profhill Posted July 21, 2004 Share Posted July 21, 2004 OK, this was my 3rd show of the season, after Stockton and Hayward the first weekend of the season. So I had seen SCV and BD about a month ago. Marion-Maybe attempting too much. Bandettes-Not too horrible. Troopers-I don't think they're as strong as they were last year. Not really sure what the guard staff is teaching, even if you have absolutly no talent in your guard you could field a better guard than that, trust me I've done it. Southwind-Their drill is basically unreadable the untire time, and I'm pretty sure it's only partially a performance issue. They are what they are. Glassmen-They're a visual mess. I like the show concept and they do have some good moments, but the only way they can make finals is other people are worse. If I had to guess, they won't make finals. Madison-I thought they had some good ideas, I liked the opener, and I would like to see it again, but it didn't really grab me. A word about their color guard. Two years ago they were an abortion; they're good now. It's great to see a staff who actually know's what they're doing. BD-####, they're hornline is great. Their show is well paced, their color guard is great, they have variety in what they're doing. I haven't seen Cavaliers, or Cadets so I can't say how they compare to those groups, but it certainly wouldn't surprise me to see BD on top again. They're really good!!!! SCV-What can I say that truely expresses how I feel about them? They're way overated!!!! The brass are not good, especially the trumpets (wow, their tonal center is nonexsistent; why hasn't their staff said "listen to what's coming out of your instruments" It amazes me that they are that bad) The overall hornline sound is not balanced, lots of bad trumpet and baritone, and not enough tuba. The quality of articulation is extremely inconsistent. It is as if no one is insisting that each member listen and match articulations. They are NOT within .2 of BD brass wise. Their show is not well paced. Mvt. 2, for example, is way too long and nothign really happens, it's the same thing repeated 3 times. Their show has no variety of effect. Every "applause" moment is created the same way, hornline playing loud. The focus of the show never changes, you are always looking right in the center of the field. After I saw them in CA about a month ago, I said something along lines of that the guard was bad. I can honestly say I was wrong. They're really good. They've cleaned up a lot; They're expressive; They're doing interesting stuff. Unfortunatly, you don't notice this because they are staged very poorly. Overall, I think most of the corps didn't have great shows tonight. Maybe it was because there was a track between us and the field, no one was really that exciting. Everyone seemed a little off. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StarlitOHara Posted July 21, 2004 Share Posted July 21, 2004 Thank you so much for backing up your opinions instead of just saying "Corps A's show is more entertaining than Corps B's" or "Corps B's show is harder than Corps A's." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GMichael1230 Posted July 21, 2004 Share Posted July 21, 2004 I have great respect for your opinions, no matter what they are..you never let "bias" get in the way, and I usually agree with you........ thanks for the review. ~G~ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Orpheus Posted July 21, 2004 Share Posted July 21, 2004 The brass are not good, especially the trumpets (wow, their tonal center is nonexsistent; why hasn't their staff said "listen to what's coming out of your instruments" It amazes me that they are that bad) The overall hornline sound is not balanced, lots of bad trumpet and baritone, and not enough tuba. The quality of articulation is extremely inconsistent. It is as if no one is insisting that each member listen and match articulations. They are NOT within .2 of BD brass wise. I had exactly the same thought about SCV's quality of sound. The lack of any euphonium line hurts, for one thing, when you're attempting this sort of "dark" symphonic music. I know I'm biased, but they're really missing that deep bass sound. Trumpets were much to bright and brassy. As a matter of fact, though, I watched SCV's clinic and I actually did hear their staff tell the sop line something along the lines of "listen to what's coming out of your instruments." I still wonder if we didn't see SCV at their best in C'ville ... All corps take note: If you're gonna play on Yamaha horns, then start insisting that they begin manufacturing a bell-front marching euphonium! P.S. SCV's mellos kick butt. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EXOGUARD Posted July 21, 2004 Share Posted July 21, 2004 I'm not sure where "profhill" was sitting, But from where we were (just to the left of the 50) Troopers guard (with the exception of those rugs they used) was one of the highpoints of the evening. They were creative and and actually looked like someone on their staff realizes that just because you are on a football field you don't have to do drop spins, flutters and carves. As for the BD, SCV comparison, I agree that BD was better at this show, but not the euphoric experience you made it out to be. And yes you are right about SCV having many rough spots, but just imagine how much better than BD they will be by DCI when they have the real ending to their show and clean up all of the problems. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Orpheus Posted July 21, 2004 Share Posted July 21, 2004 And yes you are right about SCV having many rough spots, but just imagine how much better than BD they will be by DCI when they have the real ending to their show and clean up all of the problems. With only a couple weeks left in the season, I'd be mightily surprised if they can. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lancerlady Posted July 21, 2004 Share Posted July 21, 2004 (edited) SCV-What can I say that truely expresses how I feel about them? They're way overated!!!! The brass are not good, especially the trumpets (wow, their tonal center is nonexsistent; why hasn't their staff said "listen to what's coming out of your instruments" It amazes me that they are that bad) The overall hornline sound is not balanced, lots of bad trumpet and baritone, and not enough tuba. The quality of articulation is extremely inconsistent. It is as if no one is insisting that each member listen and match articulations. They are NOT within .2 of BD brass wise. Their show is not well paced. Mvt. 2, for example, is way too long and nothign WHAT? Are you talking about? Are you okay? I have to disagree with you, you must be a Blue Devils fan....Blue devils are WAY overrated...You seemed to only like their show. But you have the right to your opinion... Edited July 21, 2004 by Lancerlady Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Orpheus Posted July 21, 2004 Share Posted July 21, 2004 I have to disagree with you, you must be a Blue Devils fan....Blue devils are WAY overrated...You seemed to only like their show. Like I said elsewhere, perhaps SCV just had an off night in C'ville ... but there really were serious issues with their horns (quality of sound) and their M&M. I'm not a BD fan, any more than I'm a fan of most every other corps, but profhill's judgement of those two corps was close to my own. I'll just say that I expected to be much more impressed than I was, after all the hype I've heard. I certainly didn't dislike SCV's show, and I thought the brass arrangements were great, but overall it didn't thrill me the way that BD did. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BlooooContra Posted July 21, 2004 Share Posted July 21, 2004 GREAT review! I love it when reviews are honest. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SCVFan222 Posted July 21, 2004 Share Posted July 21, 2004 Why is it somebody else can say what I have been saying about SCV since I saw them WAY back in January and not get flamed? Profhill, you are EXACTLY right about the SCV sound and brass line. Just listen to the Trupet solo before the big hit. TONAL SPREAD!!! It is gross. I am glad to hear somebody else that hears what I have heard! I thought I was going insane when EVERYBODY said I was wrong. There attempt to play classical has not worked. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.