Blue Devils..............92.7 Madison Scouts...........89.6 Phantom Regiment.........88.8 Bluecoats................83.9 Blue Knights.............81.1 Colts....................79.3 Kiwanis Kavaliers........77.9 Boston Crusaders.........76.7 Pioneer..................72.5 Troopers.................63.5 Southwind................65.4 Thanks to Annie Lindstrom for phoning us with these scores!(and letting us listen to Blue Devils' victory concert on her cell phone!)
Southwind - Unfortunately, I arrived too late to get to my seat before Southwind performed. Sorry.
Troopers - I noticed some improvement since Hornell on Wednesday. The Troopers are still struggling with their performance and I only hope they can pull it together before Orlando.
Pioneer - This was my first viewing of Pioneer's Riverdance. All in all, I enjoyed the show. The horns are producing a nice sound, but the drumline appeared a little weak at times. The dance sequences of the guard were done well despite some reports of early season troubles with the guard moving in unison. I think this is their best show to date.
Kiwanis Kavaliers - Their performance of Evita is looking good. They've added some voice parts for the hornline in which they chanted "Evita" and later "Peron" which didn't thrill me tonight, but they might grow on me (personally, I think they should stick to playing their horns which they are doing pretty well at this point). The silks with Evita's profile in the closer are quite nice. The members seemed to have some troubles with the field tonight because I saw at least two falls - One involving one horn player tripping over another who had fallen. With a little more cleaning they might break into finals at Orlando.
Boston Crusaders - I was not thrilled with Boston's show the first time I saw it at Hershey. I did enjoy the show more tonight. Boston appears to be executing fairly well right now, but their show still lacks energy and excitement. The theme of America's conflicts and resolutions of those conflicts is a good one, but I think it actually might be too subtle within the show. Yes, the hornline portraying soldiers at points of the show helps, but I think a little more is needed. Also, I think the large frames should be painted or something.
Blue Knights - I still think the highlight of their show is the well designed drill. The brass sounded good tonight - this might be one of the best hornlines that the Knights have marched. I think there is no doubt that they will be in the top 12 this year. Watch for their drum major who actively participates in the guard during the show.
Colts - This was my first viewing of the Colts. This show is fun and loud! The Colts were the crowd's second favorite tonight. Watch for the soprano soloist who is "distracted" by one of the guard. The horns perform the rock and roll fairly well and you'll definitely find your foot tapping during the show.
Bluecoats - Despite some lackluster reviews I have read of the Bluecoats show, I still think it is one of the better shows they have put on the field in recent years. They have added a nice backdrop of a city scape since my last viewing. The horns have a maturer sound than in recent years and the drill is also a step up.
Phantom Regiment - I hate to say it, but for the first time in a few years, Phantom isn't doing very much for me. Something is missing in this show. First, I don't think the hornline is near as good as last years. Second, there are no parts of the show, particularly the visual show, which are memorable. Phantom made quite a jump last year between Allentown and finals, but I don't see it happening this year.
Madison Scouts - I love it! I'm not a diehard Madison fan, but this show is great! I think it was the first time in twenty years where I kept my eyes so focused on the guard and their portrayal of pirates, that I don't think I could tell you much about what the rest of the corps was doing. The hornline was good, as usual, but it did not have as much flash as in past years. The flash was left for the theatrics of the guard which were great. I especially like how they loot the dead pirates body, even after the show is over and most of the corps has left the field. I love it, but it won't go above 4th at Orlando. From what I've seen of SCV, Cadets and Blue Devils, the level of execution is one step above Madison's.
Blue Devils - What can I say? The Blue Devils are once again as clean as a whistle. I love the moving block of horns at the beginning. The sound that comes from a field occupied by the Devils always amazes me and this year is no exception. They didn't give caption awards tonight, but I have no doubt that the Blue Devils swept them. If they're not first at Orlando, they'll be within a couple tenths.
As always, it was a pleasure being back at Allentown. I've been attending since 1978 ( I was only 10 then!) and being in those stands always brings back great memories. I must admit, however, I miss all day prelims!!! Well, tomorrow is another show!
ALLENTOWN, (Pa.) -- The Blue Devils powered themselves to a surprisingly easy victory in the DCI East Preview before another packed house at J. Birney Crum Stadium here, widening their spread over the crowd favorite Madison Scouts to over three points -- 92.7 to 89.6. While caption awards were not announced, the margin of victory would suggest that the Concord, Calif., corps probably swept them all -- except for possibly GE visual -- with their razor sharp As Time Goes By show, based on the film Casablanca.
