Galen Posted July 10, 2005 Share Posted July 10, 2005 Tonight I attended the DCI show in Louisville KY. Here are my thoughts. This was the second year in a row that I attended this show. I had a different vantage point this evening, choosing to sit higher up so I could get a better sense of how the drill was being executed. The first corps of the night was Music City Legend from Nashville TN, one of the few senior corps in the Midwest. Tonight was MCL's debut of their program, "The Gospel According to Music City Legend". The corps performed a nice program of gospel jazz/blues music as well as some church tunes and a concert piece called "Cenotaph". The hornline was somewhat small, numbering only 26, and took a little while to get comfortable and settle into the show. The sopranos sounded a bit thin at times in some of their exposed passages, but did fit in well with the rest of the hornline on the big hits. The drill for the closer is not yet complete; perhaps it will be by the time they get to Atlanta next week. THE Magic was the first division 1 corps to compete tonight. They've updated their uniforms slightly with a thin, silver sash with a small mirror. It's the same style they used in '02 and '03, just with a different color. I can't really say which of the looks I like better at this point, but the silver did stand out pretty well from where I was sitting. The corps performed "Transfiguration", an original show by Key Poulan. I've enjoyed some of Poulan's past compositions and am currently using one of them as one of my DCPI fantasy corps programs. The corps had a pretty good sound to them, but their marching program was not quite on the same level. There were a lot of dirty forms and crooked lines tonight. Right now, they're a few points behind corps like Capital Regiment and Seattle that are borderline on making or missing semifinals. With time, THE Magic can probably clean up sufficiently to get themselves into that mix. Southwind has what's got to be one of my favorite shows to listen to this season. Seeing it from up high was an added bonus, as it let me see that their marching and visual programs have kept pace with their hornline this year. The drumline was solid through the whole show, especially in the section where the basses join the tenors to form a 9-member tenor line. I thought they had an excellent performance tonight and actually scored them at a 72. However, they got hammered by the judges tonight. It could be that it's the time of the season where the judges really start cranking up their own expectations. Spirit (of Atlanta) from JSU have also made a slight uniform update, replacing the white delta from prior years with a dark blue sequined one. They did a broadway show tonight that I thought came off really well. There's one section in the ballad where they have large placards (similar to Boston in 2002) made up to resemble the covers of various playbills such as Evita, Cats, Sunset Blvd., etc. I caught a couple quotes from some of these shows throughout the production. Near the end, they put away all the placards except one for Phantom of the Opera. I was expecting some Phantom music at this point, since this particular placard was clearly in focus. However, all that I heard was one clip of "Wishing you were somehow here again". Certainly not what I was expecting to be sure. The thing that stood out to me the most was their pit. They are amped, like last year. I recall hearing some balancing issues from their pit last year at Indianapolis, but I saw none of that tonight. Rather the opposite, in fact. I heard phenomenal levels of dynamic shaping and contrast that I had not heard from an amped pit since amps became legal. If amps are here to stay, let's hope more corps that deem it necessary to use them follow Spirit's example, because they got it right tonight. The drum scores clearly reflected this as well, as Spirit took second in Percussion Ensemble. Additionally, Spirit was the first corps I've ever seen to march a 6-member bass line. I've found myself attracted to Glassmen's show ever since I heard it in Evansville. Tonight's show increased that level of attraction considerably. This was also my parents' favorite show of the night. Crossmen: Bones was out in force tonight in Louisville, appearing in the backfield stands to help motivate the corps. When I first read Crossmen's program announcement, I said to myself, "I don't know about this one. This really doesn't seem like their style," Of course, they've had "stylistic departures" before (1995, for example), so that shouldn't seem to be any kind of bad indication. However, what I saw tonight really left me scratching my head wondering, "Where are they going with this show?" I was glad to see that they're marching better than they have in the past couple seasons, and the horns and drums sound really good (especially in the ballad). Maybe it's the order of the pieces that's leaving me confused. The opener, "Classical Gas", really didn't seem to have much energy in it at all. "Radar Love" was a great "throwdown" section, but it came way too early in the overall program. Typically, you see that type of section pretty close to the end of the show, not halfway through. On a cleanliness level, the corps is there, but from an overall design standpoint, their show doesn't seem to stack up with other corps that are pushing for finals. Hopefully this will not turn out to be a season that sees Crossmen drop out of top 12. One of the two most controversial corps of last season left a much better impression on me this evening. They start off their "Ode to Joy" program with a really pretty backfield arrangement of "Jesu Joy of Man's Desiring", which they quickly turn frontfield for some quality ensemble playing. "Candide" starts off in a unique way, with the rhythms increasing in tempo while modulating upward in pitch at the same time before really settling in. This was a really good musical effect. The guard was very strong tonight, doing full-field flag work at many points that reminded me of 2003. In fact, they have a similar color scheme to their uniforms (off-white and light red) from that year as well, which makes a good contrast to the corps proper colors. The Gordon Goodwin "Sing Sang Sung" section was very strong, switching between the rhythm for that song and the more famous "Sing Sing Sing" by Benny Goodman. Although they had no vocals, Boston was apparently amped tonight, although I did not notice this until I saw them unplugging an extension chord after the show was done. Crown and Boston have been in a pretty tight race so far this season. Boston definitely delivered a solid performance and seemed to be saying "Top THAT!" to the corps from Fort Mill. I can't really say much about this show, other than that they've definitely kept the same levels of performance that they've developed over the last two years. Horns sound very good, marching and drill is performed very well, and the guard is in their typical outstanding form. Somebody had told me that their show had narration as well, but thankfully, they've left the microphones at home as well this year. Because of the levels of competition this season, Crown may be hard-pressed to repeat their 7th place finish of a year ago, but they're