Toledo, OH

[droclot]

First off, weather was great and there was a good crowd...

Southwind: I enjoyed the show. Some interesting ideas and it is really neat to see Southwind taking some chances. Biggest issue right now is that they need to fill those wholes!!! I would figure they probably had about 8 horn holes out there. Show is interesting with the different melodies incorporated. If they can fill out the corps and keep cleaning they should have a great video to be proud of in the end. Oh, and I still wish they had some yellow on the uniforms and I don't know about the modified shakos.

Cap Reg: They are doing a good job for this time of the year. The show obviously isn't finished. I'll be honest... I don't get the show. They have a BIG silver prop moving around that looks like a sun dial. Hopefully as they progess the show will make more sense to me. It left me flat last night.

Cavies: Cavies are clean. I am sure they have MUCH to add the show but as of this point I think it is their weakest show design since '98. The baseball section was really interesting and got good crowd response. The ballad was a dull spot. The closer is interesting because they are playing blues but it comes across kind of square and the ladders that were used in the ballad stay on the field which limits the Cavies ability to move across the field. My biggest beef with the corps tonight was their lack of volume and the fact that they run and then stop and play... run and then stop and play. Instead of "park and blows" it is more like "park and play at mf with a balanced ensemble sound with the battery playing a tasteful 3 inches behind them." Cadets and Bluecoats were twice as loud, literally. Glassmen were louder. I would probably put Southwind at the same level of volume as the Cavies.

Cadets: Very different. If you are able to get passed how different the show is and appreciate what they are doing out there then you will enjoy it. I really liked the show. Hornline is LOUD! And the Cadets are finally moving a lot again. Lots of the show to finish and I look forward to seeing it then. Oh and I thought the uniforms worked well.

Bluecoats: Very good Job. Hornline is fantastic. Corps as a whole is clean for this time of the year. They do need some work visually however and if they can get that going they should be a great Bluecoats corps. There are some parts of the show that feel kind of flat right now but I would attribute that to an unfinished show. Bluuuuuue.

Glassmen: There you go guys. I enjoyed the show. Much better than the past two shows that their current staff has put out. The closer is quite a change for the G-men. Latin Jazz!?!?! Hornline has a lot of work to do right now with stickouts, blend, interpretation, and just playing clean but they are putting out more sound than usual. They are moving as well as they have since '02. Guard costumes are distracting. I think the guard design actually hurts the effectiveness of the show. Their afternoon run thru was better than their show last night so hopefully they can put their best on the field and do some damage this year.

[93Bluecoat]

1) Loud doesn't necessarily mean best. The judges all but came out and said that when they put Bluecoats ahead of Cadets (who were loudest by far) and Cavies ahead of both of them.

2) There are plenty of what I call "gaps" in the Bluecoats show. 12 measure lull here, no color guard presence there, etc. etc. They are working on those gaps on a daily basis. Wish I could see them nightly! I don't get to see them again until the 30th! Crap!

3) I didn't like the Southwind shako (can we call it that?) either.

4) Glassmen's whole color scheme is distracting and limiting (they don't get away from purple, orange, and teal the whole show).

DW

[sblez]

3)  I didn't like the Southwind shako (can we call it that?) either.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

SW refers to it as a "sharko" :P

[Krista]

SW refers to it as a "sharko"  :P

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

is that hat (?) show specific or is that our new look for SW head gear?

Geeze I miss the yellow.

[sblez]

is that hat (?) show specific or is that our new look for SW head gear?

Geeze I miss the yellow.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I guess you can say it is show specific. The name of their show is "Distorted Imagination" and it combines some Cirque de Solie (sp?), and a number of other concepts that is sort of "Mardi Gras" - note guard uniforms. It's more imaginative and expressive than what I have seen in the past so I thnk it has some potential. I've only seen them in dress rehearsals. The sharkos are just part of the overall image and effect.

Regards,

Steve

[-nausia-]

¿Any pics of SW's "sharko"?

:)

[geluf]

Cap Reg's prop is indeed a sundial. They plan to incorporate it more as the show cleans up.

[oldbandguy]

Cap Reg's prop is indeed a sundial.  They plan to incorporate it more as the show cleans up.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

And the purpose of the sundial is???

[Sideways]

To tell time.

[rgortowski]

Cavies:    Instead of "park and blows" it is more like "park and play at mf with a balanced ensemble sound with the battery playing a tasteful 3 inches behind them."  Cadets and Bluecoats were twice as loud, literally.  Glassmen were louder.  I would probably put Southwind at the same level of volume as the Cavies.

Cadets:  Very different.  If you are able to get passed how different the show is and appreciate what they are doing out there then you will enjoy it.  I really liked the show.  Hornline is LOUD!  And the Cadets are finally moving a lot again.  Lots of the show to finish and I look forward to seeing it then.  Oh and I thought the uniforms worked well.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

But who won horns? There is more to a hornline than playing loud. Cavaliers already turned up the volume a little in Lisle and will continue to do so within the context of the ensemble and good tone quality. Their placement in horns since David Bertman took over as brass caption speaks for itself.