finals weekend thoughts, plugs and comments

[Jeff Ream]

i wanted to do a good thorough review, but after 3 corps in perlims, my notepad was soaked and unreadable, so i scratched down what i could for everyone. for the alumni show, i amd gonna type what i remember, and for finals, i just said #### it, made a few small notes and sat back to enjoy the show.

special thanks go to:

Fred Windish for the envelope. beyond appreciated, and I owe ya one. you inherited a thankless job, yet you keep going with a smile and a handshake.

John Donovan for the access to the driest place at the stadium as well as great company and conversation. folks, i wont post his pic in case he wants to remain george like and be stealth secretive, but this guy is a class act. having spoken to him a zillion times prior to meeting him, as soon as i saw him, i knew it was him. he, along with Danielle, my wife, and Tank had a great dinner at the Crowne Plaza. I also love how he gave the morons at bennigans an education on what happens when you have 8 empty tables and yet you claim there is a wait with no one waiting...we went elsewhere!

Fran Haring...always great jokes, and yes, i'll cherish that score sheet when you dig it up.

Gil Silva, Larry Hershman, Rich Templin, all of the other officials and judges....your sense of humor and love for the activity made a ####ty day on Saturday end up fun in the long run. tho the 'box" was for you guys, you just let us all in and had fun with it. you could have told us all to go to ####, but you made it more fun.

as for the city of Rochester...very inviting. Blew Scranton away here. Rochester city police outside the venue saying thank you and asking how youw ere was an incredible improvement. banners all over town...i saw 3 alone on 490.

the stadium...well...it isn't all done yet. it has some plusses and minuses. i'm not gonna go public on any of them, as i dont need the #### i got after i spoke up about NC, tho i am willing to discuss some concerns as well as some plusses off line.

Friday: got into town about 5...later than planned, but oh well. i overslept :P

after check in, went downtown to I&E. nice set up....blows away every Scranton venue minus last year at the actual stadium. and oh those poor square dancers......they had to deal with us. ^0^

saw a few snare solos prior to Lee...and oh man...Lee's solo...wow. that was performance art with some god playing thrown in. props to the dude in the g string. more props to the women who uh..well....'performed". went to eat, and came back to see the last few mini corps. Loved Mass Brass and ghost Riders, fell in love with Star, and loved the Renegades. if you didn't see Star, wow. what a sound. imagine 1990's hornline cut into a 3rd of it's size, but sounding like double the members present. wow.they deserved the win. touch w/a rock star moment......in 1987, i thought Becky Woods, then Star DM was a goddess among mere woman. next thing you know i am standing next to her and being star struck. even my wife forgave me.

oh and Ron Allard....dude....stop bringing hurricanes with you when you come to DCA. I'm soon going to tell Rose to lose your ticket requests.

got to meet a ton folks, and also catch up with many i hadn't seen since last year. I even got to call Strutta and Dan liberals and walk away to tell about it :P

Saturday: great breakfast at the Cracker Barrell on Hylan Dr. the weather was incredibly insanse. even up in the box area, unless you were in the room with the DCP crew and the tab gang, really you weren't dry. the winds just blew stuff...i saw the wind move chairs across the floor, knock tables over, and even drive a camera person away from the camera. at the break, i saw a judge, laughing, come into the room and say "#### this".....and no one complained. it was insane. every corps member gets huge props for gutting it out, and every judge gets double props...they were out there for every single corps, and the upstairs guys had nowhere to hide. wow.

as for the corps:

SoCal...what a brass sound. well designed show musically, tho some visual issues did hold you back a bit. still, i cant argue the numbers.

GCS: honestly, i think the weather hurt you more than anyone. it truly affected your guard. perc performance hurt, and your brass did sound ok most of the time, tho a few times it seemed on the edge of a tear. all in all, given the maelstrom, you get props.

LakeShoremen...yeah i'm the guy that yelled "go Shore". :P perc was good, tho brass i think may have been overly challenged, and it hurt you muscially and visually. still a step up from lastyear in terms of performance and design, and you guys are ready to turn the corner.

