dcm_alum Posted July 28, 2004 Share Posted July 28, 2004 Scores first: Div 3: Americanos - 77.55 Raiders, NJ - 72.85 Leehigh Valley Knights - 71.75 Dutch Boy - 66.50 Bandettes - 66.40 Les Stentors - 65.35 Capitol Sound - 63.75 Blue Saints - 35.10 Div 2: Blue Stars - 83.80 Colt Cadets - 56.90 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dcm_alum Posted July 28, 2004 Author Share Posted July 28, 2004 Mini Review: Disclaimer: These opinions are my own, and in some cases are probably not terribly accurate if you look at the judges sheets, and opinions. Leehigh - I missed this corps entirely, BUT when the intermission came, people were raving about these guys. I mention them since the vibe in the audience was so strongly positive. Capitol Sound - I arrived when these guys were on the field, and was struck with what a good corps they managed to get on the field considering that they almost went inactive this year. Credit should be given to everyone behind this organization. I came in late so i cannot say much about the show in general except that they impressed me as being pretty darn good. The score reflects that. Americanos: These guys exceeded my expectations tonight. They played what I would consider to a "typical Canos show" which had a musical book with a Latin flair. I thought they were stronger musically than I have heard them in recent years, but some of that could be due to how late in the season I am seeing their show. Some really cool things about the Canos is that even though they are a Div 3 corps, they like to bust out drill moves that you will see in a Div 1 show. This is pretty daring, and they pulled it off tonight. As usual, they have a very good guard, but they are way too small. Usually 3 people, sometimes 4. Near the end of the show they put a flag in each hand which visually doubled the size od their guard. I think they should have dome that for the whole show, and came up with some other effect for the climax of the show. Score was even better than I expected, but well deserved. I'd love to see these guys be a little bigger next year. Fill out the guard, and they will be a #### of a corps. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dcm_alum Posted July 28, 2004 Author Share Posted July 28, 2004 Bandettes: Very small this year. 9 horns, but it seems like all 9 play very, very well. Big guard who looked great in their uniforms, and did a good job. I would categorize their musical book as "modern drum corps" Lots of short, high speed runs, etc. This probably played to their advantage when you think about trying to work on phrasing for a 9 person hornline. Overall, a good, clean show. Les Stentors: I'm having a little trouble recalling this show. I know that I didn't recognize their music, but that my impression was that they were pretty fun to watch. I apologize for vague that review is, but there were a number of corps tonight that I had seen for the first time ever, so I am having trouble remembering details about all of the different shows. I would have slotted them above Bandetes simply because they seemed to have more people, which usually means better GE. Execution may have been their downfall. Intermission: Dutch Boy: These guys had an "All Seasons" themed show that was probably the most approachable of the evening. They played Autumn Leaves, some familiar Christmas songs. Part of AC/DC's Thunder, Singin in the Rain, & Summer Lovin, as I recollect. There maybe have been blurbs of other tunes in there that I missed since this show moved through the seasons rather rapidly. As I watched this show, I was really entertained, and I felt like it had a DCA Vibe to it with the way it was geared toward pleasing the audience, and getting them into the show. Up to this point, it was probably the show that the crowd liked most. Note to Instructors of Dutch Boy: It is REALLY RUDE to stand right next to the last row of people in the audience and spend the entire show screaming orgasmically, and jumping up and down like an idiot. Some audience members fled, and numerous people wanted to knock you out. Grow up and allow the audience to enjoy your show. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dcm_alum Posted July 28, 2004 Author Share Posted July 28, 2004 Raiders, NJ: Fast paced show, high difficulty, lots of difficult drill moves. Many executed very well. This is another show that I am having difficulty recalling except that I felt is was frenetic, and I felt mu heart racing while these guys were on. The audience was on the edge of their seat for much of this show. One criticism: This show drove hard for the entire 12 minutes, and then suddenly, just as I expected they were about to rip my face off, they ended the show on a soft note. Wow, sort of a bummer in my book. Next time, let those kids unleash those final chords, and spill my popcorn and coke all over me. Good show, but I question the way it finishes. Blue Saints: BY FAR, the youngest corps of the evening. Somehow they were slated late in Div 3, and it made for a weird wrap-up on the Div 3 competition. Their