Reading PA 7/9 DCA

[Jeff Ream]

Before I begin, I need to apologize profusely to the Sunrisers and the Skyliners. I was in Chris Garrett's wedding in Rockville MD. You may remember Chris, former DM for Westshore and Bucs. Well, due to massive traffic issues on 95 and the DC Beltway, it got way behind and forced me to take a longer way to Reading then planned. As such, I didn't get there in time to see both corps.

if anyone did see these corps, and you have notes, I'll gladly accept and give you full credit in the DCW review I am preparing. I appreciate any help in advance.

now onto the show.

New home at Exeter HS. nice looked like fake grass field, nice lighting, no light pole on the 50. I hope when Albright is redone, the field looks like this or i reccomend a move to Exeter permanently.

Hurcs: 23 brass, 15 guard, 5 pit, 5 snares, 3 tenors, 4 bass.

The Hurcs have a very strong percussion section, at times overpowering the brass. As the holes fill in, I imagine that issue will go away. the initial horn entrance was well done. I didnt know the names of any of the pieces, but i really liked the intro, and i think i'll like it more when the brass holes are filled.

2nd tune had a nice jazzy feel, with minor trasnition issues. the perc was staged well leading into their feature...coming out of the feature some more balance issues. i did appreciate the ton of flams in the snare book.

keys do a nice job setting up the ballad, and the mello solo framed by the contras was a nice idea. guard was active on sabe and some nice carolina blue flags in the back. looked like some holes in the guard work yet, but what they had was readable and performed well.

loved the Mag 7 hits at the beginning of the closer, but the brass strated to sound tired.....the perc had another break setting up the big Mag 7 push which led to a company front.

in all a nice show. bass tuning really low, and the brass to percussion balance issues will be gone w/horn holes filled i am sure. I look forward to a 2nd read.

Bushwackers: 41 brass, 23 guard, 6 snares, 3 tenors, 5 bass and 8 pit.

by far THE BEST Bush has looked this time of year since 1995. Solid intro of Ludmilla in a block form that pushes center...very active pit 16th runs underneath. Lots of motion visually and guard is on guns sabres and flags. Really strong sop push to the end, and oh such tasty percussion writing that was well performed.alo loved the silent guard feature into the dance of the buffoons section and the company front push.

the beginning of 1812 was sung...unamped( thank you), and well done, and they slowly layered brass in underneath it. added the pit in then and it was very well done. excellent staging and design. this led to the Romeo and Juliet section with the guard on big yellow swing flags...again, staged very well. total intergration of guard to corps at the hit, and volume was where it needed to be.

this led to some March Slav which then led into 1812...the bass drum wiriting backfield was so melodic...it made me forget the brass was playing backfield. a minor transition issue when the corps turned around. guard featured well on side 1 as we went back to the 1812 theme. well done 1812 to the end with lots of cannon bass effects.

this corps is for real. My only issue was the drill at the end seemed clumped up front and it didnt come across as readable. an easy fix I am sure. all brass sections held their own, and the percussion is definitely a player. the pit is so tasty....yet because of the corps being so busy visually the first read you may overlook them. don't.

Bush, welcome back to the big time.

Cabs.....35 brass, 19 guard, 10 pit, 8 snares, 4 tenors, 5 bass.

rumors 2 months ago had this corps dead. Well dead they ain't. In fact there are some nice things going on out there.

corps starts out w/the percussion going to town as the brass does a snake drill building to a block. some interesting staging ideas here, and when the holes are filled, it will look really cool. nice sbare staging for their feature. from here, the brass is mostly back on side 2 and the perc is upfront. right now this is causing balance issues. it's a few things...staging, holes and a very aggressive perc book. maybe too aggressive for right now. some dynamics could help give the horns a chance. they have some nice stuff, but it can be lost.

btw, this pit is the best in recent memory...really nice touches w/the Egyptian motifs coming from them. Axe even played marimba!

the corps moves a lot and i liked the perc double time in the ballad hit vs the hornlines regular time.

i really liked the brass in the ballad when they had a chance to shine. the sabre around the sop solist was a nice touch.

i also liked the perc staging in the drum break with all of the smaller groups that built into one. perc had some performance issues, but the intent is there. i also liked the horn unison hits chraging the sideline in the closer...nice idea.

the corps stood still for the last minute or so, but progress has been made. the things they need now are the horn holes filled, some dyanmics in the perc book til the horns get their chops and some solificiation of tempo. at times it felt uneasy. in time, i have no doubt all of this will happen.