Blue was actually the color of choice on this night as all the corps with blue as part of their names - Blue Devils, Bluecoats, Blue Knights -- were probably the biggest successes. Disappointment was probably felt most by the Phantom Regiment, Colts, Kiwanis Kavaliers and Pioneer, who undoubtedly fell short of their expectations in the final placements.
Using another vintage program full of intricate Wayne Downey horn arrangements, stellar guard work, flowing drill and tight percussion support, the Blue Devils (66B, 24P, 34CG, 2DM) performed flawlessly in victory -- posting a score which equaled this author's prediction. The horn line rips throughout with difficult runs followed by the crystal clear big, bold impacts which have made them famous. This year's guard may be the best yet for the Devs, with a 14-person rifle line which doesn't quit throughout the show. The drum line, which has been much maligned according to some accounts on sCORPSboard, supports everything with the same openness and cleanliness as past years. The only difference may be that the book isn't as full as in the past -- featuring many more big, unison impacts which are difficult to clean, but not terribly demanding. The size of the line is also a little diminished, with only 24 performing percussion for a corps this size making it seem small. One listen to the Ditty field warm-up can tell you that its "business as usual" for the Devil drums.
Of special note from their show was the recurring As Time Goes By theme music, which transitioned the corps from song to song -- similar to the way the Glassmen transitioned through the segments of their 1995 Bach and Beethoven show with Bach's Little Fugue. You leave the stadium with As Time Goes By stuck in your head, particularly since the Devils were on last. The rotating rectangles and boxes in the visual program are also a recurring theme to properly stage the Devils' power. While these drill moves are well-executed, they may be a little overdone when compared to wide open Marc Sylvester drill design of the Cadets of Bergen County. A big unison impact leads back into the opening set box for a subtle ending to their show. While it does leave you waiting for the "big finish," it is reminiscent of their 1994 championship show when the crowd also wanted more.
Madison (64B, 33P, 28CG, 1DM) certainly wasn't a disappointment from a performance standpoint, although the Scout staff probably feel like the role of "darkhorse" for the title is slipping away with a three-point spread to make up in two weeks. While I had the Devils clearly first with the right score, 89.6 was about 1.5 low on my scorecard for a Pirates of Lake Mendota show which may be Madison's best since its last championship in 1988. Regardless of the scoring, which has slowed down in recent weeks, this show certainly seems like a refreshing change from the three-year run on driving Latin music, which seemed to get a bit stale last year.
This is another GE-packed gem featuring the best guard and visual program since 1988, with the typical powerful Madison horn line and a much better percussion package than last year. The opening set of spirals spans some 90 yards and leads to some nautical sounds from the pit percussion and the pirate masts hoisted from the color guard. An old-fashioned cleanly performed Madison rifle toss accentuates the opening statement from the full corps. That toss just sets the stage for a much more athletic performance from color guard than recent years, when the design team seemed to feature more dancing then equipment work. A simultaneously inverted and rotated drill move brings a rousing end to the opener of The Adventure Begins. The drunken sailor, complete with beverage in hand, provides the comic relief in A Day in Port, which features some older symmetrical drill sets and a very clean horn sound. Moods of the Sea has some good ideas with the horns playing backfield, but seems to need the most work. The sound reaching the audience didn't seem as clean as the rest of the program -- much like Bolero last year. The rousing Confrontation and Finale could rank up with some of Madison's best, particularly during the drum break which features the well documented work on the two-sided rotating cymbal rack which a pair of pirates (err. guard members) conduct a sword fight on top. The play-acting with the dead captain at the end of the show is fun too, although it tends to go a little long, particularly with the Devils taking the field next.
The staff of Phantom Regiment (70B, 24P, 28CG, 2DM) has to be a bit disappointed in what it's created with Richard Wagner's The Ring -- particularly coming off a share of its first championship last season and scoring only 88.8 tonight for third. That score and this show just don't seem to have this corps on the move and it may have to work hard to hold off the GE-packed and still climbing Crossmen for sixth in Orlando.
