DCI Southwestern Championship (San Antonio) - Saturday, July 20, 2019

[Brian Tuma]

29 minutes ago, 27Socal said:

The indoor folks might disagree.  How many of the WGI drumline finalists don't use tarps? Zero.

Did tarps start out as a design choice in WGI? I always thought they first came about to protect the (mostly) hardwood floor performance area. 

[wvu80]

11 minutes ago, Rich Cline said:

14 minutes ago, WarriorWay said:

nobody understands the show anyway.

Finally some explanation of show design by Andy Toth

Dear heavens!  After watching that video (thanks BTW) I now know even less than when I started!

The tuba guy represents an outcast?  The members are building a safe space??  The uniforms represent kilts???

Man, if they are building a safe space why don't they just play Great Gate of Kiev and be done with it!  At least I like the music.  😎

[27Socal]

4 hours ago, DrumManTx said:

Some very quick thoughts, I'll do a more extensive review when I get back Tuesday after seeing some shows a 2nd time in Mesquite up high.  For reference I was row 6 112, so blast zone right on the 50.  I'll keep my quick thoughts more positive.  I thought everyone was fantastic.  There was not a show I didn't enjoy in some way.  Sorry if these are a little......disjointed.  Pretty wiped today.  Like deceased.  Dead.  Think of these as my gut reactions.  I've gone to this show just about every year since 2011 and this is far and away the best one top to bottom I've been to.  

- Compass was a nice surprise, some powerful sounds and a fun show they obviously love performing. 

- Aresenal was a little more mature all around, tons of potential there!  Some great teaching going on there all around.   

- Seattle Cascades first hit SCARED THE CRAP OUT OF ME.  They had some huge power in the front half of the show, some great music moments in there.  

- Jersey Surf is so so so much better this year than I've seen them in awhile.  The show looks so great and they are really solid across all sections.  Aurora Awakes was probably my favorite part of the show.  Even if the scores don't show it, this is a hugely improved corps this year.  

- Music City sounds really really really solid, they have a great brass line and I love the Imagine closer.  Maybe a little bit on the cheesy side for me, but we need some of those shows.  Fun!  

- Genesis has a HARD show this year, tons of field coverage and exposed musical moments.  The props have some great usage in the show, and the ballad is probably the highlight for me.  

- Troopers play SO well, that opening Persichetti solo is phenomenal.  I think they achieve the space theme pretty well musically.  To The Stars is a very pretty ballad.  

- Madison Scouts have some INCREDIBLY athletic moments, and even if the show isn't scoring super high it was probably the first to get the crowd REALLY going.  Jazzy Young Persons Guide is fun.  Made me kind of sad in ways, just in that we are seeing the end of an era.  

- PACIFIC CREST.  HELLO.  This reminds me of how I felt about Spirit in 2017.  A huge step forward in design and performance for them.  So many captivating musical moments in there.  And seeing this live down low really brought it to life, those members really embody the various characters and moods so well.  This was one of my favorites of the day.  Bravo.  

- Colts sound great, they do the ANGRY fire section so so so well, that intensity is awesome.  Percussion and guard really stood out in this tier to me, especially the guard in the closer.  Love those icy blue silks flying through the air.  

- The Academy's visual aesthetic is so pleasing to look at, I love shows that coordinate like this.  And bravo to that very exposed flugel soloist in the ballad.  

- Spirit of Atlanta is super fun, I really like the distinct changes in the uniform throughout the show, but especially the white.  That whole ballad is just MONEY.  Will it push them into finals?  I'm not sure it's their year.  It's SO CLOSE to being there, but I'm just not sure how they would do it looking at the recap.  I wouldn't mind if they did it though.  

- Phantom Regiment.  I didn't give you the grief a lot of other posters did in June, but I did have some big question marks.  I love being proven wrong.  It's not my favorite show from them but it doesn't leave me devoid of emotion like last year did.  It's got some rough spots in there (mainly design related), but wow those kids sell this thing.  O Fortuna was the signal that we were in finalist territory.  Drums are fantastic as well.  They've made some great changes to the show, and while I still have some personal quips design wise, I don' think they're missing this year.  Honestly I think they're going to start putting pressure above rather than receiving it from below.  

