In-depth SCV Review

[PhilSCV]

The Santa Clara Vanguard was eagerly anticipated last night by the very small slice of Americana which is Woodburn, Oregon. Following the Seattle Cascades performance the pit set up with the first amps of the night. The stark red uniforms entered this small town stadium like a torch, led by the very elegant and theme-setting harem attire of the colorguard, and cheered on by instructional staff.

Appropriate for the maturity of the show (but to my personal disappointment) the hornline did not warm up on the field. I had heard an SCV hornline warmup earlier in the season and was hoping I could hear it again. However, the drumline warmup gave the crowd a taste of things to come.

At this point, it was evident that the crowd was very conservative and, although appreciative of the previous performances, not easily aroused. But with Stu's extremely firm salute (what my friend who used to be an officer in the Navy called a "very smart salute"), I got a sense that much of this mostly novice crowd knew that something special was about to happen.

The first chord of the low brass, positioned on the right, set the bold tone of the entire show. The men of the colorguard helped the bold theme to be visualized as they emerged from the low brass' block form. The bold theme softens slightly as the low brass turns to play the two backfield chords. That sonorous and romantic Scheherazade theme is now introduced by a sequence of soloists and echoed by the introduction of the pit and select female members of the colorguard on the left. The soloists escalate into the final theme played beautifully up an octave (way to hit it!), the contras snap up on the right in a rapidly escalating curvilinear form and pow ! A wall of color and sound... The first hit of the night and the crowd responds! The form then sets out in a rapid escalation featuring the high brass in that incredible lick that has been featured on the SCV website for the last several weeks. The colorguard accents the hornline and drumline in a level of visual ensemble far greater than previous years' Vanguard shows. The drumline, now fully engaged, helps support an enormous Vanguard sound that I haven't heard sustained so completely in an opener since 1987. At times cheerful but always grande, and with no less than an additional 5 impacts, the corps turns backfield with a beautiful and rapid lead into a front-facing blast of high screaming brass, enter the rapidly moving melophones and low brass to end in a folding block form with a massive and final POW! familiar to the veteran Vanguard fan. I don't know what the rest of the crowd was doing - I barely remember jumping up and down perhaps 3 feet or so off the ground.

The ballad, beautifully introduced by the melophones and accented by a fluid colorguard, leads to a pit feature that helps this extremely talented (and amped) group to highlight the delicacy and beauty of Rimsky-Korsakov. One of the most beautifully played baritone solos I've ever heard leads to a beautiful soprano solo that builds to a dramatic big, bold melody now accented by these enormous and stunningly beautiful flags carried by the male colorguard members. The ballad then ends with a set of playful and softening backfield solos and tones, ending in a wonderfully balanced chord "umph". Unlike previous years when such a softening end to a ballad may not have much of an effect, the crowd responds with cheers.

Little did the crowd know at this point that it was about to be presented with a 4.5 minute-long, hair-raising, dizzying closer as powerful as any I've heard. And it doesn't start shy. Far from it, it starts with a pounding sequence of hits. But then softening, the tympani and contras rumble and that beautiful Scheherazade melody rings out with the choir of sopranos and before you know it you get hit in the face with a blast that gets the crowd going once again. The pit then rings in with a melodic undercurrent that is joined by the rest of the corps, leading to a balanced and fun interchange between the pit and the hornline/drumline. Accented by a lot of movement (perhaps too busy at times), the men in the colorguard are now highlighting the theme with fantastic Semitar work. Plenty of 8th and 16th note licks highlight this bountiful and bold movement that builds to a rapid fire barrage of notes - and you know SOMETHING has GOT TO GIVE.

Just then the clouds part and the angel's sing. The hornline, now positioned in a horizontal curvilinear form in the center of the field, plays this rapid ripple of trilling, thrilling notes that reaches down, grabs your breath and ... with a slight pause ... hits two chords that are perhaps the most exciting I've ever experienced. Please God, when I die, can I just hear this sound forever?

BUT WAIT, for the next 30 seconds they hit us in the gut with the most brilliant piece of drumline composition that I've witnessed since '93 Star... imagine 30 people in the battery and pit creating a mind-numbing, pulsatile rapid-fire barrage of sound that makes the entire crowd sit on the edge of its seat in amazement. And it winds down ... bam bam bam! I'm pretty sure the screams of cheers were delayed a moment by the fact that none of us have taken a breath in the last 45 seconds.

