Bensalem, PA Review and First Impressions

[KRtrumpet182]

Greetings fellow DCI enthusiasts. I just got back from the Bensalem, PA show. Tonight was the first live show I have seen this year. The show began at 8:00 PM instead of 7:30 PM as originally planned due to the heat and humidity. It was indeed incredibly hot in Bensalem. You could see a haze on the field through the lights. The stadium was packed, which didn't help the heat at all. During the National Anthem, the singer's microphone went dead and all of the lights in the stadium stopped powering up. The lights remained off until the Jersey Surf came on the field, when they finally came back on. There were reports of rolling blackouts in the area, so this was probably related. But this was not an issue after this. So here are my reviews for the shows. Since this was my first time seeing these shows live, I probably missed out on a lot of the details. So this is my first impressions and overall feelings on each. Sorry if I lack in color guard comments...not my area!

Jersey Surf: Div. II; The Surf have really matured a lot. Music was a little thin in sections, especially in the drumline, but they had a decent sound. I heard bits and pieces of Moulin Rouge in the show, but most of the music was not from Moulin Rouge. They had some nice moments and it was a nice start to the evening.

Pioneer: They had a great balance throughout the show, especially for a smaller corps. They definitely lacked some power and seemed to struggle with stamina as the show progressed. I was impressed with their snare line and with some of their park and play sections.

The Magic: A definite step up from Pioneer's show. They looked pretty clean to me. Sections of the drill were poorly designed in my opinion and they had several noticeable gaps and interval problems. Overall, I thought they had a nice sound, but didn't have much of an upper register. The "Chaos" section of the show needs to be a little faster to be more effective. That being said, "Chaos- Reflections of Earth" is a solid drum corps song, as displayed by the Cadets in 2000.

Crossmen: If I had only one word to describe the Crossmen's 2006 show, it would be entertainment. This show is just a pleasure to watch and hear. It is well executed and they really sell their theme and concept to the crowd. The radio section is very creative and I really enjoyed it. The ballad is absolutely BEAUTIFUL! What a great song. The horns sounded so melodious and intonation was excellent in my opinion. The ending builds to a great chord which resonates once it is released. The corps has a ton of talent The visual program also really plays to the "Changing Lanes" concept and fits nicely.

Blue Knights: This show is exactly what the title tells you it is: DARK. Wow...I have never heard such a rich low brass sound from a corps. The entire show is very low, dark, and mellow, but the lead trumpets hit some incredible notes in a few of the chords. The visual program is very creative, especially in one of the later sections where the corps is running around in a sort of frenzy that all comes together at the end. A very solid show from the Blue Knights.

Santa Clara Vanguard: I really liked SCV's music. They use a wide variety of styles that all seem to connect well from section to section. My favorite part was when the trumpets use mutes. The sound is just so unique and cool. The audience, of course, was intrigued with Mr. Moto as he marched the perimeter of the field. The final chords were the loudest of any corps the entire show, just explosive! I liked how they tied Mr. Moto into the show finally at the end, when he walks towards the corps as they are exiting and joins them. Great show by SCV!

Bluecoats: I like the beginning section, where the front ensemble plays a great melody as the show begins and the corps does some nifty drill formations backfield. Mallets and snares...wow! These guys can really play. The snare feature was tight and clean. I like Distorted a lot, but felt they could have done even more with the arrangement. The trumpet soloists struggled a bit. It could have been cleaner for sure. The soloist around the 50 and front sideline had to really push to hit the high note. But the Bluecoats really have a great show this year. Very easy to watch and follow, the ballad is beautiful, and the hornline is powerful.

