Page Six of Reviews

An opinionated review from a drum corps fan.

DIVISION III
58.25 - Alliance
I would like to take the opportunity to say all the corps I've seen at the West Covina show have improved since, Alliance being one of them. They seem a little more confident, but there are still many music ensemble problems. They're performing music from the Mask of Zorro and Man of La Mancha. The mello solos were well performed and the show is complete. I think the pit was way too big for this size of a corps. There was dancing from the hornline during the ballad but it distracted away from the guard feature. Good effort by the corps and I hope they continue to expand.

DIVISION II
68.25 - Impulse
Since West Covina, the balance is better and they're a lot funnier now. There props are now done (a giant volcano, tiki masks, etc.) and they really add a better effect to the show. There's less of that top heavy sound and you can especially hear the improvement during the ballad. Watch for the bassline worshiping the volcano during the ballad. Everybody had a blast during the last half of the show. A dirty bassline feature though but the rest of the drumbreak was good and the crowd loved it of course. The last piece was especially well performed and designed. Best part: part of the hornline hassle one of the field judges. Very funny. At the park and blow, a soprano joined the drum major on the podium and wailed. Nice effect. Great job and good luck at Championships.

69.00 - Blue Devils B
These guys had a good show, but nothing memorable sorry to say. The hornline is nice, but not loud as Impulse though. The drumline was decent. But in general, the whole music ensemble was tighter and clearer than Impulse. Marching technique was better than Impulse and Esperanza. Keep up the great work guys.

71.00 - Esperanza
They surprised me at West Covina and now that the excitement has toned down a little bit, I thought they were good, but the effect wasn't the same as the last time I saw them. Their performance didn't draw the crowd in. They did improve, both musically and visually. They've completed the show and they're more confident. For some serious music, they do it well. Marching technique is so-so, but they're visual design is excellent for only their second year. The guard is the strong point for this corps. I expect more good times for them in the future and good luck.

78.35 - Seattle Cascades
I've heard so much good stuff from this corps and I had high expectations from their performance. Oh my, they sure exceeded my expectations. First of all, they look large enough for a Division I corps. And second, they perform so maturely. They perform like veterans. Their visual design is awesome, but you have to see to believe it. I can't tell you enough how mature these kids are. The music is serious, but they sold it wonderfully. The drill is excellent and the hornline is great, especially the sopranos. Great soprano line! The Cascades look more attractive and cleaner than the Mandarins because of their uniforms. The Cascades have the Cesarsio style uniforms with black pants and they look more taller and thinner. The Mandarins has the Asian-type costumes which make them look shorter and wider. Great job Cascades.

81.95 - Mandarins
The hornline, musically, performed cleaner than the Cascades. But the Cascades were visually more appealing and exciting. The drumline is so-so, but I don't like the snare tuning. I think they're trying to develop a unique sound, but I don't like the sound. There were timing problems between the drumline and the pit in the final piece. The mellophones were excellent and the guard was excellent too. Again, their uniforms don't make them look clean. I said the same in the West Covina review. In the last piece, the hornline does "a circle inside a circle and inside another" type drill but it's difficult to see exactly what they're doing and to see if it's clean or not. But I think the hornline was cleaner than Cascades. Even with that, I think the Cascades has a far better show than the Mandarins, but maybe the surprise and excitement from watching the Cascades covered the alleged fact that the Mandarins were better than the Cascades.

DIVISION I
71.75 - Pacific Crest
I've loved PC since I saw them two years ago and I'm still amazed by how good they are even though they practice only on weekends. The show starts with the pit playing a feature at a bright tempo and then the sopranos and the drumline joins in a repeat of the feature. When the sops came in, I thought this a timing mess. The sound of the sops, the drumline, and the pit at that point had no clarity and it seemed each section had its own tempo. But they recovered and that was the only big problem. The guard is excellent and the rifle tosses were good, but more drops than expected. The drumline is decent and the low brass is a strong point in the music ensemble. The best tune is the second one. Marching technique needs more improvement and visually, they were dirty. They received great crowd reaction.

85.10 - The Cadets
First time I've seen The Cadets in person and they had great feet. Even though I don't agree with the technique, it really works for them and their off-white pants. The opener, Young Person's Guide..., was ok. Some of the drumline features came out of nowhere. And the small ensemble features from the hornline could've been better. I've heard so many complaints about Moondance, but to me, it's a nice tune that you just lay back and enjoy. I enjoy the guard dancing and near the end of the tune, half the guard does flag work in the back. But I do think the drumbreak in Moondance seemed a little out of place. The ballad is excellent and the closer does need work. A few timing problems were noticeable in the closer (due to staging probably). The big 16th note run was a nice effect and I knew before hand that it was going to be longer and it didn't disappoint me. The ending was good and crowd liked it. The technical abilities from this corps is not a question, but the contents of the show needs some rethinking. I think a few more rewrites will help them, but this isn't a bad show. It just needs more excitement.

85.80 - Santa Clara Vanguard
I'm a big Vanguard fan and this show is awesome! The design is wonderful and the crowd loves it. The hornline is great and very dark and warm. The baritone/euphonium line is fantastic. The best piece was the second tune. The excellent musical performance combined with super guard work created a wonderful and fun piece. It was a hoot and the crowd had fun along with the corps. Great groove and visual performance. The ballad was very beautiful and had a great metropolis feeling, like you're looking at the New York skyline. The closer was complex and interesting. The performance from the winds wasn't as tight and it was obvious that it needed a lot more work. Otherwise, the arrangements are one of the best. The New-Era chant was definitely a hype. The crowd loved the guard dancing during the chant and I could barely hear the final strain of the chant through the loud crowd cheering. The final pages of drill are a rehash of the end of the 1999 show but with more at the end. Be sure to pay attention to the horn block at the very end. There's a ripple to the lower left-hand corner and the last member swings his arm like he's doing the robot. Anyway, an excellent show and a great encore to go along with it. BTW, props to Mark Irons, the Vanguard DM, and a former mentor and alumnus from my high school.

David Pham

Good morning from the thriving metropolis of Aurora, IL:

Wanted to send a review last night after the show, but when I arrived at my hotel which is a good 35 minutes away, my computer started doing strange things--when I booted, my screen was in "negative" mode--anything light was black and text was white, etc...freaked the crap out of me at 1:30 AM!!!

So, I imagine scores have made their way onto RAMD, and I will just take the time this morning to do a quick review. Thanks to the guys who were sitting around me for their thoughts and opinions as well as great company watching the prelims last night.

What a great night for drum corps! Has anyone ever had a bad night at DeKalb for DCM? I remember one year being quite cold by the end of the evening, but otherwise, it is always gorgeous! Prelims are general admission, and there were several thousand on hand. I had no problem being as high as I wanted and was right on the 50 in about row 57/8.

Before the show began, Roman Blenski read a statement regarding an incident that occurred on the 12th between Capital Regiment and athletes/coach from Northern Illinois that tried to run through a rehearsal and take over the field from the corps. A few corps members needed medical attention--NIU seemed quite embarrassed over the incident; one coach was suspended, and a few athletes were arrested. Read the statement at dci.org.

The evening began with an exhibition by a band from Taiwan, the Taipei Municipal Chien High School Band. They were fun and trying hard...the guard really got the crowd going on "Time Warp" from Rocky Horror Picture Show!

Division II finals--only two corps in this division this year, Capital Regiment and Capital Sound.

Capital Regiment were "Chasing the Dragon" and everyone was suitably impressed. They have a great sound and do some interesting drill. They will indeed make a move in Div II this year. What will hold them back is their guard. While they do some nice stuff, it isn't quite there yet and some are still looking around to see what comes next! they won Div II with a score of 63.1.

Capital Sound presented music from "Prince of Egypt" and they were quite captivating. Musically, the book is easier and they don't quite have the sound of Cap Regiment, but they play it well. Drill wise, I think they do more interesting stuff; also, the guard is quite good. Their score was 59.2 and I am sure that their guard must have won div ii...don't have recaps. I hung around last night and usually get 'em, but no luck last night.

Div I:
Southwind--this is only my second show since Normal and I was anxious to see their improvement. Wow--they didn't disappoint me. Upon first viewing in Normal, I thought it was nice but not as nice as last year's show. Now that I could see the drill and enjoy the package of the entire show. The fanfare at the beginning is starting to click and it is hot! The gold flags that the guard opens with briefly are a nice "hit" effect. The drill is much cleaner now and easier to see up high. They do use a lot of blocks that are tight and staging that is stacked tightly from front to back, so the higher the better with this crew. The first company front they slowly form with the center section rotating, revolving in and out of blocks is pretty neat! A much better designed show than I gave them credit for in Normal and the 3 weeks have done them quite a bit of good. Score and Prelim Placement: 68.4 and 7th. Will they overtake Spirit? Haven't seen Spirit, but someone around me said they would.

Glassmen--OK, I must suck it up bigtime with this group and send apologies to G-men everywhere. I did say that I liked their show in Normal, but the crowd was definitely upset with their winning that show, self included. Again, 3 weeks have done them a world of difference. What a show! Musically, the opener doesn't grab me very much and I do think that when they play the more modern music, they have a harsher sound than is needed. The drill is very clean, and is interesting. They have made changes and there are not as many unreasonable demand marching spots as there were at the beginning of the season where the members just didn't look graceful at all. The ending of the entire show still has some spots where horns are running at breakneck speeds and gallop paces that just doesn't look impressive. The soloist in the second piece was fantastic, and I love both the 2nd and 4th numbers musically. In the 3rd number, the corps does a really nice framed box that moves across the field while subgroups of percussion and guard jump into the box and out to be featured. Overall, a really good show that I can get excited about and I have not been excited about G-men for 2 or 3 years. Even tho I like Phantom's show more, I thought that Gmen were cleaner last night, and I would have put them 2nd. They placed 3rd with a score of 81.0

Colts--The opening move where the horns are rotating around flags in small groups was way cool. Good way to start the show...wanted to see how they are doing as when I saw 'em in Normal, they were on a high beating Madison. Here, they lost me during the first half of the opener. In one of the opening moves, where a block moves across the field with one column pushing into the next and different columns are using different footspeeds, they have room to clean. They sound good, and they are marching well, but it is not a lot cleaner in drill and spacing is a big issue. But when they got to the percussion feature with the hornline doing the shields recaptured my attention. The guard is doing interesting work and it is a visual feast. The ballad is exceptionally nice with the ensemble, and the handbells from the pit are cool. Wish I could hear the handbells more...They have room to grow and the show is coming along. They placed 6th tonight with a score of 75.1. If we foolishly compared scores across venues, this would right now put Colts in 12th place. Let's see if they can hang on. John, sitting next to me, says that they would be Crown right now, but if Crown cleans their show, then it is different enough to beat this show. Another gentleman in the crowd agreed with him.

Pioneer--Wow...new pants, no more tan, black pants...can't tell what else in the uniform is new..with black pants, the green in the tops doesn't show up very well. Have they added members in the last 3 weeks? I think so. They looked fuller and sounded fuller. The guard is getting better at their equipment work and at selling the show more. The show is getting more cohesive. The box frame around the sidelines is a great way to begin and the contraction of it is really pretty clean! The ensemble playing at the beginning while the box contracts is really quite sweet--nice tone, good musicality,...Hmmm...what else do I remember? Not a redneck, but the Dixie arrangement played in a tight block circle/blob was a nice arrangement. I really liked the blood red, blue, and white flags for the closer, but I must still say the "America, the Beautiful" arrangement is quite cheesy and is a noticeable drop musically from the other arrangements in the show.

