wvu80 Posted July 29, 2014 Share Posted July 29, 2014 (edited) This was my first live show of the year, and I haven't been hanging out on DCP like I have in the past, so ALL my observations are unbiased, as much as a fan since 1974 can be. This is the report from mid-way up, on the 47 yard line. We had tornado warnings yesterday which dropped the temperature from the high 80's into the low 70's. It was perfect drum corps weather, no sun, and all the corps performed like they had extra energy, and the very hip, very appreciative crowd gave EVERY corps plenty of applause, and I think every corps got a standing O as well. +++ Phantom Regiment - Rockford, IL - The show was fantastic. What a great horn line, lucious sound, and those MELLOS are cutting through everything when called upon to produce my favorite "drum corps" sound. Drums were seen and not heard, but I'm not sure why. They were playing well enough, they just didn't project. It was a great effect when the color guard ran onto the field from behind the bleachers on the far left, they litterally "took the field." The first half of the show seemed to drag a bit, but the second half really picked up, and the when Phantom started changing from the white look of the opener to the black, the sleeveless shirts looked really bad-a$$. GREAT attitude projected from both the drum line and the horn line. The change to the black for the guard was totally lost as they simply blended into the background and did not make an impact visually at the end. At the end of Phantom's show, they re-set IN PLACE and played one encore number, Elsa's Procession to the Catherdral. The sound of that MAGNIFICENT horn line alone was worth the price of admission! Very classy, and very well done. I'll make one last comment on the organization, since this was Phantom's home show (making Phantom West Virginia's drum corps. ). The show was run like a clock. Everything started exactly on time, things kept moving, and the line up was great, not one bad show among them. Well done, Phantom Regiment. Bluecoats - Canton, OH EVERYTHING Elmo Blatch wrote on this thread was spot on. Great observations, Elmo. The crowd went crazy for Bluecoats, BC had them eating out of their hand. This is a championship show, the best Bluecoats show I've ever seen, and one of the most original shows I've ever seen. The corps performed with high energy, and I KNOW how hard these kids have worked, because you CAN NOT practice this show at half-speed. It MUST be practiced with great intensity, every time or you would be wasting your time. That hard practice showed itself on the field, what an incredible show. The difference between seeing it on Youtube and live is night and day, you have to see this show to believe it. I am usually very critical of shows, maybe I don't like the color of the uniform, the drums are out of tune, yada yada yada. There is NOTHING about this show I don't like. Guard unis are perfect, the numerous props add to the show, they don't detract. The horns are loud, yet play a beautiful ballad, drums are clean, the electronics are balanced, and this show absolutely COOKS from beginning to end. And by the way, the corps performed the HELL out of it tonight. I can see this show winning, no doubt at all. The crowd of 4-5000 (jammed from 10 to 10) leaped to its feet 30 seconds before the last chords, and the crowd was right. Great show tonight. Boston Crusaders - Boston, MA This was the third place corps tonight, by my standards as a one-man judge. The Boston uniforms look great up close, but the black on black with a small splash of red makes ALL the drill forms fuzzy and unimpressive. I don't know if the judges take off for that, but I did. Otherwise the show was played VERY well, with a very cool opener. There is an airport about 2 miles from the stadium, and when the corps began their opener which featured a sequential laying-to-standing move, an airplane overflew the stadium and coordinated PERFECTLY with the corps opening! You would never see that again in a hundred years. Very cool effect, Boston. What I didn't get was the guard's white masks, which changed in the Big Reveal to the (yawn) red masks. It wasn't bad, it's just that it needs to be explained to me. That's not a good thing. I know they are close in points to Phantom, but Phantom's show should win the day, every time. Again the opinion of a minority judge of one person. Good ending for Boston, and the show was very well performed. Spirit of Atlanta - Atlanta, GA This was my wife's favorite corps of the night. She does not like drum corps. She said ALL the drums (all corps) sounded the same to her, as if they were all playing the same notes. She did like the trumpet soloist (we ALL did!) who played some old-school high notes. That guy could solo in ANY corps, and it was great to hear. Crossmen - San Antonio, TX Crossmen looked