GMichael1230 Posted July 30, 2006 Share Posted July 30, 2006 (edited) I was lucky enough to attend the shows in the Georgia dome this Saturday. I brought my Goddaughter(18yo) who lives in Atlanta and got the tickets for me as a gift....how sweet, so we went together. I really didnt mind this dome as much as I thought I would. Some echoes, I was all the way up in the "upper deck" 6th row up. I am keeping this very brief, I will be reviewing Bensalem, Meadowlands, and Allentown, before heading to Madison. Spirit - Awesome show, GE packed, stronger than last year, a whole lot more blue than last year. Great charts, loud, in tune brass and a good colorguard. They will be in finals come Madison and can even inch ahead of Glassmen if the can execute tighter and have more confidence in their abilities. Loved hearing real music ! Glassmen - Not as good to me as last year, but still apealing and still positive. I didnt think their guard was staged well and was hoping for a better sense of their talent level, they could be adding a lot more to the overall effect of this show. They can be caught. Madison Scouts - Oh bouy ! New uniforms of white tops, NOT reminiscent of their classic 83 look. Guard in, I dont know what, spinning I dont know what.....what happened ?? Not as bad as I expected, but not nearly as good as the past three years. This drill is just way to demanding for the sake of being demanding, even if cleaned up and executed perfect, not as spectacular as it should be for the effort needed to maintain it. The guys arent hitting it... Wow, what a drumline, solid, loud, subtle, and full of effect. Loved the pit too. Brass not as "madisonic" as past years, seems to be lacking something, but this show has so mch dirt, they have more demand than BK and BAC and could easily top them if they clean, clean, clean..... Blue Knights - Last year, I loved them, this year....umm, boring. Again, never breaking out of that safe little BK home. They need more color, they need more communication with the audience, they play well, they march well, but most of it is forgettable, and Im getting a little tired of writing the same things year after year....so much talent, so many ideas, yet the shows never evolve. BAC - props seem to be painted different than when I saw then earlier. A solid, GE packed , show. Nothing too spectacular, nothing blatantly wrong. Good guard enhances the corps proper well but is lacking the identity of a few years back. A good, mature drill and solid brass and percussion. The show is pretty much at its maxx and could be caught ..must sell and inject show with a ton of emotion. SCV - No way is this show behind Crown (no offense to Crown, they have a great show) The difficulty level and the intricacies, and depth of this SCV show is mindboggling. What a great OTL !! This drill, written by Pete Webber ? Is really effective and will be awesome should they clean it up, I guess thats why they fell tonight. I noticed some breakdowns, and some weakness in the brass line, but guard was effective and so was percussion. I see this show in 6th by seasons end. Carolina Crown - Not much negative to write here. A solid, sophisticated, classy, in your face , straight forward drum corps show. Almost too traditional.... Beautiful guard and effective drill, full of layers of patterns and subtle transitions allowing for maximum exposure of the sold brass line. Music is sweet and grows on you when you see the show more than once. Its a tasty, appealing show that Im sure nobody can find offense with. The only thing I can say that might be construed as negative is that they pretty much are at or near as far as they can go with this show and while they are performing a bit better than SCV right now, they can be caught. Cadets - Gone is the singing in the opener but the nondescriptive warbling is still out of balance in the ballad..what a shame. I must say, Im impressed with the progress of the execution of this show. Drill, while nowhere near the best Cadets drill in terms of dificulty and design, is being performed a lot better and there are some nice "hits" when they come together. Tea party and characters is still silly and table antics still more band oriented than corps oriented. Drums are dirty, real dirty messy feet, phasing...what not, uncharacteristic of a Cadets line, and a tad "worse" than Early July. What happened ? Where is the guard ? Where are the awesome silks ? Where is the ensemble "wow" they used to be known for ? This show is a lock for fifth, maybe they can catch Bluecoats at a show or two, but they arent going to remain ahead of them. Start working on next year. Bluecoats - Wow !! I was not disappointed, though I heard they were a little flat tonight. Really ?? and they were this good ?? Since when did the Bluecoats have a colorguard ?? (j/k) So effective and staged perfect, and such great silks. ! For the past three years, the most unique, visualy pleasing drill has belonged, in my opinion, to the Bluecoats. This year continues the patter...wow, so sweet, such smooth transitions, such beautiful patterns and field coverage. And music ?? so apealling....I cant get enough of this show..I may have to head out to their show to see them tomorrow night. Nevermind if they do or dont beat Pr, this show is awesome and any fan, member, or alumni should be