certainly not in danger of falling any lower than 10th. And finally came the show that's likely to displace Star '93 as the most controversial (or at least the most surreal) to ever hit the field, The Cadets' "The Zone". They've clearly made a TON of progress since I saw them in Evansville. The drill is done. The guard has all their uniforms and flags. The door actually looks like a door (and does some things that took me completely off guard during the show). The roles of the 4 "dream girls" are much more clearly defined (although I thought that there were still some spots that they could better fit into the program) Here's a quick rundown of what's changed: Guard unis are all white, with thin black stripes down their sides. Dream girl frequently gets "sucked up" and "thrown out" of the door; much better than just opening it up and walking through. Dream girl #1 (in Liquid) looks like she's running through a rainstorm, the way she fits into the guard work with the blue flags. The transition from the ballad into the drum feature is WORLDS better; it doesn't feel like being crashed into a brick wall any more, which I greatly appreciate, because that's the best ballad I've heard all season thusfar. The corps is performing at a very strong level right now, and yet are still in a tight mix with Phantom and Madison, which should give you a good indication of how THOSE corps are performing. I still maintain that THIS show has the potential to win it all this year, and tonight, I was very gratified to see it start to live up to that potential. If they could somehow pull off a Santa Clara "magic trick" on finals night and have the whole corps march through the door and vanish, they'd break 100 hands down B) One last thing: If you have the chance to see a Cadets victory concert, TAKE IT. As serious and intense as they are in rehearsals and performance mode, they definitely know how to really unwind and entertain the crowds that stick around after the scores are announced. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Musicman1084 Posted July 10, 2005 Share Posted July 10, 2005 Great review, Matt. Thanks a lot. I agree with your comments about the Cadets. When I saw their show I was expecting the worst from all the negative feedback it had been receiving. When I saw it I still didn't know what to think, but looking back now I find the show to be VERY well put together. That, coupled with these incredible performers, makes them a shoe-in for at least the top 3 in my opinion. And you're right... the encore performance was the best part of the evening. Did they do the little 5 person ensemble that started off with 1812 Overture? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Galen Posted July 10, 2005 Author Share Posted July 10, 2005 It was "William Tell", actually, but they had a lot of snippets from past shows worked in. App. Spring, the opening solo from their '95 show, etc. Didn't catch any 1812 in it though. But still very enjoyable :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeremy Emerson Posted July 10, 2005 Share Posted July 10, 2005 It's the best edition of the Cadets since 2000. The show is a little weird, but from member to member, section to section, this level of just plain awesomeness hasn't been seen from them in a while. It's an absolutely _amazing_ performance. Liquid. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CrownMe Posted July 10, 2005 Share Posted July 10, 2005 Wow--I think someone missed a score line on the guard. Crown Guard was amazing in Louisville. The difference between 2nd & 3rd. Their work and drill is extremely difficult and if you watch the clip on season pass much cleaner than Boston. I loved Boston's show however for Crown guard to go from a 16.5 to a 14.5 in one outing? Is anyone listening? :( Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Triple Forte Posted July 10, 2005 Share Posted July 10, 2005 Tonight I attended the DCI show in Louisville KY. Here are my thoughts. Near the end, they put away all the placards except one for Phantom of the Opera. I was expecting some Phantom music at this point, since this particular placard was clearly in focus. However, all that I heard was one clip of "Wishing you were somehow here again". Certainly not what I was expecting to be sure. NICE REVIEW.........Spirit play a small tag from Phantom "Music of the Night".....unless this has changed since the Giant Stadium show. Its very subtle....... Triple Forte Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CincinnatiGloryMello Posted July 10, 2005 Share Posted July 10, 2005 Yes, Spirit does play a part from Phantom of the Opera, it is the closing thread of "Wishing you were somehow here again." And it was a good moment for them last night. Loved the ballad once again!! I think they make the top 12 this year Personaly, I was kind of let down by the Crossmen tonight. It seems as though whenever one section of the hornline has the melody, they take very small or slow steps, or just stand still and play... and it happens throughout the whole show, a lot like last year if you look at it. Magic is a LOT better than they were atr this point in the season last year, I was pleasantly surprised by then tonight. Southwind - this is turning into one of my favorite shows of the year. They have such a creative music score this year! Their guard seemed to have an off night last night though, but they were much improved overall since I saw them in Memphis. Glassmen - my first viewing in Memphis I had a hard time getting into this latin jazz kind of feel with the New World, but the more I hear it, the more I like it. It will be another solid show... Boston - WOW, I was really impressed with this show as well. Their version of The Promise of Living gave me chills!! And their guard was on tonight, very good job! Crown - I love the opening and the ballad. I never thought that Sarah McLaughlin would work so well for a drum corps, very creative!! There is a lot of room for improvement, so I can see them finishing just ahead of Boston again. Cadets - WOW, simply amazing show. I cant wait to see it again. I would have them ahead of Cavis right now, having seen both now. I cant wait til Indianapolis!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DannyII Posted July 10, 2005 Share Posted July 10, 2005 Nice review Matt..See you @ Indy! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
radiosteele Posted July 10, 2005 Share Posted July 10, 2005 (edited) The drill for the closer is not yet complete; perhaps it will be by the time they get to Atlanta next week. <{POST_SNAPBACK}> This is 100% correct. We finished learning the drill except for the last 30 seconds today (the finale section - which is drill drill drill). We already had half the song in the bag previously, but it was not ready for the field just yet. Believe me - it is ready to go now and we can't wait to let it loose in Rockmart. Edited July 10, 2005 by radiosteele Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Galen Posted July 10, 2005 Author Share Posted July 10, 2005 Nice review Matt..See you @ Indy! <{POST_SNAPBACK}> If I go; that's looking a bit questionable at this point. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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