George Posted July 2, 2006 Share Posted July 2, 2006 (edited) Nice weather - I had good seats (48 yard line pretty high up) - so good stuff! Crowd was not that big though - maybe 3-4K? Seemed like less than Westminster the night prior. Stadium tends to amplify errors - especially individual music errors - not that forgiving of a venue / so since it was early season to trained ears the execution was a little fuzzy in spots - horrific in others. My real quick impressions: Raiders - nice little corps - but still incomplete show in many sections / you can tell they have a good plan but each section looked lost in various portions of the program. With work they should have a solid product by finals - snare line needs some bodies (3?). Crowd was appreciative. Magic - much bigger sound / percussion is their strong suit - look younger over all than last year especially in horn and guard. A lot of visible holes in those two lines. Program gets the big thing right: its very enterntaining - crowd really loved it. Good energy and nice job overall - they have a lot of potential and were visibly better last night than the prior night in Westminster. Horn staging needs some work (drill). Southwind - nice visual program and obviously more mature corps but the program left me flat. It seems with better execution as the season progresses it will sell better - but right now, just flat. The play off of the black, white was interesting - but I found the constant use of Cadet / Cavalier / Phantom musical hooks and images a bit distracting. I need to see this one again - good solid corps though. Crowd preferred Magic. Crown - fantastic drill - tough program the corps is still grasping. They tucker out about 2/3s through - this vehicle for them has a ton of room to grow - I can honestly see them catching several corps who placed above them last year by season's end. Drill extremely musical with excellent field coverage and voice staging. Guard and drums very effective - but mostly as a frame or support for their powerful bell-like brass. This program could shock many come finals week. Boston - well performed program which is currently flat emotionally. Other than the large Cathedral spines - the programs theme wasn't clear. Drill was cluttered with somewhat random staging of the voices. Color pallete pretty narrow - I am sure many of these programming issues are early-season items they are already addressing. All three lines - percussion, guard & brass - seem very solid so they will certainly have a successful 2006 - but I felf they left the crowd wanting more. Phantom - so far I am not sold on the program. Visual staging is way too cluttered - they need to spread out the drill substantially. Brass sound is thick - but not in a good way (IMO) more in a fuzzy way - with many individuals popping out of the large ensemble - lots of blown attacks, dynamic pop-outs inside each line - etc. Drumline is very solid - but demand (visual and even musical) is a little tame - musically the writing is a little flat throughout the program but I'm sure they'll address that as things progress toward Madison. The brass changing instruments for the first 80% of the ballad is entirely pointless musically - they barely achieve any effect. Guard is not effectively communicating the program theme - and honestly - was a wreck during large segments of the program with many individual extended breaks. Right now the guard looks top 10, the drums top 4 and the brass top 6. It will be interesting to see how the program grows between now and finals. I see then at finals anywhere from 6-4 Cadets - I thought the score was too close - but dirty feet are still holding the brass and percussion scores down - so that explains it. Corps is on another level from the others this night - especially in terms of program demand, staging, GE, and ensemble execution. The demands on the corps are incredible - drill is nutty hard, tons of timing challenges with mixed-meter work, tons of signature cadet tempo changes - plus the ohh-so hard sectional interplays from 50 yards away. Loved the ballad staging and the interplay of the voice / brass. Guard staging and work in the ballad is one to remember. Brilliant. Corps is much more effectively communicating this years vehicle at this point than last. Opening use of last years drill (complete with air sticking, valve playing and guard spinning (unis) is just a nutty hard way to start your program - all the while the pit and singer performing "History Repeating". Interesting "repeating" of so many classic Cadet drill forms - crowns, fish, etc... Corps is improving quickly and I see them taking another championship. I don't see a weakness. Speaking of "repeating"... time will tell. Crossmen - Crossmen are much improved - but right now individual performance issues - especially in the closer - are keeping the scores down. The program is fresh and entertaining - the guard is currently their strong caption - staging does a great job of communicating with the crowd - who loved them! Big challenges in getting the young brass line cleaned up - drum staging could use a little adjustment - they are a little lost throughout the program and pretty solid so they should work to focus them a bit more. Saturday night players? Could be! Nice job bones... All in all a great night - this is shaping up as a great season! Thanks for reading, George Edited July 2, 2006 by George Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xbones7480 Posted July 2, 2006 Share Posted July 2, 2006 Thanks for reading,George Xmen - Any reason why you signed off like this? Are you saying you marched in Xmen or are you saying Amen to Xmen? Just curious.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
George Posted July 2, 2006 Author Share Posted July 2, 2006 Any reason why you signed off like this? Are you saying you marched in Xmen or are you saying Amen to Xmen? Just curious.... it was a typo - I already fixed it Glad you liked the review, George Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xbones7480 Posted July 2, 2006 Share Posted July 2, 2006 Silly Rabbit! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JMS0527 Posted July 2, 2006 Share Posted July 2, 2006 "score was too close" how? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FlamInvert122 Posted July 2, 2006 Share Posted July 2, 2006 It's funny how your review of The Cadets is the only one of its kind. And I'll tell you what... I believe everyone else's. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GMichael1230 Posted July 2, 2006 Share Posted July 2, 2006 George, you were aware that Cadets guard had plenty of drops also, just like PR's right ?? Especially two features , One Sabres, One rifles. ~G~ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brothers Posted July 2, 2006 Share Posted July 2, 2006 I'm with George... Very good show. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
George Posted July 2, 2006 Author Share Posted July 2, 2006 George,you were aware that Cadets guard had plenty of drops also, just like PR's right ?? Especially two features , One Sabres, One rifles. ~G~ yup - tons of dirt in the guard / but they were mucho superior to PR guard Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
George Posted July 2, 2006 Author Share Posted July 2, 2006 (edited) It's funny how your review of The Cadets is the only one of its kind. And I'll tell you what... I believe everyone else's. Yes - I'm the ONLY person with a positive thing to say about the cadets - I mean - besides all the folks I was sitting with last night - ohh, oops, and the guy who just posted in this thread... and oh, oops, the judges, and ohh - the folks I went to Westminster with the night before... etc. Edited July 2, 2006 by George Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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