Tsar Nikk Posted August 11, 2003 Share Posted August 11, 2003 (edited) Warning for the faint of heart: All those about to read this review of mine should assume from the outset that there is going to be some criticism of your favourite corps. I say that, not because I criticize every corps, but because I want people to know that these are my opinions, and that I am standing by them. If you are likely to get offended by lil' ol' me saying something negative about your favourite corps, then do yourself a favour and avoid reading the review. Otherwise, do *ME* a favour and respect my opinions, however much you may disagree with them...and I will respect yours. This is a very long review, and I am going to try to be as thorough as possible. First things first...my background, and why I believe I can back up most of my opinions: I marched for four years with the Phantom Regiment Drum & Bugle Corps. From 1991 to 1993 I was lead baritone with the corps (even though I played Euphonium) and placed in the top 3 at 5 different Individual & Ensemble Competitions (DCM and DCI), winning 2 of them. In 1994 I was one of two field conductors (a phancy name for Drum Major) for Regiment. I have a Master's degree in Music Education, and will be pursuing a Doctoral Degree at Florida State University starting either in the Fall of 2004 or Fall 2005. My band program at J.P. Taravella High School in Florida is considered one of the best overall programs in Florida, and our Wind Orchestra is a Midwest Clinic-caliber group. My String Orchestra has grown from 32 strings my first year to 90 this year, and is considered one of the finest string orchestras in the state, though still a bit behind our Wind Orchestra. All in all, I feel that I am a pretty darn good band & orchestra director, and my ensembles play very musically. I write drill for several schools throughout Florida, including my own, so I feel that when reviewing these drum corps, I am able to talk intelligenly about them from a musical perspective, and from a visual perspective. I do not have an extensive color guard background, though I can handle the equipment (heh heh...sounds dirty), and although I am well versed in the percussive rudiments, I do not consider myself an authority on percussion, although I can certainly tell when a line is clean or dirty, challenged or not challenged. I tell you all this so that you know where I cam coming from when I say the things I say. I will review the corps themselves starting from Quarterfinals, and I will also be outraging you with ludicrous and inane commentary throughout. You were warned. Nikk's totally Rad Drumcorps Adventure My friend Brian and I set out for Orlando at around 09:30 am on Thursday, 7 August. It was a beautifully sunny day in South Florida, the type I am used to down here. LIttle did we know what was ahead for us. We arrived in Orlando at around 12:30pm, just in time for the heavens to open up. The very first thing that we noticed was this: People can't drive in Orlando. I think that is Orlando Rule #1: You must leave behind common sense when behind the wheel in Orlando. I've never understood why people are so afraid to drive in the rain. Yes, I understand that you shouldn't drive 90 miles an hour in a downpour...but neither should you drive 35mph. Apparently, that is a subset of Rule #1, so we will call it Rule #1a. So, a planned 25-minute drive ended up taking us close to an hour and a half...although it sure was nice of Orlando to have flashing signs on I-4 informing us that there were major congestions ahead, and that there were 10-15 minute delays. What I would like is more information...why don't those flashing signs tell us the causes? I would feel a lot better about being stuck in traffic if instead of just telling us there were delays, it would tell us the reasons....reasons such as: ***Congestion Ahead...15 minute delay due to stupid tourist rubberneckers*** ***Congestion Ahead...10 minute delay due to puppies on the highway*** ***Congestion Ahead...Hooter's Girls flashing motorists, proceed with caution*** Instead, all we knew was that we were going to be in heavy traffic for 15 minutes more...I kept looking for the reasons, but there seemed to be none. I chalked it up to stupidity and Rule #1a. Anyhow...we finally arrived at the stadium, and the wonderful event staff directed us to this beautiful baseball field. I mean, the turf was pristine...it hurt to look at. I've played baseball, and let me tell you...I had to play on some dog-anus fields that ripped up your knees and tendons just running the bases...this field was beautiful. It could make grown men weep meekly and ask to be taken into someone's arms. And we were instructed to park on it. Brian looked at me in disgust, and I reflected that look back. "We're gonna tear the bejesus out of this field tonight" I solemnly intoned. A mere nod was his response. "Oh well...it's not our problem." Sure enough...that field was thoroughly destroyed by the end of the night, with HUGE gouges of earth criss-crossing the field like Tolkien's Cracks of