Blue Devils..............95.2 Cadets of Bergen County..95.1 Santa Clara Vanguard.....95.0 Glassmen.................86.6 Carolina Crown...........84.3 Blue Knights.............83.8 Kiwanis Kavaliers........81.1 Pioneer..................70.0Thanks to Babylove for emailing us these scores!
It was great seeing drum corps again. My last show that I attended was at Spartanburg on June 27, and I had the opportunity to view several corps that I had seen in the early season. Boy what a change a month and a half makes! I was accompanied by a fellow Air Force buddy of mine, Brian Coddington, who was attending his first drum corps show. To mimic an earlier post by another individual, I'll be including his comments in the review. His musical background is negligible. But he is a big Jimmy Buffet fan and if there's anything I know about Parrotheads it is this: they know what they like and they simply want to be entertained. Not "educated" or "enlightened," but entertained. Now on to the review!
Pioneer (70.0) my score (71.0) - Being the first drum corps on tonight, they received a rather warm crowd response and deservedly so. They were "on" tonight and the effort and energy were both quite evident. The Riverdance music is rhythmic and dynamic and perfectly suited for this corps, who I personally believe has their best program in years. But I will agree with other posts that the dancing needs to go. It is not done well and does not project to the back stands. The power of "riverdancing" is the thunderous rhythm of the dancers' feet on a hardwood stage. On football field grass and performed poorly, it just looks silly. Nevertheless, a good show, a warm crowd response and a great way to get us started.
Brian appeared rather bored and gave scattered applause at the end of each musical number. When asked for a response, he simply raised his eyebrows and said "it was okay."
Kiwanis Kavaliers (81.1) my score (80.1) - After a very promising early and mid-season, it is pretty obvious that this program has lost steam. Of all the corps that I had seen in early season tonight, these guys have done the least to improve their program. The choice of flags and staging is effective, but the performance level was lagging and lacked energy. The hornline clearly does not project as well as a top-12 hornline should. This is not a finalist corps, but the program is fresh and will do well in Orlando. The chanting during the performance needs to go, as it is not projecting well and is not simple enough to be understood from a great distance (I heard Peron, Peron! but whatever they had said earlier in the show is a mystery to me).
Brian's boredom continued. He didn't like the uniforms.
Blue Knights (83.8) my score (85.6) - What a beautiful, beautiful show! This show is packed from end line to end line with gorgeous visual imagery, a phenomenally artistic color guard, appropriate (not ridiculous) body sculpting, and beautifully performed music. On a competitive note, I feel they got ripped. Hopefully, they cleaned up in the Visual GE caption, easily beating the middle-tier corps as it was all there tonight. The colors and moods of Brenda Vang are scattered across the field and ad immeasurably to the show. There just are not enough good things to say about this program; it is perfectly tailored to this corps and the performance level of its members should insure a finalist spot. I thought this show had beaten both the Carolina Crown and the Glassmen. I definitely think the gap between KK and these guys is VERY misleading. Very warm crowd response.
This is the first corps that caught Brian's attention and made him sit up. He was also enthralled by the visual imagery and the competence of the drumline. He gave them a standing O. He referred to the previous corps in competition as glorified marching bands (ouch!).
Carolina Crown (84.3) my score (83.3) - This corps gets my vote for most improved since early season. The sound is there, the concept is there, and the performance level has finally arrived. Fantastic job, but whoever is designing their total visual program should be shot. Very unimaginative (though at times, appropriate) guard accouterments. They are going with some sort of "body painting" concept, with the base uniforms being the "canvas" and the skirts, riding jackets, etc. providing the color. It is a blatant ripoff of last years Cadets (as a matter of fact, I thought they were wearing the same guard uniforms as the Cadets were last year, except they laid them out in the Sun for awhile), but hey, if you're going to mimic someone it might as well be CBC. Good music and an entertaining show.
Brain appreciated the busy guard and gave this corps good support, but mostly because it was the "hometown team."
Glassmen (86.6) my score (85.2) - Hmm....how do I start? They are more entertaining than they were in '94 or '96, but is that much of a complement. The presentation of Bizet's music is rather straightforward for the Glassmen, who like to take entertaining ideas and convert them to poop. It is still decidedly "Glassed" up and drolls on from start to finish. The highlight of the show is a very competent brass line and drum line, and hopefully those are the only middle-tier victories they are enjoying. I don't get why everyone thinks these new uniforms are so great, honestly I think it is a dumb financial move for a corps to closet uniforms after 3 years and buy new ones. This performance is not very memorable and there were scattered moans and groans from the audience when it was announced that they'd beaten BK and the Crown.