proud......again, wow ! Phantom Regiment - Where do I start. Emotion just oozes out of this show, Power, precision, deep dark feeling of sin and shame and....LOL, well, the show is just on fire, this corps is on fire. This is the fourth viewing I have had of this corps and the changes made are working well. The music is just breathtaking and becoming more familiar with it only makes one love it even more. They have opened up the drill more. "Ave Maria" is classic and so tension filled witht he percussion....Colroguard is so effective, and Demon psse (LOL) delivers. The silk design is so perfect for this show, so fresh, so "not ever done before" Visually, they have a cohesive product that rolls, morphs, evolves and changes from one set to another perfectly highlighting the music like no other corps canthis year except maybe Cavaliers. They are still not perfect either and when they get this show nailed I see it really challenging for the top spot. All they have to do is relax.....not be so tentative, and just feel the power of this beautiful show. Blue Devils - I was not disappointed. At all. This show is one of their best shows ever ! Colorguard ?? I cant believe how good they are ! the color, the skill, the handling of equipment, the ensemble clarity.....All that I would expect from a BD guard. What staging also ! Beautiful purple silks, great uniforms ! Championship quality. I noticed that this drill moves a lot quicker than the past few years. Nice patterns, loved the cross, etc...etc...I noticed right away that this drumline is smoking hot, on a mission almost zombie like in their presentation. Hot ! I cant remember so many things because its all a blur, I need to see it again, and again. Can this show catch Cavaliers ? Of course it can, many individual mistakes here and there, some guard mishaps, brass sounded a little, tiny bit off...so there is room to grow and they did close the gap. Wherever it places, Its a pleasing show. The "offer he cant refuse" didnt bother me , but it wasnt needed...thats a whole another story though. Cavaliers - OMG OMG OMG....and a giant sigh.......why ?? Because for BD to win, they have to pass this ??!! I cant even root against it. This show, to me, is the best Cavaliers show so far. Take the sweetness of 2000, the musicianship of 2001, the crowd communication of 2004, and the precision of 2002 and roll it into one and you get this years show. Loved the guard uniforms live and the work they do is fresh, fun, and awesome...too darn good dang it !! This visual program in unmatched as a whole. Daring, unique, bold, in your face, yet not overbearing. Solid across the board except I cant remember much in way of drumming. I want to see this show again, and yes, hear it again. It looks like Cavaliers have found that formula, and its not getting stale anytime soon. I hope they dont go the way of the Cadets and abandon true drum corps for theatrics and shenaningans....this is the future of drum corps, its here and now, and its awesome. This is probably your champion and to tell the truth, well deserved.....wow, what a show. ~G~ Edited July 31, 2006 by GMichael1230 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
George Posted July 31, 2006 Share Posted July 31, 2006 Thanks for you review. Even on the webcast the BD guard looks incredible this year - I am really looking forward to seeing them soon. Thanks again, George Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chadwick Posted July 31, 2006 Share Posted July 31, 2006 Great review...but you forgot Crown. Any opinions on their show? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GMichael1230 Posted July 31, 2006 Author Share Posted July 31, 2006 Great review...but you forgot Crown. Any opinions on their show? Oops ! - you bet, editing now ~G~ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt_S Posted July 31, 2006 Share Posted July 31, 2006 Thanks for the review! I had a feeling you'd love Cavaliers and Bluecoats, my two favorite shows of this year, so I'm glad to see that you weren't let down. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jwillis35 Posted July 31, 2006 Share Posted July 31, 2006 Great review, G! You give such an enthusiastic account of all the shows, even the ones you are somewhat critical of. I think you're right on about all the corps, and don't count out Devils for the title. They can jack it up in the last two weeks like anyone else. Jonathan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phansouth Posted July 31, 2006 Share Posted July 31, 2006 I agree with your assessments. Cavies' new ending really puts them over the top for now, and probably for keeps unless PR has an ace up their sleeves. BD's new ending is better than the old one, but still is lacking something. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
matye Posted July 31, 2006 Share Posted July 31, 2006 Thanks for a great review! Can't wait to get to Madison! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TexasPRfan Posted July 31, 2006 Share Posted July 31, 2006 Nice review, G! I enjoyed the read immensely. Harvey Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lancerlady Posted July 31, 2006 Share Posted July 31, 2006 Wow great review! :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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