West Chester in the mist

[MikeD]

Well, here is my "review".....just off the cuff observations, as I did not

write anything down.

This show, BTW, is connected to the Vivace/George Parks marching

band/DM camp, so the crowd is full of HS MB kids, as tuition to the

camp includes entry to the show.

Surf...

One of my favorite shows this year. They've changed the opener this

past month (to get them to the sideline hit quicker, is my guess). I

thought the old one, where the corps sat in lines facing backfield (as

though in a classroom) and individuals stood up and played short

fragments as though they were students acting up, was funnier, but

this truncated version gets them to the sideline faster. "Schools Out"

blows the house down and really got the crowd going.

They've also added some very nice looking cabanas where they store

on-field stuff. I sat behind grandparents of two Surf trumpet players.

Their daughter came up and sat with them, and their son-in-law was

part of the cabana construction team. Grandma and grandpa saw a show

for the first time; they had never heard of anything like drum corps

in their lives.

The corps has come a long way since Allentown, and I wish them luck in

Orlando. They still have one of the best cymbal lines in ANY division,

IMO.

Kiwanis does an all-Beatles show. I've preferred other recent shows of

theirs, esp the "Miss Saigon" show of a few years back. They seem to

play in a very reserved manner, and didn't really connect with the

audience. "Octopusses Garden" was about the only number they really

sold. The had a pretty arrangement of "Michelle", but their lack of

dynamics and shaping didn't sell the tune well.

Aside as a VERY oldtimer....I think the

last time I heard that tune on the field was the exit number of the

1968 Polish Falcons from Elizabeth NJ, who had a wonderful mellophone

solist.

Magic.....had some very nice charts, and they seemed to do a decent

job with them, but IMO they may have a tough time in Orlando, given

the incredible level of just about all the corps this year. The "Mass"

did drag a bit, IMO. They ad some beautiful flags, and I liked ther

guard costumes a lot; they complemented the brass/percussion unis

quite nicely. I love the tuning of their snares; a bit lower than some

of the other lines.

Crossmen...a few timing problems in the brass, and some dirt in the

snares, esp when they were playing on the racks. But....the

interpretations are overall much better than at Allentown. They are

starting to groove more with a jazz feel. I also love the guard

contribution, in performance and color choices.

SCV....Some timing issues in the opening...not surprising with half

the corps on one endzone and half lined up on the other. Method of

attack used by the trumpets makes the opening staccato very

heavy-sounding. I love the tuning of the bass drums. They also tilt

the snares to make for a more natual left-hand striking postion on the

drum head. Kind of full-circle irony, as in the early 70's they were

one of the first corps to use match grip and flatten the snares. I

thought their percussion overall played the best of the night.

Phantom.....I love their show. The sound coming out of those King

horns is marvelous. One 'oops' missed release noted by others... the

entire audience in earshot went 'ooooo' when it happened. One other

'oops' was a visual one in the opening. One of the tubas missed a

direction change and there was nearly a collision. I cringed at the

thought of dents on those wonderful horns. However, the person

recovered nicely and averted such a disaster. As usual with Phantom,

they did a LOT of trademark body movement. I wonder if it caused

visual performance issues, as there were moments of non-uniformity in

some of the moves. Their snare line had some very demanding stuff, and

did a great job with the exposed parts of the show. The double silks

in the opener highlighted the usual very classy Regiment guard style.

Method of attack on the trumpets in marcato sections was a distinct

contrast to the SCV. Very light and unforced, yet on-the-money. I hoped

they won high brass, and apparently they did.

Cadets....very large improvemebnt over Allentown...they brought the

crowd to their feet at the end of "Malaguena". The screaming trumpets

did a nice job. Ended the show spread from 5-yards into one endzone to

5-yards into the other. "RPH" seemed to sell much better than at

A'town, and the pit projected much better.

All in all a very nice evening, even with some misting.

Prior to the show, I went to one of the Irish pubs downtown for dinner....I was escorted upstairs to the non-smoking area, which only had one table in use at that time. Happened to be Larry Markiewicz of the Crossmen staff, and we had a nice dinner-time conversation.

Mike

[Sean1]

Thanks Mike

[CadetsDad]

Thanks for the review.

GO CADETS!!!!!!!!!!!

[joeb]

Really just curious, but are corps brass instroments really refered to as "trumpets" and "tubas" now? If so I guess I am officially old..

joeb

FCO

[TerriDitt57]

Cadets play on trumpets and tubas. And they sound great, BTW.

Thanks for the review, Mike!

Sorry I'm gonna miss everyone down in O-land-O.

[MikeD]

Really just curious, but are corps brass instroments really refered to as "trumpets" and "tubas" now? If so I guess I am officially old..

joeb

FCO

Yes, many corps do refer to their horns as trumpets and tubas. Just calling them what they are.

BTW, I'm officially old...reaching the big 5-0 this October.

Mike, marched 64-72