MelloBear Posted July 26, 2003 Share Posted July 26, 2003 I'll make this short and simple as possible. There was a record crowd at DCI Masters of the Summer Music Games tonight. Over 9,000 in attendance! Unfortunately I missed Bluecoats but did watch them from the end zone. The audience seemed to like them quite a bit. Boston Crusaders -- Yes, it's a remake of their 2000 show but I have to admit they are doing a nice job with it. Theres ONE soprano player who just insists on sticking out. He or she was sticking out like a sore thumb a few weeks ago in Murray, Ky. and he's still sticking out now. The crowd really loved this show. I wish they would do more with all those snares... like have them march all over the field and play for a while. Now THAT would really impress me. Madison Scouts -- Getting cleaner visually but lots of individual horns sticking out all over the place. Percussion is not strong (as you can see by the captions) but marching is crisp and clean. Santa Clara Vanguard -- This was my first time to view them (besides at rehearsal today) and they have a great product. The intro may seem lame and boring to others but to me it's very intriguing and really builds tension. I really thought SCV's hornline was cleaner than Phantom tonight but apparently the judges heard something I didn't. We could tell the snare line was p*ss clean and the won the percussion caption tonight. This is one of SCV's better guards in many years and their caption score shwed that tonight. They beat Phantom and Cadets guards. Very loud and exciting show. Cadets -- This was my third time to see them. As usual there have been tons of subtle changes to the music and they are working. Fanfare and Allegro is still my favorite part of the show. The mello licks at the end drive me nuts! I just want to hear it over and over again. And how many times do we have to hear Malaguena this year? How many different versions can there be? Cadets version is pretty straight forward. The horns and drums both display a great amout of control. Excellent ensemble sound. I like the new ending to Rocky Point Holiday (and so did the rest of the audience) with the corps spread out past the end zones like they did back in '89 and '90. It really brought the show to a dramatic conclusion. I wasn't that crazy about this show before but now I'm re-considering my opinion. Lot's of great moments in this show. They had one of the biggest audience response of the night at the end. Blue Devils -- This was my first time to see them besides rehearsal today. Wow! They are totally cool and the guard is amazing. They perform like paid professionals. The snare licks and tricks at the beginning are hot. This is my favorite show of the year and it's rare that I ever say that about a Blue Devils show. As much as I loved this show I'm just not sure if they will be able to surpass the Cavaliers. I hope I'm wrong. Phantom Regiment -- This was my first time to see Phantom this year besides their rehearsal last night. This is NOT your fathers Phantom Regiment! The show starts out like you'd expect a Phantom Regiment show to do but then it goes into something we've never seen Phantom do EVER. It reminds me more of what we'd expect from Santa Clara. The tempos are fast and furious. The new white unis (or are they new?) look awesome. And where did they get this drumline?! They are light years better than last year. When was the last time you've heard a Phantom Regiment drumline actually "groove"? Well they are doing it this year. Again, this show MOVES and I'd have to say the drill, while not as impressive as Cavies, is still VERY demanding on the individual marchers. I don't think there's any reason to say their drill is not as difficult as Cavies or anybody elses. Cavaliers -- This is my second time to see them. All I can say about the show is it is clean and controlled both visually and musically. The audience did not get into this show as much as the previous seven corps... not until the last half of the show. It's wierd... in 2002 I liked the first half of their show better. This year I like the second half of their show better. Go figure. I guess I'll splice my two favorite halves together on a CD and listen to it that way from now on. Lot's of fans in the stands are still not to keen on those bright green guard outfits... too revealing for some people. The Cavies visual team has created another masterpiece and it will be hard to beat. I think the Blue Devils have the only chance of beating the Cavaliers but they need to control their performance even more to it. Those are just my random thoughts. It's 2:30 a.m. and way past my bed time! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fantomas Posted July 26, 2003 Share Posted July 26, 2003 Nice review. Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jwillis35 Posted July 26, 2003 Share Posted July 26, 2003 Nice show review. Thank you for taking the time. Sounds like thee entertainment value is very good this year and lots of people were satisfied. Jonathan Willis Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boybugle63 Posted July 26, 2003 Share Posted July 26, 2003 Great Review!!! and Great year for Drum Corps. Out standing performances by all the corps. I still have a hard time believing the Masters show is in my Hometown. Wonderful Evening. Can't wait for Orlando in two weeks!! Boybugle63 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phan Doris Posted July 26, 2003 Share Posted July 26, 2003 Nice review, MelloBear! Thanks for taking the time to share your observations and feelings with us. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MelloBear Posted July 26, 2003 Author Share Posted July 26, 2003 You're welcome! B) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jlhiatt Posted July 26, 2003 Share Posted July 26, 2003 Nice review. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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