Review: Red River Thunder

[Cardman]

Show: Red River Thunder

Date: July 23rd, 2006

Location: C.H. Collins Athletic Complex; Denton, Texas

Time: 7:00

Distance to drive: approx. 200 miles

Time to get there: 2 hrs, 40 mins.

Worth the drive?: Yes.

We arrived in Denton at about 5:40 or so, so we decided to get something to eat before the show, which reminds me...The pizza hut in Denton needs to invest in drinking cups. They had NONE. My wife and I had brought our own drinks (we were getting it to go), but we needed cups of ice...oh well...

We arrived at the stadium, in plenty of time. The stadium was very nice, and clean. Our seats were high up, just to the left of the 30...not real great seats, or so we thought...(more on that later)

Okay, so here is my review for tonight's competition: I have to warn you before I proceed: IF YOU ARE A BIG-TIME CADET FAN, YOU WILL PROBABLY NOT LIKE MY REVIEW OF THEIR SHOW....be warned.

First up was Pioneer: (8th place, 66.850)

Pioneer seemed to lack a lot of energy tonight. Perhaps it was due to San Antonio being just yesterday and they were burnt out, I don't know. I'm sorry to say that I don't remember much from their show other than the best part where they have a nice side to side feature with the horns playing and answering. I hope they can recruit more kids in the future and find a vehicle that really works for them.

Next was The Magic: (7th place, 70.650)

The Magic (man, I hate having that "The" before Magic...it sounds dumb when they announce, "The Magic may take the field for competition" ...small gripe...)

I enjoyed Magic a lot more than I thought I would. They are much better than last year, and you could see the difference in the kid's attitudes and confidence over Pioneer. Yes, the show may be too difficult for the kids to execute, as some on here have stated, but it is not as bad as some have made it out to be, imo. They had a nice moment in the ballad where they take these ribbons out and make the "we remember" ribbons that you see on the tailgates of trucks all over America by wrapping the ribbon around two horn players and having the front two horn players "take a knee" on the fabric to hold it in place while they play. It was really nice when they formed the same ribbon shape later in the drill. They had some entertaining parts in their show, and the crowd reacted accordingly.

TIME OUT!: I would like to take this opportunity to mention that my wife and I were sitting in front of a bunch of high school band kids, and one very obnoxious kid (as well as others) kept making stupid comments about the different corps, DURING THE SHOWS . This band was called (from what I could gather from the shirts they were wearing) "Maroon", and the shirt mentioned "Decade of dominance, established 1996". Why am I mentioning this? Because, if you are the director of this band and reading this, PLEASE, TEACH YOUR KIDS SOME ETHICS TO PRACTICE WHILE AT A DRUMCORPS SHOW! That is all. Luckily, we wouldn't have to put up with these kids for long (more on that later...)

Next we had Southwind: (6th place, 73.350)

If you've seen the uniforms from Southwind this year, you know that they are kind of strange looking (I speak primarily of the "plume", same as last year's...). Well, the first thing out of the kid's mouth behind me was, "So and so, you won't like these guys..." other kid responds "Why?" obnoxious kid replies, "They're KKK, man...hahhahahahaha" Yeah, real funny. It WAS kind of humorous for a second, looking at Southwind from the side (the one's with the white pants, anyway), the plumes DO kind of resemble the "KKK" hood, in a way. But then the kid just goes on and on and on and on...(kind of like the "Head On" commercial) talking about the kids in the black pants being "Black Panthers", and all that crap...it was pretty annoying. ANYWAY, Southwind has a pretty interesting show this year. I think I like this year's show better than last year's (it's close). If they could just be a little more solid, this show could really take them places, imo, but I think that "Clair De Lune" needs to be re-written without the drum parts in it. Yes, it is a Duality show, but I didn't feel that the percussion parts in the ballad really worked. Maybe if WHAT they were playing was different, I don't know...it just didn't "click" for the audience. Unfortunately, during the third piece, Southwind had a contra (tuba, whatever..) fall down. It took him a little while, but he made it back to his spot okay, just a little shaken up. I look forward to seeing Southwind in the future. I expect great things from these kids!

