Evansville IN Review

[Galen]

I went to the show in Evansville IN tonight, and have a review of the event.

Regretfully, I was late getting to the show and missed all of Memphis Sound's performance as well as most of Southwind's. I did get to see their closer, and can say that there are definitely some good moments both musically and visually that will shine through once the show gets cleaned up. I particularly liked the drum segment where the cymbal players set their plates down and joined the quads to effectively create an 8-member tenor line for some solid drumming. One thing to note is that Southwind, aside from playing Bb horns this year, has a different-looking shako; it's got an "attachment" that points very high up on the right side of the shako. I think I've seen something similar used by a BOA band but can't remember for certain. It definitely catches the eye and makes their visual package that much more unique.

Next up were the Glassmen, who are doing their rendition of one of my all-time favorite drum corps shows, New World Symphony. The corps promised a "different" take on the music and delivered quite well. The opening movement pretty closely resembles the actual music and doesn't deviate that much from it; the main body of the brass book is variations on the "bum, ba bum BUM" rhythm, but done well enough that you don't get tired of it after 30 seconds. The hornline had a very strong and deep sound which filled up the Reitz Bowl for the duration of the show through a good part of the dynamic spectrum. Meanwhile, the percussion section is all acoustic, perhaps because the designers invested their budget in their usual arsenal of snare-drum attachments (roto-toms this year, I think).

Visually, the guard uniforms and flags feature a lot of orange, teal, and purple; my first reaction at seeing them was to compare them to the Miami Dolphins football team due to the color scheme. I can't really describe the flags other than to say that they start as a sort of multi-color "cross-stitch" design before switching to solid colors for the rest of the show. G-men's uniforms had a silver triangle this year, replacing the purple and gold of the past two seasons.

The ballad is a very traditional arrangement of "Largo". A couple moments hearken back to Phantom Regiment's more "jazzy" rendition, but for the most part it's pretty straight forward and well played. The corps starts off doing what I can only call "grass angels" on the field while one soloist plays, soon joined by a handful of horns, and finally getting the rest of the hornline in. Piece ends as softly as it started, and the hornline did a good job working the dynamics in this section.

I don't recall much of the third section, other than what the drumline was doing. They sounded solid enough to me, and they used the roto-toms on the snares as I recall for this part.

Fourth movement is the real departure of the show, and I think the best part. They do the finale of New World, as a TANGO. And believe it or not, it works. It starts off with a subtle but sultry feel to it before building up to several spots where the hornline lets it rip to finish off the show on a powerful note.

Overall, this was a very solid performance from Glassmen. I think this is the first time I've seen a show from them and walked away enjoying it the first time I saw it. I did catch some things that the corps can focus on to get a bit better immediately. The hornline was a bit sloppy with their phrasings tonight, as I heard several unclean entrances where a player either came in a bit early or released a bit late. Drill seemed a bit dirty on the whole and honestly not that demanding. However, after cleaning up, I believe that they should remain firmly ensconced in the top 12 this year.

After intermission came one of the shows that EVERYBODY is talking about, The Cadets "Zone". There's been a lot of points in this show that have generated a lot of talk, and I'll try to hit each one as I go through the show.

I had heard the Memorial Day show that the corps put out, so I had a good idea of what to expect musically. The hornline starts off backfield, right corner while the guard is between the hashes, center-left for Kill Bill (which starts as an on-field warmup, ala 1989 or 2003). Didn't see any mics for the whistling, but I'm pretty sure it was coming from the pit (wireless mics maybe?). The first loud section of this was played pretty well and loudly by the hornline, which had their typically good blend of sound all night long.

One of the "talking points" about this show is the uniform changes that Cadets have worked into the show. Visual technique during the show generally looked pretty good (although the feet were pretty sloppy as the corps first took the field in their pre-show block), and the two-color pants make the technique a bit easier to read and look fairly good when the corps is backfield. The overlays on the jackets were honestly not that noticable, because there weren't many times that I saw the corps facing backfield. I recall a section in the opener with a lot of seemingly random backfield movement, a ripple turn into a company front (for effect), and a section in the ballad, where the corps turns backfield while a mello soloist plays, effectively "spotlighting" him. Other than that, there wasn't that much "effect" that they used them for. I do wonder, though, if whoever had the idea took into account the nature of how bass drummers march (their backs were visible during the whole show)?

