Popular Post TexasPRfan Posted August 10, 2015 Popular Post Share Posted August 10, 2015 (edited) Wow. That seems like a pretty great description for the 2015 season. Wow performances. Wow competitive drama. Wow, I can't believe the season is over already. After taking a day to bask in the afterglow of Finals weekend, I'm amazed how many melodies are in my head, from Troopers Wild Horses, to Blue Knights emotional closer, to BD's Children Will Listen, the list just goes on and on. What a nice turn around from a period not too long ago where melodies seemed like an endangered species if you weren't Phantom Regiment or Carolina Crown. As pretext for the below, I marched in the early 90s, was on staff a bit, and have just been a huge fan ever since. This year was my 27th straight Finals to attend live (starting in 1989, before I marched). For the last 20 years, I've set with the same group of great friends, thought the group has had some additions and some sad subtractions over those 20. Many marched various places, and some, like my partner just became drawn to this activity as fans. The allegiances vary, which makes it all the more fun. I marched with Black Gold, but many familiar with this forum know I adopted Phantom Regiment as the corps I support since BG folded, and I have no small amount of bias for them. I was a brass guy and understand guard & visual pretty well - percussion not so much. For finals week, I was on the 20th row in Quarters on the lower level, and for Semis & Finals, I was on row 3, on the 50 in section 640. Section 640 is a bit high, and it takes corps that really can project their shows & emotions well that resonate up top. I caught the top 4 Open Class corps, too, in the course of the week, so I'll include them here. Pioneer - It took till Quarterfinals, but I finally caught Pioneer, and I'm glad I did. The biblical/Egypt based show was a nice evolution of show concept for them. I thought this was the best Pioneer corps I've seen in recent years, with a bigger brass line and a drill well written for them. I also thought Pioneer's guard took a step forward this year. In a world of all too few corps, I'm glad Pioneer soldiers on, and I hope they can build on this season. Jersey Surf - This was far from my favorite recent Surf show (That honor goes back to the Bridgemen tribute year with LMFAO, etc.). Still, I grew to appreciate the show more by Indy. I thought the orange poncho type tops they wore at the beginning of the show really didn't come off well, but surprisingly, the beach boys sections grew on me by season's end. I thought Surf had their strongest show of the year on Thursday, which is the way it should be. The horn line had nice power, if not always great blend & tone quality, and gave us some nice showmanship, as did many of the guard members. The Don't Let the Sun Go Down on Me portion of the show also developed into a nice moment as well. Cascades - What a year of progress for Cascades, and congrats on making Semifinals. Cascades came out with big numbers and a bold show this year - and perhaps was the most improved corps year over year. I thought they were scored just a bit low, but they put out a great show designed well to fit their youth. This is a corps that could be on the move if they retain their new, larger membership. Loved the new uniforms, and the show itself was HIGHLY entertaining. The hornline was top heavy (could have partly been the arranging), but had some nice moments. The Star Trek bookends where highly effective as well. It was also very good to see Cascades bring a larger, more competent guard to the field this summer. I love the accessible, entertaining direction that Cascades took this year, and I hope even better things are to come! Spartans - It's always great to see Spartans, a corps that has been through some real challenges and has persevered, remaining competent and competitive in Open Class. As usual, Spartans had an aggressive show, with a strong guard. I'm not always a fan of the arrangements and less accessible music books Spartans tend to do, but I thought this year was sold and performed well. Genesis - Being from DFW, it's been fun to watch this Texas-based corps grow over the past few years. I really enjoyed their OZ influenced show in 2013 and 2015 seems to be a strong break through year for this young corps. Their Phantom of the Opera was very nicely done. Sure, for die hard corps fans like me who revere SCV's 1989 show, just playing this show allowed Genesis to touch an emotional chord, but I thought Genesis did a great job of making the show fresh and entertaining - even if they resorted to over-arranging the brass book in a few places. The opening hit was very exciting, and the great melodies came through. The horn line was a bit restrained given their size, but the corps is clearly focused on quality of tone and performance and they very much deserved to move past Spartans in Indy in my opinion. The guard was also very effective in selling the show and had some nice moments. Can't wait to see where this corps is headed, and while not knowing their financial foundation, this seems like the next corps that is competitively positioning