spins some unusual almost airblade-type thing, which is interesting. Although I've only seen BD and Crown via video, I'm totally okay with Cadets taking another title this year.

Can't wait to see everyone again with the corps swing through the Mid-Atlantic!

[chris ncsu]

Thanks!

[BRASSO]

I must admit I know very little about Guard, so it really was interesting to read this review of this show from a Guard's perspective. Thanks for sharing your thoughts with us on it.

[theCHEZman]

Thanks from a Guard perspective..

[chris ncsu]

So, do Cadets actually have a shot at the Guard trophy this year? They've managed 2nd a couple times since winning it last in 2005...

[theCHEZman]

So, do Cadets actually have a shot at the Guard trophy this year? They've managed 2nd a couple times since winning it last in 2005...

I know your question is directed at the poster but I never really watch Guard much and was floored with the difficult work they do. Constant tosses to each other, lots of tosses with catches behind back or in very challenging angles. And lots of equipment work period. Some of the top WC guards do so little equipment work, it's amazing they score as high as they do..