PeeWee Posted June 24, 2007 Author Share Posted June 24, 2007 (edited) No Kingsmen Alumni this year? Nope, nada. In fact, I don't even recall seeing a Kingsmen jacket in the stands last night. Jackets I saw included VK, Freelancers, Academy, and Vanguard. Wearing the Vanguard jacket was kind of cool for two reasons - 1) I nodded at other Vanguard alums and they nodded back, even though the other alums marched a lot more recently than me and could probably kick my butt b**bs , and 2) one sweet lady came up to me after the show and said "You guys had a great show tonight." I just replied "Thanks," then looked over at my alum buddy and said, "Yeah, I'm so sweaty that I think I need a nice cold shower after that performance." :D Edited June 24, 2007 by PeeWee Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ognib Posted June 24, 2007 Share Posted June 24, 2007 First off, Mt. San Antonio College is a much better venue for drum corps than Riverside Community College. The stands go up higher and have seat backs, the field lights are brighter and more numerous, and there was even a nice cool breeze blowing into the stadium.I've also cut & paste my Riverside review into here and merged it with the Walnut review. I only do so because, well, Ryan, you're a stud on that microphone, so this is for you man. Div. III Velvet Knights - Yes, they're back! No, not the VK of old that we're all use to, but they're back nonetheless. Sneakers, black shorts, red sweatshirts, sunglasses and black caps. About 52 members in all. There's not much humor in their show yet, and they stood still for their closer. I think they should merge with Mystikal and Impulse and form one large corps, but that's just my opinion. One of their tunes was Magical Mystery Tour - brought back some memories. It's good to see them on the field again...even though it's...uh...not really them...well, I mean sort of...but... Hawthorne Gold - they are large and look very sharp. But they don't produce a lot of volume (less than VK). I almost felt like they were their high schools summer band program or something. Mystikal - I think they've shrunk since last year. Their colorguard was very good with lots of difficult work. Their guard was the same size as their hornline. Impulse - They've taken the "funny" right out of their corps this season and are playing very serious music. Funny works better for them. They have always marched and presented themselves very well. I think the West Coast judges jip them every year. So Cal Dream (senior corps) - very good volume considering the size of their hornline. (And no, I don't want to join them - I only march in my "old age" when the Vanguard beckons). Div. I The Academy - I still agree with their placement tonight. I liked the southwest theme of their show last year better, but this is still a good show. Lots of dynamic range, and a drill that will certainly challenge them. Their colorguard was much better prior to the last two years - not sure what happened there (staff change?). Their opener was very "bleep blop" which is not my favorite kind of music, but they were able to sell me on their swing section - very strong and the crowd loved it! Their hornline has a nice, mature, rich sound, especially when compared to Pacific Crest or Mandarins. Their performance level is also very mature. I didn't agree with their move to Div. I this year (didn't want to see them suffer the same fate as other corps), but I think they're ready. Hard to believe that after all the years Arizona has been trying to get a corps going they finally succeeded with this new juggernaut. Hornline does a lot of jazz running. They look like a herd of gazelle, but it works for me. Achilles heel? Perhaps their colorguard, they just aren't together. Pacific Crest - Although I enjoy their jazzy Las Vegas theme, the narration (yes, they have quite a bit) was not necessary. The one line everybody liked, though, was, "Las Vegas - where money talks. It says, 'goodbye!'" At one point, two guard members are dancing with two giant dice and they stop on snake-eyes. Their closer sums up their show nicely. They have one big glaring problem though - no dynamics in their show. It's all LOUD just like the Blue Devils (see below). Very boring after the first 3 minutes or so. It loses your attention...literally. Sorry PC, I really like your corps in general, but this show just isn't for me this year. Mandarins - First thing I noticed - the entire corps is very orange! The colorguard is wearing this orange shiny costume and they are a flag unto themselves. During their bamboo forest piece (approx. 12 bamboo poles placed 5 yards apart), a section of their colorguard uses some bamboo pole props, but I don't think their designer has really figured out what to do with them yet. I had flashbacks to Velvet Knights and giant pencils. High energy level and good flag colors throughout the show. Crowd on hand (very full-sized crowd btw) really liked their Japanese traditional drums on the front sideline. They never seem to march a full size corps though, but their drumline looks full and their hornline is the biggest I've ever seen from them. Santa Clara Vanguard - They put in their closer tonight! Woo-hoos! And yeah, was it dirty. They had a back-sliding parallelogram (I think) that looked more like Mick Jaggers lips! Sly Sybilski was standing next to me and I could see him twisting and contorting with pain