July 9, 1997, Buffalo, NY

Div. I
Cadets of Bergen County..86.8
Bluecoats................78.0
Crossmen.................77.8
Kiwanis Kavaliers........69.6
Academie Musicale........66.6
Spirit of Atlanta........61.5

Div. II/III
Tarheel Sun..............79.1
Patriots.................72.5
Lake Erie Regiment.......58.4

Thanks to Sean Taylor for emailing us these scores!
Thanks to Claudia Whiting for emailing us these scores!
Thanks to Bert F. Barnes III for emailing us these scores!

Review - July 9, 1997, Buffalo, NY

Thanks to Bert F. Barnes III for emailing us this review!


Editorial notes:

Here are my thoughts in reverse order.

Lake Erie Regiment
"Songs of the High Seas", "What Do You Do With a Drunken Sailor", "Hymnsong of Philip Bliss", "The Storm - Seascape Overture Reprise"
Sorry, based on some poor planning by myself, I got to the show about half way through their performance, and rather than walk in front of someone during a performance I waited for them to finish. So I don't Have much to comment on.

Patriots
"Dragonheart", "First Knight"
30 Brass, 12 Percussion, 16 Auxiliary, 2 DMs, 60 Total
Nice Colorguard and Colorguard Uniforms, including the use of ropes and a large metal ring that some of the guard hang off from. All of the drums are grounded for the entire show, the pit is on the field, and the field is ringed by bass drums that the colorguard and pit plays on, it makes the Corps look larger on the field. The Horn Line has nice blend, but they need to get a little more sound out of their 30 Brass players. There were many nice solos, especially the Mellophone solo.

The only thing that I found to be a problem, was that there were many, many guard drops tonight, the Patriots have the defending champion guard in their class and I guess I expected a better performance from them. Still it was a very good show.

Tarheel Sun
"Sunfire Overture", "What Makes the Sun Set", "On Fire/Caribe"
52 Brass, 35 Percussion, 24 Auxiliary, 1 DM, 112 Total
Wow! These guys and girls really impressed me. For only their second year of national competition they are very mature and I believe ready to jump into Div. I. They Have a nice full sound and a strong drum line. I especially liked their opener. The only things that stuck out in my mind that needed to be fixed, is that some of the weapon work is done so close to the pit, that it gets hidden, and the closer "Caribe" seemed too short, maybe a new ending is in order. All in all a very good show, should be one of the top contenders for Div. II Championship.

Spirit of Atlanta
"Georgia on My Mind", "Old Man River", "Amazing Grace", "Walk 'Em Up the Stairs", "Let It Be Me"
50 Brass, 32 Percussion, 28 Auxiliary, 2DMs, 112 Total
First off, I have to say I really feel good that Spirit is making a comeback after some rough years. I also believe its because they went back to their roots, what made them the powerhouse they were in years past. The new corps uniforms and colorguard dresses are very nice. The horns have a very nice full sound, and they can pump out some volume! The contras and Sops are especially good. They also have a very nice Sop soloist. The drum section is strong and have a nice feature. One thing to listen for is the mellos in Walk 'em up the Stairs, very nice! The only thing i see holding them back, is a lot of holes, it makes the drill look sloppy. Tonight I only counted 10 sops, I know they have to have more than that. Fill the holes and they are ready to make a run for finals.

Academie Musicale
"Metamorphosis: A Choreographic Suite in Four Acts"
44 Brass, 21 Percussion, 24 Auxiliary, 1 DM, 90 Total
When they say "A Choreographic Suite" they mean it! There is a lot of nice body movement and dance in their show, much to the dismay of some "Old-timers". I personally liked their technique and marching style. I especially like the crab step that the corps does, both across the field and towards the stands in the third (?) movement. If you get to see them watch for the excellent guard and weapons work in the second movement, very few drops. The only thing that bothered me again was the ending of the show, the small ensemble was nice at the end, but visually i don't think the drill matches the music. Another consistently good show from Academie.

Kiwanis Kavaliers
"Evita", "Requiem", "Beunos Aires", "A New Argentina", "And the Money Kept Rolling In", "You Must Love Me", "Don't Cry For Me Argentina"
54 Brass, 28 Percussion, 28 Auxiliary, 1 DM, 111 Total
Other than CBC, this was the corps I wanted to see. The Canadian National Champion doing some of my favorite music. I like the Black uniforms and the colorguards colorful peasant dresses and silks. The corps has a strong Sop line and the whole corps has a very nice marching style. The Drum section is strong and the 8 bass drums give a nice sound and visual flair. The high points of the show are "And the Money Kept Rolling In", and especially "Don't Cry For Me Argentina" I have nothing bad to say about this corps. The show starts off slow, but ends with a bang!

