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Kennesaw Review


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Prior to the show:

I had the privledge of spending time with friends in SPirit at their housing site. I wastched their run through just before they ended rehearsal and got ready to head to the show. If this run trhough was on the field, they would have beaten Crown easily!

En Route to the Show:

We followed the buses. At a railraod crossing, of al lthings, a train comes! We got separated from the cbuses and had to take the traffic infested streets of Cobb county - yuck! 1.5 hours from housing site to Show site (was only like 10 miles!!!)

Outside the Show:

Free parking - AFTER YOU WAIT IN LINE FOR AN HOUR. I am serisous. Didn't get to explore the Souvie Booth since the line was so long to get in!

Inside:

Stadium too samll! I could name one hunred other venues that would make better places to have the Atlanta show. PLease, if anyone has the power to move the show - DO IT! I don't care who runs the band program at Kennesaw Mtn. HS!

The shows:

Troopers: 6th, 68.8

Opening had some phrasing difficulties. First half of the show and the second half of the show seem to be two completely different corps. Opener was slow and had little impact. Guard had some nice spot, but in the whole first five minutes were boring. AFter the ballad, the corps seems to explode with energy! Different sound entirely! One the whole, I really couldn't get into this show.

Madison Socuts: 5th, 79.9

Liked the 'Conquest' entrance and the subtle hints of what's to come. The guard guy standing dead venter of the field was nice. Opening classic Madison, visually & musically. Guard was tight! I was wondering why they had been socring so low. Then came the rest of the show. I found everything after the opener to be boring and messy. Guard fell apart and horns showed fatugued. The percussion held the corps together a few times. Very dissappointed in the guard stuff. I saw they were wearing 16th century-Spanish style helment (the guard that is) when they came in, but they never wore them in the show???? I dunno? Perucssion had some fun spots. Found the show flat and difficult to get into.

Spirit: 4th, 81.0

Like I said above, if their run through was the show on the field for competiton, they would have scored mushc higher. This was on off night for them. I guess some ppl let emotions take over being basically a home show and all. Standing ovation for their entrance onto the field. Great improvements to their music and visuals. Alto licks in the beginning clean! Most of the changes are in the ballad. Much more impactful! Guard was on at least! A few ppl stood out in opening punctuations and too many hickups in marching. New ending to ballad was put on the field (for the first time if I wasn't mistaken?) Now end with power chord! Love it! Some new visuals in the closer after 'overlapping boxes' sequence. Great veichle for the corps. Hope to see them on Sat in Mad Town!

Crown: 3rd, 81.75

Overall, this show has not changed in my mind. Still found this show cinfusing and difficult to get into. Very low accessability for the audience. The different design and colored flags in the opener and throughout the show just look weird. I do have to say that the guard guy's unis do look somewhat more like togas, but still look rather feminie. I still heard a lot of comments about them. The girl dressed as what I guessing to be Cupid and the bows and arrows; too hoaky for me. Ballad msuci was really well played. Seems to be the highlight of the show. Why is the guard so far back? And who choose the design of those flags for the ballad. They look weird. That design/color is not what I think of when I hear that music. Who was the guy running? And why did he fall on the ground (on purpose?) There were just way too many things going on and no one seemed to know what any of them meant? Why are the columns on the left side of the field so far out? No one ever goes near them. A waste. I found this show still to be flat and unchanged. Is this the ending they are using? It just sorta comes out of nowhere.

Bluecoats: 2nd, 86.2

What a nice surprise! Hated last years BC show - LOVE this one. This is a great show for them. Opening is great and dramatic. Love the flags! 2nd nu,ber is awesome! Full guard on rifles. The "Urban" part of the show really shines here and throughout the show. Ballad left something to be desired, but was a nice complement to the rest of the show. Taxi-style flag in the closer are great! More weapon stuff. Didn't see any drop, but some were off throughout and detracted from the visual aspect. Great and powerful hornline. Sop solsist in closer is on fire. Great sound! Overall, nice balance of visual and music. No percussion really stood out, but the guard was amazing! Cudos!

Cavaliers: 1st, 93.25

Love their dark sound! Guard uni's need to be trashed, but the guard rocked out! I didn't see much wrong with this show. It didn't seem to have that same impact after I saw it for the first time? I dunno. Noticed many musical chg's esp in the end of the opener and throughout the closer. Ballad still pretty much the same. Powerful as usual. I am not sure how long they have been like this, but the poles, the "L" shaped things and the rifles in the closer are now all red, yellow, or orange. Nice chg! The Block was awesome as usual!!! New wending (at least since I saw it last). More block stuff added. Also new flags for the closer. Yellow still, but now with the telescoping boxes at seen throughout the rest of the show. I still feel that there is something missing from the show. The opener need something else in it, but I dunno what.

