6/29 - Music At The Mon

[Baeritone]

I'm away from DCP overall - but I wanted to post this here.

Here comes my unpopular viewpoint *grin*:

Ok, so I'm out here in Pittsburgh now, and it has one major advantage -

there are a lot more DCI shows in close driving distance. The disadvantage

is that there are a lot more DCI shows in close driving distance. Last

night, I availed myself of one of those shows - Music On The Mon at

Elizabeth Forward High School.

I have purposely avoided the newsgroup and all other news sources that

describe the content of shows because I wanted to see how the actual

application of amps and other changes would work. I was given two very

specific examples of the application of amps last night - The Boston

Crusaders and the Carolina Crown. I'm going to review all the shows I saw,

and at times my descriptions will be visceral and colorful. Be warned.

Division III -

Marion Glory Cadets - 51.25

For a small corps with an obviously incomplete show, this corps packed

quite a wallop. The hornline has a long way to go, but the timing of their

peak should be just right for finals, and they make a respectable showing.

The drumline was passable. the guard, however, consisted of two girls, and

there was only ever one of them standing and spinning. Even in Div. III,

they will need to work on that. It was a decent, entertaining show,

though, and I was pleased to have had a chance to see them.

Division I, in order of performance:

Glassmen - 72.10

I'm not entirely certain what has happened to Glass over the past couple

years, but I was saddened to watch the quality of tonight's performance.

Being a brass man myself, I tend to focus on that; this brass line has a

long way to go - probably farther than they have time to go. The trumpets

(shudder) stuck out like a sore thumb, and the low brass was oddly

reticent. The mello line was passable and could be competitive, but

without the support of the other lines, they will fail. The entire brass

line spent about 1/3 of the show facing back field, which is the oldest

trick in the book, and not very impressive on the dynamic scale. The

drumline was decent, though a shadow of previous years, and the guard was

flat out messy, but still obviously had the talent to fix their problems.

The hornline, save a miracle, will be Glass's Achilles heel this year. I

also have a problem with the title of their show - it should have been

called "Blast!". I had them in fifth, and the judges agreed.

Magic of Orlando - 62.25

Magic has a passable hornline, a respectable drumline, and their guard was

superior to Glass's. What they don't have is good design. The show is

poorly designed and doesn't leave them room to improve in general effect.

If there are not serious rewrites this season, Magic may miss Finals, which

would be a disaster for them. Overall, the corps performance was better

than Glass, but the design killed them. I had them at sixth, but with far

less wide a margin than the judges.

Spirit From JSU - 73.00

I was singularly impressed by Spirit. They have come so far in so few

years, and they have the whole package this year. The color guard was

quite good, the drumline was skilled, and the hornline! During the ballad,

the hornline actually made me melt, with that lush low brass sound. This

corps will be in finals barring incident; the only danger to them is that

the hornline may peak too early. They are VERY clean musically. The show,

with some few modifications and additions, promises to be a banner show for

Spirit. I had them in third, as did the judges.

Carolina Crown - 75.70

Ok, NOW my back hair is up. Frankly, this show was terrible. Crown's

hornline spent a ridiculous amount of time facing backfield, and they were

RFL even then, much less when they finally faced the audience. Also, all I

could hear were trumpets. That's it, and trumpets playing with closed

teeth, no less. I have not heard a reedier, screechier brass sound in

YEARS. The color guard was sloppy in heretofore unseen ways. This corps

had one advantage - a good drumline - but to me, they ruined that advantage

with the lounge act version of "Seasons Of Love" from Rent. The singing

and narration were forced and poorly executed, even if one ignores the

basic issues of using electronics in an outdoor medium. If you're going to

use electronics and amplification, there are less distracting, more

effective ways. I had them in fourth; the judges disagreed, putting them

in second. I reviewed the recap, and I want some of what the judges were

smoking.

Boston Crusaders - 76.95

Boston's show is a mystery. The props brought back memories of Cadets '96,

and the narration felt like the Color Wheels in Blast! However, I liked

the show. The guard was FANTASTIC, the drumline held their own, and the

hornline was much better than I anticipated. My issue with the narration

is this, and this alone: it distracts from the music and motion going on

behind it. It was very difficult to concentrate on the skill of the corps

and the beauty of the music with someone saying some extremely forced lines

over speakers. I was disappointed in their use of E&A, but the show

genuinely overcame that obstacle. I had them in first, and the judges

agreed.

Crossmen - 72.20

This was the travesty of my evening. The Crossmen were not top 6 material.

