Walnut Review

[Laubster]

It is time for my annual review which gives all of my fellow DCPer's a chance to flame me and my "old school" opinions.

The show this year was at a different location than in past years (Mt San Antonio JC), and i found it to be quite a nice venue. I was seated about 1/4 of the way up on the 50 yardline so I did not have an especially good seat from a drill viewing stand point. But here it goes.

So Cal Dream 46.3

Not a bad effort out there by these Guys and Gals, It's growing and I think in the next couple of years will be able to put on quite a show. As Charlie Groh pointed out to me with all of the former Drum corps members in the So Cal area there is no reason this corps is so small, what they lack in size the make up for in effort and huevos. Charlie your right, there is no reason I should not be out there laboring away like everyone else.

Nice job with the opener though I can't believe that is the same Phil Norris that I marched with up there on the sideline wailin' away. Nice job Phil. Ballad was a nice piece of music. But the old chops on the guys just got tired towards the end and it tailed off for the last 1/4 of the show. I really appreciate what you guys are doing and keep up the hard work and maybe if you can figure out a way to have rehearsal on another day than sunday I can make out.

Mystikal 51.65

Nice job for a group that just started in Novemeber, I have not seen Pirates of the Carribean so I was not familiar with the music, but there were some nice things going on and the future looks bright, I wish I had more to say other than they were small but I haven't had much exposure to D3 corps. There are some horn players that can play and if you build with this nucleus it bodes well for next year.

Academy 72.05 1st D2

The hype is true, the are for real. The only thing this corps lacks is experience, I can relate to this group given my experience marching with the Kingsmen in 76.

I liked the musical book across the board. These have the makings of a D2 contender next year, the mellophone line really sounded nice and was really adding a voice to the corps. Towards the end the kids were getting really worn and it startes to show with overblowing in the Baritone section that wasn't there at first. I don't remember the drum line being featured so I really can't comment on them. and the guard was probably the weakest of the 3 D2 guards out there, but over all I was very impressed and the members and staff should be very proud of themselves. I know the crowd reaction was quite positive also, I think they were surprised to.

SCV Cadets 68.35 2nd D2

Nice Vanguard style musical show. The hornline looked and sounded very young this year and I think that may be why they aren't scoring higher. I liked their drum line and the guard was the best of the 3 groups out there. There are some very good young ladies out there that will be bring some good talent to the a corps soon. The ballad was nice and good work from the drum line throughout the show. This group should be better next year with another year of maturity in the horn line and a few more bodies in that line.

Impulse 61.85 3rd D2

They were playing some sort of cartoon music, it was Ok nothing I will be singing in the shower though. I have not been a big fan of the shows the last 2 years but I was surprised by the young people out there. They are much improved from the last couple of years across the board and with the added work that I know is coming this could end up being an enjoyable show. It just doesn't seem like there is anything going on visually to accent the comical nature of the music, They are marching and playing much better though and should be able to make the adjustments that will make this an enjoyable show.

Esperanza 66.55 6th D1

a good music book, in fact I liked all of the D1 corps music tonite. They have a really nice trumpet section and let them do a lot of the work which is good because the low brass is not there. The corps does not seem to be as good as they were at this time last year and I don't expect ot see them in semi's this year either. The guard didn't seem to be as good as in paast years either though they were good. (does that make sense?) when I think of this corps I think of the great ballads they have had the past few years and this year is no exception, another beautiful arrangement that they perform quite well and the closer is also really nice. Good corps just not up to last years standards.

Mandarin 68.20 5th D1

Nice, Nice drum work throughout, I'm not a drummer so I will not try to tell you what those Chinese? drums they played throughout the show were I liked it. This was a Mandarins show, a lot of energy and emotion across the board and I enjoyed the whole show. The horn line does tend to overblow this year and lacks the control of previous years but if they can get this issue under control they might be able to squeeze into semi's but it will take a lot of things falling right for this to happen. I actually thought they were better than PC and they definitely have a better show.

Pacific Crest 68.85 4th D1

It looks like this corps has spent more time this year on their feet which were a mess last year and less on the horn line and you can tell the difference. They march better but the horn sound is not there in their Bernard Herrmann BD reprise show. A lot of horn line phasing issues and sloppy attacks. It got better towards the end of the show and Death Hunt was performed very well. Guard is not as good or as showy (I liked the boxes last year) But they do well for the amount of time they practice. Not a semi-final show though.

Cascades 69.75 3rd D1

A show good enough to make finals but there may not be enough time to clean it and I think they will fall short again this year. The musical book across the board is nice, good balance between horn and drum lines but the forms are a mess from what i could see and the guard is very weak and may hold the corps back in the end. The show concept works for me, Nice trumpet soloist this guy can play. And the closer is just "beautiful". Lets see what kind of magic they can work and maybe they can prove me wrong and make finals.

SCV 83.45 2nd D1

Boy I am glad I am not a judge, what a wonderful show. Once it starts it just keeps coming at you. Definetly a championship caliber show. What a tremendous group of young people top to bottom. Great work across the board by the hornline and drum line ( they were on fire), I could not take my eyes off of the most beautiful guard I can ever recall seeing. These are some of the most gorgeous young ladies and they perform there ##### off. As has been said in other reviews these ladies and guys just tie the whole thing together perfectly. They may not have the screamers that the blue devils have but this show just flows like no other I can recall seeing in a long time. I think the audience was just in awe of what they were seeing. All facets of this show are there and I would not be surprised to see it take home the big prize in august.

BD 84.50 1st D1

They were great, almost a point better than SCV? I don't know about that I'll have to see the recaps but I did think they would come out on top tonite but by a much closer margin. The first 5-6 minutes of the show is fabulous but from about the Summertime ballad section throught to the ended it kind of left me kind of flat. I went from a peak with 2 trumpet's wailin with each other to a valley with flat land as far as my eye could see. (Sounds like Colorado when you head east from the Rockies, how ironic). Anyway, the guard was really out of sync, there were more drops i think tonite than I think they usually have in a whole season of shows. It seemed like the guard work was mostly the guys doing high tosses and making the crowd OOH & ahh while the ladies were bending over picking up dropped equipment. Yah they probably were cleaner but the show just does not stand up to the Vanguards show and I think over the next 2 weeks that will be the case.

Allright guys flame me if you will but these were my personal observations and my vote don't stand for squat. Good Luck to all of the corps and I will see you on Quarters nite with my popcorn and Xlarge Soda at the Regal Cinema in Irvine Cali. for what I think will be a very close contest.