We had a thread like this last year (it's a sticky), and I figured we could use a place to organize our reviews of shows again this year, since the Opening Night thread has been a little more discussion oriented.

I went to the Pittsburgh, PA show last night, here's my review:

Southwind-In the Loop
There's real potential for a good show here, but there are a lot of execution problems. LOTS of phasing between the brass and percussion, battery and front ensemble, and low and high brass at times. A lot of what the battery was playing was noticeable filler, just long, 2-bar rolls and whatnot, but it was just the second day of competition, so I can't hold that against them. The notes that they do have written are pretty cool, and I've always had a bit of a soft spot for SW. They're underappreciated. In the lot, I was able to see their entire percussion section, and they were really smoking, so the potential is there, they just need to put it together on the field. The brass was surprisingly loud and had a great sound, but there was some aforementioned phasing at times. The drill lacked some cohesiveness at times, but it looked like they had a lot of holes, so that might have had something to do with it.

Score: 57.000, 5th place.

Glassmen-Gitano
Great thematic show, and the arranging is great. The music is very well put together for this point in the season, but some serious execution flaws in the drill. Lots of crooked lines, misformed arcs/circles, etc. The guard looked great and played an enormous role in the show. Essentially, the first minute and a half of the show is oceanic, tribal, piratey percussion, and then the brass does a backfield step, turns to the crowd and just wails at an eardrum-blistering level for the following minute. This show has a lot of potential, and I'd be willing to bet that they'll have a similar score pattern throughout the season as last year.

Score: 65.100, 4th place

Cavaliers-And So It Goes
When they announced that they were doing the music of Billy Joel, I was a bit skeptical, but I was willing to give them a shot... after they posted the audio a few days ago, I really couldn't wait to see it. The show is absolutely smoking. The percussion is tight as ever for this time of season, the brass has mad chops, the arranging is fantastic, and the guard looks awesome. While I didn't think that they deserved first place last night, I have a feeling I saw this year's champion in that show. Very fun show to watch and listen to, and I'm really excited to see how the show turns out.

Score: 75.050, 1st place

Bluecoats-Criminal
I love this show... it was definitely a crowd favorite, and they're giving off the same vibe Phantom gave off last year: They're here to be a dark horse contender for a high placement. The music arrangement was great, and the brass has some very breathtaking moments, in terms of difficulty and sheer volume. The percussion section has some serious notes, and I can't wait to see how they're going to evolve throughout the rest of the season. The thing that upset me was that the last minute and a half of the show was not choreographed for the guard, so while the entire corps is going nuts at triple forte, the brass is wailing, the percussion is pounding, there was no visual backup for it. It sounded great, and the rest of the show for the guard looked incredible, including flag work with chained handcuffs on, but that last 90 seconds just left a sour taste in my mouth. Again, I reiterate that it's the second day of competition, so I can't hold that against them. I want to see this show as much as I can this summer to see how it works out. Oh, and very effective use of amplification. If everyone used it like that, there would be no debate as to why it's ok to use it.

Score: 72.700, 3rd place

The Cadets-This I Believe
They're back. It's great to see them in their old-school uniforms, playing awesome notes with a great theme. When I first heard the audio, I was worried that they would over do the amplification, but to be completely honest, it's not as gaudy as I thought it would be. It's a bit much at times, but it really isn't horribly annoying. There are some very funny moments, some very touching moments, and some beautiful music. Blue Shades was fantastic, don't let the audio fool you into thinking it's just a narration-fest. There is plenty of time devoted to the music. The opener will melt your face off. The drill has moments that are standard, but used very creatively, and other times that will leave your head spinning. Great show, definitely a contender for the top spot this year.

Score: 73.500, 2nd place

Some other interesting moments:
When the Coats came on, everyone started "blooing," and when I yelled "Bloooooo," the woman in front of me had a fit. She told me that I was a poor sport and that what I was doing was in bad taste, that no one deserved to be booed. Then a Bluecoats alum and myself explained the difference between "boo" and "bloo". She was still upset about it, though.

