Review - Div II/III, New London, CT, Show

[oldguard]

It was a perfect night for a drum corps. I tagged along with a friend to the “Drum Corps on the Thames” show at St Bernard High School in Uncasville, CT, on Saturday, July 23rd.

Thanks to all the corps and the hosts. I had a really good time.

These are just my personal thoughts and impressions.

Up the hill, behind the school, to the top of the old open wooden rail seating high on the steel frame. Felt like sitting in the treetops. Only real problem with this venue is that the sound of all the corps warming up behind our backs carried onto the field and interfered a little at times with the show.

Division II:

First off were the Cadets of NYC. This corps is a combination of two inner city groups that strives to provide a competitive program for these fine young musicians. Every time I see this corps I am impressed by their music and their sound. The show is called The Emergence of a King and the repertoire is from “Three Tapestries” by David Holsinger. It is a very nice arrangement of a composer that is well suited for young musicians. Musicianship is their strength. Their brass sound is quite good for their numbers and they make every effort to blend their sound. They have a small, but powerful battery, that is just plain terrific. Since I first saw them in exhibition earlier this year they have made great strides in adding drill and flags to the performance of this small and mighty corps. These are dedicated kids and I wish them success with the rest of their season.

Next on were the Targets from Springfield, MA, who looked to be the most comfortable corps on the field. The comfort was unplanned and due to the fact that they had only their practice clothes as an equipment truck breakdown kept them from wearing their spiffy new uniforms. Fortunately, they had their guard equipment and horns and they were able to borrow the front ensemble and whatever other else they needed from the home corps. They put on a great show. Again, this is a small corps with a good sound. Their soloists are excellent. They have one really outstanding mellophone player who carries much of the melody. They also have a nice soprano soloist. Their guard work includes some unique and fun elements that interpret their Music of Danny Elfman program. They play some well know movie themes from Beetlejuice, Storytime, Men in Black and PeeWee’s Great Adventure. It really is a nice show. Again, this is a corps that offers the opportunity to participate to any young person in their area who wants to join and is willing to do the work and they really look like they are having fun. Last night they sounded the best I have seen them.

Next up was Spirit of Newark, NJ. Their show is called Spanish Rhythms. The repertoire sizzles with Cuban Overture by Gershwin and Spanish Fantasy by Chick Correa and they have a very fine original Drum Solo by Dwayne Nealy. Their drummers really get into this. Nice front ensemble. Overall, this corps is strong on visual and performance. Their guard uniforms are bright red tank tops and black leggings and their flags are equally colorful. They have some interesting dance sequences. At one point the guard and the horns take a little siesta on the field. Looks like this corps is having fun out there. I’ve only seen this corps twice but I hope to see a lot more of them. They are from Jersey and they have attitude … of a very good kind.

Following them were another Jersey corps, the Raiders. This corps is the frontrunner in Division III in the northeast and they have gotten stronger and stronger every time I have had the pleasure to see them. I really love their music and drill. They do Jesus Christ Superstar and it is very catchy and engaging. Their lines are straight, footwork clean … they excel at drill. I’m one of those old school drum corps nuts who just loves line and form. This corps really delivers. They must have a good organization at the corps level to put this package together. They have an excellent color guard who surprised me by coming out in long flowing white robes in the beginning. They quickly shed the robes though after their opening as such a costume would be impossible with their complex dance and guard work. I particularly enjoy the backfield horn sound, especially the soloist, in the quiet and plaintive John 19:41 piece. Have I mentioned their percussion and front ensemble? Powerful. This is a wonderful drum corps show.

Next on the field was St John’s from Ontario, Canada. This is a young and engaging corps. The announcer noted that they have members as young as 9 years old. Their theme is Invention and Discovery. They open with Lost in Space where the guard has large, beautiful, rippling beige-gold flags which they use to good effect. They move on to Star Trek Generations Overture and again the flags are eye catching. Silver stars on a triangular dark metallic aqua. Very nice. Then they play something from 101 Dalmatians. I am not familiar with this music. They do a cute little dance sequence where the guard carries large, wooden apples. I am not getting this. Maybe they represent Newton’s apple? Then the do Joy of Spring and Where King’s go forth by Swearingen. This I get. Colorful flags again and two large cross bearers with flowing white banners. Good music choice, well-played. Very nice overall.

