Thanks to Jack Dostal on r.a.m.d for this review!
Sunday's show began with partly cloudy skies, which unfortunately did
not stay that way...but more on that later...
Blue Stars (5th, 41.4) took the field first with their "Appalachian
Spring" show. As the corps staff climbed into the stands to see the show, I
yelled hi to my fellow Colts ageout Steve Larson, who is teaching the Blue
Stars' drumline this year. The Stars were about what I had expected for this
early in the year. Their drill is fairly demanding, which is unfortunately
coming through in their sound; the brass line in particular cannot play with
good quality when marching. The brass book is written very thinly, with
several spots where only 1-4 members play. With better marching and stamina,
which comes with time, this could be a good show...but until that happens, they
will remain a tough corps to sit through. (I can't say much about the drum
line...I'm a brass guy...they sounded good, for what I could tell).
Governaires (6th, 39.1) went on second, and made an immediate impact!!
This is a corps w/a small hornline (18), but really packs a punch when parking
and blowing! Birdland and Groovin' Hard kick butt, but the closer needs work.
Govies tend to lose their power when moving. The guard is small (12), but very
talented and could make a dark-horse push to take high guard honors at DCM.
Drums are intense!
Surprise #1 of the night: North Force (7th, 30.4). Being only their
3rd year in competition, and being a tiny North Dakota corps, I was not
expecting too much from this show. WOW, was I surprised! The corps enters
with four ~8x8x8 box frames (a la Glassmen '95) with raising/lowering
screens. These were a great asset, generating a "here we are" effect in the
opening, and creating a pseudo-border, limiting their marching "stage". The
gospel show is perfect for them...the demand is not as high as Blue Stars, but
at this point it is much more musical and more entertaining. The 11-point
spread between them and Blue Stars seemed quite excessive to me, though Stars
marched much better. The Force needs stamina to support their sound in the
closer.
Pioneer (2nd, 60.6) was REALLY LOUD! I wish I could have seen them
from up high, but the volume made up for that. ;) The guard still amazes
me...they all look 12-14 years old, and their work is *very* solid! The drums
are really rocking (go Basses!) and the horns are making very good sounds. The
next step for the horns is to work rises and falls...they have a habit of
sudden shifts from mp to fff; some of these are intended, but others are a
little too much. I did catch a nice shamrock form from down low (end of
opener?)... When they passed in review, they horns played right into the crowd
(I wish more corps would do that!) This corps is a serious top 15 contender,
and looks very confident and very tall on the field.
Nite Express (3rd, 56.9) on the other hand does not look very tall or
confident at all. The new unis (black pants, gray jacket, shiny black sash,
black bucket hat with gray band) are devoid of color, and the guard is dressed
in all black, making them nearly invisible. Now, I know this may fit in with
the "First Knight" theme, but ugh, they make it so hard to see any clarity on
the field! The guard silks are all solid colors; effective at some points,
bland at others. The corps right now lacks presence; when they come on the
field, there is no sense of them taking control of the field. If they can turn
this around, they could be a serioius DII conteder. The drum majors will have
a difficult time trying to match the presence that Joy Fuller had, but must
strive for it.
*Intermission*
*Rain begins*
The dousing came as the Decorah Kilties (8th, 21.7) marched on to the
field. A corps with over 50 years of experience, this is the first year that
they have put together a field show. (FYI, yes, they are older than Holy
Name/Garfiled/CBC...1932 vs. 1934) Their marching, I must admit, was nothing
short of atrocious. However, their brass and perc. sounded surprisingly good!
By the end of the first number, the rain was at downpour level, but the DKs
showed a lot of perserverance and power! They have two *excellent* soloists, a
sop and a contra, which are featured in the middle tunes (Repertoire includes
The Third Hoorah, One Rock N Roll Too Many, War Child, Always Chasing
Rainbows). They need experience and marching time, but are worth the trip.
Poor Kilties...the rain subsided right *after* their show was done.
However, the end to the showers was welcomed by Minnesota Brass (4th, 54.4).
The program lists them as 42 brass...they sounded like 68!! Unlike Govies, MBI
does not lose their power on the move. Their repertoire (The Honeymooners,
Blackbird, Caravan, medley) just rocks! The ending medley is a string of sound
bites from MBI's shows from the past 50 years, as this is their 50th
aniversary show. Everything from Dragnet to Pink Panther to Sesame Street is
in there...I believe Flash told me there were parts of 27? different shows in
there... It may seem a little convoluted, but it is *mucho* intense and a real
treat! Drumline is exceptionally solid this year, and they should be a serious
DCA contender! Guard is also very effective...excellent rifle stuff... I was
pleasantly surprised to find 3 fellow Colts (Kelly, Jane, and Derrick) in their
guard and drumline! The corps was hit with a 2.2 penalty for starting late,
presumably due to the rain, which otherwise would have put them squarely even
with Nite Express otherwise. Tonight though, NEX couldn't hold a candle to
MBI's power. MBI is a must-see...
Last, but certainly not least, were the Cadets (1st, 75.4). The
Copland show is still way dirty...drill and brass especially. But such is
typical early-season life for CBC. I did not see any total wipeouts, but one
near fall on a pass-thru...nice recovery... I knew I'd be seeing dirt when
during the warmup, one of the rifles was practicing a five...he dropped 3
times, then over-rotated two, before finally catching the five on the sixth
try...
The tall frames had only their bottom canvas on tonight, again
presumably due to the rain. The show has plenty of sweet drill, 16th note
runs, and big hits...all of which are dirty right now. The 75.4 was generous,
IMHO...the kids are still having to literally run through parts of the drill
instead of march because they haven't gotten to that level of marching...yet.
It will come, and when it does, look out!!! Loud, fast, entertaining, (the
town drunk is perfect!)...Cadets will be dowright scary this year... :)
Retreat was DM only, even though the rain had stopped...so I have
nothing to add to the America/O Canada debate. Cadets deferred the post-show
concert to MBI (in an effort to get on the road sooner, I guess). Those who
stayed just got hosed with sound!!! Oooohhbaby,, loud sh*t is so d*mn cool!!!
However, there is no such thing as enough low brass... :) I want more next
time, Flash!!! ;-)
As reported here by Matt Elcock, Troopers did not show. The show
sponsor read a letter from DCM before the show, explaining the situation. They
offered people refunds for their tickets, but I don't know if anyone walked
out...it didn't seem like anyone left. I was unaware that the Troopers
situation also included a director change...that is tough for any corps to deal
with. Anyway, my best to the Troopers...get on the road as soon as you can,
because there's some pretty cool stuff for you to see (and hopefully to show)
out there on the field...
Jack Dostal
Colts 91,92,94,95
Seattle Web Factory
CyberCorps Web Page Designers.
CyberWebMistress Cathy DoserLast updated: June 25, 1996
Web and Page design ©1995 Seattle Web Factory