Kalamazoo Review

[NeutralNovice]

Hi all, this will mark the first time I have ever seen Bluecoats and Cavaliers live! Woooooooot!

I will only have reviews for the final three at this time... sorry!

The Cavaliers - Wow. I absolutely love their drill! It's creative, smooth, and flows like a river! It's definitely mind-boggling to watch them move. Their music was good too; however, it's not really my type of music I guess... I'm a big classical music guy so taste for the music is very subjective. Also, my next statement may very well be the result of my limited experience with drum corps...but, all of my favorite shows in the past have been where the music and drill connect with each other and where the drill gives visual representations of the music itself. The Cavaliers and SCV definitely did that in 2006 with honorable mention to BD. I just, at least this year, could not connect the music with the drill. Then again, I am only 21 and have not heard much of Billy Joel's music. Nonetheless, their music and drill can really stand on their own as they are amazing feats of art.

The Bluecoats - Again... WOW. This year, they have a REALLY integrated show... one that clearly matches visual to music. Their brass.. is just... whew! This was my first time seeing them live and I definitely had a GREAT time watching them. Their new uniforms are looking very sharp and the guard uniforms.. man... SWEET! I am usually not a fan of narration; however, again, they really integrated their show to a specific theme and the narration was very well placed. This has to be my favorite show from them. When comparing their visual packages to years past, this has got to be their best so far. The silent drill was really good... All they really have to do is just clean up their show... the drill features, at least to me, looked a bit dirty.

Blue Devils - Trifecta WOW. These three corps have it going on. The music of BD this year is GREAT... although they will need to improve in a few places to really reach the top. I have already seen their show before so this is just a progress report really. Their show, "Winged Victory" is supposed to be like a Phoenix like story.. where a majestiv bird comes from darkness to light. Their music this year is definitely integrated with the drill; however, the "supposed" or "natural" progression from darkness to light is supposed to be a gradual incline, if you are looking at it on the chart. The beginning of the show was definitely the valley of that slope and the end of the show was definitely the peak of the mountain; however, I felt like it was more of an up and down then back up kind of thing. Sorry for my crude explanation. Its just the middle music didn't really integrate with the theme and story for me. Also, after seeing the Bluecoats, Cavaliers, and SCVs drill now, I think BD really really needs to step it up in terms of drill. I like theirs this year with the symbols of birds and such; however, again, they just need more complex looking drill to make it more... visually pleasing. I definitely think they can do that and still hold the music closely. The guard was just AMAZING... I loved how they changed their uniforms.. I don't remember how they did, but they did. They just have a lot of cleaning to accomplish.

A GREAT SHOW OVERALL! I was pleasantly surprised to see BD win the show; however it really could have gone to ANYONE of the three. I probably would have ranked them Bloo, Cavs, BD; however, within less than 1 point of each other.

Prediction: All three that i reviewed are Top 5.

[PeeWee]

Thanks for the review!

I only watched it online, but I enlarged it so it was full screen (fuzzy, but full). Here are my thoughts:

Glassmen - that train horn was like :o Next time pick a venue that's not next to a railroad. I liked their show. The music was great, and the hornline sounded beautiful! Way to go guys! The drill needs some cleaning though.

Cavaliers - once again, they have the drill to beat, and it's once again CLEAN (how do these guys do it? Sooo much drill so clean so early?). Their music, however, is beatable if you count only level of difficulty. Their brass sound is beautiful though.

Bluecoats - After watching all of their 8 count drill in the opener I thought to myself, "Uh oh, Vanguard may be in trouble." Fortunately for my heart, the rest of their show didn't have the same drill. Their show is definitely beatable, great , but beatable. The drill was substantially dirtier than the Cavaliers. Their brass sound is gorgeous! And yeah, their guard is awesome!

Blue Devils - they changed the end of their show since California...for the better! The build a block, unbuild a block, build a block drill was great, and the center spinning wings at the end of the show looked really good (even though it may have been simple).

How do I think these corps will stack by seasons end?

Cavaliers

Blue Devils

Bluecoats

Edited July 1, 2007 by PeeWee

[shaners]

i agree with you peewee about bd's drill.. the changes here and there especially at the end helped! and i liked the gaurd costume change much better! like i said after the riverside show, if bd wants to compete to the end, they have to step it up in drill design, seems to be happening, but could we have another 2002 on our hands?

[Guardguy89]

I was kinda dissapoined by BD's drill & guard

I loved the beginning (when the whole guard is on wings) but then the drill just seems to go nowhere, and although the block / unblock move at the end is kinda cool - it doesn't really work musically - so it ends up being kinda strange.

As for the guard - I think they spend too much time on all weapon and all dance - so you end up missing alot of color in the show. Although what they do, they do very well, it lacks major GE IMO.

I really thought Bluecoats would be over the Devils last night.