Bucs: 57 brass 31 guard 9 snare, 5 tenors, 5 bass, 6 cymbals, 12 pit.

if you read early season revfiews and had your doubts, erase them. this corps is solid in all areas.

show opens w/a strong brass and pit statement of Farandole. battery on the sideline for their entrance and the balance is great when they do come in.

now here's a 1st...at the tempo change, the cymbals are the ones who set the pulse. how often do you see that in DCA? Folks, when you see the Bucs, watch this cymbal section. THE BEST cymbal section i have ever seen in DCA. they throw about 125 techniques at you in the 1st minute of the show.

perc feature here shows all voices who played really well, and the brass rentry was well done. the build to the hit was staged and played well. guard staging for guns and sabres also well done, and the flags had some cool silver/red flags. loved the brass block passing thru the box move, leading to a high mark time and halt.

Adagio. oh so tough to follow the versionSCV did. pit starts off with 4 mallet work...laterals well done. the first brass line comes in and voices keep adding in, and the guard is in small groups and solos doing a lot of body and work. the sops staging on side 2 is well done. pit adds in underneath w/bass and cymbals leading to the famous hit, and the keys have some serious 16th note patterns going on.

the hit just builds and builds and builds until a release i can not wait to hear echo in Scranton. this was volume folks. pure goosebumps

coming out of Adagio, the perc enters from upper side 2 for Bartok. lots of notes, lots of movement. tons of bidy work here as well. very agrressive drill and music, and wow....you think they're tired but they aren't, cause here comes YPG. very true to the melody that we all know and love, and all voices get their chance to shine. the famous 3/2 section was well performed, tho here i noticed some fatigue setting in from the brass. this builds to a company front with the guard on yellow flags that work well against the blue unis. as the corps builds to the end, the pit restates the YPG theme underneath.

so well written and performed. I know i missed stuff. They have so much to offer the eye, I am glad i will see them again. hands down the winner.

Jersey Surf: 56 brass, 22 guard, 9 pit, 6 snares, 4 tenors, 4 bass.

new unis add to the classical look Surf is going for. the guard unis also work well...corps has blue up top, blakc bootoms, guard has black tops w/blue bottoms.

opening hit of prelude in fugue in D minor shows the brass lines power. guard also had some nice peach flags that swung from the top of the pole.

the corps had its well known comedy in place. at one point as the dm hams it up with the crowd, the corps keeps repeating the drill and music until a guard member gets his attention. Barber of Seville was well done...in my mind i heard the Bugs bunny cartoon. Loved thetrade offs side to side in the corps ina we can do better/funnier than you can kind of fashion. also loved the snare/contra feature...not something you see every day.

i really loved how as the corps charges to the end, the guard "gives up" and walks off to their next piece of equipment.

Send in the Clowns has the guard in a skirt, and was well done..soloists trade to the pit, who trades to the hornline. the pit had some very nice 4 mallet work here. a very high sbare toss led into the hit which had the rest of the guard on purple two tone flags.

then off we go into 1812. brass opens w/nice use of chimes underneath. a full ensemble perc break followed that was handled well. bras re-entered strong and this led to a section w/old school squads in the drill and old style rifle work. this built to a hit of Stars and Stripes which melded back into the end of 1812. expect fireowkrs to be added soon :P

nice show from Surf. Not as comedy driven as the past, but I am told more is yet to come. my only real concern was percussion staging, but there is a lot of time left.

there ya have it. disagree if you wish. agree if you like. if you have Sky and Sun comments, please send along.

[Jami]

Thanks for the review Jeff! :)

[Jeff Zehner]

> Jeff, enjoyed your review. Thanks. (wish I could have been there)

> Jami, what are you doing on DCP at 5:40 am? (go back to bed) :P

[cabscontra]

Thanks Jeff

It is a work in progress and we are working towards finishing that work soon. We still need a few horns. If anyone is interested in finishing out this season with us please get in touch.

[Jami]

> Jeff, enjoyed your review. Thanks. (wish I could have been there)

> Jami, what are you doing on DCP at 5:40 am? (go back to bed)  :P

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I was on at 6:40 - check your settings DocZ! :) (I leave for work at 7:15)

[CorpsBuff]

Thanks for the Review Jeff, you're always one of the people I look forward to reading here on DCP :)

[CHRISP]

Here's another review of the show in Reading:

Show started with National Athem played by Buc Alumist Danny Fitzpatrick.