While the colors black and gold work well together, the corps' primary all black appearance is quite a bit more drab then last year, when the color guard's beautiful red dresses added a perfect visual compliment to the program. With the guard only using one set of flags -- and those also being white, black and gold -- there just seems to be no life visually to the program. Unfortunately, that "spartan" visual appearance seems to match the music, which also tends to be unapproachable and stiff. Don't get me wrong, the corps plays very well and the guard performs very well. But the emotion that carried them to the top last year just isn't present this year. I've read much about Kristy Spears' black spandex uniform as drum major and was curious to see it for myself. My take -- the uniform's fine and matches the design of the guard outfits, but where's the passion that Kristy had on the box last year? Probably the most memorable scenes from the DCI Championship telecast last year was Kristy's tearful conducting at the end of the closer -- when you could just feel the emotion from the corps through her. At least tonight's performance, while enjoyable from an execution standpoint, was mechanical and somewhat drab.
The show does feature the traditional crystal clear and classical big brass sound which is this corps' hallmark. There are several proficient guard tosses, which the crowd also appreciated. The percussion supports nicely in its beautiful new gold Premier drums, but the decision to go with just six snares (4 toms, 5 basses) is a little surprising when the corps probably had a stellar recruiting year following the championship.
The Bluecoats (64B, 30P, 32CG, 2DM) are truly drawing "Blllluuuueeees" this year from the crowd as they finished fourth at 83.9 This was my third viewing of the corps and the creative team continues to tinker with its Midnight Blue...Jazz After Dark The Bluecoats Way show, which still has to be one of their best to date. The new sunset backdrop with a color guard "catwalk" helps create the image the corps desires. The big finish with You and the Night and the Music is also new and still needs some cleaning up. I'm not sure the new finish is going to draw as big of an ovation as it did when it featured the big snare line with mounted suspended cymbals earlier this year. While I don't have access to the judges' tapes, I thought the earlier idea worked because it played on some of the corps past successes when big snare lines during Autumn Leaves helped power this corps into finals for the first two times.
The big, tight brass sound still steals the show, although both the color guard and percussion are much improved from previous years. It was good to see the seventh snare back tonight from a battery which was larger (7 snares, 5 toms, 6 basses, 4 cymbals) than both Phantom and the Blue Devils. The pretty ballad Moon still needs some more cleaning, although it is getting better. It almost appears that the corps' having so much fun playing the groove of the opener and closer that it doesn't feel as excited about slowing down for the ballad.
The design team of the Blue Knights (52B, 32P, 28CG, 2DM) deserves special kudos for a carefully crafted show featuring the difficult and somewhat esoteric Selections of Ben Hur. While the corps isn't the biggest, most proficient, or most crowd appealing -- everything in this show design fits nicely together -- good enough for fifth tonight at 81.1. The DCI Yearbook says the corps was supposed to have 60 horns, but I only counted 52 tonight. They could have probably used the extra eight for greater impact, although this show should be safely into finals and move up from last year's 12th-place finish.
The symmetrical diagonal lines of the opening set work very well, as does the drill design of the entire show. In addition to the strong visual work with the drill, the colors from the guard's flags accentuate everything perfectly, particularly the opening royal blue flags with multi-colored accents and hot fire flags against the maroon field in the battle sequence during the late middle of the program. During that battle sequence, the corps proper meshes together in a big rectangle with the guard appropriately integrated throughout. The "fire" flags and the accompanying work really give you the illusion that corps amidst a fiery battle scene. The brass and percussion sections are clean and proficient. The musical writing fits the drill design nicely. The new redwood premier drums are also striking.
The Colts (62B, 31P, 30CG, 2DM) have a big sound and entertaining show in The Music of Blood, Sweat and Tears, but seem to lack scoring potential, finishing sixth tonight at 79.3. While the full brass sound was welcomed by a fan near me who yelled "finally" during their first unison impact, the show itself has a senior corps design to it. In fact, my friend Duane DeWire (show designer for the Reading Buccaneers and several quality high school bands) and I both agreed that the Colts almost appeared a month early in Allentown, with the DCA Championships back at J. Birney Crum Stadium over Labor Day weekend. While the crowd loves loud familiar music during several "park and bark" segments, as well as the sex appeal of the leather-clad guard, the show lacks the intricacy needed for a DCI finalist. There wasn't one visual element which stood out and while the music was fun, the design deficiencies could have the Colts on the cusp of missing finals.
Like the big, bold brass sound, the drum line is loud and plays well, but not real cleanly. There are a lot of unison hits to accent key passages. Past their outfits, the colors and work of the guard seem to get lost -- possibly from a lack of full integration into the show. The drill is designed to get the horns and drums to the front sideline as much as possible and I'm not sure it really makes room for the guard. The crowd does like the concept, but the judges are a different audience.
