Jump to content

SA Review


Recommended Posts

I'll keep the afternoon review a little short since it is already 1 AM. Nice day for drum corps, it started off very hot and muggy but us natives know that this is the very definition of July. But hey who cares about the weather right, we were inside. b**bs

Revolution- I've got two of my current students that are marching Revo this year and they are getting a great experience. This is a tight knit corps. The drum line smokes the brass line plays with a full and tight ensemble sound and the drill and arrangemets of the music are great. Translation- Revolution will be a big time player in Div. III. Congrats and keep it up.

Pioneer- This corps is much better than they have been and the hornline is playing with a decent sound for the 21st place group, but they have a long way to go with design of show and in recruiting/numbers before becoming a serious player in Div. 1. I wish they were Div. II as they would be much more competitive.

Esperanza- I remember looking at my wife during their show and asking "what happened?" These guys rocked my world a few years back and looked to be the fresh young corps on the verge. What I saw this morning was a corps that was not performing to it's potential. When I saw the guard spinning towards the front of the field they had no expression and seemed tired. Hornline production was not what it has been in prior years and they placed where they should have.

Cascades- Now I admit that I was expecting the worst, but I'll tell you what, Kudos to the makeshift brass staff! Well performed today and good sounds for most of the show. A few softer moments exposed some intonation issues, but overall much better than was expected. Now i must say that the real problem with them and Magic both is that their design is not good. The visual package for the Cascades show does not do justice to the level of talent that was present today. Lots of talent in this corps, i hope they can make a run to place a little higher.

Magic- Another corps that has good talent but I could not get into the show. The hornline sounded very muffled and the book was bigger than the talent level needed. I say that not meaning to be harsh. In 2000 even though the Cadets won with the same music they even had moments of intonation problems due to the technical demand and how exposing the book is. To say the least i thought that the Magic has good talent but the show is not designed where these students can be successful!!

Southwind- Wow and again I say wow. i thought that they deserved to be 15th at least. What a great design and it was a much improved hornline and corps from those below them. The themes from Firbird vs. the Ballet Sacra was great. Well done, i thought they were hosed.

Mandarins- I went to get a pizza so I missed the first half, but the second half was decent. i don't like the new uni's but it does look good compared to the old ones. The show just wasn't my bag. Good and again in the same quality as SW, but i did not feel they were better than SW. The show was a little dry. Good job though Mandarins, keep it up.

Capital Regiment- Uni's didn't do it for me, but the brass line did. The first of the day to wake up the crowd. Good full tones and a good show design. 5 years back this show would have easily been in finals or at least 13th, but it won't be higher than 15th or 16th this year and that is just a tribute to how strong DCI is this year!! Great Job Cap Reg.

Blue Stars- Welcome back to Div. 1 my friends. What a wonderful corps and nice dark tones coming out of the bells. The patriotic theme was very good and connected to the audience well. They are strong in every section, and are on the cusp to making a run at finals in the coming years. Well done, the narration didn't bother me but it wasn't completely necessary.

Crossmen- What a great design and well thought out show. Performance levels are good but are not at the top 12 level needed for this year. The corps looks very young and they are getting great response from the audience but the horns sound pretty bright and will need a little more experience before they get the richness of sound like the other corps in their grouping. Cool radio section and great uses of flags and visuals with the theme.

Colts- I believe that the Colts could very well make finals this year. Yes that's right. This is a very good corps. i agree that the drumline as ws evident in the recap is holding them back, but the demand of this show compare to Spirit is much higher. Spirit is simply cleaner and is performing an easier show better right now. If the Colts continue to be hungry and clean their butts off and the battery has better performances down the road they could pull a finals slot this August. If not they will be 13th and will still be the best Colts I have ever heard!! Well done!!!

Finalists-

Spirit- Two good performces in both the afternoon and the evening. This show is not at the demand level of the Colts or those above them. But they are cleaner than the Colts and are solid in all performance areas. The themes are cool, old man river is neat and Blue shades is nice, but there is not a just jaw dropping moment. The hornline is the best Spirit line since probably the 80's, but I am afraid as said above that if the Colts clean and they have room to grow Spirit may miss out on the Saturday show. A fun show none the less.