Second point is the "door" on the field. It's actually a closet. I know this because they opened it tonight. Or at least, they opened it a little bit. The only times that the door did anything else besides sit there was 3 or 4 occasions when a guard member dressed in a costume that resembles Pioneer's guard outfits from last year (the catholic schoolgirls) opens the door, walks in, shuts it behind her, reemerges a few seconds later with some kind of prop (ie raincoat and umbrella, "princess" hat), and then proceeds to do nothing but walk around the perimeter of the field for the rest of the piece. When I saw the first girl emerge, I was immediately drawn to her and expecting her to do something significant. She didn't, so 10 seconds later I went back to watching the hornline and ignored her and her counterparts the rest of the show. They MIGHT have been doing something interesting, but seeing nothing in those first few crucial seconds gave me no desire to keep watching to see if she did anything different.

The rest of the guard wears all black clothing. Not outfits, not uniforms, CLOTHING. We're talking tank tops, t-shirts, and sweats here (and of course the bandannas that disappear for good after the whistling stops). But they weren't the worst-dressed guard of the evening, because they at least had "proper" guard shoes; more on that later.

The ballad of the show is pretty. No, make that GORGEOUS. The hornline does a really great job of performing this piece all the way through. The phrasings are good, the dynamics are excellent and the hit is incredibly loud, and yet still very well-blended. Could be the ballad of the year.

If the ballad is the high point of this show, what comes next can certainly be considered the low point. 3 seconds after the ballad ends, the pit picks up whatever isn't tied down and starts banging on it, ala "Money" by Pink Floyd. If the designer was looking for a way to really shatter the mood that the hornline just created, mission accomplished. This section could be a bit better if it weren't so sudden; as a fan, after experiencing the emotion that the corps produces during the ballad, I'd prefer to have a little longer to let that settle into me before the pit jumps up and says boo. From here, though, it really gets bad, as a young lady in the pit picks up a mic and starts the "drumspeak" section. The first round of this lasts between 5-10 seconds. The hornline and drumline take over for a while (and the tenor line offers up a really sweet extended lick during this) before the mics are picked up again.

Now, everybody knows how critical I was of amps last year. At this point, my only question about them is, "What do they add competitively to the show, and does that justify the cost?" My answer for Cadets' show would be "Nothing, and no," From what I can see, this section is here because whoever wrote the show for some reason that the fans would rather pay to hear "DJ Jazzy Cadet and the Fresh Prince of Bergen County" than a hornline or drumline that have won their individual caption trophies numerous times over the years.

And of all the things you could choose to amp, WHY DRUMSPEAK? BD demonstrated that you could do it just fine without mics, and name me a drumline whose dutting can't be heard over the rest of the corps at times? And at the risk of sounding sexist, the fact that a girl is on the mic hurts this section even more, because it makes the whole thing sound "cute". There is nothing CUTE about percussion, period. End of story.

At this point, I'm drawing parallels between this show and Crown's last year, where I loved the first half of the show, up until a critical moment that took away practically all my enthusiasm for the show. Coincidentally, both of those critical moments involve the use of amplified vocals. Coincidentally, of course.

THe closer sounds like they made some musical changes to it between Memorial Day and now, but the gist of it is the same. Hornline is just as loud and ticked-off sounding as Star was in '93. The "twighlight zone" tag at the end is pretty memorable (but not memorable enough to make me forget the vocal stuff). The last minute of the drill is still not on the field.

From a performance standpoint, Cadets are where they are typically at this time of year. Design-wise, there is a LOT that has to be done with this show. I mentioned the problems with the guard not even having their outfits (or all the flags for that matter), there's the fact that the "door" at this point more resembles a big wooden box with a curtain in the back that you can see through if you have the right vantage point, and the issue of these three guard girls that are easily ignored. After hearing the musical recording, I had this show pegged as a legit contender this year, but seeing it leaves me to believe that they have a LONG and winding road ahead of them if they're going to get there; meanwhile, that semi with the "Canton" license plates is getting ever and ever closer in the mirror.

Up next is Capital Regiment, another show that's been the subject of comment online, and appears to have similar design issues as Cadets, such as incomplete guard uniforms and work, incomplete drill, and a big obtrusive prop that doesn't appear to serve much purpose. CR had the ubiquitious assignment of appearing between Cadets and Bluecoats, but still managed to get a good response from the audience. Their opening set resembles last seasons, but doesn't stay that way for long.