Phantom Regiment--Boy, round 2 and I like it even better. What a classic Phantom show. The drill is quite cool, the music is hot, and the guard is great! The opening of the show is wonderful--the clarity of the opening notes and the pit's amazing display of bravado in the opening moments get you from the start. Wow! They sound like Phantom now--the sops are still great and getting even clearer, but the bottom is back!!!! I heard deep heavy bottom sound from Phantom and I was happy!!!! the marching is mainly clean, but there are still places where they have lots of "big steps" (Phantom and Gmen seem to like this) and there are still quite a few spacing problems. The crowd went nuts when Festive Overture started and I was among them. The guard--still quite good, had a few drops tonight, but one of the better PR guards in a while! I really like the uniform change to purple tops and sashes in the guard, and the selection of flags for this show is stunning. The only ones I don't like are the teal shaded solid ones right before the end...not enough of an impact to fit with the music. The guard dances beautifully. I've heard a lot of pro/con about all the body moves/visuals by the horns in this show, and I think that they are starting to reach a balance where their body visuals add to the show! The flags at the end of the show are gorgeous and the guardwork throughout is flowing, just beautiful! I would have placed them 3rd tonight because of cleanliness, but the judges placed them second and none of us complained!!! Score: 81.5

Bluecoats--OK, say what you will about me, but the drum major for Bluecoats has a really nice ass. The beginning of their show was really tight tonight and the walking bass was really cool. The soloist in the middle of the opener was starting to wail, and we loved it! The set of magenta, pink, and purple flags that appear in the second half of the opener give the effect of stars with the geometric designs cut on the flag. I really like the changes in the "Red Cloak Tango"--the corps plays this well and stages it well. We would like to hear the timpani a little more clearly at the beginning as it sets that tango feel. I really like the orange, purple, and red sheets that cover the ground and stage the tangos. As the horns develop an inverted block triangle, the drill with the curve of the horn lines feeding into the block is really cool. A couple of nice equipment tosses by the guard and the pit has a few features that are marvels to behold. All in all, a great show and one of the surprises of the night...they topped Madison and took 4th place with a 77.7 and it was deserved overall.

Madison Scouts--ok, they took 5th and some were upset, but the reaction wasn't nearly as severe as it has been. The scouts had a great show, and played great. They marched really well, but the fact is that the show design is not their best. They have some really cool moments in drill and lots of screaming horns that we all expect from Madison! In general, the opener is cleaner in drill and in guard and the opening seconds grabs your attention quite well...Musically, I liked the muted sop solo in the second number and the jazz ensemble. The guard is much better and has cleaned a lot. However, as those around me stated and agreed, they don't distract from the corps anymore--they just don't add anything. They are integrated in the drill in places, but they don't amplify anything. There are lots of double lines on each side of the corps, and framing around the horns and percussion. But, they don't contribute anything that will make the show more complete. This is where Bluecoats has an edge over them. In the tag to the second number, a contra phased farted and it wasn't quite the cute click of a tag they hoped for. As usual, I like some of the blocks and high steps that Madison always employs in places. I like the movement of the "sine"-like wave through a rectangular block and the diamond to box to fleur-de-lis to close the show, and of course, the screecher!!! Score 76.6 and placement--5th. Could have been fourth, but fifth isn't unreasonable for this show.

Cavaliers--hadn't seen this show before and I was anticipating this one greatly! What to say...I have so many reactions, but hard to put them together! This is at an entirely different level than any show I have seen this year, and remember having seen in a while. I am always a big Cavie fan, so bias is there I am sure, but I was sitting with a long-time Cadet fan who says this show is the bomb and an older gentleman sitting in front of us who said that he was at the show last night to see the Cavies and HE was also wearing a Cadets shirt! In other words, this show has the capacity to capture the attention of everyone. The drill is simply spectacular. There aren't as many orgasmic moments as some of Cavies' previous shows, but their drill moments just make you drop your jaw. As a person who loves ACC Basketball and grew up hating UNC and Dean Smith's version, let me say I love the "four corners" theme.

Musically, the corps is solid. I have heard comments about the volume, and I don't think that it has anything to do with the Bflat horns but is just a typical Cavies approach it seems to not kick the volume in until late July. I think that the volume will come. Also, the music employs much more variety than I remember Cavies' demonstrating in one show before. It is all original music, but is not entirely symphonic in nature...it is quite jazzy and those guys are learning to groove! Give'em time!

Drill, the show begins in the bottom left corner with the corps in a straight diagonal. I really like throughout the show the use of height levels by the horns to give more of a 3D effect. The flag toss to begin the show over the corps is quite slick and the ritual (becoming one anyway) running of the guard member through the entire corps is cool catching the last flag. In the second number (top left corner), the sabre member running around the entire corps is pretty neat and sets the tone for the effect of running the four corners throughout the show. Percussion rocks throughout the entire show, but I didn't notice percussion very much for any group tonight...just focused on drill, horns, and guard. Cavies have a lot of tight blocks, as usual, but they seem tighter spaced than previous years. A lot of contraction while moving forms effects for which they are famous and noone can top.

OK, in the fourth movement, where and when did those 3 hornline members make their ways to the previous three corners and the 3 flags as well? What a visual feast and nice surprises musically. The horns at the three corners on the ladders with solo phrases was darn cool. The rotating block diamonds with the "points" rotating all around the four corners was a nice touch. So much to talk about, need to see it again! the show ends a corner triangular block in the fourth corner, and it was cool to see it forming...needs a bit more impact for the ending though!

Will they win? DCM? Of course! DCI? If they continue to clean it, add the normal details they usually add the last half of the season, I don't see how they will not be top two. If they don't win, BD or SCV must have a kick-ass show to top this design and must perform the hell out of it! This is drum corps at a different level, and the Cadets fans next to me agreed! Placement tonight, 1st and score: 85.4 There is still a lot to clean, but I would have scored them higher tonight relative to PR and Gmen. In absolute terms, 85.4 is probably about right, but they are more than 4 points better than Gmen and PR.

All in all, a great year for drum corps. There aren't any shows that I just hate or am bored stiff with. I realized halfway through the night that I basically ignored percussion battery and this is always a weakness in my viewing. I'll try to do better on that score tonight.

As usual, JMHO's. Agree or disagree, and enjoy 'em!

Tim Hendrix

I do believe that Cavaliers and Phantom have made substantial drill changes to parts of their shows since I last saw them in Oswego, and for the better. Phantom now has some nice drill impact points and a much more distinct and memorable visual design, which they definitely needed, but transitions and creativity in drill design are still problems I fear likely to hold their scores some notch below the top four.

The spread between Cavaliers (at 85.40) and the rest of the corps (Phantom second at 81.50) was fair. The Green Machine was definitely dominant, especially in the kickass drumline and creativity of drill design, I thought. I was surprised by the gap between third place Glassmen (at 81.00) and fourth and fifth place Bluecoats and Madison (77.70 and 76.60). Bluecoats don’t have as difficult a book as the others in this group, and did not get much crowd response, but they executed cleaner than others and I thought they deserved to score closer to Phantom and Glassmen. I’m not one who buys the judging conspiracy theory about the Scouts, and thought their tenth place finish last year was correct, but this show seemed cleaner musically, already, than last year’s in D.C., with no points to show for it. Yes, the feet are still dirty, but I thought they got hosed. Some reviewers have said Madison is loud, louder, and loudest, but I thought the guys showed great dynamic range and control in quieter sections of the second number. At other times in their opener and closer, the Madison brass generated intensity reminiscent of the Jim Ott Spirit hornlines. I loved the screaming solos and combos, in contrast to other reviewers who have thought these were overdone or ineffective.

Pioneer was very entertaining, generating more sound per pound than anybody else on the field. This two-bus corps (I counted 46H-25P-18CG-2DM) is young but performs with real heart, and early season reports of serious trouble were premature. They kept the Irish theme but wisely avoided the jig and leprechaun motifs and did a Civil War show, instead, which worked quite well. They were the only corps that trooped the stands, and the audience responded warmly.

I greatly enjoyed the Colts’ jousting, and handbells, and loved being fooled in their sleight-of-hand in hiding shields they openly carry on the field before the show. Very clever.

Most of these corps are playing cleaner now than they’re marching, and need to do some serious visual polishing. There were lots of forms not holding shape as they moved and interval spacing errors apparent in row 45. But I also expected Phantom’s hornline performance to be cleaner than it was, based on other recent reports, despite the tough book. Maybe they had an off show. If they can clean the second half of this year as well as they did last year, fifth is possible for them. Phantom did have the best crowd response of the night, yes, better than Madison or Cavies, but of course, DeKalb is practically a home show for Phantom.

On color schemes... hmm. I’ll just say I thought that Phantom and Madison and sometimes Southwind make very effective use of color by the color guard. Other corps here need to, as Will Smith’s character “J” said in “Men in Black”, “Get a decorator in here quick, cuz… damn!” Royal blue, light blue, lime green, purple, and orange in color guard uniforms and flags do not go well with many of the musicians’ uniforms on the field, and are more visually distracting than enhancing. I know we need variety beyond the obvious choices of white, red, and black, but you can’t use every vibrant color under the rainbow without regard for what else is on the field without risking nausea. Ken Mazur is right about this stuff, and this is an unusually bad year for DCM corps color design.

This show was tougher on quiet musical moments than any DCI finals with moron fans yelling for family and friends to try to get on the CDs, though the warm, friendly, polite crowd wasn't the issue. Warmup noise from others corps bouncing off the towers to the north trashed all of the quiet moments of the shows of every corps performing prior to intermission, and it was also clearly audible even when these corps on the field were playing loudly. Amazing. Then, after intermission, when warmup noise died down, the freight trains took over and messed up most of the other shows’ quiet moments.

Ah, well, despite the problems, I did truly enjoy all ten units’ performances at Huskie Stadium prelims this year, and the dry, calm air which carried sound so well made for a great night.

Frank Costanza

You know, somehow the fact that Drums On was just an exhibition completely escaped me. There was even a point where I said to my wife something like, "see that's whats wrong with drumcorps today. All the judges are in the frickin' box"!. I also remember saying to her, Phantom will probably win tonight, at which point someone near to me turned and looked at me strangely. I really wish they would have clued me in, cause there I was waiting for drum major retreat while people are starting to stream out. Talk about a retard!

In any case, Id really like to add my thoughts to the mix here regarding the show, but before I begin;

DISCLAIMER: I am a Madison Alumnus with a very warm spot for my old corps. I am from the 70s so my perspective is also questionable. I admit these biases up front freely and let you judge my comments on their own merits, instead of behaving like some that I can be completely objective.

Let me begin by saying that my primary reason for going last night, and probably any night, was to see Madison. But this time I went with the express purpose of using a critical perspective, that is to assess for myself whether Madison is for real this year. And in truth the only corps I wanted to compare them to was Phantom as they are within a few points of each other, but I will make some brief observations about the other corps I saw. Take these observations for what they are worth. My observation point was right on the 50 at about row 20. Another 10 rows up would have been perfect.

Capital Sound. Its really impossible to characterize them as a feeder corps, (most people don't) as they have a relatively high average age, Id say at least 17 or 18. At 33 brass, they are a compact tight well blended horn line. The theme for 2001 is Prince of Egypt and it is well done. Overall its hard for me to judge what I felt was a lack of impact on the show design or on the small size. I am favoring the size argument however. The music is not terribly difficult.. I know there are kids from Capital Sound who have been trying to make the move to the Scouts. Personally I think they ought to concentrate on getting about 15 more brass and make their own mark. This corps has a very unique style apart from Scouts and with some luck might become a player in their own right. The fact they have been keeping pace with Pioneer, a group with more big time players and experience, says alot of good about whats been going on at Capital Sound. Drum line seems solid, although after reading some of Ken Mazurs treatises on the evils of Kevlar drum heads, I have to say with the wood block tinniness of today's snare lines coupled with their lack of projection, I find I have to concur with him. They had 5 snares which I had to struggle to hear.

Southwind. It is possible for a corps with a well executing hornline, which marches rather well, and in general does everything right to leave a person completely cold. Southwinds program to me was like much of the top 6s choices of the 90s, all fanfare and fugue. Not a melody or theme to be found anywhere. They are talent and execution wise pretty darned good, but until they find a program that does more than serve as musical interpretations for visual design ideas then I think it will be difficult for them to stand out. And by the way, this was my criticism of DC for most of the last 10 years or so. It seems like the visual programs were thought up first, and applicable music plugged into fit the designers attempt to evoke a particular mood or idea. I have always believed that music comes first, and all other considerations should serve that. DC for many years seemed topsy turvy. So to me Southwinds falls short not in the execution department but in the show concept. It never grabbed me, not once.

