Reading Pa review

[Jeff Ream]

ah Reading. Always fun to hang out down there. Seats were about the 40, about 4 rows from the top. sitting w/the Mignemi's was fun. represented was low brass, high brass, percussion and guard. we covered it all.

I'll be honest i didnt notice a lot of guard stuff. as i wasnt doing an official write up i didnt take notes.

LVK...nice strong start after the lil drum licks. Horns stronger since i saw em in Lewisburg and definitely sound more than what they have, especially at the big hits. Drumline definitely on fire in the opener....playing w/a level not seen by this corps til now. The arrangement seems more fleshed out now, and held my attention better...the hornline 16th note section was very clean. Ending was quite strong and feet seemed to be much better here. Lento w/out the mutes projected better and blended better w/the vibes. keyboiards do a great job here. nice use of chimes in the scoring also. Build into the hit seemed to die a bit but the brass recovered well. drum solo to start bacchanale was strong, tho horns seemed tired. battery section features started good, but got dirty. I appreciate what they're aiming for as a drummer, but the achivement wasn't there until they ramed as an ensemble. backfield section was very cool, built up to a nice hit. corps covers a lot of ground for it's size and doesn't lose much sound. Overall their best showing to date, and they could be a player when Denver or whatever suburb D2/3 finals are in rolls around.

Bush: Side note: Dena Berry, West perry alum, girl you conduct so very well. Also Jerome, thanks for turning and waving when we yelled MAKE OUT.

Intro statement w/metallic laborlike sounds and body visuals by brass very cool. Nice mysertioso build to New World Hit. 25 brass sounds bigger here and surprised many. very strong low brass. Drum book best i have heard from Bush since 94 and performed well here. drum break in new World was creative and performed well for July, and brass re-enrty was strong. In fact whole corps was strong thru the end of the piece.Amber Waves was not a Star rip off as most are, but arranged well.Pit score seemed like it could have used more, but it's early. low brass clearly a strength here. interesting perc scoring leading into William Tell Overture. here brass, especially upper voices seemed a bit tired. bass line very active here. maybe it was staging or where i sat, but leading into the down section, the perc seemed to overpower them a bit. down section seemed a little lifeless but picked up as drum solo kicked in. very aggressive book with some mid season performance issues. I swear that one roll section was from 93. bass line strong in the traditional Bush way. Bras re-entry helped them gather some steam charging into the ending which featured some recap moments musically and the corps ended strong. Clean up the drums and add some horns, and this show will definltely make some noise come finals.

Hurcs: Make His Praise glorious starts strong, but brass seemed to tire after intro statement. Corps does march better than last year at this time, but the brass seems to struggle at the current tempo as a whole. Percussion seemed better than last year. Maybe it's me, but tthe arrangement kinda drug. I'll see again, so i may change my mind. Song ends strong, but with what follows, it just seemed out of place. Gershwin section started off nice and bluesy w/a few themes going on at once into a big hit. Off into Porgy and bess we go w/some nice solo work. build into big bump n grind section alittle rough but the hit itself was good, especially the sop work on top of it. sond ended strong...corps has some power at slower tempos. Stand alone drum solo next, and IMO, pit contribution wasn't very audible. aggressive battery writing w/performance issues, but the intent is clear, until the ending which comes abruptly. Ballad of Mariah...ahhh. well done but hit came kinda quick. battery seemed to over power brass...may have been my seat tho. I still liked it...old school Hurcs updated. Then...bottom bass kicks in. then you know it's Mag 7 time. arrangement very similar to great years gone by, and battery writing enhanced the build nicely. i expected the sop solo leading into the big hit to go quicker...lil drum brek there kinda lost me. But then, viola, nice Mag 7 push to the end, which seemed a lil flat...maybe a lil more oomph is needed. All in all a nice lil show, but needs work both on n off the field. some design issues getting cured could help a lot.

