Oswego, IL

[wheelerand]

Since I'll be writing a full review of this show for Drum Corps World, I'll only put a summary here - but I didn't see any other reviews, so thought I'd post briefly.

Great night for drum corps - weather was perfect. Oswego has added a new concession stand and bathrooms to the facilities - they now have bathroooms on each side of the stands. Major bonus points.

It's always exciting to see the season get started, but this year the excitement was tinged with a bit of sadness...two corps from the original lineup were both missing, Americanos and Royal Airs. Americanos are inactive for the season and I just found out that Royal Airs are all but inactive also (which accounts for the cancellation of Des Plaines). So only 5 corps actually performed last night.

Capital Sound. Smaller than last year. Brass struggled early but gained confidence as the show progressed. The opening body movements were a nice touch. I think I recall "Beetlejuice" from their "Momentary Lapse of Reason" show (one of my favorites of all time in any division) - I kept picturing the Gumby Guards out there. Much guard work is still in process, and they didn't play the final number, "Augustus Gloop". All in all, they have a lot of work to do (but who doesn't this time of year) but they have the potential for a very entertaining show. If the last couple of years are any indication, I expect that they will come on very fast as the season progresses.

Pioneer. I love seeing a corps march cymbals. They had several impact points in the show, and the ballad was a particular highlight. The guard dance drill at the beginning lacked impact, though - would be better to start with equipment to augment the about-face the corps does. Guard work again incomplete for the show and out of sync in places. Solid ending - again, I expect that this will be a very entertaining show as the season progresses.

Southwind. You need to see this show this year if at all possible. Their "duality" theme is carried throughout the show in the uniforms (half wearing black pants, half wearing white), in the flags (starting with a yin/yang theme), in the music and the drill. The drill is what really sets this show apart - the staging of the "black pants" marchers and the "white pants" marchers, sometimes segregated, sometimes interspersed, was brilliant. The reprises of "Firebird Suite" throughout the show were a nice touch as well. I have to say it...a show like this really demonstrates that you can creatively convey a complex theme like duality without having to do silly stuff on the field. Major, major kudos to SW's show designers for this one. BTW, if you like the black&white uni's, catch them this year - according to the folks at the souvie stand, they're going back to yellow/black next year.

Glassmen. Best opening of the night, with Beethoven's Fifth. Powerful brass and good flag drill. Lots of variety in this show, including a CG uniform change whose purpose was evident to some in the audience but I confess escaped me. They got lots of laughter at that point in the show, but I have to admit I'm not sure what it was all about. Guard was spectacular at times and a bit off at others - not unexpected for a first show. The drill did appear pretty much complete. The silent section in the closer was a nice touch. I expect they'll be climbing back up the ranks in D1 this year if their European trip doesn't set them back too far.

Cavaliers. I always hate having to take notes on a Cavies' show, because you can't ever look down from the show for a few seconds to write something without missing something significant in the show. "Machine" is no exception. Some nice effects toward the beginning, and the CG uni's really add to the show. Typical of Cavies, lots of subtle and not-so-subtle references to the theme. I expect that more effects will be coming over the course of the year, but as usual, this is a show without any obvious holes. I sat next to a couple who were attending their first-ever drum corps show. The man remarked to me, "I could probably go to several shows this year and not see anyone better than that last corps". In a word, Yep.

So, that's it. It was a great night of Drum Corps even with two corps missing. A wonderful start to the season and some very promising shows.

--Andrew

[BOSMarcher]

Thanks for the review!

[DannyII]

Southwind. You need to see this show this year if at all possible. Their "duality" theme is carried throughout the show in the uniforms (half wearing black pants, half wearing white), in the flags (starting with a yin/yang theme), in the music and the drill. The drill is what really sets this show apart - the staging of the "black pants" marchers and the "white pants" marchers, sometimes segregated, sometimes interspersed, was brilliant. The reprises of "Firebird Suite" throughout the show were a nice touch as well. I have to say it...a show like this really demonstrates that you can creatively convey a complex theme like duality without having to do silly stuff on the field. Major, major kudos to SW's show designers for this one. BTW, if you like the black&white uni's, catch them this year - according to the folks at the souvie stand, they're going back to yellow/black next year.

