My Annapolis Review

[Orpheus]

First of all, a perfect day and a great stadium for drum corps. Would love to see this show remain on the schedule. And kudos to all the corps, too -- all of 'em presented pretty much complete shows for the audience. Yeah, there's a lot to be added and tweaked, but none of 'em gyped the paying customers by standing still for four minutes or whatever, like I've seen at very early season shows in the past on occasion.

Didn't see Spirit. Sorry.

Glassmen -- The show isn't spectacular, but it works. I agree that there is definitely a lot of room to grow. Fairly solid performance across the board. Enjoyed their horn book immensely ... another good job by Robert Smith. Guard costumes are great.

Crown -- I've become a total Crowniac over the past couple of seasons. They had my favorite show last year and this might become my favorite show of '07. The horn book is absolutely gorgeous and this brass line is definitely going to be great in another couple of weeks. Like I said last season, they may not be the "best" hornline by whatever technical criteria you want to apply, but they have developed a really gorgeous sound. The "horsey" theme is almost clicking, and since their next show isn't until the 21st, it ought to be fine by then. Second favorite guard of the night, after Cavaliers. Expect Crown to be banging on the doors of the top six again. I would've had 'em above Cadets tonight for sure. Looks like brass & drum scores held 'em back, while visual & GE had 'em 2nd or 3rd ... which sort of fits with my gut feeling.

Cadets -- what can I say? My friends and I, and apparently many of the people around us in the stadium ... from high school guys to grey-haired old fans ... thought the narration spoiled what might have had the potential to be a nice show. It's just silly, mostly. "Confessions of an emo band geek," as one said. Altho that prob. wouldn't work as a show title. I mean, honestly ... it's just sad. And let me say that I don't always hate all amplified voice. I thought Crossmen used it brilliantly last season. Here's the problem, though: when you're thinking more about the talking than about the music and visuals, then you're being distracted from what you came to see ... basically, we couldn't concentrate on the show for all the nonsense. And, you know, when (as an artist) you're trying to be serious and dramatic, but the audience is laughing, then something needs tweaked. I'm sure Hop & Co. will make a lot of changes over the coming weeks, but I don't see how this one will ever be top-five caliber. I've been a Cadets fan for 20 years now, so it's painful for me to bang on 'em, but I really didn't like this show. Their horns sound good, though, when you actually remember to listen to them. I'm hoping a lot of rewrites are yet to come.

Bluecoats -- didn't quite click for me, but still awesome for June 16th. This show'll be a real treat very soon. This could possibly become one of my favorite 'Coats shows ever, actually. I'm eagerly looking forward to how it'll be evolving over the course of the summer. There's tons of potential here and I think this corps is gonna be a holy terror come August! Just solid, solid, solid across the board. Watching the evolution of the 'Coats from a very popular and entertaining "also ran" into the hardcorps contenders they are today has been quite an adventure. I've always like 'em, but nowadays they're really going places.

Cavaliers -- wow! I'm surprised this show ain't getting more love from the couple reviewers I've read. I freakin' loved it, man. And so (from where I was sitting) did pretty much the rest of the audience. Yeah, it's not a collection of Billy Joel's greatest hits, but if you're familiar with his stuff you'll recognize a few melodies. But unlike some of their more "far out" themes of the last six or eight years, this one is definitely what any old-timer would call "accessible," whether you know the tunes beforehand or not. My hats off to the Cavies' design team! Of course there's plenty of cleaning to do, and I guess the final ~ minute of their show isn't on the field yet ... but man! I haven't seen BD or PR or anyone else yet, of course, but I'd bet real cash money that this one is top three for sure. I'd have to say that I think the margin of victory was appropriate, especially in visual. And you can even see the spots where there is gonna be a lot more visual effects yet to be put in. Watch out for the Green Machine, folks. Even if you rolled your eyes when you read about their choice of music for this season, I predict this one'll be a fan fave. Didja like "007"? Well, you'll love this one, too. And oh, yeah -- the guard unis are absolutely perfect. Wish I didn't have to wait three whole weeks 'til I get to see 'em again.

Edited June 17, 2007 by Orpheus

[Orpheus]

Wait a sec ... forgot to talk about uniforms.

Spirit's a tough one. I didn't see how they worked within the show, but just as uniforms they do look very sharp. I say it's a tough one because, although I like how they look, they're a far cry from the Spirit unis we've come to know and love. These ones'll probably grow on me.

Crown's new looks is great. Very classy and stylish.

Bluecoats ... huh. Like with Spirit, they're perfectly nice, but they're a bit of a shock for those of us who've know the 'Coats for many years. Like a friend said, they look a bit like something Cesario might have drawn up for the Blue Devils, and when they declined it, he figured he might as well show the design to the 'Coats. (And no, I'm not sure if it's a Cesario design, but it does have that look about it, IMO).

Cadets -- hooray! (And I'm not talking about the wacky overlays from the past couple of seasons.) They finally got rid of the cheapo generic-looking "Cadets-lite" unis they've been wearing and gone back to their traditional old school look. Looks like they got the "frogs" back on the jacket and a real cummerbund and everything. I was pretty high up, so maybe looks are deceiving, but I think I liked what I saw. :-)

[kdaddy]

Crown's new looks is great. Very classy and stylish.

I support this stance.

The one picture provided preseason of Crown's new unis definitely don't do them justice. They look great.

[X DM]

NM

Edited June 17, 2007 by X DM

[BariEuph]

did crown's guard have their uniforms yet? i've heard about them from a friend of mine marching there but haven't seen them... interested to know if they're out and what the opinions are.

[kdaddy]

did crown's guard have their uniforms yet? i've heard about them from a friend of mine marching there but haven't seen them... interested to know if they're out and what the opinions are.

I don't know if it's the full uniform yet, but they look like horses. Each has a different shade of brown.

[84chief]

I don't know if it's the full uniform yet, but they look like horses. Each has a different shade of brown.

Also, all of the guard girls have extra long ponytails (get it - PONYtails?), and the guys have mohawks to make their hair look like horse's manes.

[DannyII]

Cadets -- "Confessions of an emo band geek," as one said.

:sshh: :sshh: :sshh: :sshh: :sshh: :sshh: :sshh: :sshh: :sshh: :sshh:

Cavaliers -- Wish I didn't have to wait three whole weeks 'til I get to see 'em again.

you and me both man!

[Meaghatron]

Quick review: My thoughts from watching the WebCast.

Spirit- I really enjoyed their show. I thought the music was great.

Glassmen- The guard uniforms are perfect for their theme. This show seems like a real fan-pleaser.

Carolina Crown- Favorite performance of the night. :) 'Nuff said.

The Cadets- The narration is too much... way too much. The hornline sounded pretty good though.

Bluecoats- The show was cool. I couldn't get into though. Hopefully I'll enjoy it more when I see it live.

The Cavaliers- I enjoyed it. I can't wait until I see it live.