No West for the Wicked - Canyon Texas 7/17

[DFA1970]

15 minutes ago, 27Socal said:

They seemed a little flat.  Sleeping on buses can wear you out. Is there any sickness going around in the corps?

I think all Texas shows with exception of SA I do not expect corp members to be fresh in this heat. It’s brutal. 

[27Socal]

15 minutes ago, DFA1970 said:

I think all Texas shows with exception of SA I do not expect corp members to be fresh in this heat. It’s brutal. 

Good point.  I'm seeing over 100 every day in every TX show city, except 1 day in 1 city. Not fun.

[DrumManTx]

Review time!  IDK why everything is bold but we will go with it.  

Overall - Shocker shows come across a lot better live than online!  😮 The only show I’ve spectated since San Antonio/Mesquite 2019 was this same show in 2021.  The stadium is small enough to feel intimate and close to the field, it’s super high energy.  The front of the top section where I love to sit is so close to the sideline.  Great audience that is very appreciative of the activity stopping at WT.  Thank you to BJ Brooks of WTAMU for bringing this amazing thing back to West Texas.  

Guardians - Really impressed with their front ensemble and percussion overall, great teaching going on there.  Brass had a good full sound for so many holes and they cover a lot of ground for their size.  Excited to see what they do the rest of the season!  

Seattle Cascades - Great to see them back after four seasons!  Big jump in volume from them, they're actually fielding a larger corps than I remember them doing pre covid for awhile.  Nice to see those numbers.  It's a well put together vehicle for their venture back into the activity.  

The Academy - I liked this one a lot more in person than online, the uniform design is not my favorite but the colors work really well on the field, the unveiling of the blue looks great in person.  BIG full sound from them, visual performance is getting there.  Battery was very solid.  A little bit of a safe show that I've seen before, but fun nonetheless.  

Pacific Crest - Not the most exciting show, but not all shows have to be.  This show is very nebulous and vague but in the best of ways, the tone and purpose is pretty apparent across the whole show.  It’s just so well put together musically and visually, everything is exactly where it needs to be from staging to musical moments.  It’s an airtight design in a tier that a lot of other shows have problems in.  Brass is incredibly lush, balanced, and blended.  Not the loudest, but I’ll trade this approach for volume any day.  Percussion is very exposed when it needs to be and very solid, and the guard is great.  Highlight is absolutely the Vienna Teng ballad, love the trombone usage.  I think they end up in 12th, the only other challenger I personally see is Blue Knights who have a lot more content, but whose show has some bigger issues than this one.  I have loved PC since The Maze, The Spectrum, and Transfixed way back in 2010 - 2013, and then fell head over heels in love with in 2019 with Everglow.  I want you in finals.  Jay Webb, WTF were you watching???

Blue Knights - I found this to be one of the hardest to watch shows I've ever seen live in terms of knowing where to look or what is happening in terms of visual events.  I found the staging pretty horrid.  Soloists were really hard to find, big rifle tosses were happening in obstructed visual lines, the guard costuming made them completely disappear among the corps.  The gong at the end in the center of the radio tower was a WTF.  Also found the theme/voiceovers really muddy and feel slapped on to try and give the show more meaning.  Positives?  They're loud.  Big presence.  I like the uniforms.  The Doors was fun.  Ballad was pretty.  Trying with some varying success some unique percussion instrumentation and playing techniques, the bass drums were really cool in person.  I think this show has enough content to get them in finals, but as a package it's another miss IMO.  Best of luck on the rest of the season.  

 

Troopers - I’ll get the negatives out of the way right at the beginning.  Still really don’t get the show theme at all and the colorguard is a total afterthought from staging to costuming to silk design.  And the prop doesn’t do a lot for me except sit there.  Okay?  Loved everything else.  The ballad is a highlight of the activity for the whole season, the harmonica and trumpet duet there is to die for and the build underneath that is spine tingling good.  They sound AMAZING, brass and percussion are top notch, especially the percussion.  What Lauren Teel has built there over the last ten years deserves more recognition.  Absolute icon and star in the percussion world IMO.  From the tuning to the arranging and the performance, the percussion is top 8 quality. I think this show has some growing pains for sure, especially on the visual side of things.  But they’re growing into being a perennial finalist and top 10 corps in more than one caption.  Congrats Troop. 