Brian had gotten up to stretch his legs and got us some sodas (thanks Brian). In my opinion, he had taken the right time to do it. While he recognized these guys as a leap beyond the previous corps performances (Pioneer and KK), this was still in his "glorified marching band" category (ouch, again!).
Santa Clara Vanguard (95.0) my score (93.3) - Wow! Wow! Wow! What an emotional performance! The audience was mesmerized as the Santa Clara Vanguard presented "Fog City Sketches." Fantastic percussion work, great sound, it's all back. The first time I saw Santa Clara was in the Northwest in 1990 and I was terribly disappointed. I had long awaited a "magical" performance from this group and I received it on Aug 9, 1997. A great visual program and very high performance level. About half the crowd here thought this corps had won the show and considering the scores it was surprisingly close. When they came in third, the judges were pelted with boos followed by a raucous standing O for the Vanguard ala the Madison Scouts at last years' championships. These guys are VERY much in the hunt and the term "darkhorse" no longer applies. If they can duplicate this emotion level at Worlds "the favorite" will be much more appropriate.
Hands down Brian's favorite corps of the night. He was one of those that thought Santa Clara got ripped, too and was quite verbal in his appreciation for this corps after the judges' announcement. He had the order of placement as SCV, CBC, and BD and was disgusted at the judges' decision. He loved their snare and tenor line and relayed to me that his favorite part of drum corps is the precision of the drum lines.
Cadets of Bergen County (95.1) my score (95.0) - Movement=CBC. Difficulty=CBC. Challenging=CBC. These guys year after year continue to rewrite the standards of what young people are capable of. Great show. It is, however, more a masterful technical display than an entertaining show. I love the changes to the infamous shako dance and the humor added to the show is wonderful. Drum corps need to try and touch all of our emotions like this! They did have some minor technical problems tonight, and I wouldn't be surprised if their percussion line got beaten tonight, but it continues to be their strong caption. Some bad intervals during the faster segments of the show. Nonetheless, I thought they'd beaten the performance level of SCV, but I suppose I was letting previous show results affect my own judging. Great show. I think it is going to get beat down the stretch, though.
Holy (place your expletive here)! Brian loved the close interval whiplash maneuvers and the humor in the show. He still liked SCV, and made a point to reaffirm that.
Blue Devils (95.2) my score (95.5) - I don't like West Coast corps. I don't know why. There is something put-offish about the Blue Devils, something I can't put my finger on. I guess I just don't feel like the corps "embraces" me....it's like they're just going out of their way to show off. Nonetheless, I thought they had beaten the line-up tonight, thanks to one of the most proficient brass lines I have EVER heard. Great program! It's nice to think that we won't have to put up with ridiculous "Show of long irritating notes" program from 1996 or their "Songs for the glorification of the anti-christ" or "Songs to make children cry" program from 1995. This is all Bogey. It's accessible and it's good! And this year's most deserving corps are BD and SCV for the title, something I didn't expect myself to say again. If they continue to work heavily on their percussion performance, the title will be BD's. If not, it's anyone's race. The ending is very anti-climactic.
Brian didn't like this corps as much as the previous two, but his toe was tapping during some of the show. After all of the excitement of the program, he thought it was a stupid idea to end the program quietly, and I must agree...end the hot shows hot and the cool shows cool! Another thing that irritated him was too many screeching sopranos. Again I agree, and feel I must point out that this is one of the things that really irritates me about BD and 1994, 1995 SCV - unnecessary altissimo playing. You can play high notes, alright already! Sure it gets a response, but if you do it all the time it becomes mundane and downright irritating after awhile.
It was great having Steve Rondinaro himself doing the announcing and it really fired the crowd up when he stated the last three corps scores (95.0, 95.1, 95.2) before the placements of the last three were announced. What an exciting finish! Great show, great venue, and I'll definitely come to NightBeat again next year.
Madison Scouts...........91.9 Phantom Regiment.........90.7 Cavaliers................90.6 Bluecoats................86.7 Colts....................82.9 Boston Crusaders.........79.1 Spirit of Atlanta........74.0 Southwind................70.0 Troopers.................66.4Thanks to Chris Key for emailing us these scores!
