DrumManTx Posted June 14, 2015 Share Posted June 14, 2015 Tell us about it after! Ditto, would love to hear how Spirit's doing. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mjyaub Posted June 15, 2015 Share Posted June 15, 2015 I got up this morning and decided to take a drive through "Walking Dead" country to take a look and listen to Spirits show. Seriously, Spirits spring training site is right in the productions back yard....or close by anyway. I listened to the brass warm up in their arch for few minutes. They have a full hornline of 77, 36 guard, 13 front ensemble, 20 in the battery minus one bass drum, 3 drum majors. New drums looked great. No change in uniform from last year. Guard dressed in black. (probably not tour uni). I am not an alumni nor do I have any past allegiance to Spirit other than the fact I am a drum corps fan living in Georgia and I consider them my home team. I want them to do well and am not afraid to be hard on them like I was last year with Magnolia. While they were setting up, the director spoke. He introduced the theme...started to explain it... then stopped himself and told us to judge for ourselves. The theme "Out of the Ashes". I already like it so much better than last year. There is no build up. The show starts with a loud screaming brass hit and the intensity doesn't let up until the end of the opener. It is fast and furious and I liked it. The ballad and a great flugelhorn solo and some great moments culminating in a large off center triangle for the hit that tightened into a tighter what looked to be a delta. This ballad could be one of the more memorable ballads of the season In my opinion. The transition from ballad to closer needs something. I liked the arrangement of Wild Nights, I only thought of Phantom one time. It builds to a company front push with the guard well staged for the ending. This is my interpretation....We live in a time when anything can happen in an instant, without warning and chaos ensues. We are left with our lives in shambles and look for absolution as to why this has happened. We grieve, pray, and unite in glory and revel in what blessings we still have. We rebuild with a quick frenzy and come together stronger than we were before. When you see the show, you may not see it right away, but it is there. Even this staunch dislike of Magnolia could see it. Or at least for me, I noticed the art in this show. They may not make finals, everybody is "going to have their best year ever", But they have already proved they could rise to occasion. I do have a pretty good video on my iPhone, but have no idea how to post it. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DrumManTx Posted June 15, 2015 Share Posted June 15, 2015 (edited) Ehh if they said not to post anything don't worry about it. IF it's okay I'll gladly walk you through the steps on youtube. Glad to hear a good report, I'm excited to see this show. The ballad clip they posted on Facebook a few days ago sounds beautiful. Edited June 15, 2015 by DrumManTx Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Newseditor44 Posted June 15, 2015 Share Posted June 15, 2015 Meh, I don't want art. I'm tired of trying to figure out what a drum corps is doing. I don't want to have to read the program or have someone explain the show to me. I just want to be entertained. Is that so difficult. PLay some cool tunes, have amazing drill, leave me wanting more at the end of the show. Make feel like whistling a few bars when I leave the show site. Leave a lasting impression. Stop trying to go all artsy fartsy on me. Just wow me. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cappybara Posted June 15, 2015 Share Posted June 15, 2015 Meh, I don't want art. I'm tired of trying to figure out what a drum corps is doing. I don't want to have to read the program or have someone explain the show to me. I just want to be entertained. Is that so difficult. PLay some cool tunes, have amazing drill, leave me wanting more at the end of the show. Make feel like whistling a few bars when I leave the show site. Leave a lasting impression. Stop trying to go all artsy fartsy on me. Just wow me. The two aren't mutually exclusive. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mjyaub Posted June 15, 2015 Share Posted June 15, 2015 They never said anything about not posting anything. Kind of surprised no one has already. There were a lot of people recording. I will get a kid at work tomorrow to do it for me. I had to plug my phone in. Thank you for the offer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mjyaub Posted June 15, 2015 Share Posted June 15, 2015 Maybe you will be wowed. I said you may not notice it right away. It is what I took from it. You may not noticed anything but great music and drill. Maybe that is why the director stopped and did not explain anything. This show may be just what you are asking for. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Newseditor44 Posted June 15, 2015 Share Posted June 15, 2015 Good to hear, thanks for the update. And sorry for the rant. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
westcoastblue Posted June 15, 2015 Share Posted June 15, 2015 Review of their Preview Show is up in the review thread. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CrownBariDad Posted June 15, 2015 Share Posted June 15, 2015 (edited) The Disclaimer: I totally love this Corps (see signature block), so any "review" from this homer might not be worth much. There are already 2 reviews (one in this thread and the other in the Reviews forum) on the Preview show, so I might just post some observations and include a comparison of this year's Spirit versus last year's edition. The Venue: The show was presented at Luella HS (south of Atlanta) where Spirit is doing their Spring Training. It was HOT, but luckily a dark cloud passed in front of the sun (no chance of rain) during most of the show which gave the fans a little relief. The 2 center sections of seats in the stadium were pretty much packed and the crowd certainly was enthusiastic. The Uniforms: The Guard did not have their uniforms/costumes yet. The head seamstress said the uniforms are "beautiful" but "no dresses this year". They were also using practice flags. The rest of the Corps were in their normal uniforms -- new last year -- and I didn't see any changes. The Show: Spirit presented the entire package -- music, drill, and guard -- for the whole show. Last year, they only had the Opener with drill and guard, and then played the rest of the music standstill with no guard work. So, they are WEEKS ahead of where they were last year. There were no major hiccups that I could tell, but as for any first formal presentation, there's lots of stuff to clean -- and they know it and are working on it. In a break from the past, there isn't a jazz/blues section in the show. I didn't really miss it. The MIAs: There was an obvious hole for Bass Drum #2 and there might have been one in the brass. I hadn't heard of any injuries, so we are assuming this is school related. I saw 2 brass alternates and I think a guard alt. The Percussion: I have a friend (a recent age-out) who plays snare. He lives in the area, so he's been visiting a little during Spring Training. He says the percussion is much better than when he saw them last week and are continuing to improve. As a brass player, the battery and pit did not draw my attention away from other aspects of the show (except, of course, for their features) -- which for me means they are part of the ensemble. I thought the pit balance with the brass was surprisingly good. The Speakers: In another thread, folks were asking about speaker placement. The pit speakers were situated on the 35s, about 5 yards to either side of the pit. Looks like they were using 2 18" woofers plus a mid-range horn on top of a subwoofer cabinet. I expect there were some tweeters in the cabinet I couldn't see from the stands. (Sorry, sometimes my geekiness just slips out.) The Guard: Not much to say here. Would have loved to see the show uniforms and silks. I thought they did great! The Props: None. The Brass: Saving the best for last (only because I play brass). I've been associated with Spirit only since 2011, but this is the LOUDEST Spirit brass I've heard during that time. I first thought it was the new Kanstul horns, but I was told the brass staff has been concentrating on getting the members to play loud, but in control. I think they have succeeded. They are marching only 76 (12 contras), but when they want to, they can sound twice that. I REALLY enjoyed the volume, the sound, and the blend. There are a LOT of notes in this show and the members are handling it very well. I guess that's about it. I totally enjoyed the show and I'm really looking forward to the first competition and the upcoming season. GO SPIRIT <( Edited June 15, 2015 by CrownBariDad Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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