jwillis35 Posted July 17, 2017 Share Posted July 17, 2017 1 hour ago, cowtown said: My live review Cadets; visually, a very tacky show. It sounded nice, agree that electronics were lost (I was in the first 20 rows in the ‘seats’). I like their music as I like the source. My friend the hardcore catholic loved it and was taking picture of the closing set. The guard member humping the cross was a nice touch. It seemed sort of High School musical, immature in it’s presentation, not artsy at all. Brace yourself Cadets, you may be headed to 7th place. I like the choir, they do a great job SCV; really disappointed by their horn line, found the mic-ed ensemble to be very annoying live. I don’t know how they are scoring so well in brass. Some strange music GE moments that I don’t think they are being dinged for like the entire horn line is on the left side of the field and I hear them blasting out of the right speaker, not sure why they didn’t pan the balance to match the visual. It felt like a cheat as the top brass lines; Crown, BD, Bloo and Cadets would have taught their entire horn line to handle it. If it’s for an effect, I don’t get it. I was surprised how much it ruined the show for me as the rest of the show is brilliant. Some major foot timing issue, guard was out of step some time. I take it back, they should not have been over BD. Live, they didn’t live up to their videos. Thanks for doing a review. Well done. I agree with some of your Cadets comments. I like the drill and visual content the members perform, but do not care for the crosses, the small tarp at the end, and in general anything that tries to get too explicit or literal. I agree with you that the big cross at the end placed on the guard member's back was high school-ish and not needed. I love their music. It was well done and even if you're not a religious person I think the music is beautiful and easy to follow. They probably do not have enough climactic moments in the music to push their GE into top 5 territory. Once clean I can still see them in 6th, maybe 5th at best. Most likely 6th or 7th. A much better vehicle than last year though. As much as I do love their chorus -- they are a joy to listen to -- their contribution is probably a pinch too much. But I can understand it. If you have voices like that you might as well use them -- and perhaps that's the danger in a mostly brass & drums activity. Becoming too diverse. I am surprised by your SCV comments, but I have seen a few others comment on the same things you have. I have not seen them live, but even from video I find myself liking the show but not loving it. The music does not speak to me as it might to others. Love their guard and visual book. But to me they are not a top 2 show, not once Bluecoats clean. But I'm usually wrong on predictions so take that for what it is worth. But I was intrigued by your thoughts on Vanguard. I also agree about Cavaliers. Again, I have only seen them on video, so to be fair I will comment more once I see them live. But their music construction does nothing for me. It's a little blip here, a small phrase there, and short brass run here, and then power chord. It's pretty chopped up, as is their visual program. I probably just do not know enough about what they are trying to do. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HockeyDad Posted July 17, 2017 Share Posted July 17, 2017 2 hours ago, cowtown said: My live review The guard member humping the cross was a nice touch. And there you have it. Another example of why, year after year, Cowtown is my favorite poster. I am still laughing a half hour after reading this. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trumpetcam Posted July 17, 2017 Share Posted July 17, 2017 2 hours ago, cowtown said: My live review Colts; their show is way better than it was in Michigan City. They have done a nice job with it and are marching it fairly well. That prop still seems like a prop for props sake Academy; generally liked their show, it felt a bit long, has some GE lulls. The people I was with liked it. Nice show. A few good moments here and there, I was wondering if kids knew ‘kill the wabbit’ or that was a generation lapse. Be cool if they added Leopold at the start. Didn’t think it was corny, felt it could use more gags to keep it moving Crossmen; agree that they had a really nice brass sound and they didn’t dump a ton of electronics on it. Yea. It’s a nice enough show, was glad the folks with me mentioned the bondage vibe because I get that too. Something about that ballad has a 70’s art house creep feel and then their tie-you-up props. This show doesn’t grab me or anything, the brass is the best part. Not a bad show by any means just not my thing Blues Stars; they have a lot of drill to clean; drums were better than the horns. Guard needs some work. It’s a nice enough show, doesn’t rock me, my favorite aspect is their drill. The flags using the quills was cool, the end still seems so disjointed and the voice over is redundant. Outside the Vegas show and the movies, there really isn’t a connecting idea which was noticed by the folks with me. None of us had seen more than one of the movies so… Cadets; visually, a very tacky show. It sounded nice, agree that electronics were lost (I was in the first 20 rows in the ‘seats’). I like their music as I like the source. My friend the hardcore catholic loved it and was taking picture of the closing set. The guard member humping the cross was a nice touch. It seemed sort of High School musical, immature in it’s presentation, not artsy at all. Brace yourself Cadets, you may be headed to 7th place. I like the choir, they do a great job SCV; really disappointed by their horn line, found the mic-ed ensemble to be very annoying live. I don’t know how they are scoring so well in brass. Some strange music GE moments that I don’t think they are being dinged for like the entire horn line is on the left side of the field and I hear them blasting out of the right speaker, not sure why they didn’t pan the balance to match the visual. It felt like a cheat as the top brass lines; Crown, BD, Bloo and Cadets would have taught their entire horn line to handle it. If it’s for an effect, I don’t get it. I was surprised how much it ruined the show for me as the rest of the show is brilliant. Some major foot timing issue, guard was out of step some time. I take it back, they should not have been over BD. Live, they didn’t live up to their videos. Cavies, with the electronics buried, I liked it better. I’m so on and off with this show. It will stay ahead of Cadets. The show lost a long time Cavies fan next to me and no one loved it, just OK. It’s very busy and for people that see just one show a year and would never watch a video, that’s not a good thing. They complained about it. All these layers and nuances are for the judges and the active fans and they do come at a price, thanks to the fresh eyes that pointed that out to me Regiment; they’ve been a big mystery to me and sort of still are…after SCV I was expecting to hate the mic-ed brass but it didn’t have the same effect as it was the entire ensemble and only a few moments made me notice the amps. The corps was playing a softly but it got picked up and was loud through the amp so blew the Musical Effect. Then some major dirt in the horns during the closer and the mics really emphasized it, if they can’t get the brass cleaner, they should lose the mics unles they like showing off their dirt. In a different stadium, I may hate their mics but I didn’t that night. They run a lot but I was too low to catch the visual point. I liked their show, didn’t love it but a big step up from the past 2 years. They are on the right track. They filled the field and looked huge and that’s without props (other than the guard). I wonder if lack of props will hurt them, I’d hate it if it did. There is a lot of effect in the show to be realized by cleaning, especially in the guard. So just clean, don’t add. Their show looked completely unique; no other corps looked like them. I didn’t get the voice overs or the point, they too drifted into 70’s art house smut not that that’s necessarily a bad thing but I think it makes some people just uncomfortable enough that they won’t connect to the show Great review. I think with you sitting a little lower, you got the full effect of the electronics. Most of those shows are built for the dome and bigger stadiums, so the balance reads a lot better up top. I was up off the 45 near the top and balancewise had way less issues with electronics, especially Cadets and SCV. SCV is a COMPLETELY different show when you get a higher vantage point. You can really hear acoustic and small group much better. I think this amplification can definitely take away from audience enjoyment in different areas, but the corps really are setting levels for the judges up top, not bottom level of fans. Sad, but true.. You reviews are hilarious btw! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gak27 Posted July 17, 2017 Share Posted July 17, 2017 On 7/16/2017 at 9:45 AM, Jim Schehr said: I believe this would work in the Cadets ending. It couldn't hurt. posted from the DrumScorps app They could repaint one of last year's mannequins... 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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