Dublin, OH Review

[BlooooContra]

Finished my 3 hour drive back to Kent thanks to the lovely construction that's popped up in Ohio this year. I'll start with the usual disclaimer:

1. I'm biased.

2. I like certain things.

3. I hate certain things.

If you have any discrepencies or complaints about numbers 2 and 3, I suggest you refer to number 1. :)

With that said, on to the review!

My seat was great- right on the 50, just a few rows from the top. Good crowd, though a little reserved. What can I say, I prefer the raving lunatic alumni (myself now included!) that tend to inhabit shows like Massilon and occasionally Toledo. I like my drum corps crowds rowdy and ready to give it up, as long as it doesn't reach the levels of the Normal, IL show.

Show started with the Dublin Taiko Drum Enselble. Man, I thought my old high school was broadening its horizons when we added our jazz band. I dig the traditional writing. Takes guts for those kids to perform in that kind of medium to such a large crowd of strangers. Kudos. My only suggestion would be for the Master Drummer to have arranged or written a piece for them to be more engaging and entertaining for an audience. Go against the traditional grain for one performance and maybe reel some new people in. They only got polite... and fairly confused/awkward... applause after a couple of the tunes. Couple of those kids were really performing the #### out of their set. Some of the heights reminded me of BD's drumline. B)

SOUTHWIND- Duality is yet another step up. They were a hotdog corps for me since I started watching back in 99 (liked 00's music, but didn't like their total lack of fast tempo and vis demand). 2005 totally changed my mind. Loved them then, and by the end of the season, I can see myself loving them again. The staff has clearly raised the bar for the corps. The members are doing a good job of chasing that standard. Some of the music fell flat on my ears- very little grabbing moments. Visually, these guys found their strong point. Effective drill writing sold the concept without having to go to great lengths. Rather than having a nebulous idea, it was more like "Hey. Check it out. There's two of everything... and they're different." Simple, yet effective. Glad to see SW on the rise. Oh, and the orange bodysuits? I'm sure some of the male corps members dig em. But for real... fluorescent orange? Is this a tshirt from 1991 being reincarnated?

::quickly re-hangs up my Saved By the Bell poster:::

Note to DCI: save your headliners (Blue and Phantom, despite it being Cap Reg's turf. isn't the Crew Stadium show their real home show though?) for the end!!! You don't have Jay-Z as an opening act for a local band just because you're playing in the local band's hometown. I understand the reasoning. I just don't like it all that much, solely because I hated to see a bunch of people leaving the stands early. Holes in the audience are about as much fun for performers as holes on the field.

BLUECOATS- Um... did somebody say this show was too clean? Man, do I ever disagree. They're clean for July 12th, but peaking early because of lack of demand? Put the crack pipe down. Color guard seemed to have a good show tonight. Very well written visual book by the guard staff. Drumline was throwing down notes like mad, lots of tasty licks hidden in the show. Percussion writers like Mike McIntosh (and I'd put in Jim Cassella as well) write such musical drum books. I love it that their notes aren't just arbitrary. The drumline adds a lot of depth to this show. Horns were quiet, as Bluecoat hornlines post-2001 always are until the end of July. Drill-wise, holy ish. This show has the individual demand and the ensemble effect to take any visual caption on finals night... if it gets clean. That's what's going to decide whether or not Blue walks out of Madison with a colored medal, a ring, or a generic finals medallion. Mark my words: this show won't peak early. Plenty of changes going in still, and besides, it's too freaking hard to get clean early!

PHANTOM- Do I almost always hate Phantom shows? Yes. Do I loathe most classical music in general (despite my 4 years as a performance major)? Yes. Did I actually dig a good portion of this show? You bet. Phantom was ANGRY, which I totally love in a drum corps. The mellos did what so rarely gets done right in DCI: play the instrument like it's a french horn, and play it well. Great quality from them at loud dynamics. The new ending seemed more confident tonight. Not the WOW I was expecting, but the corps seemed to keep momentum going really well from start to finish. Meaty horn book was definitely appreciated. Visual demand is up from last year, which was nice to see. Color guard put on a fairly bland show tonight, but something tells me it's more the writing than the performers. Drums were sooo clean! Being a drummer as well as a brass player, it's fairly obvious that the book was written to be clean. For what they're scoring, I don't think there's enough demand in there. Drumline should be in the top 3 in August, but without more difficulty, I don't see a drum title, as long as another line or two gets clean as well. It would be like BD winning ensemble vis over Cavies. Clean, yes, but where's the demand in comparison? Can't wait to see how Phantom's show turns out in the end. Very exciting music throughout most of it (contras, watch the release in the ballad!!!!).

