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