Racine, Wisconsin

[wheelerand]

It's midnight and I have five hours to sleep (minus the time I post here) before getting up to work tomorrow, so I'll keep this brief.

Scores:

Pioneer 66.90

Lake Erie Regiment 58.10

The Kilties 54.40

Bandettes 40.20

Capital Sound 40.00

Racine Scouts 32.90

Kingsmen 28.80

A good summary of most of the smaller corps would be this: improved brass play and guard drill, significant guard drill still to be added. That would apply to Kingsmen, Scouts, Cap Sound, and Bandettes - and, to a lesser extent, Kilties.

In order of appearance:

Capital Sound. Much improved over when I first saw them. Brass projecting better, playing with more confidence. Solos generally played well. Exception: the end of the show sounded a little confused on the brass side. I was way down on the 20 for the first few shows, so did not get a good read on formations. Significant guard drill still to be added, but this show looked good tonight.

Kingsmen. Honestly, I thought they should have scored a bit higher. Show lacks some visual punch due to having such a small corps, but I remember last year - it's coming. Brass much improved, though seemed to tire in the closer. Guard also improved, but lots of drill to be added. Highlights: the marimba feature and the lead trumpet player. I love how the lead trumpet player can be so good without overpowering the rest of the horn line. They're doing a great job balancing.

Bandettes. Again, consistent with the theme - brass much improved. Projecting better than last time I saw them. Solos played well. Need more of a brass part in the end of the show, though - lacks musical impact.

Racine Scouts. This show improves significantly each time I see it. Brass continuing to play better, though still a bit muffled/confused in "Stayin' Alive". I attribute that to the arrangement as much as anything - too many parts for a small horn line and the melody gets lost. Brass strongest in the last two numbers. Much guard drill still to be added. Percussion consistent - they have added another bass drum to the pit (making 2; the bass drums do not march). 3 Brass and 1 CG off the field for most of the show, presumably still learning the drill.

Lake Erie Regiment. Complex show thematically. I'm still seeing things I've missed in the past. Guard drill pretty good throughout the show. Formations seemed good (I was on about the 45 for these last few shows), but some lines needed cleaning. The final drill, starting with the company front and a high-impact brass hit, was a great climax. Whole corps was solid throughout.

Pioneer. In my notes, I have this line: Brass - wow! They really played a great show tonight. Again, a solid whole-corps performance. The only real drawback was a fair amount of cleaning needed in straight lines, etc. The music for the show is great, and the audience eats it up. The music performance is getting so strong. Percussion and Brass both very solid. Guard work not quite complete, but very nice. Can't wait to see the new costumes in DeKalb - the orange tops are fading at different rates, posing a bit of a visual distraction. Percussion was fantastic in this show - particularly in the closer. The final form was a great climax - audience loved it.

Chicago Royal Airs. Played standstill tonight, due to missing a lot of members. Also introduced new repertoire, and were they great!! If you don't believe that a standstill can be visually entertaining as well as musically entertaining, you weren't there. Wonderful performance.

Kilties. The corps is definitely more competitive with this show. Kilties have not completely abandoned the "high and loud" theme for brass, but they have sublimated that theme to musicality - and it really works. This is the best balanced brass line I've seen from them in the 4 years I've followed them. They play great, and the drill is also pretty clean for this time of year.

Show experience. In many ways, the show really came off as a bunch of people getting together and deciding, "hey, let's have a show this weekend". The stadium is apparently a city stadium and is a very informal setting. There were basically "no rules" - people came and went during shows as much as between, there was smoking in the stands (and not just by a few people), etc. Concessions had good variety but only about half the volunteers they needed - really long lines. I really like the mixed retreat - it's a different feel, very unified.

And best of all, NO RAIN.

[TerriDitt57]

Thanks for the review, Andrew. I didn't go to the show but watched the parade in front of the funeral home with Jim and a bunch of the Kilts Jr. Alumni. I was surprised to see Marion Cadets in the parade and not the show.

[fischer]

Probably because Marion isn't a part of DCM.

Fischer

[TerriDitt57]

Ok, sorry. Didn't know that.