Bob984 Posted August 4, 2006 Share Posted August 4, 2006 I just returned home from Giants stadium...a bit beat, but I will try to crank this out.....if you are looking for an "all rose-colored glasses" review, this isn't for you..... General....we did have some light rain at the beginning of the show....the good news is that it stopped, and then stayed dry....was actually good, because it cooled things off a bit....Giants Stadium is a great show venue.....there was a decent crowd on hand.... Magic........I thought they played a bit better tonight, as I had more sound out of the sopranos, and I thought there were less individual issues, but still some ensemble timing difficulties.....pretty full sound overall..perc. played decently, and again I thought they nipped Crossmen in perc., as I believe they have a better perc. book. Brass book is ok, but again, I can't help compare closer to Cadets......they do have much to build on..... Esperanza...book was ok, but just ok.....they played quite well at times, and guard tried to give alot....I think they need more color visually...uniform a bit "drab".....good corps overall..... Crossmen....I know that I was pretty hard on them last night......I do think they were a bit better tonight....less individuals sticking out, and I thought visual performance was just a tad better.......I guess I don't like narration as part of the musical book......they do have some impacts and some moments, but I simply can't buy into the arrangements....I did have better perc. clarity tonight, but the "wow" Crossmen drumline moments of the past are not there.... Madison......I am not a visual person, but I really liked this drill, and for me, it didn't come across as dirty as has been written/adjudicated....musically, this is not your typical Scouts corps....some dissonant stuff, and certainly different stylistically....although I couldn't totally grab onto it, I did find it interesting, and they can still pack a punch on impacts.....I felt score was a bit low...they are right about where Blue Knights are scoring-wise, but this show is much better IMO..... Crown.....hornline absolutely blew me away.....best intonation/blend of ANYONE....that is right...ANYONE tonight....I disagreed horribly with brass performance number (as I did last night).....they had a great and well-supported brass ensemble sound, excellent dynamic control, and communicated their musical book well....to me, I see them deserving 19's in brass/ensemble/ and music effect, and you can bet they won't get them....percussion-wise, it's a mixed bag....they definitely do not play as many "notes" as others in the battery...however, the notes they play "fit" arrangement-wise, and they are also very well balanced dynamically....it's not a "flashy" drumline, either....I do think that perhaps they could "let it rip" a bit more in the battery when there is a moment.....Crown's visual package is very well coordinated and they have a solid guard....I felt overall score was a bit low............. Cadets.......mixed bag tonight....I thought brass/ensemble was cleaner tonight, but they lost emotion, as either they were "holding back" on impacts, or simply tired. I also did think they marched a bit better tonight, and guard and drumline were strong.....I do like the show....I would like something more at the ending, but I don't know what...... Cavaliers...first the good....visually, they are stellar....the visual program is terrific, and so is visual performance....I have no qualms with them getting 19's now in visual, and I can see them possibly doing mid to high 19's at finals.....now, the not so good....folks, the musical arrangements are ok, but not great.......the brass line plays very well with good control....however, their dynamic range is limited, and they barely were able to make it past forte, even on their biggest impacts. 80%of the effect in this show is visual......that said, not a great deal of music effect (don't get me wrong, it's not void of musical effect, and there is some good stuff happening.....)...but the book leaves me wanting much more.....this is not a memorable music product for me....I can actually see this show earning 19's in all visual captions, yet at this point, I don't see music effect as being above an 18, but Whether I like it or not, the DCI scoring emphasis has turned to visual, and to many, visual effect equals music effect (and I couldn't disagree more....) I was ok with their visual scores, but I felt overall score was inflated.....especially in the music effect caption..... Results: I would have had Cavies/Cadets closer, and Crown not far behind. It was a good show, and I am looking forward to Allentown and then Madison. night-night......GB Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tone Quality Matters Posted August 4, 2006 Share Posted August 4, 2006 Thanks for a great review Bob. I have been frustrated about Crown's brass and Music effect scores as well. Their hornline is top three easy, and not getting credit for it. I have a feeling when we get to Allentown this weekend with a regional panel, and then next weekend with a championship calibar panel, they will do better in those captions. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lp1955 Posted August 4, 2006 Share Posted August 4, 2006 Nice review I agree with you 100% I thought it was just me but the Cavies horn line left me wanting more. Crowns horn line by far was the best last night. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