White Sabres:...you probably had the worst of it weather wise, yet it was your best show to date. musically much better than Reading. what i like is the age ranges of this corps...kids...old vets......all working together. retain that nucleus and build on it.

Alliance.....the delay hurt you IMO. visually strong. last years great perc section didnt appear today, and it hurt. brass did ok, and i loved the guard. i think, IMO, the delay killed your music performance.

Chops: what a drumline. however, the brass just did not click today. well designed show musically, and you guys marched well, tho the guard did not have it today. i wanted you in finals, but it just wasnt gonna happen. loved the guard guy who stayed in the back the first half of the show :P

Govies.....truly, the only section that didn't come to play was the perc. the guard is so well written...loved the sword swallower....and the sold the show. DM is, IMO, your heart and soul. you take him away and your show loses something. brass played well and you guys marched well. next year, kick it up on the perc side, and really, you could own Class A.

Frontier: gotta admit, i didnt see as much as i wanted to...i needed to get out of the rain. 12th place brass, based on sound is something i agree with 100%. battery had a few issues, and what i saw feet wise looked ok, but nothing that wowed. me. still, in terms of your programming, a HUGE step up from last year.

MCL: I'll confess, i needed the rest room and a hot drink. see my alumni show comments. sorry guys.

Sun:.......just didnt happen for you today. lots of performance issues everywhere. i liked the design, but the performance killed you. going in, you had a shot at top 12, but you just had one of those days when youcouldnt afford to. dont give up, come back next year...program well like you did here, but max out the ex.

Kilties: wow! i knew making it in would be tough, but musically you continued to crank it up a notch. 3way tie for 8th in brass says it all. perc had some issues, but better than last year. weakness is still the guard and to an extent visual. very safe drill, and with a bit more beef there, it will bleed over to all captions. still, you keep making strides.

SKy: visual killed you. still a fun show to listen to, but lots of performance issues musically. IMO, better than last year in terms of design, but it just didnt get clean

Cru: HUGE improvement since last week in terms of performance. still some music issues IMO in the GE caption, and the brass still sounded gassed a couple of times, but the perc did a great job in the weather. Honestly, in many other years, you're in.

Hurcs: holy ####!!!! what a difference 2 months, many filled in holes, and fleshed out design can do. your guard was incredible to watch, and i thought all captions delived as best they could. you ignored all comparisons to Madison, did it your way, and delivered. IMO, your best show since the ben Hur days

CV: a well written show. gotta love Elvis...err Vic. you guys sold the Vegas storyline well, and nothing came off forced when you changed from vegas theme to vegas theme. looking at the recap, it seems your perc played well on the field, but i couldn't hear the tenors at all when the full corps played, and at times lost the snares. all i can say is bigger scoops will do wonders for you there. loved the bass tuning. guard did a great job.

Gold: big jump in a week....less standing around, improved performance all ways around. sop soloists a scream, drumline much better, and visually, the added movement helped you a lot.

brigs:...missed part of the show, as nature called and so did hot coffee. did catch the second half, and it became much more readable to me. you guys were written off for dead this winter, yet you pulled it out and showed life goes on.

MBI: gotta love this show. soloists to die for, great percussion. fun show to listen to, and the props helped up your visual design. huge props to the guard for wearing the least while rolling around the most.

Renegades:.....i liked the tunes choesn, but they didnt flow well to me. perc had some issues, and brass had some moments that made you forget they werent gigantic. visual seemed to be a weakness. show to me, seemed to come alive more from Stairway out.

Cabs: #### me. hard. this corps came to play. percussion line on the field was smoking, tho i did feel a few moments of ensemble uneasiness. hornline played really well, and the visual aspect came a long, long way. basically, you were a guard score away from top 3.

Bush.....only guard to, IMo truly excel in this weather. field perc improved, but not to the level of the rest of the top 5. brass sounded great, but still, IMO, didnt seem to wow me til RPH. pit scoring in ballad just delicious.

