Westminster Review

[kas]

I wondered about the black dress too. I looked up the song and I think there's some symbolism going on here, as the name of the song is Sanvean (I am your Shadow), so I'm thinking that she is the shadow (of Alice.)

I saw the show and wondered about the black dress too. Your theory might make sense if she were wearing the same costume as Alice, only in black. But there is absolutely no similarity to the two costumes. The shadow theory would be quite a stretch to ask an audience to grasp anyway. I'm not really sure what I would put her in to tell you the truth. I guess a black dress is as good as anything, it's just that this one looks like something you'd wear to your best friend's wedding, tall heels and all. Very attractive, just looks out of place on a drumcorps field, that's all. That's just my opinion. My guess is that most people probably paid little or no attention to what she is wearing.

Edited July 2, 2006 by kas

[xbones7480]

I saw the show and wondered about the black dress too. Your theory might make sense if she were wearing the same costume as Alice, only in black. But there is absolutely no similarity to the two costumes. The shadow theory would be quite a stretch to ask an audience to grasp anyway. I'm not really sure what I would put her in to tell you the truth. I guess a black dress is as good as anything, it's just that this one looks like something you'd wear to your best friend's wedding, tall heels and all. Very attractive, just looks out of place on a drumcorps field, that's all. That's just my opinion. My guess is that most people probably paid little or no attention to what she is wearing.

Maybe she should switch outfits with the Queen.

[shawn craig]

My thoughts on the Westminster show. Will just add to original posters comments which I very much agree with. Excellent review.

Jersey Serf: Great potential in this show with an almost full corps. Good overall sound. Great Contra Section!!! They seem to be short some baritones, only 11 i think. If there's a low brass player on here needing something to do this summer, give them a call. (don't know if they are actually looking to fill spots or not.)

Magic: The arrangment of the Bach Jesu Joy is horrible; didn't even recognize it for awhile; sounds even worse in the reprise at the end of the show. Not really a very well designed show at all; exception being some pretty flags. Kids were working hard. Small gaurd only 18 or so.

Spirit: Agree that the guard is better, good costume and flag designs. Typical Spirit, good music, uninspired visual program.

Crossmen: It is entertaining. The first and only use of vocals in three years that I can handle. Spirit is ahead on the music program, Crossmen on the visual program and overall show design as they actually have one and Spirit really doesn't.

Boston: Overall I like the show design. They need to dress up the cathedral arches props, which I'm told by the souvie people they intend to do. Visual is cleaner then Crowns, Brass is not.

Crown: Very ragged visual execution. I think the first 2/3 of the show are really neat. But thought the last part seemed to be a series of about 5 or more mini endings all tagged on to each other. Needs work.

Phantom: Great show! One of the only times I thought amps were out of balance was just after the opening when the horns are doing some backfield playing; the pit was too loud because of them. Agree that they need to put the Margarite character in something else to distinguish her from the rest of the girls, like Faust looks different from the other 5 guys. The ending needs some visual work, but I could tell that is coming. They are very dirty visually. When they start to clean and work out the kinks, they are going to give those ahead of them some major trouble.

Cadets: I actually liked this show better than I thought I would, but it has some problems. The drum feature is great, minus the vocals, but the only great part of the show. I had the exact same thought as the original poster, the red queen looks like a lady of the evening not queen of a tea party. The rabbit was white, but didn't really look like a rabbit. If I hadn't already known what he was suppose to be, not sure I'd have guessed. There is some great playing in the brass line somewhere, but unmemorable, didn't think the ballad was all that, same chord progression over and over in different keys; at least the vocalist was soft; which by the way she is suppose to be. She is not a "soloist" in the traditional manner at this point but rather another "tone color" with the brass. The uniform also doesn't work. The blue on the jacket looks cheap, they actually look like pajamas form the back, not a uniform. All the floral cycadelic blue patterns in the uniforms, guard uniforms, and back drops are just way too much, way to busy. The show has no visual clearity or focus. All in all this show has a lot more energy then last years.

[elphaba01]

Beautiful night for drumcorps. My husband and I saw the show tonight, so we'll do a quick...he said, she said....type review. We are long-time drumcorps fans and have been very active volunteers since 1999. We didn't have a horse in this race, so take it for what it's worth. Neither of us consider ourselves experts in any particular area of drum corps, so we're just going to make general impression type comments for those of you who didn't get to see the show. Please keep in mind that this is a first read for all the shows.

Didn't arrive until Magic, so that's where we'll start. So sorry to the earlier corps, but we went after work and got there as soon as we could.

MAGIC

He said: They looked young, but are working hard.

