Musings from the Quarterfinals

[Geneva]

I got back last night from a whirlwind 25 hour stay in Madison to check out the quarterfinals. I wanted to post this before semi-finals, but was too tired to pull that off; but better later than never! This was my second and final show of the season (see my Hornell, NY review). I think I qualify at least for honorable mention as a fanatic after dropping a quick grand to pull off this drum corps voyeuristic feat! It is doubtful that such a wildly impulsive act would have crossed my mind prior to the birth of Drum Corps Planet…love ya, George! Actually, I had some half-baked idea of taking a leisurely vacation drive with the family to Wisconsin and the spectacle of Lake Michigan in the summertime, but when I mentioned that Madison would be a nice place to visit, the drum corps heathens that I live with saw my designs. So it was either pull it off on my own or forget about it. Well, the latter just wasn’t going to happen, not after all the exciting talk on Drum Corps Planet. This was the closest I had felt to the activity since my competitive junior corps days ended 28 years ago. So I decided to trek to Madison on Wednesday without a ticket, lodging, or any idea of where things were. With the able assistance of my wife at the family computer (I made her feel guilty…heh, heh) all the connections were quickly made and I took off from Rochester, NY (a two hour drive from where I live) early Thursday morning.

I arrived at the stadium about noon-time, checked out seat availability (poor, 20 yard line seats), then turned to the ticket resellers who were present in abundance and purchased a fourth row upper deck seat on the 42 yard line at face value, hooray!

My ulterior motive was to witness first hand Madison Scouts’ dilemma and try to make sense of it. I have had a soft spot in my heart for this corps ever since I first saw them in 1974 (actually competed against them multiple times that season). It was like being taken out by a very competent and experienced offensive line! I acquired a healthy respect and admiration for the spirited ferocity of their competitive performances. So to see the unthinkable fate evolving (not making finals when the show is in your own hometown!) was painful to me, and from what I have read in this site, many others. Now, I have never bought the conspiracy theories, so was the guard/M&M that bad, or the musical performance not that strong, or the other corps beating them that good?

So let me start with Madison since this drama compelled me to make the journey. It was 4 PM and the weather was warm and sunny and no mugginess…pretty ideal. Southwind had just finished…nice corps, I had never seen them before. They were solid, a good sized corps which looked sharp on the field. They were the type of corps which quelled my fears that DCI is distilling down to a few super corps.

Well, the buzz started as the hometown fans caught sight of the green, white, and red coming down the entrance ramp. You could really sense that the crowd wanted the corps to be ON and surprise and amaze it with some of their old formulaic magic.

The corps steps off the starting line in a massive company front and glides along to the triumphant strains of Conquest…too cool!! So far, so good, but wait, what the h*** is that uniform that the guard is wearing?? Man, seriously ugly…brown pants, kind of like....buckskins? I don’t get it, what were they thinking…must be thematic, conquistador gear. All I know is that it makes me not want to look at the guard even before they have started to perform. I begin to feel uneasy. As their show unfolds, I am somewhat reassured by their bombastic coolth interpreting the pulsating Latin strains. The bugles and drums are performing their hearts out and the drill is visually attractive to me with bold unison movements and snap, even a little bit of poking fun at themselves with stop time side steps in which they instantly change their formations. It was almost like they would change their minds in the middle of the drill. Surely this is a competent and self aware performance worthy of a finalist position?! But wait, what is the guard doing (or rather NOT doing)? I wanted the herd of buckskins to get off the field so that I could have an unimpeded view of the wonderful musicians. The guard problems went beyond the absence of an appropriate highlight and augmentation to the musical show to the point of being a visual stain. I am sorry if I sound cruel. Certainly the designers and instructors are largely responsible. I will admit that I am not competent to analyze the nuances of what the guard does and their individual skill levels. Also, this was my only viewing of them this year and they have probably been feverishly working with their present performance far better done than earlier performances, yet nevertheless, the necessary and sufficient quality is still not there.

The horn line while being VERY good is not one of their best, but you are talking some very stiff comparisons here, since over the years Madison has produced some of the top few lines in drum corps history in my opinion. Although I am not a percussionist, the drum line seemed to perform well and I note that they score well in the break downs. Personally, I thought that they were more interesting than Blue Knights, Cascades, or Magic and were good for 11th or 12th. Arguably, you could make a point that they are victimized by the sheets which put too much emphasis on their visual issues, but I am not going to go there. They knew the scoring system just like everyone else. My conclusion is that the notorious inbreeding of Madison is taking its toll and what they need is a breath of fresh air with the infusion of new show concepts and visual ideas. Whatever the future holds for Madison, please never lose your attitude and the impact which have made you the drum corps’ drum corps!