Glassmen- Got to see my former student perform in the guard and she and the guard was fabulous in both performances. intonation suffered in the afternoon as it did with the other final four competitors because of heat, but the night show was great playing wise. Probably the biggest surprise was how dirty the drumline has gotten over th past few years. This used to be a top 5 drum line but they played pretty sloppy in both shows. Visual is a little dirty in all movements, but I think they can clean and may in the end place as high as 10th. The intro of the Beethoven 5 is nice, but i wish the first 30 seconds of music had some movement, maybe just me.

Madison- Hmmm, what to say. I have 4 former students that have marched with madison in the last few years so I have been watching closely. The staff and designer are extremely talented and are people that I i have taught with and idolize, (seriously) but this show is a set back from what momentum has been picked up the last couple of years. It is not performed bad, it simply is a little dry from what we are used to seeing from them. The Carmen show was great a year ago and the staff just had a few minor flaws that kept them from being upper echelon , but this year I feel as though the Madison Scouts are trying to play it safe for some reason? The only comparison i can draw that may explain it is that BK 2000 was top 6 and barely missed top 5. So after seeing that the corps ahead of them were being more entertaining they decided to do a Cartoon show and it toally back fired. i believe the Scouts may have tryed to change something in a similiar way because they had a near miss and felt it was necessary to try something new? i don't know, but i sure miss the screamers and the Madison excitment!! Well perfromed and definantly finalist quality, just not what I am used to from them.

BK- Ok so I am a little biased, but my old corps is off the hook this year. The scary thing (no pun intended) is that they still have a lot of cleaning left to do. Musically the closer has some minor tears at the tail end and the visual package although looking great still has some dirt. Spacing tends to be the biggest performace issue i see. As far as sound, this is a top notch group and by far the best my team has ever had. I went to the rehearsal on Fri, and i left with goosebumps. This show if cleaned to the max could end up 6th but i really see it anywhere from 6-8. I don't think Boston will withstand the onslaught of evil ^0^ coming there way from BK. Guard and percussion was great, and the Robbie Billings design is his best ever!! Great job gang keep it up!!!

Boston- Great hornline loud and clean drumline and decent guard- that is being kind of undersold by a a show that doesn't do them justice. i do think that this is the best sounding BAC corps, but there is nothing in the show that just reaches out and grabs you in. I believe they will end up 9th and will get passed up soon.

Crown- Man- what a sound!! This is a great drum corps that I have really enjoyed over the past couple of years, but I have t say that after the last couple of years i found myself a little bored by their production this year. It is a good design, but is not as freah as the Angel theme. Visually they need to clean quite a bit and the drum line is the achillies heel. Once again they have some flaws that could catch up to them. The BK and the SCV shows are designed well and are both dirty righ now, but I think they both can beat Crown come finals. That is crazy considering the massive sound and balance coming from Crown,.1 of my top 3 my Favorite brass sounds of the night. (Phantom, Crown, BK) Will finish between 6-8th.

SCV- Now this is the type of show that we come to expect from SCV. It is dirty dirty dirty visually but has a lot of potential. it flows extremely well as indicated by the title. I think the Brassline is the weakest of the corps that they are competing to hold off for 6th. The guard is doing very well and the x-factor may be the percussion and the claening they do between now and August. If they clean it up and the brass and percussion play a little more maturely they will be 6th. if not they could end up 8th.

Cadets- I'm not going to pull any punches, so if you are a Cadets lover and you don't want to be offended look away now! What I want to know is why would you spend thousands of dollars to march that? I thought the show a year ago ws edgy and innovative, but this years show is like watch a combination of the Rocky Horror Picture Show vs. Disco Fever. Lots of paisly and a 70's flair to the whole thing. The voice overs and actors/singers ruin this corps!!! All of the time that I wanted to get into the hornline which is incredible or drumline which is incrdible or guard which is incredible, I ended up being distracted by the red character that looks like a hooker, the yellow dessed Alice, blue cowboy and lets not forget the rabbit which looks like a school mascot gone bad!! I feel for these students because I beleive that they are being cheated after winning the world title. What ever happened to the Cadets that wowed us like in 97 and 98 with sixteenth note runs and fast drill moves? Have the Cadets/Hopkins really reduced themselves into this???? This does not belong in drum corps and point of fact if it was performed by a lower placing corps it would be dead last just due to design and regarless of how good the performance areas are. (Brass, Guard, Percussion) I am disgusted that our activity has to tolerate watching this mockery!!! Mostly I am disgusted for those members in the corps that are performing it. I am sorry but I was not alone in the audience and in an audience full of musicians, teachers and professionals, the response was the same ws mine!! Flame me if you will, but i do not hate the corps or it's members, I think that they are doing themselves a disservice though!!!