Following them, the Citations from Burlington took the field. This is a sharp looking corps that clearly seems to be enjoying a bit of growing pains. I do mean enjoying. There are many young, enthusiastic faces here, who are putting their heart into the effort. It is good to see. There music is from Wicked and is a play of dark and light. They have introduced some small, but nice, story elements into their show since last I saw them. General Effect is their strongest area right now. They have been adding drill to this show since their first performance, where I was most impressed by their sound. I look forward to seeing their sound strengthen again as they become more accomplished overall performers. Keep up the good work, Citations, and you will come on strong in the end at the Finals.

After intermission, Les Stentors from Quebec, Canada, took the field. This is the first time I have ever seen this corps. I was impressed. Tres bien! (I hope I just said “very good” in French.) According to the program book this is the only competitive corps in Quebec. They must travel hundreds of miles in order to find other corps with whom they can compete. Nonetheless, they obviously spend many hours practicing and they come well-prepared for competition. This is a rather small corps in comparison to the frontrunners. However they have an impressive sound and solid drumline. They are performing music from the movie Troy by James Horner. They have only four members in the guard, all attractive young ladies in warrior women-type costumes, who perform with grace and precision. It is surprising how effective this show is in general effect given this small number. At one point they have the horn line of about twenty lay down their instruments and pick up gray wooden shields who perform a controlled mock battle and defeat the guard who have gold shields. There is an excellent percussion and front ensemble accompaniment for this. The visual and marching technique displayed during this sequence is very well-done. The music arrangement or performance is a little muddy in some parts but the potential is there and ready to happen. This corps appears to have a short tour and then on to Brockton. Given what they have accomplished so far in so short a time, I would not be surprised to see them take a run at the leader in the finals.

The last competing corps in Division III was the host, 7th Regiment. This was the best sounding performance I have seen from this corps and they did it for the home crowd. Congrats. This is a very small corps who is aiming high. They have a really nice show and music choice. You can almost feel the sea breeze and smell the salt air. They set up three white stationary sails in the backfield for effect. And they have a good sized color guard in black and blue outfits who ably handle a variety of blue flags and small, two handed white ones that give a breaking wave feeling. I think they added one tall pointed green and blue sail flag in the middle of one song. They even use white and blue oars for their “Popeye the Sailor-Man” tune, which is their best number. There are ship bells chiming, chains hauled and other special percussion instruments in the front ensemble. The drill is ambitious and at times it flows in wave effect. This is really a good show for a second year effort and I hope this corps has a long and successful career.

Division II:

The first Division II corps to compete was East Coast Jazz, who have been quite busy the last couple of weeks as they made some effective changes to their show. They seemed to have endeavored to spread out more on the field, add some very nice guard effects, step up the pace and make the ending much more interesting. As they have already perfected their marching and visual skills, this greatly added to their overall performance. I think the black and white individual flag solos here and there were new and these were very eye catching and well-done. Throughout the show, their guard is really accomplished, beautiful and interprets their music perfectly. I particularly enjoy the flowing purple flag effects in the Roseland Ballroom number and the red, black and orange flagwork that captures the Spanish flavor of La Fiesta. As always, the soloists were wonderful and the brass sound was rich and warm. I also appreciated for the first time what a really excellent job the battery does. This is a fine corps that has worked hard to earn their place near the top of their division. They are classy competitors. Best of luck with the rest of your tour and I shall see you in Brockton for the big showdown, East Coast Jazz.

