Well, my first attempt at a show review for this summer. It doesn't help that I've stayed up the whole night reading other posts & getting ready for the weekend either. I won't be able to write any reviews right away this weekend as I will be up in LA (away from home & computer in San Diego) for the 3 shows there.

To be up front, I will say that I am Brass Caption Head for the San Diego Alliance and some of the following corps are our local competition. Due to scheduling problems with many of our members we were not able to perform tonight, so I got to play spectator the entire evening. Even so, I will not try to put "spin" or anything like that on this review. It's strictly my opinions & would be the same were I sitting this season out as a spectator again. Further, my concentration tends to be on the music, with visual coming a distant second. I don't know percussion or guard so reserve most of my comments in those areas.

The show was the Esperanza Experience here in San Diego. The stadium & the weather could not have been better. Great looking field. Perfectly comfortable temperature, with only the slightest hint of a breeze. I was told by an Esperanza staffer who helped coordinate the show that the attendance was around 900. I would have estimated quite a bit more than that. Either way, Esperanza did a fantastic job of putting on this show. It was probably the best drum corps show in San Diego in many years.

First on was Legend of Texas (50.55) . White uni's with red & blue accents. This small corps (27 total by my count) was quite entertaining. About 10 horns; 3guard. Good music selections. Visual show was fun. They would have more impact if they weren't so far backfield all the time. Very respectable & entertaining job.

West Coast Sound (59.00) [8sop/4mello/8bari/5contra /11guard /3snare/3tenor/4bass/3cym] Modified uni's look less like the old Marauder tops & have a black flap that reminds me of the white flap Freelancers used to have. Seemed like a big corps after Legend. About 24 horns. Challenging show. They put out some good volume at times. Some timing problems here & there, but that's to be expected this early. This show will really come along in time. No tunes I leave humming, but entertaining.

Esperanza (58.95) [~20marching band horns, including 5 tubas/24-28guard/4snare/2tenor/5bass] First show tonight. They sounded really good in the warm-up arc outside the stadium, but I didn't feel that translated on the field. Probably 1st day jitters & they'll be much better over the weekend. Tough show, opening with Canzona. Being familiar with this piece thanks to Cavies playing it some years back makes it easier to get into the show. The rest of the music was unrecognizable. This group had a very nice colorguard. The very large flags used at the end of the closer are a beautiful visual impact. This is the first group that I've seen on non-G instruments. I am a traditionalist, to the point of wanting only 2-valve horns in my line. Even so, based on all I had read about Blue Devils & Garfield this year, I was expecting that the Bb horns would sound just as good, & perhaps have better intonation than the bugles. WRONG. While I think Esperanza has some talented players, the marching band horns are a definite liability. Though their numbers are nearly the same as West Coast Sound, they didn't have a fraction of the sound, power, or projection. After one of their "hits"a friend leaned over & said "that should have nailed us to the wall." I would estimate that this same horn line would be 50-75% louder if they were playing real drum & bugle corps instruments.

Pacific Crest (69.25) [~42 horns (est.)/38guard/8snare/4tenor/5bass/5cym] First show of the night to part the audiences hair. (Seemed even louder following Esperanza) Forget the theme and all you've heard about it being a Joan of Arc show. Except for the occasional cross popping up here & there, you'd never know this is supposed to be a heavy themed show. Nope, it's just good (no, GREAT) solid drum corps! This group has all the elements to be top 12, just in a slightly smaller package. Visual show fits the music as well or better than anything else on the field tonight. I recorded in mono to get the most time on my minidisc, but I will record this one in stereo in the future, because the stereo imaging of the sound is so very important in this production. The sound really moves around much more than in the average show. The guard seems overwhelmingly massive. (In number, not the individual members) Good features of soloists & small ensembles. If you haven't seen Pacific Crest (& unless you've been in CA, you haven't) you would be amazed at how polished & professional this show design is, & how mature the corps is. Truly a hidden jewel of So. Cal. Though followed by 4 good Div I corps, I think this was the most entertaining show of the evening. Better than Troopers & damn near as good as Glassmen.