 

Mandarins - This is the best arranged show of the year for me hands down.  Vince Oliver, you’re an evil genius.  It’s a 12 minute roller coaster of a movie soundtrack.  It’s seamless.  Take Me to Church is the highlight of the production for me, but so many amazing moments.  The section in the second production with the props spinning and the corps weaving in and out is jaw droppingly good in terms of how it builds tension both musically and visually, reminds me of the section right before the ballad in Down Side Up.  The solo/small ensemble work in this show is some of the best out there this year, the BONES ARE FIRE!  They’re better in every caption this year, percussion was a little bit of an issue the last few competitive seasons, not bad by any means, but was usually one of the lower captions, they’re awesome this year.  Attitude and deadly accurate.  Brass sounds MUCH more mature in person, full and aggressive. And the guard is wild, so much energy and skill.  If I had any complaint about the show, I’ll find one, the yellow guard costuming is not my favorite.  Gives McDonalds against the corps proper.  But that’s it.  Favorite show I’ve seen live in awhile.  It’s a RIDE!  

[CAtenhut]

2 hours ago, 27Socal said:

J Webb is way out to lunch.  He had PC down by 1.7 to BK, and the other GE judge had PC up by .3,  Does anyone know where he's judging for the rest of the season?

He pretty much decided their fate on his own. Hope PC staff gave him an earful tonight.

[Chief Guns]

22 minutes ago, CAtenhut said:

He pretty much decided their fate on his own. Hope PC staff gave him an earful tonight.

If there were any judges tapes I would want to listen to, it's the GE2 tapes tonight hands down. 

[brassboy]

Webb is a percussion guy if I’m not mistaken, so I’m betting that background had a big influence on the way he saw things tonight (check out GE2 vs Percussion results). 

[karuna]

41 minutes ago, brassboy said:

Webb is a percussion guy if I’m not mistaken, so I’m betting that background had a big influence on the way he saw things tonight (check out GE2 vs Percussion results). 

Yep.  His tapes are actually decent on GE (in as much as they support his number) but his reads always seem to favor the strong percussion section.  

[27Socal]

3 hours ago, brassboy said:

Webb is a percussion guy if I’m not mistaken, so I’m betting that background had a big influence on the way he saw things tonight (check out GE2 vs Percussion results). 

I don't buy the percussion results.  After seeing them in the Rose Bowl lot,  BK's execution is really rough and the book is extremely watered down (lots of buzz rolls and few flams and rolls).   I would put them below PC and Academy.   I don't like to say this, but they are about the level of an indoor high school A or Open line.  Nothing against the kids,  they are trying hard, but it is what it is.

[DCI-86]

I fear that if Troopers don't sort out their colorguard, their guard will pull their placement back when they go head to head with their peers (Colts, Blue Stars, Cadets etc).  They look young and like they need to spend a month or so just working on technique!

[spacewill]

9 hours ago, DrumManTx said:

Review time!  IDK why everything is bold but we will go with it.  

Overall - Shocker shows come across a lot better live than online!  😮 The only show I’ve spectated since San Antonio/Mesquite 2019 was this same show in 2021.  The stadium is small enough to feel intimate and close to the field, it’s super high energy.  The front of the top section where I love to sit is so close to the sideline.  Great audience that is very appreciative of the activity stopping at WT.  Thank you to BJ Brooks of WTAMU for bringing this amazing thing back to West Texas.  

Guardians - Really impressed with their front ensemble and percussion overall, great teaching going on there.  Brass had a good full sound for so many holes and they cover a lot of ground for their size.  Excited to see what they do the rest of the season!  

