West Chester Show

[surfman034]

I created an account just so i could offer my two cents into the mix.

I have been a marcher in DCA, DCI (Div II and Div I), and am currently a music major, so I am not new to the activity and (think) I have an idea of what is going on.

First off- Nice line up smaller show than usual for WCU, but the selection of corps there was nice in my opinon....not bored with the 6 there! As always Geroge Parks camp there....nice to expose the kids, but at times can be loud and dont understand proper stadium etiqute.....i have heard "band" too amny times tonight!

on to the review

DIV II

Jersey Surf- Thank you for the uniforms this year. I was not particuallry fond of the "costumes" (especially when i wore one). The black is awesome considering that Surf being div II, has early shows when the sun is out and really has a better look than white in the sun...not to mention the magic cleaning ability the black pants provide.

We got our tickets right before they went on and I was handed mine after the opening statement. My first reaction was "this is surf????" ran in to watch and was impressed. big step up design wise from last year...guard was a plesant surprise.. very well executed and clean- liked the american flags....nice touch with the fireworks (i m sure they hit a few members) still comical seems to be fitting in that identity now. brass is nice some sticking out and bad moments. visual (as always) is there weakness.....clean it up and they will do well.

staff took a better step up this year in design (not quite there yet but moving in the right direction) will be a contender in upcoming years - i place them 6 or 7 this year

DIV I

Manderins- Really good departure from the samurai theme- saw the flowers and was just waiting to hear make our garden grow! Really nice show over all. Brass had some trouble with intonation and had some phasing in the second and third numbers. Seemed fatigued by the end....had one spot towards the end though where I felt they had a major impact, but never really attained that level again. like the soft exit at the end of the show brings it full circle. should be a semis contender yet i sense that they may be starting to plateau and peak now....give it a push!

Blue Knights- Good showing. I found it a little bland and much like last years offering. The horns had a lush sound, especially the small ensembles. the Middle part was really nice- crowd was into it and i really enjoyed the "stretch circle" a really nice part that only corps/band people pick up on. I did find a lot of their kneeling and such outside of the drum solo section kind of old after a while ( to me it just screamed GIVE US GE!) I didnt like the flag scheme...i think it may have had to do with the day to night/ practice to show thing, but i thought they were ugly- the ending ones looked like gobstoppers IMO....good show should place better than SCV, but a bit boring and safe for my tastes. One thing that really bugged me was that i could here the guard screaming counts THE ENTIRE SHOW over the corps.......really distracting especially when they where backfield to the the corps and I still heard it

INTERMISSION- Why? waste of time

Crossmen- EH- all the debate on here about will they wont they. Honestly I dont think they deserve to this year. This show did nothing to me. I was in the minority as this was one of the biggest crowd favs of the night. Before it gets hostile here, let me explain. The problem they have (beside marching ( god the phasing looked like a track meet out there) is totally design specific. I think that the show is designed too poorly to merit making finals and the kids are working very hard on a show that is desgned to be in a 9-12 range...the problem is that the normal 12-17 corps are getting better and crossmen isnt up to snuff on the curve. I think its not designed to go as far as it could but to play it safe and it backfired...the corps cant do more than what they are given. The hornline was nice, not as good as 04 and perc was ok some ticks between the 2... the high point was the guard....years better than 04- you can tell that this is a very young corps. The visual program is what is killing them. The one thing I loved was the color scheme in the gurad unis and flags....it really looked amazing against the corps - best design in the show. The tempos change but give or take a few seconds here or there, the marchers don't lots of half time or one section goes actual bpm others halt or half time it. I think the downfall started with classical gas- really nice when in entered but after that i wanted it to build, or accelerando- it took too long and seemed flat- first impressions are the most important and this turned me off. Overall, I was very unimpressed with this show and dont see them above 13th ( i think 14-15 is where they should be at ) but come the end of the season the Bones name may inflate their score (that would be a pity too)