Up next was Capital Regiment: (5th place, 76.700)

WOW!!!.....let me say that again....WOW!!! :spit: Cap reg really surprised me tonight. They are SO much better than last year, imo. They have a very crowd-friendly and entertaining show! There is a moment when the hornline is on side A, and the colorguard is on side B, and the horns finish their phrase, then they all extend their horns to point to the colorguard and the guard does this great feature...very effective. The opening drill was interesting. Horizontal lines form and move forward, missing one person. This missing person is "pushed" by the guard into the line as the guard move forward, in-between the hornline (the hornline are in two vertical lines witht the guard in-between....when you see it, you'll know what I mean..). By far, the "playtime" or "showoff" section, or whatever it's called is the biggest GE moment in the show. During this section, you see the hornline run around the field, letting loose and having a good time. One horn player has a frisbee waaay over on side B, and he (without looking almost) CHUCKS THAT SUCKER ALL THE WAY TO THE 30 ON SIDE A, WHERE A TENOR PLAYER CATCHES IT!!! It sounds simple, but when you see it, you can't help but react...very cool. Also during this section, the contras are in a block on side B, and the line of contras put their horns down and the contras that were in the line behind them get up on their shoulders and play up there!! Awesome! What a fun (and well written) show from Capital Regiment! I look forward to seeing them in the theater for Quarters.

INTERMISSION: At which time I headed to my truck to get a nice cold beer.....ROOT beer, that is (Barq's)...When I had come back, my wife had all our stuff gathered up and informed me that we were sitting in the wrong section! (Someone had come up to sit in "our" seats) D'oh! As it turns out, we had MUCH better seats, RIGHT ON the 50, and high enough to get a good read on drill, but not too high...PERFECT seats...and no more high school kids yapping...woohoo! PLUS: I got to sit next to Brad, who is an alumnus of Sky Riders and Santa Clara Vanguard. Brad marched in the Sky Ryders in 1987 and 1988; and he marched Vanguard in 1989 and 1990 (he was wearing his 89 championship ring...I had never seen one before...awesome!) Brad and I talked a lot about the corps at the competition, SCV, and Gail Royer (more on that later, though)

Next on the menu were the Boston Crusaders: (4th place, 84.400)

I had read a lot of great things about this show. "Best show since 2000", etc...Well, maybe it was because they had to follow Capital Regiment, but I just could not get into this show. I really don't remember much about it, honestly (that's not good). Don't get me wrong...they are MUCH better than they were last year, technically. I just didn't enjoy the show as much as I did last year. It just wasn't "fun" like last year's show, imo. I'm told it's a "thinking" show...hmm...maybe I need to "think" about it more...maybe a few more viewings would help... I will say this about the "arches". It looked pretty cool when they lined them up (since we were now right on the 50), but it was distracting from the drill, making it hard to read. We had a percussionist drop a stick during the performance, but a judge picked it up, without incident. Scary moment (for me, at least) when a horn player was backing up, and it looked like he was gonna back right into an "arch", when he suddenly reversed direction...it was VERY close.. I wish BAC the best of luck as they make their way to Madison!

Coming soon to a stadium near you were the Bluecoats: (2nd place, 89.600)

I was really hyped to see the Coats this year, and they didn't let me down (for the most part). The drill was a little dirtier than I was expecting, and I believe they were cleaner at this time of year last year..They have a great brass section this year, and they show it off with the soloists. There is a duet between a contra and soprano that is really great, among others. In one part of the show, they form a diagonal line from the "NW" corner of side A to the "SE" corner of side B. Then, they all join hands (just like SCV in 2000 at the END of their show...). I thought it was pretty cool. However, I did NOT think that the "BLOOO!" yell, DURING THE SHOW, was cool. I felt like it was a "rip-off" of the "VANGUARD!!!" yell....sorry, but that's how I felt about it...There is one part of the show where the hornline is in this circular formation (solid), and suddenly, out of "nowhere", there is white elastic connecting all of them together.... "connexus"....really cool. Unfortunately, a contra had an issue with his elastic. It was hanging down by his side, even after the corps had "put it away" (and, btw, they "snap" the elastic, and it almost looks as if it vanishes into thin air...again, very cool.) My wife and I were afraid he (or someone) else was going to step on it, and cause a fall. Thankfully, that didn't happen, and the corps ended it's show triumphantly. There were many more cool parts of this show, but I can't remember right now...I'm getting tired...go see this show if you can!

"Hopp"-ing up to the field next were The Cadets: (3rd place, 89.100)

THE GOOD: ^OO^ Guard toss down the line on the pink benches...everyone caught their equipment....cool. "Alice" starting to come forward, then seeing the drumline backing towards her and visually thinking "whoa!...uh...think I'll go the OTHER way..." then backing up slowly....it was very funny, to me...The "mirror effect" of the schoolgirl and "Alice" in the final piece. Also, the drill was very good. Their percussion was hot tonight. Way to go guys!