She said: They'll have to really make some changes and improve in all areas to make semis this year. Appreciate how hard they are working

SPIRIT

He said: Clearly a step up from Magic, but surprised they scored as high as they did a few nights ago. Their score tonight was more realistic.

She said: Enjoyed their show. Guard better than year's past. Drill is uninspired. Agree that the score tonight was more realistic.

CROSSMEN

He said: Good to see Crossmen finally come out this season. Enjoyed seeing their first show. Very fun, entertaining show and perphaps the best use of voice I've seen. Possibly the most entertaining show of the evening. Still, it was their first show and it showed.

She said: Best use of amped voice since amplification. Very creative and enjoyable show. The members seemed to be having a lot of fun. The crowd really enjoyed their performance. I think they will eventually pass Spirit. Definitely a top 12 show. Had some really cool flags with city and state references to compliment the "Changing Lanes" theme. I really loved this show.

BOSTON

He said: Have grown to expect a solid show from Boston and they didn't disappoint me tonight. Brass was a bit ragged, guard not too bad. No real wow moments. Liked their attitude.

She said: So glad to see Boston finally take a step away from all the "signature" moves, as I felt they were becoming too cliche. Guard was very good. Hornline a little sloppy at times, but overall enjoyable. Generally a good and entertaining show, though didn't see too much demand in the drill which will probably hurt their efforts to move up more that a place or two this year.

CROWN

He said: Someone must have had a sale on purple! Don't really care for Crown's uniform. LOVED their sound. They would benefit from more demand, but I found them enjoyable.

She said: Beautiful sound, but they did seem to suffer from some fatigue toward the last third of their show. Beautiful guard. Drill is uninspired. Lots of bad feet...going to have to get a LOT cleaner for them to move up this year. Lucky for them, it's only June. Generally enjoyed their show.

PHANTOM

He said: Clearly a step above Boston and Crown. Much more demand in drill and music. Good solid Phantom sound, but they seem to be struggling to execute the music and drill. I can see why they're behind the top scoring corps. There is enough demand in their show, however, that if they master the demand, they should be able to move up.

She said: I agree, a step above Boston and Crown, but not the Phantom that I am accustomed to seeing. However, I am usually a skeptic of Phantom early in the season, and their biggest fan by finals week. That being said, I'm not sure that the talent matches the ambition this year. Many more marching and fatigue issues than I am used to seeing out of this corps. Still the same fantastic hornline though...just perhaps not the same level of endurance. Also, the drill design seems to be a little weak. BUT, Phantom is typically a genuis at working out these issues, so perhaps they'll surprise me again!

CADETS

He said: Their scores indicate that they must be doing a pretty good job of playing and marching, but honestly, the stupid rabbit, the Red Queen of the night and the overrated lounge singer totally distracted me from drum corps. I think I remember a good trumpet feature and the percussion seemed solid, but this show doesn't do it for me at all.

She said: Let me preface my comments by saying that I LOVED last year's show. 2000 Cadets is still my all-time favorite drum corps show. Okay. If I had to sum this show up in one word, it would be embarrassing . I don't want to be cruel, but I thought that the "characters" were ridiculous. The Red Queen would more appropriately be called the Red Prostitute...that costume has got to go. And the rabbit...well, you couldn't get me into that ridiculous getup for a billion dollars. Then there's the singer...nothing personal, I'm sure she's a lovely person, but she adds absolutely nothing to the show and looks very out of place on the field. You could barely hear most of what she was singing. I saw no drill, I remember no music. I didn't even watch what is typically my favorite guard because I couldn't take my eyes off of the spectacle on the field. Not to mention the plethora of props!. The "flowery" addition to the back of the uniform is distracting and sloppy, and the baby blue silk pajamas that the guard is wearing are not my favorites either. I'm quite sure that the corps sounded wonderful as usual, but I just couldn't pay attention. Sorry, I really wanted to love The Cadets this year too. Maybe next year.

Anyway, that's it. We apologize if we hurt anybody's feelings. We certainly don't mean to do that. We truly appreciate the corps and recognize that the members put their hearts and souls into performing for all of us.

"He Said, She Said":

Thank you for taking the time and effort to accomplish this review. Love the format.

Elphaba

WWW

[elphaba01]

From this picture, it does appear that she's enjoying herself. Does that mean she likes the costume? Maybe. Or it could just mean that she enjoys performing, regardless of what kind of costume somebody has stuck her in. Does that mean it's flattering, appropriate to the story line, or pleasing to most audiences (at least from the comments on the thread the photo was originally posted in)? There are some who probably really like it, but those types might do well to keep in mind that this is "somebody's kid", as George pointed out!

