Toledo, OH - June 19, 2004

[jwillis35]

June 19, 2004: A Great Night of Drum Corps

Toledo, Ohio was once again the site of an early show for DCI, and, once again, the show lived up to its billing with great drum and bugle corps from all over providing excellent entertainment for the many fans. For an early show this event was well attended...betweern 4,500 to 6,000.

Marion Glory Cadets - for a small div III corps they sure do pump out some sound, and their drumline continues to impress me with its large size and excellent quality. There is excellent teaching going on here and their show with its Gustav Holst music makes for good entertainment. They need a guard and the kids in the hornline simply need time to develop a feel for what they do...a comfort zone if you will.

Memphis Sound - Very powerful baritones! WOW, they just come at you all show. Perhaps just a bit too much, but I love their enthusiasm. Rest of hornline needs to balance out. A very good size hornline and some good power at points, but it seems the baritones are the bulk of that power. Very fun show and good music, just so much to clean. Percussion scoring is really difficult I thought for this level of corps. Hope they can clean it.

Southwind - I do like their new uniforms better now. I like the tops better, although they remind me a bit of Seattle Cascades--but that's in a good way. This show will be fine. A very solid show in terms of entertainment, quality, artistry, and technical demand. Good control in the hornline and percussion section, and the guard is working a tough book. I actually had them over Kawanis and am shocked that Kiwanis beat them unless I got the wrong scores. This is a solid top 25 show, but cleaning will deciide just how high they go up the ladder. Probably not a top 12 show, but you never know and I do like this show a lot.

Kawanis Kavaliers - I always look forward to seeing the Canadian corps, but I was dissapointed in this show on one end and loved it on another. The music of West Side Story has been played so much on the field that people simply do not look forward to hearing it like they did years ago. However, these arrangements are unique and fun, they are singable and yet work with the competitive genre. My problem at this point is that the corps does not perform very well in any respect. Intonation was very bad last night. Much worse that both memphis and Southwind, and technical playing issues and musical artistry seemed to be ignored. It's early and I know that means many changes and musical artistry will come as they clean. I understand this, but they have a ton of work to do if they plan to stay in the top 20 or so. Southwind should have beat them and the judges will soon see this. Still, if this show cleans and the kids improve musically then I think many fans will like this renedition of WSS. The playing of trash cans at the end needs beefed up for thrown out.

Capital Regiment - This relatively young corps out of Columbus, OH is on the move in a big way. Horn line and drum line have made significant improvements over their excellent efforts last season, and the guard is large and good. The show is based on music of David Holsinger. They open with a solid trumpet entrance of a hymn tune and then weave the rest of the hornline into what is an exciting first number. Intonation is much better than last year, but big hit points still tend to be on the high side in the brass and not as balanced as needed for a full and rich sound. Over I feel Holsinger's music is probably not enough material to keep this show interesting from start to finish. Too much of his stuff is based on rhythm and very little musical substance, and I feel it leaves the arranger with few choices in terms of development. Capital needs to examine this music and perhaps add some new music to a few sections of the show to bring it together and to solidify the hymn used at the onset of the show. GE Rep. will likely hurt them this year, but I may be wrong.

Glassmen - This show will be interesting once clean. It was tough for me to read last night. All I wanted to do last night was take a hot dog break for the first 8 to 9 minutes of the show, then the last 2 minutes I just loved. They go into themes from the Shaker Hymn at the end. The first 3/4ths of the show are based on some very complex classical music, includiing some stuff Star of Indiana did in 1993. Lots of body shaping and movement, lots of conntemporary orchestrations and colors, but IMHO a lack of music GE and musical artistry was obvious. Now, I hear they are behind due to weather, and that will certainly make a difference. Horns have a lot of power, and percussion seems tight so far. Even when clean I don't see this show passing Bluecoats. Maybe not even be top 12, but with their strengths in percussion they will make it interesting.

Bluecoats - WOW, WOW, WOW!!! Saw this show in Canton (at least the standstill music portion) since I live in North Canton and I just love this music. Well, now that I have seen the whole show, minus some music and drill that needs to be blocked for the end, I can tell you that this will be one of their best productions to date. It is difficult for me to say this when just about every Bluecoat show seems to get better and better to me, and there are so many from the past that I love. But we're talkin' 2004 right now, and I am telling you this show will go far. Excellent music ensemble, awesome hornline and drumline, and the guard is so close to being at that BD or Cadets kind of level. I thought their dancing was just superb and simply needs cleaned. In fact, that's pretty much the story for this corps. Just clean what you have an you should be in great shape for top 7, 6, or maybe higher. In so many ways the show speaks top 5 to me, but I realize the competition is awesome at this level. Still, this year's Bluecoats have the drill, the music, the visuals and GE, and just the smooth performance style and musical artistry to do it. Hey, if Canton is in town, GO SEE THE SHOW!!!!

Cadets - Holy Musical Production!!! This show is awesome in every sense of the word. Hornline is a notch better than last year's which came in second by .1 to BD, and the drumline is smokin' once again. Their first 30 seconds of the show will surely raise all the goose-bumps on your body or make your jaw drop to the ground. The music of Jethro Tulll is a clear winner, and the musical artistry for which this corps plays even early in the season is just unreal. They have it all once again: the demanding drill, the awesome horns and percussion, the super guard, and a show that will deliver a huge impact in terms of GE. Middle tune may well be one of the most special moments in DCI this year. Nobody will want to follow this act and I believe come August this show may very well win it all.

Cavalies - However, having said what I just did about the Cadets, the Cavaliers were equal to the challenge and just as exciting and musical. Not many corps will be able to follow the Cadets this year, but the Cavaliers certainly did an awesome job with it. This show is just a breath of fresh air and I am thrilled with how they have staged it and with the musical direction. The music of James Bond is such inviting stuff for field, and the Cavaliers do it so well. Most of the themes come from the most recent movie withh special attention being put into the rhythmical elements of this music. The latin gooves are so well done, and over all this will end up being one of the best shows to view and hear all summer. Their hornline should stay close with Cadets, but I am not sure about the guard and the drums. Guard didn't really grab me as much, although I liked the uniform. Percussion was real solid and uses so many colors and perhaps I just need another read on them. Both the pit of the Cavaliers and the Cadets were just outstanding and the use of amplification was excellent, really enhancing the right sounds and colors without taking away from the horns and battery.

General comments:

It is obvious that the Cadets and Cavaliers will be top 3, but I am just guessing at this point. They very well could be top 2. Also, although their scores were high, I really thought the Bluecoats should have been closer to those two. Perhaps a 73.50. The Bluecoats are for real and it will be interesting to see if the judges see and hear this. There may be some surprises coming in the weeks to come. Glassmen have much to clean, but I don't see them catching the Bluecoats, and I don't see the Capital Regiment catching the Glassmen. Overall it was a great first night of corps for me and there are some great shows to go an enjoy--so do just that and have fun.

Jonathan Willis

[usmpiano]

Ladies and Gentlemen...I present to you the second coming of Michael Boo!

I always so love your review Johnathan. Thank you so much...I feel like I was really there!

[Shawn777]

I like it !!! I like it !!!

Great review Jonathan. Do write more if you attend any more shows