plugcatcher Posted July 27, 2006 Share Posted July 27, 2006 7/26 -- Wichita, KS Weather -- Hot, with a steady wind Location -- Cessna Stadium at Wichita St. Univ. -- This is a nice stadium for drum corps. Plenty of concert-side seating, high enough to read drill. My seat was on the 45, about halfway up (30 rows or so). I originally purchased a ticket directly on the 50 yard line, just as I did last year. But for the second year in a row, the stupid field was not lined correctly, and those of us that thought we were getting excellent 50 yard line seats were actually only getting very good 45 yard line seats. This is the second year in a row this has happened. Not a huge deal, but if they're lining the field just for the competition, it shouldn't be hard to fix. On to the show..... Div. II -- First place -- Colt Cadets -- 57.1 What can I say? They're young. They had a cute show, themed around a robbery/heist of some kind. They played Secret Agent Man, 007 Theme, Dragnet, Charlie's Angels, and some other detective-themed music. The show told the story of a robbery, the search for the perpetrator, and the capture. It was nicely done, and actually quite entertaining. It was refreshing to see a smaller corps put an entertaining show on the field, instead of attempting something way over their heads. For a cadet corps, they are huge this year. I don't recall the numbers in the hornline, but they're probably marching 30-something horns. And I was impressed that the drumline is being taught how to play all the instruments in the battery. After one song, they all put their drums down, traded with someone else, and continued on with the rest of the show on their new instrument. I like to see that some corps are still interested in teaching kids how to play. I also enjoyed seeing the little tiny guard member out there spinning with all the bigger kids. This girl wasn't much bigger than my almost-6-year old, but she was out there doing it. Impressive. The crowd loved these guys, and they got a huge standing ovation. Keep it up. Div. I -- 7th place -- Pioneer -- 67.75 Whenever I see Pioneer enter the field, I think, "Ugh, more Irish music this year." Well, yes, they're playing "Irish" music again, but it has more of a symphonic feel to it this year, so it's not as overbearing as in years past. Their hornline is 30-ish in size, but they put out a decent sound. I was impressed with the drumline (I'm a drummer), especially the snares, who had very uniform technique. Their book isn't the most difficult, but they play it very well. They actually beat Southwind in drums tonight (more on them later), which did not surprise me at all. And in a daring display of "You came to see a show, so we're going to give you your money's worth," they trooped the stands, AND the entire corps played as they did it. Very nice. (As a sidenote, actually ALL of the corps, except one, trooped the stands tonight. The one that didn't just walked off the field.......pink tables in hand.) 6th place -- Esperanza -- 69.75 Esperanza played some seriously never-heard-of-before music, and they played it well, and....and.....and....(yawn...) ......Well, I just didn't get it, I guess. They were okay, but I just didn't get it. Another 30-ish person hornline, with a full-sized drumline. They played well, but the show just didn't draw me in. Oh yeah, and these guys have some of the most uninspiring uniforms in DCI. That's not meant to be an insult, but the uniforms just look kind of "blah" out on the field. 5th place -- Southwind -- 74.4 I like Southwind. I really do. They have a very interesting show this year, with a very eclectic mix of music. Firebird, In the Spring, Pie Jesu, Jekyll and Hyde......It's really a very nice show. The dual uniforms are really used to great effect. I loved the interaction between the two different sides. They play their show very aggressively, and it's really very entertaining. BUT... What is the deal with the drum arranging? I'm not one to knock someone's hard work, or to criticize something that someone spent hours arranging and countless days and weeks teaching and rehearsing. But come on, what's the deal with a drum beat/break during Claire de Lune? That has to be one of the most beautiful pieces ever composed, and you go & throw a drum beat in it? Whaaaaaaaaattt??? I'm sure it has something to do with the "Duality" theme of the show, but it just totally ruins the beauty of the piece. And maybe they were having an "off" night, but the drum book is very difficult to read. The snare line has hi-hats mounted on their drums, and the bass drums have cymbals mounted on their rims, and the whole thing just sounds really muddy and unreadable when they start playing. Especially during the "Jeremiah" segment, the writing was extremely hard to follow. Like I said, maybe it was a bad show, maybe it's just a clarity issue they need to work on, I don't know. But I truly do believe that the drum arranging, most notably the hi-hat & cymbal work, is holding their percussion score way back. They seem very capable, but I think the "toys" are hurting them. Overall, I love the show, but the drum book needs watered. 4th place -- Capital Regiment -- 77.6 I said it before & I'll say it again, it sounds like Casella had a big influence in this drumline. The on-field warmup is totally SCV (possibly Gusseck, though), they have the snare tilt going on, the writing sounds the same......I dunno. I really enjoyed the drumline. They're playing an ambitious book, and they're pulling it off fairly well. Good hands, good beats. The show is quite entertaining, as well. The theme is "Work, Rest & Play". They dedicate each segment of the show to one of those actions, and the result is a lot of fun to watch. The hornline can put out some sound, which was kind of muffled tonight due to the strong winds, but it was nice to hear. It was also fun to see the frisbee toss again from a horn player (?) to a quad drummer. This time, he caught it. Dead-on throw. (Last time I saw it, the frisbee sailed too high.) Nice to see corps having fun, and the audience ate it up, too. I really think this corps should be beating the Blue Stars at this point, and with some work, may give the Colts a run for their money. 