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The Reading review


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A lot more details to come in DCW....no she said this time, just all me......

Shenandoah Sound....Improved since Downingtown with Night On Beale Street, but the risks with staging and some of the visual moves leave the brass out to dry against a battery that is roughly the same size with a VERY busy book. The opening on the jazz band risers works because the brass is raised in front of the percussion, and the sop solo work was always good. percussion had a lot of clarity issues, and could really help the corps overall by lowering the heights on the field...and tuning the basses up. The new tag ending with the extended hold with the corps coming up into the pit is a good idea, but given the size of the brass, it may be a tad too long as they get tired.

White Sabers....seemed to have some holes, and i think that hurt the impact points, but I love this show. With the backfield stuff in the intro as they build to the turn and hit...love the flag choice as it makes the corps look huge...to perfect visual staging to keep the corps tight without being cluttered. Love the ethnic stuff in the pit in Dance of the New World, and one of the most tasteful percussion solos of the year. Ethnic chanting by brass is also coming across a lot better, but it's a big room next week...heads up and project! Largo/Bjork....as John and I have said all year, it shouldn't work, but it does, and it's my favorite ballad I have seen so far in DCA. They milk the build to the hit, and the light blue swing flags again make the corps appear so much bigger. Wonderful mello solo too. Closer...well, come on, it's New World! get the missing bodies in there next week, and they can really make the top of A Class fun!

Fusion Core...first chance I had to see "til We meet Again", and from the gate you realize the corps is bigger than last year, especially the battery...but no real balance issues. Intriguing buld in the beginning layering in voices with the percussion until the brass comes in to hit you with "When A Man Loves A Woman". Some really nice body work by the brass highlights the visual package. City of Angels has a short pit break thats well done, and the corps is cruising along, with a good battery break in there as well. the music from "Braveheart" is very pretty, and the old couple emerges. Luckily for all their death scene has been edited, and I like the idea of trying to hide them to get them off the field, but the way it was done didn't work. The guard really stood out here in their red dresses with the silvery/black flags. Closing with Joy, the corps continues to charge on....battery break well designed but perfomance issues hindered it's effectiveness....the ending was very aggressive, but some feet issues and some individual overhype issues kept the ending from going where it can. Still, by far the best they ever have been and who knows....with a week to go....

Carolina Gold...well, to be honest, I didn't really know any of the music performed, and the storyline was hard to follow as it revolved around a briefcase, but too often the briefcase bearer was buried in the drill and made it hard to follow. Also, unsure what the penalty was for. Things start with a nice ethnic groove, and the story i was able to follow kicks off with the briefcase being passed around the guard. The Brass came in from backfield and when we got to the impact, everything was staged well...creative staging of the flags in the corps proper to make them look bigger. The 2nd song had some nice jazz moments, and really clicked when the tempo picked up, and ended nicely with the corps playing backfield. The percussion feature had clarity issues, but the story got a little more clearer here with the guard doing a lot of role playing on weapons...came across as a chase scene as the brass re-entered with a lot of isolated attacks for what could be impactful moments. Imo, in the closer what caught my eye most was the guard as they framed the corps and worked up to a silent feature moment that fed into the pwer ending, which lost some momentum as the brass sounded fatigued and percussion was really overpowering them. I look forward to a second read at prelims. final Score 81.95 (1.0)

Cadets 2....my exact words after the intial hit" folks #### just got interesting!". Kicking off les Miz with the pit playing the oh so familiar pattern, when they hit the opening we all know and love, the stands moved back several feet! I mean Big Sounds is as partisan a crowd as there is, and this crowd gave it up. End of The day was vintage Cadets, yet wasn't a total ripoff from 89, and the side to side stuff worked out really well. "On My own" had a wonderful brass intro, and..well.....IMO, it was 89 goosebumps. Loved the White flags used by the guard as well. Plummet Attack is not 89 off the album, and my God was the percussion section on fire! Seriously folks...the drum title isn't just a battle between corps in black and blue ( I thought C2 won and so did several others). Brass re-entry was spot on as was the trumpet soloist and the pit feature was to die for. Biggest issue was you could hear feet in the horns at the very end. Mello solo in "Bring Him Home" was well done, and of the course the famous side to side build to the hit and finale was really close to being perfect. Of course as they chug to the end, some stamina came into play, but the Zpull got a great reaction, and the guard member with the red flag was a nice touch.