THE BAD: <**> Um...not to be negative...I'm just being honest, and keep in mind that this is MY opinion, so I can't be "wrong" about that... The singing in the opener is embarassing and doesn't work at all. The words: "Winterguard show with a drumcorps stuck in it" were uttered by an audience member near me...You can't even understand what the singer is singing most of the time (at least not tonight). I heard: "latest trend blah blah..." "revolution, blah blah.." really un-decipherable, for the most part. The costumed characters. They look ridiculous and cheap. They have no purpose, really (that I could see). They don't do equipment work very much, either, like someone on here posted. They are very distracting to watch, and the corps doesn't even convey the story through the characters..I mean, isn't the red queen trying to KILL Alice in "Through the looking glass"? That was not portrayed at all, as far as I or my wife could see...The characters seemed to like tossing Alice in the air...."It's a great pleasure!....It's a great GREAT pleasure....It's a GREAT pleasure to have you all here..." Agh! "Where are we?" (Denton) "I swallowed one of those two hours ago" (someone near me responded, "I'm sure you did..") ACK! Once again, amped vocals for the sake of having amped vocals, imo.

THE UGLY: The "flowery" pattern on the back of the Cadets' jackets, and the outfits of the "characters", particularly the red queen. Tasteless and unnecessary...My wife kept worrying that she was gonna "pop" out of her outfit, if you know what I mean...

At this point, Brad and myself had many words about the show we had just witnessed, and sadly, none of them were good. Brad did say that there was a time when you could expect a fantastic drill from "these guys" (referring to the Cadets) every year (which I knew..). I feel sorry for the kids who have to perform this show. It is not their fault, and not George Hopkins' fault, according to Brad. It is the show designers (Marc Sylvester, etc..) who are to blame. Marc has "gone off the deep end" design-wise, imo...I only hope he can regain his brilliance next year...And, it's not ALL bad, either. There were some sparks of drumcorps that I enjoyed in there, but not many at all...I usually hate it when people speak boldly about things they don't REALLY know, but this show will NOT win this year. It is too far gone to hope for that. I am pulling for Vanguard to beat Cadets (nothing personal, Vanguard has the better show) but, that will take a LOT of cleaning on SCV's part...

SIDE NOTE: After the competition, and we were back in the truck, my wife said that she thought that Capital Regiment should have beaten the Cadets!....OUCH. I told her that Boston had a much better chance of doing that, but it was unlikely. (she's not a "drumcorps" person..)

Moving as machines do onto the field next were The Cavaliers:

Some morons in the audience couldn't resist yelling, "Go Julia!" hahahahahahaha.....ha......ha.......heh....eh.....ugh...That is getting SO old, but if I were 12 years old, I might yell it, I don't know...GE!!! That is what the Cavaliers delivered tonight! They were simply awesome! Now, their marching was not as clean as I was expecting, but that's good, because it means they have room to grow. Also, they still had the old ending in tonight....I was hoping that since San Antonio had passed that they would put it in tonight, but it was a no-show....oh well. The show is full of references to robots and machinery and has a lot of humor in it. In one particular section, the sopranos are on side A, and one of them "robots" out to the front of the horizontal line, and he's "stuck" in the same robotic movement, over and over again, and as he is doing this, the sopranos keep playing the same lick over an over, like a stuck record (Bridgemen, anyone?), until a guard member comes over and "conks" (what a great word..) him on the head....very funny...the crowd busted up laughing at that one. The "conveyer belt" section was very cool, and funny as well. Part of the hornline gets into a tight form and sits down. Then, a guard member is moved over this block by the hands of the members in the block, like a "stage diver" would be moved around at a rock concert...it is funny because the guard member is "stiff", like a piece of machinery or metal...you have to see it to be able to appreciate it...There were too many things for me to remember, but I look forward to seeing the Cavaliers in the theaters for Quarters, and later on the ESPN2 broadcast, when they win the World Championship. There it is....This show WILL win the championship (assuming they DO have a new ending to put in). It is just too good to not win.

Finally, we had a "retreat", but not really. Members from the hornlines of the Boston Crusaders and The Cavaliers joined forces to play the lame-as-#### "Fanfare for Champions", or whatever it's called. You can tell that the kids don't like the tune (Brad pointed this out). There is one big crescendo at the end of the piece, and it's over...yawn....Cavies then played an encore of two songs from their show, and then a piece with a lot of runs and sixteenth notes in it (which they had difficulty playing...you could tell where all their practice time was spent). They played "Stars and Stripes forever", which is always fun, due to the arrangement of the tune and the visuals by the drummers. They also played "Over the rainbow", of course...