Pioneer. This group has been knocking on the door for so long you wonder if they have it in them to do whats necessary to carry them into the next level. The musical theme "Irish in the Civil War"? is ambitious. I think the designers fell a little short in their vision here because I didn't know what I was seeing much of the time. Maybe I'm stupid. You had little acting vignettes being played out which I had a difficult time understanding. Execution wise they are a bit unbalanced with a few noticeably rough spots. The ensemble blend suffered a bit, but they clearly have some talented individuals in each section. They could also do with about 10 more horns, and next year lets put the Irish theme to bed once and for all couldn't we? Years ago they were the Great Entertainer. Id like to see them move that way rather than flogging the Irish thing.

Phantom. If last night was a scored contest, Phantom would have taken it, clearly. They march very well and covered the whole frickin field. They all do their jobs very well. So from that standpoint Phantom is the winner. Great show, excellent hornline, superb marching, great musical book. However, you knew there was a "but" coming didn't you? First of all, many people have talked about how great Festive Overture is. Of the corps who have attempted it over the past few years, Id have to say Phantoms version was the best I've heard and it is the most faithful to the actual piece. My assessment is that Phantom plays Festive Overture about as well as any civic orchestra does. Here are my mild criticisms. Festive Overture is only a difficult piece for the high voices. That Phantoms trumpets (I'm pretty certain they are playing Bb horns now aren't they?) have flying fingers is without question. The problem to me was lack of crispness and confidence. By this point in the year, that melody line should shoot out like a laser over everything. Instead I had to count on my familiarity with the piece to get me through it. They did also experience some noticeable side to side phasing for about 32 counts of that piece as well. And let me digress further regarding the trumpets. They simply didn't cut through. That Phantoms horn line was noticeably louder than Southwind was noteworthy, except that the leads needed to be more prevalent. This is my third show listening to trumpets and have yet to be convinced that they can provide the same sound as bugles. Certainly the trumpets have a more controlled sound but at noticeably lower levels. Anyway, Phantom does well what Phantom always does well which is create musical impact. They have always used unison and unison rhythms to create impact. My contention however is that the music is only middling difficult. And as a director of a jazz group once asked me in college, "how can you screw up when you're playing on the beat?" I applaud them for the choice of Festive Overture however and I think its going to be gangbusters by DCI. I applaud all corps who choose melody and theme over the dischordant 20th century selections that have made for very self serving, unfathomable, and elitist corps presentations for some time now.

Madison. (refer to disclaimer) As loud as Phantom was over Southwind, so was Madison over Phantom. The mission of the Scouts appears among other things, to be to make you physically feel their power, which they did...quite well. First the bad. They are clearly not executing their marching program on a level with Phantom, which of course can be fixed. However it seems Madison visual design is going to hurt them with the judges (as if they care huh?) I saw some very familiar moves out there so I cant help but feel they have gone back to the well once too often. Horn wise they also had a few minor phasing problems. And despite the fact that Ballet in Brass is part of the Les Brown theme show they have this year, isn't this about the gazillionth time they've played it dating back to 1958? The problem with repeating selections is that you change them in order to top yourself, sometimes to a point where they are barely recognizable. Listen to 1978 Malaguena then the 88 version, then subsequent versions. Hardly the same song anymore and chances are what you liked about one version is not in the next. Now the good. The marching will continue to improve. This is another Madison drill which features some lightning fast moves. Horn book. I'm sorry but in pure entertainment value nobody approached them last night, and probably wont at DCI. And don't buy this crap about them being dirty cause they are not. This hornline is far from peaking but let me tell you as a unit they can swing. They have the horses to play this book in spades, and unlike Phantom, you will not have any difficulty distinguishing the lead soprano line. I am reminded in a way of some of the 70s corps like 73 SCV and 72 Cavies, and 72-74 St Andrews whose philosophy it seemed was "we're going to play this hard passage and so's you don't miss it, we're going to move right up and play it in your face, and so you know we're playing it right we're going to play it nice and loud." Well Madison seems to relish playing the hard stuff right in your face as well. This is a vast improvement over 2000, and is definitely a retro Madison show if you will. Those who have been asking for Park and Blow will enjoy Madison. Not much if any parking, but plenty of sound. Don't misunderstand however and think I'm saying that's their only dimension. This is a well balanced line from top to bottom and unlike my years, where we got a little strident, this years group sounds like a big organ. All in all, based on what little I know of what other corps are doing I think Madison and Phantom will end up anywhere from 6 to 9 at DCI.

Drums. You notice I didn't say much about them cause I really am not remotely qualified to comment on them.

Guard. Ditto.

Pits. I repeat my long standing objection to their very existence. I find them both visually and aurally distracting to whets going on the field, no matter what cutesy things they do like dance or slap high fives. If they have to exist couldn't we park them at midfield rather than down front? Or maybe they could wear black leotards and blockheads like Mummenschanz and kind of disappear into the scenery. I know you pit folks are going to hate me for saying it.

Dan Scerpella

Well, it looks like everyone else will be writing their reviews tomorrow (none posted as of 3am PST) so I might be able to do the 1st So Cal review of the week. There's sure to be more with the great turnout and 3 LA area shows coming up in the next 4 days.

Show site - good. Plenty of parking only a 2-3 min walk from gate. Stadium set down in the ground a little bit so backfield playing had a little resonance. Bleachers crowded, but not bad. Nobody wandering around during shows, but they let you in till the last min & gave plenty of warnings so no one was left standing outside because a corps was just starting to walk on the field (as has happened to me at other shows)

Good starting time. Last performance done about 9:30, so time for a fast dm only retreat, and then an "audience appreciation" concert w/o it being late when all was done. Weather - pretty much ideal temp. Nice and warm at beginning, nice & cool at end. Maybe just a little humid as there was a tiny bit of haze if you looked all the way to the back of the field.

Our seats - near the 50, 5 rows up. Pretty good, seats and we got great sound. Too low to see much drill. I'll be higher up this weekend and hope to have more drill comments when I return Mon. Audience was pretty good overall. I only heard 1 cell phone ring all night, and it was stopped right away. There was quite a bit of infant and toddler noise directly behind me, but hey, they're kids, and I support bringing them to shows (get ‘em started young I say!) It was annoying at the time, but I don't think it got on the recording much if at all.

People working the show from tix to gate control were all very nice. Ryan Turner continues to do a fun & entertaining job as announcer. Good job Bob James & your team! NOTE 1: Many people may not have realized it, but San Diego Channel 10 had a BIG (for drum corps) segment on drum corps and the show on the 5:00 broadcast - it aired about 5:45, and was at least 5 min long. They had coverage of a concert given by BD & SCV earlier in the week, plus plenty of clips from DCI broadcasts, and the reporter on site had actually marched Sr. Corps out east, and they had a pic of her with the corps during a show (It looked to be from perhaps early 80s.) They invited people to come see the show (starting in 45 min) and I'm sure this literally MASSIVE coverage, timed so perfectly helped tonight's record turnout. KPBS finally showed the DCI broadcast last year, and now this?? Someone better check to see when hell froze over...

Marine Band - started around 6:15 & I grabbed the wrong tickets so had to run back to the car. Pretty much missed them, but sounded like they did a nice job and the crowd liked them. On to the competing units.

NOTE 2: If an ensemble plays drum & bugle corps instrumentation (G bugles) I identify it as such. If it plays marching band instrumentation (trumpets, tubas, etc.), I identify it as a brass band. This is not to imply such groups have officially adopted this into their names yet, but a recognition of their reality.

NOTE 3: Highly opinionated review follows. My biases are towards what I like and dislike. I call ‘em as I see ‘em, and do not slavishly praise or damn any corps just because of who they are. What you do this year, or tonight in particular, is all I care about. It's all MO. Feel free to disagree, but don't get mad, ‘cause my opinion isn't going to change anything out there.

Div 3
Alliance - 53.95
They sound much better than they did just a couple weeks ago in La Mesa. While staff told me they are actually smaller than they were then, they look more confident, which made them seem larger. I believe 7 guard now. However, brass still sounds ragged in spots. Mello solo in "I Don Quixote" needs to be enhanced somehow. Played correctly, but still with only a little pit support, it seems like a week spot. Generally intonation somewhat better now too. Drum solo shows improvement as they've fixed the very repetitive dead spot in the middle. Audible dhutting is a detraction though. Nice addition of a backfield section in the closer. Works well. Show ending seems tagged on, (you can tell where... the drum line yells the obligatory DUT DUT DUT DUT) and it doesn't make much musical sense yet. (very disjointed) Still, it's an improvement over the non-ending they had 3 weeks ago. They got a good crowd reaction.

Div 2
Impulse - 3rd - 66.25
Most improved corps over 6/23. The props are now painted and help the show's "island" theme. This is the showiest corps of the night. They have fun, and the audience does too. Lot's of changes and additions... way too many for me to catch all of them. The show starts with a volcano acting up, and only being calmed when Wilson the volleyball (from Castaway) is offered as a sacrifice. Gilligan's Island intro continues to get laughs. Fun horn line. Loud & entertaining, which I like, but as far as judging goes, too many times where individuals stick out of the ensemble (like sops in fanfare right after Gilligan solo). I hardly believe it's me saying this, but perhaps lead sops could back off just a little. You have quality moments, but scores will go up if you can do that more consistently.

Crowd really reacted to the fish flags in the ballad. (Big fish windsocks for those of you who haven't or won't see them.) Ballad loses me a little bit.. but then there's another threatened eruption... till Wilson's returned. GREAT BIG drum feature. For a non-drummer, this was the most fun drumline of the night to watch. Big fat exposed tenor feature with 6 great players moving around the drums like crazy. Nice small ensemble leads into closer. Closer really rocks. Totally an audience piece. It builds into a very long & powerful park & blow at the very end. A screamer sop climbs up on the podium with the DM. Unfortunately, with the corps playing so loud, I couldn't hear him playing anything in particular. If he nails something, perhaps a tasty hangover might be just the ticket here. Most fun show of the night. Keep it up Impulse.

Seattle Cascades - 1st - 76.65
After years of reading about them, this was my first chance to ever see this corps. They are truly excellent... a bit like Pacific Crest. The uniforms are sharp, but there's too much black, which makes them less interesting. Guard unis are green and black, but though the green is shiny, it's kind of a drab color, which blends into the turf too much. Again, there's too much black. Against a white wall these unis are likely striking, but against a green field, they are just too dark.

The drill is very expansive, filling the field & is quite sharp. The music is quite modern, and while it's arranged and performed powerfully with lots of impacts, it's not melodic, and consequently not very accessible. Big pretty green flags in 2nd number. Nice "screeching" pit sounds intro 3rd piece. (reminiscent of some of the opening sounds of BD's show last year) There is a difficult & odd backfield sop solo. There is a turn from backfield to frontside which gives a nice impact. Following 2 sets of flags are nice as well.

My overall impression is that it is a show of the "modern wind ensemble" genre which has come into vogue in the last few years. The result is that you have a remarkably well performed show, which the kids really put their heart into, and the staff is polishing into a quality piece of work, which left the audience mostly sitting on their hands, except for tepid applause between tunes. A friend of mine noted "This is not the type of Holsinger you can hum afterwards. The horn line seemed strong, but I was not impressed with the drumline or the musical book at all. Marching and drill was good, but entertainment value wasn't."

This is a judges' show, not to say there aren't audience members who will like it, but there won't be as many as there could have been with more accessible selections. These kids are great. Give them stuff that will reach their audiences better. A performance with this much power and energy deserves a better vehicle. (Unless their priority is winning rather than entertaining, in which case, they've hit a bulls eye.)

Esperanza brass band - 2nd - 66.45
This was the first brass band of the night. They did a decent job, but honestly, I did not notice as much improvement from the 6/23 show as I had with the previous groups. Intonation, volume, confidence all seemed about the same. I actually like their selections. I didn't really realize that till thought about how many times I've listened to recordings of them compared to other groups (even ones I like more).