The low brass starts to build and it's clear- HANG ON FOLKS, WE'RE GOING TO POUND THIS THING TO THE END!

Brilliant musical composition... building, building, building..... and then the famous VANNNNGUAAAAARD! (I may have been the only one who knew when to yell, but it was a great moment... at least for me!) the low brass provides the perfect anchor to this show with a huge, bold, left-sided melody that somehow capitalizes on the crowd's enthusiasm following the Vanguard yell The low brass piece is played twice and balanced perfectly by the pit and high brass (thanks to Rimsky-Korsakov for writing that section in twice... once would not have been enough). The corps turns backfield for some buildup and maneuvering, and then the visually familiar company front and miraculously, the volume and intonation are incredibly sustained for this overpowering press to the front. Unlike any Vanguard performance in recent memory there is absolutely no hint of exhaustion. Just confidence and glory reminiscent of the end of 1987 Pictures at an Exhibition. The bells chiming... liberty and celebration. A solid block to the sweet, grand end. The crowd is on their feet... not exactly sure what hit them, but they KNEW they liked it! The only sustained standing ovation of the night... sustained right through the exit off the field.

<pause>

And yet, no matter how deep and wonderful this performance is today, I know it can do so much more. I've seen posts that feel that SCV doesn't have a lot of growth left in their show this year. Let me tell you something - the brilliance of Key and the rest of the staff and the members at Vanguard this year are not going to rest until this show has the emotion, the clarity and the impact that is needed to cement this one in the history books. The show isn't very clean. The colorguard hasn't learned many of their closer impacts. The visual program is often more busy than effective. The confidence hasn't completely solidified. And there is just something... something that they'll add that just puts it over the top. I don't mean in "over the top" that their show will be the defacto point-winner this year. What I mean is that from a drum corps performance point of view, this will allow many of us to personally re-experience what we felt the last time we saw (what was at least up until now) our favorite drum corps performance of all time.

PhilSCV

[bawker]

Wow.

I felt like I was there. Great single corps review! :)

[Renegade_fireman]

WOW....ive seen the show 4 times, and i still got goosebumps becuase i could picture every word you said. the show is purley amazing and i cant wait to see it again a week from today.

[pags]

That is, indeed, a brilliant review of that corps' performance. I certainly look forward to seeing it in San Antonio. Not to push the envelope, though, but would you be able to do a similar review of the other corps that performed that night as well? I would not want or expect a similar length (I'm sure your hands would go numb first) but I would love a more detailed description of what is going on with other shows.

[Who's Got The FEVER?]

"WOW....ive seen the show 4 times, and i still got goosebumps becuase i could picture every word you said"

I agree totally....not only goosebumps but chills! Fantastic review! So looking forward to seeing them again in Modesto and again when the season is over in San Jose! SCV is again showing the class and tradition that has made them such a favorite corps. Glad to see them get back to their roots.

[texman040]

Thank you for the great revue of SCV's show. My son is marching with them

this year and since his mom and I are in Texas haven't been able to see them perform. We are counting the days until San Antonio so we can see for ourselves

what everyone has been talking about.

Tex

[Snapettes Mom]

Excellent and eloquent review. It's going to be a great year for SCV.

Mom

[mellopet]

thank you so much for that- i was there in the crowd too that night. but it looks to be the only show i will get to see this year (it was my first show) so it was really sublime to relive it just now! GO SCV!!!

[mellopet]

-oh, and i second a request for any reviews of the OTHER corps, simply cause i want to know what people who know things about drum corps think of MY corps. I consider Oregon Crusaders and Scades my corps because people i know and will miss are out there marching in them right now... (without me, sigh)...

[cadlag]

Oh my God...what an amazing review. I have tickets to the Tour of Champions at the Rose Bowl, and I just can't freakin' wait to see it now. The anticipation is eating me up!!!! Actually, I am bringing a friend with me that evening. Hopefully, she'll fall in love with me after the show. Can drum and bugle corps really help with this? Ha! It will be her first drum and bugle corps show ever.