Oceanside, California June 27, 2014

[wsssb]

Intro.

Oceanside California. Friday, June 27, 2014. The venue was a concrete high school stadium about 20 rows deep, with a synthetic turf field (high school hash marks) and a track. My seats were near the top of the stands on the 35 yard line, number two side. We were about two miles from the beach. The temperature was in the 70s, with barely a cloud in the sky. The sun may have been in the eyes of the first few corps that performed, but it wasn’t too brutal. It was a perfect day for drum corps.

Open Class.

Opening the show was Incognito (19 horns/15 battery/5 pit/5 guard) (6th place: 36.45). This corps seemed very young, and carried an eclectic mix of instruments. It almost looked like the horns were borrowed. Some were burnished brass, and some were silver plated. The guard wore simple leotards and looked like it was going to a rehearsal, not a show. The drill was fairly jumbled, and there was a bit of hesitation throughout. They didn’t put on a closer. I wish there were still a Division III, because they would have done well in it. As it was, they got stomped. The best part of the show was where a baritone player laid down in front of the rest of the horn line. My first thought was “that’s pretty cool.” My second thought was “backwash!”

Watchmen (22 horns/15 battery/17 pit/8 guard) (4th place: 43.05). For a brand new corps, these guys did quite well. The horns had a good sound, especially while standing still. Excellent use of dynamics. I especially liked watching the four guys marching with the pea-shooter tubas. These horns looked like something stolen from the Blue Devils C. I haven’t seen contras that small since the piston-rotor days. They were fun to watch. The horn line needs to standardize its marching technique, especially when backing up. Overall, the horns and battery held their own. The guard was weak. They didn’t do a lot of work, and it seems like their strategy was to go somewhere and strike a pose, then go somewhere else and pose, then go somewhere else and pose. Also, the guard had a uniform with the left pant leg cut off. You’d think that would help them stay in step. (Hint: when a downbeat comes along, use the leg that’s naked.) Worse, the pit was almost as large as the horn line, and they were amped to the max. (I thought the reason for allowing amplification was to let the keyboards be heard, not to let them be overpowering.) I think this may have been the corps’ inaugural show. If so, bravo. Once they get the bugs worked out, these guys should end up with a decent score.

Golden Empire (43/21/10/16) (2nd place: 48.0). Wow. Another brand new corps, but these guys have a full drum line, 16 in the guard, and 43 horns -- for their first time off the line! It reminded me of what (former Open Class Champions) Academy and Esperanza were able to do when they first started. Great sound playing Dvorak charts. Good field coverage, but at times it seemed like the drill design was too intricate for the performers. They may get it cleaned, they may decide to water it down. Once they get it together they’ll be something to contend with. The down side was the lack of dynamics from the pit. They only know one volume level, and apparently they expect the guy with the mixer board to bail them out. It doesn’t work like that, guys. If this corps can hold on to these members for a couple of years, they will be a threat to win the division.

City Sound (13/14/7/15) (5th place: 40.9). The drums did most of the marching, while the horns stood around on a set of risers. When they did move, it looked like most of the drill was new, because the horns marched and played very tentatively. In a corps this size, there’s nowhere to hide. Come on, guys; step off and belt it out! The drums and guard were solid, although the guard could lose those feather fans. This corps has had a tough off-season. I know many of the instructors. They did better than I could have done.

Gold (43/23/17/24) (1st place: 53.4). Very nice impact, and a lot of bottom, which I love. There were some dirty feet and releases, but it is early in the season. A nice guard innovation was a rifle mounted inside a hula hoop. Good use of the entire field. Unfortunately, one problem was very distracting: I did not understand the guard “uniform” -- which was simple black pants and a red T-shirt. There is no excuse for an established corps to wear T-shirts. It shows a lack of leadership and planning. I think it would tie-in with the show if the guard simply got hold of some of the “BMX meets Ninja Turtle” body armor that the corps proper wears, and dyed it a contrasting color. Problem solved. Gold rightfully won the show, but I thought that their spread over Golden Empire was too generous.

Impulse (25/20/12/7) (3rd place: 46.4). Impulse marched a more intricate drill than the other corps in its division. For the first half, they were doing OK. Then it seems like they ran out of gas during the second half (Beethoven’s Ode to Joy). There were also some balancing issues, especially when they tried to play soft. Otherwise, this was a solid third place finish against two corps that are twice their size. It is sad that tonight was their first show, and yet their season ends in two weeks (when DCI abandons California for the remainder of the year).

World Class.

Academy (74/22/13/33) (4th place: 63.35). Excellent show idea with an English theme, complete with Union Jacks and Mary Poppins umbrellas. It is rare that I say this: I love the guard uniforms. They were modeled on Elizabethan dresses, and they matched well against the horns and drums which were in a tux-and-tails style uniform. There was one point where the sopranos waltzed with the guard members. Excellent work. The pit did a nice number where the members basically marched a right-slide, each member left-handedly playing the different instruments as they came to them, until they were all bunched up on the farthest-right marimba. Frankly, I had Academy ahead of the Crossmen. I think the judges will agree with me before long.