great. They may have had my favorite uniforms of the night. Nice show. Mandarins - Sacramento, CA Nice show. The PA was overblown. Oregon Crusaders - Portland, OR Nice show as well. Full corps, big sound, very well done. This was a great night for drum corps, by the weather, by the Phantom Regiment show staff, by the corps who really put on great performances tonight, and by the great West Virginia drum corps fan. If you didn't make it here to West Virgina's only drum corps show this year, make it next year. It's a great drum corps experience. Edited July 29, 2014 by wvu80 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CrunchyTenor Posted July 29, 2014 Share Posted July 29, 2014 I watched a documentary called "One Night in August" and they said that the Crossmen's bus broke down and Spirit gave them a lift. After that there has been this "Mass Brass" thing somewhere on tour since then. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CrunchyTenor Posted July 29, 2014 Share Posted July 29, 2014 The Crossmen and Spirit touted to California in 1979, and both corps experienced a bunch of mishaps, and really bailed each other out several times. This friendship, than, has been going on for 35 years, and hundreds if not thousands of members have experienced a very special relationship. Each corps awards a member with an honor named after the other. I think it's awesome! 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BoyWonder1911 Posted July 29, 2014 Share Posted July 29, 2014 (edited) I can definitely see BAC jumping Phantom. The real question is if Stars can do it too. I know a lot predicted a down year after hearing the show in pre-season. And while (currently) 8th and (potentially) 10th are better than the crazy "won't make finals" prediction, it has got to be a head scratcher in the organization why this show is doing so poorly. Not meant to diminish the successes BK and BAC have had this season. But we could see 9 or 10 corps break 90. Raising the bar? I can totally see Blue Stars possibly catching Phantom. I can also see 10 corps scoring 90 pts. That would be quite something, wouldn't it? Now, about why Phantom's show is doing poorly. The answer is because it's not a difficult show. Sure, they're clean. But shows are not judged solely on how clean it is. The show design is a huge part, whether we like it or not. The fact is, Phantom's show is relatively easy. Same with the Scouts' show. It's easy. Now take a show like Boston Crusaders', and put it next to Phantom's show. BC's show is much more demanding. They're not as clean. Phantom's show is clean, but not as demanding. How do the judges judge them comparatively? I think they go by how well the corps "sells" the performance. I'm sure they have their specific criteria they look for, but it's all about the effort. And right now, Boston is just getting cleaner and cleaner and cleaner. Someone mentioned they tend to surge towards the end of the season. I think they've been surging all season long, and it will continue up until Finals, where I think they will have one hell of a performance and end up at least 8th. I just hope the staff doesn't decide to "nerf" the show in spots to make it easier. I say challenge the kids. Make them do them double tongues, and get it clean. I hate when staffs take things out or makes things easier in a spot here or there. I'd rather see/hear the difficulty and not have it 99% clean, than have it 99% clean and be disappointed by the loss of effect. Keep going, Crusaders. I want to see how far this show can go, I want to read some headlines. Edited July 29, 2014 by BoyWonder1911 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
theCHEZman Posted July 29, 2014 Share Posted July 29, 2014 Bluecoats are gonna win this. That performance was markedly better than Atlanta. The cleaning is happening and with it comes energy and momentum. It's going to be a 2010 scenerio. Bloo going in with the possibility of winning it all. Rest depends on panels and frankly what BD and even Cadets bring to the table. Bloo has a fan favorite show this year by far, and that injects energy and momentum, but judges did abit deeper than that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