Sky: biggest corps in years. that's good. No tenors...not good. I do understand they are on the way, which is good cause many times the battery book when exposed seemed empty w/out em. cymbals in berets..well...didnt look like Sky. Sorry Cecily, but that uni works w/either not headgear or a shako only. Onto the show...nice build to hit in Rhapsody in Blue, but build to end of hit seemed a bit weak til brass finally kicked in hard. fascinating Rhythm up next....Screech did well here. Reminded me a lot of 90 Westshore's version. Corps seemed at their best playing a swing feel here. Tune ends strong tho. More Porgy, and it seemed to flat line a lil til it picked up into the Concerto In F section. lack of tenors most noticeable in perc solo. Keyboard section w/one extended run similar to the one in Guys and Dolls. When cleaned up this will be incredible. I was hoping for the 93 backsticking underneath it. Tune ended strong tho, and has potential to be really cool by finals when tenors are in there. btw did notice guard here, and i liked em. I got Rhythm section...wow, i swear Screech lifted the 90 Shore charts and blew dust off from here til almost the ending. Not thatit's bad but i was like "OMG, i am playing theparts from 90 and they fit". A Shore alumni near me looked over and we both laughed. ( if you want the drum score call lol). Brass seemed to tire after drum break, which when they get t there will be a nice powerful ending.A nice recap ending helped the corps finish strong. best version of Sky, IMO since 94.

Cabs: I'm always critical of friends, and i have many here. When i saw them at the Harrisburg indoor show i was afraid they bit more off more than they could chew. i thought it was too fast and too many notes, and i envisioned them running like madpeople and performance errors galore.

I envisioned wrong.

The corps is better than this time last year in all segments. IMO the drill is written smarter and looks tougher than it may really be. Sure they move, but it doesnt seem like running for the sake of running. Show starts off strong w/pit playing an extended triplet run that morphs into duple meter. corps entrance was incredibly strong and battery book powered under the uni hits. right off the get go, the bass line shows they'll be a notefest. No real ensemble issues despite spreads and tempos. corps explores dynamics well in opener and shows off all voices. hornline 1th note run thru the voices well performed for July, and the corps powers the song home. Battery seemed to be having an exceptionally strong night. Ballad started off very nicely with a nice blend, tho i noticed a drop in power due to Bb. Mr Hawkins again shines, covering alot of ranger w/outstanding quality. Build to hit seemed to be a lil rough powerwise, buti think you guys were gassed. After that opener i would be. Pit added nicely here, especially for impact. next sont( i dunno the names sorry) the corps exploded uptempo and loud. battery was wailing away. Nice exposed "guard solo" before the ending of the hit. Nice chance to shine for low brass leading into drum break. Tenor line is sick, and so are basses. Oh ####, so is the snares. bass break w/low brass was scary. Tenor and mid voice next and again sick. i missed the snares i was recovering from the tenors. Nice build to a halt and stop only to power to the call to bulls slow section featuring may i say the CLEANEST open roll at a slow tempo i have heard since Bucs 2000 in Jupiter, Snare visual added to the crescendo. Then the Rumps, kinda like last year but embellished. bassline again a tour de force underneat....drum break to full corps hit and screaming sop, then building back to the final statement, w/Freeball himself screaming. this ending is a full charging, run and blast ending and is cool.

My only complaint...it is here they choose to unveil the water drums. IMO, they look like an afterthought, and many people missed them. The corps is going nuts behind them......what made them work last year was they were featured, now w/the chaos behind them, they seem like an idea that looked good on paper. When and f the guard gets done and they have their unis, this corps will be on pace w/Empire. Can't say about Brigs, won't see em til hershey. If the guard gets it done, game on.

Bucs: Again strong intro to Festive Overture, esp low brass. perc scoring here supports brass well. Nice job by mellos after the big hit, as well as pit. corps marching a lot better than lewisburg. guard equipment holders/props held equipment beter tonight, and usage as props seemed more defined. Perc seemed either on or off, no in betweens here. The good was good, so when the not good gets there, look out. noticed a snare w/a cast on not able to play but marching. festive ended strong, but the upper brass holes become evident as you can hear sops get tired. Ballad was very pretty, esp low brass. again you could hear sops struggle due to the fact the few there have to work harder. Pit ending very well done. Loved the into metallic intro to the 10th. felt like a possible ensemble tear about to happen but it got back in at big hit. nice bass break. nice tenor break. nice snare break. then as the corps goes into the extended build section it seemed on the edge of a tear again. next perc break had a few issues. brass re-entry seemed a lil weak, maybe they were tired. Rifle/sabre toss down the 50 needs to be all rifle. you cant see the sabres thru the props.Then the 5th. down beginning a nice feel, and the backfield playing leading into when the corps turns around was good. sops again sound tired, but give em credit they never gave up. Drum break here was performed well for the most part. Nice build to the big hit and the retardando was well done. corps strong at the big push and they finished the show strong. IMo, perc a lil off. I liked em at Lewisburg, andi think the drums can be in the mix. horn holes need to be filled asap to maximize that caption.

