Montoya’s Murfreesboro Madness!!!

[danjuan2000]

Montoya’s Murfreesboro Madness!!!

Greetings to all out there in Drum Corps land. I have had some time to digest what I saw and heard last night and want to share my thoughts and feelings. But first, let me start with a little back-story. Feel free to scroll to when the reviews start J

Will this review be biased? Somewhat. I feel that there are very few people in this world that can give a totally unbiased review. Having said that, let me tell you who I am, and then I will let you decide my bias.

Who am I: I am from Austin, Tx. I have a degree from SWT in Music Composition and have one year of my Master’s in Composition from U.T. completed. I have taught at James Bowie HS for 4 years. I am a percussionist. I have not marched drum corps. If I had, I would have tried out for the Madison Scouts. If I had made it, it would have been 1998-2000. My brother is my first connection to DCI. He marched Euphonium in 2001 and 2002 with The Cavaliers. My other connection is that I am the Pit Arranger for Revolution D&BC from San Antonio, TX.

Why did I go to Murfreesboro: I am teaching at The Sewanee Summer Music Festival in TN. I have been here since June 28 and won’t be back in TX. Until August 4. My DCI fix has been somewhat fulfilled through DCP, Sound Machine, KaZaA, and MIRC, among others.

Likes/Dislikes: I am a huge DCI fan. I try to keep an open mind, though sometimes (Cadets 2001), it is hard. I like variety in my Drum Corps, so having different types of shows suits me just fine. As I am exposed to marching band and BOA’s in the fall however, I hate to see that stuff on the DCI Circuit (BAC 2002).

Onto the show…

I arrived at MTSU and watched the last part of the run-through of Madison Scouts. Met up with my pal who is on Percussion Staff. Talked about stuff, and even touched on the Madison Percussion Judge “Conspiracy.” Then went and saw the SCV “clinic.” I say it that way because I think if I were a 14 year old boy, I would enjoy it. The only thing that I enjoyed was hearing the individual sections and then seeing the Bass Line in those Awesome Foam Hats!! Found my seat and waited patiently. I was in section 1SS, row 23, seat 23. I was on the 30-yard line. I will spare you the play-by-play unless it was new and WOW!

BLUECOATS: My brother’s girlfriend is in this corps. Her name is Amanda. He calls her Manda Bear; like Panda Bear…eh? So if you heard it, I was the guy who yelled out “Go Manda Bear!” I really liked this show. I consider this a concept show. I think with the drill and music, they conveyed the Capture and Escape concept quite well. I think they really sold the dancing and body movements. However, I do also feel the Tango is a bit out of place. I think they just wanted a down time moment? The drumline was a little dirty tonight. I thought this was a great start for the night. I can’t think of too many Bluecoats shows I have liked. So this would be the first one for me.

BOSTON CRUSADERS: Anyone who knows me, knows that I love “Red,” their 2000 show. Some may say it’s overrated but I still love it. Any who, it was a good show. I thought the dancing was overdone; by dancing I mean the clapping and stuff during the pit feature of Malaguena. This was an example of the BOA stuff. The 15 snares were really cool, actually quite clean, for 15 snares. I can see why they brought back parts of 2000, as it worked for them. This show could take them pretty high in the rankings if it’s clean. But I think its gonna be neck and neck with Bluecoats.

MADISON SCOUTS: As much as I think it’s become cliché now, the Scouts are back. I really enjoyed their show. It is light years ahead of what they have done since about 1999. I really feel the last time I was entertained by Madison was in 1999, JCS. This is a great show and a great step in the right direction. The drumline is weak. But from what I learned, they have a VERY young line. So this speaks well for the future. The guard is improved dramatically. I felt they did the fleur de leis (sp?) a bit too many times for my tastes. Oh well. This is a definite finals show.

SANTA CLARA VANGUARD: I was pretty hyped to see these guys. They did not disappoint. I actually thought the highlight of the whole show was the Cymbal line. Great stuff. They executed their concept quite well. The drumline is smoking! They do have a “Cavies” type drum break, but there is a huge difference: SCV is throwing down more notes. The beginning was a bit shaky with some slight phasing. I wasn’t a fan of the ballad, but everything else had me excited. I feel that they bit off more than they can chew with this show however. It will be tough to break into the top 3. I don’t think they will be in danger of falling to 5th though.