Kiwanis Kavaliers (48B, 28P, 25CG, 1DM) came up short tonight in their attempt to contend with the finalists, finishing seventh with a surprising and disappointing 77.9. While the design team continues to add to their Evita program, drawing more-and-more from the musical itself, it appeared to me that the corps seemed to be missing a few bodies tonight. While the show design seems to keep getting better, the emotional impact didn't seem to be there tonight like it was in Hershey when this corps received a spontaneous standing ovation. Because this corps is smaller than some of the groups it will have to beat to make DCI finals, it really needs to be on the emotional edge to pick up the extra points to put it over the top. Tonight, it just didn't seem to project as well -- particularly to the upper deck where I was. I still think the show is there for this corps to challenge for 12th and its recent victories over both Carlina Crown and the Colts attest to that.
The addition of the Evita vocals at the start the show, and actually throughout, add even more flavor to the concept. The broken posed company front for the start of the Don't Cry for Me Argentina push is also a good idea, particularly when the corps comes back together for a company front in the final "big finish" forward. The guard adds proper color and proficiency to a musical program which just lacked a little "pop" tonight.
The Boston Crusaders (48B, 29P, 21CG, 2DM) were surprisingly close to Kiwanis Kavaliers tonight, finishing eighth at 76.7. While I got their placement right, I had Boston closer to ninth-place Pioneer then seventh-place Kiwanis, but that's not how the judges saw it for Boston's Portraits of Our Homeland, Conflicts and Resolutions Show.
While the show seems a little better performed than my first viewing in Hershey -- when there seemed to be some obvious individual errors, particularly in the brass -- this corps just lacks the drive and energy of the smaller Boston corps of the 1980s. The show design is very "old fashioned" in nature. While I'm sure this for a certain effect, it's just not very engaging. The drum line still appears proficient, but I really can't tell because of the old sound of the tuning. An earlier review referred to the tuning as a "wet cardboard sound" and I agree. The sound is further hampered by the appearance, which still features natural wood snares and basses and burgundy toms. The guard's black plaid outfits still don't make sense, particularly since they're not integrated well into the primarily linear drill design. I also still don't understand why they don't paint the large plywood picture frames, which open the show. After the corps utilizes then in the opening sets, the frames also just remain in the same place during the rest of the show, almost getting in the way. There were only a few times when I actually saw members march through them. The corps does the best it can with a show which seems to have some design flaws.
Pioneer (63B, 32P, 21CG, 1DM) gave the crowd its first true "open class" corps as it finished ninth for its Riverdance program with a 72.5. While the corps did feature open class size, it appears to have sacrificed quality to achieve that size as some of the cleanliness of past shows just wasn't there. To be honest, the horns aren't really putting out that much more sound, although the difficult Riverdance selections don't necessarily lend themselves to great volume. The percussion section seems to be the strongest part of this corps with a clean sound, despite intricate Irish selections and a wide open playing style. I was very impressed with the "chops" displayed by the battery, although I was disappointed they had only six snares as opposed to some of the larger snare lines when they were winning Division II championships. The guard members are beautiful and some of their work is nice. While I agree that the dancing isn't very clean, I give the staff credit for attempting it because I just don't think you can portray Riverdance without the dance.
Of special note was the effective 70-yard ripple/curve effect in the opening set. It allowed the corps to effectively build to its first statement, which didn't quite have the "pop" you'd expect from 60-plus horns. An earlier review indicated that it appeared as if Pioneer looked like a small corps which just decided to go open class, and it that seemed that way to me too. I also agree that the mid-range voices of the horn line appear to be the strength, with the sopranos still needing the most cleaning. I liked the percussion tuning throughout, particularly the lower pitched bass drums. You need that low resonance to carry out the Irish theme and Pioneer's basses gave their best rendition of Irish disco. A corps which is noted for its use of color also didn't disappoint again this year. The purple Red Riding Hood capes used by the guard in the ballad were effective, as were the beautiful red and orange flags used throughout the later middle stages of the program. I also loved the closing two-toned green and white flags from last year's show - which appear to be a Pioneer staple.
While Pioneer appears to be a Division II corps which chose open class, Southwind (29B, 28P, 14CG, 1DM) and the Troopers (31B, 15P, 19CG, 1DM) are like some open class corps which should be in D-II. That's not to say that I didn't like either corps, which finished 10th and 11th at 65.4 and 63.5 respectively.
Southwind got the show off to a rousing start with its Scenes from Childhood program, which is cute and fun, but still lacking in execution and effectiveness. The corps proper has added attractive gold sashes to its clean red and white cadet uniforms since the last time I saw it. The unis are looking more and more like the Sacramento Freelancers uniforms during their final year on the field. All sections had some nice moments, but it wasn't a real memorable show and the corps is probably resigned to a quarterfinals' end in Orlando.
