Bluecoats Open House

[jwillis35]

The Canton Bluecoats gave a wonderful performance tonight for their annual open house concert/show given to local Canton area residents, as well as others who attended from around the state. The show takes place at Paul Brown Stadium in Massillon, OH (one of the best high school facilities in the country). The weather was windy with a slight chill in the air, but otherwise it was a perfect night for drum corps.

This was my first show of the season, and what a way to kick it off. Those of you wondering what the Bluecoats will be like this year, wonder no more...they will be incredible. They have all the ingredients, the sound, the demand, the talent, the staff, and much more to challenge for top 6 once again. The sections seem full. I counted 67 brass, 30 guard, 9 snares, 5 tenors, 5 basses, 2 DMs, and a full pit.

The show started with each section of the corps giving a short demonstration of how they warm up, etc. Each caption head explained what was going on to the audience. There were some announcements in between and then the corps performed their show. The entire show is blocked, although you know it will change here and there. But what they do have is excellent. The show is called Caravan, but it features a wide range of music, including a work by Stephen Melilo. At this point I am unfamiliar with some of the music so I will give more details on that at another show. Obviously "Caravan" is a part of the musical score and is done very well. I can say that the music is exciting, well arranged, and quite demanding. There were the usual early season mistakes in both marching and music/guard, but I can see this cleaning very nicely. The horn line is super powerful, in tune, and each section is featured in the show at least once. Can't wait to see this section clean. Percussion is also very strong, as is the guard. In fact, the staging of the guard is impecable. The final number has a wonderful silent guard feature that looked fabulous tonight.

The drill this year is sort of a cross between Cavaliers, Cadets, and SCV. The SCV move is at the end of the show and will remind many of their 1999 show, but the Bluecoats put their own distinctive stamp on it. The close of their show will put you on your feet big time. I love this drill, and with this horn and drum line, and with the effective integration of this guard, I can't wait to see this clean in August. One of the neat sections of the show is toward the end when the horn line snakes its way over to meet the sopranos who start this fast jazz riff, then the mellos join, then the baris and euphs, then the tubas, and then a quick hitting shout chorus. This leads to the silent guard feature I spoke of, and then to some incredible drill moves that lead to the end of the show. It's a classic moment.

If you're into good drum corps, you can hardly do better than to make the effort to see the Canton Bluecoats this summer. What a great show!!!

Jonathan Willis

Director of Bands

Mount Union College

[jwillis35]

Just a few other comments about the Bluecoats last night.

They marched in full uniform and it is the same as the last few years. The overall look is excellent. They do use amplification in the pit to help bring out some amazing colors with their lower conga-like and bongo drums. They also used the amplification to project a neat counting section in the show in which letters and words are used to describe time and feel in one of their jazz charts. It is very well done. The show has a strong latin flavor to it in sections. This will definitely be one of the fan favorites this year.

Jonathan

[George]

if you're not familar with the facility - he's not joking that it's one of the best in the country

http://www.massillonproud.com/fans/stadium.htm