Summer Music Preview - Bristol RI

[Hook'emCavies]

Yes, SCV might be right there too... and I think you may be right to suggest that the Cavies may have something to say as well (however they don't appear to be as threatening).

I just want to see the judges keeping the scores tight and keeping their decisions unclear so long as tight scores are warranted.

Cavies don't appear as threatening? Thems fight'n words!!! :P I kid!!!

[Forevergreen]

I do not think one judge needs to go along just because other judges see it another way......Sometimes I feel like judges can be lemmings to the cliff

[Catan]

Just got back from the show. Haven't looked at the recaps yet. I agree with the tight scoring between the top 3. The bumpy grass field definitely had an impact on individual performance, but the top 3 handled it MUCH better than Spirit/BAC. It was also very windy, which made it tough for the guards. Again, the top 3 did a much better job in this regard.

Bloo was on fire, and I thought had a stronger show than Lawrence. The hornline is truly spectacular and the whole corps moves really well this year. I thought Crown also performed quite well. It's just that their show has too much going on and remains a bit of a mess design-wise. I thought Cadets had a bit of a rough start but really nailed the 2nd half of their show. While the design is a bit stale (nothing we haven't seen before), it is extremely well done. The narration and use of voiceovers is absolutely superb, and the drill design flows well. While watching Crown I had no idea what to look at, but watching Cadets it is very easy to follow everything. I think Bloo ultimately could pass Cadets as well, but it all comes down to execution.

Both Spirit and Boston had rough showings, IMO. They really really let the wind and the grass impact their playing/marching.

BAC has made some good changes to their show, but it is still a mess visually. The drill design is just not effective for the most part. Very difficult, yes, but that difficulty is not translating into effect at all. Part of this stems from the fact that the drill is still kicking their butts, but I still think that (like last year) BAC has been saddled with a visual program that doesn't allow them to utilize the talent they have.The new (mostly-black) uniforms, while impressive close up, look terrible on the field and don't read well, especially with all of the tight intervals in the show.The guard had drops all over the place; maybe it is time to hose some of their work?

Regardless, it was a fun show! There were some old-timers sitting behind me who hadn't been to a drum corps show in 20 years. They loved every second of it! Tons of oohs and aahs. And of course they did ask why everyone was booing the Bluecoats

Edited July 4, 2014 by Catan

[dcikon2]

BD scored over 86 tonight. This puts them 5 points ahead of everyone else. This just doesn't seem right.

[DrumManTx]

When everyone meets up that will surely go down. Kinda ridiculous if you ask me, went back every year since 2000 and the earliest someone matched that or scored higher was July 7th, way back in the early 2000s, in recent years that kinda score isn't reached until around Minneapolis or so.

[Slingerland]

BD scored over 86 tonight. This puts them 5 points ahead of everyone else. This just doesn't seem right.

Not really. Two different panels, two different shows. The real spread is probably closer to 2 to 2.5 points between BD and the Bloo/Cadets/Crown pack, with SCV and Cavaliers hanging in a 3 to 4 points off BD.

We'll see how this weekend goes for them, but I have a feeling Regiment is going to be hanging in the 7 spot on their own for awhile.

Edited July 4, 2014 by Slingerland

[Tim K]

What a great show. If you're not from New England but decide to visit for July 4th, Bristol is a must. I'd spend the 4th itself in Boston, but I'd get to Bristol on the 3rd for this show.

Every corps was on top of their game and it was the perfect night to watch a drum corps show, and given that the weather should have ben terrible, the fact it was such a great night weather wise made it all the more enjoyable.

I though scores were low for Spirit and BAC. I also felt the two were too close as far as scores are concerned. Both corps were much better than they were on Sunday, but I found Spirit to be uneven. There were brilliant and powerful moments, namely the Porgy and Bess music and "Willow Weep For Me" but in comparison, other moments were somewhat lackluster. By August it will be strong all around and at this point, I do not see them falling from finals. BAC had some great new additions to the show and musically it was stronger. I thought it was much cleaner visually. There were a few glitches but the front ensemble and color guard were both on fire.

Crown's third was a surprise. I found their brass amazing--no surprise there, and I felt they owned the audience. The guard seemed cleaner and the show flowed much better (I thought there were gaps at certain points after seeing Akron as well as seeing them live in Lawrence). Bloo was phenomenal and they too received a warm reception. I felt that some of their sound effects were too loud, especially a t the moments they attempted to outplay the effects, but it is still a show that will grow and will have an even stronger impact and given that it is already an amazing show, it should be nothing short of amazing. Cadets were overall on target and their win was no surprise. There were a few tweaks but nothing major. I expected Crown to win though knew it would probably be Cadets. Bloo's 2nd did surprise me and even of I say it was well earned, that's not taking anything away from Crown. As far as 7th Regiment and Spartans are concerned, it will be another back and forth, too close to call seasons for both corps.

Edited July 4, 2014 by Tim K

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[CrownBariDad]

In other news, what the heck BAC? Lowest score in 6 shows???

Are they really less than a point ahead of Spirit now? Granted, I know Spirit magically jumped 10 points in a week to 70. But come on. The two programs should be stratospheres apart right now IMO. Regardless of any cleanliness issues, I fully believe BAC is getting the short stick right now. I get that comprehension of their show might be difficult for some at the current time, but if we're scoring BD at #### near 85 already... well..................

I think I heard Spirit has been concentrating on visuals this leg of the tour. Maybe that helps explain the close win over BAC in GE2 and a 0.2 lead in overall GE.

Like others here, I want to see what the full panels have to say. It's still a bit early.

[jbeatty89]

Can anyone that was there/saw videos give some insight on the close margin between Spirit and BAC? How do they compare?

I think tonight there were some truly beautiful sounds coming out of Spirits hornline, particularly in the opener. I think there were just a lot of things to like about the first 1/3 of their show. The crowd response was very positive. I think the reaction was only topped by Bluecoats and Crown.

Boston's show is not only dark and complex but fairly demanding. I would say significantly more demanding than Spirit's. The effect isn't there yet and I think much of that is due to performance issues. But it's only July 3rd. Boston is bound to be more comfortable tackling the show with another month of reps. I do think they are solidly in the pack fighting for the last few spots in top 12.