GMichael1230 Posted July 4, 2002 Share Posted July 4, 2002 Hot, hot hot !!!! Both the the weather and the corps pushed the temperature these past two days as Blue Devils earned their first victory of the season, and the Cadets continued their winning ways. Thoughts and impressions from both shows are combined into one general review; Mt. Hope High School stadium is a fun place to have a show, but you need to order your tickets early. I did not so I was relegated to the hill, but the people are so much fun I wound up being invitied to a picninc by the Foster family....Thank you guys !! I also enjoy the stadium in Bridgeport, artificial deep green field. and Cement bleachers. Both days were hot and humid well into the night. The show in Rhode Island started a little earlier than Bridgeport. Blue Devils right now are a corps on a mission. The show they have is jam packed with difficulty. Musical arrangements are layered with such depth that it is taking a little longer than usual for the blue crew to master them. After hearing this show four times,I must say that the arrangements are beautiful, melodical, full of varying tempo, and quite colorful and very easy to grasp and hum. Percussion and brass are not playing together at times, meter in both sections are not as one. Clarity in some spots is lacking. This is holding back the command of the repetoire, which in turn is holding back them selling the music as it should be. Sounds bad ?? no way ! This show is built to grow, and fester, and build and it will pack quite a wallop come Madison. GE is lacking right now because the difficulty and demand. Once this corps kicks in, watch out ! A new ending is needed, it lacks the punch and the "wow" right now, but I have heard it is coming. Tempo in the second number has increased, and the clarity of the brass is starting to gel . Colorguard is mastering their book, and becoming much more comfortable with their book. I thought they had the show in Bristol, they are closing the gap. Cadets are ahead right now because of one very major issue. Execution. No Cadets show has ever been this clean this early. The reason for this I must say is because the demand/difficulty is not as one would come to expect. After seeing this show live and watching about 6 hours of practice, I must say that this show, while extremely entertaining, is full of repeat melodies, and alot of gimmics, and I hear more are on the way. Brass book is quite easy on the ears. Sound and projection are wonderful and arrangements are full of depth, however, it is the same few themes over and over again (On the town, NY NY, West side story, etc, etc,etc) Percussion is strong, just as strong as last year but at times are overpowering the brass. Snare line is just awesome. Colorguard in the opener handle their movement/dance well, and it is effective, however as the show goes on I notice alot of the same work from years past. Boogie, woogie is fun, plain and simple. I love it, I don't think anybody could not get into it and love it either. HOWEVER.....the boxes, dancing on the boxes, trap sets up front. the guard work on the boxes.....all very nice, but not that difficult, and certainly not very exposed. It gives you the feeling of "been there, done that" ...sure it's fun, and sure, it's effective, but is it challenging ?? The kids enjoy performing this number alot, it makes me, the spectator enjoy it also. This show has room to grow, and I do hear about changes, but I dont see this show as winning it all. I do see BD passing them . Crossmen are still burning up the field and are not looking back. Scores from Bristol do NOT reflect the demand, and the performance of this show. Visualy, this corps is on par with BD and Cadets, Brass and percussion are playing well with each other, and playing well considering they move their butts off. Percussion is probably the strongest they have been in years, very melodicla and precise without overpowering the brass, they let you know they are there, and they let you know they belong. Colorguard is effective, and sell the show well. Musically, the arrangements build suspense, and releas at just the right impact points, with the guard enhancing for visul effect....this show cooks ! There are no major drawbacks here, just clean, clean, clean. Boston Crusaders were a pleasant surprise ! If you like 2000, and you like 2001, you will love this show, it is the perfect blending of the two. Guard uniforms are pretty this year, and the guard itself is quite capable and effective. They remind me of the Boston guards of many years ago. The corps had some phasing problems, and their were dirty sets in the drill, but these can and will be addressed and this will help push their GE scores. I see this show in finals, and rightfully so. Spirit of Atlanta is another solid, enjoyable corps this summer. I can't say enough. The musical book is so appealing and the visual book only enhances that. Colorguard is elegant, and once they master their work will sell this show at an even greater level. Brass is loud, sometimes too loud, and both brass and percussion need to play together a little more (it's still early, it will happen) This is a finals caliber show. There is no way Carolina Crown should have been ahead of themin Bristol. Speaking of Carolina Crown, I hate to say itm but this concept just doesnt work for me. It seems like not enough thought or effort went into the whole program. I dont get the "When a man loves a woman" snippet in a "Greek Gods" theme show...why ?? Comical relief ?? Silly...The performers do not come of as a "when a man loves a woman" type of ensemble, mainly because the hideous uniforms detract so much. Lightning bolts are silly, way to small, and whats with the "artsy fartsy" curves to