Empire....better than last week. no tarp up front, which may have hurt visual numbers, but i understand why. hornline on fire, and battery had a good night, tho pit sound lost a little more than last week. corps moved well. really, i decided on a tie when i left. it was that close.

Bucs: opener held well, caprricio had ensemble iffy spots. ballad and closer held well. really, the craziest drill of the night, and i didnt envy you on that field. perc did well, esp the basses, tho brass still seemed a touch uneasy at times. better than last week, but not what you needed to pull away.

i left before scores for the last two ( thanks for the calls Gadget and Ace), took the worlds longest hot shower, and slept for 9 hours.

woke up, sat in the hot ub at the hotel for 20 minutes, and off we went to what was left of the alumni show.

bridgemen:...Tommy Allen had the greatest line, and email me and i'll tell you :P better than Allentown, esp perc performance. loved the bannanas being thrown into the crowd. honestly, if you do the whole 80 show next year, i'll name my first child Bayonne.

YR:..big improvement since the Harrisburg show. sound was much crisper, and you made this son of an alum proud.

Sky....my god that snare line. so good. so powerful. and at times, too powerful. grab a few more horns tro balance it out. fun show, was able to drum along a lot, and the crowd loved ya.

Cabs: wow. you just get better. from Ponzo's bull call, to the beat, to the OTL to the end. I love how the corps makes a point of performing to the field corps in the stands, especially Frank. it's a good thing you went on last....no one could have followed you.

but MCL did. apparently, there was a video/cd glitch, so MCL was an added bonus. today, the corps played for pride, and while i noted some sloppiness, it was made up for with attitude and fire. a nice show. 12th place visual indeed. aggressive perc book, tho a tad dirty at times. brass seemed strong today....had to be the attitude.i think if you had this performance saturday, you would have scared a few people.

back to hotel, nap, change, and viola finals.

after fighting traffic and looking for a parking spot, heard Fran sign on and call out Adam warning him and the crowd about his choice of shirts. yes, for those who read but didn't go, it was ugly. it had hidden messages. really, it was Stairway played backwards.

folks, get the prime rib sandwiches for sale under 107. unreal.

seated in 107, top row of the lower section, and my wife and i split the 50.

Socal...better than saturday, tho still some visual issues. i had em 2nd.

White Sabers: i thought visually you were much better saturday, tho musically, you were light years better at finals. due to the visual, i had you 3rd, but 2nd it was, and ya gotta ba happy. that had to be a fun 45 minute ride home. (btw, nice quickie mart in your home town)

Govies.....stepped it up a notch in finals. perc seemed much better, and your guard steals the show. best little corps in America. you make more fans every year

loved the victory run. Monty Python is always a great choice!!!

Gold: ending even more powerful, tho brass seemed a bit sloppy. perc played better, and feet looked good, tho still too much standstill. saw the penalty coming.

CV: MUCH better show, except from the perc. at the lower level snares cut much better, and was able to hear the tenors more. brass really turned it on, and i gotta tell ya, Vic doing the Bridgemen fleecing the guys money and Elvis were hysterical.

Hurcs.....7th is 7th, penalty or not. your guard was amazing. tho, i must say, some of the uh...body....work...i saw was...well, it made me feel religious in an all together way. not sure i remember seeing some of that in JCS. bold stuff there. perc seemed a tough off at times, tho brass kicked it up a notch. show seemed more powerful tonight, and again, a great step up from pervious years.

Renegades....um...looks like ya crossed the line again. finals show, overall much better. pit toys had issues lining up with battery in drum solo.guard seemed to hurt you a lot. brass was much better. it seemed that visual was the big weakness, as well as percussion. i liked it better at finals, but this year, it just didnt grab me.

Brigs: great show. i thought all sections stepped it up tonight, and i totally dig that whole opener the more i see it. closer again came thru better, and while i still think the ending is too abrupt, it worked better.