:)

get it S-Dub!

Great review Andrew, thanks alot!

[Music_Man0626]

Thanks for the write up!

[billj]

I didn't think it worth starting a new topic, so I'll tack on my comments of the Oswego show here. I was up high, on about the 45 yard-line. This is all from my memory, no notes...

Capital Sound

Their strength seemed to be marching. A lot of good technique & many of their step-offs & direction changes were done well. I would have liked to see more variety in their drill - lots of 3 rows or columns that then shift to diagonals. They gave a good effort & projected some good energy.

Pioneer

They are not huge (30-some horns, but a large marching battery, including 4 or 5 cymbals), but their drill really fills up the field. Marching is pretty good for this early. I am not familiar with the music that they are playing. I struggled with finding a melody in much of what they were playing. The horns seemed to struggle with balance and intonation more than I recall in 2005, at this time of year. Hopefully they just need to gain more confidence with the show. They, too, performed with good energy.

Southwind

This is a really well-designed show, better than last year - and I really love last year's. They are also performing better than last year at this time. The pairing-duality-mirror theme is all over the drill & music (didn't notice in the guard, but I didn't watch them as much). A couple of things that I remember most:

- There's a great drill/music coordination moment (during part 1 or 2?)) where the low brass & high brass are trading off their melodies, playing backfield, and they are in ovals that intermesh and pull through each other, just as the melodies are intertwining. I might have been at the right viewing angle, but it was a great effect.

- There's a cool part somewhere in the middle where the battery & low brass are in a circle on the left side, playing cool rhythm & stuff while the mid & high brass (dunno if trpts or sops) is playing a ballad on the right.

- As much as I loved the show, i seemed to drag on, like the designers didn't know how to end it. Maybe the corps ran out of steam a little? The show just kept on going, after I thought it might be done, and THEN, they went into the "real" ending (see next).

- The show ends the way that it starts - winds doing choreography to percussion (not sure if the whites & blacks are on the same or opposite sides at the end as they are at the beginning). It's kind of like the Cavies did with Spin Cycle (sorry to compare, but that's how I saw it), reversing back from the beginning.

Glassmen

Great drill & great sound. Lots of nice drill moves - The only detail that I remember is that the show ends in a mirror image of the opening drill set. I didn't see them in person last year, but I have the CD's. Their sound this year is so much better than 2005 finals (balance, intonation, power, etc). Their percussion stood out as being very good, as well. Guard was inconsistent, but some very good movements. The drill moves a lot, and I thought their marching was pretty good for this early. As I watched them, I was thinking that this looked a lot more like the Glassmen from 4-5 years ago, as opposed to the last 2 years. I really liked their show - much of the music is familiar (which always helps), and, yes, they do have some twists and themes-and-variations on the music, like last year, and somewhat like Southwind - however, I didn't find the music arrangements as over-the-top as last year (i.e. no Samba Beethoven, or anything like that), but that's OK. The show is very entertaining, accessible, and has a lot of audience appeal. Many in the crowd, including me, immediately gave them a standing-O as soon as the show ended. I'd be surprised if they don't place higher than 2005, but I guess that depends on the other corps, too.

Cavies

I agree that they are hard to review. They come out very prepared, with drill, music & guardwork are usually the most difficult. I did notice the titled snares, but other than the visual aspect, nothing else to note (I’m not a drummer, so I don’t know if/how this affects the sound). This show does seem to have a better design & more energy behind it than 2005. They did a fake ending (stopped early & played some ending chords), which they pretty much do every year at the beginning of the season. I don't like that, but they have a formula for success, and they probably have a lot more drill sets than anyone else, who am I to argue? They play & march really well. Lots of fast-paced drill that is really cool, but hard to describe. One part, in the middle of the show is easier to describe: the brass is in a block, front & center, and a couple of guard members are on the edges & corners of the block. The percussion is playing during this - the guard members, individually, push, pull, and bend the block into various shapes, then block always snapping back, or being bent back into the block shape - very creative. I can seem them challenging for the top spot this year.

I’m going to Lisle, so it’ll be interesting to see how Phantom & Bluecoats fit into the mix.