Phantom- They were proof tonight that all the bunnies or narrations can not hold a candle to a GREAT DRUM CORPS SHOW!!! This was flat out the best hornline of the night and the ballad Ave Maria was unreal!! I had heard that the drill was not good, but I say that this is the best drill I have seen them march since the early 90's. I think that they have the tools to win the world title. I think the book and the drill are more than demanding enough to get them there. They have to continue to clean the visual side of the game and the guard must perform a little stronger. But, ladies and gentleman the Regiment are a dark horse to win the title!!!

Bluecoats- After Phantom i and the rest of the audience wanted to see how the Bluecoats would hold up. Phantom was the only thunderous standing O up to this point and the Bluecoats quickly established themselves as elite. Man, they are for real!!! What a music book and drill. I really enjoy the opener the most and I like that the staging of the soli parts. Like the Mellos in their soli. We are led to them with a great drill move that brings them from no where across the front field woth the cotras behingd them . It just flows oh so well. Good job, you are on the right track to be a champion in the future!!!

Devils- I really thought they played the first half of their show at a championship level, but they had a few intonation lapses in the mid - end of the show. Most notably the trumpets had some cracks and fracks that made me uncomfortable for half a second. The drill is great and the show is solid. The drumline is the best in DCI hands down. I just thought the Cavies had more energy tonight and it showed in their performances. I though the score was correct and I can see this going back and forth for the rest of the season. Besides, how anti claimatic would it be if a corps went undefeated? B)

Cavies- Unreal, I cannot imagine how these guys come up with this stuff. From marching on the field and stopping to do the robot to having a robot guard member that controls the corps during the show this production can best be described as innovative!! Music is perfect for the visual that is going on behind it and their is no weakness in this corps. I do think there will be a new ending come August because they build you up so much but the ending sneaks up on you and is a little dull. But watch out the Green "Machine," might just be hauling in another title this year!!!

Overall I really enjoyed the afternoon and evening. The dome was full and the crowd seemed very into all of the corps. I sat about 30 yrd line 5th row up so i was a little clueless drill wise, but watched the jumbo screens to get some perspective. I hope that maybe one day SA can lobby to get Finals. But, I also know that the Cowboys training camp would likly be a problem. Oh well, great show, good luck to all corps!!!

Wesley Perkins

BK '97 '98

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Replies 85
  • Created
  • Last Reply

Top Posters In This Topic

What I want to know is why would you spend thousands of dollars to march that?
Funny, I used to think the same thing about kids who bust their butts and pay good money to march in a corps that has no chance in #### of even making the top group? You marched what BK, you couldn't possibly have done that for placement purposes. Did that take away from your overall experience? I've come to realize that it does not.

I didn't care for their (Cadets) show this year as much as past years. I too was distracted by the characters. But to say the members were cheated....That's just wrong.

I know lots of people who've marched Cadets over the years (from the early 80's to present) including my daughter and believe me she never felt CHEATED (and she aged out with the '04 show b**bs ). To even march with the Cadets is an honor. I'm guessing you can't really relate to that. So, I'll just chalk your silly remark of being cheated up to ignorance.

btw- thanks for taking the time to write a review for those of us unable to be in Texas.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Funny, I used to think the same thing about kids who bust their butts and pay good money to march in a corps that has no chance in #### of even making the top group? You marched what BK, you couldn't possibly have done that for placement purposes. Did that take away from your overall experience? I've come to realize that it does not.

I didn't care for their (Cadets) show this year as much as past years. I too was distracted by the characters. But to say the members were cheated....That's just wrong.

I know lots of people who've marched Cadets over the years (from the early 80's to present) including my daughter and believe me she never felt CHEATED (and she aged out with the '04 show b**bs ). To even march with the Cadets is an honor. I'm guessing you can't really relate to that. So, I'll just chalk your silly remark of being cheated up to ignorance.

btw- thanks for taking the time to write a review for those of us unable to be in Texas.

