July 19, Houston, TX

Thanks to Terri Gailey on RAMD for this review!

In general, the first three corps on the field (Lone Star, Pioneer,
Southwind) had one trait in common:  they all did not appear to have the
confidence they need from each and every member.  There are members who
are ignoring the movement and playing consistency requirements needed for
a corps to really be able to pull off their show.  

LONE STAR: they are still struggling with a lot of things most young corps
face, such as low membership and mediocre show design. They have too many
bass drums - 6 drums look impressive, but they don't have any true impact
on the show in this case. The horn line has a tendency to wimp out on
pushing air through the horns to get a fuller sound at impact points, and
the drill was too big for them - it spread them out all over the place, so
they had timing and ensemble problems.  In their defense, they are the
longest surviving native-Texan drum corps, and I really hope they can get
a more consistent show design concept going, because that is their weakest
link right now.  They also need to boost their brass numbers if they want
to continue to carry such a large drumline.  

PIONEER: while the numbers in terms of membership are certainly up, they
still don't play with much consistency yet. I've seen this corps go from
30-50 members to this year's near 100, and they are improving. But I
didn't care for their musical book, and the drill was just, well...
unimaginative. However, those things are not the kids' fault, and they are
trying to pull it off as best they know how. It's up to their staff to fix
the other stuff.  The color guard needs more color differentiation from
the rest of the corps. 

SOUTWIND: I hate to do this, but this is the impression I got - they look
and sound like a lot of high school bands. This is not the fault of the
membership, it's a problem created by their show design team. So, in terms
of performance, they are doing the same thing Pioneer is doing - trying to
pull of a show that is not terribly interesting in design. Southwind has
been compared to pre-Petrouchka Spirit of Atlanta, and I'd have to agree.
Now, all they have to do is teach the hornline to play through the phrase
and get the body carriage of the corps more consistent. Those are the two
most needed improvements.

COLTS: they really have an excellent show!  I have never been taken by
them before, but I saw something from them that I truly respected: they
had a very, very good arrangement of their book (Sunday in the Park w/
George), they played  better than I ever remember them playing (I first
saw them in 1983), and their color guard was beautifully integrated into
the show, especially in their use of colors in relationship to the
selections they picked to play from the musical. I am utterly impressed by
the strides they have made in design AND performance. The only weakness in
their show was that they didn't build up to any big push right before
their down ending, so the audience doesn't realize that the show is over. 


MADISON: Madison has always been fun to watch, and this year is no
exception.  However, I got really, really tired of the park-n-blow
portions of the show. I saw them during their open rehearsal, and I just
don't think these sections work, especially when they park-n-play and even
the colorguard is just standing there in some strange pose/clump at the
same time!!!  All I could think was "Shouldn't the guard be doing
something here? It's not like the horn line is doing anything really
interesting here!"  And they aren't, but they are trying to make it look
that way, I suppose.  The flamenco boxes are effective (guard members
dancing on wooden boxes to get the sound of the steps of the dance - nice
ensemble there).  Visually, I liked it when they moved, especially the big
rotating front!  Musically, I came away wanting more. As always, I don't
like their sharp-edged pushes, and their screaming sops just don't compare
to those of their early 1980's shows - not that they aren't trying.

CAVALIERS: Well, I was worried about the Planets not being well arranged
this year, but I shouldn't have worried too much. Their staff did a good
job, but Mars is just too disjunct musically, as is the ending of the
show. Otherwise, the musical design is good, especially Mercury.  Visually
I was stunned! Loved their wave moves! I thought the percussion book was
just beautiful, and the guard was as classy as ever. Horns sounded great
as well. I was shocked when they didn't come out over Madison, but that is
the way of drum corps judging.

Awaiting the flames for my all-too-critical approach,

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