themselves to move up to World Class. Pacific Crest - PC has had some very interesting shows with nice melodies brought to the field in recent years, and I really have enjoyed them every year since the True Colors year. This year, I felt like the show design and concept didn't work as well, and the corps took a step backwards. The Catalyst was a concept that just didn't come off well. I found the cube very distracting and it seemed not up to the design standards for a World Class Corps. At least the cube finally opened correctly with both pieces moving as they were supposed to on Friday. Still, I did enjoy very much the Enjoy the Silence ballad. Unfortunately, for me, most of the rest of the music book just didn't connect well. I hope PC heads a different direction creatively next season, but I appreciated the effort from all the kids. Mandarins - It's hard to believe a corps this good finished in 20th place. That's not a sign of anything other than just how strong the non-finalist tier of the World Class Corps have become. This was a very, very good Mandarins corps. I loved the show, and I thought they captured their Chinese, Terra Cotta Warriors theme very well with dark aggressive music and some strong visual moments. The horn line was very, very good, with a dark, strong sound. The guard also brought nice characterization to the show, and all captions brought strong performance levels. I also continue to be a huge fan of this uniform version for Mandarins. It's distinctive, classy & effective. Nice done, Mandarins! Blue Devils B - Another year, another stellar Blue Devils B corps. What an incredible organization BD is at all levels, year after year. I enjoyed this BDB show more than many years when I feel they are trying something a bit too sophisticated for their maturity. This year, the show fit them like a glove, and the guard and percussion sections were particularly strong. The spectrum was a nice concept, and the props were minimal and added well to the show. Spirit of Atlanta - In a sign of how strong a year this was for almost all the DCI corps, I thought Spirit had stronger performance levels in 2015 than last year, yet finished lower in placement. The show design was a mixed bag to me. I thought the opening 1/4 of the show was very effective, and the ballad was absolutely terrific musically. I didn't care for the voice-overs but I think they would have struggled to convey the theme well without them. A special shout out to the soloist in the ballad. His solo was outstanding, emotional, and the tears in his eyes at the end of his solo (zoomed in on from the big board) gave me a serious lump in my throat - a highlight of the entire weekend. Spirit has work to do design wise and with guard to be able to push back up the ranks, though. I'm hoping they do, as I really enjoyed their recent Finalist shows. Still a huge fan of their current uniform as well. Love, love, love the baby blue! Oregon Crusaders - I've been a big fan of where this corps has been headed, and it's great to see them sustaining some nice quality of performance levels year over year. I absolutely loved their "Nevermore" show last year, but I feel like they took a step back design wise this year. The technical demand in the show was a step up this year, but the music at times was a bit dry for me and didn't connect as well. I also thought the narration was almost insulting - let me tell you exactly what I'm going to do/show you on the field next? Come on, OC, we are smarter than that. That said, OC was still enjoyable to watch this year, with impressive performance levels for a corps that has only been in World Class for a few years. Biggest strengths - the performance levels of their brass & percussion sections. I hope they can add their increasing performance levels next year back into a more engaging design and step up the guard program another notch. Vanguard Cadets - What a tasty show for SCV Cadets! Bravo! I thought the "Cloud 9" theme came through very well, and the performance levels in all captions were terrific. The guard was stellar, and the drill and visual program was very nicely designed. Some great GE moments, and a very strong closer capped off a show I wish I had gotten to see more than once. Congratulations on your well-deserved Open Class Championship! The Academy - What an incredible show for a 15th place corps! This was one of the best designed shows on the field this summer, with so many touches to love, from the costuming to the huge double flag moment to the very fun closer, capped off with the letter flags. The brass book was stellar and highly entertaining. It's hard to believe no one had thought to pull off Mary Poppins before. What an exciting direction Academy is taking the last 2 years, and I'm hopeful they continue in this direction. When I saw Academy in early July in Utah & Colorado, I thought they could be a Finals dark horse. At the end, there is still work to do to bring the guard up to Finalist level (what they performed, they performed very well, but the work was far more basic than the corps above them), and the horn line, surprisingly, didn't improve as much as those around them in performance levels or