The Cadets: The beginning of the show does a nice job in tying the show together with last year's. I loved last year's music, so I really enjoyed the snippets of last year's show at the beginning. The beginning narration is exactly the same as last year as well. Once the main character went through the door, I stopped following the characters to a point. I definitely felt they distracted from the show and couldn't really follow what they were doing. When I did follow them, Alice did a nice job with the dance and fit in nicely with the rest of the color guard. White rabbit had some nice tosses, Red Queen was all over the place and just a mess, and the Mad Hatter was sort of in the background throughout. But anyways, back to the show. The Cadets can REALLY play. But I think that they could have had more of a chance to display this. Why sit out for the entire middle of the show? The drumline feature was really well done in my opinion. The tenors especially are just incredible. These guys were on fire! There were sticks flying all over the place, sweet impacts, and incredible parts in the drumline. During the feature, I really don't think that the props added all that much, but the crowd went nuts when the guard members ran up the benches and jumped/flew off. Ah, the ballad. What happened with the singer tonight? You couldn't hear her at all! It was very, very faint. Maybe it was just where I was sitting. The hornline was definitely holding back in this section to allow the singer to come through, but you couldn't really hear the singer anyway. That being said, she has a great voice and I actually liked it a lot, but would have preferred the hornline to really play out more. Going into the ballad, as well as at the end, the drumline plays a faster-rhythm transition. The tenors were just remarkable during this section, great sensitivity and dynamics in the backfield. It worked well! Overall, I did not find the use of voice to be as controversial and distracting as many have claimed. What puzzled me the most were the characters. I just don't think they added anything at all to the show. Also, the crowd didn't know how to react to the show. They (and I) were very unsure as to when to applaud. All distractions aside, The Cadets show is very well executed and enjoyable (but definitely in a different category).

I expected the Bluecoats to win it, but also expected the Cadets to be close behind. SCV was also not too far behind, which was great to see. The corps seem to be cleaning up nicely as they head towards Finals next week. I was one of the few that stuck around for awards and the Crossmen alumni Hall of Fame presentations, so getting out of the parking lot wasn't as bad as others have described. If you were at the show, please add your thoughts! G'night all.

[Bryant Rankin]

Nice review; how about the scores?

[r.john]

exellent review,

I will be heading down to Allentown Friday to see All these exellent Drum corps.......thanks

[momoblooo]

Bluecoats: Mallets and snares...wow! These guys can really play.

Guys, and girls! Bluecoats have one girl on snare, one on marimba, two on vibes. And yes, battery and front ensemble are both awesome!!!

Go Bloooooooooo...

[KRtrumpet182]

Guys, and girls! Bluecoats have one girl on snare, one on marimba, two on vibes. And yes, battery and front ensemble are both awesome!!!

Go Bloooooooooo...

Sorry momoblooo, yes guys AND girls! Which is funny that you say this, because tonight a guy selling 50/50 tickets was saying "Hey guys, get your 50/50 tickets!" and a woman next to me asked if women could also buy tickets :) Sorry I forgot to include scores!

Scores:

Bluecoats 92.85

Cadets 92.55

SCV 91.75

Blue Knights 86.75

Crossmen 81.25

Magic 75.45

Pioneer 69.15

Jersey Surf 79.75

[Matt_S]

Thanks for the review! I enjoyed reading it.

[Jami]

Great review!

[kac]

KR- I could hear the Cadets singer just fine in the ballad- were where you sitting?

Some guard observations and other ramblings (but mostly visual/guard related). I've only been to one show this year, and don't have the fieldpass, so this is the first viewing of some shows, second viewing of others.

Surf has cleaned up a bunch since I last saw them in June! Big clean guard! Good job! The ending still irks me though- the can can skirts are cute, but I think the ending pose could show off the guard a little more than just a "ooh look at my skirt it's practically over my head"- I personally think it would look better if the skirt went only to chest level with some kind of pose/facial expression on the kids. But that's just me. The guard is doing a great job though!

Pioneer- I really liked the music and liked their show in general (even noticed how good the drummers were which is SO not my area!) Enjoyed what the guard was doing. Neat effect when the guard stood on their hands (I think it was in the ballad?) and they were head to toe in green! The guard ensemble features/big impact moments were pretty clean. However, the rest of the guard performance for me was difficult to watch because there was one guard person who consistently made glaring individual errors- a few counts behind on work, not doing work that the others were doing, watching the people around her, etc. Even though she was trying very hard, she was seriously lost out there except during the ensemble sections. I am guessing that she's a newer addition to the guard, and am hopeful that they are able to help her feel more comfortable with the work before Madison.