The instrumentation hurts this band. They were nowhere near as powerful as the groups that preceded or followed them. It's not just that. Their horns are a mix of silver and dark brass band instruments. This combined with the (I'm told) recycled marching band unis, makes them look out of place in a drum corps show. I believe it is simply a case of the $$ not being there to equip them as they would like. Alan Cox once told me that if I could provide the money to buy G bugles he'd do it. While this is not something I have the means to do, I sincerely hope their continued success enables them to raise enough money to do this soon.

The colorguard uniforms are not outstanding, but were among the more attractive ones on the field tonight. The colorguard is fairly large for a group of this size, and to the limited extent that I watch guards, they seemed to be pretty good. In terms of drill, the band gets fairly good field coverage, but there is a lot of time where there is slow or no movement. The backfield section at the end of the ballad was pretty good, but where they would have some very effective silent drill, they spoil the effect with an audible "DUT DUT DUT DUT". In the closer, there's another backfield section which comes around to a "big" hit. Good design idea, but the hit has to be a lot bigger for it to have the intended effect. They also have a pretty cool section where the corps is marching split tempos. (fast feet & half-time feet) Only thing is for the people who have the fast feet movement, it's all pretty small steps, so they don't move fast. It would be more effective if they had the people who's feet are moving fast doing some faster (larger) drill movement, to enhance the contrast. Since their design staff does a pretty good job overall, this may be in the works for all I know. Another note - my percussion instructor friend said they had the best tenors of all the Div 2/3 corps. As impressed as I was by Impulse's feature, if Esp. is better, they must be pretty damn good.

Despite myself, I am liking a lot about this band. Someone help them find a big sponsor so they can become a drum & bugle corps & fulfill their potential.

- Intermission -

Div 1
Pacific Crest - 4th - 70.55
This is a great show that strikes a good balance between esoteric music and audience accessibility. I like it better than last year's Joan of Arc show, and about as much as their Dracula show. Scythian Suite is a good arrangement. Some of the faster runs are kind of swallowed by the different sections and come across as weak. They might want to sit those who have those runs down with a recording of 84 Regiment so they can hear how effective those runs are when projected confidently. There's a lot of body posing in the horn line at the beginning of the 2nd number. The 3rd piece has a very spartan (small "s"), almost percussive feel to it. The guard uses feather fans here. I'll note that the guard uniforms evolve nicely throughout the show. They're never really very attractive, but they're always appropriate to what they're conveying. I believe it's the 3rd # where a mello feature was attempted, but was not clean at all tonight. It was followed by a sop feature that likewise didn't hit "just right". Then there's a very nice big hit / jam session. The guard has some nice flame-colored flags in the closer.

This show is abstract, but approachable. I think its what Seattle Cascades want to be. I must apologize, but I never noticed the drums. My friend said their bass line was incredible... approaching or matching the lines of the "big 3".

Blue Devils brass band - 1st - 86.25
I didn't write as many notes about BD (or Garfield). I think perhaps I was busy watching them a little more. Having had a mp3 of their 6/26 show to listen to for the last week or so, I was a little more familiar with the program.

The drum shells are quite, well, pretty. Also, under the lights, the jackets seemed brighter than I remembered. Overall, they looked sharp taking the field (though I've never been a fan of their new look). The guard unis looked better than I'd expected from the description. I didn't know what people were talking about when they were talking about "the hats", but now I do. If anyone else out there didn't know, they use straw hats, and do a LOT of Gene Kelly styled dance. Specifically, it seems to be from the number (I think it's in "Singing in The Rain") where he's a young hoofer coming to Broadway and opens singing "Gotta Dance!..." Anyhow, picture that production number and you can picture what the guard looks like. I only wish the music were also from this musical. I really didn't get the connect between what the band's playing (Awayday) and the "great musicals which inspired it".

The colorguard spends an inordinate amount of time just dancing with the hats. I wish they did more equipment work, but did note that at some point in the show they use large, attractive fuscia flags.

The horns have a big balanced sound, but there isn't quite the power there used to be. Not to say they aren't loud, but it doesn't carry as well. One thing I noticed that really surprised me. You can hear the difference when they move backfield. There's a number of times when a large part of the horn line is around the back hash, and they really sound like they're a hundred feet farther away. I stand by my assessment from seeing them several times last year. The move to band instrumentation has weakened this horn line. I was wondering how they can fill one of the mega stadiums when they only just managed to fill this small one. They are no longer the tidal wave of power they were just 2 years ago.

Of note during the show, they did have a good soloist. This corps used to be known for providing many remarkable soloists. It would be nice if they featured more individuals this year. They also had a nice segment where they divide the horn line into 2 groups (front & backfield). Drill was a big surprise. From where I was sitting, it seemed like they had an awful lot of park and blow, and not much tough or fast movement. I'm not Mr. Drill, but it seemed more like 80s drill to me than modern stuff. I don't think any corps could be this competitive with so little drill and I had similar feelings about Garfield, so I suspect it will look totally different from a higher perspective this weekend.

(Garfield) Cadets brass band - 3rd - 84.40
I have not seen Garfield live in probably 5-7 years. They have been a corps that I appreciate, but haven't really "gotten into" since ‘87. (Perhaps I would have last year.) I am not what you would call one of their biggest fans.

They are also my favorite band/corps (that I've seen or heard mp3s of) this year.

Despite all I've read about their show being disjointed and lacking theme, etc., I have no problems with it. It's just like drum corps shows used to be 20 years ago in this respect: Play a bunch of tunes that the audience likes, have cool arrangements, play the snot out of them, and march some drill. YOU DON'T NEED A "THEME" TO BE ENTERTAINING!! As much as I've enjoyed listening to ‘81 SCV play "Young Person's Guide" for 20 years, Garfield's arrangement is even better. Moondance is fun. People next to me started singing along with it. When was the last time that happened to any corps you've seen on the field? Farandole is catchy and they way they do it, frankly amazing. Of course, they have the obligatory cool sh*t going on in the drum line as well. It's just fun and powerful to listen to all the way through.

What's more... As one of the groups that has turned it's back on G bugles, the way I understand it, they took a different approach than BD. I've read that BD worked with DEG to create Bb & F "bugles" with traditional bugle characteristics, whereas Garfield just went to Yamaha, pointed to a line of marching band horns and said "We'll take those." (I'm sure I'm oversimplifying, but the idea is they're playing off-the-rack horns)

Naturally, I'd expect the custom-designed multi-key "bugles" to be better in this venue than off-the-rack m.b. horns. Well, that isn't the case. I'm sure the level of brass instruction in BD is as high as it's ever been. (Which means it's as good as it gets in this activity.) Still, Garfield's brass was more full and powerful and the sound projected much farther. When they play from the backfield, there isn't the noticeable drop in sound that you get with BD.

Note - This goes against my biases & expectations. It's just what I heard this evening. Make of it what you will.

Some more show comments from my notes -
They enter the field in a well disciplined block. 5 drum sets on front sideline on right side of field. Unis look great (as they always have) under the lights. Guard uniforms are a drab mustard color - not pleasing to look at. Just short of "ugh."

Moondance - Guard, nice dancing. Now please pick up some equipment and do something with it. This is drum corps. We want to see equipment work. Some dancing may be ok, but you go overboard. Nice drum feature. Big hit following is louder than big hits from BD. Drill - I've always heard that Garfield is about drill and pushing the boundaries of what can be done. I saw none of that from my perspective tonight. WAY too much strolling around and standing around casually. March, or do a concert number, but don't wander. Musically, nice transition from Moondance to next number.

The part where the horn line lies down / sits / squats / kneels while playing must be hell on wet or muddy fields.

Next big hit - pretty fuscia flags. Somewhere in the show I mentally noted that their guard seems to have more rifle work (do they use rifles too, or just the curvy things) and "hits" than BD. One of those passing moments, where I noticed the guard and thought, "Yeah. I like that."

Farandole - the long thousand note run has been extended. Must've been this week because it's different from the mp3 I got dated 7/3. They threw in another thousand notes, and it already sounds good. WOO HOO!! Only thing is I pictured them moving all over the place while playing it. They stand in a big line and the moving parts move up & down the line. No problem with it, it's just not how I pictured it.

While I don't expect a single person on RAMD to agree with me, personally, I thought their brass was better than BD's. It was technically as proficient, balanced, in tune, had good tone quality, etc. BD is all those things but I thought Garfield did it even better. Very much a IMHO thing, and as I'm going to see them 3 more times this weekend, if someone wants to give me something to look for to change my opinion (though I'm leaving noon Fri and won't have internet again till Mon.) go for it. I'm open.

SCV brass band - 2nd - 84.65
The pit keyboard work in the opener starts when the warm up ends, before asking if the judges or the corps is ready. It continues right thru the salute and everything. I'm glad the program / Ryan explained what the opening signifies, or I'd have been confused (and startled) as hell.

From the start of SCV's show, I saw the kind of precise, fast moving drill that I'd come expecting to see from all the top 3 corps. Not high enough to comment on the forms, but it looked like drill.

Now another big surprise for me - When they hit their big hit, the sound was just as big, full, rich, and powerful as a G line. If I hadn't been told they were playing multi-key, I would've thought it was a G line. I don't know what horns they're playing, though I recall reading they have no baris, but an all euphoniums, which may contribute to this. All I know is I still don't like the move away from G bugles on the principle it's moving away from our traditions and roots, and something important which made the activity distinct from band... but if all the brass band lines had this sound, I could not base my opposition on the quality difference (which I can clearly do with the BD line.)

I made few specific notes during the SCV show. In general, I find this show to be closer to the Seattle Cascades "wind ensemble" approach, but is somewhat more accessible. I don't think it will grow on me like the show 2 years ago did. It's a bunch of modern music, with melody here and there, but not much, & not consistently. It's far from hummable (at least on 5 or less listening) In terms of 1st listening / Joe Audience accessability, I'd put it even on par with the BD show (both about 8 steps down from Garfield).

The guard wears all-black "don't notice me" uniforms, except for a strange double headed arrow on the front that points to their face and their crotch. I don't get it. I'd bet most in the audience who notice it don't get it. But they can "explain" it to some visual judge and get points for it. That's something I don't like. If the audience can't get it, I don't think it should be. Maybe it's been on RAMD (I'm many posts behind) but is there a reason they have an arrow that points to their face and crotch? One nice guard hit (10 white rifles toss & catch along front sideline) somewhere in the 2nd half of the show was good, and made me realize that stuff had been missing up to that point (& that Garfield had a lot more of it.)

Closer flags - brilliant purple and green, are very eye catching & look nice.

New Era Chant - I didn't think it would be possible, but it looks even dumber being performed than it sounds on the recordings. This isn't a short, "Amen", grunt, or even "Live from Sacramento, the Freelancers...". No this chant thing goes on and on and on for about half a minute. I don't come to a drum corps show to hear extended vocals or raps. It's dumb and it's annoying. It sounds like some big 10 college band chanting out V-I-C-T-O-R-Y or something. I expect them to break out into "BOOM-chugga-lugga-lugga, BOOM-chugga-lugga-lugga, BOOM-chugga-lugga-lugga, BOOM!" any second. (What's funny is if you get a recording, put that in there & it fits fine.) And they start out very stiff, then as they "get into it" they "relax" and start to bob and weave. It sounds cheezy. It looks juvenile. It is a big blot on an otherwise sophisticated show. If the is the "New Era", it's time to pull out the CDs and go back to the old one. (Not the whole show mind you, just this part.)

After they're done with that crap, they go back to playing and sounding like the Santa Clara Vanguard again. Big powerful exciting ending which generates a terrific audience response.

My friend watched them practice all week, and thinks this show is the best thing since sliced bread. Loves the corps chanting. Thinks the music is accessible for the first time listener. He's a big guy and I shouldn't have too much trouble finding the pod. (If you don't get that comment, rent Invasion of the Body Snatchers)

Following SCV was a dm only retreat, without too much delay, and it seemed like everyone stayed. My feeling is the scores of all top 3 were too high. I don't think any of the shows I saw tonight was above an 82. I also don't get why BD is beating the stuffing out of the other 2 corps, but then again I freely admit I don't know beans about drums, only sporadically notice them and colorguard, and I had a poor vantage point for seeing drill. Maybe BD deserves to be winning, but no one dominated IMO. I could see the top 3 in any order and see the judges make a convincing argument to support it.

