dciguy01 Posted June 18, 2007 Share Posted June 18, 2007 (edited) Hey everyone. This is my second year in a row and third overall attending this show in Pittsburgh at Baldwin High School. My hope in providing reviews is to give you all a sense of what the atmosphere was like as well as the actual corps performances. This year, I actually wasn't as excited as I usually am about the show....although, as usual...I left 3 hours early to get the best possible parking spot...and of course I did :) Now, those of you who read my review last year will know of the horrible, horrible stomach pains that plagued me throughout the show. Let it be known that I learned my lesson and did NOT drink glass after glass of Mountain Dew on this hot, muggy day in Steel City. The result was that I had NO stomach ache and the show was actually enjoyable!! I did visit the nearby Pizza Hut, as is tradition for me. Tradition in a good way though, because I can box up the food and take in right into the stadium to avoid the concessions (which didn't look too appealing anyway). This year I was smart. Unlike last year when I parked 2 miles from the school and then huffed my way over to the restaurant, I parked my Spyder at the Pizza Hut like a normal human being. Well I get out of there and it's about an hour to the show start. I glance out of the corner of my eye and I see The Cavaliers equipment truck zoom past my beady little eyes. That's when it happened... I got bit by the drum corps bug, and I was infected by it all night long!!! Welcome to Baldwin, everyone To my surprise, a LOT of people showed up VERY early for this show despite the fact there were only 5 corps on this evening. Most of them were waiting in line to get tickets at will call. Not me. Guess where my seats were? That's right...front row on the 50 :) The track was a lil' ways from the field, but that didn't make the sound any less dulling to my ears. I got great reads on the marching technique, obviously. About 5 minutes to show time, the man I sold my ticket to arrived and introduced himself as a former corps member who marched back in the 60's/70's in DCI and DCA. We had a blast talking about all kinds of corps topics. It was amazing that even back in those days they pulled as many pranks and got into as much mischief as current corps members do, lol. But I digress. I know why you all came to this thread... THE SHOW Unlike last year, overall crowd response was pretty receptive for all of the groups. Seems like there was a fan section for each of the 5 corps. Right after the national anthem was finished being played... SOUTHWIND took the field for the first time this summer, sporting their brand new black and gold uniforms. They looked awesome on the pit members moreso than the actual corps. Why? Because the pit never turns their back on the audience. The actual marching members' uniform backs are solid black. I think it's just too much black for one uniform. I couldn't make that same complaint about the guard uniforms though, because they didn't have any yet :P. No, no, they weren't naked. They had the undergarment spandex and some generic flags like most corps are doing about now. The actual performance wasn't exactly what I was expecting. Visually there was a lot of dirt, though I understand it is a first show. The actual demand of the drill isn't too high, which may hurt them come August. Muscially, this is a very top heavy corps. The trumpets and mellos were pretty good for June! The low end of the spectrum tended to drop out often, unless there was a park and blow. SW did have a couple contra holes, so I'll give them a pass for right now. My focus was primarily on the drumline. Maybe it was just me, but I was enanmoured by the SW drumline, and pretty much every drumline tonight. They did a great job and sounded pretty good (coming from a brass guy)! Overall, I prefer last years show to this one, but they came out of the gate with a decent performance and have a lot of room to grow into the show. Keep it up guys, way to go. GLASSMEN were the next group up. You could tell the immediate step up in quality before the first downbeat was even played. The pit had some ethnic drum rhythm goin on while the rest of the corps was warming up. The kicker for the G-Men was that THEY WERE THE ONLY CORPS TONIGHT TO HAVE FULL UNIFORMS AND FLAGS!! I know it's only June, but thank you all for bringing a completed outfit to the show. Takes very hard work to get those things off the sewing machine and onto the field to beat a deadline. When the corps did start playing, the presence of the hornline was much bigger than SW's. The low brass was not only heard, but it evenly balanced into the rest of the hornline. They were also playing Capricio Espagnol, which is one of my fav pieces, and it sounded pretty good I must say! Once again, great balance. As I also mentioned, the drumlines were on tonight. I couldn't get enough of how the parts fit into the show so well. The one thing that really held this corps down was the visual performance. There was the obvious June dirt you'd expect, but there were some serious problems with spacing and alignment. Did they cover dressing the line yet? Some of those "lines" were questionable. There was one individual baritone player who caught me eye. He/she was huffing and puffing around the field, horn bobbing all about and barely making the sets, but