Jeffsjetta Posted June 29, 2002 Share Posted June 29, 2002 ahhhhh...the first show of the year for me. Great weather, tons of familiar faces. . North Penn HS, scene of many a great corps show and home of the North Penn Marching Knights, one of the best HS bands in America. stadium not as big as I remember...wont get a real good drill read. Also, as seems to be anytime i go to a YEA show....seating is a mess. Rows not numbered, pople sitting all over the place that isn't on their tickets. Dear YEA.....please...one of these years....get your seating straight. It's happened to me in DE and PA 3 times at your shows. And no, I wont pay 50 bucks to see 8 corps...not when i will see 11 for 18 next week. Name dropping....finally met the worlds biggest BD fan, Boy1230/Geoffrey! He found me right away,...the DCP hat/tshirt combo was a giveaway. Wonderful man...you have to meet him...he's a riot! seats...between the 30-35, side 1, 9 rows up. first corps...Lehigh Valley Knights. First time I have ever seen them...music is Disney's Millenium stuff. Very active drumline. snares and quads put the drums down and go into the pit a few times to play all kinds of toys, and also pick up horns towards the end. book...not too hard, definitely achieveable, tho brass seems to be behindthe drums right now. it's June, so of course there were some feet issues, but nothing that cant be fixed by years end. Chris from Corpsreps son is in the pit and look at him go! Guard.....according to my guard expert, the work was easy, and performed ok for late June. I look forward to seeing this again at Reading. Jersey Surf......West Side Story. Show is far from done. drumline, as I have come to expect from Surf is good...even while missing a bass drum and a tenor player. Horns had many holes, and it showed.......they sounded, well.....bad. I like the idea they have, but it needs a lot of work. Guard didnt really do anything to standout in my mind........I know it's early, but i expected them to be a lot more prepared. Kiwanis. I know one thing...the merger w/Tampa made em bigger! 10 snares, 6 tenors......wow. However...when you have that many, you need to be d### clean...and they arent....i think adding some speed to tempos may help, as some of the meatier passages anyone would have issues with slow. Hall of Justice......nice little superheroish visors on the whole corps. but too much black...needs more color. hearing Spiderman on the field was cool, and cute little lightning bolts in the guard for Flash, tho i expected Flash from the DC comics line, not Flash Gordon. Batman was cool, and i caught the little Superman lick. visually, they covered the whole field, but a few times all the drumline was doing was a circle around the corps. Add some color, jack up some tempos and keep cleaning and K Kavs could make semis. If they dont.....Sorry, I dont see em in, even w/the rules change. Spirit....Ladies and Gentleman, the South is still rising, and this vehicle will provide them a Saturday night slot in Madcity. No it isn't Southern Spirt, but I didnt notice or mind on bit. From the Salvation warmup to the bass beat coming off the field...wow. Solid brass line....for June, the articualtion was sweet. Perc had some dirt, but they move a lot and have a few notes of their own. Guard was well staged.....weapons when need be, dance when need be...everything made sense. I can not wait to see this show again. Crown. Um. Hmm. I didn't like last year. It's June so i'll give em another chance, but i really didnt like this. Brass performs well as does the drumline....visually...I am not sure what story they are trying to tell, but halfway thru the Moulin Rogue thing, I was looking for wooden structures backfield. the togas on the guard dont do a lot...a very bland color scheme to offset the purple and black corps proper unis. Still trying to figure out why the 5 male guard members ran thru the hornline in the ballad. IMO...Crown could be outside looking in. How you explain putting "when a man loves a woman" in the show, i have no idea. Cadets......right off the bat, one can tell it's a Sylvester drill. Horn line cranks, drumline cranks, guard is all over the place. YEA haters, you will enjoy this show. The NYC theme is good, and not overdone w/hokeyness. The whole guard costume change for the guys from civies to military will make more sense when the guys on the sides are hidden so the guys in the center can be spotlighted better...but i got the idea. Drumline has some sick licks, and they all go into the pit at the end of Boogie Woogie to jam. You'll love this show or hate. I enjoyed it a lot, tho some by me considered it rehash and boring......i say give this corps time....ya never know with them. Those who bach the Cadets for being boring should be shut up this year.. BD.....first thing...guard looks like clowns. I expected more from BD......show is disjointed like many have said, and it skips all over. note to drum staff...you have a cute little gimmick w/the ride cymbal/tom rack, especially when you keep shuttling players in and out every few counts. However, as a drummer who did jazz, i heard not one clean ride cymbal pattern. Bass line has some sick licks, as do the toms...snares, i may have missed. Channel One....I was let down. I expected more They perform well....but it's boring. I really hope I see changes when i see em again in august. Content wise, the show has more to offer than cadets, but theire is no GE. The crowd stood out of respect at the end of the show, whereas for the Cadets, they stood before the end because they liked it. Crossmen......ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the best Crossmen corps since 1992. show starts w/drums and pit throwing down a groove that sounds Methenyish from note one. Horn line comes flying out of the upper right corner doing a really cool move...you have to see it. Hornline is LOUD, and i couldnt tell the difference from G to Bb they were that loud. Ballad...goosebumps. Strawberry Soup...the most famous 9/4 lick in drum corps. Well written, it flowed and gave the corps a chance to play a few different jazz feels in one song. Soloists a little rough, but it's early and i expect more screaming to be added before it's done. Guard was awesome as all Xmen guards have been lately. this show is going to surprise many, many people. As a long time Xmen fan(back to the 70's) I am telling you this is the best since 92, and may be the best ever. Up next...Hershey next week. remove BD and Crown, add Magic and Boston and 4 seniors and let the games begin! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeffsjetta Posted June 29, 2002 Author Share Posted June 29, 2002 a few comments to add now that i am more awake. Cadets ballad....pay attention to the drum stuff in the ballad backfield...very military like groove happening. Crossmen closer drill..wow....this aint your mothers Xmen anymore! BD clean feet....but....boring. Spirit...under rated drill. Crown...yes that is "When a Man" in there" ok i'm done now Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest GeorgeD Posted June 29, 2002 Share Posted June 29, 2002 the drums in the back is the war "over there" the early parts when they are far backfield sound like distant carpet bombing - very cool Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeffsjetta Posted June 29, 2002 Author Share Posted June 29, 2002 it was done well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sluggo Posted June 29, 2002 Share Posted June 29, 2002 Jeff, thanks for that awesome review..made me feel like I was there...well, almost. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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