Quarterfinals. The good, the bad, and.....

[GMichael1230]

Let me first start right off the bat by saying, that the good, the bad, and the ugly is not an accurate statement. I would say 95% good, 4% bad, and only 1% ugly..and that goes to DCI, not the corps, the staffs or the performances.

Well, I got to Madison Tuesday, after spending Monday in Chicago. I stayed at the Microtel right off of route 151...right in the heart of restaurant and shopping heaven !! Wow, There wasnt enough time to do it all....and I actually had to go ride by the stadium a few times and take pictures and blast my BD cd's !!

Went shopping at the West towne mall, and the Hillsdale (??) mall...Gotta love Marshall Fields......I know they love my credit card!

By Wed. I was excited and needed my fix, so off to State street and Capitol square.....Jubal was doing a concert, and as I browsed the farmers market who did I see ??? Yup, the Madison Scouts were getting ready to play!! Woo hoo....Ran into Chris Maher.....he told me about the Division II/III prelims...and wow !! Magic seemed on fire.....He was very proud of his son and LVK..as he should be, they did a great job all year.

Walking down State street was fun, saw tons of corps shirts, and jackets....I of course had my BD shirt and hat on. I wore the 1995 offering, it was dark green with the name Blue Devils in Grey and outlined in pink...with "Tradition of excellence" across the top.

Anyway...on to Thursday......Got there real early, like I do every year.....What a mistake.....The gates opened at 1pm and the first corps to step off(Mandarins) was at 1:48pm ????? What is that about ??? How can you browse the marketplace, spend MONEY(Get it DCI....spend money)and get to your seats in 48 minutes ???? That really ###### me off. So I went to Urban Pizza, and ate......Ran into Jeff(jeffsjetta) and Christine, he told me how unbelievabe SCV Cadets were..he called it another "96 Phantom moment" ..I trust his judgement, I was sorry I missed them.

Urban Pizza..ha ha ha, Bluecoats should have tried to use them in their "Urban dances" show......

So, got to my seat:Section ~E~ row 57, seat 25. Just about dead center !!

Was pleased to see many drum corps alumnus...to my left, three girls from SCV who were marching in the Alumni corps...in Front, an 86/87 Suncoast Sound alumni(Leif from the BD forum) to my right a girl from the Phantom Regiment 84-86 and behind me, a member of 81 Crossmen, and three 89 Cadets !! oh yeah, and another 87 Scout alumnus to my left also !!

Now, onto the show......You could not have asked for better weather for quarters...hovering around 80 degress with low humidity. no SWEATING !!!

Mandarins kicked off the show with a pleasant solid performance. I always enjoy them, and I was curious about their decision to go Division I next year. Hope it doesnt ruin a good thing they have.

Capital Regiment were next, and boy was I pleasantly suprised!!! The guard was much bigger than last year, and the corps right now is bordering on Generic/identity...and are heading in the right direction. I love their look, and they have great presence on the field. Loved the big lilac flags..reminded me of Black Gold, circa 1989 (??)

Magic of Orlando, hot off their division II victory were next. My God, what has happened here !!! This show was unbelieveable, this corps swas unbelievable !! I saw this show once in July, and my lord what a difference being high up, and a month can do ! They have a look all to their own, and a style and maturity not often seen from a (returning) first year corps.

Brass and percussion were on fire, and the drill was top notch and performed with such command. I was off, way off with their score....I predicted an 83, they received an 87.15....I was within a point of everyone, I do mean everyone, except them !! Welcome back Magic.

Pioneer was next, and sorry to say that since College park 2000, I just dont enjoy this corps anymore. I found myself looking at the II/III recaps most of the time. I could not get into this show,and all I rememebr was the tables, and someone begging a guard member for money..I guess it was part of the "show" .....

On Came Troopers and Im glad they stil get special "extra" response from the audience ! These Troopers were alot like last year, small but mighty !! The guard did a "suicide" but no drum major in the middle. Marching was ok, and the show was very enjoyable...one can only hope they can turn things around.(Where was the sunburst )

Kiwanis Kavaliers were next...and gave a great performance. The show matured alot over the season, and was very accessible and enjoyable.

Loved the guard in the opener....the "Dutch boy/90Freelancer" merger !! LOL Drill was great, Spiderman was the highlight for me, Loved the "gorilla" dancing by the hornline towards the end. This was a great show. I would have had them above Mandarin and Southwind.

Southwind came after the break. Since 2000, they seem to be slightly declining every year. This show was good, and enjoyable, but nothing special. I barely remember it, not really a bad thing, I would love to see it again, and again, but all I remember is Yellow !!

Madison Scouts were next....if they were gonna make it, now was the time to make a move. The crowd ate up Conquest ! I must say, I do not like the guard uniforms at all. They are the second worst of the day, it has/had alot to do with their entire identity, or lack of.

The scoring, and placement has definetly given this poor corps a confidence problem. It is eveident in all the little things, and all the things missing, such as crisp, sharp execution, balance of sound...

Their performance was really good today, alot better than Philly, and a heck of alot better than Indy. The Guard work is extremely simple, and not very effective, but what they do have they did well today. Brass and percussion were as strong as could be, but still missing a little something. Drill was ok, but not demanding enough. Thats the only real problem with 2002 Scouts, close, but no cigar......The show was still very entertaining, and shouldhave been above Blue Knights.

Carolina Crown was next. What happened to this corps ???? The things that were good about them in the beginning of the season..all but got up and left, except the outstanding drumline, and I do mean outstanding.

The theme "Gods & Heroes" sounds so formidable and inviting..too bad the show was put together as if it was a fifth grader readying his project for show & tell. Guard outfits were still as awful as ever, except now the girls wore the yellow and peach, and the guys wore off-white.....they did nothing to sell the show, and nothing was added to enhance the "toga" style.....too bad.