Mandarins (66/23/13/28) (6th place: 62.2). If the Mandarins are the bottom of the division, then the division is doing quite well, thank you. Nice power and some tasty licks. The corps needs to lose the annoying recorded voice-over that spouts nothing but blather: “The strongest steel is forged from the hottest fire.” Give me a break. We understand your theme, especially since it is posted on a billboard that you carry onto the field. This insult to our intelligence adds nothing to your show, and detracts attention away from the horns and battery, which are doing good work.

Pacific Crest (80/24/13/24) (5th place: 62.85). Eighty horns! They were nice and loud. The drill designer’s plan was simple: pack them in and let them blow. That was OK for the horns, but unfortunately the drill designer also decided to showcase the guard. That didn’t work nearly so well. First, the guard outfit is indescribably bad. A unitard with a hood. It looked like the clothing worn by the inhabitants of the grossly overpopulated planet in the Star Trek episode “The Mark of Gideon.” (Go ahead, Google it and tell me if I’m right!). Second, the horns tried to dance with the guard, which did not come off well at all. The section to showcase should have been the drums, not the guard. I don’t see P.C. making any headway this year. It’s a shame, because the kids are quite good. The program – not so much.

Vanguard (66/21/13/36) (1st place: 74.3). SCV’s drums are a powerhouse. Really, really good. I also noticed that they had a contra hole! (Note to SCV’s management: I’m available this summer!) Great music from Scheherazade. These guys are going to compete! Excellent use of the entire field, wonderful technique, big sound. I question the use of trombones at the opening fanfare. (Just because you CAN do something does not necessarily mean that you SHOULD do it.) At the very start of the show, they use about twenty trombones for maybe 64 counts while standing fast atop some platforms. Then they plant the bones and never touch them again. If the horn guys are looking for the “edge” that a trombone could give them, why not just give the kids a G bugle and let them peal the paint off the press box? Lose the bones. Final quibble: the woman that plays Scheherazade is a babe, but the guy she ends the show with is more effeminate than she is. You really need to pair her up with someone that looks like he might actually be interested in her. Congrats on the win. Please beat the Blue Devils.

Crossmen (62/21/12/30) (3rd place: 66.4). Sets that didn’t hit. Drummers that spent more time riding the stage coach than they did playing. European “gypsies” that actually looked like American Indians. Horns that never got outside the 30 yard lines. No! No! No! No! Their third place finish was a gift.

Blue Knights (80/17/13/35) (2nd place: 69.15). Why are you using 80 excellent horn players to serve as an accompaniment to a recording? I am not a fan of their style (drop your horn and run; prance around and emote!), but it seems to work for them. Pretty abrupt ending that doesn’t fit. Otherwise it’s a good show with lots of impact. These guys are here to play. Heading for a top twelve finish.

WSSSB

Edited June 29, 2014 by wsssb

[Forevergreen]

Thanks for review. I have been waiting to hear if the Blue Knights have their entire show on the field yet. I do not think they do. It is getting awful late.

[27Claymore]

Thank you for your candor WSSSB.

I have been reading DCP forums for years and as you can see this is only the second time I've felt compelled to respond to a post.

As for yours, I enjoyed reading it and only wish their had been more of it, nice job. I particularly appreciate the horn, battery counts. I'm rather curious why Vanguard wouldn't have a total number closer to a full compliment. Specifically why they wouldn't have a larger horn line.

Your "final quibble", regarding the Vanguard, I felt was spot on. While trying to be sensitive about making remarks that could be taken in a disparaging way, I suspect the male playing Shahryar is as well aware of this fact as we are. Whether in a movie, on a Broadway stage or DrumCorps, if you want me to buy into the story you're telling, then you can't try selling me a steel I beam that is bending like a willow branch.

Additionally, your comments regarding the Blue Knights "style", was very accurate. I recall 2 years ago seeing their Firebird presentation with friends who had never seen a DrumCorps show before and feeling embarrassed (in truth, I was horrified, almost angry), by the prancing and emoting we witnessed. I more-so felt embarrassed for their poor drum line having to participate in such shenanigans. I am a drummer, and by our very nature, the same nature that compelled us to pick up sticks and hit stuff in the first place, we are precluded from prancing and emoting. The only way drummers should ever express them selves on a field (of battle), is with the thunder of their sound and the lightning of their sticks. Amen

Dino

Edited June 29, 2014 by 27Claymore

[Suviduvi]

this is the first time in many years that the Academy hads a fully dressed guard at the start of the season...HURRAY