Grand Haven Finals

[jay72877]

Just a quick review from what I thought of some of the Division II and III corps that I saw in Grand Haven. Unfortunately I thought the show started at 7:30 so I missed a few of the division III corps because the show started at 7:00.

Taipai Yuehfue (sp?) - I know I messed up the spelling of the corps name, I am sorry. But I saw them from the sidelines. What a great corps. I really enjoyed their show. The color guard is very clean. I like corps/guard uniforms. The brass and percussion are entertaining -- in the ending of show the brass does movement during the percussion section, which altogether was a lot of fun to watch.

Revolution - This corps is great. This is the first time I have seen them, and I am pleased to see a corps from Texas become so successful. The guard has some difficult work, and therefore it is a little messy, but I still appreciated it. The horns and percussion were great. They will definitely be a top contender for division III.

Blue Stars - Awesome corps. I haven’t seen them since 1994! But I enjoyed their show tonight. They did a Jewish theme for the opener and ended with Candide. The corps is very professional. A wonderfully arranged musical pitt section which I enjoyed, and the percussion and brass did some great things. The guard I believe had 6 members but they were GREAT! Good for you! In my opinion, I believe they will take the division III title.

I believe that was all the division III corps that I saw. Division II:

Spartans - Nice show. Big drum line. Gosh, I don’t think I have seen the Spartans since 1992! Whoa!

Vanguard Cadets - Nice show. Good horn line-very loud. The color guard's flags are too small, and the poles look really long. Being a color guard person, it bothered me. The weapons look like Blue Devils technique.

Mandarins - Cool show. Don’t care for the corps uniforms. Ok, so maybe I am out of the loop, but didn’t the corps only allow people in the corps who was mandarin? I noticed a lot of people who didn’t look mandarin.

The corps is great. I enjoyed their music. Cadets 97 for the opener, and Blue Knights 2000 for the second song. The guard is good. Although I think the streamers on their sabers are not helping the weapons catch their equipment. Although I have never spun a saber with a streamer on the end, but I would figure this would slow the rotation down, which just screws everything up -- just a thought. :)

Capital Regiment - This corps is great this season. The color guard is clean clean clean, thanks to Marletta Beckman (sp?). Being a color guard guy, I appreciate a clean guard. Great flag designs. Capital Regiment finally passed Mandarins for prelims. Good for them. If it wasn’t for Magic, I believe they would win division II.

Magic of Orlando -- Obviously they should be division I. They did the Wind and the Lion; I think that is the name. It is Lassiter Winter Guard 98 music. Great show. I really enjoyed. Wonderful musical moments. The horn line is loud! The ending is very intense. The color guard is crisp, with some great weapon work. I CANT WAIT TO SEE how the corps fairs against the division I corps. Although I don’t think they will make top 12, I think they will pass a few corps to be right on the edge, perhaps 13th? Nonetheless, I still would love to see Magic be right up there.

I didn’t stick around for scores.

This is my first time that I have seen a division II/III show. I really did enjoy it. I was saddened to see that the audience was so small. Perhaps it’s just the location of the show? Do all division II/III shows have small audiences? It is too bad, because everyone works just as hard, no matter what size the corps. I remember the thrill of marching corps was to be able to perform in front of a large audience. Perhaps DCI should do more to promote the division II/III shows?

Thanks for reading my comments.

Jason

Coachmen 92,3,4

Madison Scouts 95,6

Crossmen 97,8,9

[wheelerand]

Jay, I'll just tack on to your review since I'm doing this from memory anyway - didn't take notes there.

First, it's not your fault you thought the show started at 7:30 - that's what the DCI website says. Oh, and did you also make the mistake of driving to Grand Haven for the show just b/c that's what DCI said? I made that mistake, driving right through Holland (where the show actually was). Got to Grand Haven only to find out after about half an hour of inquiries that the show was in Holland. Drove back to Holland and STILL would have made it by 7:30 - only the show actually started at 6:00pm!!! The only way we found the show was my wife's eagle eyes spotting a couple of corps buses on the road.

I have a feeling that the multiple inaccuracies on DCI's website contributed to the small crowds. It's a great way to keep a show secret - tell them the wrong city, and the wrong time. If you can't tell, I'm still a bit ticked.

Corps in the order I saw them:

Americanos. Brass line was off last night - seemed tired. Also guard had some problems with the curved rifles. Overall did not seem like their best effort, but still a very good show. They ended up 5th in Div 3, which goes to show what a tough competition it was.

Marion Glory Cadets finished 4th; I missed their show.

Taipei Yuehfu was the first corps I saw. Simply beautiful. This was a great show with a lot of energy. Even with the Chinese music, the show was very much an American-style show in terms of marching, etc. They finished third.

Revolution had a simply wonderful show - right on target. Lots of energy, great volume from brass and percussion. They deserved their first-place finish.

Blue Stars had a good show but came up a bit short of Revolution, settling for second. A couple of problems in solos, and the brass line seemed a little tired, like Americanos. Going to be tough for them to defend their title this year - the competition in D3 looks really great.

Division 2.

Spartans. One of my favorite shows of the night. Readable forms, great brass sound. Color guard uniforms really complemented the corps well, and that's a very welcome change from the norm. They had a great show but placed fifth - VERY tough competition.

SCV Cadets. My favorite of the evening. Great marching especially, wonderful forms, very readable. Very accessible show - to be honest, I prefer this show to that of their "big brothers". They placed fourth.

Mandarins. Glad to see them right next to SCV Cadets, since I really like this show as well. Wonderful guard uniforms - my favorites of the season. They complement the corps uni's incredibly well. Note to corps who have trouble paying for new guard uni's every year: do something like Mandarins do, and you can use the same uni's over and over, just like the corps uni's. Again, a great show, ended up in second place.

Capital Regiment. Cap Reg performed well tonight, but I have a hard time relating to their music. They certainly had the volume and the execution, and finished very close to Mandarins but just short.

Magic of Orlando. First time I've ever seen them. The purple uniforms are quite a shock the first time!! Really liked them, though. Great execution, they really performed well - however, I did not like their show as much as SCVC or Mandarins.

Once I got past all the bungling with show times and locations, I really enjoyed this show. It was truly one of the most enjoyable evenings of drum corps I've had all year - and that includes 17 shows. This show is going to be a regular on my calendar, but next year I'll know better than to believe what I read about where and when it will be.

[Guest GeorgeD]

as a follow up on this direction /show time issue - I am myself more than a bit peeved about the lack of II/III coverage being given by DCI. Even the regionals on the sites aren't getting the scores reported in a decent frame of time, no links to an official site, not even a phone number. Hum.

I plan on dcp picking up this slack. Somebody has got too. In the meantime, check out Soundmachine & Corpsreps.com for much more balanced II/III features. grrr. GD

[wayd]

Living in western Michigan, I can tell you that it wasn't just dci that had the info on that show incorrect. The Grand Rapids Press in it's listing of coast guard festival events and some of the local media that mentioned the show said that it would be held in Grand Haven.

This isn't to excuse dci's error, just to point out that it sounds like there was poor planning and execution all around.