the bolts ?? Doesnt work, and the work being done with them doesn't work, not together either. Brass is nice, a full, deep sound. They execute well, and have a book that has demand. Percussion is excellent. Their book is hard, and they are playing that book at an August level. note sequence, tempo, and range are all being executed extremely well. The pit is full of color and emotion, loud but not overpowering, soft but not lost in the ensemble....Excellent percussion. The concept of this show is weak, it isnt working, ultimately this is what will hurt this corps and it is a shame. The kids are very talented. Bluecoats are Bluecoats again !!!! Seeing them here in Bristol brought back fond memories of 1995. Ironically, this show is as strong as that 1995 show. Brass sound is amazing. the music is full of color. The "Urban Dances" theme fits this corps well. Colorguard is excellent, I like the uniforms, and I like the way they incorprate the dancing and the work together. Visually, the show is wide open, nice pictures(from what I can tell) and strong execution . I see this show in finals, but not sure where yet. I felt Spirit had an edge over Bluecoats. Kiwanis Kavaliers are getting better every time I see them. Brass is projecting alot better than Lansdale, and visually, the show is taking shape. Music as accessible, and appealing, as is the guard. Lose the masks, they are silly and you are beyond that. A long, mature look could be achieved with a shako. This is a solid, full but young corps...time will tell where they wind up ! Magic or Orlando is back !!! Beter than I expected, and full of surprises. Brass and percussiona re on a division I level already. The brass sound is full and deep and projects well. Percussion is also playing with aggression I'm not familiar with the music, but it is pleasing and accessible with varying tempos and style. Colorgaurd need some work, they arent selling the show right now, I can see many places color can be added, but I think they will change/add as the season progresses. Cadets and Blue Devils will fight with Cavies for top three. Crossmen will make a strong push upward this year. Spirit will eventually pass Crown for good, and battle Boston. Bluecoats are awesome. Crown, get to Walmart like I stated earlier, and fast !!!! You still have time Kiwanis, keep it up, your show is fun ! Magic, welcome back !!! Geoffrey Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest GeorgeD Posted July 4, 2002 Share Posted July 4, 2002 Thanks for the great review Geoffrey! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jth1206kp Posted July 4, 2002 Share Posted July 4, 2002 You mean to tell me you were at Bridgeport and didn't come and see me?!?!?!? You GEEK!!! Oh yeah..........I must've been hard to spot amongst all the other 6 foot, 260 pound guys with bleach-blond mowhawks down on the track that night!!! <_< Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeffsjetta Posted July 4, 2002 Share Posted July 4, 2002 well...he was in Bridgeport.... :P Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JFitz19 Posted July 4, 2002 Share Posted July 4, 2002 I was in Bristol last night and had a bit of a different take on BD. I thought that they gave a fine performance last night, a lot more energetic than in Beverly last Sunday. I enjoyed the performance a lot. However, I think, relative to the Cadets, BD has a big GE problem. I think the drill, when fixed, will be fine, but the bigger problem, I believe, is GE Music. While there are hummable melodies (esp. opener and beginning and end of House, for example) the middle number is really losing the crowd due to lack of sustsained melodies and rhythms. Two great songs, "Fasacinatin' Rhythm" and "I got Rhythm", get lost in the arrangements. C1S, despite its truncation, is still enjoyable. I believe BD will live or die this year on that middle number. And what's up with the percussion scores? They seem to be losing ground a bit. Last night's percussion numbers: Cadets (16.7), Crossmen (16.2), Crown (15.0), BD (15.8). John Fitzgerald Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JFitz19 Posted July 4, 2002 Share Posted July 4, 2002 Whoops. Let me try those percussion scores again: Cadets (16.7), Crossmen (16.2), Crown (15.9), BD (15.8). John Fitzgerald Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GMichael1230 Posted July 4, 2002 Author Share Posted July 4, 2002 Whoops. Let me try those percussion scores again: Cadets (16.7), Crossmen (16.2), Crown (15.9), BD (15.8).John Fitzgerald Crown's percussion line is unbelievable, BD has alot of cleaning to do, but the content is there. Yes, BD islacking in GE right now, based on the fact that they are still mastering their book, once they do, they can begin to sell it properly. They arent on the same level as Cadets in that area....but watch otu when they are ! ~G~ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeffsjetta Posted July 4, 2002 Share Posted July 4, 2002 wow...see what i said about dirty cymbal rides coming back to haunt someone? BD...clean your rides up and boom...score goes up! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GMichael1230 Posted July 5, 2002 Author Share Posted July 5, 2002 wow...see what i said about dirty cymbal rides coming back to haunt someone?BD...clean your rides up and boom...score goes up! Jeff, I was thinking that exact same thing after I read when you posted it last ! A little better than Lansdale (I think) (I hope) !! very true ~G~ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sluggo Posted July 6, 2002 Share Posted July 6, 2002 I just love this reviews.....especially the unbiased ones....LOL Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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