In Div 2, I have no idea how Esperanza is competing with Impulse much less beating them. I guess the story's in the recaps. Maybe they make up a lot of ground in percussion and colorguard. In terms of horn sound and entertainment value, even though Esp. has both, they're just not in the same league as Impulse. Other audience members around me felt the same way.

BD didn't do a victory concert. I don't know why. They didn't explain. Maybe the 3 big corps are rotating it so the So. Cal crowds will get to see all of them do an arc. That's a nice thought. Whatever the reason, we did get an "audience appreciation" concert from SCV. It was announced right away, & as it wasn't late at all, it seemed like most of the audience stayed for this. My seat was ideal for a standstill arc, and I'll tell you, it was DAMN LOUD. So loud my right ear (the side the euph line was on) was hurting. This brass band was playing Drum Corps loud. I don't know what they play on, but BD could do itself a big favor by getting themselves a set, yesterday. A run thru of the show was followed by a beautiful rendition of Send In the Clowns. And all was done well before 10:30.

A great evening, a well run show, and a night with no sleep typing this.

I'll try to make & post mp3s before I go tomorrow. Anyone got a ton of space online where I can upload them so all of you can get them? I will not e-mail them to individuals!! Get a Yahoo briefcase & I'll upload them so everyone can access them (mine is full from the 6/23 show).

Thanks for reading.

Mike Margraf - The San Diego Mike

My first drum corps show of the year was last night. It's been ten years since i've been into drum corps, and this was the first time there was drum corps show in my neighborhood. VERY cool! i got to talk with old friends, see some good shows, and i only had a ten minute drive home.

I missed Aliance (sorry... :( i'll hopefully catch you this weekend), so my review will start with Impulse.

Impulse: a corps with a huge drumline, and fairly small guard. i'm friends with some people on their staff, and learned that the guard and members are young, but have the dedication and drive to go out there and entertain the fans. Their also going to Finals, so unlike most Division 2/3 corps in CA, their show won't peak in July. They're doing a Pacific/Hawaiin show, and it was a lot of fine. Ten snares in the drumline, and they were pretty clean. I was at a poor spot to judge balance, but it didn't sound too bad to me. Lots of props in the show, and i loved the look of the guard (great costumes, and i love the big fish! Also instead of sabres, they spin dolphins). They were a little dirty tonight, but look our for them once they hit the DCI 2/3 tour! By the way, they have a killer snare feature, ala Cadets 95 bass/tenor line (sort of i'll let you guys check it our for yourselves; VERY cool!).

Seatle Cascades: They sounded pretty good tonight. I haven't seen them in a few years, and i really liked their uniforms (it seems like they've changed their uniform a lot over the years, but i dig their latest). They did a GREAT impression of SCV '98. Not the same music, mind you, but the same type of show. About mid way through, i was ready to 'fast-forward.' The members performed well (and they're WAY bigger than i think i've ever seen them), but i just kept thinking "i liked this show the first time i saw it...IN 1998!"

Esperanza: first off, thanks for a great show!! I was glad to see so many corps fans come out for the evening. This was the 'home town' corps, so the fans were loving it. Personally, i thought the show left much to be desired. They're doing a Holsinger show, and i thought the brass arrangements were bad. There were also some intonation problems, balance problems, and tone problems. They need a lot of work with their basics. Their show didn't do much for me. I wish more corps show designers would actually think of an ORIGINAL show idea, instead of treating us to a SCV/Cadets clone. In fact, their show kind of blended, in my mind, with Seatle Cascades, except Cascades were on another plain than Esperanza, and the arranging with Cascades was LIGHT YEARS better. BUT, this is a young corps, and i hope to be seeing them in shows, improving year to year, for a LONG time!

Pacific Crest was next, and they seemed better last year to me. Maybe that's because the 'newness' of them wore off, but they still sound good. They would probably be in semi-finals if they went to Buffalo. They're doing "Era of the Empire," or something, with music from Prince of Egypt and Gladiator. They drum line sounded good, using different impliments to get some cool sounds (my favorite was a tenor feature with one mallet and one 'rake' stick). Again, this show didn't really have many memorable melodies, but it was performed good. I also liked the guard costumes.

Blue Devils came out next. I'm not sure if i like the color of their drums, but they're an improvement on last years. I was ready to like this show, after hearing all the reviews comapring it with 'old school' Devs. Their guard costumes were cool (VERY visually contrasting, with the yellow vests and striped pants), and their tenor line was REAL good. Alas, there were few moments in their show that even remotely held my attention. They have a KILLER pit/tenor section, that was by far the "tastiest" moment of the night. Also, this is the most musical BD drumline book i've heard in a long time, not just ramming tons of notes like past years. And the snares playing layed out basses...that's the LAMEST drum gimmick i've ever seen from Blue Devils. Flashbacks of Blue coats with floor toms came to mind (at least Devs were playing notes, and tonal stuff), but i thought it was...well, i can't think of enough adjectives to describe how lame it was. They might have won tonight, but i can't believe this show is championship caliber.

Cadets were next. It was great to see them in Cali for the first time since 1950. When they took the field, all of the So Cal. fans gave them a standing O' for their trip. From their first notes, i have to say it: this is Cadets best sounding hornline i've EVER heard. Believe me, i NEVER thought i'd be talking about their hornline, but BD's loss (Gino) is definitely Cadet's gain. I defintiely liked their show, although i thought that the drumline was a little shakey tonight (they learned something like 20 pages of drill yesterday, and it was fairly obvious when that section came up! it'll be cleaner Friday, i'm sure). A lot of people don't like Moondance, but i just love that song. They were about the only corps of the night where you can actually walk away humming a portion of the show. Cadets hornline was cleanest by far (at least from where i sat), but their guard is dirtier than i can remember ever seeing Cadets. Alas, they miss April, but they're doing killer work, so it'll be clean. I also love the arrangement of Farandole (although i wish they would've done Prelude, Fugue and Riffs), and can't wait to see this show again! By the way, they only had eight snares, so i'm not sure what happened. An old friend of mine is their snare tech, and i forgot to ask him what was up with that. I'll hopefully see him this weekend, so i'll try to get the scoop.

SCV came out last. Their drumline looked great (natural maple finish), and i LOVED how they started their show. The pit played all through the warm-up, and when the corps took off on the 'silent' drill, my jaw dropped. Then, their first impact hit, and i had goosebumps! i can't remember the last time a drum corps show gave me goosebumps. This corps has the total package for me; the brass line sounded good (although a little rough; the all euph. and french horn lines added a fairly unique blend compared to Cadets and Devs, and i loved the arranging), awesome drumline (complete with amazing 'what the hell was that?' snare solo, tasty writing, as is the norm with them lately, and that "SCV confidence" that just sells their show), and i absolutely loved the look of the guard, including the silks. I think it was the ballad, but they have these great looking flags, kind of shimery in the middle. This guard is a step up from last years, and i thought last years guard was great. The show was fairly dirty tonight, but the demand is REALLY high. Also, as for the 'new era' rap, i TOTALLY loved it! i can't think of another corps that could pull this off, but SCV was sweet. They start the new era new era stuff, and then the mac dad hi hat player in the pit bust out a funky groove, and by the end, the pit has totally layed out head-bobbin' groove. Then, when the horns and battery come back in, they nailed the impact. Great show, and i can't wait to see them again as well.

I missed the scores, hanging out with old friends on different staffs by critique. SCV did the encore, and sounded great from where i was (it's always wonderful to hear "Clowns"). i was excited, thinking they won, but was disappointed to get home to see BD had won. Oh well, i'd much rather hear SCV's show again, than Devs. It was great talking to old friends, and it was the most fun i've had a drum corps show since i aged out. BEAUTIFUL night for a show (which only makes me shake my head to hear finals announced in Madison...again), and the crowd seemed to enjoy it. I hope to make it up to Glendora this weekend, if nothing else just so my wife and i can see some friends again.

Anyway, that's it! i haven't seen the recaps yet (just some of Cadets' judge sheets), so i don't know who won what. Like i said, look out east and mid-west fans, for Impulse. Fun show that i'm sure you'll enjoy!

doug
'We are ONE'

Hi y'all!! Woooo...what wonders a night of uninterrupted sleep will get you!! And now I'm awake--well, duh! If I wasn't, I wouldn't be typing. So, this is my first review in a long time, and I may be rusty. All errors or omissions are mine. I ain't no professional, so you get what you pay for. All opinions are MINE, not those of any organization that I have been, or am, or will be, or am thinking of being, a part of then, now, or in the near future. MINE MINE MINE (think Herman Munster right there...just a tad better looking!).
[[Deeeeeep breath]]
Here it goes...

SHOW: The Esperanza Experience
DATE: July 11, 2000
WHERE: Rancho Bernardo High School Stadium, Poway, California (or Rancho Bernardo for the boundary folks, even though I believe Rancho Bernardo isn't really a city...but more like an area)
ATTENDANCE: Pushing the envelope of seating capacity...word from sponser 10 mins prior to show...SOLD OUT!! 1000 walk ups with sold out presale. 2700 when I left, but I'm a professional. There were at least 3000.
SYNOPSIS: This review will allow you to experience the "Experience". And I promise I won't use big words like "synopsis". Actually, the entire show in a nutshell was a raving success. As with all shows, there are bound to be technical issues (crappy sound system...oh wait, I was announcing!), crappy announcer, no press box but an interesting tent arrangement that worked just as well, some people expressing some disgruntledness as I was walking in about ticket prices (told them to pound sand and go watch a movie...no I didn't...but I thought it). But GREAT crowd! Great drum corps! And a "festive" feel as I watched from my vantage point many, many people shaking hands and renewing friendships and seeing people for the first time in a long time. Even happened to me as I saw an old VK instructor whom I haven't seen in 9 years! OK OK OK...here's the review. Sheesh...

(In order of placing!)--all breakdown numbers are approximate!! Gimmee a break...I had to announce.

DIVISION III
1st--GOLD MEDAL--ALLIANCE--Score: 53.95 (22H, 7G, 12P, 1DM)
Second year in existence, and doing FAR better than last year. Patrick Marks, former VK'er and band director in southern San Diego, is the exec director, and tells me that they have made significant strides even in the last month. Horns for about 22 were pretty good, obviously young, but NO LACK OF DESIRE, for sure! Guard small and having some questionable staging issues at times. Keep the 7 together in my book. Don't split them. For field coverage issues, it just makes them look out there and not part of "it". Drums pretty good. Ambitious drill which I would question as to whether it was too difficult at times. But again, NO LACK OF DESIRE! I wish more people in San Diego would get interested in this group! Keep going you guys and gals!!

DIVISION II
3rd--BRONZE MEDAL--IMPULSE--Score: 66.25 (52H, 12?G, MILLIONS of drums, 2 very talented DM's)
HOLY BATMAN, ROBIN!? Oh wait...that's wrong. But you know what. Let me get the preliminary concerns out of the way. Fix the feet, get the gags finalized, watch a few ensemble timing and balance issues, and try to get your drum major to be a little more enthusiastic! I'm kidding on the last. Oh, and guard...trying to do so much with limited numbers to support the theme that I lost them a few times. The dolphin thing was too much filler and not enough ooomph! Come out, do some cute stuff for 8 counts, then move on! Sorry...Now the good stuff!!!
ENTERTAINMENT WITH A CAPITAL E!!! Holy cow! It was an overwhelming experience from the minute they took the field! The fastest F tuning sequence ever performed by a horn line, AND TO THE CROWD!!! Fun fun fun!! Drum line...you better be giving some Division 1 lines a run for the money. That is the BIGGEST understatement drum line in the world. They ROCK!!! The horns, all 52 I think, are just great. Some of the impacts were hairsplitting!! And the crowd was behind THAT for sure. The arrangements were great, ESPECIALLY the Hawaiian War Chant, which closed with a special musical nod to the Bridgemen!!! THAT WAS VERY COOL!! Don't know if anyone else picked up on it, but I sure did!! I also see that notated in my book..."mellophones/opener/good!" That's because they had this feature where they played with one hand and did some cool body sculpting at the same time! This show, once it gets the loose ends worked out, NEEDS FAR MORE CREDIT!!! Great job by Impulse, and dear nation, GO OUT AND SEE THEM back east when they go! They rock!!