Please keep in mind that this was my first show this year and my review is based on that fact.
Southwind - Impressive. I have had the opportunity to be in touch with this Corps from my home state. The drill was tough at times, but the sound is better than I have heard in a few years. They have a shot at top 21 but it will be close. I came into this show not knowing how I would like another kids show, but they pulled it off well. Check out the kazoo part!
Spirit of Atlanta - Spirit is BACK! awesome music and it is the beginnings of the Spirit of old. Strong percussion with a nice BIG brass sound. Guard was very showy in work and uniform. Look for them to climb back up to where they were in their glory years.
Troopers - I thought they would disappoint because of the small numbers, but their desire to be the most dedicated corps out there with the grandest of traditions was inspiring. Nice sound and good overall program. The mallets worked their fingers and wrists and arms off. You can always count on the Troopers to show up and show up well.
Boston Crusaders - Nice sound. Good use of props with frames that allowed for some nice effects. Cymbals put on a show. Great and I look forward to their score around finals night.
Bluecoats - Swanky is a good word to describe this show. The jazz is hot and so is the guard. Some of the moves out there are definitely PG-13 or above. Nice effect though with the design of the show. The stages on the field make a nice backdrop for a corps that can really swing and jazz it up under the stars. What else can you say but, "BLUUUUUUEEEEEEE!"
Colts - HELLO MOMMA! What a production. A word of advice, do not make the guard upset, they looked tough. Attitude galore on this show and I think Colts have found their niche for music selection. They were fun, flirty, and all around smooth with this show. Top twelve for sure and a crowd favorite. I personally could have placed them 3 or 4 tonight.
Phantom - Great sound as usual, but no POW that you expect. It was hard to focus on the show with the drum major's bare back and skin tight posterior in my face, but I managed quite well to understand that this corps this year seems to lack the click that they had last year. I did not feel a cohesive front that I usually get from them. Baritones are awesome and the sopranos were solid most of the time. Drum lines lacks some UMPH and I want everyone to finally realize that Phantom Regiment does not equal Kristy Spears. (Oh, and the uniform goes nicely with her ... if she were part of the guard.)
Cavaliers - Strong and clean. The Green Machine was on tonight and I would have placed them above Phantom. It was close, as the scores will show but I felt they deserved second easily. Their only weakness seemed to be a good bit of dropping by the guard. All else considered, I think we are looking between 5 and 8 for the Cavies (Please prove me wrong guys)
Madison - INCREDIBLE! The best Madison show I have ever seen in my life! What GE! What a sound! What a nice corps of young men. I got a chance to see them in a standstill clinic before the show and they were the nicest guys to be around. One thing is for sure and that is that they love their fans. Madison's big push is to keep the fans on their feet for 12 minutes or more. They almost accomplished that tonight in my book and that is what really matters to Scott and his boys. They deserved the win and when they come in 3rd or so at finals, boo if you'd like but remember that the Scouts only care about your response when it is their turn to "Enter the field."
The weather was beautiful for the DCI focus show in Jacksonville Saturday night. Although it had rained off and on most of the day in Alabama, by the time we arrived in this sleepy little southern college town it was merely overcast. By show time, we even saw some blue sky peeking from between the clouds. The temperature was actually cool... I wore my corps jacket that amazingly still fits 14 years after I first wore it :-)
I won't give any scores here, as I forgot my pen, and I'm sure someone has already posted them! Also, I can't comment on the drill designs since we sat in the 7th row.
The first corps to perform was Southwind. They were not as good as last year, although the show itself was entertaining. My wife Mo, who is still somewhat a neophyte to the marching world, liked the colorguard's outfits and the way they pretended to be children, as benefitted a show whose title is Scenes from Childhood.
Next was Spirit of Atlanta. Spirit's new uniforms look sharp. I think the guard uniforms were about the same as last year, but the corps proper now has cream-colored pants with navy jackets. A small, shiny, gold delta is formed at the bottom of the jacket, which has a diagonal seam with gold buttons. The red cummerbund contrasts nicely with the other colors.
Spirit's show is much improved over last year's also. The horns have a nicely balanced sound, and the drums were competent. From reading the program, I was afraid that I'd be comparing the music to the 1978-1980 corps, since the titles are pretty much the same. But since it has all been rearranged, it brought back the emotions and feeling of the "old" Spirit while keeping up with current trends. This is the kind of show that will hopefully attract more talented musicians to join the Spirit of Atlanta and make it a stronger corps next year. Mo also enjoyed the corps and was happy to see the new uniforms; she hated the old baby blue because she says it looked dated.