Doom...I thought I saw Gollum for a second, but when I rubbed my eyes it was only Roman Blenski. On to the show! I stopped at the Phantom souvie booth and said hello to some folks I knew from my marching days...it was so good to see them still doing what they love to do best. We hit some of the other booths, but weren't ready to buy anything yet....except maybe some food. It's been so long since I have been to a large stadium (the 2000 Orange Bowl, pitting the evil Oklahoma Sooners against the benign and saintly Florida State Seminoles) that I forgot a coke and a hot dog will cost you the gross national product of Nicaragua. After plunking down half of my tax refund check in exchange for this delectable meal, we made our way to our seats. We were sitting on the 50 yard line, middle deck: a perfect vantage point for both music and drill. The people around us were fairly drum corps savvy...a few alumni encircled us. Looking about the crowd, I noticed a preponderance of Phantom stuff. "Cool beans," I said. "Shut up," Brian said. He got kind of sick of me talking about Regiment so much. His dad marched in Crusaders back in the 60s, but he himself has no corps experience, being a jazz saxophonist. This was his first Finals. The first corps of the night was Pacific Crest. I must tell you...I was not impressed. I could not hear the low voices at all, all I heard was drums and sopranos. I could not believe how visually dirty they were. I saw one bari player have a total brainfart on the field and go the wrong way in a move. I saw numerous crooked lines and foot phasing. I was terribly disappointed with this performance, being my first viewing of a corps I have heard a lot about. Brian commented "It sucks to come all the way out here only to go home after one show." I concurred. We were shocked that they made Semis. I'm not going to get into conspiracy theories...that isn't my gig. Looking at the recaps the next day, it was clear that PC has their guard to thank for getting them into Semis. My placement for Quarters: 22nd Actual Placement: 17th The next corps was Pioneer. I was not aware of their uniform change. I don't know if I like it...Brian commented that they looked like "swabbies." However, the show itself was pretty good, just very dirty. For a small corps, they get a pretty good sound. I thought their smaller baritone line whupped up on Pacific Crest's...their show wasn't clean, and that was what hurt them. Still, I enjoyed it, as did the crowd. My placement for Quarters: 23rd Actual placement: 23rd Next corps up was the Troopers. Wow! I really, really dug this show. I don't know what William Chumley saw, but I thought the Troop was MUCH cleaner visually than PC. The show concept was nice, and they performed it with a lot of energy. I was very, very impressed. Glad to see the Troopers going strong...I hope this corps can make a serious run for Finals next year in Denver. My placement for Quarters: 18th Actual placement: 22nd Southwind was up next, and boy are those uniforms tough to miss. The show itself did very little for me, although I am a big fan of Russian composers. They were clean and they were loud, but they didn't seem to generate a lot of excitement. My placement for Quarters: 20th Actual placement: 21st Kiwanis Kavaliers had a show based on Beatles' tunes, arranged in very different ways. Interesting concept...I liked their version of Elanor Rigby. However, there were a couple of glaring problems. First off...at one point the drum major plays drumset, which is totally cool. However, the set was placed almost directly in front of the drum major podium, making it almost impossible to see. If you are going to feature your DM on a drum set, you should place it somewhere else in the pit where it is noticeable. There was a big open spot on the 40 yard line. This was during the "Norwegian Wood" section of their show. Also, there were two guard girls in the pit doing some kind of dance...hardly noticeable. Staging of these two issues should have been better. My placement for Quarters: 21st Actual placement: 20th Capital Regiment...in a word, WOW! I thoroughly enjoyed their presentation, even though I didn't care for their arrangement of the Dvorak. I mean, this corps has grown tremendously since the last time I saw them years ago. I was very impressed, as was Brian. Good for them...hope to see them in the fray for Finals. Ohio is certainly doing a nice job for drum corps, isn't it? My placement for Quarters: 17th Actual placement: 19th Mandarins did not impress me too much, which is surprising, as I generally enjoy their shows. I didn't like their version of Bachannale, but then again, having marched it in 1991, maybe I am listening more critically. "In the Steppes of Central Asia" was done nicely, but there weren't too many dynamics involved here...I thought this would have been a good opportunity for them to display their musicality. My placement for Quarters: 19th Actual placement: 18th ------------------------------------------------ The following corps' comments are based off of observations