hornline is young, and (apparently) inexperienced, but I felt they did a good job of keeping the show moving. This corps implemented a lot of special effects to liven up the show, and it really worked. They played primarily Beach Boys and surfing related tunes, and had a drum break (Wipeout) which I think went over like gangbusters. Overall, lots of fun, and the audience loved them. One criticism, they bothered to put a few children up in front of the corps who were probably just kids of the Director or someone. They were very, very young, (not even in uniform) and all they did was horse around and distract the crowd from the show. I would advise the Saints to leave these kids with the Souvie guys when their corps is on so that the audience can enjoy all of the hard work that is going into the show, and not be preoccupied by the antics of the litle children up front. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dcm_alum Posted July 28, 2004 Author Share Posted July 28, 2004 Blue Stars: BLUE STARS ARE BACK!! These guys have a great show this year, and a LOT of bodies on the field to put it on. I am secretly hoping that this is an indication that they will return to DIV 1 in the near future. With a little more growth, they will contend, and be a great addition to the Division. Show is based on Anime themed music, and is entertaining, fast paced, and suspenseful. Guard is very big and very good. Horns and drums fall into this category as well. Their drill looked very difficulty, and I could be wrong (because I was sitting very low) but I thought it looked dirtier to me than it should have. Made me curious what they are scoring in M&M. Made me wonder if they should have more M&M people to clean their obviously bigger corps. Their music made me want to be a middlevoice in this corps. Mellophones had SO MANY of the cool parts, and they have stocked their middlevoice section with MANY talented, and strong players. The rest of their hornline was equally good, but the book was clearly showcasing the middlevoices. Probably just the nature of the music. Advice: There are many parts of their show where the kids are allowed to "mug" for the crowd and act cocky, showing us how great they are. Please be sure that your M&M is as good as it possibly can be, or you will look foolish doing this. Oneother thing, it looked like there were a couple of "scatter drills" going on, but I was so low that I am not sure I was seeiing that. I hope I am wrong as those moves are not particularly impressive, and your score may suffer from them. Crowd was extatic after the Blue Stars show. Great job La Crosse! Colt Cadets: Hometown corps who put on a #### of a show. These kids are all young, but due to the numbers they have on the field, they are Div 2. Show was based on "The Peanuts", and was very entertaining. Colt Cadets have stocked their show with props, and gimmicks which really seemed to play into the crowd's favor, and the Peanuts theme. This corps does come with an AMPLIFICATION WARNING as them utulize amps to add in child vocals throughout the show. Most of the time this adds to the show because the children singing plays right into the Peanuts theme, and it allows the brass line to catch a few breaths when it is going on. This corps definitely pushes the envelope with how much amplification they are using, but overall it is a good, fun show to watch, and it went over well tonight. If I were writing the show, I'd cut the vocals out of at least 1 song just to have less of it. Show has good energy throughout, and has a drum solo that really kicks butt. The crowd ate this show up, and was very happy to see our hometown kids doing their show under the lights. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jjeffeory Posted July 28, 2004 Share Posted July 28, 2004 Thanks for the review. It's nice to hear about a division II/III show. I'm really curious about Blue Stars, as I hope they go division I as well. They have so much history. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J. Miller Posted July 28, 2004 Share Posted July 28, 2004 Ding, ding, ding!!! We have a winner. This is the best review I have read. Great positive review with CONSTRUCTIVE criticism without flaming anyone! Even better--it came to be a review of the core of drum corps--division II/III Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
corpsfan18 Posted July 28, 2004 Share Posted July 28, 2004 Great review!! Thanks for doing a review for the fans of div II/III corps. Now if we could just get more of those reviews for fans like me who can't always get to the shows...(PLEASE ) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AngelicGoddess Posted July 28, 2004 Share Posted July 28, 2004 Yea Blue Stars rock... my boyfriend is in the snare line and he told me the other day that the rumor is Blue Stars will be DIV I next year..... b**bs Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StupidLikeAFox Posted July 28, 2004 Share Posted July 28, 2004 Thanks for the div 2/3 review! 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.