- One of my friends said it best last night, this show is a freaking rock concert on the field AND I LOVED IT.  I liked this online, but LOVED it in person.  Every single person on that field buys into that show.  That head drum major especially is a BAD ###!  And they've still got some points to squeak out across the board too.  I can't believe this show is sitting in 11th, but I think that's a testament to how good of a year this is.  Loved the new ending with the guitars just shredding.  SHRED IT BRO!  

- Mandarins also buy into their show on every single level.  GEEZ, this is an intense show.  Online the guard was good but seemed a bit.......sterile?  Especially the flags.  But in person.  😳There is so much nuance and characterization there you don't get online, they grab you by the throat and don't let go for twelve minutes.  I do think musically they need another year to keep building.  I love the ambition there musically and they sound great, I just think that's the weakest spot.  But as a production.  WOAH.  

- The Cadets.  I hate to see them this low because those members are performing their collective ##### off.  As a performance, I really enjoyed this show.  Brass didn't sound like a 13th place brass line, even with some issues.  I just think that's how the book is designed bleeding into performance captions.  I won't harp on what has already been said.  I'll end with HOLY MOTHER OF GOD DRUMLINE.  They can have my keys and wallet.  They were worth the price of admission.  Incredible performance from them.  

- Blue Stars play SO MUCH Better live!  I liked this show online, LOVED it in person.  Musically there are so many little flurries and nuances, in the Copland especially, that are so impressive beyond the typical loud technical stuff.  Them and two other hornlines really blew me away with their phrasing and shaping of musical lines.  They have developed an incredible brass sound.  Online I kinda thought they could fully commit more to the theme, but in person I got it.  And yeah, they're hauling ###.  Fantastic job. 

- Blue Knights are on the cusp of something incredible, and I think they're there in many regards.  My biggest take away is oh my GOD they're athletic.  If you think marching and playing demand is dead, look no further.  They are running and playing constantly in Liquid and in the closer.  Bocook and Jackson and Crew create such an ethereal experience musically.  One second they're brushing their hand across your cheek, and the next second they're decking you and giving you a black eye.  I love how they can turn the tone of a show in a split second.  It's hard to put into words that show, but it's something.  I'll elaborate more later.  

- Cava-freaking-liers.  WOAH.  This was either my favorite or second favorite show of the night.  I'm going to talk brass for a minute.  No one last night shaped and phrased like they did to my ear.  And they did it on freaking technical passages like it was nothing.  Pacing crescendos and decrescendos like that or doing terraced dynamics that evenly on both fast and slow passages is NOT easy.  Bums Rush especially was incredible.  4th in brass was VERY well deserved, there were a lot of lines that PLAYED LOUD AND FAST THE WHOLE SHOW and did it well, but not not much else.  Bravo to Cavaliers and a few others on that.  Now, the ballad.  Dear GOD.  That was probably my favorite moment last night.  As soon as they face forward......they hit you like a freight train.  And it made the show make sense.  It's one of those things where I can't put my finger on how to say what they're conveying, but I got it.  Well deseved mid show standing O.  That's gonna be a riot on finals.  Also, colorguard and drums are fantastic too.  Cavaliers guard does athletic tricks like no one else out there, they're wildly entertaining to watch.  Drumline is fantastic, and I love seeing another really cool split marimba feature.  Of 4-5-6......this show felt the most complete to me.  They very well might end up 6th and if they do it's because the five ahead of them are just so good.   But they're creeping up.  And I don't think that's going to stop.  I'd love this show in 4th.  

- Boston Crusaders are LOUD.  Geez.  They really push your hair back.  I'll get the obvious out of the way, the guard is incredible.  As an ensemble and as solo performers they are so captivating and portray the theme very well throughout.  I love the front half of the show, some of the best drum corps out there this year.  Back half I enjoyed but I do have some thoughts which I'll share later.  Percussion was the sore spot on the recap, but I think that's mainly due to how deep that caption is.  They're playing well, just needs to cross into that next level of clarity.  

- Carolina Crown's first note is WOAH HOLY CRAP.  I wasn't ready for that, even knowing how good their brass is.  That note alone is worth seeing them for.  This show is non stop energy and excitement from top to bottom.  Drums are very solid again this year and I was pleasantly surprised by the colorguard.  As a production it's still not really doing it for me, but as a performance.  Wow.  Top notch.  