from both Quarters and Semis. By the way, having learned our lesson about the driving intricasies, of Orlando, we left our hotel much earlier to head to lunch at Ponderosa...man, I love steak buffets. Then we headed to the Phantom Regiment clinic before Semis. This was Brian's first encounter with Michael Cesario. Ugh. I know the man has done a lot for drumcorps, but I am just not a fan of cheesy, hammy, overdone productions, and that man is a walking one (production, that is). The clinic was interesting...certainly a long cry from the days when "clinic" meant we rehearsed as normal, and the crowd watched it and learned on their own...or didn't. The hornline sounded great, as usual, but i kept cringing every time Cesario made a "funny." First up at Semis tonight was Pacific Crest. The performance was a little better than their Quarters performance, but still not deserving -in my opinion- of a semifinal berth. The Colts played wonderfully. I thought the best part of their show was "Harrison's Dream." It's a great new work for wind band, and the Colts jumped on it tonight. The drill is interesting and well-staged, just a little dirty. I really enjoyed this show. My placement for Semis: 16th Actual placement: 16th Seattle Cascades were pretty good, and I almost expected them to make a run for that 12th place spot. They had some issues in "El Salon Mexico" that seemed difficult to overcome, but I thought their visual package was interesting. Seattle is going to settle into a very, very fine corps that will contend for Finalist status every year. This year they had tough expectations, methinks...but they will certainly return. My placement for Semis: 15th Actual placement: 15th You have to feel for the Glassmen. From 5th place to out of Finals in 2 short seasons. They finally play a book that is less obtuse and more crowd-friendly, and here they are, getting knocked out of Finals. The show was interesting, I especially liked their visual presentation...who is writing their drill now? A few hornline issues, some color guard drops, and some ensemble tears really doomed this corps. I think that, most years, this corps would have made Finals. It's nice to have so many strong corps around this year, although I doubt the Glassmen can appreciate that right now. My placement for Semis: 13th Actual placement: 14th The Blue Knights took 12th place at Quarterfinals, gave an uninspired performance at Semis, and were promptly knocked out of Finals by the Spirit of Atlanta (don't you dare correct me, ######). *****WARNING: RANT COMING AHEAD:****** I traveled to Japan in late 2001 at the invitation of the All-Japan Band Association, and was very lucky to get to observe the 47th annual All-Japan Band Competition held in Fu-Mon Hall, where the Tokyo Kosei Wind Orchestra performs. I was overwhelmed by the level of the playing, of course, but was disappointed that so many bands were doing the same tunes...I must have heard the Hindsley transcription of "Salome's Dance" four times, and I KNOW I heard the Hindsley transcription of "Daphnis et Chloie" at least six times over the course of the two days. When I asked why so many bands performed the same literature, I was told that in Japan, it is not unusual for individuals and groups to want to do the same thing, wear the same clothes, perform the same music, etc. In America, it is all about our individuality...we want to be different. In Japan, not so...they don't mind "fitting in." Apparently, a Japanese mindset has struck American drum corps....How many corps did that darn "fight club" scene this year? How many corps did the same visual move (one in particular stands out in my memory: a block that splits in half, with the back of the block coming forward and the front of the block coming backwards to create a slimmer block...must have seen that one 6-7 times), percussion "racks" that revolve...and how many corps were doing shows based on color? Sheesh. FWIW, I liked this "Color" show better than the Crossmen's, but the Knights didn't really pull it off on Friday Night. My placement for semis: 14th Actual placement: 13th ------------------------------------------ The following corps' comments are based off of observations from Quarters, Semis, and Finals. Before heading out to the stadium for Finals, my buddy Brian and I went over to Maui Jack's to attend the Regiment Alumni get-together, as well as the DCP Picnic. Due to the inclement weather, neither event was truly populated, but it was good to get a chance to see old Regiment friends again: J.D. Shaw, who is doing a great job with PR; Dan Farrell, Chris Atkinson, Carol Gonzales, John Baumgartner, and more. Also, it was really, really cool to meet James Hosmer at last. In case you don't know the name, James was the baritone soloist for Phantom Regiment in the mid to late 80s. That's his wonderful tone quality you hear in the 1987, 1988, and 1989 shows. I like to think I am/was a great baritone player. James has chunks of guys like me in his stool. He won DCI I&E a few times...I think he scored a 99.9 in 1989 playing "Carnival