THE CADETS: For the record, I have no really beef with The Cadets. True I am not a big fan. I really only like a couple of their shows (1992, 1993, 1999, 2000). Last year I was really mad at the whole exploitation thing. My dad, a Vietnam Vet, walked out of the Alamodome last year and said, “I am a Vet, and to me, that’s exploitation.” Strong words. Having said that, this show was friendlier to me than last years. They play well and march well. But its three different numbers that have no bearing on each other. I thought they played Malaguena very well. In fact, they sounded great. But they had the same problem that they had last year with BWBB; they blew their load too early. They didn’t have the steam for RPH. The drumline was good, but not as years past. The guard to me was non-existent. Yes they were there, but I never noticed them one-way or the other. The z-pull was nothing to write home about, as I feel it’s not innovative anymore. I guess I am spoiled by all the new stuff. It was cool to see them stretched through the field though. Even though you could see it coming a mile away, I felt it was out of place. I think that Cadets will wind up either in 3rd place or 5th place.

BLUE DEVILS: I loved this show! It had me grinning the whole time. It was great to see them start off with a great throw down of notes on snare. I think the drill is harder and more complex than anything they have done before. The guard was really good. They were featured well and pulled it off wonderfully. The gimmicks work for them such as the Cavalier Doppler effect, the hack-a-rack, and so on. Think the scatting is kind of lame though. But when they snares scat a solo, and they play, that was cool. This is a great package that will have them competing for the Championship to the very end. Having said that let me say this. I really don’t understand those who say BD should be winning brass. To me they are too crass. They let it rip, don’t get me wrong, but I feel like there is no restraint. I felt Cavies, PR, and Cadets had better sounding brass lines then BD. Oh well, some people just prefer that sound. The drums threw down some cool stuff tonight. I thought the merry-go-rack was overdone. But hey, it worked. And could everyone wait to start clapping till after the snare drummer does his last solo? Jeez! J

PHANTOM REGIMENT: Congrats PR, 2003 is now my favorite PR musical book. I love the music. I have loved it since I heard a recording from camp. Everything about the book is wonderful. The addition of Paul Rennick was probably the smartest thing you could of done. The guard looks hot in those uniforms (why is that important? Its not. I just remember thinking when I was young that BD and PR had the hottest guard girls). The downside is the visual doesn’t live up to the music. It’s a huge step up, but not enough. This corps will be a serious contender next year and beyond. Honestly, I hope no one ever does the lean again in marching band or DCI, as PR has exhausted it. I grew quite tired of it after the first 2 minutes. I felt that it took away from the visual as it stopped movement and didn’t do anything new for me. I loved the hop and stuff. For some reason though, I always thought they did a true “drumline” crab and then a hop in 1992, 1993. Am I wrong? Maybe they will do the crab at finals if I am correct. The horn line is amazing; much better than the past. They will challenge Cavies for the Brass trophy…if they can hold back a little. They seemed to cross that line into harsh every so often. I see them in 3rd or 5th.

THE CAVALIERS: Ok. So I am sure my brother will not like me for a while but here it goes. I love them. They are my favorite corps. The Cavies IMHO are THE innovators of the 2000’s. Their drill is 2nd to none. Poor Michael Gaines. I would hate to be him knowing that I would have to top all the great stuff I did the previous year. I felt that the 1st and 2nd tunes were a little boring. Aside from the opening drill moves, I didn’t like the opener. I love the music of the ballad. But again, I didn’t like the drill. The 3rd, 4th, and “5th mvt. However, are awesome. The sit and spin is great. The drum break is great. The “Groove” is just the kind of groove in the horns that it needed to be. The closer is great. I really dug the DNA drill combined with the guard doing their interpretation of the sit and spin. And the new ending…is amazing. I knew it was coming, and it lived up to the expectations. I talked to my pal on staff and let me just say that the ending still isn’t done yet. They are still working it out. I loved how it reversed everything down to a T…hahahah…. I made a funny! This is a new kind of ending for the Cavaliers, though I have seen this before from a band down here in TX with the palindrome drill, but not with the music. The music is good as well, though I prefer last year’s music to this. Everything fits so well together from the music to the visuals, to the guard, etc. The Cavaliers are on their way to their 4th straight title. BD doesn’t have the total package to beat them. They will make it close, but in the end, it will be all green again.

