Here's a few thoughts on the Madison show, June 8
Scouts---On field enterance into the fleur-de-lis still the best. Into warm up immediately--lovely backfield sound, nice control. Goes right into show---guard comes in on two masted pirate ship. Biggest and best guard the Scouts have had in years. They are the story line, member is a pirate, all dressed differently from a Captain Hook looking one to one who had nothing on but shorts and boots. The horn line is going to be very strong, nice impact. Drum line is big and good. Very entertaining and exciting, much more so than I thought it would be when I saw them at their open house. Nothing will ever top what the put out in 1995, but this one will come close.
Pioneer--doing Riverdance. Ok, where's the dancing. Hopefully they'll have it in soon or it defeat the concept. I'm sure it will be though, the guard of Pioneer is always good and this year should be no exception. There are problems in the horn line. It's the biggest they've ever had but there were lots of technique problems. Percussion and visual are going to carry them for awhile.
Capital Sound---they have grown up! There are balance problems between brass and percussion (30 brass, 29 percussion) but the show is very good. The production of "Sophisticated Lady" and "It don't Mean a Thing" is very close to the '82 Bridgemen version. They surprised alot of people--probably even more so than when they debuted their first corps in 1995.
Blue Star---they had 13 brass, looked like there were about 20 holes. They are doing Dante's Divine Comedy by Robert W. Smith. Very demanding. The larger horn line is going to be needed badly soon for them to pull this one off. Stil though, typical Blue Star in musical style and drill design.
Phantom Regiment Cadets---possible DCM division III finalist. Don't know what the purpose of the trees on the field is, they kind of distract from the rest of the show of music by James Curnow. Excellent drum line.
Decorah Kilites--also doing Dante's Divine Comedy. It's too demanding for them although they do seem more confident than last year which was their first year on the field.
And finally also performing was one of the finest summer bands in the area, the Sound of Sun Prairie. All original music again. Pit consisted of five synthesizers. The constant loud hum of the applifiers was very distractiing and annoying. (Take note George). Woodwinds, well they just weren't made to be played outside. But it is an interesting show.
Frank
I guess I'll add my comments to the reviewers from Madison.
Sound of Sun Prarie--This band has had a championship program for years. I don't like synthesisors (and generators) on the field but, whatever. Their show was very short, but nice and to the point.
Decorah Kilties--Congrats on a terrific recruiting year! It was wonderful to see all those Kilts on the field! I only heard pieces of their show from the backfield but it sounds like a very challenging book. The drill looked "not complete", but this is to be expected for early June. Nice job! One problem. Blue Star and Decorah doing very similar shows and will be seen together often in DCM Div. II/III. This could be a challenge for both corps.
PRC--Both my sons march PRC. Kenton (12) plays second soprano and Aaron (14) plays in the front ensemble or as us olde timers call it, THE PIT! I've seen the show develop from early January and it has come a very long way. Other reviewers may be correct, but I can tell you first hand that PRC has it's sites set on DCM finals and then beyond. See this show and then think back on the past few years. PRC is back.
Already, many comments concerning the trees. It's the beginning of the show concept that will continue to evolve over the next few weeks. The corps appreciates your comments. And what about the horn players that got biffed by the trees. Those things will work themselves out. I know of one mellophone player who won the battle with the hardwood and "chopped down" one of the sapplings only to have a baritone player have to maneuver around the fallen tree for the next 32 counts. He came through flawlessly after continuingly backing and stepping over the trunk three times. What a fun evening. What a great crowd and the kids had a great time with the show. Should be a great summer for PRC.
Blue Stars--This is a difficult book and there aren't enough horn players yet. I saw seven on the sideline at the exhibition in Jackson, WI earlier on Saturday. Those seven bodies will help, but there doesn't seem to be enough of a drum book to me. The middle number doesn't hold my interest. This corps always marches clean and this year is no exception to that. Huge (seven person) holes were kept spaced and intact throughout the show. Once those spots are filled it could be a okay year for Blue Star. That may not be good enough for them, though.
Capital Sound--Ellington. Well, I saw 90 kids. Nice size corps. Great flags. There was alot of dirt in this show (which can be expected) but as another review stated, the closing flags are great. I am a sucker for big flags! They step into a tough Div. II class even with the departures and other corps moving to Div. I. This show doesn't have a meaty book, but challenging music doesn't get scores, cleanliness gets scores. If they can clean, they can do well.
Pioneer--Sorry, but this was a disappointment for me. If this was a year ago with this show, it would have been timely and novel. Now, many people have seen the video of Riverdance and can recognize the music. This contributes to what I will call the "hum a long" factor. Hmmm. Tempos were very slow and the third tune was skittering on the train wreck side of things. Maybe the slow tempos had to do with the lack of dance movements. Riverdance fits Pioneer, but can Pioneer overcome all of the Riverdance obstacles? Quick tempos, tons of movement, odd meter markings and probably the most difficult show in all of drum corps. Maybe ever... But, as I said before, you don't earn points for difficulty, you earn them on execution. This coupled with a step up to Div. I means more long rehearsals for Pioneer. I can't picture them in Top 12. But, I haven't seen Blue Knights yet.