of Venice." Anyhow...James was the guy everyone talked about when I marched. Whenever I played something good, my fellow leads would turn to me and say "That was good...but you're no Hosmer." Heh heh....and they were right. Anyhow, over the years I marched Hosmer had grown into sort of a boogeyman for me...the one person who I could never live up to. Imagine finally meeting him and it turns out he's one #### of a nice guy...Thanks for the beer, James...it was great to finally meet you at least, and it is good to know we are both members of the Regiment Baritone Brotherhood. Hope to see you again in the world of music. I met a few DCPers...always fun to put names with faces. Not too many of you showed up, however...slackers. But in any case, it was all good. To whoever it was that bought us the shots of Rumplemints and signed the napking "From a Phantom Phan." Why Rumplemints? Why not tequilla? Heh heh...I swear, I thought i was drinking straight mouthwash. And two of them? I had to drive! :P After several beers, those two shots really felt like a punch in the guts. Anyhow, on to the show. Holy crap was it crowded! I don't think the booths were set up very well, the aisles seemed too narrow for all the people there, but then again, there isn't much space to work with. We finally made it to our seats just in time for the Marine Drum and Bugle Corps, who played and marched and made it absolutely clear that even if they aren't flying around at a mile-a-minute pace, they are absolute badas5es. The Canadian National Anthem was nice, the American national anthem sucked. I am sorry...I hate all the different "interpretations" of the national anthem. Not to mention the fact that I hate the national anthem itself. It should be "America the Beautiful." SSB is just ugly. And difficult to sing in its original form. I didn't like the way these 4 guys sang it...too many dangling major seconds that failed to resolve...made me wonder if someone was just really off-key, or if the arranger was smoking the funny grass. On to the corps: Spirit of Atlanta came on and kicked it into high gear. Their show is based on "Time," and they did a great job of reminding us of DCI's glory years: Zingali, Royer, Bridgemen, 27th Lancers...each one of them was represented by a silken flag embroidered with their likeness and name, and was accompanied by a snippet of "signature" tunes (such as "Danny Boy" for Zingali, and "Send in the Clowns" for Royer). On Friday night they pulled out a new silk: Jim Ott. The crowd went nuts, but I really wonder how many people REALLY knew who Jim Ott was and why this was special to Spirit. I have always been of the mind that I want to learn as much as possible about any endeavour that I undertake. When i first got into drum corps, I tried to learn as much as possible about it, and researched the names and history behind each of my favourite corps. It was so cool to "relive" some of the magic of Ott, even though I never had a chance to work with him or listen to one of his hornlines in person. I felt goosebumps...I know many people did too. The show itself is REALLY GOOD. I loved the "Days of Our Lives" reference. The drill was well-written, staging was good, and the execution of the drill was really quite good as well. Horns were strong, and the percussion rocked in all the right places. Guard is not quite as strong as the glory days of the Spirit guard (particularly 1987), but it was capable, and the ladies are still as lovely as ever. One of my favourites of the night. My placement for Finals: 10th Actual placement: 12th Magic of Orlando set up in a very intriguing form, with horns laid out all over the field while the members they belonged to set up many yardlines away. The show begins with the "tinkling" of bells (silver voices) and a few soloists. I was able to spot one of my kids (Greg Stansel, Contra) who marched with them, and he did a nice job marching. It was a proud "Papa P" (as my students call me) moment. The show itself, however, was a little ragged. Thursday night's performance was very strong, Friday's was rough, and Saturday's seemed a little off as well. Some major phasing early on, and some visual miscues marred the performance. I didn't particularly care for this version of Bernstein's "Mass." I felt it dragged on too long, with no resolution...there was no real climax to this section. And I think the show ended way too abrubtly. All in all, a worthy Finalist...I didn't think anyone from the 13-17 Friday night pack should have beaten them. My placement for Finals: 12th Actual placement: 11th Carolina Crown was up next. On Thursday night, their performance was preceeded by a very long rain delay, during which Brian and I wandered around the stadium. It was nice to see Jeff Prosperie again. Jeff was with Phantom during the years I marched, first as a percussion instructor, then as the Percussion writer/caption head. He is now a DCI judge, and a good one from what I hear. Spent a few minutes talking to him, then wandered around some more. Saw old, familiar faces, and that is always