After the Cavies had finished their encore, Brad and I talked about the shows some more, and we talked about 87 Sky Ryders (mostly the guard)....Brad said that the 87 Sky Ryders guard was one of the best guards he's ever seen. We also talked about 89 SCV. I told him how awesome that show was, and how many thousands of times I had watched it in 1989. Brad told me that the ending they put in finals had never been successfully performed (by the standards of Len Kruzecki [sp?]) until the finals performance...He was thinking they were gonna screw it up, and he also said that it was a lot more difficult than it seemed. He also told me about Gail Royer's response to a question he received in 1989, which was, "How does it feel to beat the Blue Devils?". He said Gail responded by saying, "It feels like playing with a snake, with a stick....It's fun, but very dangerous..." LOL. I thought that was great. Brad said that Gail felt really glad to have finally beaten the Blue Devils after getting beaten by them for most of 1988. We talked about a lot of other shows and stuff, and it was a great time...Brad, if you're reading this, Thank you for all the great info and stories! It was a pleasure to have you as a "seat buddy".

Well, that's it for this review. You may return you seat tables to their upright position. Thank you for reading this! B)

*Edited to correct some grammatical errors and to add emoticons!

Edited August 13, 2006 by Cardman

[chris ncsu]

Thanks for a good review!

[ctrain08]

Great review! You know, I thought I was just imagining it when I heard the "BLOOO" yell during the Bluecoats show, but I guess not....kinda wierd. I'm not sure why people are doing that.

[TastyWaves]

Very cool review man!

Just food for thought tho (in response to your quote below)

, I have several friends and former students in the Cadets, and i can tell you they arent over there wishing they didnt have to play thier show. I agree, its pretty out there.... dont know if Im a huge fan, but they are diggin thier summer. I just spoke to a good friend of mine in the percussion section two nights ago who is loving his season and who told me that basically the whole team has decided already to return in 07.

just some thoughts!

Again, thanks for yours as well.

T

"I feel sorry for the kids who have to perform this show. It is not their fault, and not George Hopkins' fault, according to Brad. It is the show designers (Marc Sylvester, etc..) who are to blame. Marc has "gone off the deep end" design-wise, imo...I only hope he can regain his brilliance next year...And, it's not ALL bad, either. There were some sparks of drumcorps that I enjoyed in there, but not many at all..."

[et_hd_rider]

Thanks for the great review!

I am really glad you enjoyed Cap's show. The kids are really having fun this year with it. Everynight when I talk to my daughter she is so excited about the crowed response they are getting.

[Jami]

Thanks for the review - judging from recent recaps, it looks like the Magic's holding their own in percussion with a lot of corps in the 13-17 range. :)

[xmenjeffb]

Great review and i respect your approach . Also glad you got to the correct seats!!

I had a friend go to this show with her Grand kids and i am looking to hear her take as she is not a Fan or music person but enjoys this kinds of events and shared her enjoyment with her grandchildren. She wrote me last night with a quick message saying that everyone was great and the whole night was exciting. Sounds like my reaction in 1975 first time i saw it and everyone was good but they just got better as the night when on. I almost wish for that feeling of the experince again .But , alas we can only have one first time .

Again very cool review .Thank you.

[momoblooo]

Great review! You know, I thought I was just imagining it when I heard the "BLOOO" yell during the Bluecoats show, but I guess not....kinda wierd. I'm not sure why people are doing that.

I heard that on the stream Saturday night and didn't like it at all! Yes, it is a ripoff of the Vanguard yell, and it messes up an otherwise nice moment in Bloo's show. I hope it's just a Texas thing and doesn't stick for the rest of the season. Besides, yelling a short "Bloo" just doesn't work -- it's got to be long and sustained (Bloooooooooooooooooooooo!) to be the real Bloooo! Bloo fans(?) who are doing this, do your corps a favor and stop. It's pretty cheesy. <**>

[year1buick]

Thanks for the review. Rather than driving 200 miles, I only needed to drive about 3 to make this show. But, unfortunately, I couldn't make it. <**> Maybe next year... (BTW, Brad was on staff at Sky Ryders when I marched in 91)

[GMichael1230]

What an excellent review. I agree with many of your comments on the shows Ive seen.

This was such a fun and informative read, thanks!

So many reviews are really good this year, folks know their stuff !!

~G~