Quarterfinals random thoughts and observations

[nguyenbr]

ditto on the multi-camera negatives. they zoomed in way too much on Blue Knights' whirpool drill move... my favorite part of their show!

Capital Regiment had pretty smart drill and a smart show... thought they should have been ahead of Blue Stars. Wasn't really sold on the Blue Stars' "freedom" concept.

I was very impressed with the Glassmen dissonant - silent part towards the end.

Yeah, the xylophone in SCV's show overpowered the whole corps towards the beginning. Wonder if it was the mic placement or if it really was turned up too high.

I liked seeing that Rosander drill in the Scouts' show.

the Crossmen's radio section drew a lot of laughs! And I had to laugh at that mildly offensive "taco" comment.

I was reserving my judgment of the Cadets' show all season until I could actually see it... and I must say that I think its very well done. People who dislike the Cadets are just drinking too much haterade. Nobody likes a hater.

Cavaliers, wow. what a genius concept. At the same time, Phantom's show was my favorite musically. Makes me wonder, would a show like phantom's ever beat a show like Cavaliers', everything else being equal? is it even possible to implement genius visual concepts while retaining the emotional power of Phantom's music?

Whats up with the announcers being so critical of each corps? I don't remember them saying stuff like that before this year. My friend suggested that maybe it's part of DCI trying to legitimize drum corps as a sport.

[Morgoth Bauglir]

What I have to say does contain negatives, so those with faint hearts, just skip my post.

Honestly, I came away slightly disappointed. I had only been to one show this season, Toledo, so I had not seen many of the corps that were on the broadcast tonight. And after seeing them, I can't say I was very entertained. I was somewhat, but not to the extent I was hoping. It was better than last year though.

Pleasant surprises: Glassmen were great. I thought going to Europe would kill them but apparently not. I really dug their show. Crossmen - After hearing about it all season and all the vocals, I was prepared to be disappointed. I was wrong. Granted I marched there, as well as the Glassmen, but I am not a fan of vocals and I thought this show would be a few steps in the wrong direction. It was very entertaining, and it was awesome to see some people I know up close on the big screen. Southwinf - I think they had a very well orchestrated show. The light/dark think worked very well. I remember posting on DCP that I thought they would have trouble dealing with 2 different uniforms, but they pulled it off nicely. It's a shame tonight was the end for them. I think they deserve at least one more go at it.

Disappointing surprises: Phantom. Though it wasn't a big surprise, with all the hype they have been getting and all th talk of improvements and additions, I thought it would be more spectacular. Maybe the build up was too much, but I thought it was pretty boring. Clean, balanced, good music, great guard...just...not very entertaining for me. It was just another drum corps show. Not bad, not great. It doesn't stand out in my mind like Phantom 03 or 95. Blue Devils - I thought they were also pretty dull. Not the players, they performed the #### out of the show. I just thought a "Godfather" show would be on a whole new level of drum corps show like I have never seen before. It wasn't. It was just...there. I'll give it a few more listens on the CDs, and maybe it will be better now that my hype-bubble has burst, but I can't say I am eagerly waiting for the CDs to arrive. And I doubt I will get the APD either.

Positive expectations. Cavaliers. Amazing show from top to bottom. Great music, great drill, great design, great execution. All around great. The drill wasn't 02. And the music wasn't 00, so those shows are still my all time favorite Cavie shows, but this one is definitely up there. Bluecoats - I saw them in Toledo as well and they had some jammin music. I am glad to see it's way cleaner and with 50% more steel drum :) Their end-of-the-season visual package was tasty as well. I think I will be buying their APD.

Negative expectations - I'll be short since they are going to catch more crap than anyone in all likelihood. I can't think of anything I liked about the Cadets. I don't listen to their 05 show because the drumspeak and vocals mar that show beyond belief, but at least Dancer was amazing. But this year, nothing. I doubt I will listen to or watch that show ever again.

And to be honest, most of the rest of the shows were just...there as well. I kinda found myself wating for Bluecoats or Cavies through most of them.

I know I said negative stuff and many will not agree with it, particularly my distaste for BD and PR 06, but differing opinions are what make drum corps great:)

[Jeff Ream]

No Jeff. not bad at all.

I just wanna say that Phantom Regiment was AMAZING. a real dark horse. They're on the move. Best hornline and drumline of the night. Judges actually got it right!

good, cause at the theater i had to struggle to hear the corps over the pit.

[Leland]

Bluecoats - I saw them in Toledo as well and they had some jammin music. I am glad to see it's way cleaner and with 50% more steel drum :)

I have a fever. And the only cure is more cowb... steel drum!

Okay, I'm officially too tired.

[Morgoth Bauglir]

Cavaliers, wow. what a genius concept. At the same time, Phantom's show was my favorite musically. Makes me wonder, would a show like phantom's ever beat a show like Cavaliers', everything else being equal? is it even possible to implement genius visual concepts while retaining the emotional power of Phantom's music?