nice. After the long rain delay, Carolina Crown came on the field. I was worried that the long, LONG delay would somehow affect Crown: I need not have worried. Crown came to play. This is a very, very good show. The show begins with a huge bell in the backfield, and chimes in the front. Man, it has to be hard to march with that 3-against-2 feel set up by the bell and chimes. Marching was crisp, music was well-balanced and strong. Guard was pretty awful on Thursday night...lots of drops. On Friday and Saturday, they were solid and spectacular. I like Crown's new unis, even if they do remind me of Star 1993, which in turn reminded me of Phantom 1991 but dipped in tea. :P My placement for Finals: 8th Actual placement: 10th The Crossmen are the other corps performing a "Color" show. All three nights, we looked up expectantly and were rewarded: Bones made his appearance at the back stands. The show begins with a soloist rendering "Somewhere over the Rainbow," while the guard reinforces the show motif with colored silks....very nice effect. That is where it ends for me. Although the show wasn't bad, and the drill was well done, the rest of the show didn't do it for me. The ending wasn't all that loud, either, for all the "here we come at ya" sideline shenannigans. I was a little disappointed in this show, because I have always liked Crossmen. (By the way, Chuck....I *DID* catch the Birdland reference in the show) :-) My placement for Finals: 11th Actual placement: 9th Madison is back...in an ugly uniform. Yes, their show is great. Yes, they perform it with a #### of a lot of energy. And yes, their unis are ugly as sin. Sorry...I am officially an old fart now. Mark Waymire deserves kudos for the job he has done with Madison's horns. And the color guard: What an improvement! Like Spirit, Madison used silks to harken back to some of their glory years, and then wham! Here comes 2003...I enjoyed that moment. Looks like Madison is back, ladies and gentlemen. Good to see you guys again. By the way...the drill was super nice...much better than what I have come to expect, do they have a new drill writer? My placement for Finals: 6th Actual placement: 8th Blooooooooooooooooooo!!!! Someone around me actually asked why the crowd was "booing." I figured someone would tell them. This Bluecoats show is interesting. "Capture and Escape" is the concept, and there are pleny of instances where members of the corps are "captured" by other members, or are "fleeing." Musically, this corps is getting better and better every year, but visually, they really took a huge step forward this year. I don't think Blue got as much credit as they deserved...other than a few fracks on Saturday night, this was a great performance. My placement for Finals: 7th Actual placement: 7th Boston Crusaders performed snippets of many corps' best-known music. Musically, the show did nothing for me. Visually was a little better. Many people will criticize the Crusaders for doing the same visuals over and over again...ahem...Cavaliers, anyone? What is so wrong with a corps having some signature moves? Besides, it's not like the same exact members are marching the same exact spots year to year, and therefore have a leg up...they still have to relearn it, like everyone else. The color guard was nice (shout out to another student of mine, Katie O'Connor). I like the little tribute to the Bridgement at the end of the show, although I doubt many people "got" that. My placement for Finals: 8th Actual placement: 6th Ahh...the moment I have waited for all summer long...and really, the moment I have waited for since the day I aged out: Phantom Regiment in all-white again. I was all a-flutter waiting for them to come on, and they did not disappoint. Holy heck, what a HORNLINE! Great job, J.D. and Kevin. Phantom gets a lot of flack for their visual design...and I'm going to say it: You people can bite my crank. Phantom's visual design this year was much more "musical" than a lot of other "top corps." It seems that a lot of corps do visuals just for the sake of doing them, regardless of whether they fit musically. I LIKED what Regiment did visually. I have been a big critic of their visual program for many years now...but this year makes up for all of it. What a show. Visually, and musically, it was a feast. Props out to Allison Scanlan, a fellow Seminole and Floridian. Great job chickie. Drumline...Good God! That was some meaty playing...and color guard...you girls were great, regardless of scores. I was more than a little disappointed at their brass and music scores...I don't know if it is bias, or what...but I thought they deserved to be winning brass and music. I thought they might have taken SCV out on Thursday night, because SCV had some issues, but they waited until Saturday night to do it....but half of one tenth. Ouch. Well, at least no one is going to make up any songs about SCV placing 4th. My placement for Finals: 4th Actual placement: 4th Santa Clara Vanguard has placed 4th the last 3 years...you think they would settle for 4th again after Saturday