...and I totally thought that those guys in the guard were going to make out with eachother. Anybody else get that vibe?

:P

(...and if you're going to flame me on that comment, for the love of God, have a sense of humor. I know it's coming. lol)

CROWN- Nice little opening drill to introduce the theme. This show is all about guard. Hornline vis demand is way up from past years, but please, SOMEONE teach those contras how to jazz run properly!!! My stadium hotdog (which gets a solid 86.4, taking the captions Performance Bun and GE Deliciousness overall) nearly came back up when I saw them. Just a pet peeve of mine from my years of marching. Heavy instruments aren't a good excuse to not be able to run all over the field as well as everyone else. Drumline didn't stick out as a highlight as much as some Crown lines have in the past (i.e. 2001). Guard was a blast to watch. Though I don't care much for the show overall, some of the cheesy, tongue-in-cheek stuff that they did was really entertaining. Kept the show moving. From the perspective of performing to the box, they were the best guard tonight, though from a sheer technical/spinning perspective, Blue's got them beaten. Should be a solid 6th place contender.

Comment of the night goes to the guy sitting a few seats down from me. Crown finished. He sat in silence with her friend. He then looked at his friend... looked at the field where Crown was leaving... looked at his friend... looked at the field... looked at his friend again with a perplexed look... scratched his head and simply said "Why?" Got a few laughs.

GLASSMEN- I loathe Beethoven. To me, he's become such a cliche that his music has become unlistenable (to me. I'm not speaking in a universal here). With that said, the segment in their show where Beethoven goes deaf is sheer genius. Holy freaking crap. Way to go design team. If it were drawn out just a little longer during the dischord, I think it would go over even a little better. Glassmen are definitely here to compete this year, and might even be a top 6 contender again. Being from Ohio, I'm all about it. Europe didn't hurt these guys a bit.

CAP REG- Sadly, I received a bit of an emergency text message right before they were going to perform and had to leave early (Ya, I know I was one of those people bailing early, but I was extremely bitter about it!). Heard bits of the opener on my way out. All I'll review of them is their volume, which was nice and really freaking loud. I heart powerful hornlines.

All in all, I'm soooo glad that corps outside of the Big 3 (or so) can be just as entertaining these days. Visual demand is starting to become a standard in DCI, which makes me really happy. Everyone was moving tonight, no doubt. I probably won't see another show until Massilon, but I'm definitely glad I made the trek down south tonight. Didn't see a single show that I totally disliked. Everyone had at least a couple of moments that made the 11 minutes totally worthwhile. B)

(edited for spelling)

Edited July 13, 2006 by BlooooContra

[KungFuCharlie]

My stadium hotdog (which gets a solid 86.4, taking the captions Performance Bun and GE Deliciousness overall)

Thanks Will, nice review.

The hot dog bit reminds me of 2000 during the day before Allentown, during lunch, one of our contras made a judges tape about our line going up to the food truck. :P One of those "had to be there" things, but still a great memory.

[Phantom&Phitch]

...and I totally thought that those guys in the guard were going to make out with eachother. Anybody else get that vibe?

:

P

(...and if you're going to flame me on that comment, for the love of God, have a sense of humor. I know it's coming. lol)

and "shake their junk in your face" too? :P

[jwillis35]

Great Review!!

Go Bluecoats!

[isuquinndog]

What's wrong with the Normal, IL show? Everyone usually loves the excitment of the BOA kids. I think it's great that some teenagers actually enjoy going to something as wonderful as drum corps.

[chadwick]

Thanks for the reveiw!

Can anyone else who was there add some insight to Capital Regiment?

[Tone Quality Matters]

I loathe your use of the phrase "Hot Dog Corps".

Completely disrespectful.

[BorisTS]

I loathe your use of the phrase "Hot Dog Corps".

Completely disrespectful.

I agree. I prefer "Bratwurst Corps."

[Crayola8]

The mellos did what so rarely gets done right in DCI: play the instrument like it's a french horn, and play it well.

Ryan would have you tarred and feathered.

Sigh.

-Meghan

[Lance]

I agree. I prefer "Bratwurst Corps."

I prefer Squeaky Cheese Corps.