The Spartans took the field next. And The Spartans do take the field. I’d like to hand them the Old Guard award for the most improved corps of the night. They also have been working hard for the last couple of weeks and the results were clearly visible and audible. They have not changed the drill much but they definitely improved visually and brought it up to warp speed in the final movement. Remember I said earlier how much I like line and form? Well, this corps brings it home for me. The drill is all lines and curves, points and triangles and it flows. It is gorgeous. At the beginning of the year I was impressed by the energy and determination that these kids bring to the field. The complexities of the music and drill are challenging and these kids are rising to the challenge. The lines were straighter and the forms clearly defined. They are taking shape as a corps, literally and figuratively. And their dark brass sound is maturing as they build stamina. There has been a successful effort to tone down the front ensemble so the brass does not have to blast to be heard. The tone and intonation has much improved. Controlled power. This horn line just brings me to my feet. The solo and backup on the ballad has a catch in the back of the throat quality for me that I always associate with a musician putting his/her heart into the perfomance. I just love the flowing scarves carried by the guard to the outer edges of the field at the end of this movement. Beautiful effect. Their color guard is skilled and accomplished and appear not as an addendum but as a well-integrated part of the team. Overall, this corps has come far and there is still much room for improvement as they journey on. Best wishes to The Spartans on the road and keep your eyes on the prize. I look forward to seeing you on your return.

Last in competition was Jersey Surf. Somehow this corps just keeps getting bigger, bolder, better. They, too, have been taking some time to work on their show and they added many comic and visual elements. Is there a line on their member application where they ask, “Do you have a sense of humor?” If not, you may want to find another corps. This show is pure theater and so much fun to watch. How many times did I laugh, Let me enumerate. There was the drum major shaking the platform on which the other drum major was standing. ( I am hoping the drum major did not have to fall off a few times in practice before they figured out just how hard it could be shaken.) And there is the color guard girl dancing around with the clown shoes and costume in the box. There ought to be clowns. Don’t bother they are here. There’s the pretended flatulence act. And even in the end, when they unveil their new towering banners for Stars and Stripes the audience gasps and giggles. You almost expect to see fireworks. All this fun and games does not mean that this corps does not work hard on drill and musicianship. Obviously they do. They are also much improved. I do enjoy their big brass sound. The dozen or so contras are featured in one song and they are really fine. During the rest of their season I look forward to seeing them further improve their visual and performance skills so that they too will be completing for the top spot in the finals. Good luck with this, Jersey Surf!

After the awards, two of the corps, East Coast Jazz and the Citations, formed a horn arc and played for the crowd and then ECJ encored. I always love to see an after show performance for those of us who like to linger. I am never ready to go home and always ready to talk and compare notes.

The next show for me will be “Park City Pride” in Bridgeport, CT, on August 5th at Kennedy Stadium. On the list of performing corps is Impulse, Memphis Sound, Oregon Crusaders, Racine Scouts, Revolution, Strangnas, Taipei Yuehfu ,Teal Sound, and Yamato. Wow! All these corps that I haven’t seen yet! And The Spartans will be there on their return from the southland. I am really looking forward to this show.

Hoping many of you can join me in the audience,

I am just a member of the Old Guard.

Edited July 25, 2005 by oldguard

[arno0940]

Great review...Its nice to see a Div2/3 show review for once! Many thanks!

[OMH]

And  there is the color guard girl dancing around with the clown shoes and costume in the box.  There ought to be clowns. 

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I believe that the red shoes are in tribute to either the Velvet Knights or the Bridgemen. She also holds up a Yellow Raincoat, which is also in tribute to (I think) the Bridgemen. Old school folks should easily get this; me, I had to look it up. Still pretty cool either way. And HOPEFULLY the judges "get it", since most of them were around during both those corps' time.

If only the judges would give more credit for entertainment value, complexity and creativity; I think they only look for mistakes these days.

As I watched Spartans, in particular, I saw relatively easy drill performed with a good deal of precision. Not a lot of playing AND marching, though. I think they understand "the judging game" and play that up in order to win. But for me, its a dull show. GREAT horn pops, though. I LIKE that.

