Finals Review

[troon]

First of all, a little background. What good is a review if you don't know the context of the reviewer? I'm not a Drum Corps alumni. I'm not a music major. I'm a dedicated fan, but not the hardcore, third generation one kind of one. I'm a performing artist, but I haven't picked up an instrument or marched a step on a field in competition since high school, which is to say, quite a few years. So you'll quickly understand that this review is not exactly a technical one, and if I do make any semi-uniformed comments, it's mostly GE (with a few exceptions.) All I can really share with you is what the shows communicated to me and my group of friends. With that said, here goes...

GLASSMEN: Really got my attention with their first big impact. The design of that set and the staging of the guard drew my eye towards the center, exactly where they wanted it. Beyond that, it was certainly good, but nothing spectacular. They did do a great design job of incorporating their "one vs. many" theme, however, especially with the gurad. "Applachian Spring" is a comfortable corps choice, but not exactly an exciting one. While they played it well enough, I bet there were plenty in the crowd that groaned upon recognizing the tune (I was one of them.) They are the recepients of my: FAVORITE GUARD OUTFIT AWARD! (Female): Loved the gracefull black and white skirts, and the red worked terrifically to grab the audience. Such a refreshing change from spandex.

BLUE KNIGHTS: Naturally, some serious crowd support (least of all from my biased self, seeing as my roommate is an age-out euphonium.) I loved their opener especially. Reminded me of some sort of adventure movie's opening credits. Drum battle was also terrific and fun. Their hornline danced better than some guards did. So much more fun to watch that part than if they had been doing simply intresting drill. Deep, rich sound from the horns. They win two awards: LEAST FAVORITE GUARD OUTFIT AWARD! Yes, the white looked great aginst the musician's uniforms from up high where I was, and I know the blue dot pattern is significant to them and the fans, but the overall design of it looked like something from a failed gymnastics team. Don't worry, they were redeemed by my: FAVORITE FLAGS AWRD! Splashy, vibrant colors againt the corps looked even better.

CROSSMEN: Really enjoyed the musical tension in their opening sequence. Liked the high-tempo backfield sound, too. Most backfield stuff I head last night was during ballads, which I'm a sucker for, but I thought the Crossmen's choice worked very well. Catchy tunes as well, but While it was visually a bit muddy at times, their two brass blocks win my: BEST SIDELINE SHUFFLE AWARD! These groups were extremely tight, and definatly feeling the groove.

MADISON SCOUTS: Yes, I've heard the hype - the Scouts are back, the Scouts are dead, the Scout's show has a split personality, and quite frankly, the only one I found to be definatvely true was the last rumor, which reinforced both of the first two. Malaga was wild and fun. The rest was not. 'Nough said. Whether they are as good as they used to be is the subject of much debate, but they're still the Scouts, and what's not up for questioning is their fanatic audience support. I was cheering them on, too, at least for Malaga. Loved the double impact of their final hit. They are the recepients of my JEKYLL AND HYDE AWARD!

BOSTON CRUSADERS: Drill was challenging, and fun to watch (the drumline plowing through the sliding block elicited a lot of "Ooo!"s from the crowd, and rightfully so) but overall was quite dirty. Loved the color pallete of the guard flags at the end. A natural choice, and very much a good one. It was a tough call between them and Crown, but Boston wins my: MOST GRATUITOUS USE OF NARRATION AWARD! Seriously, folks - this is getting out of hand! I have said and will continue to say that a good corps can communicate what they need to through visual and musical effect without any voiceovers. They're a drum corps, not a Broadway musical. SHOW us, don't TELL us! Any doubts on the issue? Just ask SCV, or any of the top 3 this year.

BLUECOATS: Ah...Bluuue...Some really snappy drill, fun music, and an overall solid design. Not suprised they beat out Crown. A great package, and they delivered the energy big time. Out of the middle group of corps in the Top 12, easily my favorite of the year. Definatly deserving of the: BEST JAM AWARD!

CAROLINA CROWN: Again, I stand by the "show, don't tell!" rule. Narration and singing aside, there was no denying this corps was on a roll. Their ballad was a great musical choice, and I did enjoy it, but I question its choice as an overall contribution toward their theme. One of the most significant themes of RENT is about INDIVIDUAL artistic expression, not exactly something that you can easily read from a drum corps performance of 135 kids in step. For what it's worth, I thought the singing was well done under what are surely extremely difficult acoustic conditions for vocalists. With that said, I also hated it, and thought it contibuted little if anything to the overall performance. There's a wide range of opinions about their closer, but you can't doubt these kids were having an awful lot of fun, and the crowd was too! Some years it seems like people forget how important that aspect of Corps is. They beat out the Cadets for my prestigious: COMMITMENT TO CHEESE AWARD! Cheese is a dangerous, usually fatal thing for drum corps, but if really commited to like Carolina's was, it gives the audience something special to remember.

