San Antonio Evening Show Review

[Panther Pilot]

I didn’t stick around for the scores to be announced after the afternoon show. I could feel the writing on the wall. Scouts would not make the finals that night. First time in almost 29 years Scouts have not made an afternoon cut. Lots of long faces in the Scouts camp and I bet some big smiles on the DCI staff. It has taken years, but finally, DCI thinks they have put Scott Stewart in his place. It is not Scott Stewart you, DCI are hurting, it those kids that pour their souls into that show. One young man said it best. “Don’t feel sorry for us, feel sorry for the fans.” This comes from a Valedictorian that just graduated from high school in his first year of drum corps. I thought it said it all.

Ok on with the reviews of the evening shows.

Blue Coats – guys I am so sorry I missed your show. My bad, but got talking with former Madison Scouts that are now staff members of Blue Devils and I couldn’t get in time.

Crossmen – I liked, I was very surprised where you placed. I had you 6th. Strawberry Soup is one of my favorites. Nicely done, and your all-jazz show this year really shows a marked improvement in the Crossmen. I thought you had a solid show, very polished and a good balance of audience and judge appeal.

Blue Knights – Since they beat my favorite corps by .20 I was taking a critical look especially at their guard. Show is good and solid, but musically, you guys need to work on your phrasing and ensemble. You did seem a little tired tonight for some reason. (for more go to afternoon review).

Spirit of JSU – I was looking forward to this! I wanted to see if you were constant from afternoon to evening and you were. I still love that body and horn movement to create all those unusual sounds. Really cool. (for more go to afternoon review).

Seattle Cascades – Just as nice the second time around. Seattle’s rendition of Prelude Fruge and Riffs was great, the corps had a lot of fun with it and the audience ate it up. Lots of energy coming from you on this piece, keep it up. Continue to clean and work on the show musically and you’ll be a crowd favorite come finals. (for more go to afternoon review).

Boston Crusaders – I can’t get into this show. (for more go to afternoon review).

Intermission, one large coke, $4.25, man got to love drum corps. A tour of the souvies sales area, Madison is selling stuff like hot cakes and they’re not even performing. Fans know what they want.

Blue Devils – Man the guard uniforms looked great. Loved the red bowler hats. Lots of former Madison staff now on Blue Devils staff, hello guys. This was the first corps of the day that really had it ALL together. Complete package. That color guard worked its magic and made it look effortless all with a smile. All equipment work was in sinc and man those ladies with the long hair really made me know that I’m one too, go back and review the words to “The House of the Rising Sun”. Their show Jazz: Music Made in America was very well done. Ragtime I didn’t know how they’d pull that one off, but it was done well, I Got Rhythm and Fascinating Rhythm about brought the house down. The drum feature in Fascinating Rhythm was very nice and lots to look at. If you like guard work with some cool horns you’ll love House of the Rising Sun. Channel One Suite, still needs a little work. All in all, I thought very entertaining, accessible and visual. Nice job guys. I think you can pull off an upset at finals – SECOND.

Cadets – Do you guys have a storage area? I could swear most of the props, and guard uniforms from this show have been used in the 1992 and 1995 shows????? Cadets pressed all my buttons. Good horns, great feet, great guard and a top drum line. Okay, this show has been done before, but that’s cool it was still great. It looks a lot like the 1995 show, but with different music. April has got the guard looking great as usual and the guard sure does look like they’re enjoying themselves. More to a great guard than equipment work, Cadets guard acted the roles they were portraying very nice. A little surprised to see boxers and a white t-shirt on the field, but everyone has got to change clothes somewhere. Look for that when some of the guys change from street clothes into uniforms. Nice rifle work, I loved the loud count 1, 2, 3, 4, … release. It is a gimmick, but man I love it. Horn line looks like they’re having fun too, during Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy especially. Great marching guys, drill is typical Cadets, very fast very demanding. Always a pleasure to watch the visual portion of Cadets. Musically, New York New York, was the weak part of the show, if you could call it weak. The closer, with the melodies from West Side Story, was very cool. Cadets also pushed the “bible belts” button with the Pledge of Allegiance in their show, “ONE NATION UNDER GOD”, got a very positive reaction from this crowd. Cadets, great show, even if the concept was not entirely new. I would like to see the ending change. GEORGE YOU CAN SEND ME A CHECK LATER FOR THIS IDEA, Instead of the Iwo Jima pose at the end, put three guard guys in Firemen uniforms and use the Sep 11 raising of the flag for your ending. Those big boxes you use change all that Post WWII stuff you got on them now and put faces of NYC firemen on them and sing the last refrain of God Bless America, “God Bless America, my Home Sweet Home.” The full horn line, repeat phrase. There won’t be a dry eye in the house come finals. Watch out Blue Devils are on your heals.

