Memorial weekend concerts.

[kiotad]

Another set of comments from the Memorial Brass Shindig:

Crossmen: I was curious as to the staging of the horns. The show concept as explained by their director is very solid. The opener was very impressive, if a bit lacking in upper brass volume. [staging may have been an issue as the trumpets were buried in the middle of the horn block on stage] The two selections from the radio dial section of the show were nicely done and if they can pull off that entire segment - as it was explained last night - we may have a winner for most memorable moment on the field this season. The closer was a solid ending, look for maybe a bit more beef added as the season rolls on. Definately got an early 90s xmen feel from the overall presentation.

Cadets: Okay. First off, the vocal on the ballad shows promise. I was skeptical to a degree but it may work on the field. I have some other issues there but I will take a wait and see attitude. The opener was wow, very very nicely done. Hoppy said it best when he said we have a two minute percussion solo and hallelujah there it was. It is scary to think how clean it will be come August. The closer, as is, should cap the show nicely. The cascading horn rips were nice and for once didn't feel forced in the overall flow of the arrangement.

Brass Ensemble Sets: Cadets were their normal polished self. Rocky still works, Swing x 3 still cooks but the ballad portion from last year's show seemed out of place. Xmen: the trumpets had a greater ensemble presence here than in the show set.

I am very curious to see the visual program that the xmen bring to their show this year. They could be the surprise corps this year if everything falls into place. The Cadets have sold me on the overall show concept even though I have some reservations on the vocalist integration.

[brassmeaway]

I was at memorial brass for a good while on sunday, and even watched them rehearse. I'll try and go in order of the day.

As for the Cadets, after I heard them rehearse their ballad, I left. If this girl singing is some kind of vocal prodigy, why is she singing way out of her range? (Maybe she's not, but I know there's people that could sing wayyy better than that available to drum corps.) It honestly just sounds like moaning. This takes nothing away from their sound though. The horns were top notch.

And in an interesting turn of events, the Crossmen's color guard was much more entertaining and technically excellent than their YEA! counterparts. Was their a bigger vet return or something? Either way, they're on the right track.

About the Crossmen's staging, that was Hopkin's doing. Their caption head had a much more reasonable setup, but Hopkins felt that the bass drums' sound would be lost in the back and had them change it--therefore resulting in brass behind one another and some sections split up to a degree.

I thought their show was programmed well. I too didn't appreciate the baritone stick-out, but underneath that was what seemed like a very dark, rich presence. Pacing was a little off, but the energy was right on.

Crossmen seem to have a much bigger repertoire of encore material this year than I've ever known them to: They played Inferno/Malaguena, Birdland, The Water Is Wide (Hornline only feature), and Russian Christmas Music. Needless to say, birdland brought the house down. And I echo the sentiments exactly of the Cadets encore material.

And for the record, this is the 2nd year in a row where a Cadet hornline member somehow botched the Star-Spangled Banner (last year a lead sop missed the final cut-off, this year a baritone and mello came in during the prep). Funny that a world champion hornline can't figure that one out, lol. However, the other combined piece, Philip Bliss, was PHENOMENAL. Wow, both lines read each other perfectly and sounded amazing. Those 128 horns nearly knocked the place off its foundation.

A good night indeed for drum corps.

[xbones7480]

Crossmen Make Great First Impression at Memorial Brass

(Posted: May 29, 2006) The curtain rose at Memorial Brass on May 28th and the Crossmen made their first uniformed public appearance of the 2006 season. With a full brass and percussion section, they presented the packed house with a first glimpse at their "Changing Lanes" production. In addition, the color guard performed separately and was warmly received.

Returning director Scott Litzenberg introduced the corps, and it was clear right away that this edition of the Crossmen was very well prepared. They received an extremely generous and lengthy ovation after concluding their opener, entitled Cruisin', which included a lively and energetic introduction and material from Pat Metheny's most recent CD, "The Way Up."

Once again, you can be sure that when people list their favorite ballads of the summer, the Crossmen will be at (or very near) the top of the list. Based on Linda Eder's If I Had My Way, it's a safe bet that this melody will happily linger in the minds of the audience long after the show is over.

After a brief snippet of the drum solo Carribe, the corps presented their closer, entitled The Shortcut Home. A throwback to the Crossmen reputation of fielding some of the most exciting and heart-pounding closers in the activity, this production will surely have the crowd on its feet when all is said and done. As the horns came down and the last notes rung throughout Allentown Symphony Hall, the audience enthusiastically rose to their feet to honor the corps with a very well deserved standing ovation.

Further performances of Malaguena, The Water is Wide, the Crossmen classic Birdland (which had the audience clapping along), and the corps song Russian Christmas Music rounded out the evening. As the long day came to an end, the corps got on the buses and prepared for another long day with three Memorial Day parades. From there, it's on to Kutsher's Sports Academy in New York for four weeks of everyday rehearsal in preparation for their competitive season. If the reception they got at Memorial Brass is any indication, it looks to be another memorable and exciting season for the Crossmen!

http://www.crossmenalumni.net/caa_news/caa_news.html#news6

http://www.crossmenalumni.net

[Bones758]

Yea, I'm gonna second that on the Crossmen Radio dial section. If that goes as planned, it will be very memorable. The techno part is gonna make the crowd go crazy! Good job bones! Finals is waiting for you!