Now that I have that out of my system…Magic, my bad, I admit that I was distracted by the copy of DCW’s “A History of Drum and Bugle Corps” which I had just purchased (more on that later). I had seen this corps in early July and could appreciate that they were performing to a much higher level and their horn line was generating more excitement, but still I found their book to be a less than compelling amalgam of symphonic band and wind ensemble pieces. I could say the same for Blue Knights and Cascade as a general impression though I am unable to back this up with any specifics since I didn’t take any notes, but just tried to appreciate the general flavor of the presentations. I think that many of the very good drum corps out there this year (I would also place Glassmen, ho-hum, in this category) have produced some very bland presentations with these extended and slowly developing compositions. I am somewhat familiar with this literature from an exposure to it in the community band I have played in for the last several years. It is fun and challenging to perform, but certainly not what I come to a drum corps show to hear. Having said that, I guess that it is not impossible to produce an exciting show with this literature as evidenced by Spirit. The differences may be that the impact points were better defined, closer together with more drama and neat choral effects with some really stellar ensemble work. Nice job Spirit!!

Speaking of nice ensemble work, I really enjoyed Crossmen’s beautiful shading and interpretation. I think they have some issues, however, with the execution and structure of their M&M show which contain sloppy and flat spots which keep them from going higher with a very skillfully performed musical show.

Speaking of drama, how ‘bout Phantom Regiment? This corps has always been one of my favorites for the sheer force of drama contained within their very operatic presentations. This year I was a little let down, however. The beautiful rich sounds are still there, but there were too many sloppy execution lines in their very demanding book to make them a serious contender. Also, I felt that the emotional peaks in their show were not the same awesome spires of years past.

Speaking of patriotism, enter Boston Crusaders and The Cadets. In a word, I liked both corps a lot, but less so than the first time I had seen them. I am thankful that these types of joyous and celebratory shows were done by corps of their caliber and appreciate the tribute they are paying to the American spirit, but don’t think you can win championships (or in Cadets’ case even take second) with this type of show. The seams of these shows seemed more visible to me in the less intimate atmosphere of a large stadium than in the small stadium of my initial viewing.

Bluecoats, sorry guys, I didn’t get back to my seat in time from Urban Pizza to view your performance. But from the bits and pieces I could take in from the stadium aisles, it looks like I missed a lot. They had some very impressive high soprano solo work.

The California contingent…Santa Clara, good, but none of the trademarks or hooks to pull the crowd in for which they are famous! The change to a green uniform made them seem foreign and counterfeit to me. I honestly can’t remember anything they played!

Blue Devils, I predict that this corps will remain in second at finals having finally caught up to The Cadets. Their musical book seems more intricate and involved than The Cadets, though high risk for coming across as corny in a Seventy-Six Trombones kind of way if not executed well. However, they seem to have gotten over the execution hump.

Finally, The Cavaliers. I think the key to their success this year is their marching program which is just head and shoulders above everybody else. Though their original music is not the catchy toe-tapping type of stuff which you are going to leave humming, the integration with their awesome marching program is quite an accomplishment. Kudos to their design staff for this one. They have no weak spots, all sections perform well, and it all revolves about one of the best visual programs I have ever seen. Truly, more than I could take in with a single viewing, but let me attempt a description. Some words that come to mind…energetic, non-stop, kaleidoscopic to the point of optical illusion (collapsing boxes, spinning circles, expanding and contracting parade formations), all executed with an infectious enthusiasm which boggled the crowd’s mind like the finale of a fireworks display! The uncanny thing was that they were able to make this visual spectacle flow seamlessly with their musical performance such that it was one well integrated whole! There, I tried!! The Cavaliers would virtually have to be a no show not to win the championship this year.

END ZONE

Just a couple of closing remarks if anybody is still there.

Drum Corps World’s history book. At $85 not cheap, but worth every penny. An absolute must have for any serious drum corps fan. Donate one to your local library. This is an important benchmark for the activity which should be disseminated. I am sure we will all find facts and nuances which we disagree with, but the overall product is impressive, indeed, and hopefully the first edition of a continuing documentation project which we should all contribute to!

DCI’s 30th Anniversary Celebration-done in a heartfelt if somewhat flawed way, it started with back-lit screen silhouettes of reenactments of some of the great moments in DCI history (The SCV Bottle Dance, Cavaliers Softly As I Leave You step over, and many others). Followed by 40+ division I, II, and III corps entering the field individually in parade formation (it seemed to take forever) accompanied by some awful and inappropriate music over the PA system (even including rap music). Come on DCI, how much imagination would it have taken to simply play your Echoes CD’s of some of the best musical performances by the corps over the last 30 years. It would have been a perfect accompaniment.

There was an age out ceremony with speeches, the mass playing of America/’O Canada and God Bless America-WOW goose bumps! Fireworks capped off a very satisfying night. I am sure glad that I made the trip!