George Posted August 4, 2006 Share Posted August 4, 2006 thanks for the review!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LAMystreaux Posted August 4, 2006 Share Posted August 4, 2006 Great review. . .based on what I have seen, I agree with you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scott414 Posted August 4, 2006 Share Posted August 4, 2006 Thanks for the review :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KRtrumpet182 Posted August 4, 2006 Share Posted August 4, 2006 Nice review, thanks! I am looking forward to hearing Crown. I've heard nothing but great things about their hornline all year. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeD Posted August 4, 2006 Share Posted August 4, 2006 Magic........I thought they played a bit better tonight, as I had more sound out of the sopranos, and I thought there were less individual issues, but still some ensemble timing difficulties.....pretty full sound overall..perc. played decently, and again I thought they nipped Crossmen in perc., as I believe they have a better perc. book. Brass book is ok, but again, I can't help compare closer to Cadets......they do have much to build on..... You could see timing issues in their feet...lots of phasing. I did like their overall brass sonority. Having 12 tubas helps create a nice bottom sound. Esperanza...book was ok, but just ok.....they played quite well at times, and guard tried to give alot....I think they need more color visually...uniform a bit "drab".....good corps overall..... They seem to be thin in the number of trumpets as opposed to baris...and the staging of the trumpets places them BEHIND the baris a lot, which created a rather muddy sound just when they wanted a big clean one at times. Crossmen....I know that I was pretty hard on them last night......I do think they were a bit better tonight....less individuals sticking out, and I thought visual performance was just a tad better.......I guess I don't like narration as part of the musical book......they do have some impacts and some moments, but I simply can't buy into the arrangements....I did have better perc. clarity tonight, but the "wow" Crossmen drumline moments of the past are not there.... I like the narration...it adds fun to the show. However, the performance quality of the narrators is quite varied. The first guy creates a REAL good "radio announcer voice", but some of the others do not. I think havnig a show like they do creates a choppiness...it is part of the show. But...that makes it more difficult to really get into an individual number...as soon as you start...they change the channel! The ballad was nice, though. Madison......I am not a visual person, but I really liked this drill, and for me, it didn't come across as dirty as has been written/adjudicated....musically, this is not your typical Scouts corps....some dissonant stuff, and certainly different stylistically....although I couldn't totally grab onto it, I did find it interesting, and they can still pack a punch on impacts.....I felt score was a bit low...they are right about where Blue Knights are scoring-wise, but this show is much better IMO..... In the lower tier...there was very little crowd reaction to Madison. The guard creates the characterizations well...but their equipment technique is very weak, from this non-guard person's perspective. Crown.....hornline absolutely blew me away.....best intonation/blend of ANYONE....that is right...ANYONE tonight....I disagreed horribly with brass performance number (as I did last night).....they had a great and well-supported brass ensemble sound, excellent dynamic control, and communicated their musical book well....to me, I see them deserving 19's in brass/ensemble/ and music effect, and you can bet they won't get them....percussion-wise, it's a mixed bag....they definitely do not play as many "notes" as others in the battery...however, the notes they play "fit" arrangement-wise, and they are also very well balanced dynamically....it's not a "flashy" drumline, either....I do think that perhaps they could "let it rip" a bit more in the battery when there is a moment.....Crown's visual package is very well coordinated and they have a solid guard....I felt overall score was a bit low............. My personal favorite corps of last night. They created a wonderful brass sound...and hit all of the dynamic levels. The crowd REALLY dug them in the lower tier...a well deserved standing O, not just an obligatory one. Percussion section is just 'ok'..which may cost them a spot or two at finals. Cadets.......mixed bag tonight....I thought brass/ensemble was cleaner tonight, but they lost emotion, as either they were "holding