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Red River Thunder - Denton Texas, 7/21/16


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So if you don't wanna read a lot, stop now. Had a lot of fun with this review and wanted to make sure I talked about everything I saw. Man, this was the most entertained I have been by anything ever. Was a freakin blast. I was right behind and slightly left (from the stands) of the drum majors. LOVED the intimacy of this stadium lower down. Not only is there no track, the field is RIGHT up next to the stands so I felt like I was on the field with them. Favorite seats I have ever had. I sat next to someone who happened to know someone I did, so we talked a lot throughout, as well as talking to someone I know and their group afterwards. The people in this activity are some of the most fun and friendly you can find out there. So, onto the (AMAZING) shows:

Guardians – Radioactive

What a great way to start off the night, was my first time seeing this group live since their formation a few years ago. Very impressive, definitely stood up well with what I saw of Pioneer the night before. Nice uniforms, Cedar Park high schools from a few years ago I believe. From a performance standpoint, brass and percussion performance definitely stood out, great balanced sound with a great low end, and percussion was very aggressive and played well. They put out some great volume at big moments too. Guard was nice, loved the first all-black with the lime accents, made their equipment really pop, but maybe bled into the corps dark uniforms a bit, which was fixed when they took those off and had the various colored tops on. The show was fun, lots of recognizable music across many different idioms and genres. Was tailored well to their performance capabilities. I do wish they did something with those barrels, I was definitely waiting for the brass to go up front and get them out on the field, and it looked like they were at points and just left them, there’s a high school show from Winston Churchill in the early 2000s that reminded me a lot of this show. Overall, a great start to the evening, and this group has a bright future. Best of luck in San Antonio, and then your first trip to Indianapolis!

Memorable Moment – Drum Feature

Pacific Crest – The Union

Talk about underrated and underappreciated. After last year’s show, which I’ve not been shy about thematically and it being a pretty big miss in that regard, this year was exactly what they needed. A simple theme, one that everyone can get, and one that’s easy to present. And I think they’ve done that brilliantly. I think there is some depth in this show that has gone a little bit unnoticed, and it really takes the idea of the Pacific Union line, connecting the country from coast to coast and runs with it. The ballad for instance. During “Fix You” there is a duality between the two sides of the field, two soloists on each side. As it progresses they come closer and closer, and finally come together at the climax of it. I think there are things like this that elevate it just beyond a train show. Speaking of the ballad, man. One of my favorite PC memories was them playing “Yellow” back in 2012. I’m not a big Cold Play fan, but Pacific Crest has a way of making it work really well for them, and they did again this year. Back to the beginning, love the drum feature at the start, the drums can play. And the closer is great, the ritards into that block to the end where the Metheny tune comes in to the end is just great. Love the last set of flags with all the train stuff on them, something I didn’t notice on the DCI live casts. Speaking of the guard, LOVE the costuming, didn’t really come through online as well, love the touch of color in the scarfs. Guard really performed well too, great communication from a facial standpoint. Performance wise, they were great. Really solid brass with a GREAT low end, and you need some sweet baris for a train show. Percussion was really solid, they had a few GREAT features, and like I said, guard was great. I really enjoyed this show, and I’m not really sure why they aren’t scoring better. Was WAY better than the No Strings Attatched which is when I last saw them. Overall, really enjoyable, easy to get, and well performed. What more can you ask for?

Memorable Moment – Pat Metheny Ending

Mandarins – Forbidden Forrest

I think I enjoyed last year’s show more, but I think this years is just as solid, if that makes sense. The music book isn’t particularly my favorite, but in context of the visual package it works SO well. They have really done a great job the last two years of putting together a complete package. The trees were very visible and very convincing, at least lower in the stands. Like the staging of them, and man, was impressive watching the brass push them around, there were tradeoffs, two at once, was fun. Brass was a tad more powerful than Pacific Crest, just a little more raw, but not by much. Percussion was VERY solid and entertaining, love the aggressiveness of their book, and I think a big strength for them is their colorguard. VERY well integrated, great costuming and color scheme, and they are incredibly exciting to watch. Not sure about the story, but there are some great moments in the show, loved the silent guard moment with the oriental synth stuff into the company front in the ballad, that moment was REALLY well done. Some great GE moments like that throughout the show. Overall, very nice job!