power to project up to the higher stands. Still, that's almost nit-picky. I loved this show this year and it's one of 3 reasons that I would buy the non-Finalists DVD this year (assuming we get to buy them!). Thank you for a wonderful, wonderful show, Academy! Colts - It's stunning to think a show of this quality wasn't in Finals (ditto for Troopers). We truly had a top 14 this year in my opinion. When I first saw this show in Denver, I was not a fan. I didn't like the dialogue and felt it was just too cheesy. Yet, by Allentown & Indy, I was so impressed with the entire design, and I thought their music book and drill were stellar. A very ingenious design with so much to appreciate. They also wisely dropped a few of the most cheesy lines from the dialogue. Great power from this brass line, who sold the show well. The corpse outline was a great bookend touch, and the twist to shoot the girl instead of the guy at the end was a nice Friday night surprise. Personally, I enjoyed both Colts & Troopers far more than Crossmen, but I understand why Crossmen got it. I sure wish I could see this show again! Troopers - I really liked Troopers when I saw them in Denver, and by Indy I was in love. I thought their Thursday and especially their Friday performances were absolutely outstanding. Great emotional connection, fantastic GE (11th in GE on Friday was spot on), and a very powerful and excellent horn line. The guard had some very nice moments, but I think also had simpler work than some of the corps they were challenging, and that hurt them a bit. I was really sad not to get to see this show again on Saturday. I loved Troopers drill this year as well, and the horse head & run moments were so nicely done. The ballad was so emotional and connected so well, and the closing moments of the show were just fantastic. Sitting up top, the views tend to align towards GE, and from that perspective, my entire group all thought Troopers might catch Crossmen on Friday (frankly I still think they should have). One of the shows that has really stuck with me. Crossmen - I appreciate how technically competent this corps was (and the guard was fantastic). I just found this show to be a bit dry, and I didn't care for the some of the arrangements - particularly of I'll fly Away (hard to live up to what Bluecoats did with that piece). I thought they were a bit too direct in over-selling their theme with the props as well, though I did like the clouds. I felt like Crossmen were very flat on Friday and should have been passed by Troopers (how hard would that have been to do, though, for a judging panel to do that to Crossmen on the last show of the year?). Yet, I do agree that Crossmen had a stronger guard (re: balance across all captions). Thankfully, Crossmen turned it up several notches Saturday and the show sold to the upper deck much better. I would have had no qualms with Crossmen beating Troopers based on Saturday's performance. I just don't think they did on Friday night. Blue Stars - What a creative design team Blue Stars have! This was such a well done show, with so many touches, even down to the "Big top" tent drill form near the opening of the show. A strong guard with creative work powered the show, and there were nice drill moments, as well as some excellent brass arrangements. It still felt like there was quite a bit of visual dirt even by finals, but musically, this was the strongest Blue Stars have been since their nice run a few years back from '08-'10. Boston Crusaders - Boston seemed to grow by leaps and bounds over the last week of the season. The horn line got a bit stronger, and the show just started selling better. BAC had a stellar guard (I thought they were scored too low Saturday night), with great weapons work. The banners finally all worked correctly the last 2 nights, thankfully, as well. While interesting, I think the banners were part of the problem design-wise with this show, as the drill was very limited in places as a result. Did love the stage in the center of the field, though, and thought the opening drum moments were fantastic. A more powerful hornline could have pushed this show up past Cavaliers, I think. The Cavaliers - Wow, it's really jarring to see how much this corps has fallen from a design perspective. From a rather pedestrian drill to a guard program that was perhaps their poorest design in more than 2 decades, this show was just a huge disappointment to me after the promising step up they seemed to make last year. Still, there were things to like, such as the beautiful ballad moments, and a horn line that was very proficient. Cavies got stronger over the past week after their awful virus ordeal had set them reeling. Nice job recovering over the last week, as Indy was far stronger than Allentown. After Paparazzi 2 years ago and now Game On, this corps seems to be at a cross roads design wise, and I hope they figure it out while still attracting strong talent. DCI needs a top notch Cavaliers, and is missing something without that. Madison Scouts - Wow for a whole other reason. Great to hear the Boerma touch back at Scouts and what difference it makes. I was fearful before the season that this show