2nd--SILVER MEDAL--ESPERANZA--Score: 66.45 (30 something H, Lots o'guard, standard drum line, 2 DM's)
Played a show called "Songs of Ceremony" featuring Holsinger's "Liturgical Dances" (Cavaliers 87...and hold over song from last season if I recall) and "On a Hymnsong of Lowell Mason" based on a Christian hymn, and closed with Coventry Variant by Sanders. The overwhelming aspect of this show is the guard!! Very, very well trained with great performance! Of course, this is the summer version of the gold medalist Esperanza De Luz that kicked everyone's butt at WGI this past winter in Independent Open. Another great aspect was Reed Richardson's (Cavalier alum) drill design. Big difference from last year and much better. Horns are questionable at times. They are, as best as I can tell, using Bb's of all kinds, and the horns sounded at times young. I know Esperanza is building inventory, and I think new horns would be the biggest help to this great up and coming group. Big improvement over last year and great host corps and staff!! I also have a note here to "clean perc feet". It's a solid drum line but feet need help. It's early.

1st--GOLD MEDAL--SEATTLE CASCADES--Score: 76.65 (Horns: lots Guard: Huge Drums: Standard 7/4/5/5????)
First, let me get this off my chest. For such a high score and such accomplishment that I'm about ready to carry on and gush over, WORD TO CONTRAS!!! You will HURT someone by missing your assignments at high speed. There was no question about some of the accordion stuff going on with them, and it was getting scary. All visual staff members--lock on target and improveimicate it. Now...the good stuff.
HOLY WHOA!!! What a corps!! Someone looked over at me at the announcer's table and said "Where the heck did these guys come from???". That is such a compliment. Watch out bottom six of Division 1. These guys are COMING ON UP AND LIVING THERE LIKE A CONDO!!! Division 2 corps might as well call it a season. Seattle is ON FIRE!!! Presenting music of (ack!!) David Holsinger...(personal note: it was great in 1992...sort of better in 1993...but this is not an insult to Seattle...Holsinger is Holsinger...anyone get that out there...sheeeesh!!). OK, sorry...amazing horn line with great control (some ensemble issues and this weird tempo thing midway through the show), HIGH performance, FANTASTIC Kurt Jull drill design, and what an incredible color guard. Between SCV, BD, PC, and these guys, it was real hard for me to tell who had the best guard. Probably BD because of their awesome dance...but MAN!! Seattle ensembled some sections that got me all hyped. Great job! DIVISION 1 BOUND MY NORTHWESTERN BROS AND SISTERS!! You do not belong any longer in Division 2. So, get your second DCI title and pump up, pump up, pump up the volume!!

DIVISION I
4th--PACIFIC CREST--Score: 70.55 (55 Horns?, 30 some odd guard, 24 battery??, 2 DM's)
(ALERT ALERT ALERT!!--I am NOT biased because I'm on their board!) This group has garnered some incredible praise and awards since they came on the scene back in 1993 with a very humble beginning. I know EVERY single person on that all-star instructional staff, and can attest to first-hand knowledge of the drive, passion, and character of the students that make up the corps. OK..I'm sounding biased, but actually, I may shock some. In my notes, I wrote "first 2/3 flat...what's happening...ok...AHHHH!). This show, Age of Empires, featuring a kick-butt, multi-metered fast opener of Scythian Suite, is HARD!! VERY HARD!! TOO HARD???? Hmmmmm....for the type of corps this is (weekend non national touring corps), I will say it's challenging. And that's an understatement. I felt the corps was dipping their toes into the cold water before wanting to dive in, hence, my comments about the first 2/3 of the show not being right there where I think it can be. OK...now the good stuff. The PC guard is beyond a shadow of a doubt, probably one of the best guards out there. Run by the venerable and multi-talented Peter Gomez and his very talented staff, these young folks pull off some great equipment handling and ensemble statements. Big RIFLE TOSS was AWESOME!! Thank YOU!! Great drumline, with a certain 5/4 section in the Prince of Egypt production where they are off the side 1... I don't know how they were able to pull off the timing by picking up what the pit was doing, but you did it. Horns...great, great, great arrangements, and obviously, you're all playing. NOW TURN IT ON!! I kept waiting for you...where's PC, where's PC...and FINALLY, at the park and honk in "Prince" where the wedge on Side 2 came up, THEN, AHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!! One word about the drill design...Don Gallaher, former VK'er (as well as LOTS of the staff), is growing and becoming a designer of great accomplishment. The first 30 seconds of the show visually is one of the strongest ensemble statements I've seen in a long time. GREAT JOB!! Keep it going!!! Great job by visual folks cleaning and teaching...

3rd--BRONZE MEDAL--CADETS--Score: 84.40 (Standard Div 1 set up...64/30/lots of drums...2 DM's!!)
WELCOME TO SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA, YOU MAY BEGIN YOUR PERFORMANCE IN COMPETITION, is what I yelled into the sound system. And I saw George Hopkins smile. And smile he should. He has a LOT to be proud of. The opener was great. A section where 2 DM's did 2 tempos to different parts of the field...that rocked. Of course, that Cavalier DM back in 1986 for Korean Folk Song Suite (Norm Dekeckecihfskfhsfkhd--whatever his last name was) did 2 tempos by himself. BUT HEY!! Just remembering my past!! Little nod and winks to last years show throughout this "Juxtaperformance". Great guard. Great drum line. But....<>, something happened about midway through the show. Was it Moondance that the crowd sort of fizzled? I don't know. Some definite feet and form problems at various points in the show. MAJOR HINT FOR THE REST OF THE COUNTRY...as Moondance ends, DO NOT APPLAUD!! You will miss a WONDERFUL transition into the beginning of "Vide Cor Meum". WOW!! And that is a BEAUTIFUL song. All in all, I think Cadets deserve tons of credit for what I know they are doing. And for crying out loud, THEY CAME OUT WEST!! That's great. But something for me didn't pop with the show, like something still is yet to come. But I was definitely entertained! Thank you George...and thanks to those great kids out there!!!!

2nd--SILVER--SANTA CLARA VANGUARD!!!!--Score: 84.65 (64 horns for sure...the rest, typical...2 DM's...one of which was from my vantage point, the best of the night!!)
I didn't write any notes. I savored every last drop of SCV's show. And I have to be brutally honest here, folks, so if that scares you, please, look away and scroll down. SCV is better than BD. Hands down. No question. Better horns. Better show. Better drill. OK...maybe not a better guard. But still...close enough. SCV's show WILL absolutely blow you away this year. I don't know where to start. First, the department I'm most likely to get all gooey about...visual design. Myron Rosander, long time drill designer for SCV, has simply outdone himself this year. I LOVE IT when a corps looks back to what they've done, and then take it a step further. He did that with the drill a few times in the show, and I LOVE THAT!!! The rotations are back, better than ever. He is simply the most innovative designer on the block right now, bar none. I was thinking to myself that I was seeing shades of Steve Brubaker in the drill, but really, it's MYRON drill!! Stands alone, and it has a definite and recognizable style and "way" about it. Great job!!!!
The whole show is called "New Era" based on the "trials and tribulations" of the American workforce. 5 sketches, beginning with the alarm clock from hell!!! Hahahahaha, MAN!!! You might as well have hit me in the face with a shovel. Horns gave it UP!!! BAM!!! And the rest of the show was just an amazing concoction of visual and musical mastery all wrapped up in an amazingly entertaining show. Watch for a GREAT "Short Ride"...an amazing Rob Jett instructed guard...an incredibly "kickin" drum line...the amazing "rap" section (which folks...it's not RAP...it's timed urban chant...sheesh, get it straight!), and the closer which just was amazing.
BOTTOM LINE ON SCV!! They have a LONG way to go to clean folks...they have more to add to the show according to one staff member, so I fully expect this show to be top 3...no doubt about it!!!!!!!!! I am a HUGE hooked fan right now for SCV!!!

1st--GOLD MEDAL--BLUE DEVILS--Score:86.25 (standard BD set up)
Last year, I saw Jay Murphy at the Glendora show. I bowed to him because of the opening 45 seconds of drill that amazed me. He said, "Get up off the ground Turner...it was HELL to teach!" Hahahaha...Jay is very talented. His drill is DEFINITELY Jay Murphy drill. But it didn't grab me last night. CLEAN AS HECK!! Sure...he probably thought to himself, "Never again..." based on the last year's opening statement which again, was amazing. That was until midway through the show, Jay decides, "Oh, what the heck!!" and completely kicks my drill designing wanna be butt with this double block inner rotating moving blocks down the field, oh you want some more, here, I'LL DO IT FOR 32 FRICKEN' COUNTS!!! Thanks Jay!!! That was great. BD is clean folks. CLEAN CLEAN CLEAN!!! Their horns play wonderfully. They have a guard that is simply on another level at times from the rest of the world. Drums...I don't know. Incredibly incredible? What more can I say? Well, here...to me, no connection with audience. There...I said it. Technical accomplishments are one thing, but I don't know. Big question mark over my head about whether BD can hang on.

LAST WORD!!

WOW!!! Thank you to the fans of drum corps. You are ALLOWED to get off your hands and applaud even more. These kids deserve it!! And thanks to the entire Esperanza staff for working your butts off to make this a great season opener in southern Cal!!!

Email comments to me or just post them on this thread...I have child to raise now!!

Ryan H. Turner

Okay all. Here comes my review of the San Diego show (07/11). Im gonna give my $.02 so sorry if anyone doesnt like it, but its just my opinion. Ill try to keep it short and sweet. ALso, i dont know much about drums, i can tell the difference between a good line and a bad line, but i cant tell you the difference between 2 really good lines, so ill just mention what I liked.
To start, my friends and i spent the day checking out Vanguard and Blue Devils rehearsals (would have seen Cadets too but they changed rehearsal sites and i didnt know where they had gone, so i saw them today before i came home. you might be interested to know that they spent a large chunk of the day learning new drill to Moondance). It was a beautiful day! BTW....i saw AT LEAST 10 video cameras in that show running and a few more mini-disc players. if id have known they were gonna be so lax on it i would taken my camera too! Someone with the goods, email me please! ;O)

San Diego Alliance~
I was pretty surprised by the sound that came out of this 15 member hornline (surprised in a good way. This is the first time id ever seen them and i their sound was better than i would have expected. There is a section where they play backfield and that sounded especially nice from them. The guard is now at 7 members (only 2 last year, no?) so they are growing nicely. Some audible DUTS from the drumline interupted some of the moments. Im big on drill, and ive never seen a corps this small before, so as far as i know their drill was nice for the size they are. I couldnt begin to write drill a corps that small. Overall it was a good surprise for me.

Impulse~
Im just gonna get this out of the way to begin with...this show did not appeal to me. Im a fan of lots of types of shows (i like the modern shows such as Santa Clara as well as the fan pleasers like The Cadets), but i dont care much for this kind of show. I did like the Gilligans Island into, that was in good taste and well done i thought. THe whole Wilson the Volleyball thing didnt work for me. The part where (i believe the mellos) go up for a feature and they gathered around the judge and started high fiving and stuff.....that i LIKED! that was really funny. The guard seemed to do too much stuff like carry around cardboard cutouts of Tiki Gods for way too long. I see so much talent in them that i would like to see them doing something instead of carrying around cardboard. The Fish Flags in the ballad were a really nice effect. THe hornline was very powerful (a little muddy and top heavy sounding) but very loud and i enjoyed that. The drumline rocks! They had a great feature and id be willing to bet this is the biggest battery in DCI with 10 snares, 6 tenors, 5 basses, and i believe 4 cymbals with one hole in the cymbal line. The percussion impressed me. THe drill never really stood out to me, and too much scatter i though (did they go to the Blue Devils school of drill design??)