In any case, to me it's a lousy and tasteless representation of the Red Queen from Alice in Wonderland. Strictly my opinion, of course, and when I said it was embarassing for her, I didn't mean to assume she didn't like it it; I just meant it was something that has the potential to cause embarassment for her (in future years even if it doesn't bother her right now!).

"Bad Art":

Really good commentary. This "Red Queen" is simply awfull. <**>

Elphaba

WWW

[kac]

My thoughts on the Westminster show. Will just add to original posters comments which I very much agree with. Excellent review.

Phantom: Great show! One of the only times I thought amps were out of balance was just after the opening when the horns are doing some backfield playing; the pit was too loud because of them. Agree that they need to put the Margarite character in something else to distinguish her from the rest of the girls, like Faust looks different from the other 5 guys. The ending needs some visual work, but I could tell that is coming. They are very dirty visually. When they start to clean and work out the kinks, they are going to give those ahead of them some major trouble.

The Margarite character does have her hair down, and the others have it pulled back, so there is some distinction. But yes, there needs to be something more.

Did anyone else notice how just plain lost she seemed on the field at times? Does she have drill sets? I mean, it looks like she knows what general area she's supposed to be in, but I question whether or not she actually knows her sets. (or was given exact sets in some instances)

I saw her take out 2 horn players at one point (at least one of them fell) and came within inches of colliding with a tuba at the end of the show.... to the point that my friend and I gasped as we watched because we thought they were all going DOWN.

I'm sure it will be fixed, but I breathed a sigh of relief at the end of the show that she didn't take out any more people. I'm sure she has done/will do a great job in the role, but that night she was a drill hazard on more than one occasion.

[boneman2000]

I meant to do this before I went away for the weekend, but oh well. I'm a few days late. Some quick hits from Westminster...

Jersey Surf: I heard an early version of the music at the Reading Buccaneers Spring Preivew in mid May. I think it's an intelligently written book, but it lacks impact. I heard this hornline in warm up and has potential to be really good. Finish phrases and play with confidence and they'll be ok. Some empty space in the design could be looked at.

Magic: My big complaint is that the balance was far from stellar. The drums KILLED the hornline in volume. I have to agree with the earlier comment about the Bach piece. I see the intention, but it's one of those situations where if you don't pull it off perfectly, it's going to knock you down badly.

Spirit: Nothing specific I can think of. I think this is a show that has promise and needs to be cleaned. The hornline impressed me a little more than I expected.

Crossmen: I LOVE the concept. I think there were definitely some first show jitters. It seemed to me that the opener kinda missed the mark. But as a performer, there are those parts of the show you really enjoy, and I think that part for this corps was the "Radio Sequence" From that point on, I heard and saw a different and more confident corps. The score they wound up with at the end was probably right for that night. But if they can clean it, it'll be good.

Boston Crusaders: Holy Pillars Batman. I was afraid that the props were going to be too much of a distraction, and at first they might have been. But they did a good job with the movement to depict the music. Nice ensemble sound and visual. I could've used more dynamic variance though throughout the whole show. I had them above Carolina Crown because....

Carolina Crown: This corps must have an "all music no feet" approach early in the year. Last year at Westminster, their feet were such a distraction from the show. This year was the same. I don't think it was as bad, but a top Div 1 corps should not have the feet problems I was seeing. It's a shame because that hornline can turn it on like nobody's business. Something an instructor I had used to say was, "You have no right to have an impact if you don't build up to it." When they aren't at an impact, they do have a little trouble sustaining phrases and building up to their impacts. But their impacts....wow! Once they iron that out and get their feet in time, it'll be another good corps this year.

Phantom Regiment: Yeah...the usual awesome sound of Phantom Regiment. That's the best way to put it. They are so musical with everything they do. And it's not with the glitz and glamour of fancy prop or amp stuff. They go out there, lay it out, and go on their merry way. I absolutely love that. Nice show this year. Possible top 5 material.

Cadets: If I saw this show about 10 more times, I'd understand it more. It's a whole heck of a lot going on and only 11 minutes to see it all. As much as people talk about all that's going on, let's not forget that they execute VERY well. Though with so much going on, sometimes it's easy to miss mistakes because it all gets lost. The musician side of me liked the singing opening. The traditional drum corps side of me wonders if this is steering the activity in a direction that's going to benefit corps who have more resources. I'd rather see a corps win based on talent rather than based on money. They definitely won the show hands down. I think the ballad is beautiful with what I think is a good use of the amps. Could be a repeat. Now only if they'd do it without a door on the field.