Cadets is alot of singing. I like it. Many people will not. They are really pushing it this year, I would say even more than last year. The first part of the show will not even synch up between drill and music. Intentionally. I'm not sure how it will be recieved, but im looking foward to it.

[perc2100]

However, the other combined piece, Philip Bliss, was PHENOMENAL. Wow, both lines read each other perfectly and sounded amazing. Those 128 horns nearly knocked the place off its foundation.

A good night indeed for drum corps.

First, thanks for the review. This time of year is, IMO, what this forum is all about: show reviews! I'm really looking forward to Crossmen's show this year. It sounds like they have a cool concept, and some of their ideas are interesting to me (the radio dial thing, in particular). Plus, I love Pat Metheny's latest album, and I thin there is plenty of music there that would make a great show for Crossmen.

I _REALLY_ hope that someone recorded this performance, in particular the Philip Bliss portion. That is one of my all time favorite band pieces, and I'd LOVE to hear that mass brass version (** hint to Hoppy and the rest at YEA: PLEASE post a recording of Bliss on the web site!!!).

Thanks again, everyone, for the thoughts on this performance. I'm really excited about this season of drum corps, as it seems a lot of corps have great show concepts/potential.

--

doug

[Triple Forte]

Any reviews from Memorial brass ( cadets / crossmen ). I have seen the cavies review -cool. Any others ?

BD ?

MAdison ?

Crown ?

Glassmen ?

Boston ?

Bluecoats ?

Vanguard ? this one I am very interested in.

all others ?

I also attended the Memorial Brass Show in A-Town which featured the Crossmen and Cadets. Unfortunately I dont have time tonight to post a review. I promise to get one in by tomorrow night.......

Triple Forte

[ecamburn]

I saw the Scouts performed at Bratfest in Madison. They went on after the klezmer band "Yid Viscious" and before a local jam band. I'd estimate there were a couple hundred in attendance.

The accoustics weren't the greatest as they performed in front of a festival stage and the audience was directly in front of them, so I won't make detailed comments on sound quality. Mike Cesario did a wonderful job of announcing, really trying to get the crowd into it.

The Scouts began with a parade version of 76 trombones. They played through the show in three sections - opener, ballad, and what Cesario called the finale.

I personally enjoyed the show. Highlights for me included:

*The drum book is agressive. There is a theme repeated all throughout the show where the snares are playing what look to me like 4 or 5 stroke rolls at a decent tempo. Very in your face.

*I found the ballad to be gorgeous. It seemed to move the audience nicely. nice flugel and barritone solos

*the ginastera seems to work well.

*the closer is classic madison. totally got the fairly timid crowd riled up (a lot of non drum corps types I think)

The Scouts then proceeded to play ice castles and U Wisconsin's varsity. the latter piece was political genius whoever thought of that. Madison is definitely Bucky Badger's town and many in the audience were doing all of the hand gestures and stuff that goes with varsity.

Chatted with a couple of guard members at the ice cream stand after the performance. Great bunch of guys. they said the drill is fast and a lot of fun.

can't wait to see these guys on the field.

eric

Edited May 30, 2006 by ecamburn

[dbc03]

I was at memorial brass for a good while on sunday, and even watched them rehearse. I'll try and go in order of the day.

As for the Cadets, after I heard them rehearse their ballad, I left. If this girl singing is some kind of vocal prodigy, why is she singing way out of her range? (Maybe she's not, but I know there's people that could sing wayyy better than that available to drum corps.) It honestly just sounds like moaning. This takes nothing away from their sound though. The horns were top notch.

And in an interesting turn of events, the Crossmen's color guard was much more entertaining and technically excellent than their YEA! counterparts. Was their a bigger vet return or something? Either way, they're on the right track.

About the Crossmen's staging, that was Hopkin's doing. Their caption head had a much more reasonable setup, but Hopkins felt that the bass drums' sound would be lost in the back and had them change it--therefore resulting in brass behind one another and some sections split up to a degree.

I thought their show was programmed well. I too didn't appreciate the baritone stick-out, but underneath that was what seemed like a very dark, rich presence. Pacing was a little off, but the energy was right on.

Crossmen seem to have a much bigger repertoire of encore material this year than I've ever known them to: They played Inferno/Malaguena, Birdland, The Water Is Wide (Hornline only feature), and Russian Christmas Music. Needless to say, birdland brought the house down. And I echo the sentiments exactly of the Cadets encore material.

And for the record, this is the 2nd year in a row where a Cadet hornline member somehow botched the Star-Spangled Banner (last year a lead sop missed the final cut-off, this year a baritone and mello came in during the prep). Funny that a world champion hornline can't figure that one out, lol. However, the other combined piece, Philip Bliss, was PHENOMENAL. Wow, both lines read each other perfectly and sounded amazing. Those 128 horns nearly knocked the place off its foundation.

A good night indeed for drum corps.

Last year the SSB was played with both the Cadets and Crossmen hornline. Why do you assume it was a Cadet that hung over?

PS - It's early in the season, people make mistakes. In fact, believe it or not, every corps that has ever won a brass trophy has made mistakes IN THEIR FINALS PERFORMANCE!

[olledowerdna]

12!

[NeonDeion2131]

did anyone make it to the academys memorial day benefit concert? i'm curious to how they are doing