Seattle Cascades~
This is a type of show that i LOVE. the opener was fantastic! I love Holsinger so it worked really well for me. Their hornline was also very powerful throughout the course of the show, but much cleaner than Impulse. They have a few runs that are still not clicking in, but once they do it will be awesome. They were able to play loud with good intonation. Their drill is very open and easy to read which was awesome. It moved quite a lot too. Excellent visual program. THe guard uni's were very classy. (someone in another review already talked about all the colors of everyones flags and unis, so i wont go into much detail on that). They had beautiful flags in the ballad and a great guard overall. Some very nice weapons work. The percussion never really jumped out and slapped me in the face, but i think they were integrated well into the program (dont know much about their cleanliness though). This whole show was just very classy and i loved it. someone in another review said that he thought the crowd was sitting on their hands, but i disagree. Where i was sitting at least (the 30 on side 1) this was the first and only non-div 1 corps to get some real audience reaction during a piece. Near me lots of people were cheering at some major impact points, especially in the opener. To me it just seemed like everyone else (excluding div 1 corps) got cheers at the end of a piece only (except Impulse who got laughs during some numbers at some of their gags). Great show!!

Esperanza~
This was another show that i liked from the get-go since they also opened with Holsinger. The corps was much smaller than Impulse and Cascades (perhaps with the exception of that fantastic guard). Their horns generally seemed to have a nice sound, but i would love to hear what they sounded like if they had the $$$ to buy good horns. The drill had some cool moments, but overall seemed like just another drill to me. they also spread across the field quite a bit too but since they werent as big as Cascades it wasnt quite as effective, and may have hurt the volume of sound they were able to put forth. This percussion line never really jumped out at me either (except they also had some audible duts which turned me off). The problem with me and drumlines is that if it doesnt jump out and slap me in the face, on a first hearing i probably wont notice that much since im not an expert on it. Now, my favorite part of the show....the guard! I couldnt wait to see them as i have seen their aawesome winterguard a few times...and the field guard did NOT disappoint. They had beautiful flags and they knew how to use them (everyone had great flags tonite....i cant remember a flag that i just cringed at). I was pretty surprised to see them 10 points behind Cascades. I figured more like 7, but hey, thats why im not a judge, right?

Pacific Crest~
After hearing so much great stuff about this corps, i left Santa Clara's warmup (during the judges break) early just to make sure i didnt miss them. Im gonna be honest, from the opener i was a little disappointed. Now this is the first time ive seen them this season, and someone earlier mentioned that things just didnt seem to click that nite, so maybe thats why. Their horns had some licks that just didnt lock in (as someone earlier mentioned that they have played them cleaner). Drill moved well, i thought, but was dirty. After the opener, my impression went up and up. The rest of the show impressed me more, maybe they got it together for the rest of the show. Their horns sounded better and better as the show went on (to me anyway), and the drill impressed more and more. To me, their drumline and pit seemed to have a nice sound. Their guard i thought was very impressive and added a lot to the visual program. the one complaint from me is when they brought out the feather fans (i dont like stuff like that, but youll hear more about that when i review BD and their hats! :O) Maybe it was nerves, but things seemed to get better for the most part after the opener and this will be a great show for them when they clean it up. Im getting excited about PC, it seems like theyve been taking a step up ever year and maybe soon they will be a finalist at DCI??

Blue Devils~
Okay, where to start.......the hornline. They horns were very clean and had great intonation (as always) and better balance than last year with more bottom now. But, where was the volume? They were a distant 3rd in volume between the Big 3. I dont know why, theyve obviously got great instructors as always, theyve got amazing talent, but they just dont have the power that rips your face off. Maybe their news horns designed by Wayne? I really do like this hornbook a lot, especially the closer as ive mentioned in a previous post. Their drill....well, it was Blue Devils drill. Lets just say that i have friends who refer to it as "Hellen Keller Drill" and they say the same this year. Lots of scatter and not a lot of velocity, but clean. Id rather see drill that moves, but that might be a little dirty still (ie, Cadets, Vanguard). LOTS of block forms again...it grew old on me. Their guard was great. I love the uni's and the silks, awesome color selections. I like the writing a lot more this year as well (especially in the flags). The weapons have more great tosses that impress this year. The percussion sounded like the cleanest line of the nite to me, but to my amateur ear i thought Cadets and Vanguard had harder books, although i dont know for sure. I dont care for some of the writing (especially all the bass drums in the 1st fantasy variation and the transition into the 2nd fantasy variation.) and im usually a huge fans of SJ writing.
The closer wowed me though, i love the music, absolutely beautiful. Its also great with the guard. Speaking of which, i liked the first section with the hats, but after that it was too much. They get my high percussion award.

The Cadets~
I agree with the previous poster who said that they could have seen the Cadets taking high brass for the nite. This corps played about a million notes...and with some power! They were much louder than the Devs. I love the musical selections (great YPG arrangement!) but i agree with anyone who says that Moondance is just a bit too long. Maybe it would seem better to me if the guard used equipment for the second half of it, which i think they need to. Although today at their rehearsal they were learning new drill to it, so who knows whats changing with that. Their ballad is a perfect 10! Its great! LOTS of power and volume at the impact point and BEAUTIFUL fucia flags with excellent work. They ran through it several times at rehearsal (the guard did to a recording) and i love it. I thought they had the best guard writing and weapons work of the nite, they got my high guard award. Although i dont really mind their new rifle-ish thing, i certainly hope its the exception and not going to become the norm. IMO they did have the best silks of the nite, loved the YPG silks as well (especially the second set that was kinda orangy/brownish with white). Their drumline had some great feature moments that i really loved. Cadets get high brass and high guard from me.

Santa Clara Vanguard~
When we were at their rehearsal they were in vis block just running through New Era Dance while singing along, going piece by piece and cleaning the hell out of it. When they finally got past the chant they ran through the last 30 seconds or so, nonstop. i literally freaked out when i saw it because the ending drill is amazing. i wont say what it is because i dont want to ruin the surprise for anyone else, but they bring back an old drill move that ROCKED and added some cool stuff in with it. I definitely think they had the best drill of the nite, they are FLYING during that pit intro! Its the kind of drill i live for. Their hornline sounded VERY good. This was the loudest corps of the nite (slightly ahead of the Cadets). Several nice impact points that had my section goin nuts. The show is the very classy and sophisticated show you would expect from Vanguard. Its got the body movement and ripples that they have become known for over the years, and it works very well. The horns have a challenging book (not a million notes like the Cadets though) but some very difficult rhythms none-the-less. Very powerful and balanced sound. I cant wait to hear them again later down the road. The percussion line was very impressive to me (during the silent rehearsal of New Era Dance, the drums played their parts so i got to hear them quite well and they are great). The guard program at Santa Clara has been going up and up every year and this year will continue that trend. They are very impressive this year and have some great silks (especially one that is green and purple....very nice). I love the chanting. I loved it on the original, i loved it when Center Grove did it, and i love it when SCV does it. I like the guard dance, however i dont really care for what the hornline is doing. It doesnt really bother me, but it doesnt impress me much either. Id like to see them doing some kind of body movement together rather than just doing their own thing. Who knows, maybe that will change? The crowd loved it though. The crowd REALLY loved the last 30 seconds after that though! So much volume smacking us in the face and GREAT drill.....absolutely spectacular ending that left the crowd electrified when they were done. They get my high visual, high GE awards.

Awards~
First let me say that as the shows progressed the crowd reaction got better among Div 1 corps. I mean, people were on their feet and cheering faster and faster as the lineup progressed. THe Cadets got a standing O just walking onto the field. THANK YOU HOPPY FOR COMING OUR WAY!!!! My first time seeing the Cadets live was absolutely awesome!
The speaker system there sucked....so those of us outside the 40's were straining to hear the scores. It was a very nice, DM only, quick retreat. As we moved into the top 3....they announced with an 84.4....The Cadets (which we kinda expected). Now, after the hot show that SCV had most people around me were unsure about who got 1st, and the general feel to me was that they wanted to see SCV take a show so we could get them in an encore. Everyones eyes were glued to the announcer on the track, kinda leaning forward in anticipation. Then they announced with an 84.65......the Santa Clara Vanguard. At that point a lot of the crowd that i could see kinda turned away/put their hands on their faces/groaned a bit...seemed like a lot of disappointment in the air. BTW, id say at least 2400 of the 2800 that were there stayed for scores. And it appeared as though yet again BD wasnt going to give an encore BUT from where i was sitting i could see Santa Clara all blocked up outside the stadium and then they announced that SCV asked to do an "appreciation concert" (maybe because they got such great crown reaction?). So id say about 2000 stayed for that. We all bunched as close to the center as possible...and i was on about the 45 right in front of the euphs. WOW!!!!!!! what a sound! excellent job and they got a well deserved GREAT crowd reaction. people were really happy that someone decided to give an encore. then they played a beautiful run through of clowns that also got a standing O. overall it was a great show that moved along quickly and went very smoothly! Sorry my review went from being supposing to be short to being really really long, and sorry if you disagree (i mean no offense or disrespect to anyone) but its my honest feelings!

Benny
Highland HS '96-'00
Riverside CC '00-??

Perfect weather for the show last evening; partly cloudy with a nice cool breezer set the tone for the perfect night of drum corps. There were only four corps at this exhibtion tonight, and in the middle of each performance, there would be a little clinic session from the corps. For example, we saw Crossmen's drumline do a little clinc, Boston's hornline showed us a few things, Crown's guard did a few drills, and Jeff Bridges spoke after the show about a typical rehearsal day.

On to the performances
SPIRIT-I bumped into Matt Smith before the show (marched Madison and is teaching Sprirt's brass section) and he said they have been neck and neck with Crown all season, and I can see why. The brassline is amazing. My god, can they knock the sock off the crowd, but they also have discipline and play with control. Every section of the brassline is heard during the show, and no one sticks out. The percussion section is pretty good, but is way overshadowed by the brass section. "Ghost Train" was a huge hit with the crowd this evening. What Spirit will have a problem with in the summer trying to compete is their visual execution. Feet seemed to be everywhere, and the drill was very hard to read at times. But still, this corps shows a lot of promise and could make some adjustments to pull into 11th or 12th by season's end.

CAROLINA CROWN-I was dissapointed to see Crown in black pants this year. Once again, the percussion and the color guard rule this year's program entitled "Industry". The opener was a little weak. It sounded as if the horn section was a little unsure of parts at times, and the visual performance was way off in the beginning tonight. As the show progressed, though, they got a lot stronger. The horns seemed to take it up a notch during the balad, from "The Cider House Rules". That left the crowd breathless. Along with the typical powerful percussion features and the guard switching uniforms (1999), this has potential to be a great show. The guard does a lot of work with 2X4s, tires, and large metal sheets. If the hornline can stay at a high level throughout the show, Crown will turn a lot of heads this year. Only thing I had a problem with was the visual execution. I'd have to say that this can be Carolina's achille's heel. They were definitely out-marched by everyone this evening, but they're not out of it yet. Look for a late season surge from this group.

CROSSMEN-The typical Crossmen corps is GREAT drumline, OKAY hornline. This year, it's the other way around. Don't get me wrong, the percussion section is still very good, but the work that Mr. Birdges has done with the hornline shows. They are awesome. A lot of screaming, VERY LOUD, and very controlled. I think you could tell there's a little rivalry between X-men and Boston tonight, because they seemd to feed off of each other's energy. Brass-wise, I only had a beef about the soloists being thin and forced. There is, however, a baritone soloist that has some serious chops and had the crowd standing up by the end of his solo. The soprano soloists were a little thin tonight, but this may have just been an off night. It sounded like a long rehearsal day, but if he didn't have the capability to play that, he wouldn't have been put there, would he? The percussion section is quite good, but I think they would have place third tonight behind Crown and Boston had there been scores. Too many rim clicks in the tenor feature, and it felt like the snares and basses were going to fall off at certain parts of the show. The visual design is excellent. My BIGGEST beef, is the "Cadet" style of marching. A lot of running around with the head bobbing up and down. And at times, I couldn't tell if the feet were being rolled or not. A lot of feet in the horns at times. This, however is a top 5 show. Look to see Crossmen, Boston, Glassmen, Phantom, and Madison duke it out in the end.