Memorable Moment – Ballad Impact

The Academy – Drum Corpse Bride

Wow. Wow wow wow. I’ll start off performance wise. Brass, opening impact is one of the loudest things I heard last night. The build into it and the payoff is sublime. HUGE GE moment. They sound great on the move, and I think they have more difficulty in that regard than some people give them credit for. Might not have a bunch of crazy runs, but they have some great simultaneous demand. Percussion was really solid, great drums with some very aggressive writing and performance quality. There are few drumlines that hype as much as they do, my neck hurt watching them. Haha. THE PIT. Most entertaining front ensemble? I’ll get to that more in a minute. Colorguard was great, their communication and character is astounding, really draws you into the show and immerses you. So the show. I think there are a few corps that could learn some from what The Academy is doing in terms of telling a story. It’s simple, easy to get, easy to follow because of some BRILLIANT staging and how they draw your focus, and they are in character and obviously believe in this show. Their performance energy was infectious, sitting so close I could just feel how much fun they were having performing this show. The graveyard section in particular was just brilliant, the front ensemble players with the little xylos mounted on them with their hilarious hats/masks on was just a blast. Man, during the Profokiev they are HAULING it, no lack of visual demand there. There is a really cool moment where they get into a very vertical block, mesh it around and do a spin back into it that was really cool even up close. So the closer. In terms of show pacing they are doing a little atypical stuff which is REALLY refreshing, the middle 8 minutes of this show is pretty nonstop run and gun. So when you finally get to this lush, gorgeous, beautiful ballad, the change in pace is very noticeable and welcome. Beautiful flugel soloist by the way. Love how they stage the props to highlight he characters at the end, the final walk down the isle of the couple is just perfect, and the emotion coming from the brassline as they turn around that last time is just fantastic. THANK YOU for playing a single song and just letting it grow, and develop, and take its time to flourish and build. In a day of 20 pieces in a show, it was really really really refreshing. Reminds me of Madison’s New York closer from 2011 in how they just let it take its time and grow and grow til the end. This is just old school, fun, entertaining, and easy to get entertainment. Thank you for taking the route you have the last few years, I think everyone else will agree this show is just hard not to like. Was up there in enjoyment with the top shows for me. Will remember this one for a LONG time.

Memorable Moment – The Whole Closer

Santa Clara Vanguard – Force of Nature

This show did not disappoint. The grace, beauty, simplicity, and class of them is just second to none this year. There isn’t another show like it this year. The front boards, trees, and use of color and creative guard equipment is all they need to get this fresh four seasons theme across, and against the tapestry of their stunning uniforms, this show is just a visual feast for the eyes. The music too is just to die for beautiful. I’m glad I was up close and personal to hear that sublime front ensemble beginning, the musicality of how they play is just stunning to watch. My favorite front ensemble last night. And then the contras come in……oh my God they are amazing. Best contra section I heard in my two days of shows. Then the sound of the brass backfield, get ready for that in a dome, the reverb of that is going to be amazing, and what came next was nothing short of breathtaking. That opening impact is so lush, beautiful, with the right amount of volume to sell it. And the mellos, the whole show for that matter, as they come forward for that final halt at the beginning was just perfection. That opening is probably my favorite section of drum corps this year. I love the summer portion of the show, the Stephen Melillo section was perfect for this, a great balance of chaos for the summer thunderstorm, and beauty as well. The yellow lightning rifles are awesome by the way. There is a mello lick towards the end of this section that was awesome, they continued to shine. Flag exchange over the corps to finish this out was awesome. Ballad, is as I have used this word a billion times for this show already, stunning. The baritone soloist is out of this world good, such beautiful tone and musicality. The climax as the guard emerges with those stunning skirts and beautiful flags in different shades of autumn with the really cool branch poles just ties what you are hearing with what you are seeing and it’s amazing. The beginning of the closer, sees one of the best moments this year for me in terms of tone and mood, the front ensemble writing combined with some very understated tenor licks as the brass lays down in their snowflakes is perfect. Some very impressive brass licks in the Vivaldi, particularly some great trumpet licks. The Vanguard moment is fantastic and classic, pretty obvious where it is. The show does end a little abruptly as has been stated, but I’m watching for them in Atlanta after 4 rehearsal days to have the real one on there. Didn’t stop the crowd from loving them. Brass was amazing, definitely HUGELY improved over when I last heard them in 2014. Percussion was great, drums were a little more subdued this year and better integrated into the brass book, and guard was great too. So all around, stunning and performed as well as it is designed. Loved it.