I am inclined to say no. Conceptually, the bar has been set above what a typical PR show usually delivers. Granted they are getting cleaner and cleaner each year, but you said all other things being equal. So just based on concept alone, you can't just play some good music and march around. That may have been enough 10 years ago, but this isn't 1996. There needs to be a tie in. An overall theme governing every aspect of the show. And while the Faust theme governed the guard and the actors, the rest of the corps was doing little in relation to their theme. Contrast that to a show like MACHINE where there was ample opportunity for each member at any moment to be doing something related to a machine, and their staff took full advantage of those opportunities with music, drill, and individual acting and gimmicks. There are not many parts in Cavaliers 06 where you can watch or listen and NOT think "machine". But without the actors, "Faust" has nothing to do with PR 06.

The way I see it, the bar has been set at full-package-shows. And right now, PR is not designing like that.

Edited August 11, 2006 by Morgoth Bauglir

[NDNation]

i can honestly say...

i did not like any of the top 5 except for BD.

LOL Ok, we get it. You're a homer. Now for a little perspective from another CA resident. BD is fortunate to be scoring as well as they are.

[Danielle]

Southwind - liked the theme, but the guard unis were horrible

CR - it was ok, nothing really grabbed me

Blue Stars - liked the theme, the talking was a bit too long. Should of just said "The Freedom of (blank)" Good start to D1

Crossmen - I remember more of the radio stuff then any of the specific music, so it might have been a tad over done

Colts - probably the least memorable of the night

Spirit - not super clean, but I really liked the arrangements. Caught my attention and I always find their shows entertaining

Glassmen - LOVED this show. The arrangements really pulled it off and this is a great follow up to another favorite show of mine last year

Madison - I love some good old Madison, but I was bored during this, unfortuantely... the music really didn't catch me and I didn't like the guard unis, though the white jackets aren't horrible. I usually can overlook the dirtier drill since they often blow the house down, but this didn't do it for me.

Boston - Too much Red! They need some contrasting color as I felt like the guard just blended in, and many of the flags were of a red/pink hue. It just made it all smoosh together and I couldn't get the visual impact of the guard vs. the rest of the corps. The rest of the show was just there and it didn't really pull me in.

Blue Knights - I actually really liked the music and focused on that quite a bit, and the visual fit in well. I would like to listen to this one a few more times. A nice suprise.

Crown - Usual nice brass sound which stood out the most. Visual wasn't all that memorable.

SCV - As mentioned, the pit was too loud, but I enjoyed the show. Reminded me a bit of 2001 which is a fav of mine. As someone who couldn't march DCI-level because of two bad knees and a foot, I would have made a great Ms. Moto

Bluecoats - Good show and I really liked the visual, but I agree that it didn't have the cut throat, top 3-5 corp edge to it. Hopefully they can pick it up this week since they have a great program

Cadets - I like to have a lot of things to look at, but this was just too much. So much of the weird stuff took away from the great musicianship of this corps, from the unis to the actors and the singer (really, what was the use of her singing those few lines?). Drum line was great, but I could hardly "get to" focusing on the brassline due to the craziness surrounding them.

Phantom - I liked this show even more since it was after Cadets and more along the lines of what I like to see. Gorgeous guard unis and costumes and it was all set so well with the staging and the music. I really look forward to listening to this show to enjoy it even more since this is the first I have seen or heard it this season. Better guard performance could boost them tomorrow...

BD - Liked the overall show, but it took me awhile to get into it. It was my least favorite of the top 3

Cavies - well executed and it is probably theirs to lose. I enjoyed all the sound and drill effects and they used them in a way that didn't over do it. Book isn't my favorite, but their drill drew me in...

[wishbonecav]

If you think I am bad,,the guy next to me said.

' you know,,with a little cleaning that could be a winning BOA show"

Bawhahahahahaha

Pretty funny.

Best part of DCI? Even a crunchy frog can have an opinion!

Way to set up your BOA post. I was smiling till I scrolled to the zinger.

Then I hit the floor laughing.

[Watch & Listen]

Burbank, CA was pretty great - sold out and nice and loud.

Only problem was the guy behind me who had to comment on everything that happened all night. Heard him say "TICK" about 20 times plus lot's of other stuff that was annoying and unnecessary.

He also had a bad case of the sniffles! Go blow your nose for heavens sake!

In case he doesn't know who he is his initials are SS. ^0^

I'm sure he wouldn't like it if people talked and commented loudly thru his shows. <**>

:sshh:

[Leland]

The way I see it, the bar has been set at full-package-shows. And right now, PR is not designing like that.

They're not designing like that, but as I ended up seeing it, they were different from everyone else. So many other corps are playing weird, obtuse stuff with little moments of "watch them execute this bit and hit a chord" that it's unusual to see a (mostly) complete arrangement of a large-scale work.

After the first several corps of the night, I made a comment to a friend, saying that I felt like I had just witnessed six identical shows with different uniforms; and, ironically, the only difference that I enjoyed seeing was Crossmen's vocals.

("ironic" because I wore my Drum Corps Unplugged t-shirt... I'll hate amps forever <**> )