Thanks to Jack Bornstein on RAMD, and Brian Greer on RAMD for these reviews! Internet E-Mail Review - Jonesboro, GA 7/12/95 It was a nice night for drum corps. Temperatures hit the mid-90's during the day, but the temperature in stands was bearable. First up was Lone Star, featuring 22 brass, 5 snare, 4 tenor, 6 bass, 0 cymbals, 7 pit, and 9 guard, & 2 DM. Their show, "On the Grand Prairie Texas", had plenty of odd meters, but wasn't too difficult. Lone Star's marching style was very mature, and musically they were very controlled. It seemed like they only had one lead soprano, so when he took a breath the whole horn line suffered. 63.8 in division II/III. Next was Delta Brigade, from Arkansas. 23 horns, 4 snares, 3 tenors, 4 basses, 0 cymbals, 8 pit, 10 guard, 1 DM. This show, entitled "Child's Play", was fun. Music included "Sesame Street", "The Alphabet Song", Jesus Loves Me", and "Sing a Song". The kids sitting in front of me really enjoyed this corps. At one point the guard ran around with huge 7' pencils! They seemed to run out of gas at the end. 68.3 in division II/III. Southwind performed third. Their program this year is entirely gospel music, and it sounds like it could be a "Spirit's Greatest Hits from the 70's" compilation (by K-Tel?). 39 horns, 6 snares, 3 tenors, 5 bass, 6 cym, 7 pit, 18 guard, 1 DM. The guard wore loud purple outfits. I'm getting tired of Southwind's red uniforms. Time for a change there. Southwind's sound was much louder and crisper than the first two corps. I guess that's one of the differences between div I and div II! 63.6, 5th place. After a brief intermission, where Niel and I met Chris Cavanova (Suncoast bass until last week) and Troy Montgomery (Crossmen alum), the Crossmen came on. Crossmen were dirty as usual for early season. They marched 42 horns, 6 snares, 3 tenors, 5 basses, 8(!) cymbals, 9 pit, 20 guard, and 1 DM. I can describe the snare line with one word: MYLAR! Tommy Igoe should LOVE this line! They kinda sound like the Bridgemen: the snares are tuned a little on the low side, with a little bit of ring. The plastic heads have SO much more dynamic range than Kevlar. Basses had lots of unisons, especially when some cymbal or pit players picked up 5 more basses for a total of 10. They rocked! 4th with a 70.8. Next up was Magic of Orlando doing an original Robert Smith show. 50 horns, 7 snares, 3 tenors, 5 basses, 6 cym, 10 pit, 32 guard, 2 DM. Very nice horn sound, but only average drumming. I didn't care for the show, but they're going to make a run at the top-12 this year. 2nd, 73.7. Carolina Crown was next with a very entertaining "Stormworks" presentation. Lots of pit toys to sound like thunder. 50 horns, 6 snares, 3 tenors, 6 basses, 0 cym, 12(!) pit. Fairly innovative drill. Fun to watch this corps, as they keep getting better every year. 3rd, 71.7. Last was the Cadets, winning by 10 points with a 83.7. Incredible show, props and all. "Swing, Swing, Swing" was the highlight of the evening. The consensus of my group was that the ending needs to be rewritten. We felt let down after the production number. I was amazed at how the drill was not written around the props... instead marchers had to swerve at times to avoid hitting a tree or a light pole. Commentary: I was not upset at the use of props. Hell, SCV has been using 'em for years. I'm a little nervous that other corps will attempt to imitate Cadets, and the next thing we'll see is a corps pull up to a stadium with 6 semis full of stages, lights, etc and put on a Broadway show. Maybe DCI should pass a rule limiting the number of props on the field somehow? My $.02. This was the first Atlanta show I have seen since 1987 in which I had to actually buy my tickets (I usually get to sit in the press box doing cash control). I liked it. - -Jack -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Division II/III Lone Star 63.8 - - This corps is unbelievably better than I can ever remember them being in the past. A strong drumline combined with what seems to be a larger and more talented horn line should see this corps in a nice position in August. Delta Brigade 68.3 - - Wow! What a change! This corps had always seemed like the "kiddie corps" and was the butt of many jokes when I was on tour in 1993. Not anymore! They have pulled it together in a big way. The average age appears to be up by at least 3 or 4 years it seems...I can