The Troopers were the next corps to perform. It was sad to see them field such a small corps, but I'm glad they're back. Mo enjoyed their musical choices because she recognized them. She also started singing the theme to "F Troop" as soon as they entered the field!
Boston Crusaders... I don't remember! Perhaps that tells you something.
There was a 15 minute intermission during which our emcee informed us that the concession stand was out of hot dogs. It seems that they were expecting a shipment via UPS. He also informed us that the Troopers' uniforms were modeled after those of the 11th Cavalry, which was so nice as to renovate Atlanta in the 1860's under the direction of General Sherman.
The Colts were on after the intermission. When the horns played their first notes all I could say was "wow". Mo enjoyed the color guard's portrayal of biker chicks. I recognized most of the music.... and it was really cool to hear God Bless the Child, which I've heard Madison's version of on tape many times. Mo and I didn't understand the window frame props, though.
Bluecoats. Eh? They lost me after Harlem Nocturne. Nice drumming and bugling, but the props seemed pointless again. Mo even made the same judgement. Note: she also mentioned that she liked Cadets' props a couple of years ago when the guard danced on the wood boxes, since it enhanced the performance.
Phantom Regiment. I think I would have been more impressed if I'd been higher up, since it looked like they were doing some cool marching design stuff, but I couldn't tell from up close. Other things I noticed: 14 contras. Only 6 or 7 snares. The Wagner was a bit heavy for Mo. And all this commotion about Kristy Spears... I don't get it. She's cute, but she's no supermodel. Her uniform is consistent with that of the color guard. She seemed to me to be an OUTSTANDING conductor, though.
Madison Scouts were the crowd favorite, as well as mine and Mo's. She was enthralled by the sword fighting and "acting." I was enthralled by the spinning cymbal rack. We were also impressed that all the music was original. Mo also compared them to the Pirates of the Caribbean thing at Disney World... and she sang "Yo ho, yo ho, a pirate's life for me" to me when she first saw the guard's pirate outfits!
Cavaliers were weird. The first minute or so with the silent drill was strange, and I don't understand how it fits with the Firebird theme. When the corps started making noises - "shoop" - the crowd giggled. I don't think that was the intended reaction. I think I might appreciate this corps more when I see them from higher up. Musically they were great, especially the drumline - very clean. But, again, Mo didn't know what to make of it. Remember, she's not a musician.
I was happy that the Scouts won, although I thought all the scores were a little low. Maybe the wet field caused some sloppiness for everyone and the judges noticed?
As far as the show site goes, I noticed a couple of problems. First, there was only one entrance. The line to get in was 100 yards long, and it moved very slowly. They should have more than one gate! Also, there was only one concession stand, with 30 minute waits for food, not to mention a lack of hot dogs. FInally, the restroom facilities were lacking... I was told that there were only five stalls in each of the two ladies' rooms. I guess the stadium was built before women attended football games!
Even with these faults, I enjoyed the evening and I can't wait to see the rest of DCI's best in Orlando.
GE ENS PERFORMANCE
MUS VIS TOT MUS VIS TOT BRA PER VIS TOT FINAL PLACE
Madison 178 184 362 140 139 279 93 93 92 278 91.9 1
Phantom 183 180 363 138 135 273 91 92 88 271 90.7 2
Cavaliers 180 181 361 135 137 272 88 95 90 273 90.6 3
Bluecoats 176 173 349 136 125 261 86 88 83 257 86.7 4
Colts 169 168 337 124 124 248 82 82 80 244 82.9 5
Boston 159 166 325 117 120 237 72 80 77 229 79.1 6
Spirit 155 156 311 113 107 220 75 71 63 209 74.0 7
Southwind 134 146 280 106 110 216 71 68 65 204 70.0 8
Troopers 128 143 271 100 100 200 60 63 70 193 66.4 9
Empire Statesmen.........90.1 Caballeros...............89.7 Brigadiers...............89.6 Bushwackers..............84.8 Hurricanes...............81.1 Buccaneers...............79.1 Rochester Crusaders......77.8 Skyliners................75.6Thanks to Babylove for emailing us these scores!
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