BOSTON CRUSADERS-I didn't get a chance to see this group last year, and I was anxious to see if Boston could follow up on last year's top 5 finish. Folks, this group won the crowd tonight. Although it seemed at times like '93 Star playing some jazz licks, this program is way cool. The volume level of this hornline could out-do all of the three other corps put together, AND they were the most controlled. The low brass and mellophones are the core of the hornline, while the sops/trumpets were a little thin and there were a lot of fracks in the section tonight. Still, a powerful and controlled hornline with a well executed visual program put this corps above the rest. The percussion section was on tonight too. The snares are amazing, and I can't honestly say I remember a tenor or bass feature, but you can tell they're plaing a lot of notes. At times, the hornline has a tendency to cover up the drums with their sound. Boston also had some visual problems tonight, but nothing that can't be fixed within a rehearsal day. The staff is on the right track with this group. Don't be surprised if you see Boston in the top 5 again this year, and if they can keep the momentum, win DCI in a few years. The Crossmen vs Boston rivalry is definitely alive. You can tell they're only within a few tenths of each other, and the final showdown in Buffal between these two is going to be a lot of fun to watch. If I had to judge, I would have had Spirit in fourth, but not too far behind Crown in third. Crossmen would have been in second, but not too far behind Boston.

All in all, a great night for drum corps.
See you in Ankeny on the 17th.

Andy Smith

Hot muggy sweltering night. Scores reflected fatigue from the heat.

Spirit 7th place 67.4- Nice Musical show. Ghost Train is a wonderful piece of music and the music book is arranged well. Visually the show is hurt by choice in colors in the guard, and the lack of cleanliness in the guard. Two of the flags stood out visually, and boy it was ugly dirty. The rest of the color used was washed out by the corp uniforms. Visually the show has little spunk in color scheme. Musically this show has extreme potential. The kids enjoy it, and I enjoyed it. I was hoping for a more visual program, cause I want them back in the top 12.

Crown 6th place 70.65- Nice concept, great staging, and good creative use of alternative equipment by the guard. The show design is excellent, but I would prefer to close with Concertino, and open with Madness. Concertino has a better ending. The show climaxes too soon. Drill is very difficult, and the music needs to be trimmed a little to assist in phrasing. The show seems to hard for the hornline musically. I enjoyed their performance, and the colors used. I hope they can maintain their top 12 stature.

Colts 5th place 73.1- I enjoy this show a lot. Great care was shown in the design to show strengths and hide weaknesses. Percussion writing is tasteful, and musical. Drill fits the visual design of the uniform. Execution was poor this evening. Not a good night. I could see fatigue, and heat have taken their toll on the kids these last three days. They have without a doubt the most improved corps award in my mind.

Bluecoats 4th place 75.0- Great music, great writing, and an ok visual program. Highlights include a tango dance by the guard. Very tasteful and elegant, but the colors are two dark on the uniform and the triangle fabric they dance on. The lights are not great there at Bracewell, and that had to hurt too. My biggest complaint are the big gaps in flow. The ideas are there, but we do not have any connection between them. I enjoy how Daugherty's music fits so well for the field. Maybe it is due to his corps background.

Boston- 3rd place 75.7- I love Boston's color scheme, and the music. There biggest problem is cleaning. Where do you start. There is so much dirt visually, and musically. The drill is angular with many right angles and straight lines, and none of their forms hit smoothly. Some phrasing and staging problems hurt the show too, but what they need is a couple of off days to clean. The show is still top 5 material, but time is working against them. Boston was my favorite design tonight.

Crossmen-2nd place 77.85- They were really close to Glassmen tonight, and they earned it. Late Night Jazz is a great program with top 6 or 7 written all over it. Chuck's book is great, and the kids enjoy the show. Burlington sat on their hands on the drum feature, I was taking notes. Visually the lighting hurt them at the stadium. Color guard is excellent, and the tight pallate of color was tasteful, like they actually wanted to paint the music with the flags. Thank You for a wonderful show Crossmen.

Glassmen-1st place 77.95- Glassmen's show leaves me flat except for the strong middle section. It is by far the most musically enjoyable for me and it seems to be the same way for the kids too. They play it with a lot of heart The Fluegel soloist is an excellent young player. Color Guard and Feet were the defining points in their victory. They were cleaner than everyone else. The show design is hurt by the lack of melody in the brass. Rhythmic intensity is nice and loud brassy punctuations are fun, but melodic material is better. Latin American Composers were too set on making nationalistic music, and I have lots of so-so records in my collection of Ginestera, Victor Lobos, and de Falla.

A little postive, and a little negative, and no ill will intended. Just an opinion.

Mark

Only got to see the last four groups tonight. Although the stadium in stillwater is one of the smallest, oldest, dumpiest things in the Twin Cities, it was still sold out. I refuse to pay $22 to sit 12' off the ground so I always pay the $5 general admission price and stand along the fence. It is cool seeing things from that level, but the track goes up about two feet, and then the field is sunken, so the pit almost looks like they are in a trench or something. PLEASE MOVE THIS SHOW TO A NEW STADIUM!

Anyway, Minnesota Brass was the first group on after intermission tonight so they were the first big, loud corps for the crowd. Their James Bond show is my second favorite production from them (favorite being Memphis Belle from a few years back). Sow has a good mix of classic and new tunes and the arrangements are not stock. You won't here a Big 10 marching band playing these. Good horn sound with some nice mello licks and some great baritone in the ballad. Crowd loved the sop. solo at the end of the ballad that had a note that kept going higher and higher until it just disappeared. One guy behind me said his fillings hurt! The corps is marching better than they have in recent memory and the guard is looking good. The weapon book is much more challenging this year. Drill is well written and staging for guard is varied and well integrated with the total drill. One thing that is weird is the sound of the opening James Bond theme. It's scored just differently enough that it doesn't sound quite like you would expect it to. But when they play it again in the closer, it rocks. Much more powerful. I'm still not sure about some of the really bright, multi-colored flags used in the show, but the opener flag with the signature James Bond camera iris is very cool. Is that new? Overall, I thing they will do well at DCA this year and will hopefully be able to move up a notch or two.

Next on where the Cavaliers. Now, I have to admit, as an alum, I am going to be biased. But this show is fascinating. Anyone who says that you can't have a show that pleases the crowd and the judges at the same time needs to see this year's production. The total design of their Four Corners production clearly shows that you can be original, innovative, traditional, jazzy, beautiful, all in one. This show has the potential to take the corps to the top - when it is clean and polished. Feet are a little scary sometimes, but when you are marching that drill at 208, it will be at this point in the season. They can clean that - no worries there. Guard is wonderful again and they are all over the field. Great ensemble flag moments throughout the show. It's clean now, so come finals it will be stunning.

I spent the day watching them practice and they were layering some new things throughout the show. They also spent some time with the guys working on groove! Trying to get away from "white man's jazz" syndrome and it is starting to take hold. Drumline has a very funky coolness again this year. I also hear there is some new closer drill that might make it's debut this weekend in DeKalb. Also, to me, there is a noticeable volume difference between Cavies and Scouts. And I have think it is the new Bb horns. Hopefully as the season goes on and endurance and lung capacity go up, this will improve. If not, I think Yamaha needs to take a look at how their horns are built or something. Otherwise, you will need to up your corps size to 175 just to get a bigger brass sound.

Scouts were on next and were easily twice as loud as the Cavies with their first notes. Key of G? Since there was no wind tonight, the guard uniforms didn't balloon up. What a difference that makes! Looked much better. I like the sound and power of the hornline this year. Not as edgy as year's past and the contras are great - walking parts all over the place. There is still a 15-20 second tune/tag in the middle that sticks out like a sore thumb. It hurt's the flow of the show and looks like it's only purpose is to reset the guard and drill to give them better staging to start the next tune. Almost like they had to come up with some counts of music to fill the drill transition or something. Biggest crowd reaction came when the cymbals start flying over the drumline during the closer. Also, some nice baritone moments, especially backfield. Guard is unfortunately small and it is hard to cover the field like they need to, but they are cleaning up and starting to perform and not just go through the motions. Much improved since Hastings a couple of weeks ago. The whole corps is doing a fine job with what they have been given and I don't think they are in danger of falling out of the Top 12. It is the show concept and how it is designed and put together that will hold them back.

I pity any corps that has to follow Madison. So tonight I had to pity Southwind. The show was very nice and it is obvious what parts of the show they have been working on recently and which parts they haven't. Let's hope they get caught up on everything and they should do well again this year. Marching is looking pretty good, but you can hear the feat at times. There were also some endurance issues that lead to some raspy playing due to kids pushing themselves over the edge. Spending some quality time on fast-tempo basics and upper body control will help there. Guard reminds me a lot of Boston's guard last year and it's not just the red. It's the writing and how they contibute to the show. Battery contribution was nice but it seemed like they were front an center a lot of the time. But it's my first time seeing them so maybe that's just the only time I noticed them. Nice job tonight and I see them finishing around 15-17 this year.

Stillwater is a HUGE Madison crowd so there was some surprise and disappointment when scores were announced. But that ended quickly once the Cavaliers began their encore. A good majority of the crowd hung around and enjoyed themselves.

So that's it for the drum corps season in Minnesota this year. Can't wait for Buffalo and although I would love finals to be in Denver or San Diego, I love having them 4 hours away in Madison!

Andy Combites

Phantom: Wow.....have they cleaned!! Added some interesting visuals in the horn line that will score them credit which, at times, bordered on "hoaky" . The horn line was at 70 members.....powerful and clean.....seems like lower voices, however, are not bold enough....but then, I play baritone. The hilight of the day for the Kilts was just before the parade: Phantom was marching past us, and we yelled in typical "parade crowd fashion", "PLAY SOMETHING." Those wonderful kids took the time to stop, form an arc and played to the Kilts for about 15 minutes.....it was WONDERFUL.....thanks, Phantom.

Pioneer: The black pants replacing the tanish ones.....well, the jury is out. I loved their old uniforms with the spats.....they look like everyone else now with the black pants and shoes.....but I do understand the change. This corps has been working its collective tail off to improve and that is showing huge dividends. Next week should be interesting.

Kilts: Well, we added some visuals and rewrote most of the closing drill for tonite. We pulled it off....but barely. We will spend time cleaning the closure and look for our score to take another leap. Horn line is on fire right now.... finally playing that tough book the way it was intended.....still some minor tempo difficulties and some articulation differences. Percussion section improves by leaps each week and the field show is getting much cleaner.

Racine Scouts: A great score for this little corps tonite. What that staff and those kids have accomplished this year is remarkable. A crowd favorite too!

Sorry, did not get to see Bandettes or Glory Cadets or Lake Erie or Strutters. We were busy making the mile trek, on foot, from the practice site to the show. No wonder many of us were bushed by the middle of the closer tonite.

Bob Doran

Well, I survived the Charles City show tonight. Introduced two new people to drum corps, my mother in law and her husband. They seemed to enjoy it and are ready to go back again next year.

Handed out several flyers for the SMIAC endeavor for next year as well. Dropped about 100 each to the Blue Stars, Capitol Regiment, Madison, and Colts souvie stands. They all were cooperative and thought this venture was a good idea.

The show was quite good. I thought all of the corps were better than last year except the Blue Stars and the Decorah Kilties.

First corps of the night was the Colt Cadets, in exhibition. They were quite small, six brass, about a dozen guard and about 6-8 in the drum section. Very young group and a good effort. Although they struggled through the show, it was a fun show, geared towards the age group performing it.

Next were the Decorah Kilties. They were smaller than last year and put out a good effort with their Styx/Rolling Stones repertoire. They fielded about a ten brass, no low brass, all sops, mellos, and french horns. Battery was small as well with only five members. They finished 8th with a 32.3.

The Americanos were on the small side as well. I hadn't seen this corps since the 70's. I enjoyed their Latin style show, but t