Crossmen
"Birdland", "You Are My Sunshine", "Niner-Two"
56 Brass, 37 Auxiliary, 34 Percussion, 1 DM, 128 Total
Guard, Guard, and more Guard! But what a nice guard it is! I REALLY like this arrangement of Birdland, GO MELLOS GO! The horn line has a nice sound and the guard is worked into the drill very well. The driving X-men drum line is back with a vengeance which includes 9 snares. Things to watch for, fast and furious bari drill during the company front in "Niner-two" and the last chord of the show, the DM gets to have some fun and show the power of the horn line. only fault I can find with this show, is that if you have this many guard members, you are going to have a few drops, and we did tonight, but that problem should be gone by finals. They should give Magic and Bluecoats a run for the top 6.

Bluecoats
"Harlem Nocturne", "Moon", "You and the Night and the Music"
64 Brass, 30 Percussion, 32 Auxiliary, 2 DM's, 128 Total
First I gotta say it BLOOOOOOOOOOOO, now that I have that out of my system. I've been known to call this corps The Best Marching Band in DCI, but this show has changed my mind in a big way. It seems to me that this corps has grown up into the Jazz Powerhouse that it always wanted to be! The corps has what it takes to pull this music off, a great Sop line and driving drum section. Something else I noticed tonight that I haven't seen in previous years is that the Bluecoats colorguard is a force to be reckoned with, they were CLEAN and its still early in the season. The quad line is also the best I've ever seen it. What to watch for? The drum solo and unison guard work are tasty and the horn line has B*LLS ( pardon me for not being PC ). With Bluecoats, Magic and Crossmen competing so closely, one might just move up to the top 5 and surprise someone!

Cadets of Bergen County
"Year of the Dragon", "Celebration"
64 Brass, 30 Percussion, 32 Auxiliary, 2 DMs, 128 Total
The operative word in the pressbox is "WOW!" what can I say that hasn't been said before, NOTES, NOTES, NOTES, and still more NOTES! FASTER, FASTER, and no stopping till they reach 230 BPM. The Colorguard is outstanding, i only saw one drop in the entire show, and some of the best unison tosses this side of WGI. The drum line has picked up where last season left off. This show is AMAZING! You may think I'm biased, sure, I admit it. But I don't think there is anyone that can watch this show and not be held in awe. I have read in earlier posts about this show about falls and people running into each other. Last night there were no tumbles, no head on collisions, no blood or guts on the field, they gave a performance that was unbelievable. What to watch for? Everything! The things that stick out in my mind are: the opening eight bars will be talked about for years to come, the cutoff in the ballad, it was crystal clean and echoed forever in the stadium tonight, also in the ballad the doubletime guard work, and last but not least the Z-Pull that keeps going and going at the end, it was spectacular. They received standing ovations after every song. A little more cleaning and they will be untouchable. I believe the Cadets have tamed this Dragon and are going to make it soar all the way to the DCI title.

As for the scores, I would have put SOA up with and possibly above Acadamie Musicale, but that could have just been do to my love of SOA. I also would have given the X-men and Bluecoats higher scores, but it is still early, and I'm not a judge, just a diehard fan of Drumcorps.

Special treats tonight: during retreat all the corps played a combine version of America the Beautiful and O Canada, the X-men and Cadets played "Cadillac of the Skys" together after retreat, then the cadets had some fun and played an "Out of this World" version of F/G tuning that included "The Impirial March" from star wars by the baritones, "The Jetson's Theme" by the sopranos, "Mars" by the contras, and "Star Trek: The Next Generation" by the Mellophones. The standstill was concluded with the cadets playing the Ballad and Celebration.

Hey, these are my humble (perhaps biased) opinions, if you have a problem with them, flame me or send me e-mail, But last nights show was outstanding. Congratulations to all that performed. This is one of the best years for drumcorps, both Jr. and Sr. in quite a while, best of luck to all...

Bert F. Barnes III
Cadets of Bergen County Lead Baritone 89-90
US Navy 91-97
Syracuse Brigadiers Sr. Second Mellophone 97-??
"For Holy Name Shall Always Be!"
"GO BRIGS!!!"

July Scores

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