Soajoe Posted July 25, 2003 Share Posted July 25, 2003 (edited) OK.. this is my second review of the season. I'm not really sure if my first review was that good, because nobody commented on it. I do know that it's just the day after the show and I didn't spend a day between writing the review and seeing the show throwing up like I did last time. I had to work the day of the show so that was kind of a bummer. I got off work at 4 to leave for the show. I had to go home pick up my mom and I knew that traffic going out of Birmingham was going to be murder, and it was. I was in bumper to bumper traffic for around 30 minutes just trying to get out of Birmingham. We got to Jacksonville around 6:30. Then when we did get to the stadium I had to wait for my gf's family to arrive.. won't go into that though, but they got there and I got in just in time to see CorpsVets. I don't know what it is about a drum corps show, but you could just fell the electricity when you stepped in the stadium. CorpsVets looked very smooth when they started to walk in. CorpsVets ------------------ I really wasn't expecting a whole lot when they first came on the field. I'd heard about how good they were and I was really looking forward to seeing them, but I wasn't really expecting a whole lot. MAN was a surprised! They are awesome this year. The guard definitely deserves the scores they are getting right now. They are on fire. Way to go Lisa! The hornline is sizzling, the guard is very together, and the drumline is clean (from a brass players perspective at least). They're really doing some drill too. I've never really seen a senior corps do difficult drill, but I really haven't seen that many senior corps. You can tell that they aren't able to spend as much time on the drill as the juniors, but it is still very exciting drill. I love the jazz section in the show. It is catchy, loud, and just in your face. They play jazz like it's supposed to be played. Hunter Moss is the absolute man. Nobody can play a sop like he can. I really look forward to seeing how these guys do in DCA finals this year. I plan on eventually marching CorpsVets. Maybe next year of the year after. Teal Sound ------------------ Although I still don't know how big of a fan I am of this show, one thing I do know is that they are far improved over where they were when I saw them in Birmingham. I absolutely love Firebird. I can't say that I have ever seen it performed by a group of this size before, it's interesting. It could just be me, but I don't think that it has the impact that I have come to expect from that piece. I guess I just have the memory of how well Cavaliers did it, and by no means would it be fair for me to try to hold Teal Sound to the same standards that I would hold the Cavaliers to. I think the best thing that they have going for them right now is their drill. The drill is pretty clean. At times though I think that the drill may be a little too difficult for them and you can hear feet through the horns. That's why it is so hard for smaller corps though. You don't have a lot of people to cover you up and every error, bounce in sound, intonation problem is just RIGHT out there for the whole audience to see. You can tell that they are working hard and I think that besides the intonation problems that they have a good product on their hands. Pioneer ------------------ This was my first viewing of the pioneer show so I didn't really know what to expect. I had been hearing bad things about the uniform, but I liked it. I think it fits them quite well. I actually think I like it better than I like their old uniforms. I'm not really sure how much I'm going to have to say about this show though. They're pretty small in numbers this year. This is the first time I've really been able to watch them from the stands in three years though, so I don't know if this is small compared to what they have been in the past. I remember enjoying it, but for the life of me right now I can't really remember a whole lot about the show. They have some good visual moments and at the very same time they have some very exposed visual moments. I think they deserve the scores that they have been getting as of late. I sadly can't point my finger on one particular thing that they need to fix. Southwind ------------------ There was a definite difference in the level of this show from the prior shows. I can say without doubt in my mind that I enjoy this Southwind show more than I have enjoyed any other Southwind show in the past. They are performing the crap out of it. Yes they have their dirty spots, but overall it is a very enjoyable show. I haven't looked at their recaps for many shows, so I'm not really sure what it is that is holding them back. It is a good show in what has turned out to be a VERY competitive year. If they don't make semifinals I would be very surprised. They have some very cool drill moves. Some cool body work. They also have some cool drill moves that integrate the guard very well. I think Southwind is definitely on the right track with this show. I actually liked the sashes. I thought it added a touch of character. My gf's mom said they looked like bumble bee's. No offense to Pioneer, but Southwind was the first corps of the night that you could absolutely tell was Div I. Awesome sop section! Intermission ----------------- The hotdogs were pretty good. There was some interval problems on the ketchup but nothing that would really keep them from making it into my stomach. I got to see a lot of people I know during intermission, but most of all I just pretty much stayed around my