Kingston, NY show was successful

[RickiJay]

Inspite of the threat of rain in the afternoon, and it was nice day and the rain never did materialize. We attended the Cabs practice in the afternoon at Coleman High School, it was real hot and the corp members worked their butts off. By showtime, the temperature was still up there, but the competition side of the field is in the shade and it was comfortable for the spectators. The show started out very slowly, but built up very nicely. Fusion Corps is polishing up their act for Labor Day Weekend, and they may end up right in the top 3, we were not crazy for their music but the flags were great and the "weapons" were tossed around with precision. The corps was very clean and enjoyable. I have been following The Caballeros for over 50 years since first seeing them at a show in Kingston and my wife and I now travel quite a bit to support and enjoy their shows and practice sessions, however inspite of the fact that I am not qualified to judge anything, I personally thought Fusion put a better overall show but I was happy to hear that The Cabs won.

As a side note, I heard a man and his wife in the stands carrying on about "why these bands have to use swords and rifles" with children in attendance. GO FIGURE???

[BigW]

"As a side note, I heard a man and his wife in the stands carrying on about "why these bands have to use swords and rifles" with children in attendance."

And people on DCP keep asking why the activity has trouble getting big crowds. The question I seriously ask is- does the activity want or need people like that who are totally disconnected?

[trptmagnet]

<while my new Dewalt weed whacker battery recharges <<guess I need 2 batteries>>>, …

A few thoughts on Kingston to share. <ya know mowin’ and weed whackin’ as medium focus activities gives time for bubbling up ideas so here ya go>

So yesterday, me being inactive from Core, I was, yes, in The Pool thinking of all the corps up in Kingston sweating their butts in the last run getting ready to compete. Up at 4:30 AM, get the bus, work all day. So yes it is hard to really relax as inactive member, knowing the work they do, so I got the urge to make the drive and GO. The rain threat made its way north to south, so driving north on Thruway there were dark skies and a short period of rain. Then … Gorgeous clear. And by showtime I’d say weather was perfect.

I love that Kingston show: the folks that run it, the crowds, the terrible legendary-bad showers even, the rain challenges, the warmup in neighbor streets - and so I am glad it is back. Looking forward to more great competition and another round of scores, I bought my ticket. Kingston has all reserved seating, so the line can get long and slow as each person selects a seat, and gets that ticket drawn out from the deck. Great folks there doing that ticket work though! Fascinating but obvious that the seating grid (yes on graph paper) fills from 50 up high on out and down. I ended up sitting Side 2 outside the 30, down low with friends so that specially picked seat never got visited. The Stadium was quite full, a great crowd - they love Sunrisers, they love Fusion, They LOVE the CABS, and they LOVE THE ALUMNI. And treat all corps great.

I was out with my Core in the parking lot after Sunrisers but came back to see Cabs from backfield. So comments are light, but here goes.

Sunrisers are getting stronger every week. I had this impression of old style drum corps even though guard and show concept is very modern. They get into these brass power formations and go all out. The high note guy screams on every tag, but not sticking out of the blend – love it. And the vets solo work rocks. Scottie and Carol as drum majors - ya know I’ve been counting past few weeks – these folks each have been with 5 DCA corps each – can you name them? (Richie W got all 10)

Fusion – stronger in all aspects since Woodbridge – the show is brought by all members very cohesively. The sounds are dark and ominous and the gorgeous recognizable ballad is great. They keep you on edge of seat. The scores vs. Cabs show the comparison quite well, essentially for me visual vs brass (leave percussion and guard out for a moment). Cabs hornline is powerhouse and they use it well.

Cabs (from backfield) – kick a** energy, force and confidence to the front. Big company percussion line elongated left to right looks and sounded impressive to me; neighbor said dirt, sorry – he’s a drum guy. The tubas are gorgeous – Bubba is back with his bros (maybe ladies too, don’t know).

I missed Sabers and Hurcs. Bush is sounding good - recognizable tunes from Billy Joel are fun. Was the pit soloist guy there, maybe not, sorry if he was? (ouch) He is great, but I am not a fan of pit soloist, even Joey P <not as musician/person, as pit soloist functional utility>. Wait I am confused, that is C2 for another show (by the way one theme for me in appreciating corps this year is The Recognizable Tunes <even recognizable by me>. C2’s “Both Sides Now” may be best of the year.

Back in the stands for Cabs Alumni. Just great solo work from #1 Sop guy. And the corps grooves better than ever. The crowd loves every minute. Outdoor brass and drums at its best on Summer Night. If you know the sound and the look, no more need be said.

Now OLYMPIC Retreat. So the Rio Olympics had pageantry Friday night. But Kingston calls for the drum corps Olympic Retreat. Some corps travel to Schuylerville later that night, but line up and do it.

From the stands it is spectacular. Cab’s Alumni playing the corps on with awesome groove. (duhdatdatdadat … doomp doomp) Drum majors leading all serious, each guard person with that arm up and hand gesture and smile, the hornlines and drumlines endless, side by side, corps by corps, uniform colors a blur and a long march to back field. Really folks it is spectacular. The Announcer did a great job getting right to the scores, after some nice education scholarships for various corps members.

Serious drama right to end, 2^nd place with High Guard and Visual I think <ooops now I knew who won>, and Cabs took it by 0.8. Each corps “played itself off”, in reverse order of placement, and really that should be captured somewhere. Fans yell remarks with vigor for each corps, ’nuff said.

OK so I understand at pre-game corps were asked if anyone would not want to do a victory concert if asked. No objections. So I stayed, maybe best part of the night ….

Cabs arc’d it up with pit in front and ran the show. This is how you can see the bond of a corps and the well-rehearsed content, in an all-out bring it with b*** performance.

My buddy Doc blew the house down with the trio or whatever they had – Love it. A proud moment for the Cabs – cant’s wait to see the next show and show down.

Oh yeah, I’m biased as I love the parades and Olympic retreat – dreaded by many marching members - LOL. Schuylerville had a parade today and 4 PM EDT show, scores should be in SOON.

Don

edited for typos, and to complete .... now I knew who won

(those caption results give away the winner yahhhh?)

Edited August 8, 2016 by trptmagnet