concept wouldn't' sell well, but boy was I wrong. Madison had a good package this year, with some very nice drill and a great music book. Guard design still needs some work (the segment with cut out women in dresses was just not at the level of the rest of the show or the competitors around them, for example), but Scouts are hopefully on the cusp of a nice move over the next few years. This was by far their best drill this decade, and the horn line was loud, exciting and proficient. Loved the show, Scouts! Than you! Phantom Regiment - Ok, I was pretty harsh in my Allentown review, but I still stand behind it. This corps has far more talent, and stronger performance levels than the vehicles they are being given. That said, Phantom put on their usual last 10 day surge and actually sold this show pretty darned well, thanks to a great brassline (under-scored in my opinion), and a guard who had by far their best show of the season on Saturday night. Drill and overall visual design were just not good this year, with way too much pointless running and scatter (apart from a few very nicely done "picture" sets). Loved the uniforms though! Musically, Claire De Lune really developed into a stellar highlight by Saturday night - just beautiful in every regard. Great to hear the dark, lush sound come through for Phantom in several places in this show, and by the weekend they were on an island - clearly stronger than the corps just below them, but not close to BK above them. I truly hope Regiment goes back to the design (and arranging) drawing board and brings us something fresh and exciting, be it dark and menacing or beautiful. I'm longing for a 1993, 1996, 2003, 2004 (well except the guard that year), 2006, 2007 or 2010 type show next year. Blue Knights -- As I've said before, BK was always going to have a hard time, to me, in living up to their incredible 2014 show. That 2014 show is one of my favorite shows ever in the activity. When I first saw BK this year in Ogden, then Denver, I was very let down. By Indy, though, they had really sold me on the show. While I found the first half to be dry, taking too long to draw you in, from the ballad through the closer, this show was lush, emotional, haunting and powerful. "I'm alive" has been in my head for 2 days now. Performance wise, BK took another strong step forward from last year. I loved the guard program and the overall visual design this year - the mirrors were used in an outstanding way. I thought they had a stronger, more aggressive drill last year, but again, I thought overall the visual program was excellent. The corps moves very well, and their body movement (not to mention "plume" movement) is very well done. The colors for the flag silks were stellar. The horn line was again, powerful and emotional, with a deep, lush sound that I can't get enough of. The closing moments, with the emotional music, the gorgeous giant flags, then the quiet "poof" disappearance with the mirrors was terrific. If the first half of the show had been as strong as the 2nd, this show would have challenged SCV. Bravo, BK. I can't wait to see what you have in store for next year - and please keep this stellar uniform. Santa Clara Vanguard -- When I first saw this show, I was blown away. The opening 2-3 minutes was outstanding. There were some brilliant drill moves as well. As I saw this show several more times, though, and through, Indy, weaknesses became apparent to me - largely in design and surprisingly in the music book. The usual stellar integration between Shaw & Rennick seemed a bit off this year, and there were parts of the show towards the 2nd half that just didn't go anywhere musically. Still, this was a heck of a show that I truly enjoyed. The closing moments - aided by the brilliant lights gimmick - were thrilling. Compared to Phantom & BK, then the top 4 after them, I thought SCV's brass line was exposed in Indy, though, in terms of power and proficiency. It's kind of odd - did Shaw & the Rennicks just make for a better fit at Phantom? Nothing SCV has done musically the last 3 years comes close, in my opinion, to their greatest work at Phantom (2003, 2006, 2007, 2008 & 2010 in particular). I'm curious to see where Vanguard heads next. The Cadets -- Ok, first off, I'm in awe of what these performers accomplished this year. This was without a doubt the most difficult drill & music book on the field this year. I'm so glad Cadets capitalized on one of the things I've always loved about them - their willingness to conquer the seemingly impossible and move like hell while performing very difficult music. In some ways, this show reminds me of 1997's "Celebration" show. Not in theme ior color, but in the sheer level of difficulty in the show and what they could accomplish. I do remain convinced that the move to black was a big mistake - further limiting their ability to grow from a GE perspective. When you march as well - and in such blinding speed an difficulty as Cadets do - you can't take away their biggest effect - the flash of those legs & feet moving in white. On the other hand, the overall color scheme with the uni & silk changes was cohesive. Yet, this show needed more impact than they