Powder Springs Reviews

[phand]

It's late so this will be a bit brief. Also consider I was a brass player/drill designer so I apologize in advance for lack of comments on percussion and guard. I arrived late and missed most of CorpsVets so I won't mention them here. Finally consider that I tend to write reviews as I would comment on my own band after a show thus focusing more on the bad than good. When great things happen I try to mention them but for the sake of improvement, I tend to focus on the band. That said don't misunderstand me when I don't have many good things to say, but I'll try to balance it out.

Teal Sound

I don't see too many Div II shows anymore but this seems to be like most I can remember. There were a few "moments" although even those were lacking all aspects of a solid sound. Truly all aspects of the show from design to execution were lackluster. Marching was not too bad with your usual number of people out of step, out of forms, bad intervals, etc. The hornling played fairly well but was very sloppy and had multiple missed attacks and releases, all seamingly easy fixes. I can't really say much more about them. I know they're young and I'm glad they're getting involved now and hope they can improve over their individual DC careers but as far as tonight's Teal show, I'd say they scored it about right.

The Magic

I haven't seen magic in a few years and had my hopes up. Unfortunately they were somewhat of a let down. I remember wondering all through their show why they are DIV I and not II, which I assume is solely due to their numbers. The drill was rather stagnant and didn't always flow with the music and even when it did the members were often unable to execute it properly. Guard/battery/horn integration was also lacking thus resulting in a very modular performance. The hornline played well in places but as with Teal had too poor attacks and releases to make a good call. Finally, the hornline was terribly out of balance in many places. This may be due to not having done enough field ensemble or what but balance was often a distraction from the show. GE wasn't bad, but wasn't great either.

Southwind

I haven't seen Southwind in at least 5 years and was pleasantly surprised by their performance. Theirs was what I would consider to be the first DIV I level performance of the night. I admit that I probably thought they were better than they actually are since they went on after Teal & Magic but I thought they had a fairly solid run. The effects created with the unis were pleasent and unexpected at several points. The hornline was rather well balanced and in control (if not even timid; there were times were I felt like they held back a little too much). Guard and percussion intrgration were fair (it at least looked like a vis. coord. had some sort of plan in mind) and overall GE was good. I think with some work they have the show and talent to move up this year.

Boston

I loved their show in 2000, not quite as much in 2001 and hardly at all in 2002. It was then that I noticed Boston seemed to be without any sort of corps vision, i.e. what is their "thing". I was deathly afraid for a while that they'd turn straight BOA style, which I don't really care for. But tonight's show brought me hope. The props were rather minimal and incorporated well. Pit amplification was a bit much at times, but they'll work that out. I loved hearing some music on the field that I had never heard before, albeit music that isn't exactly toe tapping and doesn't really stick in your head (I couldn't hum a bar if I tried). The show flowed incredibly well from piece to piece, more like a 10-11 minute piece than the traditional "2 songs a ballad and a closer". I especially enjoyed the drill, mostly in the first roughtly 2/3 of the show. It wasn't classic Kevin Ford drill (is Kevin still writing there?) but was very free flowing, indicative of music passages and incorporative of the guard. On that note, I thought Boston may have had the best guard integration of the evening (that's the drill writer coming out in me). There were numberous parts of the Boston show that were greatly enhanced by a block or form of guard that was layered in with the horn line thus incorporating musical and visual elements (that worked together) into a cohesive moments. So kudos to the design team at Boston as well as to the members. The hornline was very capable. Their book doesn't sound incredbly hard (i.e. should be possible to work out before finals) and they did a heck of a job with it tonight. First corps of the night with some nice subtleties and nuances in passages which were also integrated well visually and with guard. All in all, I liked the Boston show, it sort of reminds me of the late 90's early 2000's Glassmen shows. It was quality and will get better but doesn't quite have the magic to climb too many steps up the old finals latter.

Cadets

I only saw last year's show twice and found it confusing and inaccessible. This year, however, was quite different. There was some strangeness to it (obviously the vocals, the drum/pit/vocal/visual section, etc.) but it actually worked out as a complete package and with the time they have left I think they can turn this into a heck of a show. All amps, vocals, etc. debates aside I (a generally older school type guy) really enjoyed this show. Although the wierd factors worked and contributed it was still the classic stuff that made the show great. This hornline, as others have mentioned, has nuggets. They are very talented technical players with amazing capability and control. All they were lacking was volume in a few places and that will come over the next few weeks. I loved their ability to play with such support and energy even at low volumes. Attack/release wise they were mostly clean, a few minor things, mostly midpassage (circular breathing entrances, etc.) Guard integration was good but will probably change and improve as the show comes together, which it needs to. The battery was great as usual but I'm sure they have things to work out as well. All in all I think they have a great package and if you can suck up your old school pride and watch it for what it is (a well written AND well performed show) you'll probably agree with me.

Phantom

I gotta say I still miss Phantom in all black. That said, here we go. Phantom was loud as crap. They peeled the paint of the stadium throughout 80% of their show. That's great and all but loud is just loud if you don't play something softer and soft to compare it to. As far as all the talkabout how close PR and Cadets started off, I think that'll quickly go by the wayside. PR has a strong show, strong hornline, but the hornbook is not incredibly demanding (at least by DIV I champ standards) and the drill is written to allow the members to blast their guts out. I never saw a hard musical passage combined with a difficult move. Additionally the entire show seemed too tight, as in within the 35 yd lines and mostly in front of the back hash. I'm sure that is a slight exageration but I think they're drill would be cleaner (and readable) if they opened up a bit. Then again they wouldn't be quite as loud now would they ;) All in all PR has a solid show and will definately rack up some GE and music points as they play loud and well and the people like that. But, I'm not sure it'll take them too far.

Spirit

Eh, same old Spirit. I don't having anything against spirit and they actually marched and played very well. I personally found their show more entertaining than Pantom's but it's the same thing they've been doing for over 20 years now. Yeah, they do it better, they play b flats, they have a cleaner, more well developed and well balanced sound, but they always have still do lack any level of programming and design that will get them closer to the top of the pack. Congrats to them over the last few years, though. They've built a strong corps out of one that was on the verge of folding.

I'm sure I'll think of other thoughts later but it's 1:00 in the AM and I need sleep. I look forward to reading other reviews.

Later on.

I can't remember now if it was Phantom or not (either them or southwind) but one corps also spent about the 2nd half of the show with all their contras split up. I presume this will work itself out later in the season but for now it seemed to cripple our friend the "pyramid of sound" i.e. the bass was lost.

Edited June 24, 2006 by phand

[phand]

By the way, I was really tired when I wrote the first review in this thread so I skipped the whole proof/spell check part. Pardon me.

Oh, and feel free to rip my opinion to shreds. It's just this one man's thoughts.

Edited June 24, 2006 by phand

[Krista]

moved to the reviews forum

[Michael]

Finally a review that I can agree 100% with. Great review!!!