Seattle Cascades - Great to see them back after four seasons!  Big jump in volume from them, they're actually fielding a larger corps than I remember them doing pre covid for awhile.  Nice to see those numbers.  It's a well put together vehicle for their venture back into the activity.  

The Academy - I liked this one a lot more in person than online, the uniform design is not my favorite but the colors work really well on the field, the unveiling of the blue looks great in person.  BIG full sound from them, visual performance is getting there.  Battery was very solid.  A little bit of a safe show that I've seen before, but fun nonetheless.  

Pacific Crest - Not the most exciting show, but not all shows have to be.  This show is very nebulous and vague but in the best of ways, the tone and purpose is pretty apparent across the whole show.  It’s just so well put together musically and visually, everything is exactly where it needs to be from staging to musical moments.  It’s an airtight design in a tier that a lot of other shows have problems in.  Brass is incredibly lush, balanced, and blended.  Not the loudest, but I’ll trade this approach for volume any day.  Percussion is very exposed when it needs to be and very solid, and the guard is great.  Highlight is absolutely the Vienna Teng ballad, love the trombone usage.  I think they end up in 12th, the only other challenger I personally see is Blue Knights who have a lot more content, but whose show has some bigger issues than this one.  I have loved PC since The Maze, The Spectrum, and Transfixed way back in 2010 - 2013, and then fell head over heels in love with in 2019 with Everglow.  I want you in finals.  Jay Webb, WTF were you watching???

Blue Knights - I found this to be one of the hardest to watch shows I've ever seen live in terms of knowing where to look or what is happening in terms of visual events.  I found the staging pretty horrid.  Soloists were really hard to find, big rifle tosses were happening in obstructed visual lines, the guard costuming made them completely disappear among the corps.  The gong at the end in the center of the radio tower was a WTF.  Also found the theme/voiceovers really muddy and feel slapped on to try and give the show more meaning.  Positives?  They're loud.  Big presence.  I like the uniforms.  The Doors was fun.  Ballad was pretty.  Trying with some varying success some unique percussion instrumentation and playing techniques, the bass drums were really cool in person.  I think this show has enough content to get them in finals, but as a package it's another miss IMO.  Best of luck on the rest of the season.  

 

Troopers - I’ll get the negatives out of the way right at the beginning.  Still really don’t get the show theme at all and the colorguard is a total afterthought from staging to costuming to silk design.  And the prop doesn’t do a lot for me except sit there.  Okay?  Loved everything else.  The ballad is a highlight of the activity for the whole season, the harmonica and trumpet duet there is to die for and the build underneath that is spine tingling good.  They sound AMAZING, brass and percussion are top notch, especially the percussion.  What Lauren Teel has built there over the last ten years deserves more recognition.  Absolute icon and star in the percussion world IMO.  From the tuning to the arranging and the performance, the percussion is top 8 quality. I think this show has some growing pains for sure, especially on the visual side of things.  But they’re growing into being a perennial finalist and top 10 corps in more than one caption.  Congrats Troop. 

 

Mandarins - This is the best arranged show of the year for me hands down.  Vince Oliver, you’re an evil genius.  It’s a 12 minute roller coaster of a movie soundtrack.  It’s seamless.  Take Me to Church is the highlight of the production for me, but so many amazing moments.  The section in the second production with the props spinning and the corps weaving in and out is jaw droppingly good in terms of how it builds tension both musically and visually, reminds me of the section right before the ballad in Down Side Up.  The solo/small ensemble work in this show is some of the best out there this year, the BONES ARE FIRE!  They’re better in every caption this year, percussion was a little bit of an issue the last few competitive seasons, not bad by any means, but was usually one of the lower captions, they’re awesome this year.  Attitude and deadly accurate.  Brass sounds MUCH more mature in person, full and aggressive. And the guard is wild, so much energy and skill.  If I had any complaint about the show, I’ll find one, the yellow guard costuming is not my favorite.  Gives McDonalds against the corps proper.  But that’s it.  Favorite show I’ve seen live in awhile.  It’s a RIDE!  

Thanks for the write up and feedback!  Really appreciate the in person insight!