Columbia, MO Review

[BigBadMadMan]

Great night for drum corps here in mid-Missouri. The day started off a bit warm, but there was a stiff breeze most of the day that made things a bit more bearable. As the temperature cooled into the evening, a cool breeze kept us all quite comfortable in the stadium. My seats were just inside the 40...25 rows up...which, incidentally, is only about halfway up the lower level of the stands. So this stadium is deceptively big. And speaking of the stadium, what a wonderful show venue...a nice bowl stadium that starts around ground level and is recessed into the ground. Beautiful field turf, and a home stands that face the east...keeping the sun out of EVERYONE'S eyes, which was much appreciated. As a side note, this is the home show of Brent Crocker (the voice of DCI) who, in addition to announcing DCI regionals and finals, announces Mizzou games at Faurot Field. Great weather, great stadium, great crowd.

Aaaaand on to the show...

MEMPHIS SOUND - I must say I was impressed with this corps. They came out and set the tone early, which was nice and really unexpected. Some nice sounds coming out of this hornline at the beginning, but you could tell (as with several corps tonight) that the sound really begins to suffer as the show goes on. Considering it's only the end of the first week of competition, I'm sure that's something that will improve as their continue building their endurance. Many interval issues throughout (as to be expected this early) and intonation and blend suffered greatly towards the end of the show. Some nice things going on in the drumline, complimented by something that I really miss among big Div. 1 corps...a cymbal line. Great visual stuff going on from the cymbal line alone even during their on-the-field warmup. Very enjoyable. I forget how much fun a good cymbal line can be, and these guys take what they do seriously. Thank you, Memphis Sound for that. It appeared to me that they only have about 1/2 of the closer on the field and were missing a lot of guard work there also. Good choices musically that I'd like to hear about the middle/end of july to see what they've been able to clean. Overall, impressed with the strong base they've established in such a short amount of time, and expect great things from this small corps in the future.

PIONEER - Next up was Pioneer. I was really trying to pay close attention to each corps tonight so I could give a good review of the show, however, I found myself drifting away during Pioneer's show. I don't know exactly why, but this show never really seemed to catch my attention. Once again, drill issues (obviously)...performance and tone quality/blend issues from about 1/3 of the way through the show until the end. Missing some guard work at various points of the show, but I believe they ARE marching a completed show, as far as the drill is concerned. Color guard was all over the place, and I saw a few girls that appeared to be completely clueless out there...but then it occured to me that they probably were. I'm sure they were filling guard spots late, and they probably had a couple of girls out there that were pretty much playing "follow-the-leader" when it came to guard work. Another thing I noticed...quite a bit actually with Pio...were upper body control issues among the hornline. I picked out several people whose bells were bouncing all over the place while marching...even some sops! I'm sure that will get worked out soon, but it HAS to be incredibly hard to play like that. I couldn't pick their sound out, but there HAS to be a lot of "feet" in their sound if they are going to look that uncontrolled in the upper half of their bodies. Anyhow, rough in spots but nice...I don't think, at this point, the staff has given them anything exciting to work with. For their sake, I hope that changes.

BLUE STARS - I was really excited to see Blue Stars after having read so much about them on here, and they did NOT disappoint!! I was amazed at the huge hornline...something that I've not been used to seeing out of them over the course of my marching career, so that was very surprising. Ok, not only do they look good...these guys can play!! Overall, a very very nice sound coming out of this hornline...color me impressed. Look for some great parts coming out of the mello line during "Simple Gifts". Drumline appears to be throwin down some notes, yet it doesn't seem to be anything they can't handle. Great colorguard...BIG colorguard. Loved the guard uniforms. They have some very nice visual moments and interactions in the guard...including a "cheesy" moment where guard members are standing on small benches in a line, and passing guard work down the line. Almost in a "showcase" type of moment where the other guard members watch the one doing the work, and then the next one is watched doing a different sabre/rifle solo. I say "cheesy" in that it's overacted through exaggerated movements and expressions, but I don't mean that in a derrogatory way..rather the opposite. I found it to be appropriate and cute, without being obnoxious. My general impression was that this corps is making a STRONG entrance onto the full-size Div. 1 scene!