The show is not top 6 material. Nevertheless, it is an entertaining show,

well-performed, and deserved better than the judges gave it last night.

The hornline has some issues with trumpets sticking out, but overall, they

are better than many Crossmen hornlines I've heard over the years. The

drumline was, as usual, very, very good. The color guard made some

mistakes, and the guard show has room for expansion, but overall, the show

impressed me. it's not a winner, but it deserves more attention than it's

getting. I had them in second; the judges disagreed and put them in

fourth. It was the biggest shock of the evening.

So, to recap - DCI's Div. I scores:

1. Boston Crusaders - 76.95

2. Carolina Crown - 75.70

3. Spirit from JSU - 73.00

4. Crossmen - 72.20

5. Glassmen - 72.10

6. Magic of Orlando - 62.25

My placements -

1. Boston Crusaders

2. Crossmen

3. Spirit From JSU

4. Carolina Crown

5. Glassmen

6. Magic of Orlando

Thank you for your time. :)

[Lieut. General Effect]

Now ...why don't you tell us what YOU REALLY THINK.....haha.......just kidding. You pulled no punches and gave us your honest straight forward opinion. I like that. Thanks for your review.

[cmakg11]

I'm not entirely certain what has happened to Glass over the past couple

years, but I was saddened to watch the quality of tonight's performance.

Being a brass man myself, I tend to focus on that; this brass line has a

long way to go - probably farther than they have time to go. The trumpets

(shudder) stuck out like a sore thumb, and the low brass was oddly

reticent. The mello line was passable and could be competitive, but

without the support of the other lines, they will fail. The entire brass

line spent about 1/3 of the show facing back field, which is the oldest

trick in the book, and not very impressive on the dynamic scale. The

drumline was decent, though a shadow of previous years, and the guard was

flat out messy, but still obviously had the talent to fix their problems.

The hornline, save a miracle, will be Glass's Achilles heel this year. I

also have a problem with the title of their show - it should have been

called "Blast!". I had them in fifth, and the judges agreed.

Didn't the Gmen win brass last night?

[Baeritone]

Didn't the Gmen win brass last night?

And this means, of a necessity, that they should have?

They had major blend issues. And unless the closed mouth brass sound is coming back - tone and intonation were non-existent.

[usmpiano]

They had major blend issues. And unless the closed mouth brass sound is coming back - tone and intonation were non-existent.

I hope that it isn't - I heard those same things out of BD's hornline in that clip of Chase Away the Clouds. Very tight, reedy (to borrow your term - merci beaucoups) sound. I thought it was the Bbs striking again, then I heard SCV right after. I changed my mind on THAT premise VERY quickly.

[dimstint]

I find it funny that I saw the same exact show that you saw and I completely disagree with you. I honestly thought that, out of the corps that performed, Glassmen had the best sound. They sounded very balanced from where I was, and they held the same quality sound at the low dynamics as at the higher dynamics. Crossmen at the other hand, has a lot of dirt in their music book. Plus, their music is simply not very affective to me.

[Baeritone]

I find it funny that I saw the same exact show that you saw and I completely disagree with you.  I honestly thought that, out of the corps that performed, Glassmen had the best sound.  They sounded very balanced from where I was, and they held the same quality sound at the low dynamics as at the higher dynamics.  Crossmen at the other hand, has a lot of dirt in their music book.  Plus, their music is simply not very affective to me.

Hey, drum corps rankings are based on opinion. I watched Glass face backfield more than is really exusable to play softly; I heard the trumpets playing laser tones quite often and overblowing the rest of the line; and I heard pitch issues. (For me, pitch issues are an abnormally big deal.) They may get points for demand - but they have to MEET that demand. IMO, they did not.

Now - judges and crowds both like what they like, and it may be that this sound is in style again. However, recaps notwithstanding, laser tone is not my cup of tea. For those who like it - seems like this is your year. Enjoy it. :)

Edited July 1, 2004 by Baeritone

[bigdaddy]

Carolina Crown - 75.70

Crown's hornline spent a ridiculous amount of time facing backfield

The color guard was sloppy in heretofore unseen ways.

OK..

Of a 11 min show, less than one min. is backfield..(the opening chords of Bohemain, and that is at a doubletime)

Funny..the CG finished 3rd in Louisville..I guess opinions vary.

[Corpsx2]

Thanks for the review, always nice to hear a new opinion on the shows. Are you going to future shows? I hope so, because I would like to see what corps you do enjoy-- it doesn't sound like you enjoyed much at this show. Well, at least you found Marion entertaining.