Memorable Moment – Front Ensemble Opening

Blue Knights – The Great Event

I’ll keep my comments on them and Cadets brief, as I saw them in Broken Arrow the previous day. You can find my review for that show in the review section as well. They seemed a lot tighter in Denton, sold the ending a lot better for me. I’m still not sold personally on the show, and a lot of comments from where I was sitting and from a big group I talked to afterwards indicated what I thought would be the thoughts of people who haven’t heard anything before hand and only got to see them once. They thought they looked and sounded amazing, but did not get the show at all. Not saying that’s a design flaw, but was the reaction of the group and various other people I talked to. But the percussion, unreal.

Memorable Moment – Drumline

The Cadets – Awakening

Same as BK, saw them the day before and I’ll keep this pretty brief too. Thought they were tighter in Denton as well. And maybe it was just being right up next to the field, but HOLY GOD THAT OPENING IS SO LOUD AHH. Was up there with Crowns hornline in terms of volume and Bluecoats too, and Cavaliers surprisingly. They can pump it. Ballad seemed A LOT tighter, new stuff is improving greatly. Group I talked to had the same thoughts I did. They actually enjoyed this show A LOT more than their last few ones, and they actually got it too. So the changes are working, keep it up! Still do not like the section from the grid to the finale. But the rest, fantastic.