HOWEVER...

I do have some concerns...and it's something I'll be mentioning later again. The problem with this show is that it's already performed very well. Now, I don't want to imply that I expect everyone to be sloppy and putting forth sub-par shows...but then again, it IS only the first week of competition. I don't see this show having a lot of room to grow. The horn book, while nice, is relatively safe. The drill is relatively safe, as is the drum book. They are going to have to inject a LOT into this show to take it to the next level. Aside from that, the only time the hornline plays loud (and trust me, they can be loud) or reaaaaaaaaaally well in tune is when they are standing still. It's like 2 different corps. If they can merge the two, then they'll be taking a step in the right direction. This show is nice...and very impressive out of them...I'm just afraid that there's only so far it can go in its current state. It seems to me that there would have to be a LOT of changes to put this corps in finals...considering the competition I'm sure they'll have this year...BUT if they can make all the right moves, this may be your shocker of the season!

COLTS - Wow...that's about all I can say. DEFINATELY a HUGE step forward for the "red team". This show is demand, demand, demand from top to bottom. They've got their work cut out for them, but if they can pull it off, watch out! We may be seeing our first finalst submission from the Colts in some time. Make no mistake about it, these guys have thrown down the guantlet with this show! Bottom half of the top 12, watch out! Provided the first real exciting moments of the show tonight. Their closer rocks and I can't wait to see it in a couple of months. They've got tons of work to do...tons, but they've left themselves plenty of room to grow. The drumline appears solid...playing fairly well together, but the book sounds pretty ambitious. This hornline is going to ROCK in august. Obvious tone quality and intonation issues, but I attribute most of that to the fact that they don't seem to stop moving. Lead sops...errr...trumpets, please please please keep your intonation in mind when you take things up the octave during the ballad. You're pushing sharp and ruining a really nice moment by pushing the whole hornline out of tune. Clear that up, and the ballad will sparkle. HUUUGE guard...huuuge VERY VERY GOOD guard. I think I counted at LEAST 33 members...and they perform well together. I find the female uniforms to be a bit...ummmm..."distracting"...especially on their guard soloist throughout the show. lol I don't know if that's considered better GE or if it's something that they should have thought twice about. Hmmm...oh well, it just struck me as just that...distracting. I have to say that I prefer the Chuck Naffier (sp?) version of "As Time Goes By" that we did in '94 to this one, but it's still very nice. Overall impression...the word of the day for the rest of tour needs to be: clean! Which is what they need to do with this show. They've got the vehicle...only a question as to how much gas they are willing to put into it. Here's to hoping they fill that sucker with rocket fuel!!