Well folks, there you go. My review. I meant no disrespect to anyone. And if I messed up…it’s my first day!

[rgortowski]

Wow! Excellent review! I'm dying to see BD and SCV and see the changes in PR. Oh well, I will have to wait until DCI... Could you detail the Cavs new ending a little bit more? Do they play the opening motifs backwards?

Thanks again!

Rich

[jlhiatt]

Great review!

:)

[SeanOwenSullivan]

I don’t think they will be in danger of falling to 5th though.

They (SCV) are ranked 5th now!

Last year I was really mad at the whole exploitation thing.  My dad, a Vietnam Vet, walked out of the Alamodome last year and said, “I am a Vet, and to me, that’s exploitation.”  Strong words.

Funny, my dad (also a vet) loved the Cadets patriotic show last yr. How and what exaclty was it exploiting?

www.axe-adams.com

B)

Edited July 26, 2003 by SeanOwenSullivan

[GMichael1230]

Funny, my dad (also a vet) loved the Cadets patriotic show last yr. How and what exaclty was it exploiting?

www.axe-adams.com

B)

Funny, it WAS expoliting......I dont think you can grasp it.

~G~

[danjuan2000]

The ending for the Cavies is backwards. Aftter the fake ending, in the company front, they do some drill that takes them to the set right before the big hit in the opener (got it?). Then they proceed to march the drill in reverse order to the opening + set, all while playing the the music backwards; notes, rhythms, and all.

also, my dad loved this year's Cadets show by the way. He just felt that they were trying to capitolize on the recent events, much like beer commercials, and other things hopping on the patriotic bandwagon.

as for SCV, I don't think they will fall to 5th at Finals.

[SeanOwenSullivan]

1. There was NOTHING in a Indy last yr that could be called "exploitative". The only thing that could be construed at such is the firemen scne from 9-11, but that wasn't put in until Finals.

2. This is what's wrong with some ppl today! Some does something patriotic and all of a sudden it's deamed "expolitative". So I guess all the ppl who put up flags, and wear flag lapel pins, and sing "God Bless America" at baseball games are exploiting the political scene in America today? I just thught that meant you were proud to be an American.

3. Let's look up exploit in the dictonary...

ex-ploit (ek sploit) 1. to utilize for profit.

I would not say that The Cadets "profitted" from anything in their show seeing as how BD jumped them for 2nd at Champ's.

www.axe-adams.com

B)

[SeanOwenSullivan]

DonJuan2000...

You keep saying that you don't think SCV will fall to 5th.

Well first off, they already are 5th. Secondly, now that drum corps are expanding and the activity is growing, it means something once again to even make finals. So being 5th is no small feat.

www.axe-adams.com

B)

[canto alla vita]

3. Let's look up exploit in the dictonary...

ex-ploit (ek sploit) 1. to utilize for profit.

I would not say that The Cadets "profitted" from anything in their show seeing as how BD jumped them for 2nd at Champ's.

In my opinion - they tried to profit from the fire man stunt. They thought it would help, that's why they put it in (again, IMO).

I wasn't upset because they decided to do a patriotic show - they're right there on the east coast - more power to them for it! Bravo!

But, I must wonder why? Just because they wanted to do a tribute and remember the victims? Because they wondered if it could put them ahead by tugging at heart strings? It just left me with some unanswered questions.

I think that they could of done a partiotic show and left the flag ritual out and the fire truck. I believe that they took it to the extreme.

[rgortowski]

The ending for the Cavies is backwards. Aftter the fake ending, in the company front, they do some drill that takes them to the set right before the big hit in the opener (got it?). Then they proceed to march the drill in reverse order to the opening + set, all while playing the the music backwards; notes, rhythms, and all.

Dan,

Thanks! I know exactly where they start the new ending from. Is it effective? While the concept sound really neat, is it a good way to conclude the show? It seems that they are now ending on a "down" or silent ending (not unlike the infamous SHOOP silent ending of 1997...) Certainly not "milking" a loud chord until you get a standing "O"

Rich