Memorable Moment – Climax of the Pines of Rome Opening

Carolina Crown – Relentless

Hadn’t seen them since 2013. I don’t know if I just forgot, but that hornline. Holy crap. So pure, balanced, clear, and just perfect. They have incredible range too, they can pump the volume, but they can also get really delicate and soft too like at the beginning and in the ballad. Just………wow. Percussion was SO aggressive and entertaining, they have some serious attitude and a gait to how they carry themselves that they haven’t had in a long time. Can see how they are scoring so well. And that guard. Perfection. I’m not a guard guy, but everything just seemed so perfect. Every toss, every spin, everything. And they can perform too, they’re not just technical monsters, they can make you laugh, cry, get on the edge of your seat, get ######, and any other emotion. The show. That opening Medea impact, loudest moment of the night for where I was. The attack was perfectly vertical and together which made it even louder I feel. And when the drums come in it’s just…….well relentless. Haha. The stagecoach and costuming additions make the story really easy to follow live. Stagecoach rides in, dude in the poncho and cowboy hat robs them, and shoots the dad of the father son duo. The Journey section puts every section front and center so well. The double/triple tounging stuff in the brass was amazingly solid, so hard and they do it so well. When the guard goes on all flag and is dispersed in that curvilinear form they just demand your attention and don’t let go. Think my ONLY quibble with the story is there isn’t much in this section still, they sold me on the rest, so I’m hoping for just an addition or two here. Roxanne. Crowd devoured this. Story was so easy to follow live. The son stumbles into a bar on his journey for revenge, and sees Mr. ###### cowboy getting a little touchy with the woman in the saloon and then all hell breaks loose with an INCREDIBLY convincing bar fight sequence. Those two are front and center, but the rest of the corps also breaks out into chaos and instruments AND punches are flying with the drums ramming away. And oh my God, that Trombone soloist is fantastic. They really sold the use of it with him. Fantastic job dude. The guard stuff on the stools with the pairs was AMAZING. I could not stop watching them. So onto the ballad. Amazing soloists/duets first of all. They show off a great tender side here with some great lower volume playing. They can do that too. Great focus on the stagecoach for the story, looks like we see the murder recur again as son watches helplessly. As the climax builds into the trio stuff, we see the father appear in a ghostly looking white garment to meet with the son. I love the mashup, great ballad. Closer. Brilliant display of technicality by the brass and percussion, they definitely get their notes in here. Love the tag added to the Equilibrium lick. And that Medea reprise. Perfect way to end this show, the volume as they ended was deafening. The draw to the stagecoach as the son gets his revenge is hard to miss, they make you look in that direction and its hard to miss. Love the slow-mo matrix gun grab. Loved this show, all my big complaints are gone after seeing it live. If I had one or two little things, I think the son character could still use some more defining features, they’ve done a great job of doing this with the bad guy and the father, but the son hasn’t gotten any additions. Feel like that would be good. And the Journey section does go dead story wise, but it picks right back up in Roxanne. But overall, fantastic job Crown. Well-deserved win, they march and do body REALLY REALLY REALLY well. Loved it.

Memorable Moment – Medea Opening Hit

Bluecoats – Down-Side-Up

I have not seen the new Bluecoats. I saw the genesis in 2013, but due to some weather events and some scheduling conflicts, I was not able to see them in 2014 and 2015 which I will forever regret. So needless to say, I was ecstatic. From the moment they stepped onto the field to set up, crowd was pretty electric. They did not disappoint. At all. Any. I’ve never heard so many oohs, ahhs, wows, WOAHS, and those kinds of comments during a show. As soon as the hornline runs out into that opening dance sequence I was hooked. There is so much going on at all times. The way the intro builds and builds and builds is amazing, they draw your focus as each group comes in, and their field coverage is wild, stuff going on all over the place as it builds. The articulations of the brass in Heat of the Day are fantastic, can see how they have been scoring so well in brass. The guard running out into that first impact was fantastic, the way sections enter and exit demands your attention. They move their props REALLY well, they don’t become a distraction ever when they’re moving for me personally, either because there is something else going on to draw away your attention, or because there is a guard member doing some kind of choreography on top of them when they’re moving. So the screamer quartet, LOVED it. Got the crowd pretty riled up, the high brass going up and down the ramps as this is going on with that groove from the amazing front ensemble under that is just fantastic. One of my favorite sections on the field this year. The impact after this where they contras are RIGHT up on the front sideline is soooooooooooo loud and in your face. The hip sways and lower body movement is pretty #### sexy, I must say. Crowd loved that. Rewind section was really cool, and you know what? That’s the first time I noticed electronics/synth. It’s either woven in REALLY well or there is not as much as people have been making there out to be. Up to this point, all I heard was amazing proficient and entertaining brass and percussion. Love the guard at the end of this section dispersed throughout the props, really exciting work to close that section out with rifles flying up out of the sea of flags. Great Gig. Omg. WOW. If you want a park and bark power ballad this is it. It’s elevated with some very modern staging and choreography, but it’s really old school too. There are a set of trombones at the beginning backfield I didn’t even notice online, but in person it’s such a beautiful and unique texture that adds so much. And that soloist…………he’s AMAZING. Not just the playing which is top of the line, how he carries himself and interacts with the guard members, is just pure performance quality, he’s an entertainer. The climax with the brass dispersed EVERYWHERE just filled that stadium up with sound, the body stuff really accentuating it and elevating it. I love a comment I read by I think NakedEye earlier, the guard emerging with the silks at the climax is like a drop of food coloring being dropped into the white color of the brass, it erupts with color. Really cool exchanging work with the flags as the guard gets pretty sultry in their dance stuff. Their guard is really entertaining up close and personal, so much fun to watch! Closer, love the front half of it! The trombone octet with the bass trombones is so dirty, low, and grungy and I just love it. Some really cool dance stuff with the guard on the props as they are moved again, they definitely don’t just slide on those things. Love the trumpet licks in Todo Tiende with the snares underlying them, great stuff. I’m excited to see the new ending, I definitely don’t mind the one they have now as the tension and chaos just builds and builds with the trombones smearing all over the place, but I have a feeling they’re not done. So in the end, SO much going on, SO much GE. All sections are incredibly talented. I don’t understand the lack of demand comments at all. What they might not have in licks or runs they have in field coverage and marching/playing demand. Some incredibly detailed body stuff too while they’re playing that is going on. Guard was so high octane and entertaining live, really fun to watch! Percussion was SO fun, the front ensemble writing is so much fun, the guitar stuff is so cool, and the latin/ethnic percussion is just fantastic. Love the incredibly organic writing by Rarick which is perfectly integrated into the brass book which is amazing from Mr. Thrower. That’s what this show is, just incredibly organic. My favorite of the last two days, they did not let me down. I love this corps so much. Always been a fan since they gave me my first live corps experience in 2009, and now they’re at this level. Amazing show, don’t care where it places when it makes me feel like that.