as he watched forms that just never clicked into place. Vanguard has some 8 count "fast drill" like the Cavaliers (with an enormous amount of drill sets to learn) which is going to take some time to clean. They will probably be the only other corps besides Cavies to march what I call "3 dimensional drill" this season. I sure hope the other corps begin to catch on. And their music...OH MY GOD!!! It's packed full of emotion. Don't believe me? Buy the pre-season CD for $10 from their website or souvie van and listen for yourself. They will give Phantom Regiment a run for their money as High Brass winner this year, mark my words. Vanguard's colorguard is showing off their upper body strength this season, the rifle tosses (sometimes in succession) match the music perfectly, and the white "!" on their side is put to good use. I'm not a drummer, but was told by some drummers (Blue Knights, Bluecoats) that Vanguard shouldn't be losing drums to BD. Blue Devils - Yes, they are relatively clean, colorguard, drill, and drums. Yes, they are winning with that right now. They had some cool "ripple" drill moves in the opener, and cool bat wings on the colorguard. Their colorguard in particular was extremely clean to me tonight. One thing I noticed over the course of the show, though, was that they don't seem to be doing much in the way of innovation. BDs drill is just not there after the opener goes away. Just no eye candy for the next 7 minutes. The rest of their show? LOUD LOUD LOUD LOUD LOUD and still more LOUD. Do they even know what pianissimo is?? I had others agree with me that, aside from the opener (which you assume is giving you a taste of things to come), Blue Devils show is, unfortunately, forgettable. BD's drumline was very tight - they sounded like only a handful of drummers though, even though I could see a full battery. I promised Veronica I wouldn't post certain things :D , so that's all I have to say about that. Predictions: The Academy will make Top 12 (probably 12th, but hey, they still get to perform on Saturday night) Blue Devils will not have a "good" year (potentially 4th or 5th place, which most corps would kill for, but not BD). They'll be competing for High Drums though. Santa Clara Vanguard will be back in the Top 3 (and that's good enough for me). They should be competing for High Brass, perhaps High Colorguard, and definitely High General Effect (is that even a caption award?). I would most certainly would have to agree with you on the SCV and BD review and predictions! People are giving me a hard time about what I think about BD and think I'm just crazy thing BD is going to place 4th or 5th this year by finals....but your helping my argument so thanks! lol Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeeWee Posted June 24, 2007 Author Share Posted June 24, 2007 Good review PeeWee--if only of 33% of the show. But hey, at least you said SOMETHING. I've redeemed myself, Ryan, just for you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
raladyaz Posted June 24, 2007 Share Posted June 24, 2007 Kingsman Alumni were at practice - See them at the July 14th Show in Long Beach! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
84BDsop Posted June 25, 2007 Share Posted June 25, 2007 (And no, I don't want to join them - I only march in my "old age" when the Vanguard beckons). So where were you when we were getting members for the alum group?? We could use another mello from SoCal! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeeWee Posted June 25, 2007 Author Share Posted June 25, 2007 So where were you when we were getting members for the alum group?? We could use another mello from SoCal! Yeah, KNEW that was coming! This year, with no performances during Finals week and no other local performances, I decided to keep my traveling expenses down and not go up North. If I was going to a show up North I'd do it, but I'm staying in So Cal this year. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
84BDsop Posted June 25, 2007 Share Posted June 25, 2007 Yeah, KNEW that was coming!This year, with no performances during Finals week and no other local performances, I decided to keep my traveling expenses down and not go up North. If I was going to a show up North I'd do it, but I'm staying in So Cal this year. Hey...I tried!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wsssb Posted June 25, 2007 Share Posted June 25, 2007 So Cal Dream (senior corps) - very good volume considering the size of their hornline. Nothing beats the power of a G bugle in experienced hands. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt_S Posted June 27, 2007 Share Posted June 27, 2007 I just noticed that the Walnut show was recorded for APD's which should be going on sale today. I'm still tossing around which corps' shows I want to buy. For those that were at the show, which music would you choose to listne to again? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crfrey71 Posted June 27, 2007 Share Posted June 27, 2007 I just noticed that the Walnut show was recorded for APD's which should be going on sale today. I'm still tossing around which corps' shows I want to buy. For those that were at the show, which music would you choose to listne to again? I would say SCV, BD, and Academy, with Academy's music as my top choice. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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