Corps of Cheyenne...the first of the merge 2023

[spacewill]

3 minutes ago, Chief Guns said:

Let's see if they can get the gap under two points tomorrow.

Keep grinding PC!!!

That would be great!  I am more interested/nervous if they can build on the gap with BK!    Not sure if BK going last behind BD and Boston helps or hurts their scores tomorrow.  Hard to know when the corps competing are separated by so many other corps.

[2muchcoffeeman]

Just got back from the show and skimmed the recaps. They seem to be spot-on, in my opinion.

Lovely night in Cheyenne. Moody dark sky, stars peeking through the holes and the last wisps of sunlight touching the  tops of the cumulus as Troop came on the field. Wyoming can be lovely.

Battalion has a very nice vehicle. It bops and grooves, and the final set is highly effective. Clean? Not really. But performance energy is high and the material seems like it can be mastered to a greater degree, giving the performers headroom to grow. If you're going to be in Fort Collins, be sure to be in your seat in time for them.

Cascades had bus or truck issues on the way to the show site, but rolled in with enough time to hit their original performance slot. I don't know what kind of lot time they had, but it didn't seem to affect them. The show is very accessible, lots of fun.

PC looks beautiful on the field. The palette is unique, staging is first-rate, the columns are *chef's kiss*, and they use the field very well. Guard took 1st tonight, and that's right. Horn sound is balanced and lovely, though it probably had the third-most horsepower on the field. Ballad was a crowd favorite. Exquisite. For all the trouble and effort they go through to put the beach tarp on the field at the beginning of the show, it's a complete afterthought once the show starts. Aside from the trombone feetch, the primary purpose of the tarp seems to be to reduce the amount of territory the corps needs to march.

Academy has a fabulous opening visual moment as the corps spins away from the giant disc, and then the disc is largely forgotten, a ridiculously large stage that almost nobody uses, and when they do, they look tiny. High brass is a strength, tight and clear. Drums are a step up from PC, but their staging does them no favors, burying the battery backfield.

After all that, the first thing you notice about Troopers is the musical command. There's balance, and power, and clarity. And content. The second movent is sustained intensity that pulls you to the edge of your seat until it drops you into that haunting ballad. Perc staging is a level up from the other corps at this show. Overall visual is more ambitious, and since my last look at Troop was their Indiana sendoff premiere, it's obviously sharper and cleaner now. The overall visual package might not be as refined as the PC program, but there are some very strong visual impacts coming through. As with everyone else, there's plenty of opportunity to polish. Probably unlikely they'll pop 80 tomorrow in Fort Collins because of the added gravity of the larger field, but Denver is practically a home show and the Denver crowd is one of the best of the tour. Should be a great night of drum corps.