Troopers (53.65) [15sop/7mello/14bari/10contra/~20guard (est.)/6 or 7snare/4tenor/5bass] Unis seem plainer than I remember them, like they removed piping or buttons or something. Nice show. Good solid drum corps, but they shouldn't follow PC on. Why? They are clearly outclassed by them. Some timing issues. Soloists weren't really on or in tune much of the time. Straightforward drumcorps (the way I usually like it) but it seemed, well, unsophisticated after PC. Sunburst in closer got some applause. I haven't seen them in a few years, & understand they are rebuilding from being down to as low as ~60 members, so it's stronger now. I guess it's about what you'd expect from Troopers early season.

OK, it's now nearly 6am, and my corps starts rehearsal in 1hr & 8 min. so I must go. (more importantly, after being insomniac all night, I'm suddenly ready to sleep. I guess if I can get on later I'll post the rest. If not, I will after the weekend. Hope you enjoy the amount I was able to get written thus far.

Quickies on the remaining 3:

Glassmen. - love the uni's, but the guard unis seem to have nothing to do with the show, & while they have all the elements that should make them sexy, they didn't seem sexy to me. Good arrangements of Gershwin. At this point, I'll still take the '82 Garfield or '85 Spirit shows (same tune for those of you too young to remember), but hey, it's only the 1st show of the year & it's going to get better & better & better. Easy music to "get into." (& I did)

Santa Clara Vanguard - I disagree with my friend Paul Rendon's assessment. I don't think this show is harder than last years. I also don't think it's even close to last years. They didn't march the last 2-3 min. They look & sound very small for a top 6 corps. Only 60 horns by my count. Had several holes (i.e.. bass 4). Drill doesn't help the situation. Makes them look even smaller. Of course it's wonderful & sophisticated & incredibly well done, but that's a given at this level. One phenomenal moment in the show - Adagio for strings. They hold out the resolution power chord for about 12 seconds... but it seems like 30 the first time you hear it. My goosebumps literally did not go away for 2 min afterwards. However, one moment does not a show make. Last year, 1st viewing, I knew Santa Clara Vanguard had a championship caliber show. I'm pretty sure this year they don't.

Blue Knights - I'm not a Blue Knights fan. Usually their shows leave me cold emotionally. However, after Santa Clara Vanguard, I thought they were great. They look half again as big as Santa Clara Vanguard. Lot's of field coverage with tough exposure for the horns. Drums are featured well both musically & in the drill. Great low brass feature in middle of show, but needs to be cleaned yet. Hard to make out what they're playing. Personally, I felt they did beat Glassmen and Santa Clara Vanguard. I'd never have said that before (I'm a fan of both other corps.) This is my opinion both technically and as a spectator. Blue Knights clearly won the show tonight. (The judges just got it wrong.)

Now see... I've written another 14 minutes. I must go get my 1/2 hr of sleep. Can't wait to see your responses when I get back.

Mike Margraf

San Diego Alliance Drum & Bugle Corps www.sandiegoalliance.org

June 22	Review:	San Diego, CA	DCI Pacific
Thanks to Joe Salvatore for E-mailing his review directly to reviews@scorpsboard.com!

I would like the readers of Mike Margraf's review [above] to know a bit more about this very talented individual. I marched in corps competing against Mike for 6 years (1984 to 1989). Most notably, Mike had to perform a very moving standstill performance with his corps in the 1989 final retreat ceremony right in front of my eyes and ears (as I was with the DCI Champion SCV and he was with the 2nd place Phantom Regiment).

That same year he won the soprano IE championship. He beat out some very notable people, like my good friend, Larry Shane, (Florida Wave) who arranged the Mixed Ensemble that beat SCV and everyone else that year and was the closer soloist for BD in their 1990 Tommy performance (Mike finished his marching career alongside Larry that year).

I respect Mike's views of Drum Corps shows (gosh knows how often we used to disagree about views of corps) and I enjoyed reading this review [above]. I especially enjoyed the writing style and would love to see Mike write for some other well-known DC periodicals. His personality would also lend itself to a certain broadcast of the DC activity that takes place in August on PBS. Thanks for sharing this show with us, Mike. We will continue to look for your insightful show reviews.

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