MADISON SCOUTS - Ok, I'll admit right now that I'm biased...HOWEVER, I am trying to be as subjective as possible in my review, so here goes. First off, you'll notice some of the same issues as earlier corps had, although I'm not quite sure if the hornline problems were attributed to conditioning, or that they're trying not to kill each other out there!! ^OO^ I'm going to go with the latter. Man this drill is a monster...and it shows. It's obvious where most of the members concentration is focused right now, and it's on trying to get out of this show alive while continuing to clean. Hornline sound suffers quite a bit from it, but those are performance issues related to the drill more than anything else (I hope anyway). They don't seem as loud as they have in the past, and I'm not sure if that's because of the horns, or because of their endurance. One of the things that made the Scouts hornlines of the mid-90's so loud was the fact that we ran breathing block EVERY SINGLE FREAKIN DAY...!!! I can only remember a couple of times where we didn't...and those days seemed like a mini-vacation. Geez, was that a killer...wow. BUT no one would ever accuse us of not bein able to blow. I hope it's still the same way today, and if it isn't, then that's only going to hurt this corps...not help it. Oh, and by the way, the brand new Yamaha horns look fantastic! :D The drumline is solid...as the recaps bore out (seeing as they finished 2nd, ahead of Cavies)...and it's a typical Colin McNutt/Lee Beddis line. I expect great things out of this drumline come August. The guard...well...what to say...? I'm afraid that if the corps has a downfall, this is it. There just doesn't seem to be any real focus about what they're doing. It's not that I noticed a lot of drops or anything, but watching the Cavies guard come on next REALLY accentuated the issues with precision that seemed to plague them tonight. I know it's something they can clean, but it was their weak spot last season and it could end up being their weak spot THIS season...here's hoping that it's not. The drill is VEEEEEEEEEEERY exposed, and has a technical demand second only to Cavies tonight. It's still very very very dirty also. Like I said before...they're just trying not to kill each other at this point, so as it cleans, I see some great visual impacts on the horizon. And once they get a handle on it, THEN (and only then) can they start to work on the hornline issues as it relates to the drill. Fast-paced, high-energy visual and musical package here that I expect will turn the corner and start to close the gap somewhere around Indy in 2 weeks. IF....IF they can clean this show up considerably, then they can make some moves very quickly. If not, then it might be a long summer. I'm sure they have things under control though, and it's great to see something so ambitious for them that gives they some room to really grow this show and not peak too early. I read another review that said they're performing this show very well...I beg to differ...it's far from being where it needs to be...but geez, they're where they SHOULD be with a tough show; seeing as it's only a week into the season. I think this bodes far better for them than other corps scoring better right now.

CAVALIERS - OMG!!!!!! Why this show isn't breaking 80 already is beyond me!! Why they're only scoring 2 points better than Bluecoats is waaaaaaaaaaay beyond me!! This show is amazing...easily one of their best in the past few years, at least in my estimation. I'll echo the sentiments of others, in the sense that I can't even remember hearing ANY music...much less melody. But that's probably because I was so caught up in the visual aspect of this show, that I couldn't pay attention to anything else! This show is such a GE coup, that if anyone can put out a better product, it's going to be one heck of a year for drum corps. An absolute GE masterpiece!! The show theme is obvious from their entrance onto the field, and remains constant throughout. They do an excellent job of selling this show, and it's such an absolute treat to watch. I wish I had a remote for real life, because I'd probably still be in "repeat mode". There's so much to see that you find yourself trying to keep up with what's going on. This is a show that will make you, as a fan, work your butt off! lol Now THAT'S a change of pace. The theme is never broken as it's passed between the colorguard, hornline, and drumline. The demand is just as great as it's ever been, and the drill is just as nuts...with the addition of some reaaaaaaally cool drill effects. There's so much I want to say, but at the same time, I don't want to ruin the experience for others...it's really something to be experienced in person. :) The hornline is, of course, very good...the drumline I guess is a little rough, but they always have a top-notch line, so I expect that to change. The color guard is INSANE! Some of the best moments of the night for me came out of the color guard. Amazing skill these guys are displaying right now...and I only expect it to be better. It's hard for me to say where they might be in August...considering I haven't seen anyone else besides these 7 corps. HOWEVER (and this is a BIG however), I might just go out on a limb and pick this as your winner come August 12th. If there's a better show this summer, then fans are in for a reaaaaal treat. I love it...great job Cavies...setting the standard for innovation, while giving the crowd a wild ride. Put this one alongside Frameworks (look for the robot version of "fight club" this season) and 007 for providing precision with entertainment. GO SEE THIS SHOW!!!!