seat. I did make a point however to go tell the Pioneer members that I saw sitting in the stands that I thought they had a good show. I just remember from the days that I marched that nothing felt better than to have a person go out of their way to tell you that they thought that you did I good job. I hope they enjoy every and cherish every moment of the summer. Colts ---------------- I think the biggest impression that the Colts left on me was their horns. They have a pretty dang good horn book. I think that this show just goes to show how high the quality of the entire top 17 is this year. It's VERY exciting to say the least, but back to the Colts show. I'm captain short term memory so I really don't remember a whole lot about their drill. I don't remember seeing any glaring errors. I totally dig their guard uni's. They are cool, and really compliment the flow of the show. They have a very good brass sound. They had some nice loud moments. I enjoyed the show thoroughly, but sadly I can't really remember a whole lot about it. Crossmen --------------- Bones was there! Having bones in the back stands for this show just set the tone from the second they were announced. The moment I saw bones in the back stands I knew they were going to be on fire, and they were. I don't know what I think about the over the rainbow intro. It is a little cheesy, but I think I like it. The rest of the show, wow. They march very well. They have some dress and interval problems, but everybody I have seen which is in that 82-85 range does. They have a very good guard. Overall they have a very complete package. I love the bringing back of the intro drill from last years show in the the drum solo. I knew that was coming and just totally ate it up. I love it. I also love the last piece that they play. Pretty much the whole audience was bobbing their heads along with the music. It just has that grab you and pull you along for the ride feel to it. You can't say that the Crossmen do not sell the crap out of their show. I still love the ending. The park and bark until the standing ovation is just pure genius. I don't know if anybody has ever done this before, but I love it. I hope the very best for Crossmen. Since Crossmen are like a brother corps to Spirit, I consider every member of Crossmen and every person that has marched Crossmen like a brother and sister to me. Some of my fondest memories of the seasons that I marched are meals that we shared with the Crossmen. addition: I also really liked how the ending of the opener was the same or similar as the beginning of last years opener and I totally dug the clip of Birdland at the end of the show.. just remembered those parts Cadets -------------- I went into this show thinking that I was just absolutely going to hate it. I didn't like last years show, because it was so trite and cheesy(OK.. I in the closet liked it.. so shoot me..lol). I liked the marching warmup. I thought that it was pretty cool. It's different. I didn't really recognize the first piece until it got into the major meat of it and then it was loud and clear to me. This song screamed SCV. I liked it. It was definitely a good tipping of the hat to Vanguard. It even appeared that the drill was kind of a tip towards SCV to with the snaking through boxes and such. I may have just been seeing things that weren't really there. Malaguena, based on the preseason recording I didn't think that I was going to like Malaguena. I thought it was alright. They played it really well. I liked the company front rotation, being that I never actually saw Madison do it. They were loud, but I thought that the big hits could have used some more sound. The rest of the show pretty much goes under the same category. I like this show. It was obviously on a different quality level than the rest of the corps that night. I just think there was something missing. The classic drill moves weren't blatantly obvious unless you knew exactly what you were looking for. Like I said earlier though, I can't put my finger on it, but it just felt like something was missing. Spirit --------------- If you don't want to see a biased review of this show then don't read this one because I am as biased as it comes when talking about the Spirit show. I bleed baby blue. I sweat baby blue. I..well you get the point. I can't say enough how much this show has improved since the first time that I saw it in Birmingham. They have made a lot of changes and I totally dig all of them. I can tell that they've watered down the music in the opener a bit, which is probably for the best. It was probably holding them back. The drill, albeit dirty, is leaps and bounds over anything that Spirit has ever done before. Right now all the visual aspects are what is holding Spirit back. The drill is dirty, and the guard work is a little dirty. I, however, have no doubt in my mind that they can clean this show. They may not be as visually clean as the corps in the spots around them, but they also have around 190 pages of drill. Now it's not, if they clean, When they clean the visual program they will be a force to be reckoned with. I think the most changes to the show since I first saw it were in the ballad and the closer. I like the ballad with the new changes. I think the flags add a lot to it and the way it is done it is not cheesy at all. It is a really emotional piece that they are performing the heck out of. Nuttville/No Jive is crankin. There is no other way to describe it than that. They crank the sh*& out of that song. Lot of cool dance/body work in this song throughout the guard and the hornline that