Blue Devils..............93.0 Cadets of Bergen County..92.6 Bluecoats................85.4 Magic of Orlando.........83.4 Kiwanis Kavaliers........80.6 Boston Crusaders.........76.2 Pioneer..................71.4 Americanos...............57.5 Thanks to Phil Lehenbauer for emailing us these scores!
Blue Devils: WOW! That about sums it up for everyone who was sitting around me as well! The brass line plays with control at all levels! Would love to talk about the percussion too, but there just isn't enough room here to tell all the stuff about how awesome they play AND march! The Night In Tunisia section is a total gas! Will they win in Orlando? This show definitely is championship caliber! BD wins the G.E. and Ensemble captions.
Cadets of Bergen County: WOW #2! I was tired just watching them after the first 2 minutes! Heck, I was tired just watching their percussion line march let alone play....and boy can they play! Probably explains why they won the performance percussion caption. Marc Sylvester offers us fans another eye twisting visual package that's sure to be a Cadets' classic! Cadets have put yet another composer, Phillip Sparke, on the map! It's between Cadets and BD for the title this year!
Bluecoats: This is Canton's best horn line to date! Reminds you of their "classic" brass lines of the late 80's. And just when you thought it was safe to give the brass all the praise, how about the guard and drums? You and the Night and the Music is sure to be another Bluecoats classic similar to Autumn Leaves. Can 'ol Blue sneak into the top 6? We'll see how much more "umph" they can crank up in this show. Don't count these guys out folks!
Magic of Orlando: The Little Liza Jane recurring theme was a hit tonight! This show offers a lot to watch, and at times too much. This year's edition of Magic will take it to the next level for the Orlando based corps, but I fear that Bluecoats, Crossmen, and Glassmen may pass them by.
Kiwanis Kavaliers: The Evita show is improving! Whether or not they can tweak and tune it up anymore is the question! A VERY FINE performance musically tonight! Would love to see another Canadian finalist some time soon, and these guys may be it! Keep up the good work Kavaliers!
Boston Crusaders: Many thought that Pioneer should have beaten Boston tonight, and I have to say I agree. Crusaders horn line was a bit too loose, and the drum book seems to be too muddy at times. Being a percussion major who marched many years in corps, I suggest re-tuning the snares. They sound like wet cardboard, and seem to hinder the performance of what looks like a very proficient line.
Pioneer: Riverdance drum corps style! And they play it mighty fine! Their mellophones can play with the best of 'em! Lots of notes done very clean tonight! If these guys ain't knocking on the door come finals night, something's wrong!
Americanos: Lots of energy, they seem to be having fun, and you can hum the tunes they play (Gloria Estefan) after you leave the stadium! That's the way it should be with more corps! I applaud this year's version of the Americanos for playing a demanding show very well! The have a nice sounding corps for as young as they are.
In closing, I would like to publicly protest Cadets director George Hopkins' lack of respect for the rest of the corps in competition. The Cadets kept everyone waiting by not marching out with the rest of the corps for retreat. They decided to come out after making everyone wait 10 mins, and did it at their own pace. I'm all for penalizing a corps who doesn't march on to the field with the rest of the competing corps! In this case it was downright rude! There's no reason that Cadets could [not] have exited the field after their performance and marched right around and lined up for retreat with the rest of the corps! Why they decided to go off on their own kind of confirms the fact that Mr. Hopkins thinks the rules should cater to his corps some nights while the others don't matter.
PRELIMS: Division II Tarheel Sun..............88.2 Allegiance Elite.........76.3 Division III Mandarins................89.5 East Coast Jazz..........88.9 Patriots.................86.2 St. John's...............83.8 Phantom Regiment Cadets..81.9 Knight Storm.............80.4 Golden Lancers...........77.7 Lone Star................77.0 Senateurs................76.5 General Butler Vagabonds.73.2 Delta Brigade............72.8 Stentors.................66.9 Mirage...................65.2 Conqueror II.............63.9 Coachmen.................62.8 Emerald Knights..........62.6 The Volunteers...........61.8 Wabash Crusaders.........54.0 Dutch Boy................52.5 Ridge Raiders............50.4 Squires..................48.3 FINALS: In Exhibition: Dutch Boy Yamato Division II Tarheel Sun..............88.5 Allegiance Elite.........78.5 Division III Mandarins................90.1 East Coast Jazz..........88.5 Patriots.................87.8 St.John's................83.1 Phantom Regiment Cadets..82.4 Knight Storm.............77.7 Golden Lancers...........76.6 Lone Star................75.5 Thanks to Ontario Drum Corps Association for emailing us these scores!