I can't say that the guard "had problems" tonight; rather, they simply didn't have that much to perform. Uniforms are incomplete, and they are marching in their SNEAKERS for the shows. Like Cadets, they have a "feature dancer" (a girl in a white dress, ala Crossmen in '03), and like Cadets, she fails to keep my attention for more than 10 seconds.

Regarding the hornline, visually, the marching is at a decent level. The dark pants they have do make it a bit obscure to quick-read individual technique. However, I did notice that they are employing Cadets' backwards technique for slow tempos. I kept thinking during the show how the corps might look with either all-black sleeves on the coats (keeping the blue gauntlets) or else a split-color sleeve like Glassmen have, with blue on top and black on bottom. They have a good sound at this point in the season, although I did especially recall the baritones being a bit bright in the last chord of the opener and I thought that the trumpets could have supported their sound more in places. Ballad was nice, despite a few fracks from the mello soloist. All I can say about the third movement is that I liked the drum solo at the end, because I just can't remember anything else that went on during it. Closer is still absent from the show.

Honestly, I was a bit disappointed by this show. Not the performance, but rather the show itself. The incompleteness bugged me (can't the hornline play the closer as a standstill?). The ramp/sundial did NOTHING for me, and after talking to a couple members after the show, I got the impression that THEY don't get much out of it either, besides backaches from hauling the thing around with them. That's a recipe for disaster, because if the members don't get their own show, they're not going to be as motivated to perform at their best. And while they will certainly get better from the performance angle, the overall design of the show may wind up hurting them in the end like it did in 2003.

Bluecoats took the field last tonight like a corps possessed. They've been closing the gap on Cadets all week, and judging by tonight's performance, they can smell the blood in the water. My musical description of this show will be limited, because I was completely captivated by their visual performance and marching for the ENTIRE SHOW! If I didn't know better, I'd say that the Bluecoats of July 7th, 2005 hopped in a time machine and travelled back 2 weeks to do tonight's show, because I have NEVER seen thim this strong visually, this early in the season, in the 4+ years I've been watching drum corps. Marching technique was incredibly well-defined and carried an energy of its own to it. Direction changes were as crisp as you could want for most of the show. Horn moves were performed with a level of precision rarely seen outside of the Marine Drum and Bugle Corps. And the guard. THAT GUARD! For the last three years, I've held that the Bluecoats' color guard is consistently the most underrated guard in DCI. That will definitely not be the case this year. They ARE going to get major attention this year, and they ARE going to finish as a top-6 guard. The bulk of their work was done in large ensemble sections, as it has been the last few seasons. Flagwork and bodywork as a whole were very sharp throughout the performance. They steal the show singlehandedly at the end, when during a setion of silent drill, all you hear is "click... click... click... click... SWOOSH!!!" in what's got to be THE moment of the show. If the timing gun were being used, it would surely coincide with this very part of the show.

Bottom line, these are not your daddy's Bluecoats. They are a corps that has all the potential to crack top 5 this year. The show is complete and still has room to grow, design wise. The performance level that I saw displayed tonight was simply outstanding. And most importantly, they're starting to BELIEVE that they can do what's never been done before, and that is very bad news from a certain corps hailing from the realm of "sponsored by YEA"

There was one thing I didn't like about this show. They, like Cadets, use amps, and for the same purpose. However, this didn't ruin the show for me. It starts as a drumspeak section, done by a male pit member, which sounds much more aggressive and, well, "percussion-like" than the girl in Cadets; what makes this section actually WORK, however, is that later in the piece that this is used, the whole drumline picks up the chant, unamped, and the hornline join them shortly afterward. This is called terracing. Terracing makes sense, and when properly executed is generally a good way to get GE points, rather than simply having The Notorious C.A.D.E.T. beatbox-ing on a mic.

General thoughts on the evening:

I've already voiced my displeasure on the amps. My biggest issue of the night (and I sense many others' as well) is what looks to be a growing number of corps coming out with incomplete shows early on the season. Some people have said that it's cheating the fans who pay money to see the corps and expect the entire performance. My thought is this: I would expect that the goal of every corps staff is to have their corps put on the "best" performance possible each night. This leads to having to answer the question, is it "better" to put on the entire show, regardless of how recent or incomplete it may be, or simply what is already "learned". I'm not a corps staff member or designer, so I can't give a good answer. All I can do is ask the question, "What is going on during the offseason, winter camps, and everydays that's putting the staff in this position in the first place?"