Magic- Sorry guys, my brain is fuzzy. I know I liked their show more than I thought I would and recall that the guard had a WOW performance in the opener last night... but the rest of it is slipping away. Sorry!!!!

Crossmen- much cleaner than when I saw them in June! Radio section got a standing ovation last night. Love the ballad, and the flags are very clean in that song. I don't know what to think about the new ending of the show (this is the third ending)- a little too abrupt for my tastes. Red sequin addition to the uni's is a BIG improvment!

BK- Firstly, I miss the dots on the uni's. Bring them back please! Without them the corps looks just so ordinary. :( I know people love this show, but it did nothing for me- and usually I like BK, but I don't have much of a recollection of the show except that it was significantly cleaner than Crossmen's show.

Vanguard- Holy smokes! SCV is on FIRE!!! Guard is on the move and are executing the show well. I loved the show and was blown away with just how great they are this year. I've always enjoyed Vanguard, and this show is going to be added to my list of favorites. Can't wait to see it again this weekend. They are the corps that made my $27 admission worth every penny!

Bluecoats- I was seriously impressed with last year's guard, and this year's guard is just as impressive. Loved the "woosh" of the ensemble flag toss during the silence. Again, another show that I can't wait to see in Allentown.

Cadets- the changes to the show have helped with the flow from one section to the next. When the guard is spinning, they are are right up there with demand/execution. My issue with this show is that the guard is not spinning enough. To me, it's disappointing to know that there are some of the best spinners in the world out there, and then watch them perform pretty large portions of the show without equipment in their hands. We know they are talented, but I think they could be shown off much more than they are. Be sure to watch the weapons as they toss the sabers to the person two tables away- very cool. Blue flags at the end are a good change as well.

My favorites of the night were Pioneer, Crossmen (of course), SCV, and Bluecoats. Everyone did a great job though and it was definitely an entertaining evening!

[Matt_S]

Kathy, thanks for adding your thoughts!

[G-Rott]

Greetings fellow DCI enthusiasts. I just got back from the Bensalem, PA show. Tonight was the first live show I have seen this year. The show began at 8:00 PM instead of 7:30 PM as originally planned due to the heat and humidity. It was indeed incredibly hot in Bensalem. You could see a haze on the field through the lights. The stadium was packed, which didn't help the heat at all. During the National Anthem, the singer's microphone went dead and all of the lights in the stadium stopped powering up. The lights remained off until the Jersey Surf came on the field, when they finally came back on. There were reports of rolling blackouts in the area, so this was probably related. But this was not an issue after this. So here are my reviews for the shows. Since this was my first time seeing these shows live, I probably missed out on a lot of the details. So this is my first impressions and overall feelings on each. Sorry if I lack in color guard comments...not my area!

Jersey Surf: Div. II; The Surf have really matured a lot. Music was a little thin in sections, especially in the drumline, but they had a decent sound. I heard bits and pieces of Moulin Rouge in the show, but most of the music was not from Moulin Rouge. They had some nice moments and it was a nice start to the evening.

Pioneer: They had a great balance throughout the show, especially for a smaller corps. They definitely lacked some power and seemed to struggle with stamina as the show progressed. I was impressed with their snare line and with some of their park and play sections.

The Magic: A definite step up from Pioneer's show. They looked pretty clean to me. Sections of the drill were poorly designed in my opinion and they had several noticeable gaps and interval problems. Overall, I thought they had a nice sound, but didn't have much of an upper register. The "Chaos" section of the show needs to be a little faster to be more effective. That being said, "Chaos- Reflections of Earth" is a solid drum corps song, as displayed by the Cadets in 2000.

Crossmen: If I had only one word to describe the Crossmen's 2006 show, it would be entertainment. This show is just a pleasure to watch and hear. It is well executed and they really sell their theme and concept to the crowd. The radio section is very creative and I really enjoyed it. The ballad is absolutely BEAUTIFUL! What a great song. The horns sounded so melodious and intonation was excellent in my opinion. The ending builds to a great chord which resonates once it is released. The corps has a ton of talent The visual program also really plays to the "Changing Lanes" concept and fits nicely.