PHANTOM REGIMENT: A highly skilled and enjoyable performance. I'm not always a fan of Phantom's music, since the classical can be a bit overwhelming and hard to follow but this year they hit the jackpot. And what's this, they can MARCH, too? Yes, they sure as heck can! I was seriously impressed with their visual prowess this year. They win the: BEST POWER CHORDS AWARD!

THE CADETS: Not exactly sure where this show was going (or came from, for that matter.) It was to the corp's credit that it was given so much energy and enthusiasm. You could tell that these kids couldn't have cared less about the critics that've been smashing them down relentlessley for their music choice. Despite the strange (if catchy) music, some of the drill was just as worthy of the top three. Who needs a rotating company front when you can do five minauture ones? Say what you will about the music, the guard, (whom mostly just seemed to be flouncing around with no purpose) or the baton twirler. Whether his prescence was merited or not is still something I haven't made up my mind on. What is unarguable is that he was #### good at what he does. For the whole kaboodle of bold choices with mixed results, I deem the Cadets the winner of my CORPS CHUTZPAH AWARD!

SANTA CLARA VANGUARD: I can't overemphasize just how terrific an all-around show this was!!! All of the buzz was aboslutly correct. Innovative, powerhouse drill, (even if it admittedly wasn't as clean as the Cavies, let's not forget just how dang good it was relative to the corps below them!) and a musical arrangment to die for. So many terrific moments. The waving company front...those percussive, reverberating horn blasts...the pitch perfect solos and duets...and of course, that beutiful ending. The audience absolutly ate it all up. I got chills both nights when the SCV fans shouted their war cry. If I had seen the show a few more times, I would've been happy to join in! Vanguard is the winner of many of my awards, namely: the "THANK YOU FOR TELLING A STORY!" AWARD, the CHILLS UP MY SPINE AWARD! and the CORPS EVERYONE WAS SECRETLY WISHING WOULD WIN AWARD!

BLUE DEVILS: So exactly why didn't SCV win? Because of the final two corps, of course. I know BD's brass scored a perfect 20 at quarterfinals, and while they were #### good, a perfect 20 means that there was absolutly no room for improvment, and that's a hard thing for me to swallow. With that said, they certinaly deserved every high brass and music honor they received. Solos tumpets were a little cocky, of course, but if I could wail that high, I suppose I'd be too. More importantly, they had the hornline backing them up with those PERFECT "bop!" attacks, each one carrying more power than some of the other corps gave the entire night. Terrific balance in the pit during "Summertime." People said the "train" drill was simplistic, but I think they're forgetting that the purpose of drill isn't just to show off for the judges. They win two awards: the BRASS ATTACK AWARD! and the BEST SURPRISE ENDING AWARD! My heart goes out to the Tenor that "fell of the train" while exiting. The crowd was so entralled, we couldn't have cared less, I promise! My group had some misgivings about the "fizzled out" ending at Semis. But after this one, we all turned to each other and shouted more or less simultanously, "That one WORKED!" And was sooooo cool...

THE CAVALEIRS: As usual, the Cavie's drill was in a class of its own. Between the "Rotating Drum Circle of Death through the Block " the "Condensing Blocks of Terror" and everyone's favorite, the "Inverting Triangle of Peril" (my own designations, obviously) they were so precise, so fast moving and so much fun to watch it was hard not to root for them. The crowd expected nothing less from the Green Machine, and I don't think anyone went home disspointed. The music was quite nice, too, depsite not being as fun to listen to as the Devil's. I appreciated how they payed homage to the unmistakable Bond theme, but didn't overplay it to death. And some crazy triple-tonguing too! Naturally, they win the MIND BOGGLING DRILL AWARD! with a secondary HOW THE #### DID THEY DO THAT? certificate.

All said, it was quite a year. Nothing terribly surprising at the placements. There was something for everyone, and I hope DCI comes back to Denver for Championships a bit more frequently now!

[LAMystreaux]

Great review. . .thanks!

[TexasPRfan]

Great review! A very enjoyable read. Loved the extra awards. :)

Harvey

[Sean1]

Very nice

[CUDAKITE]

I think DCI should adopt your awards troon. ...THE TROON AWARDS! :)

[Phan Doris]

Thanks for the great review!