Thanks to Tom on r.a.m.d for this review! Will it ever stop raining?!? This was my second show of the summer and it rained again. For those of you who read my review from Geneva, AL, we had yet another night of no scores due to the weather. The corps were apparently given the option to perform their full show or a standstill. All (except Magic) chose to give a standstill. We in the stands were definitely dissapointed, but understand. All standstills were reasonably well received. Crown gave a better performance than last evening. However, I want to restate my opinion that their book does not stand on it's own musically. I am reminded of underscore music in a film. It is one effect after another that makes no sense unless the visual is present. I do realize that this is an audio/visual activity but let's not totally forget the audio. Unless some attention is paid to the musical side of the activity, we might as well go to prerecorded music to accompany our visual presentations. Magic, on the other hand, performed their full show. This was a very smart move on their part because the judges gave them a "read" on their program via tape. Needless to say, the crowd went crazy! Some thoughts on their show: Musically, this show is incredible! I don't know if this music is available for band or orchestra, but I would suspect that it will see a lot of play after this summer. The horns/percussion don't play as well on the move as I'm sure they will. This appears to be due to the "newness" of the drill, etc. However, once they get the drill under their feet, they should be very strong. The horn line plays very musically, with a very mature sound and approach to the instruments. I again want to emphasize the strength of Magic's pit. I purposely sat low in the stands to get a better feel for what they were doing. I'm not sure I've ever heard a book with this content....and they are playing it! Sure, it has a few rough edges, but a few weeks on the road will take care of that. Visually, the potential in Magic's show is there. To be honest, I'm surprised that they are so close to Crown (who I understand is very strong visually) with the drill as dirty as it is (Can this be a sign?). However, the content of the program is there. Once the drill and guard is clean, they should skyrocket. The guard is doing some of the most interesting work (potentially) I've seen in a while. At one point in the show, they use ladders to creat this industrial type of atmosphere which is very effective. A large bi-plane literally flys across the field at one point (thank you Orville and Wilbur!). The ending of the program with the large black silks is very effective. It looks as if the "rocket" is literally blasting off into space. Overall, I think Magic has a lot of potential. It will come down to how the visual program develops. I'm still trying to decide whether it's worth the drive to the next show to see Crown and the other southern corps, or to go back home to Birmingham and wait until later this season. If nothing else, I've got to try to get a Magic shirt (being a new fan of the corps). I couldn't get close to their souviner trailer due to the crowd around it! Oh well....If I do go on to the next show, I'll post one more review. Go South! Tom UAB Blazers
Last updated: July 20, 1996
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