MBI: a much better show as well. i truly thought the perc should have been closer to the top 2. loved the pit scoring. Roger still amazes me, and the drum stuff at the end, while it seemed a touch dirty, is great GE. every year i keep hoping that missing "it" will appear, and while i thought this year was close,it just seems like it needs that one thing to get you over the hump. as soon as i figure it out, i'll yell, cause i truly love you guys.

Cabs:.....i totally get the perc numbers, tho you guys made it ###### close. brass again seemed to be on, but i still sensed a moment or 3 of uneasiness. really, i had you 3rd. guard issues aside, i truly thought every other caption was in your favor. ballad gave me goosebumps, and the closing sequence to the end was pure Cabs. Andy Williams is a riot to watch play tympani

Bush: i agree hornline clean. however, Fanfare just seemed flat...didnt groove. maybe it was the perc. battery played better, and the pit is a dream. Joe, loved the moments of Bush past you sneaked in the ballad...did I even hear "In Her Family" in there??? guard was unreal clean. I had em 4th...not cause of dirt, i just thought the flat opener was what would put cabs over them. ballad and RPH sure fire classics.

Empire: strong beginning. middle seemed to not really go where it did saturday. great ending. soloists out of this world, and Ritchee during America is something that really, is inhuman. Joey's no slouch either. perc didnt seem as on tonight, but feet did...guard seemed alittle flat.

i said if you performed it and Bucs didnt it was yours. IMO, with the middle as it was, it just wasn't meant to be.

fireworks......they sucked. way too long. figures, Rochester was playing Scranton/Wilkes Barre. only baseball could tie in to DCA that way. was afraid the delay would hurt Bucs.

Bucs: FINALLY, the show i'd thought they were capable of. guard had some drops, and that opened the door for Bush. percussion on fire here, with nothing front to back or side to side to make me question the call. best pit of the decade. best bassline of the decade too...made me laugh out loud several times. Capriccio held well, and while the brass still suffered a touch from the drill demands, they didnt die at any time. i get the GE call...it was the brass. visually the most demand of anyone.

you deserved it. you brought your a game on the night you needed it.

and, your victory run was even better.

retreat...the elimination of 9000 awards helped speed it up. however the delay to bring all of the corps out slowed it back down.

and i dont know what the warmup/bus area was like out there, but i heard many corps playing during the victory runs.

and that folks, is the 2006 season. DCA continues to grow, just not in size, but in quality.

[Jeff Ream]

ps...huge thanks to Sirius for playing all of the old Howard Stern stuff from the KRock days all weekend....helped make the drive go fast!

[burdettsky]

Not only did Scranton factor into the baseball/fireworks miss, but their pitcher caused the game to be so quick. Sunday night was the first 9 inning no-hitter in Red Barons history, hence, the game finishing up early.

And to Fran on the shirt, you are the champ for a 2nd consecutive year. When you told me at the hotel that you were bringing out the heavy artillery, I changed my shirt so nobody would think I was actually trying to win.

[scott414]

Thanks Jeff for the review........ for all of us who couldnt make finals..... you brought us there with your review.....thanks again

[Jami]

best pit of the decade.

now that is flattering - and means a #### of a lot to me. thanks. :)

[Jeff Ream]

one last thing.

yes, i yelled for LisaLisa

[bumo27]

Jeff, thanks for the review! Sorry I didn't get to see you this weekend, but we were rehearsing as much as possible...just like every other DCA weekend.

I did however, HEAR you. Thanks man. :)

I'm still reeling from winning High Brass. It's such a great feeling. What a wonderful season I had with the Bushwackers. I'm so glad I was able to go back.

Ahh, back to work I go.

[Jeff Ream]

i think everyone i yelled for heard me....except Lisalisa.

####, jami and I all but had a conversation :P

[Jami]

it's amazing how many nods and motions can be given between two people - one of who happens to be on a field

[Jeff Ream]

well i would have called, like i did with Glen a few years ago, but i didnt think you'd have your phone on ya