westcoastblue Posted July 29, 2014 Share Posted July 29, 2014 Spirit of Atlanta - Atlanta, GA This was my wife's favorite corps of the night. She does not like drum corps. wvu80 Well, there ya go. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brians Posted July 29, 2014 Share Posted July 29, 2014 I can totally see Blue Stars possibly catching Phantom. I can also see 10 corps scoring 90 pts. That would be quite something, wouldn't it? Now, about why Phantom's show is doing poorly. The answer is because it's not a difficult show. Sure, they're clean. But shows are not judged solely on how clean it is. The show design is a huge part, whether we like it or not. The fact is, Phantom's show is relatively easy. Same with the Scouts' show. It's easy. Now take a show like Boston Crusaders', and put it next to Phantom's show. BC's show is much more demanding. They're not as clean. Phantom's show is clean, but not as demanding. How do the judges judge them comparatively? I think they go by how well the corps "sells" the performance. I'm sure they have their specific criteria they look for, but it's all about the effort. And right now, Boston is just getting cleaner and cleaner and cleaner. Someone mentioned they tend to surge towards the end of the season. I think they've been surging all season long, and it will continue up until Finals, where I think they will have one hell of a performance and end up at least 8th. I just hope the staff doesn't decide to "nerf" the show in spots to make it easier. I say challenge the kids. Make them do them double tongues, and get it clean. I hate when staffs take things out or makes things easier in a spot here or there. I'd rather see/hear the difficulty and not have it 99% clean, than have it 99% clean and be disappointed by the loss of effect. Keep going, Crusaders. I want to see how far this show can go, I want to read some headlines. In the end I don't think it is out of the question for Blue Stars to pass both Boston and Phantom....they are that good and have the most room to grow..... time will tell Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drumcorpsfever Posted July 29, 2014 Share Posted July 29, 2014 (edited) Bluecoats - Canton, OH EVERYTHING Elmo Blatch wrote on this thread was spot on. Great observations, Elmo. The crowd went crazy for Bluecoats, BC had them eating out of their hand. This is a championship show, the best Bluecoats show I've ever seen, and one of the most original shows I've ever seen. The corps performed with high energy, and I KNOW how hard these kids have worked, because you CAN NOT practice this show at half-speed. It MUST be practiced with great intensity, every time or you would be wasting your time. That hard practice showed itself on the field, what an incredible show. The difference between seeing it on Youtube and live is night and day, you have to see this show to believe it. I am usually very critical of shows, maybe I don't like the color of the uniform, the drums are out of tune, yada yada yada. There is NOTHING about this show I don't like. Guard unis are perfect, the numerous props add to the show, they don't detract. The horns are loud, yet play a beautiful ballad, drums are clean, the electronics are balanced, and this show absolutely COOKS from beginning to end. And by the way, the corps performed the HELL out of it tonight. I can see this show winning, no doubt at all. The crowd of 4-5000 (jammed from 10 to 10) leaped to its feet 30 seconds before the last chords, and the crowd was right. Great show tonight. I am so proud of the Bluecoats. Not to sound corny, but honestly, I got goosebumps from reading your description of the crowd reaction. Having seen the show a number of times this year, I understand what you're saying. This is a show that one must see first-hand. A show such as this one doesn't come along very often. I've never enjoyed a show more, nor actually looked forward to an ending - not because you can't wait for it to end, but because the anticipation what's coming is so great. Edited July 29, 2014 by drumcorpsfever 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
George Dixon Posted July 29, 2014 Share Posted July 29, 2014 I gotta admit - I love the pitch-bend ending and really like the Bluecoats this year, but from the sounds of it some of you are WAY into that moment more than I am. It caught me by surprise the first time and I was like "wow" - the second time I watched it and thought it was great and all. Now I'm sort of over that and just enjoy the show for being a very good corps with a very good show Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oldbandguy Posted July 29, 2014 Author Share Posted July 29, 2014 (edited) I gotta admit - I love the pitch-bend ending and really like the Bluecoats this year, but from the sounds of it some of you are WAY into that moment more than I am. It caught me by surprise the first time and I was like "wow" - the second time I watched it and thought it was great and all. Now I'm sort of over that and just enjoy the show for being a very good corps with a very good show Have you had the chance to see it LIVE? If not, I sure hope you get to. I think you will then understand the passion. edit to add that it's NOT just about the pitch bend...it's the TOTAL show. For many, the ballad is the highlight. For others it's work of the color guard. For many it's the drumline. Edited July 29, 2014 by oldbandguy 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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