chadwick Posted August 18, 2006 Share Posted August 18, 2006 I saw both corps three times, two times at the Atlanta Regional and once at Finals in Madison. Spirit - Definitely an improvement from last year, most notibly in sound and guard execution. I loved their show in Atlanta, especially the opener. It was like they were announcing "This is the start of the Top 12...get ready for a fantastic evening!". The show did, however, leave me a little flat in Madison...it just didn't seem to have the power it did in Atlanta. Almost like they knew it was nearly impossible to make up the ground between them and Glassmen. One poster commented that Spirit has kind of been stagnant the past few years, staying right there in 12th place or so. This is true to a point, but I don't think their execution and show design have been stagnant....had it not stepped up this year, they would have been in 15th place as I think as a whole, the corps in the 11th-15th range all stepped things up quite a bit this year. I hope Spirit can continue this trend of a balanced and loud horn line and great guard execution...they just might move up a couple places if they can. Glassmen - I thought the beginning of the show was slow to start...I got the effect they were going for, but I thought they stood still for way too long. The deaf section was by far my favorite portion of the show and in Atlanta, the crowd remained perfectly silent which gave it the best effect. But as we all know, the few individuals in the upper deck (the same ones who yelled throughout the Cadets show) ruined the effect of this section in Madison....shame on you, classless. I wondered if the trip to Europe would effect them this year, I don't think it did. I think their final placement was just about right. In Atlanta, I thought Spirit was better, but in Madison, I thought Glassmen was better. Neither I thought were better than Madison or Boston though. Great thread! Looking forward to Boston/Madison and Crown/BK! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boilerman_05 Posted August 18, 2006 Share Posted August 18, 2006 Spirit - I saw them a few times over the season, and I thought their hornline was absolutely horable relative to other corps in their range, early season. However, by the time I saw them at finals they had improved... A lot! Congratulations to them for that. Glassmen - The best part of the show, for me, was the long drawn out chords in the ballad. Simply amazing. I was sitting on the 50 in the 3rd row (staff/volunteer section :) ) finals night and it was the most exciting moment of the night for me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WLCBonr04 Posted August 18, 2006 Share Posted August 18, 2006 I felt that Spirit didn't live up to the corps name. For that matter, I was rather bored with the show, even though they did have a good musical selection, and had a loud sound. Personally, I wasn't all that impressed, Colts should have had the 12th spot :) Now for Glassmen, I usually HATE classic classical music on the field (Dvorak, Mahler, etc), but this show was one of Glassmens best. I found it aesthetically appeasing, with some laughter during the waltz, some wow moments with the silent guard, and the cool way they warmed up. I do wish, however, they would learn to clean better, because this show definitely could have placed higher then what they did at finals. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mobrien Posted August 18, 2006 Share Posted August 18, 2006 Spirit - show was disjointed, and did a slight disservice to the composers and pieces they chose by sticking them out there in truncated, sometimes nonsensical arrangements (listen to Madison's '84 "Waltz of the Mushroom Hunters" then listen to Sprit's "greatest 8 bar segments from Waltz of the Mushroom Hunters" to know the difference ).. Good talent in the corps . Glassmen - it was fine. The deaf section worked pretty well. Show still felt a little out of form, though I couldn't tell you how the order would have to be changed to make it more impactful. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spirit Age-Out Posted August 18, 2006 Share Posted August 18, 2006 (edited) I felt that Spirit didn't live up to the corps name. For that matter, I was rather bored with the show, even though they did have a good musical selection, and had a loud sound. Personally, I wasn't all that impressed, Colts should have had the 12th spot :) Oh silly, now you're just being mean. :P If you knew anything about Spirit of JSU/Georgia/Atlanta. You would know that this year they lived up to there past more than any year within the past 16 years and it's only gonna get better. Forget about placement and scores. I'm fairly sure that all Spirit is going to be worried about is being Spirit. So be sure to hang on to your face next summer. Edited August 18, 2006 by Spirit Age-Out Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BMBob Posted August 18, 2006 Share Posted August 18, 2006 Both shows were good, but I felt Spirit was a bit flat. I think it was more the show design for me than the performance. I liked Glassmen a lot this year. Smith did a great job with the arrangements. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TexasPRfan Posted August 18, 2006 Share Posted August 18, 2006 I thought I'd just copy out of the review I posted last night on Finals week to summarize my thoughts on both corps: Spirit – Congrats to Spirit for making it back into Finals once again. Technically, I think this was probably Spirit’s best corps since their late 90s resurgence began. The horn line was loud and effective, the guard was tight and the drum line was impressive. Yet, the design again was lacking from Spirit. The show just was not attractive to watch – and I blame the guard color schemes for that (certainly not the kids). WAY too much blue made it difficult to convey different moods and nuances in the show. Surprisingly, the Waltz of the Mushroom Hunters section of their show ended up to me being their most effective part of their show, while the Blue Shades ending seemed patched on to the end and very ineffective. I did appreciated Spirit's show this summer, but I just think the corps could be so much more with a better-designed show. Glassmen – This corps certainly brought all 3 nights shows back to life for me, and seemingly many in the audience. I think this is my favorite Glassmen show since 1999. I just loved this show. There were so many highlights for me – the exciting opening sequence, the breathtakingly beautiful finale to the Moonlight Sonata section, and the creative, moving “deaf” sequence leading to the joyous finale all were highlights of the year for me. I hope the corps continues down this direction for a few more years, as I really like it. Interestingly, I think the MOST effective parts of their show were when they were being most straight-forward with the Beethoven music. What does that tell you about how traditional classical music can still sell on the field? Kudos also, to Glassmen for a great visual design in 2006. I thought the staging for this corps was near perfect almost throughout. If this corps can retain its members – and raise the maturity of it’s brassline in particular, they can certainly be a force again. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WLCBonr04 Posted August 18, 2006 Share Posted August 18, 2006 Oh silly, now you're just being mean. :P If you knew anything about Spirit of JSU/Georgia/Atlanta. You would know that this year they lived up to there past more than any year within the past 16 years and it's only gonna get better. Forget about placement and scores. I'm fairly sure that all Spirit is going to be worried about is being Spirit. So be sure to hang on to your face next summer. I do apologize, my wording can sometimes make the meaning a little skewed. The comment on not living up to their name had no correlation to the fact that they all performed their hearts out, and have lived up to the history of the corps. What I meant was that it didn't give me any spirit, in that I wasn't excited after watching their performance. I do admit my mistake in this (which is hard to do sometimes :) ) I apologize for any hurt feelings Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Granny Smith Posted August 18, 2006 Share Posted August 18, 2006 (edited) The Glassmen's show was near the top in entertainment value. I couldn't help but experience a certain amount of longing for VK when I watched and listened. One of my criteria for a show is how my own facial expression is at the end of a performance. A few examples: Glassmen: SMILING from ear to ear. Spirit: A gentle nodding of the head, lips pressed together with a contented look of, hmm, not too bad. Cadets: A furrow in my brow, jaw clenched and an expression of constipation. Cavaliers: Eyes and mouth wide open with eyebrows at the top of my scalp. Let's just say I like to have a smile on my face at the end of a show. Edited August 18, 2006 by Granny Smith Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StarContra4-85 Posted August 18, 2006 Share Posted August 18, 2006 Spirit- To me, it felt like the drive had been removed from "Ol' Man River" especially. It was a "nice" show, but I just didn't connect with Spirit the way that I wanted to. I wanted something more akin to classic '80's Spirit with at least part of this show's theme. I too wanted to see the Colts in 12th... Glassmen- This is one of my favorite years for the Gmen. The show was well designed, well executed. The deafness was a nice moment and really helped to drive things home. I am really pleased with the decision to let these guys play at both ends of the dynamic range, it's added a lot to their shows for the last 2 years. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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