Later,

Mike

Edited July 1, 2007 by Guardguy89

[lara87]

I'm just a regular person.

It would be nice to see a review of ALL the corps that performed, not just the top three or four.

Did anyone see the entire show? (I had big webcast problems)

Thanks in advance.

[Meaghatron]

My thoughts after watching the WebCast...

Kilties- I've never seen this corps before last night's show. I thought they were pretty good. Unfortunately, I was preoccupied with a phone call during parts of the performance, so I didn't get to watch them with my full attention. From what I did see/hear, I liked. Nice job. :)

Memphis Sound- Again, I've ever seen them before last night. I absolutely love this show. The unamped singing was awesome at the beginning and again towards the end. I really enjoyed their sound too. I get to see them live in Jacksonville, AL in a couple of weeks, and I really cannot wait. They are a great Div. III corps. I'm glad I am able to see more of Div. II/III corps. There are some great things to see. B)

Colt Cadets- Stupid phone call once again. :( But I really enjoyed their sound. I didn't get to watch the visual much, but they seem to be a pretty large corps. I liked the opener a lot.

Troopers- Kalamazoo was full of firsts for me! First time seeing Troopers. Their show was ok for me. Probably the highlight move for me was the "Sunburst" (?). It was the drill move where they move out in a circle, then move back into an asterick looking formation. I'm assuming that's what the Sunburst is. But hey, I could be wrong. Either way, it was a sweet move. I get to see them a couple times this summer, perhaps their show will grow on me. It's great to have them back on the field! ^OO^

Cascades- I don't know what to say. I couldn't get into this show. I'm pretty sure this was only their second competition, but I don't know... It wasn't that great. I thought Troopers did better than them.

Glassmen- This show was pretty interesting in Annapolis. Those guards uniforms are fantastic! They've gotta be the best of any corps this year. The opener is my favorite movement. From the time the percussion plays until the ending move, I just love it. The guard clapping in the beginning... great! I can't wait to see this show live. I really enjoyed last year's show. Hopefully this year will be the same. :)

The Cavaliers- I can't lie. They are my favorite corps. To be honest, I was a little disappointed after their Annapolis performance. I really wanted to like this show, and it wasn't really exciting. After tonight, that all changed! Wow, I can't believe what two weeks can do to a corps show. I fell in love with "Billy Joel" last night. It was phenomonal. I love their presence. It's great. The energy was there. They had some great volume in places. The drill was even better. "Pressure" was faster this time, and I'm digging the tempo. Their closer is great now. The real ending is probably going to be insane.

Bluecoats- I had a hard time connecting with this show during the Annapolis run. But last night was different. I'm still not in love with the music, but their overall program is pretty awesome. The first half of the show is great. Those tubas! Wow! The drill is incredible, like watching a kaliedescope. The second half of the show seemed a little less energetic than the first half, but whatev. They were a little dirtier than I expected. I guess it shows more when performing after The Cavaliers. They were really clean. Their guard looks great in those orange jumpsuits! Again, I can't wait to see this show live.

Blue Devils- First time watching them, and I was pretty unimpressed. I don't know. When I heard the early season recordings from the Pavillion standstill, I knew I wasn't going to like the show. After last night's performance, I really don't. Their hornline is really good, but I don't like the top-heaviness of it. Their visual was ok. I love their drumline though. Their guard seems off their game. Usually they are really strong (and clean), but it seems that they haven't reached that point yet. Both Bluecoats and Cavies beat them last night, which I thought was interesting. I'll have to see this one a lot more if I'm going to like it. In fact, I'm just now starting to enjoy their Godfather, Part Blue show...

I was kind of upset with the scoring. I felt that The Cavaliers should have been first. Judging by the caption spread, I'm not worried about the Green Machine. I was hoping for a Cavie-Bluecoats-BD finish... I was a little off. Overall, I was really pleased with all of the shows. I have a new found love for The Cavaliers show, and I'm really starting to enjoy the Bluecoats. Can't wait until Atlanta... it's going to be crazy awesome. The top 6 from last year... Carolina Crown... and so many more! It'll be great. :)

Too bad the camera had a bad glare most of the time. I preferred the Annapolis quality, but I liked the positioning of the Kalamazoo camera... minus the off-centered shot during the Bluecoats show where they totally missed the entire corps being in or very close to the endzone... <**>

Oh, and this is my first review. It isn't very thorough... sometimes I don't like to be. Haha. Usually I think from an entertainment standpoint anways.

Edited July 1, 2007 by i_play_percussion

[lara87]

My thoughts after watching the WebCast...

Oh, and this is my first review. It isn't very thorough... sometimes I don't like to be. Haha. Usually I think from an entertainment standpoint anways.

Thanks so much for a review of all the corps!

(I had major webcast problems)

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rgw