Surf: Ladies and Gentlemen, Elvis will enter the building. The beginning was very veags feel music wise, but i expected more story telling visually. Gotta love the open collars sticking over the jackets. DM's pimp daddy suit was a nice touch. Opening statement strong, but can be stronger. Corps plays the Vegas lounge feel well, and bass line does a nice job giving the walking 8th note feel. Battery performs really well in their features here. Next tune seemed a lil rough.In fact, IMO arrangement couldhave built more. the feel was there, but oomph could have been bigger. The build up to Elvis and the curtains was IMO too long, and kind of distracting. Pit however did a nice job of playing to fill it in.However once the curtain is up and the Dm gets back up on the box, you know fun is coming. From behind the curtain you hear the infamous 2001 theme, Elvis long time intro.. As the curtain opens, you have 100 Elvis's looking at you playing away. Into Jailhouse Rock we go, and the horns doing Elvis fance moves was great. Those kids had Elvis down pat.Elvis the Pelvis move at the end was classic. When they kicked into CCRyder iwas dying....we used that as a bus hype in Shore in 89/90. Horns did seem tired here, but no one noticed...we were laughing too hard. Sond ended strong, and loved the Elvis coming forward to uh sing err play Cant help Falling In Love. Nice seque into My Way. Strong recap of CC Ryder/jam session ends the show. I was waiting for someone to announce Elvis has left the building.

good show top to bottom. Rumors of Bush's demise exxagrerated. Sky definitely imrpoved and hurcs can definitely hold their heads up once a few issues are fixed.

Bucs...fill the holes.

cabs...get the guard done. You're ahead of last year at this time.

[Sean1]

very nice Jeff

[Sopmedic]

Thanks Jeff......Didn't know anyone remembered "Freeball" !!

[musicman86]

Nice review, Jeff! Sad to say I didn't see you there. :( I guess I'll see you at Hershey!

Edited July 12, 2004 by musicman86

[JeromeyBush]

Bush: Side note: Dena Berry, West perry alum, girl you conduct so very well. Also Jerome, thanks for turning and waving when we yelled MAKE OUT.

<$1 to me, tee>

Intro statement w/metallic laborlike sounds and body visuals by brass very cool. Nice mysertioso build to New World Hit. 25 brass sounds bigger here and surprised many. very strong low brass. Drum book best i have heard from Bush since 94 and performed well here. drum break in new World was creative and performed well for July, and brass re-enrty was strong. In fact whole corps was strong thru the end of the piece.Amber Waves was not a Star rip off as most are, but arranged well.Pit score seemed like it could have used more, but it's early. low brass clearly a strength here. interesting perc scoring leading into William Tell Overture. here brass, especially upper voices seemed a bit tired. bass line very active here. maybe it was staging or where i sat, but leading into the down section, the perc seemed to overpower them a bit. down section seemed a little lifeless but picked up as drum solo kicked in. very aggressive book with some mid season performance issues. I swear that one roll section was from 93. bass line strong in the traditional Bush way. Bras re-entry helped them gather some steam charging into the ending which featured some recap moments musically and the corps ended strong. Clean up the drums and add some horns, and this show will definltely make some noise come finals.

Thanks :P .nice review.

[TheMoonlightChef]

Thanks for the review.

[LuvsPAisTe]

Hey Jeff-

When will we see Westshoremen back in the hunt?

[Gorgo]

Fun and informative read Jeff! B)

[Lancerlady]

I'm interested in this Elvis show, that sounds like good clean fun! I may have to get into this DCA! Cool review Jeff!

[Jeff Ream]

thanks all. writing for DCW has paid off. i only swore once. :P

Jesse: hershey dude. due to tradition, and me being the superstitious ######## you saw teach WP's drumline that I am, i always park by the elementary school. why> Shore used to rehearse there. Alumni gather there. and cops never bother us there :P I'll be at hershey and your rehearsal site as well as Kingston.

Luvs: i wish i knew. I keep hearing rumors, but nothing definite. trust me, when it's official i'll get kicked out for posting it online before they want it announced.

Stephanie, come to DCA. Once you get thyere, you won't want to leave.

Adam, you old PV wathorse, you'll always be Freeball to me@!