Now, maybe it's too early to talk about a "trend" here. After all, Cadets are the only corps east of Ohio that are currently competing. The other east coasters don't start until tonight in Ft. Mill, and it would seem prudent to expect them to have a complete show their first night out, given the extra time they've had to prepare. Crossmen don't go on until the 29th, Seattle doesn't start until July. Perhaps other corps should be considering pushing their start date back a bit so they can guarantee coming out with a complete show on night 1.

With the corps I saw tonight who had incomplete shows, I had differing reactions. I was not that surprised by Capital having an incomplete show, because they're still fairly new to D1, and they did this last year, and came away from it in fine shape. I WAS surprised and disappointed that a corps like Cadets could experience the sheer volume of issues that have apparently resulted in the guard having to perform their show in t's and sweats, sans equipment, as well as the other plethora of design issues that they are currently struggling to overcome. To me, this is a sign that there is something rotten in the state of YEA (2 pounds to Shakespeare), because this is totally unexpected from an 8-time champion.

Edited June 21, 2005 by Galen

[Bob Brady]

Great Review Galen!

Saw the same group of corps in Toledo Sat. and you pretty much summed up exactly what I thought and felt that night-Good Job!

[George]

Thanks for the review Galen!!! Terrific job - felt like I was there. Seriously!!

[Krista]

Point of interest....

the shield in the 03 GLASSMEN uniform was originally purple, then gold.

Last year was the orange/red/gold changing paint color. Just like the snare drums.

Fabulous review!!

[pags]

If the ballad is the high point of this show, what comes next can certainly be considered the low point. 3 seconds after the ballad ends, the pit picks up whatever isn't tied down and starts banging on it, ala "Money" by Pink Floyd. If the designer was looking for a way to really shatter the mood that the hornline just created, mission accomplished. This section could be a bit better if it weren't so sudden; as a fan, after experiencing the emotion that the corps produces during the ballad, I'd prefer to have a little longer to let that settle into me before the pit jumps up and says boo. From here, though, it really gets bad, as a young lady in the pit picks up a mic and starts the "drumspeak" section. The first round of this lasts between 5-10 seconds. The hornline and drumline take over for a while (and the tenor line offers up a really sweet extended lick during this) before the mics are picked up again.

I had a bad feeling about this. I, too, heard the Memorial Day recording and even with the long lapse between the ballad and the percussion feature, it completely and almost visciously changed the feel of the show. This may be what the design staff intended (going for more of a 2001 Juxtaperformance feel), but for me it completely altered my enjoyment when that transition took place.

Now, everybody knows how critical I was of amps last year. At this point, my only question about them is, "What do they add competitively to the show, and does that justify the cost?" My answer for Cadets' show would be "Nothing, and no," From what I can see, this section is here because whoever wrote the show for some reason that the fans would rather pay to hear "DJ Jazzy Cadet and the Fresh Prince of Bergen County" than a hornline or drumline that have won their individual caption trophies numerous times over the years.

I am with you on this one. While I am generally more in favor of amps than against, I do recognize the fact that any good thing can be used in a bad way. I feel the Cadets are accomplishing that.

And of all the things you could choose to amp, WHY DRUMSPEAK? BD demonstrated that you could do it just fine without mics, and name me a drumline whose dutting can't be heard over the rest of the corps at times? And at the risk of sounding sexist, the fact that a girl is on the mic hurts this section even more, because it makes the whole thing sound "cute". There is nothing CUTE about percussion, period. End of story.

Once again, I agree. Certain percussive sounds do need to be amped to be heard and appreciated (a la The Cavaliers and Blue Devils from last year with the snapping and certain drums in the pit, respectively). But some things not only don't need it, you shouldn't even TRY it.

At this point, I'm drawing parallels between this show and Crown's last year, where I loved the first half of the show, up until a critical moment that took away practically all my enthusiasm for the show. Coincidentally, both of those critical moments involve the use of amplified vocals. Coincidentally, of course.

Of course...

The closer sounds like they made some musical changes to it between Memorial Day and now, but the gist of it is the same. Hornline is just as loud and ticked-off sounding as Star was in '93. The "twighlight zone" tag at the end is pretty memorable (but not memorable enough to make me forget the vocal stuff). The last minute of the drill is still not on the field.

From a performance standpoint, Cadets are where they are typically at this time of year. Design-wise, there is a LOT that has to be done with this show. I mentioned the problems with the guard not even having their outfits (or all the flags for that matter), there's the fact that the "door" at this point more resembles a big wooden box with a curtain in the back that you can see through if you have the right vantage point, and the issue of these three guard girls that are easily ignored. After hearing the musical recording, I had this show pegged as a legit contender this year, but seeing it leaves me to believe that they have a LONG and winding road ahead of them if they're going to get there; meanwhile, that semi with the "Canton" license plates is getting ever and ever closer in the mirror.