were able to deliver, and the guard program (as others have said - many wasted opportunities) and uniforms didn't help. Still, I loved this show from Cadets, and I love the fact they gave us straight-ahead drum corps. I hope they continue that trend and find a bit more accessibility and pop next year visually. Bravo on what you accomplished, though, Cadets! From the top deck, you were noticeably stronger on Saturday. My group honestly all thought you might move back in front of Bluecoats on Saturday. Bluecoats - I have to admit I did not like this show at all when I first saw it in Denver. I LOVED Tilt, and I felt like this show went too far, being just too much of everything & overpowered by electronics - despite astounding brass & percussion performance levels. To be honest, I still think those flaws are there - making this show less effective to me than Tilt. HOWEVER, this show grew on me a lot as the year progressed. The ballad was brilliant. The horn & drum lines were amazing. The new ending was a nice touch as well, with the member rotating on an elevated sphere. I still think the electronics were out of control, though. I felt like to the end, the spheres were more effort than reward from a visual impact perspective. Still, there was a lot to love in this show & while I think Cadets outperformed them on Saturday, we truly had four medalist worthy shows this year! Carolina Crown - I absolutely loved this show this year - most, even, among my other 2 favs (BD & Troopers). And I was pulling for them to win. YET - on Saturday night when it mattered most, Crown came out in the first half of their show safe & playing not to lose. Their volume was even subdued. Conversely, as they always do, BD came to win, turning it up another notch. This is not new for Crown - like many past years, starting back in '04-'05, Crown left their best show on the field on Friday night. Apart from intensity, there were other moments that were just a little off. Even the incredible moment in the ballad where the members try to crawl out & are pulled back in was cleaner, more effective & more dramatic on Friday night. ALL THAT SAID, I Loved, loved, loved this show. Straight ahead drum corps with great music, drill, guard & emotion - all with few props or electronic special effects. What an incredible horn line & guard. The ballad was inspired, and by season's end with the changes the closer was absolutely thrilling, with the Crown forming under the huge gold banner then the white banner for the guard member to climb through as if ascending through the clouds to heaven was the perfect ending! I wouldn't have cared if either BD or Crown won - and Criwn didn't deserve what happened to them in guard scoring Saturday night. However, between the drum line and the safe yet less clean show on Saturday night, they left a door open for BD - and BD will always seize it if they can. Blue Devils - I was a huge critic of their 2009 & 2010 shows, but BD's shows have really grown on me since, with more melody and drill to go with their always stellar performers. This year might be my favorite BD show of this decade. What a great concept done so incredibly well. The music was great, and the closer with Children Will Listen was just GORGEOUS. So beautiful, dreamy & lush. The props were tasteful this year, and there was far more drill - and demanding drill - in this show than many have them credit for. Is it just me or did every single letter of the alphabet sneak into that drill in some creative way? Bravo, BD for continuing to innovate while also being more accessible, melodic & entertaining. In my book we had 2 champions this year. BD was just more well rounded (I.E. percussion strong too) and had the stronger performance Saturday night. Congratulations on #17. Well, there you have it. My end of year review is always too long - my apologies. It's my way, I guess, of writing a love letter to another season I'm sad to see over & to remember again how many great moments there were. Can June please hurry Up? Harvey Edited August 11, 2015 by TexasPRfan 11 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TexasPRfan Posted August 10, 2015 Author Share Posted August 10, 2015 Ok, it's finished now! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
N.E. Brigand Posted August 10, 2015 Share Posted August 10, 2015 Phantom Regiment . . . Musically, "Clair de Lune" really developed into a stellar highlight by Saturday night--just beautiful in every regard. Yes, I was very impressed by how much I liked that section by the last week. Earlier in the season, it had seemed busy and pedestrian. Blue Devils . . . Is it just me or did every single letter of the alphabet sneak into that drill in some creative way? I saw AbC, XYZ, INK, and a mysterious J. Were there others? A great review, as always. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
N.E. Brigand Posted August 10, 2015 Share Posted August 10, 2015 Did you notice, live but in your very high seats, what several others have mentioned based on the webcast or from being in lower seats: --That one of Bluecoats speakers wasn't working? --That Crown's ballad soloist's microphone wasn't working? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guardguy89 Posted August 10, 2015 Share Posted August 10, 2015 Man - that is one great review - and love your guard comments - bang on! Later, Mike 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