After the show:

DM only retreat. Didn't stay for Cavies encore - I've already seen it, sorry fellas. I still love ya! Instead, I went to see some friends from CorpsVets and Spirit. BTW (sorry for no review of CorpsVets - they were awesome and better than ever!) I can't pass up an opportunity to hear 'Georgia On My Mind'. Saw PeeWee, Hallberg, and Nick (trader). Was a good time!

Best of luck to all corps (more to Spirit)!

Looking forward to MTSU this Friday! Less than 48hrs. WooHoo!

Thanks!

Sean

w/Stp:

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Cavaliers: 1st, 93.25

<snip>

I am not sure how long they have been like this, but the poles, the "L" shaped things and the rifles in the closer are now all red, yellow, or orange.  Nice chg!  

I saw them in St. Cloud, MN on Fri June 28 and the poles were white (don't remember the rifles). On Sunday the 30th in Hastings, they were painted... (not sure about the 29th in Alexandria - I couldn't make it)

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Hey, just thought I'd give you an answer as to why the guy guard in Crown falls at the end of his run and even why the flags are the color they are. The flags at the end of the ballad are clustered together and represent the sun -- which also explains the guard's placement on the field. And the guy guard is Icarus who attempted to fly away from his island prison with a pair of wings made with bird feathers and wax. Icarus, despite his father's (a fellow prisoner) warning to avoid the sun because it would melt the wax, decided to fly as close to the sun as he could get. When he gets too close to the sun, the wax melts, the wings dissintegrate and Icarus plunges to his death in the sea below.

That's why the guy guard collapses at the end of his run. He's dead!

BTW, there is an Icarus statue at my alma mater, U. of Va. and I read the plaque!

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Hey, just thought I'd give you an answer as to why the guy guard in Crown falls at the end of his run and even why the flags are the color they are. The flags at the end of the ballad are clustered together and represent the sun -- which also explains the guard's placement on the field. And the guy guard is Icarus who attempted to fly away from his island prison with a pair of wings made with bird feathers and wax. Icarus, despite his father's (a fellow prisoner) warning to avoid the sun because it would melt the wax, decided to fly as close to the sun as he could get. When he gets too close to the sun, the wax melts, the wings dissintegrate and Icarus plunges to his death in the sea below.

That's why the guy guard collapses at the end of his run. He's dead!

BTW, there is an Icarus statue at my alma mater, U. of Va. and I read the plaque!

How in the heck is the audience supposed to identify with this kind of story telling? I remember Phantom handing out librettos in 1981 or 82 to help the audience understand the story of Spartacus, but dang, this is a little overboard, isn't it?

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Actually I am glad some corps require thinking. I prefer as much variety in my drum corps as I can get!

(esp if I am going to sit through all day prelims at DCI and DCA... variety!!)

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Actually I am glad some corps require thinking. I prefer as much variety in my drum corps as I can get!

(esp if I am going to sit through all day prelims at DCI and DCA... variety!!)

But this doesn't require thinking...it requires knowledge of Greek mythology. How many audience members will have such knowledge?

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And it's a youth education activity so what's your point?

Lots of shows include things that require knowledge.. it's like a good comedy.. requires some quick wit and knowledge to get all the jokes.

Bet lots of people don't know that the opening sections from Crown's Chess show were meant to reflect moves on a chess board..

Baritones were Bishops

Mellophones were Knights

Sopranos were Rooks

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In relation to Crown's show...

EVERYONE around me was just baffled by the various things I posted about. How is the sun bring represented by those awful flags? I can understand the stagging to better represent the sun, but yelloe and brown? Why not all yellow? Or maybe yellow and orange and red. When I think of brown, I think Earthy stuffy, not bruning balls of fire - More importantly, not Icarus flying to it!!! ;)^

Alos forgot to mention the lack luster Medusa style whigs and snakes. One I got, but it doesn't work. Just too weird looking - also cheap looking too. WHy not in this case, use flags that have snakes on them - or serpentine curves? The whigs and snakes - not working.

This show does not require thinking. (as many other have said). Your average person (or in this case, drum corps fans) does not know about Greek mythology. We don;t see Icarus running to the sun. Instead, we see some guy (in a silly outfit) running to ugly flags that are awkwardly stagged. The flag work is great during the ballad. Don't hide it way back in the corner trying to illustrate something the audience will not even understand. You move the same guard work to front and center and I gurarntee Crown's guard score will be boosted by 2 pts!

Thanks!

Sean

w/Stp:

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getting off topic of the REVIEW...closing thread.

(someone open a new topic "In the Stands" regarding thinking / verses non-thinking shows )

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