The music was alright, and the brass had some nice moments in the opener. Ballad didnt get the effect it could have...The Featherdancing Icarus took away from the aggression of the sound.

Medusa wigs were silly, just plopped on the heads of the girls....didnt get any effect, and some of the "hair-do's" fell off......I didnt know Medusa thrusted snakes at the people on horn impacts....it looked silly..as did this: The music is building, the brass does a company front, and then ol' Medusa herself sets up on the 50.....what happens next ?? She does a split...a SPLIT ???? What was the desired effect of that ?? Again, what a shame.

I wanted to love this show, I waited al year for it. I was intrigued by the theme, and the music, and the Carolina Crown shows of the past really made me happy. 95's weather show, awesome and Inovative as was the 96 Art of stradegy. 2000 Ballad and guard were one of the best on the field that year. but this ???? sorry Staff.....Please give these talented kids something they deserve...ok ?

Colts were next, and as usual I loved this show. It is designed and performed so well. I actually thought they would be above Cascades, BK, and Scouts. Guard stood out nicely, Red, yellow, and black...ala Germany...or 27th Lancer-esque ! Quard was highly effective, and the opener with the htree different sections and colors was typical Colt fare....outstanding !! Drill was wide open, and full of patterns and pretty designs. Loved the music, and loved the entire show !! Dont understand the scoring.

Blue Knights were next, and there went my mother.....fell right asleep. Im not even kidding.....what the heck were they playing ??? Guard..were they good ?? Don't know, couldnt even find them with all that black on the field.....They had some nice striped flags, and a few good moments, but again, what were they playing ?????

Should have been under Colts and Scouts.

(The rest will be reviewed briefly here, but covered later in my Semis and finals review)

Spirit was next....what a solid, pleasing package. Ballad was awesome, and the guard was one of the best Spirit guards in a long time.

Drill was well written and utilized the field.....Brass "trickery" went over well with the crowd and sounded great.

Seattle did a great job and came a long way in a year. Solid corps with solid execution. I hope they can someday have an identity all their own.

Loved the guard in Prelud, Fugues, and riffs.......

Crossmen were on next and set the place on fire. This show has it all, Best visual program ever for Crossmen. Ample guard, solid brass and percussion.......A pleasing, demanding show. Should have been above

Bluecoats, Glassmen, and Boston...more on that later.

Bluecoats and "Urban dances" This was the best performance of all three days, and the score reflected that. Brassline and soloist are top notch, and the final minute or two of the show is extremely entertaining....loved the rainblow flags in the opener.

Boston Crusaders........Show was solid, not very demanding, more focus was on the banners than on anything else. Dont understand some of the sayings.....I found them to be a little silly and sophmoric. And how does Marylin Monroe fit in ??? and how crass.....right next to a Kennedy....should've had a banner of the Chappaquidic bridge there too !!

"Jazz...america's music" ...um, ok....so wheres the Blue Devils ! ??

Schmalzy, but the crowd ate it up.....how do you not stand for the living flag...I actually loved that...they did a good job with that.

Glassmen were next....I have to say, this is probably my most favorite Glassmen show...ever !! I actually looked forward to this by Saturday.

Music was very accessible. Javelin...great ! Guard...great ! Solist...great !

Loved the show, and I love their presence on the field.

Phantom Regiment marched on in block formation and energized the crowd. If only they werent in TAN !!!!!!!! This is even better than last year, they have their OWN identitiy back and are full of style and substance. Guard is their best ever. The final pose was with their one leg extended ala' 1989 ! They should have easily been at a 93 or higher.....Drumming held them down.

SCV - WOW. If this show was cleaner....they would have been the title-holder Best drill design of anyone out there. As with 00, and 01...this is the hardest show out there, but its never clean enough in time. 99 was thats why they won. all of these shows are as difficult and as pleasing.

Final moment witht he black and white striped flags....excellent, as was the purple double flags.

Blue Devils were next. I dont know where to begin, so I'll just say.... This show was on fire, and set the crowd on fire. all cylinders were working overtime.....better than Philly, better tha Canton.....fun, accesible and full of "wow" .........Guard had a hint of comedy...right before "House of the rising sun" The guard puts all their hats on a few of the other guard memebrs....they act as if they cant hold their balance and are going to fall...then some other members come and "rescue" them just in time....!! Hilarious.

Soloists hit their mark with command and authority...reminiscent of vintage BD soloists. Should have been in 2nd all week long, and a lot closer to Cavies than 1.8......what the heck is that about ??

Cadets followed Blue Devils, and this is where I thought to myslef...my lord, just when you think it cant get any better...it does !!!! Cadets Quarters performance was fun, exciting, and enjoyable to watch. Crowd loved them and BD about equal...standing multiple times for both.

Guard in Quarters was outstanding..as they were all season... Rifle line was like a mirror......

Drumline commanded attention...and drummed like no other line...both drum breaks were loud, solid, and executed flawlessly.

Cavaliers neded the night with their testament to hard work and good desing. Frameworks was the best show tonight. Opening solos blended perfect...one of the best Cavies Brassline. Drill was all over the place, and full of effect. Crowd ate up the "fight club" and then...bam ! it was over, as quick as it started.

a 98.7 for Quarterfinals was ridiculous, no matter how good the show was. and 1.8 over second place......ludicrous and very iresponsible on the part of the judges. Cavies had it locked as soon as this score was announced.

~G~

[Machine]

Excellent review! I agree with everything you wrote..... except the score and spread comments. ;)^

[BennyASU]

great review G, this is what i was waiting for!