- Santa Clara Vanguard has a championship tier corps.  Brass sounds amazing, drums are still insanely good, colorguard is phenomenal, and they perform so incredibly well.  Musically, I bought this more live.  It's incredibly quirky and agressive, and then the closer just SOARS triumphantly over all of that.  Like Carolina Crown it's not really for me as a production, but as a performance I'd totally watch it again.  Don't really have any thoughts on the tarps, was too low.  

- Blue Devils.......I thought they were going to do it last night.  That show is so fun, so entertaining, and so expertly crafted by both the performers and staff.  I totally get it live, it's a ghosts of performances past coming out to play.  I have known all season that is what the theme is, but tonight I got it in context for sure.  There is something both scary and downright fun about their colorguard.  At the beginning of the show the ones depicting the Zeus type stuff just slowly turn their heads around to the crowd with these CREEPY masks on and just pulled me right in.  That's an example to me of the kind of individual performance of even the smallest detail that makes BD what they are.  Just a slow about face made me shooketh.  Katchaturian is ALMOST there, and when it does holy crap.  The ballad is INCREDIBLE.  The exposure and clarity there is just mouthwatering.  Closer isn't done, I can tell they've got more planned.  The prop usage in this show is incredible, the amount of variety they get out of them is mindboggling.  This show just sets a mood so well and keeps at it the whole show.  Brass was a little loose, that's my only slightly critical observation.  But other than that, bravo.  Can't wait to see where it goes next.  

- Bluecoats.  Blue.Coats.  Maybe a little of a loose run last night (which I thought well before scores were announced so don't come @ me), but WOW.  No one else this year has a show that is so top to bottom seamless and knows what it is at every waking moment.  Dean Westman said it best on opening night, this is a Beatles concert that never happened.  That's how it feels, it's a concert that just embodies what the Beatles were and are today.  The build to the opening hit, all of Elanor Rigby, the brass licks, BLACKBIRD, Come Together, etc.  I can just name moment after moment in this show.  And they perform on an individual level like no one else.  They PERFORM, if that makes sense.  Brass is incredible this year, with a cleaner run they can win brass.  Percussion was great too, I think the score last night was a pretty good representation.  COLORGUARD!  They are great this year, the individual characters throughout each section are so great, and as an ensemble they have so much chemistry.  I've seen words like synthetic, choppy, etc. thrown around about this show.  And if you don't like it, hey!  That's great.  Not everyone is going to like every show.  But those are the farthest words from what I'd use to describe this show.  It just feels so.......authentic.  They know what this show is and believe in it every second they perform.  

Again.....sorry if that's a little bit of word vomit.  I'll do a combined one when I get back home mid week.  Every show had something great in there, and again, those kids and staff doing this are incredible people bringing something incredible to a football field.  If I didn't have drum corps to follow, I'm not sure what I'd be passionate about.   Love this activity.  

Great review!  Thanks.

[PamahoNow]

20 minutes ago, Terri Schehr said:

In winds they do.

 

Even, (horrors) woodwinds!

[FLBuzcut]

17 minutes ago, Brian Tuma said:

Did tarps start out as a design choice in WGI? I always thought they first came about to protect the (mostly) hardwood floor performance area. 

I'm pretty sure it was a design choice, not to protect the wood but to cover up the paint (lines, circles, logos) of the basketball floor in order to create a neutral performance surface.

[Rich Cline]

4 hours ago, DrumManTx said:

Some very quick thoughts, I'll do a more extensive review when I get back Tuesday after seeing some shows a 2nd time in Mesquite up high.  For reference I was row 6 112, so blast zone right on the 50.  I'll keep my quick thoughts more positive.  I thought everyone was fantastic.  There was not a show I didn't enjoy in some way.  Sorry if these are a little......disjointed.  Pretty wiped today.  Like deceased.  Dead.  Think of these as my gut reactions.  I've gone to this show just about every year since 2011 and this is far and away the best one top to bottom I've been to.  

- Compass was a nice surprise, some powerful sounds and a fun show they obviously love performing. 

- Aresenal was a little more mature all around, tons of potential there!  Some great teaching going on there all around.   

- Seattle Cascades first hit SCARED THE CRAP OUT OF ME.  They had some huge power in the front half of the show, some great music moments in there.  