Memorable Moment – Great Gig in the Sky Climax (and the whole show)

The Cavaliers – Propaganda

I was a tad worried that they had to follow the two amazing shows and corps before them, but they did without hesitation. The opening impact of this show is built into SO well, the tension and then the Machine quote as they turn around is just so well constructed. Loved it, they can pump the volume too. The Gould is so quirky and weird, but in a really good way. Some great technical brass moments, and a bass line straight from heaven. That bassline is phenomenal, best one I heard this week, or at least the most entertaining. They were ripping away for 45 seconds without a single choppy run or a single floppy unsion, the runs were smooth and SO well blended, and the unison attacks were perfectly vertical and together. As a bass guy, ya’ll stole my heart guys. Phenomenal job. Guard on all rifles was so much fun to watch, and doesn’t seem like that goes on a lot nowadays (Crown too). The way they are integrated into the drill is just sublime too, the focus is drawn to them so well courtesy of Mr. Hinshaw with the drill. Love the sequential toss at the end of this section, and they all caught it if I remember right. That guard reminds me of their 2000s ones so much, entertaining, masculine, and very proficient. Ballad, love the Chaplin speech, such a great choice for this show. Love the desolate, sad tone of this ballad, gives a look at the war time propaganda and the not so nice sides of that. Those men can sing, that gradual layering in of the brass to that vocal ensemble is just fantastic, the gradual dying off of the chaos of the drums and other voiceovers is well done. Then that ballad impact………wow. One of my favorite moments of the year. SO much emotion and performance quality in that moment, such beautiful music. Now for the closer. Oh my God. I have never been more entertained in my life. I have never seen so much pointing, heard so much laughter and busting out of it, and comments during a show in that regard. When Trump came in after Reagan, I heard probably 10 people around me just lose it laughing. The snares coming forward with the megaphones doing the drum speak stuff (I would LOVE to know what they are saying) is so entertaining and they’re playing while doing it! Trombones during Lollapalooza were great, really gritty and low brassy sound, great stuff. Loved the sequential guard toss over the Trump sign, funny stuff. This closer just builds and builds and builds, more ads appear, more voiceovers appear, the orchestration and musical texture gets thicker, and it just becomes a sensory overload, and for this show I think it’s brilliant. The jam out with the dueling presidential candidate’s signs is hilarious, incredibly relevant and risky. The playfulness of the guard is so entertaining here. Finale is just…….wow. Meowmix, Coca Cola flags, and just everything happening as they get RIGHT up on the front sideline with some INCREDIBLY loud brass hits to end the show is just, wow. I tell you what, they had the crowd talking. Good or bad this show created some big discussion. It’s incredibly relevant and entertaining as hell. Balanced with what they chose to use. I dunno, if you’re going to do a show like this you need to go ALL in or don’t do it, and they went all in. This was probably the most entertaining of the shows for me. Was a freakin blast. And they sounded amazing in the encore by the way. Welcome back Cavaliers. You’ve got that swagger back.