BLUECOATS - Final corps of the night, and saddled with the dubious task of following Cavies tonight. Perhaps that's why this show seemed flat to me. Don't get me wrong, this corps is very good...in all aspects. And perhaps that will end up being their downfall. They're waaaaaaaaaay too clean...which, in my mind (being that we're not even 2 weeks in yet), speaks to the demand of this show. The reality is, the demand isn't there. The horn book wasn't very impressive in my mind...and I'll have a quick rant about that below...and even though the hornline performs it well, there just doesn't seem to be anywhere to go with it. I found the show to be lacking something that I couldn't quite put my finger on (perhaps originality, as it reminded me of last year...and the year before...and the year before...etc). The drumline is quite good, with possibly a good book to match their ability. The guard is, as usual, very very good...and very very clean (problem?). My BIGGEST concern for this corps is the visual. No, it's not that they are dirty...it's that they're clean...too clean. On top of that, I found the drill to be quite gimmicky. Nothing about it seemed to be very exposed. Much of what I saw was best equated with "illusion"...something that looked like what it wasn't. Many of their "difficult" drill moments were very scattered so that no discernable form or continuity could be established (at least from my vantage point), giving the "illusion" that what they were doing was very tough (because they were moving quickly) by making it look harder than it was. A perfect example would be towards the end of the show where they move a diagonal down a company front (similar to how a heart beat monitor would look with its positive and negative peaks). It looks like it's a difficult drill move, but when you think about it, you're only doing a simple forward or backwards march ahead of or behind the company front. Not technically very demanding. A lot of their drill was like this...it almost seemed like they TRIED to make something look more demanding than it was so that it would be easier to clean...and it appears that they've accomplished just that. Other corps at this show tonight have left themselves more room to grow than Bluecoats have, and it probably will end up being a problem for them when they level off in their scoring. Could we be seeing the reverse of the Scouts situation from '05?? Remains to be seen. Overall, quite good, with a great cologuard and drumline, but concerns about their ability to grow as the season progresses. I don't see this show coming any closer to Cavies...in fact, I see Cavies probably beginning to pull away in the next week. Sorry guys...as it stands, this show doesn't have the legs to do it. It's nice, but it's not quite there.

*rant* Ok, what is it about Bluecoats doing the same song 2 years in a row? And it's not even something that everyone has done before, such as "Fanfare for the Common Man", or "Appalacian Spring" or something...but it's the opener from the 2003 Scouts show by Benoit Jutras (can't remember the exact name)....which, incidentally, I don't think had ever been done by anyone before. That would make the third time we've heard this song in 3 years by 2 different corps. Now, before anybody says anything, I know it was routine for this to happen, especially within any particular corps, back in the 70's and 80's. But we're not IN the 70's or 80's. C'mon guys...I was expecting to hear something NEW out of you...and certainly not something that the Scouts brought to the table for the first time just 2 years ago (from when they first did it last season). Pretty disappointed with that...and I'm sure that has something to do with the fact that I like the Scouts version of it better. I'm just really surprised...but oh well...if that's what they wanna do, then they certainly can...I just think it's a little overdone at this point. <**>

Ok, I had so much more I wanted to say, I'm sure...but this is about all I could pull off the top of my head. It's been a long couple of days, and I need sleep. Thank you all for reading, and feel free to agree, disagree, or tell my that my mother dresses me funny to your hearts content! :D

***EDIT*** Something I forgot to mention (which is just TOO cool to not share) illustrates just how small this world really is. A girl that I marched Colts with in '95 and a guy that I marched Scouts with in '96 somehow met up and got married...which in and of itself would be pretty amazing...however, when I picked up and moved to KC last spring, little did I know that I would be moving to within 2 MILES OF THEM!! I mean, there's no way I ever would have known...at one point they were working for DCI...which, I believe, required them to be in Chicago. Prior to that, she went to University of Oklahoma, and last I had heard, he was in Memphis...so...doesn't get much more random than that!! lol They literally live 2 miles away from my apartment...so freaky!

Edited June 26, 2006 by BigBadMadMan

[dciguy01]

Thanks for the review! Was looking for one of these babies. Gives me a lot to look forward to and the constructive criticism is well placed. :)

Edited June 26, 2006 by dciguy01

[bluecoats88]

Quite interesting about the repeating of music but I think you might be a little off. As you can see from the reps below the Bluecoats played Incantation last year and are playing Distorted this year (not the same piece) and madison played both pieces in 2003 not 2004.