back" on impacts, or simply tired. I also did think they marched a bit better tonight, and guard and drumline were strong.....I do like the show....I would like something more at the ending, but I don't know what...... I thought the opener was dull, performance-wise, last night. From the percussion feature on the show seemed to pick up steam. The characters did a very nice job, IMO. I really fail to see the furor over what they do. I thought they used the pink tables very well, and the crowd on my level really got into what they were doing with them. The ballad came across very well to me...I liked how the vocals slowly faded as the brass came up near the end. Cavaliers...first the good....visually, they are stellar....the visual program is terrific, and so is visual performance....I have no qualms with them getting 19's now in visual, and I can see them possibly doing mid to high 19's at finals.....now, the not so good....folks, the musical arrangements are ok, but not great.......the brass line plays very well with good control....however, their dynamic range is limited, and they barely were able to make it past forte, even on their biggest impacts. 80%of the effect in this show is visual......that said, not a great deal of music effect (don't get me wrong, it's not void of musical effect, and there is some good stuff happening.....)...but the book leaves me wanting much more.....this is not a memorable music product for me....I can actually see this show earning 19's in all visual captions, yet at this point, I don't see music effect as being above an 18, but Whether I like it or not, the DCI scoring emphasis has turned to visual, and to many, visual effect equals music effect (and I couldn't disagree more....) I was ok with their visual scores, but I felt overall score was inflated.....especially in the music effect caption..... I tend to agree on the Cavies dynamic range...much more limited than, say, Crown and The Cadets. They did have some nice spots, musically, but it seems that visual rules the day in Cavie-land, and they do it VERY well. Results: I would have had Cavies/Cadets closer, and Crown not far behind. It was a good show, and I am looking forward to Allentown and then Madison. night-night......GB I agree your thoughts...Crowns performance scores in all of the music seem to be hollding them back...no comment on field brass, but the ensemble music mark is VERY low. Marty is a percussionist, so I wonder if that had an impact on his ensemble mark. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phansouth Posted August 4, 2006 Share Posted August 4, 2006 I agree with your assessments. I got the feeling that Crown was trying a little too much to immitate 93 Star. Including the minimalist drum parts. Obviously this show is much more melodic (thank you), but there are way too many similarities for my taste. I am still excited about Crown's contiuing maturity and what they will offer in the near future. They have gotten better for four years in a row. You're dead on about Cavies. The visual is beyond anyone else, and their hornline might be capable of being beyond everyone else(from a cleanliness standpoint), but they're not given much to work with (book-wise) , except the balld, which sounds like a blen of '01 and '04's ballads (nothing wrong with that, its beautiful stuff). This is where Phantom has the chance to beat them... musical GE. How in the world they can score with them in GE Vis is beyond me, and if PR wins that caption in Madison, PR will win, period. But I don't expect Cavies to lose GE VIs, performance vis, or ens vis. BD's gonna win guard and probably ens music, PR's gonna win horns and drums. Wow, its really gonna be a three way race IMO. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dc oldtimer Posted August 4, 2006 Share Posted August 4, 2006 I kindly disagree with this. I think the Cavaliers have had many, many great horn lines. Here in the 21st century I have not heard one bad horn line from them. All of them were terrific, with beautiful blend and intonation, and great agility and articulation. Their 90, 91, 92, 95, 96, 98, and 99 lines were all very good and I believe were always top 4 or 5.And in the 80s I loved their 86, 87, 88, and 89 lines. You don't become a top 3 contender year in and year out without being quite consistent in all captions, and although they don't have the number of horn caption titles that BD does, they have been very close to the top for many years. Sometimes we end up thinking of a corps and their style to such a point that we forget about their other strengths. I realize that the Cavaliers are best known for their visual wizardry, but winning 4 of the last 6 championships only speaks to one thing: consistency in ALL captions. Their horn line has been amazing for years. Re: The Cavaliers hornline - It is interesting how people can have two views on the same subjuct. I have heard GREAT things from this years hornline. It's possible they had a bad night? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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