More Riverside

[MarimbasaurusRex]

Not really a full review, didn't see every corps and only have comments on a few...

It was really hot on the field and it was obvious both audience and performers were feeling it. Kudos to every one of those kids who went out and put on a really nice evening of drum corps.

Jester

One of the most memorable corps of the night for me. I really admire the performers' energy and there are some fine individual players. Really nice trumpet solo, drummers laying down some licks and the whole group playing out with confidence. They had 6(?) people on the sideline and let's hope there are 6 more where that came from, and 6 more, and more. They have a good strong nucleus.

Academy

I love this corps. Can't say that enough. For me, the program philosophy is right on the money, the kids are obviously having a GREAT time performing even though it was 1000 degrees out there! The members love their show and so does the audience. Nothing pompous or goofy, it's all honest and sweet to the core. At one point it brought a tear to my eye seeing the knowing smiles traded among members of the pit. That's LOVE right there and everything good about drum corps. Don't miss Academy. ON FIRE. Last time I saw this was Cadets 1980 and everyone knows how that turned out.

Blue Knights

This is the hardest working drum corps I've ever seen. The show is incredibly demanding for members and audience alike. Unfortunately, the first half started to feel a bit tedious and the audience seemed to politely endure it, appreciative of the skill involved, but not pulled into it. The demand is way beyond anything else at this show. Horn line is powerful but not quite up to the impact level this music requires at times. The pit has some fine mallet players who really dig in. Great job all around really, it's a heck of an accomplishment. There was a good build in the second half to the end. If they can get that kind of flow in the first half this corps could be a sleeper and really bloom in August, if they don't fall down from mental exhaustion first. I can imagine the enormous effort required just to commit this show to memory let alone perform and clean it. Unfortunately, the strongest impression I recall is the look of "we're working our buns off and not having any fun at all" on the faces of the performers.

Vanguard

I like this show. Some say it's not very Vanguard or a departure. But in some ways it is very Vanguard indeed, a return to exploration of different styles rather than just "being Vanguard." If they can do a LOT of cleaning, I think this show could catch BD. I was a bit disappointed with the pit, not the performance but the writing. SCV has done a lot to define percussion in DCI, but this year seems like a few steps back.

Blue Devils

The music didn't do a lot for me and I'm not a big fan of Jay Murphy drill. The Godfather theme almost seems passe. Maybe it's been through too many muzak incarnations, but that theme should be the treat of the show and it wasn't for me. Certainly excellent performers and they deserve to score well. For me the best part of the show is the Vanguard yell moment toward the end. That's right, the Vanguard yell. There's a spot that's perfect for it and I was SOOOOOO tempted to yell Vanguard! :sshh: Now now, before you jump all over me, I like BD. That's just what I thought of at the moment. If you too feel this uncontrollable urge to yell Vanguard!, please just say no.

[alto92]

I was a bit disappointed with the pit, not the performance but the writing. SCV has done a lot to define percussion in DCI, but this year seems like a few steps back.

I disagree. I've been at both days of rehearsal in Downey and one day last week - the writing is there, both in the battery and pit. For SOME reason, though, it's not coming across in the shows. I don't know what it is. Poor ensemble balance? Poor mixing? Poor balance from back to front? Who knows? Jackson/Mason will figure it out though, and the show will burn when it absolutely needs to.

P.S. THANKS for the review!

edit: just got back from the rehearsal again...the pit has a bunch of new stuff and they spent like 2 hours tinkering wtih the amps. they're getting a much much bigger (fuller) sound now... :)

Edited June 27, 2006 by alto92

[pcfr3ak]

Why aren't there any reviews for Esperanza, PC and Mandies???

I really like these guys shows, it would have realy been nice to hear some other opinions on their shows.

I gues they'll get some more attention next time

Nice review on the corps you did review

[MarimbasaurusRex]

alto 92, glad to hear they are working on it. Don't mean that it's bad at all, there wasn't as much sparkle and color as I'm used to from SCV. I loved the battery writing by the way, playing too.

pcfr3ak, I'll add some comments on the other corps. Don't mean to neglect anyone, but I didn't see Dream or Mystikal and honestly don't recall much about Gold's show, we were getting settled into our seats at that point. ***Correction - was Gold on after Jester? I forget. Hey, what do you expect from a dinosaur, I'm old. :)

Impulse - The music didn't stick with me. What I do recall is a guard captain who kind of stole the show. Great equipment work by the way, excellent. Guard is well integrated with the drill. That's what stood out.

Esperanza - I didn't review them at first because it was hard to get a read on their show. As I understand it, this is their first weekend out and there are still a lot of members missing. I suppose this is true for several of the corps. They have a deep rich nasty drum sound that I really like, but there are times when it doesn't project quite well enough when they are staged behind mid-field. Some strong brass moments, but blend isn't quite there yet. The combination of guard unis and drill seemed to separate them a bit from the corps and I prefer to see more integration.

Mandarins - The mandarin orange unis are kind of nice (actually burnt orange or pumpkin or something). I don't remember much about the show at all. I DO remember last year's show quite well.

Pacific Crest - They look smaller with black pants. For me, the guard unis aren't working at all and detract from what could be a better show. Susie Homemaker twirling a saber is just weird and distracting. Is she carving meatloaf? What's the deal? The choreography looks forced and hokey at times, and the top hats are just... well.... Sorry kids, the performance is good, but I have to wonder what the designers were thinking. The horn line is solid as ever, as are the drums. This is a VERY talented corps, but in my opinion the show doesn't do them justice and won't carry them very far as it is right now. But, thankfully, I'm not a judge.

Side note to the smaller corps uniform designers out there - Nix the black shakos and plumes on so many corps, black unis too. When you've got only 50-100 people out there it just doesn't get the intimidating effect you are going for. Black makes a small corps look microscopic. Kids are playing their hearts out and we can hardly see them, especially at dusk.

Edited June 28, 2006 by MarimbasaurusRex

[tubawarrior]

Academy

I love this corps. Can't say that enough. For me, the program philosophy is right on the money, the kids are obviously having a GREAT time performing even though it was 1000 degrees out there!

It's better than the 25000 degree weather of Arizona though, isn't it?

[XxDrumCorpsFanxX]

It's better than the 25000 degree weather of Arizona though, isn't it?

haha yah that weather that they had in cali was probably nothing to arizona...