Yet another San Anotonio review

[LAMystreaux]

It was a great night of drum corps in San Antonio. My wife and I had great seats at the top of the plaza level (floor level) right around the 45 yard line. We attended the clinic prior to the show put on by The Cadets, mainly because I had not done a lot of research on their show and wanted see and hear it at least once prior to the show. I will share more on them later. We ended up sitting by a family of newbies. . .which was great because they had a lot of questions. On to the show. . . . (as I go through I will be sharing my wife’s thoughts on each corps).

Esperanza entered the field first. I have never seen or heard Esperanza and did not know at all what to expect. I was pleasantly surprised with their product. I really enjoyed the design of most of their show; however I really did not like their treatment of “Octobre”. Anyway, right off the bat, I knew from being at the Dallas show that Esperanza would not be in last tonight. Also, this may sound odd, but the thought came to me that they might be like what freelancers would be if they were still on the field.

Ty’s thoughts: I thought they were really good. I liked their visual better than the music.

Next was Southwind. This is one of the corps I had seen in Dallas. They have improved since then, but still a lot of visual dirt. I do enjoy their enthusiasm and aggression.

Ty’s thoughts: I did not like the neon things that are supposed to be snakes. The color scheme was not good, but I enjoyed the music.

Troopers came on third, and they also had improved since Dallas. Sadly, they simply do not have the horses to pull of the show designed for them. Also, you can tell they are still on G. . .to me it is a shrill sound and much less in tune. I hope they continue to build in the coming years.

Ty’s thoughts: I liked some of the music, but it is obvious they need a lot of work.

Capital Regiment once again impressed me. I really enjoy their selections and the balance and blend of their hornline. Their weakness is definitely their guard.

Ty’s thoughts: I thought it flowed well, but the flags were not together.

Seattle Cascades are just as good as they were 2 years ago when they made Finals, IMO. It just seems there are more corps who are doing better now. I really enjoyed what they did; it reminded me of what Glassmen tried to do last year, only a better design.

Ty’s thoughts: I enjoyed the color scheme; it matched the theme and the music well. Their marching was not the best, but overall I liked the show.

Magic of Orlando is really trying to pull things together. I saw a different attitude tonight in the corps than I saw two nights ago. Also, they did not march with the silver sashes tonight. . .not sure why. They are still very dirty. . .and there are some very simple things like foot position that could be fixed easily. They do have crowd appeal though.

Ty’s thoughts: She likes the purple, and she enjoyed the design (pirate outfits and props), even though they do not pull it off very well. The performing by the guard entertains the audience but distracts from seeing the sloppiness of the marching and sound.

Blue Knights do have a shot at breaking back into Finals after a 3-year absence. I am so glad they have returned to their style. I loved the Trittico references, and the dots on the guard unis were awesome. I also really enjoyed the percussion feature with the fighting scenes with the rest of the corps. Very cool visual program. I hope they crack back into the top 12.

Ty’s thoughts: It was a really good show. . .rockin’. The color scheme fit the mood, and they were cleaner than anyone before them.

Bluecoats again amazed me. This is their best design ever and possibly their best corps. I have not seen Phantom or Madison, but I would like to think the Bluecoats could hold their own with them. They have a great and complete visual program, and they sound awesome. I love their Moulin Rouge ballad. . .very effective. I also really enjoy the tease ending, followed by the features and the silent drill. . .awesome!

Ty’s thoughts: I liked their show very much. They really portray the theme well with their guard, along with the music and the entire design. They integrate their guard very well into the visual program, better than most of the corps I have seen.

After seeing The Cavaliers in Dallas, I knew they were strong, but did not know how they would stack up against the other top corps. . .more on that soon. They were again very solid tonight, although they had amps trouble . . . right on the downbeat big static, and then more static when the whistle portion began. I will give them one thing big time. . .their trumpets/sops are smoking! I really enjoyed their sound. The ending still leaves me dry, but I doubt it will stay the same. One note about the fans. . .it seems Cavies have a ton of what I call groupie fans. This is not a knock on the corps, but more people in the audience. The reason I am calling them groupie fans is because they are obviously not there for the show, but only to cheer for the Cavies and namely some one person they know in the corps. The rest of the show, these groupie fans near us were rude and obviously not interested in anything any of the other corps had to offer. Then during the Cavies, they cheered as loud as they could with every single thing they executed, no matter how easy or difficult it was. Annoying! Anyway, back on topic. . .Cavies are solid, but I still do not think this show will win. My opinion. . .they are winning based on cleanliness, and when some other corps get cleaner, Cavies will not be winning.

Ty’s thoughts: I think the 007 idea was a great one. Most of the music was great, but the ballad should have been something like “For Your Eyes Only”. I enjoyed the ending more tonight than I did in Dallas, but it still needs something else. I thought they performed really well.

Santa Clara Vanguard portrays the Scheherazade theme so well. . .in every aspect of the show. The hornline and percussion are very solid. The guard had some major troubles tonight. I will give them credit for performing a very difficult guard book, but I counted at least 15-20 drops, and a lot of them at high impact points in the show. This show, if cleaned, should contend for the title. It has everything and more.

Ty’s thoughts: Aside from the guard the show was very clean tonight, and I loved it. The design of the show is very good.

The Cadets had publicized so many changes during this week, that I was not sure what to think. I knew they had come close to Cavies last night, which meant things were still going well after so many new things added/changed. All I have to say is thank God for Sacktig and Bocook! This is the kind of show that brought me and many others I am sure to love this corps. Even though this is unfamiliar music to most, this show is vintage Cadets. It has velocity, great arrangements, a great visual design, and an awesome guard. Those who have said this show has what it takes to win are right, IMO. I think had they been on the same level of cleanliness tonight, they would have won. Say what you want about baton boy, but he is awesome. . .all we heard were ooohs and ahhhs every time he threw it up in the air. April has written a great guard book, the drumline is smokin, and the hornline sounded great. This is definitely their best show in many years, and I see no reason why it won’t be up there contending in a few weeks. Lots of minor things to fix and clean. . .right in the thick of things.

Ty’s thoughts: I thought their show was extraordinary in that they had many challenging maneuvers for all the performers, and they nailed almost all of them. I thought the baton boy was amazing, at one point he was twirling four batons at once and caught the high behind his neck, not to mention the several back flips and things he would complete before having to catch the high baton. The guard had trouble with one of the shirts coming off when the guys lose their shirts. However, the show had me engaged from start to finish, and this was one of the few shows that forced me to jump up and scream.

All in all, a great night. I have not seen BD, but judging by their scores I see BD or Cadets 1-2, SCV or Cavies 3-4, with an outside chance for SCV if their guard can pull off that book, and they generate the GE their show should receive.

[IRMO]

Great review- Thanks :)

[Lancerlady]

I like this review, thanks!

[hboyce]

Also, this may sound odd, but the thought came to me that they might be like what freelancers would be if they were still on the field.

Interesting factoid, Esperanza's equipment truck is Freelancers old truck.

[Wildabeast]

Nice review.

[MikeN]

I like groupie fans - I just wish every corps had 'em.

Mike

[jwillis35]

Very nice review. Thanks for doing one. I haven't seen many from San Antonio. I agree with many of your points. I really love Cavies and Cadets this year and actually feel both will challenge for the title. The Bluecoats may very well have my favorite show of the year, and since I live in Canton I am rooting for the boys to make top 5. You are right about the Cadets, they are sooooooooooo incredibly strong across the board and really have the show to win it all. Their horns and drums and guard are just magnificent, and once cleaned I just don't see anyone beating them. But I have not seen BD yet. They are always awesome.