Sunrisers - 1 dm/12 g/17 b/9 battery 5 pit

The Tell Tale Heart - some nice ideas going on. Little details such as the bass drum heartbeat beginning the show and little white hearts on the corps sash. The opening set between the 30-30 with the small corps. Some singing in the show to One Hand/One Heart which will be a good moment once the singing is tuned up a bit. Nice quintet in the brass. Effective ending to the show with guard integrated very well on the field. The corps is very young for the most part. I am hoping they are Class A this season as they would do well in that division.

Skyliners - 4 drum majors -only 2 are needed/14 g/20 b/14 battery 5 pit/5 honor guard

60th anniversary! You can tell that Sky has stepped up its difficulty for this season and it is appreciated. Hopefully things will really come together in Scranton. Guard uniforms look like a slight variation off of Cavies Bond uniforms, and they look good on the field. The NYC Banner closes the back part of the field and make the corps look bigger than it is. I was disappointed that they only fielded one contra (Kudos to him though!!!) Most of the time, and I believe it is for sound reasons, he was parked in the pit area. Technique with feet in the opener was pretty good. Nice mello soloist during the ballad. Sabres had some really nice expressive qualities during this. While the brass stood still there was a very nice balanced sound. Brass have a nice big sound for only 20 horns. Interesting use of drumming on signs and cans, then moving to the front for their trash can lid feature. Nothing original but definately fun. Guard work was not complete for the show.

Hurricanes - 2 dm/15g/23b/12 battery/4 pit/7 honor guard (one of the best HG of the night)

The show started out with a very nice sound from the brass and very stong visual moment from the guard! I was surprised with the excellence of feet in the opener. Good sense of technique and timing. Very nice tenor line solo!!! Some great snare parts but just a little fuzzy. A very young percussion section that can hold their own! As the show progressed, the quality of feet and stamina were just not there. Although Mag 7 was appreciated, the corps just did not have the guns at the end. But with time, Hurcs WILL be in the mix.

Bushwackers - 2 dm/22g/40b/14 battery/8 pit

Russian Winter Portraits will definately be a crowd pleasing show in Scranton....as it is already turning heads now. Extremely nice guard costumes. Big beautiful full sound by the brass. Vocals handled well. Nice dance contribution by guard members. Romeo and Juliet one of their strongest moments in the show. Or at least one of my favorite. Nice soprano moment during 1812. If you haven't seen Bush this season, you really need to make an effort. Best corps in years. And trust me, they will be surprising many corps at DCA finals. Best Drum Major of the evening...and it's obvious why...he loves his corps and has a great time being in front of them.

Cabs - 3 dm/19g/35?b/17 battery 10 pit

First let's say, I am referencing this performance with no adherence to rumors or early perfomances. The drill had many blanks today...leading us to believe the corps will be brining folks in all during the season. Brass sounds ALOT bigger than they look. This group is not afraid to play! But with the corps not being fully done with their show, I am afraid their final placing at Scranton will not be as high as years past. Guard was not finished and some questionable moments, which I hope are only fillers, during the 2nd tune. MUCH attention needs to be put to the corps feet. Really bad executed technique and with the kickpleats, it only made it that much more obvious. With much cleaning, this corps will be back in the midst of things. Even with a standstill closer, the judges awarded the corps a high score of 73! The talent is there. Just fill the holes, finish the show, and clean, clean, clean. Once this is done, the crowd will love it that much more. The corps was awarded with a great ending crowd response.

Bucs 3dm/31g/59-61b (sorry couldn't count fast enough)/25 battery/12 pit/8 honor guard

If I just wrote WOW, that should be enough. Silver flags in the opener looked spectacular. The opener - Beautiful. The ballad - Gorgeous. Even got a standing O on the hit. Nice percussion visuals. I hate making this so short but I was just mesmerized during their performance and didn't have time to take notes. A must-see corps this summer! No offense to any other corps...but it wouldn't surprise me if the Gold medals had their names engraved on them already. This is the corps to beat!

Jersey Surf 2dm/56 b/18 battery/9 pit

Very recognizable music selection. A lot of fun moments in the show...that have previously be written about. Crowd joined in clapping along with the corps in the patriotic ending. I'm sure more fun moments will be added to this already crowd-pleasing show. It should be a good year for this corps in Div. II.

[Jeff Ream]

nice review!

[DMCK]

Vocals handled well.

Best Drum Major of the evening...and it's obvious why...he loves his corps and has a great time being in front of them.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Thanks! The lyrics for this section are going in very soon.

Thanks for the DM compliments as well. It helps when you're a huge fan of the drum corps you're in front of. It's truly an honor to conduct this group of people.

[Sayre Kulp]

"I was disappointed that they only fielded one contra (Kudos to him though!!!) Most of the time, and I believe it is for sound reasons, he was parked in the pit area."

Thanks!