I think really works. Closer is cool and I REALLY dig the Let It Be Me ending. I have to say that I never really liked the soft ending. I supported it cause their my corps, but I never really liked it. Way to go Spirit! Retreat/Encore/Going Home :( ---------------- So in the end I think that I agreed with the placements. I won't say that I agreed with the scores, but I did agree with the placements. I personally don't think that Crossmen are 3 points better than Spirit. They are a slight bit cleaner drill wise and cleaner guard wise. Crossmen does have a better guard than Spirit right now. I have to give props to the Cadets for letting Spirit play the encore. That was a VERY class act of them that was highly appreciated by everybody that has anything to do with Spirit. Spirit played Band of Brothers which is a piece that is really starting to grow on me.. Nuttville/No Jive, then they played the closer. After the closer they played what I had been waiting to hear ALL night...... Georgia. Man can that hornline crank. I definitely think that they were the loudest hornline of the night. And not only are they loud but they are LOUD with a good tone quality. They just have that perfect pyramid sound. At the last chord of Georgia Jeff Richmond(the drum major) turned around while they were still holding the chord bowed, waved, asked if they wanted more, stood there for a little while just letting this wall of sound build and build, asked if the crowd wanted more again, and then he turned around and brought it up to an "oh my god my ears are bleeding" loud level. The crowd jumped up and went absolutely insane. That's a moment I think I'll always remember. Then they went back to the busses and played again. They played Salvation and they played Georgia again. Spirit fed Crossmen tonight and just being around that atmosphere, I could feel it again. There's just an electricity in the air around a corps after a show in the parking lot. It was even harder to leave this time than it was at the Birmingham show. I didn't cry this time though. Overall it was a great experience and I wish everybody touring this summer this VERY best of luck. I hope you enjoy my review besides it's EXTREME length. Edited July 25, 2003 by Soajoe Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
srose Posted July 25, 2003 Share Posted July 25, 2003 (edited) Great review Joe! Its been a month since I've seen a live show and Spirit. You made me feel like I was in J-ville again. I need to get out more. Edited July 25, 2003 by srose Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DrumCorpsRadio Posted July 25, 2003 Share Posted July 25, 2003 Great review! I can't wait to get the next batch of Crossmen webmoirs to read their thoughts on Bones appearing in Alabama. I KNOW that no one in the corps was expecting it as Bones tends to first appear at big regionals or a "home show." Last year's first appearance was West Chester, which is only a week away. It's something that the corps builds to all season long and when it finally happens - it's a great feeling. As a 2002 Crossmen vet, I identify with what you were saying about the Spirit/Crossmen relationship very well. I got to see Spirit perform Salvation and Georgia a few times last year from up close, right in front of the arc, and each time was amazing. The combined concert in the street outside Franklin Field after DCI East was amazing. For those that don't know, Crossmen and Spirit combined hornlines and played Georgia and Crossmen's 2002 warm-up together. Wow, what a night! Then we sat down and Crossmen fed both corps - including cookie salad. Great relationship between the two corps with tons of history going back to 1979. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ryan H. Turner Posted July 25, 2003 Share Posted July 25, 2003 Very very nice review, Joe! Don't worry about being long-winded--of course, that's coming from me, Captain Windbag. Just a note for the future--since you like writing reviews, but doubt the ability of your short term memory, just jot notes down in a program. Key words that would stimulate the old gray matter. When I'm at a show, usually I'm announcing the show, so it may be a tad easier for me to be able to write notes down. But you should see my notes. Really short blurbs of thoughts and emotions and they're like scribbled badly! So you should do that in the future--it helps. Good job dude! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Soajoe Posted July 25, 2003 Author Share Posted July 25, 2003 I actually planned on jotting down some notes, but I forgot to bring anything to write on...lol.. and yeah.. last year was awesome playing Georgia with you guys outside the stadium Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LAMystreaux Posted July 25, 2003 Share Posted July 25, 2003 Best review of the summer! Thanks for sharing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DarronSopDude Posted July 25, 2003 Share Posted July 25, 2003 Spirit's Georgia at the end was the best I've heard that hornline since the "glory years". Way to go Spirit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mommyc Posted July 25, 2003 Share Posted July 25, 2003 who or what is bones? betsy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ScribeToo Posted July 25, 2003 Share Posted July 25, 2003 Bones = the ghost of Crossmen past. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GMichael1230 Posted July 25, 2003 Share Posted July 25, 2003 Great review, SOAJoe !! ~G~ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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