- Jersey Surf is so so so much better this year than I've seen them in awhile.  The show looks so great and they are really solid across all sections.  Aurora Awakes was probably my favorite part of the show.  Even if the scores don't show it, this is a hugely improved corps this year.  

- Music City sounds really really really solid, they have a great brass line and I love the Imagine closer.  Maybe a little bit on the cheesy side for me, but we need some of those shows.  Fun!  

- Genesis has a HARD show this year, tons of field coverage and exposed musical moments.  The props have some great usage in the show, and the ballad is probably the highlight for me.  

- Troopers play SO well, that opening Persichetti solo is phenomenal.  I think they achieve the space theme pretty well musically.  To The Stars is a very pretty ballad.  

- Madison Scouts have some INCREDIBLY athletic moments, and even if the show isn't scoring super high it was probably the first to get the crowd REALLY going.  Jazzy Young Persons Guide is fun.  Made me kind of sad in ways, just in that we are seeing the end of an era.  

- PACIFIC CREST.  HELLO.  This reminds me of how I felt about Spirit in 2017.  A huge step forward in design and performance for them.  So many captivating musical moments in there.  And seeing this live down low really brought it to life, those members really embody the various characters and moods so well.  This was one of my favorites of the day.  Bravo.  

- Colts sound great, they do the ANGRY fire section so so so well, that intensity is awesome.  Percussion and guard really stood out in this tier to me, especially the guard in the closer.  Love those icy blue silks flying through the air.  

- The Academy's visual aesthetic is so pleasing to look at, I love shows that coordinate like this.  And bravo to that very exposed flugel soloist in the ballad.  

- Spirit of Atlanta is super fun, I really like the distinct changes in the uniform throughout the show, but especially the white.  That whole ballad is just MONEY.  Will it push them into finals?  I'm not sure it's their year.  It's SO CLOSE to being there, but I'm just not sure how they would do it looking at the recap.  I wouldn't mind if they did it though.  

- Phantom Regiment.  I didn't give you the grief a lot of other posters did in June, but I did have some big question marks.  I love being proven wrong.  It's not my favorite show from them but it doesn't leave me devoid of emotion like last year did.  It's got some rough spots in there (mainly design related), but wow those kids sell this thing.  O Fortuna was the signal that we were in finalist territory.  Drums are fantastic as well.  They've made some great changes to the show, and while I still have some personal quips design wise, I don' think they're missing this year.  Honestly I think they're going to start putting pressure above rather than receiving it from below.  

- One of my friends said it best last night, this show is a freaking rock concert on the field AND I LOVED IT.  I liked this online, but LOVED it in person.  Every single person on that field buys into that show.  That head drum major especially is a BAD ###!  And they've still got some points to squeak out across the board too.  I can't believe this show is sitting in 11th, but I think that's a testament to how good of a year this is.  Loved the new ending with the guitars just shredding.  SHRED IT BRO!  

- Mandarins also buy into their show on every single level.  GEEZ, this is an intense show.  Online the guard was good but seemed a bit.......sterile?  Especially the flags.  But in person.  😳There is so much nuance and characterization there you don't get online, they grab you by the throat and don't let go for twelve minutes.  I do think musically they need another year to keep building.  I love the ambition there musically and they sound great, I just think that's the weakest spot.  But as a production.  WOAH.  

- The Cadets.  I hate to see them this low because those members are performing their collective ##### off.  As a performance, I really enjoyed this show.  Brass didn't sound like a 13th place brass line, even with some issues.  I just think that's how the book is designed bleeding into performance captions.  I won't harp on what has already been said.  I'll end with HOLY MOTHER OF GOD DRUMLINE.  They can have my keys and wallet.  They were worth the price of admission.  Incredible performance from them.  

- Blue Stars play SO MUCH Better live!  I liked this show online, LOVED it in person.  Musically there are so many little flurries and nuances, in the Copland especially, that are so impressive beyond the typical loud technical stuff.  Them and two other hornlines really blew me away with their phrasing and shaping of musical lines.  They have developed an incredible brass sound.  Online I kinda thought they could fully commit more to the theme, but in person I got it.  And yeah, they're hauling ###.  Fantastic job. 