Blue Knights: This show is exactly what the title tells you it is: DARK. Wow...I have never heard such a rich low brass sound from a corps. The entire show is very low, dark, and mellow, but the lead trumpets hit some incredible notes in a few of the chords. The visual program is very creative, especially in one of the later sections where the corps is running around in a sort of frenzy that all comes together at the end. A very solid show from the Blue Knights.

Santa Clara Vanguard: I really liked SCV's music. They use a wide variety of styles that all seem to connect well from section to section. My favorite part was when the trumpets use mutes. The sound is just so unique and cool. The audience, of course, was intrigued with Mr. Moto as he marched the perimeter of the field. The final chords were the loudest of any corps the entire show, just explosive! I liked how they tied Mr. Moto into the show finally at the end, when he walks towards the corps as they are exiting and joins them. Great show by SCV!

Bluecoats: I like the beginning section, where the front ensemble plays a great melody as the show begins and the corps does some nifty drill formations backfield. Mallets and snares...wow! These guys can really play. The snare feature was tight and clean. I like Distorted a lot, but felt they could have done even more with the arrangement. The trumpet soloists struggled a bit. It could have been cleaner for sure. The soloist around the 50 and front sideline had to really push to hit the high note. But the Bluecoats really have a great show this year. Very easy to watch and follow, the ballad is beautiful, and the hornline is powerful.

The Cadets: The beginning of the show does a nice job in tying the show together with last year's. I loved last year's music, so I really enjoyed the snippets of last year's show at the beginning. The beginning narration is exactly the same as last year as well. Once the main character went through the door, I stopped following the characters to a point. I definitely felt they distracted from the show and couldn't really follow what they were doing. When I did follow them, Alice did a nice job with the dance and fit in nicely with the rest of the color guard. White rabbit had some nice tosses, Red Queen was all over the place and just a mess, and the Mad Hatter was sort of in the background throughout. But anyways, back to the show. The Cadets can REALLY play. But I think that they could have had more of a chance to display this. Why sit out for the entire middle of the show? The drumline feature was really well done in my opinion. The tenors especially are just incredible. These guys were on fire! There were sticks flying all over the place, sweet impacts, and incredible parts in the drumline. During the feature, I really don't think that the props added all that much, but the crowd went nuts when the guard members ran up the benches and jumped/flew off. Ah, the ballad. What happened with the singer tonight? You couldn't hear her at all! It was very, very faint. Maybe it was just where I was sitting. The hornline was definitely holding back in this section to allow the singer to come through, but you couldn't really hear the singer anyway. That being said, she has a great voice and I actually liked it a lot, but would have preferred the hornline to really play out more. Going into the ballad, as well as at the end, the drumline plays a faster-rhythm transition. The tenors were just remarkable during this section, great sensitivity and dynamics in the backfield. It worked well! Overall, I did not find the use of voice to be as controversial and distracting as many have claimed. What puzzled me the most were the characters. I just don't think they added anything at all to the show. Also, the crowd didn't know how to react to the show. They (and I) were very unsure as to when to applaud. All distractions aside, The Cadets show is very well executed and enjoyable (but definitely in a different category).

I expected the Bluecoats to win it, but also expected the Cadets to be close behind. SCV was also not too far behind, which was great to see. The corps seem to be cleaning up nicely as they head towards Finals next week. I was one of the few that stuck around for awards and the Crossmen alumni Hall of Fame presentations, so getting out of the parking lot wasn't as bad as others have described. If you were at the show, please add your thoughts! G'night all.

KR..

Thanks for the review...I just wanted to go on record by saying that all of the music Surf plays IS from Moulan Rouge...it's just that alot of the music in Moulan Rouge IS from something/somewhere else...(Elton John's "Your Song"...the Can-Can, "Roxanne" by the Police, etc...)