Really....keep cleaning the guard....get it so the new people don't stick out ( and thats hard in white) and fix the stamina issues....and Annapolis will go ape #### over this show. I have tried hard in all my viewings to not compare this to 89, and it's hard....the only thing I wish for from 89 is all of those little added impacts up front that give the show more oomph. Maybe thats to come.

Bucs started off with the percussion feature as the guard did body, then added in the brass teasing and milking the build to the big hit....almost felt too long of a tease, but when they got there, they nailed it. Mellos especially had a good night, but someone blew a release I think in the bari section. The pit kicked off the next tune performing very well, which led into the trumpets on ladders.....the perc break was very demanding due to the tempo, visual and listening demands and the fact that they were going for the middle dyanmic ranges.....seemed a touch off tonight, plus the contras playing along seemed to be overplayed. "Chevaliers" had some really nice solo work, and the brass behind them stayed well in balance...the guard here is the show stealer with the stuff on the ladders, and it is eye catching. The build to the release was well done with some really clean open rolls by the battery. of course, the Bacchanale showed the mellos off on the ladders, on the ground and in your face. Love the moment where the corps charges in from side 2, and man, there's some short drill sets given all of the fast direction changes as the corps winds up the show.

Can Bucs do it? time will tell. I personally felt the percussion , especially the battery had an off night, and we know MBI is always strong there. Numbers management is the key as well as throwing one down. I can't complain if either corps wins.

Bucs Alumni played several Bucs classics, including my favorite "En Sueno" waiting for awards...but what happened to their battery??

as always Amy Snook and crew run a fantastic show. Parking may be an issue at Exeter, but the stadium itself is great for a show....and hey....good concessions too!

There ya go, flame away!

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Nice review, Jeff! My son texted that although C2 snares and bass drums were really on, the quads and pit had some less clean segments (drum judge seemed to agree); so I think the percussion battle royal on Saturday could be epic! I agree about the need for a few more impact moments. Of course, the '89 show featured a strong and rich brass line in comparison to this current mix of high school kids and some college 'grey beards.'

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Actually that 89 brass section wasn't as full of vets as one would think. What helped was playing every day

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Terrific review as usual, Jeff!!!

The one thing that has stood out to me about C2 all season... even before they really got the show clean... is those uniforms. They are absolutely dazzling under the lights!!!

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Actually that 89 brass section wasn't as full of vets as one would think. What helped was playing every day

Agreed.....that's where the stamina and control really develop. That 89 crew had a really fine G bugle sound with good refinement. This current C2 crew has a mix of very strong and weaker players, but love the way they are steaming ahead now.

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White Sabers....seemed to have some holes, and i think that hurt the impact points, but I love this show.

Thanks for the review Jeff! Those pesky college auditions, move ins and orientations really do get in the way!! But i'm very proud of the way the corps pulled it together and put on a great show! We will have those holes filled and ready to go!

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Thanks for the nod, Jeff. Agreed on the parking. We try to get as many on the lots as we can. At least the surrounding streets aren't full of residents' cars and there's space for stadium goers.

Exeter Music Association does a great job on concessions. This show helps them get through their band season. We've always invited local high school music organizations to provide concessions to help them out.

See you in Annapolis.

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Thanks for the review Jeff! Those pesky college auditions, move ins and orientations really do get in the way!! But i'm very proud of the way the corps pulled it together and put on a great show! We will have those holes filled and ready to go!

I thought that may be the case. Darn those kids!

:tongue:/>

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