- Blue Knights are on the cusp of something incredible, and I think they're there in many regards.  My biggest take away is oh my GOD they're athletic.  If you think marching and playing demand is dead, look no further.  They are running and playing constantly in Liquid and in the closer.  Bocook and Jackson and Crew create such an ethereal experience musically.  One second they're brushing their hand across your cheek, and the next second they're decking you and giving you a black eye.  I love how they can turn the tone of a show in a split second.  It's hard to put into words that show, but it's something.  I'll elaborate more later.  

- Cava-freaking-liers.  WOAH.  This was either my favorite or second favorite show of the night.  I'm going to talk brass for a minute.  No one last night shaped and phrased like they did to my ear.  And they did it on freaking technical passages like it was nothing.  Pacing crescendos and decrescendos like that or doing terraced dynamics that evenly on both fast and slow passages is NOT easy.  Bums Rush especially was incredible.  4th in brass was VERY well deserved, there were a lot of lines that PLAYED LOUD AND FAST THE WHOLE SHOW and did it well, but not not much else.  Bravo to Cavaliers and a few others on that.  Now, the ballad.  Dear GOD.  That was probably my favorite moment last night.  As soon as they face forward......they hit you like a freight train.  And it made the show make sense.  It's one of those things where I can't put my finger on how to say what they're conveying, but I got it.  Well deseved mid show standing O.  That's gonna be a riot on finals.  Also, colorguard and drums are fantastic too.  Cavaliers guard does athletic tricks like no one else out there, they're wildly entertaining to watch.  Drumline is fantastic, and I love seeing another really cool split marimba feature.  Of 4-5-6......this show felt the most complete to me.  They very well might end up 6th and if they do it's because the five ahead of them are just so good.   But they're creeping up.  And I don't think that's going to stop.  I'd love this show in 4th.  

- Boston Crusaders are LOUD.  Geez.  They really push your hair back.  I'll get the obvious out of the way, the guard is incredible.  As an ensemble and as solo performers they are so captivating and portray the theme very well throughout.  I love the front half of the show, some of the best drum corps out there this year.  Back half I enjoyed but I do have some thoughts which I'll share later.  Percussion was the sore spot on the recap, but I think that's mainly due to how deep that caption is.  They're playing well, just needs to cross into that next level of clarity.  

- Carolina Crown's first note is WOAH HOLY CRAP.  I wasn't ready for that, even knowing how good their brass is.  That note alone is worth seeing them for.  This show is non stop energy and excitement from top to bottom.  Drums are very solid again this year and I was pleasantly surprised by the colorguard.  As a production it's still not really doing it for me, but as a performance.  Wow.  Top notch.  

- Santa Clara Vanguard has a championship tier corps.  Brass sounds amazing, drums are still insanely good, colorguard is phenomenal, and they perform so incredibly well.  Musically, I bought this more live.  It's incredibly quirky and agressive, and then the closer just SOARS triumphantly over all of that.  Like Carolina Crown it's not really for me as a production, but as a performance I'd totally watch it again.  Don't really have any thoughts on the tarps, was too low.  

- Blue Devils.......I thought they were going to do it last night.  That show is so fun, so entertaining, and so expertly crafted by both the performers and staff.  I totally get it live, it's a ghosts of performances past coming out to play.  I have known all season that is what the theme is, but tonight I got it in context for sure.  There is something both scary and downright fun about their colorguard.  At the beginning of the show the ones depicting the Zeus type stuff just slowly turn their heads around to the crowd with these CREEPY masks on and just pulled me right in.  That's an example to me of the kind of individual performance of even the smallest detail that makes BD what they are.  Just a slow about face made me shooketh.  Katchaturian is ALMOST there, and when it does holy crap.  The ballad is INCREDIBLE.  The exposure and clarity there is just mouthwatering.  Closer isn't done, I can tell they've got more planned.  The prop usage in this show is incredible, the amount of variety they get out of them is mindboggling.  This show just sets a mood so well and keeps at it the whole show.  Brass was a little loose, that's my only slightly critical observation.  But other than that, bravo.  Can't wait to see where it goes next.  