Santa Clara Vanguard.....91.0 - Brs, Perc, Vis Cavaliers................89.4 - GE Crossmen.................85.7 Blue Knights.............82.2 Spirit of Atlanta........72.1 Southwind................69.4 Troopers.................63.7 Spartans.................60.6 Thanks to Babylove for emailing us these scores! Thanks to Andrew Do for emailing us these scores!
I'm finally writing a review of a show after 20 years of attending (2/3 of my life). Obviously, I'm an addict! Although I have never marched, I feel drum corps in my blood.
First let me say that Hornell is one of the best show sites I've ever been to. After driving five hours to attend the show, we found a very friendly city, a nice show site (although small), and an incredibly appreciative audience. Thanks Hornell.
The competition was tremendous. This was the first show that I've seen since Hershey. Here are my thoughts.
Spartans - A nice show that, although at times seemed to drag, made the Spartans a welcome addition to what was an open class show. They marched only 34 horns, but produced a nice sound.
Spirit of Atlanta - Wow have they come a long way since Hershey!! The show brings back fond memories of the Spirit of the late 70's. Good Southern jazz that is played with "Spirit". The horn line particularly has brought Spirit back into the hearts of the fans. They received the first standing ovation of the night.
Southwind - Southwind has not done as much since Hershey. They've added some cute little aspects to the show and the "marching band" section of Children's March is neat, but the show lacks punch. Musically they did not appear to have come very far in three weeks.
Troopers - This was the first time that I caught Troop this year. The loyal fan who waves the 7th Cavalry flag and yells "They're always Ready" was present which started the show off nicely. I liked the Troopers show which brought back memories of past great Trooper years, particularly American Salute, but the lack of practice and competition time is certainly showing at this point. The sunburst was nice, but where were the traditional flags?
Blue Knights - This was also my first viewing of the Knights show this year. What an original show! I really enjoyed the musical selections from Ben Hur. The drill of the opener really seemed to be awesome, but I couldn't tell for sure since the grandstand wasn't all that high. The hornline has more punch than last year and seems to be ensembling well at this point. Although I enjoyed the show, the crowd response was only lukewarm.
Crossmen - Wow! Now granted, I am biased because I've followed bones since '77, but this show sizzles. The hornline has really come along since Hershey, the marching is vastly improved and the drumline, as always, is hot, and that Guard! The Crossmen's execution has drastically improved since Hershey. I will be the first to admit that the Crossmen have not often had real crowd pleasing shows over the years, but this is completely different! They brought the house down with constant applause interruptions and an extended and loud standing ovation at the end. The only thing I can see holding the Cross out of the elite six is that the drill is not as complex as it could be. Go get 'em bones!
Santa Clara Vanguard - Also a first viewing and the one word that comes to mind is Execution! The Vanguard is clean! This is the best performance I've seen them give in a couple of years. The opener really moves and the hornline is really crisp, clear and loud! But the show didn't seem to appeal to the crowd (with the exception of the top two rows and I) and most people were still in their seats at the show's conclusion. I could actually see Vanguard pushing the top spots this year, but this crowd did not feel so. Perhaps it was the fact that they went on after Crossmen tonight.
Cavaliers - also a first viewing. After everything that I've heard, I didn't think I would like their show, but I was wrong. I very much enjoy the music from Firebird and it was highlighted by a nearly flawless guard. The silent opener (with the exception of the chants of the corps) was interesting and the entire visual show seemed to be typically Cavaliers. I don't feel that the hornline was up to [the] Cavaliers' standards and that could be what is holding them back at this point. They received the third full standing ovation of the night.
In closing, this was a great show. There are very few corps shows that I don't like this year and Orlando is going to be great. Although the crowd did not agree with the scoring tonight (Many had the Crossmen at the top and Vanguard third) I thought the judges were right on the money. One last thought - I really like a crowd that stands when the corps pass in front of the grandstand. This crowd did, but I've been to too many shows recently where everyone but a few long time fans were sitting while the corps passed. Come on people, what effort does it take to stand when those kids pass in front of you!
Seattle Web Factory
CyberCorps Web Page Designers.
CyberWebMistress Caryn RobertsWeb and Page design ©1995-97 Seattle Web Factory