Memorable Moment – Opening Impact

Other Thoughts of Both Nights

So top to bottom, incredibly entertaining shows that seemed to have the crowds in mind, top to bottom. Such incredible performance levels too! What these kids do is just amazing, really. I didn't even look at a recap until I got home today. I didn't even care about the scores because of how these kids and their shows made me feel. It was amazing. I think some of us get way too caught up in scores. I think I had gotten way too hung up in trends, what a corps weaknesses are, what they needed to do to fix their shows, who was getting closer and who they were beating, and all that kind of stuff. I'm not saying that stuff needs to take a back seat, but I think from now on my primary focus watching drum corps will be finding something in every show that I can enjoy and love, and just enjoying the performances. Over the last two days I could have also included certain performers that had a bad night and messed up, a guard that had an off night with a lot of drops, an early entrance, but I don't feel like doing that. It's not my place I feel, and that's the judges job. I've had my share of embarrassing screw ups in the past, and all I'd want those times is for someone to go online the one night I screwed up and point it out and say how terrible it was. I think we forget sometimes these kids are all the same. They're sacrificing thousands of dollars, their summers, and relationships to commit to something that is incredibly taxing, hard, tiring, and just downright ridiculous. But the payoff of that for us, the fans, is so worth their sacrifices to do that. They all have familes there to cheer them on, getting to finally see their sons/daughters/friends/family members perform. I think on here some people really lose touch of that in the way they talk about certain shows or corps they might not have the highest admiration for. That criticism can be done without being nasty, and I think that's part of the bad rap this site gets sometimes. So my work of advice is just watch your criticisms and be nice in them. It's been cool to see what seems like an influx of parents on here lately, and I don't want them scared away because they are such a valuable part of this activity. Any of you parents should be really proud of your kids, I never did this and will forever regret that, so the fact yours are out there doing it is such an amazing thing. Bravo to them.

So here is my enjoyment over both nights, separate and together. I enjoyed ALL performances! From Pioneer to Cadets and Guardians to Crown, every show had something really enjoyable. Every performance was inspired and I was lucky and happy to watch every corps. Any downfalls I had were minimal, and all on show design, nothing more and nothing less. I'm not taking into consideration performance levels, just how much I enjoyed their performance and show, relative to where each corps is competitively.

Broken Arrow:

  1. Blue Stars
  2. Crossmen
  3. The Cadets
  4. Oregon Crusaders
  5. Colts
  6. Seattle Cascades
  7. Blue Knights
  8. Spirit of Atlanta
  9. Pioneer

Denton:

  1. Bluecoats/Carolina Crown/The Cavaliers/The Academy/Santa Clara Vanguard - Really, my five favorites this year, and they are so different and exciting in their own ways I just can't pick right now.
  2. The Cadets
  3. Pacific Crest
  4. Blue Knights
  5. Mandarins
  6. Guardians

Both Days:

  1. Bluecoats/Carolina Crown/The Cavaliers/The Academy/Santa Clara Vanguard
  2. Blue Stars
  3. Crossmen
  4. The Cadets
  5. Oregon Crusaders
  6. Colts
  7. Pacific Crest
  8. Seattle Cascades
  9. Blue Knights
  10. Mandarins
  11. Spirit of Atlanta
  12. Pioneer
  13. Guardians

So excited to see what the rest of this season has in store, have never been more excited about this activity!