obviously giving it their all to complete the show. Hang in there buddy, you'll get it! Normally I don't care for Glassmen's show choices, but this spanish theme really works well for them. Once it gets cleaned up, they will have a great vehicle for cruising into Pasadena B) THE CAVALIERS The reigning 6 time world champions trekked onto the field in championship form. The first thing I noticed about the corps was the guard. They are dressed up in business suits. Those guys have got to be scorching underneath those things! But they tough, they're in drum corps. They can handle it. The guard was also scorching hot in their acrobatics. Man they could put on a clinic for a gymnastics class with all those backflips, sheesh. You know something, the Cavies really are a machine this year. Machine in the sense that they are clean, balanced, and well trained. The problem with that? The show is just not exciting. No emotion! There were very few times in the performance when I would say "whoa" or "cool" or "HELL &^$%*&%$ YEAH" or something like that. But as we all know, emotion does not equal perfection. The class of the drum corps visual department was not up to par with what I'm accustomed to seeing from the Green Machine, either. Sure, they marched very well; probably better than everyone else. But the jaw dropping visual flashes are not there (yet). Rolling around on the ground is not how I envision the definers of drill... Musically, the hornline is still very, very good. They don't have the volume you would expect from a champion, but they are still very good. The licks were clean as you can get them for June. Very nice low end in the brass, big kudos for that. Trumpet soloists were also spot on. The highlight, once again, was the drumline! Wow, can those guys play. Gonna make a serious run at the drum trophy this year I think. Although the Cavs may win a fair number of shows with this program, it is certainly beatable. The powerhouse of the last few years is vulnerable and if anyone is going to overtake them, this is the year to do it. INTERMISSION Huh? An intermission after 3 corps? With only 5 corps on the lineup? It was actually announced as 30 minutes, but I guess they cut it down to 15 because at that point... BLUECOATS came onto the field, sporting their brand new Blue Devilesque uniforms. They look like a cross between Blue Devils and Minnesota Brass with that big M on the front. The guard, however, did not have uniforms (or show flags)...just the standard black leotard and spandex. Yeah, I admt there was some narration in this show, but it was done tastefully and effectively. "You have the right to remain silent," followed up by silent drill. Genius. (It wasn't totally silent though, if you count the drummer who was "dutting," LOL!) Wow, was this corps on its game tonight. The first downbeat had more authority than the previous 3 corps combined (probably due to the amps being cranked up too high) :P Normally I don't care too much for the Bluecoats, however this years version is a complete change for me. The show is as amazing as the individuals who march it. The hornline was spectacular. Great volume, great intonation, great articulation on the complicated sections, just plain GREAT. I also enjoyed hearing the parts getting passed around each section, helping to further showcase the line. They will be a force come Finals week. Visually, these guys were moving their butts too. Technique was very good for June and easy to judge since there are quite a few times the drill spread out and I could watch individuals as well as the drill forms. Pit percussion was awesome, noticeably on the ball and loving every minute of it. The colorguard? My favorite of the night, even with incomplete work and unis. There were very few, if any, drops that I noticed and they sold the theme with their body movement and dance work very well. Go bloo guard! :) The theme of the show is called "Crimin^l." In typical Bluecoats fashion, they did a tremendous job of selling the theme and making the show more than just a bunch of loud notes on a sheet of paper. They do this better than just about any other corps in the game today. They also score better than just about any other corps in the game today. Although they came in third and 3 points out of first, that is no indication of how far they have come and how well they are doing. Just wait until this show is complete with all the work....yikes THE CADETS Here they came. The corps everyone has been dogging on for the past year, and especially the last 24 hours. Anyone who has been reading my posts knows how big of an ANTI-narration guy I am, so obviously I was not expecting to enjoy the next 11 minutes of my life very much. For the first 30 seconds or so, it was just that...like an itch that wouldn't go away. But once the guys in Maroon got done with the opener, I looked past the smokescreen and realized that this group of musicians is AWESOME. The hornline, on several occasions, made my ears ring...something which has not happened since I saw Carolina Crown last year at Allentown. Holy crapoly, the hornbook was as amazing as I've heard them play since 2001. They had the quality of the Cavaliers, only at a higher decibal level. The contra presence at the bottom really pushed this corps over the edge. Blue Shades, played last year by Spirit, was outstanding!! THAT is what a drum corps