The Troopers were memorable because they WERE the Troopers and they were here -- where they should be. While their program of vintage Trooper music saluting their 40-year anniversary does lack execution and will probably also meet an untimely death in quarterfinals, it did bring back memories of great Trooper corps gone by. Yes, the drumline is small (4 snares, 1 tom, 4 basses, 6 pit) and not very clean, but I would wager to say that a lot of corps would probably experience the same thing if they were reported to not be touring and then later decide to just do a half-tour. With an inexperienced group that was lacking some bodies, they started competition later then everyone else and are probably where they should be at this stage. Hopefully the staff will finish the season giving the kids a positive experience and the corps will get its financial affairs in order to begin the rebuilding process. It's just good to see them when so many other corps would have packed it in.
Their show featured a lot of circles visually. The trademark Sunburst is well received at the end, although there is also one with just the hornline in the opening statement. There is a visual and musical design flaw in the fact that the single tom player seems to be featured at different times throughout this show. While I'm sure the design team intended there to be more then one tom, it probably should have corrected for a singular player when it put the show on the field. The Glory, Glory, Hallelujah field warm-up is beautiful, while America The Beautiful has a new jazz-up 1997 feel as the closer.
The Scout drumline played the corps onto the field for retreat, which surprisingly featured no caption awards. The combined corps then played America, Oh Canada yet again and all but the Blue Devils left to the back of the field in no particular military manner. In fact, some stayed to have meetings backfield. I'm sorry DCI, contrary to popular opinion, I would still like to see each corps play itself off the field. Wouldn't it have been great to hear the Troopers play When Johnny Comes Marching Home, or Pioneer do Danny Boy, or Boston come off to Conquest? I still feel cheated, even though the Devils did their entire program again. Since I'm getting home by 2 a.m. anyway, what's the difference if it's 2:30? Most of the corps eat after the show and then members continue to play anyway - I can't imagine they're getting on the road that much earlier. While Dan Acheson and company are doing a great job making the shows more fan friendly and trying to re-establish the support base, I think they really need to take a look at the anti-climatic ending of their shows these days. At least come up with a new song.
That's just my opinion.
GE ENS PERFORMANCE
MUS VIS TOT MUS VIS TOT BRA PER VIS TOT SUB PEN FINAL PLACE
Blue Dev 188 183 371 139 140 279 92 94 92 278 92.8 (0.1) 92.7 1
MadScouts 183 181 364 131 136 267 87 91 88 266 89.7 (0.1) 89.2 2
Phantom 179 176 355 135 131 266 89 89 89 267 88.8 88.8 3
Bluecoats 171 164 335 130 126 256 83 87 79 249 84.0 (0.1) 83.9 4
BlueKghts 164 161 325 126 115 241 82 86 77 245 81.1 81.1 5
Colts 158 160 318 120 120 240 80 81 74 235 79.3 79.3 6
Kiwanis 161 154 315 118 117 235 76 78 75 229 77.9 77.9 7
BAC 151 155 306 113 119 232 74 83 72 229 76.7 76.7 8
Pioneer 147 144 291 109 107 216 72 75 71 218 72.5 72.5 9
Southwind 129 136 265 102 101 203 60 69 64 193 66.1 (0.7) 65.4 10
Troopers 125 140 265 98 92 190 55 64 61 180 63.5 63.5 11
Colorguard Scores:
Blue Devils 9.3
Madison Scouts 8.7
Phantom Regiment 8.8
Bluecoats 8.6
Blue Knights 8.0
Colts 7.7
Kiwanis Kavaliers 8.2
Boston Crusaders 7.9
Pioneer 7.4
Southwind 7.6
Troopers 6.7
Division II Spartans.................91.0 Allegiance Elite.........87.2 Jersey Surf..............85.5 Division III Third Regiment...........85.1 Spectrum.................73.4 Ridge Raiders............58.2 Thanks to Mike Seabrook for emailing us these scores!
.........................XXXX Div II Blue Stars...............89.8 Tarheel Sun..............89.8 Americanos...............86.0 Div III Mandarins................91.9 Phantom Regiment Cadets..83.4 Golden Lancers...........80.0 St. John's...............80.0 Lone Star................74.8 Yamato...................73.9 Knight Storm.............73.1 Thanks to Jim V. Brown on r.a.m.d for these scores!
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