Night? I am betting they would. This is a complex show, difficult to clean, I imagine...however, they have no one to blame but themselves...they have the horses to pull off shows that can be great, if a little easier...but they have chosen this route, and they do it well. They had a big tear on Thursday night at the begining, but they did well on Friday and Saturday. I was not familiar with any of the music, but the opener is kind of stuck in my head. The drill was nice and complicated, as I have come to expect from Rosander. SCV did well...just not as strong as they (or their fans) would like to be. My placement for Finals: 5th Actual placement: 5th Cadets...are you ready for this, Cadets Borg? I liked this show...for the most part. There were some really weird moments for me, but overall, the show was done well, and performed with a lot of heart. Malaguena will never really be a Cadets tune for me, and I didn't like the choppiness of Fanfare and Allegro, but there can be no doubt regarding the level of performance. I still don't know if I agree with the changing of the melody in RPH, but the rest of RPH was solid. Endzone to endzone was cool, although volume was sacrificed. But the star of the show here was the percussion section. CRIPES! What a drumline. This drumline was the most impressive line I have seen live...reminds me of the 1987 line. Lots and lots of notes, and very clean. Well done, Cadets percussion. Color guard is always great with Cadets, but they seemed a little off on Finals night. Brass sounded great, drill was interesting as always...except there seemed to be more block forms than usual from Cadets...a nice overall package. My placement for Finals: 2nd Actual placement: 3rd Cavaliers...what a great visual package. It's a pity that was all there was to it. I did not care for the performance of the brass OR the drums...very ragged and edgy. I actually LIKE the color guard uniforms...I think they do a nice job of contrasting the corps. The drill was not as clean as I would have expected on Thursday night...and on Friday night, their marching was atrocious. I saw numerous out-of-step members and other poor posture problems. Lots of phasing. The drums were very dirty on Friday night. Still, despite all my negative comments, I liked this show from a conceptual standpoint. I do, however, hope they play a different style next year. Would love to see them do Ron Nelson's entire Medieval Suite. My placement for Finals: 3rd Actual placement: 2nd Blue Devils...you know that line from Happy Gilmore where he is putting and turns to the evil rival and says "Uh oh...looks like Happy got himself a putting game" (paraphrased)? Well...."uh oh...looks like Devils got themselves a visual program." The Devils have always marched really, really fast, really cleanly. However, this year's demand is much higher than the Devils are used to giving us. I didn't care for the show itself...but there was no doubt this was a polished championship show. Drums were fierce, and I thought they might give Garfield a run. Brass was great as always, but I thought too edgy and not enough done dynamically. Color Guard was fantastic as always. My placement: 1st Actual: 1st My caption awards: (Actual winner) Brass: Phantom Regiment (Blue Devils) Percussion: Cadets (Cadets) Color Guard: Blue Devils (Blue Devils) Music: Phantom Regiment (Blue Devils) General Effect: Cadets (Blue Devils) Drum Major: Phantom Regiment (Phantom Regiment) Visual: Cavaliers (Blue Devils) My quirky awards: Best Visual Design: Cavaliers Best Music Book: Phantom Regiment Best Corps Uniform: tie: Phantom Regiment/Blue Devils Best Guard Uniform: Cavaliers Best Visual Move: The Cavaliers' winding/unwinding (beginning and end) Best Brass lick: When the low brass kicks in during Wild Nights (Phantom Regiment) Best Percussion lick: ANYTHING THE CADETS DID...holy heck! Brian's Favourites: 1. Cavaliers 2. SCV 3. PR Random musings.... -What the heck happened at Retreat? For those of you who were not there, DCI had the Blue Stars and Esperanza on the retreat field as well as the top 12...and it created a nightmare. Somehow, neither Boston nor Bluecoats marched out with the other corps, and someone forgot to leave a space for them! Then, Phantom had to adjust and left a 5-yard gap between themselves and Madison...and 'coats and Crusaders were supposed to fill in the 5 yard gap! Finally, they moved Esperanza and Blue Stars down (Heh...Blue Stars was taking up an awful lot of space for such a small corps), but there STILL wasn't enough room. Finally, Bluecoats, Boston, and Madison had to fit themselves into a 25-yard space, meaning each corps had like 8.33 yards to work with instead of the usual 10. This was embarassing to watch. Whoever was directing the corps onto the field and telling the DMs where to go made a big boo-boo. Here is a picture of it. -DCI really needs to get together with Event Staff and explain our event better...this is NOT a football crowd, and we don't need to be treated like drunk hooligans. Event staff has always been bad at the Citrus Bowl... -For all the scares, the weather was actually very cooperative....for Division I that is. -Orlando sucks. -This was a good year for drum corps. I am glad I got to see it, because I am not sure I can go out to Denver next year what with preparation for my doctoral degree, and the electronics thing...we'll see. That's it. My hands are tired... Edited August 11, 2003 by Tsar Nikk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TerriDitt57 Posted August 11, 2003 Share Posted August 11, 2003 VERY nice! I feel as if I were there! Thank you! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikemey Posted August 11, 2003 Share Posted August 11, 2003 Nikk: Very nice observations. I'm with Terri on this one. It's almost like I was there to see the shows with your review. This one is review of the year material! :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DrumCorpsRadio Posted August 11, 2003 Share Posted August 11, 2003 Hey Nikk...great review. I read the entire thing and agree with much of what you had to say. I also felt that The Cadets might have been over The Cavaliers on Saturday night and when the low brass kicks in during Phantom's Wild Nights (Part II I believe), that has to be one of the most effective pieces of music writing on the field this year, what a full, rich sound. As far as the retreat fiasco...oh my. I saw it happening. I have no idea who was directly responsible, but Phantom was the third corps out and their drum majors did actually skip 5 yards from where The Cavaliers left off. It seemed like it might have been the Phantom drum majors fault by missing their yard line assignments, but it could just as easily been a DCI or stadium official telling them the wrong place to bring the corps onto the field. Bluecoats and Boston Crusaders wound up having to share 15 yards. I'd be interested to talk to the people on the end of Bluecoats horn line near Boston - I'm sure they've got some great stories to share... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AlexL Posted August 11, 2003 Share Posted August 11, 2003 GREAT review Nikk! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tsar Nikk Posted August 11, 2003 Author Share Posted August 11, 2003 As far as the retreat fiasco...oh my. I saw it happening. I have no idea who was directly responsible, but Phantom was the third corps out and their drum majors did actually skip 5 yards from where The Cavaliers left off. It seemed like it might have been the Phantom drum majors fault by missing their yard line assignments, but it could just as easily been a DCI or stadium official telling them the wrong place to bring the corps onto the field. Bluecoats and Boston Crusaders wound up having to share 15 yards. I'd be interested to talk to the people on the end of Bluecoats horn line near Boston - I'm sure they've got some great stories to share... Well, I don't know how they do it nowadays, but when I was Drum Major they always had a representative from the contest to guide us down the correct yard line. If it was the Phantom Drum Majors' faults, I'd be surprised... ...but I'd also be tickled pink by the idea of Regiment giving DCI a bit of the business....heh heh. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scerpella Posted August 11, 2003 Share Posted August 11, 2003 I marched for four years with the Phantom Regiment Drum & Bugle Corps. From 1991 to 1993 I was lead baritone with the corps (even though I played Euphonium) and placed in the top 3 at 5 different Individual & Ensemble Competitions (DCM and DCI), winning 2 of them. In 1994 I was one of two field conductors (a phancy name for Drum Major) for Regiment. 1. How could you be a lead bari with a Euphonium? 2. Glad YOU said that about conductor! Anxiously awaiting the telecast and DVDs. I do think youre a bit hard on Scouts unis but truth be told I think theyre either a work in progress or a work to be tossed ot. Fix them or get rid of them I say. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
radiosteele Posted August 11, 2003 Share Posted August 11, 2003 (edited) Nikk... Unbelieveable. You make guys like me look pretty sad.. ^OO^ Edited May 8, 2004 by radiosteele Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tsar Nikk Posted August 11, 2003 Author Share Posted August 11, 2003 By the way, reading back I notice that I seem pretty harsh on the Crossmen. I don't mean to imply that they were a bad drum corps. They weren't...not by any stretch. But for some reason, it didn't really call to me like...say...Spirit's show did. I feel bad saying that, what with Chuck and Dean on staff -people I enjoy talking with and admire. I hope if either of you guys read this you realize I had no problems with your performance... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scerpella Posted August 11, 2003 Share Posted August 11, 2003 Nikk...Unbelieveable. You have chunks of guys like me in YOUR stool. ^OO^ Sheez, you have taken fawning admiration to new depths Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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