Look again my friend, I think that this corps is very talented as I pointed out that is why they are being cheated. They are not being cheated by their performances they are cheated by the design that was given to them. I am just dissapointed because I feel as though it is a tragedy for them to go from 1st to 5th when they should be in the running for another title, and it is not their fault. Ignorance? I have been a music educator for 7 years with top division bands, so don't refer to my opinion as"ignorant" based on what you percieve me to be because I am caling the way I see it.

As far as going to imply that I was somehow not given a great experience just because I did not compete for the top spot in DCI, you have no idea what you are talking about. If you have never marched with a corps that was struggling financially like we were in 1997 (we used many old two valve G Bugles for the entire season) and were returnng a corps that fought tooth and nail to keep the finalist spot that was earned in 96 you have no room to talk. I didn't compete for placings? Please check your ego at the door. My corps mates and I built a great corps back to what it was before they fell out the top 12 in 95. Many of those kids were 14 and 15 at the time and do you know what? I cried the night in LaPorte Indiana the night in '98 we beat Phantom Regiment and went undefeated for our first tour. It meant something because that was a corps that we all knew was two years removed from a title and it meant that BK WAS COMPETING FOR BIG SPOTS!!! That same corps that marched with me those years went on to place 7th and 6th the following consecutive years before the cycle started over with a drop out of finals in 2001. I went and consoled my friends and BK family that marched then. BUt it all made us proud to be who we were because if you're fortunate to be in the top 5, great!!! But those of us that fought it out and earned afinalist spot fought just as hard and we earned our keep. Didn't get a good experince? I'd have paid millions for the experience I got and i would not have traded to marh anywhere else!!! Just like this year with my former corps it is fun to be the underdog!!! Beware of the Evil Knights!!! ^0^

Wesley Perkins

BK '97 '98

Link to comment
Share on other sites

great review. i wouldnt worry about the Cadets borg, IMO you spoke your opinion honestly and truthfully without insulting anyone. for the biggest majority i agree with what was said. none-the-less, thank you.

Edited by DCIDanny
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Funny, I used to think the same thing about kids who bust their butts and pay good money to march in a corps that has no chance in #### of even making the top group? You marched what BK, you couldn't possibly have done that for placement purposes. Did that take away from your overall experience? I've come to realize that it does not.

I didn't care for their (Cadets) show this year as much as past years. I too was distracted by the characters. But to say the members were cheated....That's just wrong.

I know lots of people who've marched Cadets over the years (from the early 80's to present) including my daughter and believe me she never felt CHEATED (and she aged out with the '04 show b**bs ). To even march with the Cadets is an honor. I'm guessing you can't really relate to that. So, I'll just chalk your silly remark of being cheated up to ignorance.

btw- thanks for taking the time to write a review for those of us unable to be in Texas.

I think you're right about the kids who 'make it' with the Cadets having a right to feel honored. I also think that opinions count. They change the drum corps world every year, even if someone tells us that it's all a conspiracy to keep this corps down and keep the slots how they have been pre-arranged...(mostly a load of crap). Opinions count.

I do not think that this review that showed an opinion was in poor taste or even off the mark.

The show is not easy for everyone to like. I don't think I've seen anyone who said they weren't talented (and I think they are being rewarded for their talent). There just seems to be a large contingent who don't like the concept of the show and would like to see drum corps not go there. I don't think that it is "ignorance" or a sign that you "can't relate" because the drum corps you marched for wasn't good enough to have opinions about others.

No disrespect intended at all to the Cadets or their fans. I think we all get to have opinions. I didn't march any corps at all...I am a fan.

I was on row 30 at this show on the 40 yard line, and I share some of these opinions. I like watching shows and would pay to watch this lineup again tomorrow.

I didn't care for the style of this show....maybe it's my ignorance?

Edited by paultxsa
Link to comment
Share on other sites

"What I want to know is why would you spend thousands of dollars to march that?"

This seems pretty insulting to me...

Also in your review, you focus more on the Cadets as an organization, where they are going, where they have been etc. than you do the show they did last night.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.



×
×
  • Create New...