Here is Madison's Rep from 2003 not 2004

2003 - GOLD, GREEN AND RED: The Music of Benoit Jutras -

Jardin Chinois

Distorted (from La Nouba)

Atmadja

Urban

Reve Rouge

Incantation

And Bluecoats from 2005 and 2006

2005 Caravan -

Caravan

Incantation (from Cirque du Soliel)

Ombra (from Cirque du Soliel)

Hajj

2006 Connexus -

Roots of Coincidence

Distorted (from La Nouba)

My Heart and I

The Tihai

[KenDrum]

[

*rant* Ok, what is it about Bluecoats doing the same song 2 years in a row? And it's not even something that everyone has done before, such as "Fanfare for the Common Man", or "Appalacian Spring" or something...but it's the opener from the 2003 Scouts show by Benoit Jutras (can't remember the exact name)....which, incidentally, I don't think had ever been done by anyone before. That would make the third time we've heard this song in 3 years by 2 different corps. Now, before anybody says anything, I know it was routine for this to happen, especially within any particular corps, back in the 70's and 80's. But we're not IN the 70's or 80's. C'mon guys...I was expecting to hear something NEW out of you...and certainly not something that the Scouts brought to the table for the first time just 2 years ago (from when they first did it last season). Pretty disappointed with that...and I'm sure that has something to do with the fact that I like the Scouts version of it better. I'm just really surprised...but oh well...if that's what they wanna do, then they certainly can...I just think it's a little overdone at this point. <**>

Ok, I had so much more I wanted to say, I'm sure...but this is about all I could pull off the top of my head. It's been a long couple of days, and I need sleep. Thank you all for reading, and feel free to agree, disagree, or tell my that my mother dresses me funny to your hearts content! :D

Bluecoats are not doing the same song 2 years in a row. They are both from Cirque du Soleil shows and both by Benoit Jutras. Last year the piece was Incantation and this year it is Distorted. They were both done by the 2003 Madison Scouts. Incantation was also used last year by Southwind.

[billparlan]

"MADISON SCOUTS - Ok, I'll admit right now that I'm biased...HOWEVER, I am trying to be as subjective as possible in my review, "

No no, dont worry about it seemed perfectly objective, no really...

[BigBadMadMan]

Bluecoats are not doing the same song 2 years in a row. They are both from Cirque du Soleil shows and both by Benoit Jutras. Last year the piece was Incantation and this year it is Distorted. They were both done by the 2003 Madison Scouts. Incantation was also used last year by Southwind.

maybe that's where I heard it...I can't be 100% certain, but since I was on tour last summer, I really thought I heard BC play it last year as well...

that said, if I'm wrong, I apologize but the sentiment stands...pulling 2 songs from their show to put in your show the past 2 years...I find that weak...was looking for somethin new...

Edited June 26, 2006 by BigBadMadMan

[BigBadMadMan]

"MADISON SCOUTS - Ok, I'll admit right now that I'm biased...HOWEVER, I am trying to be as subjective as possible in my review, "

No no, dont worry about it seemed perfectly objective, no really...

well, at least I admitted my bias...and then also said I was TRYING to be subjective. But honestly, I think I was much more complimentary of Colts and Cavies...

[BigBadMadMan]

Thanks for the review! Was looking for one of these babies. Gives me a lot to look forward to and the constructive criticism is well placed. :)

appreciate it...didn't realize it turned out so long until I was done...took me like 2 hours to finish typing that thing....with all my edits! lol

[geluf]

that said, if I'm wrong, I apologize but the sentiment stands...pulling 2 songs from their show to put in your show the past 2 years...I find that weak...was looking for somethin new...

You realize this happens all the time right?

Everyone has done it at some point.

[BigBadMadMan]

You realize this happens all the time right?

Everyone has done it at some point.

re-read my original statement in my review about it...I realize it happens...but this music was brand new to drum corps...and only done 2 years prior...it's NOT well known. Which, if it had been, it would have made their choosing it somewhat logical. but I was just really surprised to hear 2 different (as it was pointed out) songs from the same Scouts show in THEIR show in 2 consecutive seasons. Plus with it being so close, it will draw a lot of comparisons.