Thanks to RGreg41282 on r.a.m.d for this review!
see scores
Just got home from the show and this is how I saw it. I can't really
anything about visual from above because I was sitting in the 11th row
staring down the barrel of the horn lines. (the way corps was meant to
be!! just kidding)
SCV cadets: good to see a corp this size playing and performing within
their abilities.
Poopers: I have never liked this corps so I'll try to keep this unbiased.
Well ... no real improvement over last year with the exception of no
mobile fencing. I guess my hat goes off to anyone who could spend the
summer in Casper dealing with all their inner-corps squabbles. I couldn't
help but notice some of the trooper pit sitting behind me saying that
they weren't required to be part of retreat. Also bragging about how they
didn't have to do anything on the 4th of July while the rest of the corps
performed at 3 parades. Now this is one tight corps! So much for me being
unbiased.
VK: Probably one of the more entertaining shows they have done in a while.
I say that in the sence of what you'd expect from VK. Excellent visual to
open the show!!! About 16 counts of silent M&M before the opening blast
from the brass and percussion. A space theme for their show, the corps
wears neat NASA jumpsuits. A big hello to the lady sitting behind me
saying,"I don't get it. Why is that guy dressed like a star trek guy. Why
are they wearing jumpsuits. Couldn't they afford uniforms?" She went on to
swear the Troopers should have won the show.
BK: I'm an x-Blue Knighter myself and I must say I'm truly disappointed in
the "faceless; now-who-were-they" approach the corps has taken over the
last few years. Sorry but the corps has NO personality! Not to say they
didn't do a great job. Hec, they run around the field from picture to
picture non stop just the way Zengalli (forgive the mispelling) would love
to see them do. This is part of the problem. BK will not revolutionize
the activity by doing something that someone else is already great at
(i.e. CADETS)!!!! Mr. Arnold, you are not going to crack top 12 living in
the past. How about some personality in your show? Until then, you guys
can sit around saying,"Gee, why won't more of the alumni come out and help
us"
Colts: see BK review. They just marched and played better. Probably not
as close to BK as the score may indicate ;) 7.1 point spread. Might be
able to get into "the big show". Still ... another corps that is all
technique, very little entertainment.
Cadets: High GE? Hec, that is the best use of 2-story props I've ever
seen!! In all seriousness, they were 12 to 15 ft. tall and 5 to 7 yards
wide and they were used very effectively. {Used in the tradition of SCV's
little floppy green tent they used to hide the drum line or change colors
of the uniforms} Not only used for visual; at one point during the drum
solo, the drum line backs up against the wall and goes nuts on the drums
and the sound has no where to go but to poor people that were forced to
sit on the 50 yard line. The brass stuff was very traditional (for the
Cadets); you know .. the sweeping lines, high exposure staccato passsages,
many small ensemble things, etc. All done ... well ... good enough to win!
Very controlled!! Almost to a fault; but never lacking in intensity. I
just didn't feel like they kicked me while they had me pinned to the
floor. (best metaphor I could think of) All said and done, they deserved
to win and only because of the technical M&M stuff. Better intervals,
upperbody control, etc. That's how BD takes 2 of 4 captions and still
takes second place.
SCV: we really got to dig deep into the nitty gritty now! High
percussion??? I don't know. I must have missed something. Not to say
they weren't worthy. I would say that SCV might be on the road to top 5
again but not this year. Madison should catch them over the next few
weeks and who knows what Phantom and Cavis are doing in direct comparison.
the corps is once again playing and marching like "they used to". Hard to
explain but it seems like they might believe in themselves again. SCV has
much cleaning in the brass dept. Not sloppy by any means. We're talking
things like making sure everyone gets softer and louder without sticking
out, everyone using the same articualtions where appropriate, etc. When
the horns go for the fortissimo, sound gets just a little "raspy" around
the edges. I really only noticed this because of the quality and dynamic
range of the Cadets. Again, not bad by any strech of the imagination!
Just the things that keep you from getting 1st place. Also good to see
SCV getting away from all the props and stuff and back to solid
fundamentals. Toys can come again later.
B Devils: Now this horn line kicked me twice while holding me to the
ground with pure power. They start out on the front sideline and ...
shall we say ... brass & perc make sure they have your undivided
attention. Yes it was loud and got louder. Lots of brass exposure that
any musical novice would say, "WOW, they have to be real careful not to
mess up". Listen a little deeper and you can hear IDENTICAL articulation
from the saprano thru contras!! Not the intricate interwoven stuff like
the Cadets. Just good 'ol BD .... BLAM_BLAM rest BLAM stuff. They win
high brass because they dared to push "the edge". While the cadets were
excellent, never really tested the extremes. Also good to see BD get away
from all the prop goodies. Lots of dance and story telling from the
guard. Biggest problem comes in at M&M. Yes the stuff you work on
starting in September definately hurt them tonight. I don't think the
show was the most demanding I'd ever seen (drill wise) but upper bodies
were bouncing everywhere. <> Oops, Sorry!
Madison: Crowd felt Madison should have beat the Vangard. Me... it was
very close. Kind of like the Cadets vs BD. Madison let it all hang out.
Why not ... look who they had to go on after!! (Madison won DATR last
year so I believe they had the option to go on last) Very entertaining
show but I'm sorry to say the soloists may never be able to have children
;) These guys had some serious range upstairs. Madison may be able to
catch SVC because they have more to clean before finals week. SCV was
good but maybe too controlled (sound wise). Madison M&M'd nicely but
pictures didn't snap like I think they may have been designed to.
Musically you can hear some things to be fixed but this has to work in
their favor. Easy fixins' to raise that score!!
Overall: It's about time we had a decent line up at DATR! I would have
loved to talk with some of the directors about the first big
"head-to-head". It really all came down to M&M. No real big difference
sound or visual between BD and Cadets. As far as top 12; there may be some
room between BD and SCV for Phantom, Cavis, or whoever. I look to see the
BC Cadets to win their 12th [sic] title.
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