Santa Clara Vanguard – Who is colorblind and picked that shade of green in the new uniforms????? Man that color of green is going to take some getting used too. Looks like a faded ping-pong table. UUGUGUUGUG. SCV a very nice, show a solid 4th place. However, it just didn’t do it for me. Execution was clean but just didn’t thrill me. Guard, too many gimmicky things reminded me of the 1992 Fiddler Show before you cut the props. Use regular rifles please.

Glassmen – Walking by their sovies booth, they have these shirts with Booring on them refereeing to B flat instruments. They should be careful, people might be thinking it would describe their show, because it is boring. The best part of the show and the best part I can say about the Glassmen’s show is the Fugal horn player’s solo. That boy can play. Glassmen, give me something I can hum or something. You finished 5th tonight and you had some of the poorest feet on the field. Learn to march not walk with those feet.

Cavaliers – Big buzz in the stands will they go undefeated this year. This is the first time this year I’ve seen this show. Heard a lot about it and the folks in front of me in the stands were just raving about it. Okay, now I got that set up lets talk, guard uniforms. Does everyone remember the movie “Tron”, well that is what the uniforms looked like. Gray with different colored high highlights in some of the seams. Looked like the cording on my couch. Lets see there was yellow, orange, blue … ok you get the idea. I’ve come to expect great drill from the Cavies and this show is full of it. However, while I found the Frameworks show to be that a visual treat, musically, it was mesoforte’. The only time any volume came out of those B flat horns were when you were standing still. Great grill and the guard pulled off their portion as well, but the Four Corners and Waterfalls shows were much better. This show reminded me a lot of the concept Star of Indiana used to design their 1993 show. Obscure inaccessible music with lots of great visual stuff and a guard that can pull it off. I think this show if it does win DCI finals this year will do more to damage this activity than any other show. DCI did not let Star pull off their undefeated season in 1993, but right now Cavies you are the darlings of DCI and anything goes. What you did you did VERY VERY well. However, I wish you hadn’t. Even the audience I think was a little, huh??? I have read that you are pushing forward the activity with this show. Don’t – please. Jeff Felder knows what the DCI judges are looking for and this show hits all the buttons for the DCI judging staff. If this show is the future of drum corps we might as well change the name now. VDC – Visual Drum Corps. Sorry I can’t be more positive. Very changeling show to perform, but not one of your design staffs better efforts in my book, maybe I’m too old school. I had you 1st with a 92.6 I was .15 off you scored 92.45. Visually the scores are worth 60% of score, Cavies staff know this and playing it perfectly.

Phantom Regiment – My old friend Pat Siedling, another former Madison Scout staff guy that toured with me. Glad to see Phantom doing so well. Just a few little things, lets start with YELLOW DRUMS??????? Okay, did you guys get a discount on them or did someone mess up? I would have loved to see Phantom in natural wood colored drums to match the top of the uniforms or something. Guard uniforms in the opener, old school I liked, then they change to the new school stuff, very cool and effective. Go back to white rifles though. The natural wood color guest lost. During the in unison toss. Very nicely done by the way. Drum Major, slow down – sell your opening!!!! You were in a little too much of a hurry. Pat I love ya, and I know its been raining, but fix the pants. You got some floods out there. Nice style on the feet, some of us old school guys watch that stuff. All in all I liked this years show. I had you 5th.

All in all a good night in San Antonio. No mosquitoes and plenty of good old fashioned Texas air conditioning--NICE. I wish that some of the back field music corps played didn’t’ sound so much like a freight train at times, oh well that’s drum corps indoors. If DCI was trying to put on a good show at San Antonio they did just that. No controversy, no boos, it was all just “yad yad yad.” The fans didn’t create havoc when Madison didn’t make finals, Madison was quietly missed, maybe by just me. I think I got my $55.00 x 4 worth for the day. I had great seats right on the 50-yard line and could see and hear everything. Here is how I would have placed them that evening.

1- Cavilers – 92.6

2- Cadets – 91.5

3- Blue Devils – 91

4- SCV – 90

5- Phantom - 88.5

6- Crossmen – 87

7- Glassmen – 85

8- Blue Coats (didn’t see them but this was my guess)

9- Seattle Cascades - 83.5

10- Boston Crusaders – 83

11- Sprit 81.5

12- Blue Knights - 80

On a sad note as the evening was over and we were leaving the Alamo Dome the Madison Buses were pulling out of the parking lot. I heard a few fans say, “I didn’t know Madison was here, why didn’t they perform.” I just smile at the lady wearing an SCV shirt and said, “DCI wouldn’t let them.” I secretly hope Madison will make Top 12 in Madison, but I know deep in my heart, they won’t. What is oddly ironic, a large majority of the DCI judges marched Madison and sprinkled thought out the DCI activity on the staffs of many drum corps are many former Madison staff members. I wish all the corps the best as they turn in the last 3 weeks of the Summer Games of 2002, but here’s a little special push for the drum corps I love – FROM MADISON, WISCONSIN, THE MADISON SCOUTS!

[LAMystreaux]

Great review, except for your conspiracy theories.

[Sluggo]

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