jwscv87 Posted June 30, 2002 Share Posted June 30, 2002 I was at the last night, so please humor me while I attempt to rant and review at the same time. Before I start don't look for initmate details because that's just not me. I forget enough about a movie that I can enjoy it again 2 weeks later. Also I missed the NW Venture and Oregon Crusaders. Don't hammer me for disrespecting the Div III and Senior corps I was stuck in our wonderful traffic. So... Div I Pacific Crest: This is a top 12 hornline. No exaggeration, no question. Their score does not reflect the quality of sound they produce. Roughly 56 horns, great percussion and really high quality show concept - music of Cirque Del Soleil. These guys have much more talent than the Cascades, but their visual program really hurts. The drill is adequate, but very, very easy. It's reasonably clean but should be cleaner with the lack of demand. My theory is that a demanding visual program takes a greater time commitment than a demanding musical book. If this part-time corps ever goes full-time - watch out! They will be performing on Saturday... Seattle Cascades: This will be the best drum corps Washington has ever produced. I saw their Memorial Day camp and they were not very good. I can not believe how much they have accomplished. They are for real. The hornline is pretty good, but definately not as good as Pacific Crest. However, the overall visual concept is light years ahead of P.C. Very fast paced, demanding drill. They have technique issues and the drill is very dirty. They have a ton of room to improve on a great start. The judges seem to love the show concept while I just don't. It is a 'Garfield's Greatest Hits' theme (83 and 85 primarily). One of the brass guys is a Garfield alumn. It's like he got ahold of a hornline and has them playing his dream book from the corps he loves. It would be like me taking a hornline and presenting Russian Christmas Music, Festive Overture and The Tender Land - not a lot of originality. Don't get me wrong, I want the Cascades to do well. I want them to make finals. My guess is they will fall just short. Madison Scouts: My first WOW!!! of the night. In your face drum corps at it's best. Wonderful latin conquistador theme. They grabbed me by the throat just entering the field to Conquest. Teriffic hornline, very good marching technique, drill is decent but dirty and the guard is very mediocre. The guard has a ton of work missing. They stand around a lot. I don't get it. There is no excuse for that in late June. FINISH THE WORK!!! The guard took dead last! The talent is obviously there. Clean up the drill and improve the guard and they will begin to distance themselves from the Cascades. The crowd boooooed loudly when the score was announced. The spread relative to the Cascades was way too small. Santa Clara Vanguard: These guys represent everything I love and hate about modern drum corps rolled up into a single package. They were clearly the best corps tonight in every caption. The show included an original piece by Gordon Henderson (UCLA band guru and former SCV instructor), a Hanson piece and a Copland piece. I'll use two words to describe it - flat and abstract. This corps is very talented, the show is extremely demanding, they march exceedingly well, all sections are very good BUT you still are left wondering what you just saw, what was missing. The original opener was pretty exciting but the rest was just blah... I will say that the visual program is everything you need to win DCI, but I don't think this show is going to get them there. My results would have been as follows: Cascades 70 Pacific Crest 71 Madison 74 SCV 79 Actual results were: Oregon Crusaders (DivIII) 48.15 Pacific Crest 68.20 Cascades 71.50 Madison 72.50 SCV 77.80 I think Pacific Crest is getting unreasonably held back because of the visual program. The hornline does not get enough credit. I think the Cascades are getting too much credit for a good, but very dirty show. Clean it first and then the credit should come. I don't know why the spread between Madison and the Cascades isn't larger - it clearly should be. The spread between Madison and SCV is about right, but overall I think the scores were a tad low. I'm guessing SCV and BD will be pretty competitive when they get together next week. The Marine Drum and Bugle Corps also performed. The marines were awesome. They put on a 20+ minute performance, and definately had the best hornline there. About 45 strong and they were just about as loud as SCV and Madison - believe it!!! The highlights for me were Beethoven's 9th - Ode to Joy and Firedance. Just awesome power for 45 members, and great great sound. Visually they are fun to watch for their precision. Great consistency of technique, but they move very, very, very sloooooowly. That started to get a little tiresome. Overall I really enjoyed them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeffsjetta Posted June 30, 2002 Share Posted June 30, 2002 great review...is PC going to Madcity this year?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jwscv87 Posted June 30, 2002 Author Share Posted June 30, 2002 P.C. is not going to nats. They do a regional tour every year that ends in July. What I have heard is that they just don't have the financial resources to take on a full tour. It is really too bad - the rest of the country needs to see these guys!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeffsjetta Posted June 30, 2002 Share Posted June 30, 2002 that's why I asked...keep hearing great things, but living on the right coast, I never get to see em. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
saugusbandgeek Posted July 1, 2002 Share Posted July 1, 2002 PC's really a great corps, but their visual is definitely lacking. It was really good, but then they went division I and somehow it dropped dramatically. I think they brought in some new visual staff, but it doesn't seem to be helping. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eddie Posted July 1, 2002 Share Posted July 1, 2002 It's not that PC doesn't have the finances to do a full tour, it's just that they have devoted themselves to a "weekend only" corps. It's amazing how much support this corps has around So. Cali. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bd5times Posted July 2, 2002 Share Posted July 2, 2002 I think they brought in some new visual staff, but it doesn't seem to be helping. PC's really a great corps, but their visual is definitely lacking. It was really good, but then they went division I and somehow it dropped dramatically. I just read on the BD web-site that PC beat Madison in all visual captions......guess PC is not lacking all that much. I think it's great there is this phantom corps on the west coast that's beating a former DCI Champ and perennial finalist in a caption. Perhaps that can be the key to actually getting DCI out here. Knowing there is a corps that's showing up some of the top dogs.....and they aren't even a full time corps. Simply amazing. Also, Seattle Cascades beat SCV in a GE Music. Wow! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flammaster Posted July 6, 2002 Share Posted July 6, 2002 I saw PC and cascades last year at the concord show and was very very impressed. I too thought PC was the better sounding corps. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jlhiatt Posted July 6, 2002 Share Posted July 6, 2002 Wish PC could tour more and go to Madison. If they could go Division I all the way instead of in DCI Pacific, they'd REALLY shake things up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aloysius Posted July 9, 2002 Share Posted July 9, 2002 A bunch of us really liked PC's show. The music, visual interpretation, and color guard integration were wonderful. Wow, I feel priviledged to have seen both PC as well as the SCV Alumni corp (twice for both). :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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