Thankfully corps like the Surf are around to keep things exciting!!!!!

[oldguard]

" I believe that the red shoes are in tribute to either the Velvet Knights or the Bridgemen. She also holds up a Yellow Raincoat, which is also in tribute to (I think) the Bridgemen. Old school folks should easily get this; me, I had to look it up. Still pretty cool either way. And HOPEFULLY the judges "get it", since most of them were around during both those corps' time. "

This refers to "Mr Clown" from the old Bridgemen show from the '70's? Thanks for the info. Makes more sense to me. "Old school folks" have old memories that are not always as quick as they once were. Just because we might have been there, doesn't mean we remember it all. It is pretty cool either way.

[OldBones]

Excellent Review

I want to applaud the crowd. The stands were full, even when we went on (Spirit of NJ), and very into every corps. From Cadets of NY straight through Jersey Surf. (11 corps)

I know it made it fun for us to perform for you. I hope all the corps feel the same way.

Also, 7th Regiments staff and voluteers did a tremendous job putting this show together. We had an incident where a guard member broke her nose doing a toss during warmups in the parking lot. Their staff was quick to react and got the ambulance there right away. They even hoped to have her back from the hospital before we went on the field. They missed by only 45 min.

We had a great school for housing. Thank you for that.

I hope we get shows like this while we are on tour.

Let the fun begin

[oldguard]

Excellent Review

I want to applaud the crowd. The stands were full, even when we went on (Spirit of NJ), and very into every corps. From Cadets of NY straight through Jersey Surf. (11 corps)

I know it made it fun for us to perform for you. I hope all the corps feel the same way.

Also, 7th Regiments staff and voluteers did a tremendous job putting this show together. We had an incident where a guard member broke her nose doing a toss during warmups in the parking lot. Their staff was quick to react and got the ambulance there right away. They even hoped to have her back from the hospital before we went on the field. They missed by only 45 min.

We had a great school for housing. Thank you for that.

I hope we get shows like this while we are on tour. 

Let the fun begin

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I really enjoyed the drum solo. Please fill me in. Is this generated from your staff or a corps member?

[OldBones]

I really enjoyed the drum solo.  Please fill me in.  Is this generated from your staff or a corps member?

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Dwayne is our percussion caption head. The drum solo was his original piece. After he composed it, he made a midi and distributed it to the drum line and the staff. What a hit. And I must say, the whole line really loves this piece and performs it quite well. While going over it in the parking lot, we were getting a nice crowd stopping and listening to it.

By the way, drumline took 2nd - 1.5 behind Raiders.

Thanks for the nice review you gave us.

"Overall, this corps is strong on visual and performance."

Interestingly, that was our downfall. The guard learned a lot of new work and was still shakey and losing our guard member right before we went on the field, didnt help. But everyone performed very well and we look forward to the next couple of weeks. Look for us to be peaking just at the right time.

Hope to meet you in Brockton.

[Tassadar27]

I really enjoyed the drum solo.  Please fill me in.  Is this generated from your staff or a corps member?

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I am a member of the drum line for Spirit of Newark. The drumsolo is an original piece of music written by our percussion instructor Dwayne Nealy. The name of the piece is Rhythm Machine. I am glad that you enjoyed our drum solo. Thanks for the great review and the nice comments about all the corps.

[DCI-Dadx2]

Great review...Its nice to see a Div2/3 show review for once! Many thanks!

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Old Guard definitely has a gift for this. Nothing bad is ever said about a Corps, but nor are there any "false goods". The ability to find that balance is not a skill I possess, and as a fan only (I never marched, on a good day I can play a stereo) some of the nuances he is able to put into my terms, I may have missed on show night. We need DCI to put him on the road to cover Div II/III. Imagine, comprehensive, complimentary and constructive reviews of all Div. II/III. There are Div. II/III fans/parents that search all season for one review of their favorite.

[palladio]

Let's make it official. Check out the jacket.

Just to clear things up a bit.