- Bluecoats.  Blue.Coats.  Maybe a little of a loose run last night (which I thought well before scores were announced so don't come @ me), but WOW.  No one else this year has a show that is so top to bottom seamless and knows what it is at every waking moment.  Dean Westman said it best on opening night, this is a Beatles concert that never happened.  That's how it feels, it's a concert that just embodies what the Beatles were and are today.  The build to the opening hit, all of Elanor Rigby, the brass licks, BLACKBIRD, Come Together, etc.  I can just name moment after moment in this show.  And they perform on an individual level like no one else.  They PERFORM, if that makes sense.  Brass is incredible this year, with a cleaner run they can win brass.  Percussion was great too, I think the score last night was a pretty good representation.  COLORGUARD!  They are great this year, the individual characters throughout each section are so great, and as an ensemble they have so much chemistry.  I've seen words like synthetic, choppy, etc. thrown around about this show.  And if you don't like it, hey!  That's great.  Not everyone is going to like every show.  But those are the farthest words from what I'd use to describe this show.  It just feels so.......authentic.  They know what this show is and believe in it every second they perform.  

Again.....sorry if that's a little bit of word vomit.  I'll do a combined one when I get back home mid week.  Every show had something great in there, and again, those kids and staff doing this are incredible people bringing something incredible to a football field.  If I didn't have drum corps to follow, I'm not sure what I'd be passionate about.   Love this activity.  

Great Review. I missed the 1st block due to work but was following the posts on phone till I got home. Everyone was enjoying the bottom tier corps. I got home in time to see the Colts and rest of the show. 2nd block of corps up to Mandarins were "on fire". Thought Mandarins had been stronger previously and noticed they replaced the CG female with a male mm at the end on top of the prop so was wondering what happened.

Phantom and Cadets seemed to make big improvements and WOW, those Cavaliers were on fire last night. Way to go. Carolina Crown kind wakes you up "We're Here" then kind of a subtle finish. I've already commented on SCV's tarps and show elsewhere - Bad visual "Big TIme". BD kind of a let down when I look at the drill and field coverage compared to Bloo. BD is doing a lot of things but the field coverage is a little condensed at times and I'm distracted by those ladder props, but we'll have to wait and see. I know BD and they are not done yet by any means with their show.

Bloo, I loved the show and even if you're not a Beetles fan per say, you have to love the way they are staging the numbers. They're like in your face, then go away and come back and hit you again. I imagine the kids are just loving doing this show. It showed last night, Bloo got a standing ovation from the audience.

[27Socal]

1 hour ago, Cappybara said:

My theory regarding the volatility of drum scores this season: the scores are all over the place because of the dang rule change that seats the drum judge in the stands or on the front sideline. Depending on where the judge ends up, he can't pick up all the details in the battery and it is harder for the judge to get a good read 

Sorry to beat this drum (pun intended), but this is one of the worst rule changes in DCI in a while 

Couldn't agree more.   There was one thing i saw in the Rose Bowl show that i have never seen before at a show.  The battery of one corps was about 30 yards behind the sideline.  The drum execution judge was about 6 feet into the field. He actually cupped his hands behind his ears to try to hear what that battery was playing.   This is ridiculous.   Just admit this was a mistake and put the judges back out on to the field next year.   It worked fine for 47 years with no fatalities.   Stop being a bunch of sissies.

[27Socal]

1 hour ago, MikeRapp said:

Come on. WGI is barely even remotely comparable to DCI. None of the WGI members even carry brass instruments, and performances have a fraction of marching difficulty.

Have you ever seen a recent world class WGI drumline show?  Doesn't sound like it.  The top lines have members from BD, Cavies, Blue Stars, SCV, etc. The drills are very fast paced and compact.  Difficulty at or above football field level.  Take a look on youtube of Broken City, Pulse, RCC, Music City Mystique.

[LabMaster]

2 hours ago, Jeffe77 said:

You don't think privately the staff that stayed with Crown, there's a sense of satisfaction beating BAC and seeing them not run off with multiple championships?

I don’t think either staff really thinks about the others staff.  I think each is focused on their own team.

[LabMaster]

2 hours ago, BWise said:

Fully agree .. so open to other reasons for the BAC obsession with Crown .. constantly. BAC fans go do your thing and be the best fans ever but quit complaining about how everyone’s focus is not on how BAC might have a chance to beat Crown. Beyond stale. And it’s on every blog post .. FB .. IG. Over and over and over.

Good for BAC .. they have a kinda cool show and are progressing. Talk about that some more .. not Crown every other breath. 

I can go along with that.  I can easily forget about Crown.