contracurt Posted August 11, 2015 Share Posted August 11, 2015 TexasPRfan, Awesome review as usual. I have been following your reviews for several years now. Look forward to next years. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FrankBeMe Posted August 11, 2015 Share Posted August 11, 2015 Ok, it's finished now! I only saw the theater broadcast on Thursday night, which began with Academy, who I have never seen live or on video. What a show! Anyway, during the broadcast, they did a comparison of the two uniforms of the Cadets going into the set where they spelled out "TEN." First they showed them in the black uniforms, then in their traditional uniforms. To me, the black came out better. Before they went on, one of staff people was interviewed and said part of the uniform change was to be used as a back drop to the guard's neon uniforms, going so far as saying the guard's uniforms were neon because neon is the 10th element on the periodic table. About the Troopers----ok, going toward the end of the show when the troops were chasing after the "horses" with lassos, I noticed that a number of "horses" had rifles, which made me wonder why the "horses" didn't fight back! They would have won! (kidding of course) The was the most immeresed in drum corps in the last 11 years. Sure, I've been catching corps on YouTube and all that. It's just amazing how the taent level of the members have risen! None of the shows were easy, sure, some were less difficult than others, but they all were very impressive. Excellent review! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jwillis35 Posted August 11, 2015 Share Posted August 11, 2015 (edited) Great review as always!! Thanks. I agree with almost everything you said. I felt bad for the Cavaliers who were crippled due to sickness, but you're right about the guard integration. I otherwise liked that show. Phantom Regiment can still play really well. They have better talent than SCV, which is apparent to me when I hear the two live. This is why the SCV stuff isn't sounding as good. That first 3 minutes of SCV's show was stunning, but after that I lost interest with the exception of an exquisite baritone solo. By contrast, Phantom's brass can keep me interested for an entire show just on pure talent, sound, articulation, and technique. And I think it's fair to say Phantom's show was no where near as good as SCV's in terms of design. If Phantom can get the design thing worked out they will rise once again, much like they did in 2012. Madison is on the way back I believe. I loved their show, too. It took me until mid-season, but once they got the kinks worked out I fell in love with it except for the guard uniforms and the props. The Cadets were a joy no matter where they placed. If you're a music person, then you loved Cadets. One of the best brass and percussion lines all summer, and in my opinion should have won both the Ott and the Sanford. Just a monster of a music ensemble, especially when you consider what they marched. But sadly, they also missed the boat on a few things. I agree with you that the dark uniforms hurt them. The guard integration hurt (not the kids fault). the neon green was useless and all the word play, number play, and other meaningless effects they used to show the number 10 were, IMO, elementary. They would have been better off with no show theme. Still, it's easy to criticize in hindsight. I give them mad props for taking the risks and for the mostly old-school drum corps in your face show. No shortage of talent or skill with Cadets. With the comments you made about Carolina, and I wasn't there for Finals, I'm not surprised that Bluecoats almost beat them. In many ways Blooo had no big weaknesses, much like BD. Their percussion was smoking on finals night from what I can tell, their guard was solid, their brass is always solid to amazing, and from day one I thought they had a cohesive and well thought-out theme. Their GE scores were excellent too. They just weren't quite as good at performing and cleaning the feet the way BD can, but it would not have surprised me to see Blooo take 2nd. Again, thanks for the terrific review. Edited August 11, 2015 by jwillis35 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TexasPRfan Posted August 11, 2015 Author Share Posted August 11, 2015 (edited) Did you notice, live but in your very high seats, what several others have mentioned based on the webcast or from being in lower seats: --That one of Bluecoats speakers wasn't working? --That Crown's ballad soloist's microphone wasn't working? No, I didn't notice either! Edited August 11, 2015 by TexasPRfan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TexasPRfan Posted August 11, 2015 Author Share Posted August 11, 2015 Man - that is one great review - and love your guard comments - bang on! Later, Mike Thanks, Mike! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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