is supposed to sound like! Speaking of what a drum corps is supposed to sound like...the Cadets drumline. If tonight was any kind of an early indication, they are going to take the drum title when it's all said and done. I also got to watch them play up close and personal with the on field cadence, which was an added bonus. Visually, this corps was the best of the bunch as far as entertainment and drill was concerned. Execution-wise, they had a spectacular night as well. Very rarely do you see legs that straight and that much in-time this early in the season. Let the Cadets serve as an example for all those who wish to march straight legged style. So what is my bottom line on the Cadets? Narration or not, THE CADETS ARE THE DEAL. They are the loudest and most exciting group in DCI I've heard. Once they meet up with the other big dogs, it is going to be very VERY interesting to see where they fit in, especially once they go through the washing machine. I cannot wait to see how the final product looks, and this is coming from a guy who up until a few hours ago...despized the show. RESULTS/ENCORE Before you ask, no the Bluecoats DM's head did not explode (stupid stadium lighting). Scores were about what I was expecting for everyone. Some people said SW was a little low, but I agree with their score of 57. Too much dirt and no low end in the brass. Glassmen made the expected jump to put them in the same bracket as the Colts. Cadets beating the Bluecoats was a change which was deserved and earned. Cavies won by about 2 points, but the spread should have been closer IMHO. The Cavies will not go through the season undefeated. The encore was similar to last year when Phantom played. Instead of playing the show again, the Cadets played some of their classics: Rocky Point Holiday, and Yesterday...which gave me a big smile because I played it in high school...to name a few. Once again, my ears were ringin' away. Only this time it was even better(?) because they were blasting it on the track directly into my ears because the DM, as you'll see below, was standing right in the seat my fellow DCPer was in before he left. The most exciting (and scariest part) was when the Cadets DM came into the stands and got onto the stand RIGHT NEXT TO ME and started conducting the last couple songs. His right hand literally came within a few inches of smacking me right in the face, lol. See? I kid you not. I took the shot leaning away from him and from about my waist level. There was a girl sitting next to me who thought I was trying to take an upskirt pic, who gave me a weird look... I'll add a little more onto this review in the morning, but I wanted to get this into the review section ASAP so you could get the main details. Hope you enjoyed my little version of tonights events :) Edited June 18, 2007 by dciguy01 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zachariaswmb Posted June 18, 2007 Share Posted June 18, 2007 From what I hear, the low brass problem will be fixed soon. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
07-Socks Posted June 18, 2007 Share Posted June 18, 2007 From what I hear, the low brass problem will be fixed soon. I was at the Southwind dress rehearsal. And Buddy was trying to get me to get on the bus when they get back to Lexington. I heard there were 3 or 4 Baritone holes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chris ncsu Posted June 18, 2007 Share Posted June 18, 2007 Great review! Thanks a bunch. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zachariaswmb Posted June 18, 2007 Share Posted June 18, 2007 (edited) I was at the Southwind dress rehearsal.And Buddy was trying to get me to get on the bus when they get back to Lexington. I heard there were 3 or 4 Baritone holes. Yes and no. I have been told that people are on their way. And why the heck didn't you go? :P Edited June 18, 2007 by zachariaswmb Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt_S Posted June 18, 2007 Share Posted June 18, 2007 The most exciting (and scariest part) was when the Cadets DM came into the stands and got onto the stand RIGHT NEXT TO ME and started conducting the last couple songs. His right hand literally came within a few inches of smacking me right in the face, lol. Heh, I remember at Indy in 2001, I was right next to Jacob Rau as he conducted the encore. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
euponitone Posted June 18, 2007 Share Posted June 18, 2007 Ahh...that DM uniform looks so good. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boybugle63 Posted June 18, 2007 Share Posted June 18, 2007 Awesome Review – thanks for taking the time! Very much appreciated. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dciguy01 Posted June 18, 2007 Author Share Posted June 18, 2007 (edited) I have more pics, but I don't know how strict DCI is about posting some of them. The one I really want to post has the Cadets drumline in the front with the Cadets and Bluecoats hornlines arking around the back. Edited June 18, 2007 by dciguy01 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joey1 Posted June 18, 2007 Share Posted June 18, 2007 Awesome review. Glad to hear that everyone is on the up and up, and that the Cadets of old are back and gettin lots of that str8 legz juice! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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