Bluecoats- NOticable jump in demand and excecution from xmen......i think there plumes for the helmets are shorter ( I remember them loking like ponies last year) may be my imagination though. This was an on noght for them...solos were amazing and the small ensembles were breathtaking...loved the overtones! 1 trumpet was overplaying and ruined some moments for me..but easy fixes. love the guard...amazing work there, and they know it....the whole corps knows they are good and they show it in their performances. perc is tight but i didnt like the drum speak...didnt fit in to me....unlike cadets...it just kinda floated there and didnt go anywhere- imo messed up the groove they had going b/c i had to stop and think what is this for.......would be better without....should be a fight for 5th with them and madi ( hopefully crown as well (idealistic)

On a funny note..all the band academy kids were wondering why the audience was boooing blue!

Cadets- AMAZING SHOW, but i felt the corps (hornline specifically) was a little off their game...maybe a hard practice day. love when the audience was telling the girl not to open the door. Saw her and asked the time pre show...it was very cool (even if it is gimick-y and cheesy) probably looked really stupid with a big dumb grin on my face. Micing worked really well in the show and guard was phenominal

I noticed that around halfway through the crowd became less responsive...myself included...i think it was the fact that there is so much to see and so much stuff is going on, your brain doesnt let you clap cause you are constantly scanning and serching for things and you are afraid you moght miss something if you cheer. i hope this one takes it in boston amazing show..cant wait to see it when they have it clique

TWO THINGS THAT REALLY BUGGED ME ABOUT THE SHOW

1) Hopkins paced the track and started screaming lets go come on etc.. during their performance...i thought it was rude to fans....can we make a rule?

2) Cadets voulenteers began setting up the black barriers on the right side of the field as they bluecoats were exiting...they were going in front of them as the tunerd onto the track to walk past the audience....that put a <**> did they just do that look on my face.....totally rude and inappropriate..they could have waited..I know they were voulenteers and probably didnt know any better, but it still reflected poorly on the cadets organization and i was offended for the bluecoats

thats all hope you like it!

Cade

[LAMystreaux]

Nice review. . .thanks.

I think there is like a 3 minute pit setup rule or something like that. Could have something to do with volunteers rushing to set up barriers.

Anyone else more in the know?

[jwillis35]

There is a time issue for setup on the field. All the corps have their pits setting up as the previous corps is marching off the field. This is not just a Cadets issue. I don't have a problem with it, and no it is not offesive or done in any type of dis-respect for the previous corps.

Jonathan

[surfman034]

I uderstand that there is the time issue, but I dont think I was clear enough describing it

Many corps set up (with us facing the field) from the far left of the stadium (where most track races start) and go onto the field to set up their pits as the previous corps was leaving

I believe BK had the black guard barriers as well and they moved from the left entrance and walked over th the right side of the field.

Cadets, on the other hand, had their voulenteers come out on both sides to place the barriers on the respective side. However, the Cadets voulenteers, when coming from the right, were litterally cutting of the bluecoats as the left the field (being about 2 people away from eachother) Even a bluecoats staff member asked (obviouslt a little teed off) for the voulenteers to either move to the side or wait. I thought that was rude on Cadets part.

I understand the issue of time, but with every other corps using the left side of the field, it was a bit unecessary IMO for the cadets to do this....esprcially for a corps that is regarded highly with prfessionalism and respect- i would assume that hop or someone else would have brought up this piece of information to the voulenteers attention

Any viewing of the corps is an impression of the corps.....even if you are eating a hot dog in the stadium or marching on the field.....with anything tieing you to a corps (even a member shirt on a free day all the way down to the voulenteers) people form an opinion of x corps from what they see, if i was a director, i would have broght this to the attention of these people quickly and appologized to blue, im positive it was because the voulenteers simply didnt know, but it put a sour taste in my mouth (until they started the show)

hope that clarifies it a bit (did anyone else see this??)