I guess my only questions before agreeing or disagreeing with the last comment is this (and it's really a half-observation as well):

All indications are that the Bluecoats are way ahead of their "normal" schedule in terms of preparation and execution, yet they are still losing right now. You stated that The Cadets' shows has ALOT of work to go (drill sets, guard work, musical enhancements or rearrangements, etc.) and they are still winning. Now I can conceivably see Bluecoats catching The Cadets in the next week or so for a brief period unless The Cadets really get their stuff together.

My question to you is...if you visualize ahead and think of the changes with each show that need to take place (and assume that both corps make those changes), who do you see being ahead at the end of the year? In other words, do The Cadets have the better show but just lack the technical aspects to really be considered a winner, or do you think The Bluecoats have the better show and it really is just a matter of time before they overtake The Cadets in a more long-term sense for this year?

I don't have a specific answer in mind because I haven't seen either show and haven't heard one of them, but I am curious what someone who HAS seen them thinks...

[93Bluecoat]

My question to you is...if you visualize ahead and think of the changes with each show that need to take place (and assume that both corps make those changes), who do you see being ahead at the end of the year?  In other words, do The Cadets have the better show but just lack the technical aspects to really be considered a winner, or do you think The Bluecoats have the better show and it really is just a matter of time before they overtake The Cadets in a more long-term sense for this year?

I don't have a specific answer in mind because I haven't seen either show and haven't heard one of them, but I am curious what someone who HAS seen them thinks...

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

This is a good question but a hard one to answer. The Bluecoats show is good to this point, but it's far far far from complete. Yes, they have all the sets on the field but so much of the show has yet to be put on the field. Ombra (middle section) is a shell right now. Closer was just put on in the last week and is still quite dirty.

Cadets have so much that's not on the field that you really can't tell if the show is going to work or not. There's some good moments in the show, but from all accounts (I've only seen them a couple of times), the show is disjunct and from what the judges are saying, not as musical as the 'Coats.

Doesn't mean at the end of the year the Cadets will be ahead of the Bluecoats or vice versa. I think many are banking on the fact that when the Cadets put 10 more sets on the field it's going to create this 3-5 point spread between them and the 'Coats and I don't think that's going to happen. Especially when we see the 'Coats finish the best part of their color guard book (Ombra) and fill in some of the many "gaps" left in their show.

Did I answer any questions or talk in circles? I do that from time to time.

DW

[nero14]

best review..... EVER!

i really loved your objective yet engaging descriptions of the shows...

i think you need to go write more reviews... maybe DCI.org would have a position for that?...

good job!

[BariEuph]

hoppy's latest blog entry about the show sheds some light on the triplet girls and the door and the raincoat...

http://www.livejournal.com/users/yeaguy/

june 20th entry "not being done"

excellent review, thanks!

[pags]

hoppy's latest blog entry about the show sheds some light on the triplet girls and the door and the raincoat...

http://www.livejournal.com/users/yeaguy/

june 20th entry "not being done"

excellent review, thanks!

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I wish that had been posted prior to the show being performed the first time. The entire concept makes so much more sense right now. That explanation got me to a point where I am looking forward to the show again because the disjointedness is intentional and IS the story.

[pags]

This is a good question but a hard one to answer.  The Bluecoats show is good to this point, but it's far far far from complete.  Yes, they have all the sets on the field but so much of the show has yet to be put on the field.  Ombra (middle section) is a shell right now.  Closer was just put on in the last week and is still quite dirty.

Cadets have so much that's not on the field that you really can't tell if the show is going to work or not.  There's some good moments in the show, but from all accounts (I've only seen them a couple of times), the show is disjunct and from what the judges are saying, not as musical as the 'Coats. 

Doesn't mean at the end of the year the Cadets will be ahead of the Bluecoats or vice versa.  I think many are banking on the fact that when the Cadets put 10 more sets on the field it's going to create this 3-5 point spread between them and the 'Coats and I don't think that's going to happen.  Especially when we see the 'Coats finish the best part of their color guard book (Ombra) and fill in some of the many "gaps" left in their show.

Did I answer any questions or talk in circles?  I do that from time to time.

DW

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

What you said makes sense.