Edited by DrumManTx
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What a great and well thought out review! Thanks!

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Awesome review!! Thanks for such detail and thoughtfulness. Also, I agree on just about every assessment!

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Thanks for the Pacific Crest love!

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Carolina Crown – Relentless

[...]

Closer. Brilliant display of technicality by the brass and percussion, they definitely get their notes in here.

At Akron, I told a friend that when they got that section clean, it was going to be amazing: it's practically a percussion feature done with brass instruments.

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Dear DrumManTx. I want to commend you for one of the most complete, detailed, positive, inspiring. Activity Affirming, reviews I have ever read on DCP since joining back in June 25, 2005. Obviously with your 7,831 post since 2009 (compared to my 199). You most certainly have earned your "DCP Fanatic" status. lol. There just isn't any way that any Corps member could not read that marvelous review and not come away feeling "amazing" thanks to the way you featured each and every Corps in such a personal, respectful way. What I wouldn't give to possess your incredible gift of memory and total recall. WOW! Your well written, detailed and eloquently expressed review belongs within the covers of "Drum Corps World" Magazine! Your unabashed enthusiasm and the child like wonder in response to these shows was so infectious that it put me in the stands with you. That is one heck of accomplishment. Bravo.

In addition, I found your "Other Thoughts of Both Nights" to read like a finely crafted Editorial.. Thank you for the time, thought, effort and your personal flourishes in bringing this review alive, for all of us to enjoy.

Cheers Mate.

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I told you I would give them some. Haha.

May I post your PC review (with credit, of course) over on the PC Friends and Family page on Facebook? After the recent run of stagnant scores, I think this would show PC fans many folks DO appreciate and enjoy what Pacific Crest is presenting on the field.

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May I post your PC review (with credit, of course) over on the PC Friends and Family page on Facebook? After the recent run of stagnant scores, I think this would show PC fans many folks DO appreciate and enjoy what Pacific Crest is presenting on the field.

You don't even have to ask, of course!

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Dear DrumManTx. I want to commend you for one of the most complete, detailed, positive, inspiring. Activity Affirming, reviews I have ever read on DCP since joining back in June 25, 2005. Obviously with your 7,831 post since 2009 (compared to my 199). You most certainly have earned your "DCP Fanatic" status. lol. There just isn't any way that any Corps member could not read that marvelous review and not come away feeling "amazing" thanks to the way you featured each and every Corps in such a personal, respectful way. What I wouldn't give to possess your incredible gift of memory and total recall. WOW! Your well written, detailed and eloquently expressed review belongs within the covers of "Drum Corps World" Magazine! Your unabashed enthusiasm and the child like wonder in response to these shows was so infectious that it put me in the stands with you. That is one heck of accomplishment. Bravo.

In addition, I found your "Other Thoughts of Both Nights" to read like a finely crafted Editorial.. Thank you for the time, thought, effort and your personal flourishes in bringing this review alive, for all of us to enjoy.

Cheers Mate.

Thank you so much! I've always wanted to write or do a blog, but it's just so hard to get an audience so DCP is a good alternative with a big audience. It's a pipe dream of mine to write stuff like Kevin Gamin or Michael Boo for instance.

The way I see it, it would be so easy to put on my Music Major hat and say, and these are real things, I noticed, "that trumpet player got really lost and was distracting", or "man, those mellos were just a few cents sharp" but I didn't come to these shows to judge or evaluate these young men and women (definitely not kids as I referred to them earlier), I cam to be entertained, enamored, and just enjoy what the members have been working so hard on all summer.

They deserve some love, all of them. There are enough others on here that criticize and analyze everything about the shows. That's fine, but not for me for this review. Had an amazing time, and wanted to reflect that. I'm not gonna let my training get in the way of that.

Thanks again, glad I'm not just aimlessly babbling on.

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