3rd place -- Blue Stars -- 77.85 This is the third time I've seen the Blue Stars this year, and I like them a lot. Their "Freedom" show is fun, and makes heavy use of vocals, both unamplified & not. I'm not a big fan of narration, so I'm not going to criticize them for that. But I will say that I saw the show earlier this year without it, and it worked fine for me then. I do enjoy some of the singing during the show, especially the ripple effect they create as the hornline goes from playing a chord to singing it. Very nice. The Simple Gifts singing was done very nicely, but I've seen Blast do the exact same thing for years, so the effect just didn't work for me. It'll be interesting to see if they can keep up with CapReg these last few weeks. 2nd place -- The Cadets -- 89.7 This is my second time viewing the Cadets' show this year, and like the first, I didn't hate it. I actually kinda liked it again, but not as much as the first time I saw it. The Cadets have changed their opener, and I believe tonight was the first performance of the new music. The show still opens with the drill from last year. But now there's narration--very similar to last year's script (possibly identical, I don't remember). The hornline plays a Twilight Zone tag, and launches into something that very closely resembles last year's opening musical statement. It all ends with Dani back at the door, ready to go into it. No more singing during the silent drill---heck, no more silent drill, which for me is kind of sad. As much as I don't like the singing, I found that it nicely brought the beginning of this show up to speed with last year's show. It was a nice segueway. Not anymore. The rest of the show played out as it has all season. Horns, drumming, talking, singing, doors, scantily-clad guard members, etc. etc. etc. (BTW, I could have sworn that the Red Queen had a.......hmmm.........embarassing costume mishap when I saw them last week. You see, she's quite active in the very revealing outfit, and it seemed to me that.......well, I'll just say that it looked like she had to make a major adjustment mid-stride. Maybe I was seeing things, I don't know.) The new changes to the closer seem to help the staging of the mirror image sequence with Dani & Alice, but musically, I don't know if it helped or not. I will say that they need to figure out a better way to hide Dani in the mirror at the very end, because what they're doing now just isn't working. You can still totally see her right up until she pops out of the door. Maybe they're working on it. The hornline sounds very BIG in parts of the show, but I think it comes at a price. Quality is lost in some passages because of this. And the drumline again had some serious cleanliness issues in some parts. On the other hand, some sections of this show really smoke. But I don't know if it's going to be enough for them to make a serious move. Oh yeah, one more thing. I have NO IDEA how the Cadets were not assessed an overtime penalty tonight. Through absolutely no fault of the kids on the field, the PA system would not cooperate before the start of their show. There were 4 or 5 people (including Hopkins) trying to figure out what was going on, and nothing was working. This went on for probably 6-7 minutes, with the corps just standing there waiting to play. Enough time elapsed that the very, VERY polite and patient midwestern crowd started stomping & clapping, trying to egg them on. People were actually doing the wave, waiting for them to get the problem fixed. I heard people shout, "We don't want the amps!" and "Leave them off!" and "Drums and bugles only!" while they were fumbling around down on the track. It was actually quite comical. But the most interesting thing was that there was never any indication from anyone on the Cadets staff that they were just going to go on without the amps. No matter how long we waited, they were using those amps. In the end, it all got fixed, and the show went off without another hitch. But I still have no idea how they managed to not get assessed a penalty. And once again, the audience was silent at the end of the show, clapped politely for a few seconds (maybe 10), then quit. Weird. Oh yeah, and they didn't troop the stands. Boo. 1st place -- Phantom Regiment -- 91.05 This crowd LOVED the Regiment. And for good reason. This isn't as flashy a show as Cavies, and its themes aren't as well-known as BD, but this is a serious title contender. PR is playing their butts off. The hornline is ripping through an incredibly difficult book, and the drumline......wow. I can honestly say that this is the best drumline they've had since I can remember. Plug this drumline into '89's corps, and the 1989 championship would've been theirs. And no, there aren't any huge "wow" moments in the drill, but it is a very respectable visual program, and I don't see it being a hindrance to their title chances. Having seen Cavies a week ago, I would say that this PR show is every bit as good as the one Cavies are putting on the field right now. And I totally think it has more room to grow right now. It's not a two-way race for the title this year. Phantom is right in the thick of it, and should be considered a major contender. The crowd went crazy after Phantom was done, and continued to throw babies as the corps not only trooped the stands, but played a cadence too! See, it's the simple things that make people happy. I wish the DCI Board of Directors would get a clue and stop yanking the last vestiges of tradition we have in this activity. Pioneer & Phantom get major kudos from me for giving the fans what they want. I always enjoy coming to Wichita for this show. They do a very good job of running it, and seem to have a well-informed staff. They even had Brandt Crocker on hand tonight to read the scores. Nice. That concludes my drum corps viewing for the summer. I may partake in the Quarterfinals broadcast in the theaters, though. Of those that went last year, was it worth it? Hope you enjoyed reading, Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sdstar Posted July 27, 2006 Share Posted July 27, 2006 Hope you enjoyed reading, Yes! Thank you for taking the time to put this together! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davdrums Posted July 27, 2006 Share Posted July 27, 2006 Fantastic review! It's nice to read people who also have my percussive point of view. It was almost like I was writing it. The snare line has hi-hats mounted on their drums, and the bass drums have cymbals mounted on their rims, and the whole thing just sounds really muddy and unreadable when they start playing. And I can't agree with you more, when it comes with all the toys and such on snares, basses, or even tenors; what really shows a great line is just how clean all the toy playing is along with all the regular stuff we love. It's those details that will seperate the "men from the boys" so to say. I may partake in the Quarterfinals broadcast in the theaters, though. Of those that went last year, was it worth it? I went to see quarters in the theaters last year; well worth the money I say. The theater I was at in St. Louis was cranked nicely! hehe davdrums Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gbass598 Posted July 30, 2006 Share Posted July 30, 2006 7/26 -- Wichita, KS 4th place -- Capital Regiment -- 77.6 I said it before & I'll say it again, it sounds like Casella had a big influence in this drumline. The on-field warmup is totally SCV (possibly Gusseck, though), they have the snare tilt going on, the writing sounds the same......I dunno. I really enjoyed the drumline. They're playing an ambitious book, and they're pulling it off fairly well. Good hands, good beats. The show is quite entertaining, as well. The theme is "Work, Rest & Play". They dedicate each segment of the show to one of those actions, and the result is a lot of fun to watch. The hornline can put out some sound, which was kind of muffled tonight due to the strong winds, but it was nice to hear. It was also fun to see the frisbee toss again from a horn player (?) to a quad drummer. This time, he caught it. Dead-on throw. (Last time I saw it, the frisbee sailed too high.) Nice to see corps having fun, and the audience ate it up, too. I really think this corps should be beating the Blue Stars at this point, and with some work, may give the Colts a run for their money. Their on field warmp up is Fat Mama Dancin'. Played by SCV in 1997. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tylerdurden Posted July 30, 2006 Share Posted July 30, 2006 7/26 -- Wichita, KS Oh yeah, one more thing. I have NO IDEA how the Cadets were not assessed an overtime penalty tonight. Through absolutely no fault of the kids on the field, the PA system would not cooperate before the start of their show. There were 4 or 5 people (including Hopkins) trying to figure out what was going on, and nothing was working. This went on for probably 6-7 minutes, with the corps just standing there waiting to play. Enough time elapsed that the very, VERY polite and patient midwestern crowd started stomping & clapping, trying to egg them on. People were actually doing the wave, waiting for them to get the problem fixed. I heard people shout, "We don't want the amps!" and "Leave them off!" and "Drums and bugles only!" while they were fumbling around down on the track. It was actually quite comical. But the most interesting thing was that there was never any indication from anyone on the Cadets staff that they were just going to go on without the amps. No matter how long we waited, they were using those amps. In the end, it all got fixed, and the show went off without another hitch. But I still have no idea how they managed to not get assessed a penalty. The fault was not with the PA system. There was a power issue with the stadium. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
plugcatcher Posted July 31, 2006 Author Share Posted July 31, 2006 The fault was not with the PA system. There was a power issue with the stadium. I dunno. That could be true. But it seemed to me that they (Cadets) fixed the problem by doing whatever they did with their own equipment. In any case, it is a prime example of amps/power issues, etc. ruining a show before it even started. By the time they finally got going, most of the people I observed were already disinterested. And it still doesn't explain why they didn't get a penalty. They chose to delay the start of their program because of the power issue. No one told them they had to wait. Not trying to stir the pot, just making an observation. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TuoKaerf Posted July 31, 2006 Share Posted July 31, 2006 (edited) ... Edited August 1, 2006 by TuoKaerf Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tylerdurden Posted July 31, 2006 Share Posted July 31, 2006 (edited) I happen to know because I was there. We had to disable a few pieces of equipment to get the system running. The show organizers were also trying to figure out what was happening with the power to the stadium. Things like this happen off and on when the stadium has improper wiring or bad circuits. There was a show 2 or 3 days later that almost every corps had issues with the sound systems due to the breakers tripping. I understand your complaint though. It was a panic moment, but in the long run things ended up running fine. From what I've seen, the T & P judges have been very flexable dealing with these issues. If you are allset and ready to roll, and there is an issue with stadium power, then it is really out of your control. Amps are still only a few years old, and I'm sure there are a lot of stadiums out there that have outdated wiring. Edited August 1, 2006 by tylerdurden Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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