remember everyone looking 12 last time I saw them. Open Class Southwind 63.6 - - Don't worry about them holding a spread against any other corps. These guys are decent, and entertaining enough, but it seems to rely on loud blasts for effect and sort of just wanders through the rest of the charts. They seem to have much more in common with 1994 than 93, 92, or even 91. Back then, they always seemed to have a nice beautiful controlled sound from the horns, but in this year and last year they turned to a brash blasting sound...not too good. I liked the cymbals and the bass line, and bits of the guard work...the horn line needs lots of work (and based off of how their horns sounded even at Boston last year, I wonder if the staff even has a clue!). Crossmen 70.8 - - No, I didn't skip over Crown...they DID beat Crossmen tonight in Atlanta. The corps did not sell the show to me...at all. I don't know if it is because the style change was too much for me, or if they didn't execute well enough to get me excited...could be a combination of many things. I think the plastic heads work for the snare line. I do miss the playing style the snares had before...they are now playing much tighter and lower...back to how they drummed in 1990 and 1989...except not even that exciting (to me). The horn line has lots of holes, and are playing very weak in places. I can remember thinking that this is way above their heads at points in the show, but it still is early in the season. About half the crowd was standing at the end of the show, but I didn't feel a thing through the entire show...frankly, I found Lone Star more exciting and entertaining. Carolina Crown 71.7 - - They've done it! Before the show, I talked to some old corps buddies of mine from the past few years and we talked about Crown passing Crossmen at some point in the season...we had no idea that it might happen tonight! They are very good. They sell the complex symphonic style a lot better than Crossmen do and proved it tonight in the scores. The corps is a lot bigger and still has a great brass sound. They had problems tonight, but it appears everything will gel in the end. It will be a very exciting summer for Crown members, and hopefully edging out the Crossmen in a July DCS show is just the beginning for them. I heard from members after the show that they got chewed out for how bad their performance was. Judges liked it... Magic of Orlando 73.7 - - Their horn line is very good right now. They have a great sound. The snare line was the least entertaining and most un-impressive. As usual, I found their book to be the thinnest of the evening. I thought Lone Star and Delta Brigade played more notes (talking about snare lines here). The show was good, and got me to my feet, but also left me wondering...if things seem to be coming together so well right now, what will they do in August when people like Crown are closing in and Magic has nothing to add to their show? Cadets of Bergen County 83.7 - - I read all the hype. I was ready to be floored...except I wasn't. I don't like all the props. Yes, they present a marching challenge to the members and maybe they get some point boost for it...but, it clutters the area. It would be nice if they brought them out, and put them away...but not leave them there the entire show...The only stand out items to me were the tenor line (these guys are GODS!) and "Sing, Sing, Sing." I kept thinking of the Bluecoats during it and wondering if someone was taking a stab at them...but Cadets did it up great...really loud and the guard absolutely ran the show. Good, but I would hesitate to call them great no matter what the score says. That's how I saw it. AND, I talked to a CyberCorps member before the show for a while, but I can't seem to remember his name. If you see this, Mr. Nashville fellow (we talked about David who marched a contra with Spirit in 1993 among many other things) drop me a line! At any rate, I had fun hanging with old corps friends back amongst the buses and equipment trucks. I wasn't able to find my friends in Crossmen's drumline, but given the results of the night, assumed they might be off having a gripe session about the scores/staff/show/whatever. BTW, their drumline is worse off than last year. Their tenor line was very dirty and blew their solo lick just like I was told they would. Brian.
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