Madison--Check my posts from last year and you will see that I, (unlike the rest of Wisconsin) am not the world's biggest Madison Scouts fan. But, I have two words for this year's show. OH, MY!!!!
Forget what you may have heard from other folks. This show was a treat! I had the best time I have had in a long time watching Madison. Everything was under control and the visual focus was directed perfectly.
Okay, what didn't I like. The sopranos are weaker than in the past two years, but this really takes a great deal of the lazer edge horn jet away. What are left with. A great baritone and contra sound and overall better hornline balance.
The drumline was also much more in control this year. The past year's twelve man tenor line (difficult to clean) is replaced by other visual effects. The spinning cymbal rack is lifted from Les E'toire from last year, but it works for me.
Most of all, the guard was terrific. They were pirates! Not cartoons of pirates! Visually, this is a show with a sort of, "Hey, Cadets of Bergen County, IN YOUR FACE." kind of attitude about it. No one ever said the CBC had sole license on production value. Madison capitalizes on great (and useful) props and an outstanding guard. Gone are the boxes and trellises. The pirate ship appears and stuns you even though you know it's going to happen.
I heard mixed reviews following the Open House about Madison's book, but I thoght everything looked great last evening.
Congrats to all the corps. Looks like a fun '97.
Tom Brace
Well, the drum corps season is upon us!!!
Last night was the Capital Sound's Music in Motion drum corps show in Madison, Wisconsin.
Dekorah Kilties:
These guys have a good start. I think the corps is young and will take
a while to develop. They are large for only a second year corps and it
is nice to see a corps stay strong in this day and age. I look forward
to seeing them again possibly at DCM and see how they have improved.
Phantom Regiment Cadets:
They had a good show. Looks like they might have some talent this year
I was pretty impressed for the first show of the year. They had the
props this year, trees, I guess I didn't really understand them and I
assume they will come in more to the show later on in the season. I
like the props because for a smaller corps it makes them appear to be
larger if they are staged right, which these were. So it was nice to
see PRC doing well.
Blue Stars:
These guys seemed to have a shaky start this year. I
wasn't as impressed with them as I have been in the past. But Blue Star
has always made a run for the Championship, hopefully they can do that
again this summer. I was very impressed with a young lady named Molly,
who basically has a rifle solo through the whole show. The drum line
was pretty good, but a little overbearing. Hopefully the horns will
develop to match their sound. Looking forward to seeing them later on
this summer.
Capital Sound:
Well, I was impressed with the size of the corps. The
guard uniforms were nice, but could've been a bit less revealing. Um, I
was impressed with the mellophone soloist, but thought they overdid that
a little. I thought it was good for them to try playing jazz, but jazz
is difficult, and if they were going to go with the show they have, they
should've made some of the parts a little easier to get the jazz feel
across. The guard did a nice job, I liked the final flags. Overall, I
think they have a lot of work to do to compete in Division II.
Pioneer:
Well these guys are going to have a very nice show once it is
clean. There are some really nice things going on in the music, the
sops and mellos have some great licks and features that are going to be
really nice when they are cleaned up. Riverdance works well with the
Pioneer. I was impressed. Watch out for these guys, they will make a
run for top 12 this year!!
And last but not least.. Madison:
Well, what can you say. I thought it lost a lot on the field. I saw
them at Open House and REALLY liked them! I thought the music was
great. On the field, there really waan't a lot to it. Technically, I
don't think the book is that challenging. The drumline has a cool
little feature, but other than that the only thing that caught my
attention was them playing loud a lot. (I know that is pretty
descriptive, give me a break, I am a horn player :) ) There wasn't a
"drum break" but just that little feature. Nice idea for the feature,
they had the tenors on one side and the snares on the other and then two
of the pit people on either end rotating this cymbal stand. Then they
all rotated back and forth while jamming on the cymbals. It was pretty
neat!! The guard was colorful and had some great props, including a
huge pirate ship. I would have to say they were the highlight of the
show. I am sure the show will be changed and tweaked but as a first
impression on the field, I was not real impressed. I hope they can make
it work.
So there ya have it. Please, these are just my opinions, don't get all
debbie defensive on me if my opinion is different than yours. I would
like some feedback and hope to have a mature discussion about the shows
that I saw this weekend. Keep in mind I am aware that this is only the
first show of the season, but also first impressions are very important.
Yours in drum corps,
Jo :)
1987-1991 CapitalAires
1992-1993 Bluecoats
1995 Coachmen Horn Line Instructor
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