After two groups of people yelled out names for Coats' members during the silence before the drum major's salute to no real avail, I screamed "Go Jay," directed at DLO's very own Cheese, and it echoed for what seemed like an eternity, so much so that people in the surrounding sections had surprised expressions that I can't repeat on here. The woman who yelled at me had her head turned, so I (sort of) unfortunately yelled directly in her ear. She was upset about that, too.

The Cadets played the encore, and we got down in the second row on the 50 yard line... the brass was wailing, and this poor little 5 year old kid was trying to cover his ears, but he still wanted to clap, so he wedged his head under his dad's arm so that he could do both. For the record, it wasn't just because he was so young... my ears were feeling thick after sitting that close with as loud as they were playing. They played Shenandoah, Yesterday, another song I can't remember, Rocky Point (the loudest of them all), and, with the battery, the Back to the Future theme. Good stuff, and a lot of fun to watch.

That's funny about the bluecoats thing, I remember the first time I heard blooing, I was shocked too until someone explained it

Same here. At the Orlando 2005 show. it was my first DCI show ever. And I was a tool back then, so when I hear people "blooing", I thought they were booing . . . So I started booing also. little did I know, I was actually complimenting them. heh.

my mom was like "Why are they booing them so much!? I liked them a lot! they had a good show!"

heh. the good ol' days.

Did anybody go to the Alpharetta, Georgia show last night? The Cadets were AWESOME! And Carolina Crown had an amazing show also. I'm glad to see the do this well so far this season.

Interesting night it sounds like you had, Jaco. Yeah, I'm waiting for DCI North Texas so I can shout Jay's name, too, at the top of my lungs. =D

ill be at murfesburo and indy so ill write something up then

i guess i'm the first one to write about the west coast situation...I went to the riverside show since i couldn't attend the walnut show, even though its closer to my house by 2 hours of driving.

Academy - I was relieving myself when the show started, so i couldn't really see, but when the corps started playing the guy on the next stall and i shivered, then we looked at each other and went, "i'm glad i'm in the stall cuz i wouldve pissed in my pants" Academy definately deserves to be in div 1. i think it was the fan favorite of the night.

Santa Clara Vanguard: The line actually sounds ok despite the high schoolers in it. I don't remember clearly but they were cleaner than the devils at times. Can't really say much on this because my mom kept going, "that other one in the red was better [academy] than this one" yes, my mom is a new fan.

blue devils: they brought the rack again! rack and roll, if you will. they have so much energy into this show. i'm not going to comment much on any of the brass stuff since i know 0.01% about the wind world. the battery is pretty dirty as they always are in early season, but man those tom racks are friggin crazy. no cymbals on the racks- just 8 big toms that the battery just goes around beating it to death with. the whole drumline had this intense choreography going on that must require some serious muscle. if you want an analogy, last year's choreography with the drumline(during the snare break and a lil bit after that where the battery does the turn thing playing FFFF sixtuplets) was more like a slow dance, but this year's moves are tango kinda moves: fast and hard to catch up with. no dirt in the moves at least.


for some reason, i have no recollection of what the vanguard or the blue devils played for the on field warmup. i blame it on my mom's constant reiteration of "the corps in the red was better" and my sister's "i hate their uniforms," but it could be that i'm starting to show my age....

i can't wait until finals. overall, the west coast shows weren't very memorable to me, so i'm expecting a bang out of the eastern corps.

The AZ show

The Acadmey- For a new Div I corps, they did very well in my opinion. The brass got a little out on a few occasions. They did O.K. Keep an out for them though.

SCV- They had the tightest formations and the best visuals I have seen thus far. The cymbals were amzing and the marching was spot on. The only thing for me was the color guard was much to diversly colored; much to much going on. They disappeared in the lot, cuz they were unloading and then they were gone. Slightly dissapointing not being able to see them warmup.

BD- They did the best, barely. I think SCV should have taken it, but BD did a superb job. The color guard was very simplistic, yet complex at the same time, making the show very intersting. I loved how everyone was moving and weaving in 'n out. The snares were better in the lot. I saw them for 30 min before hand and they nailed their piece. On the field, they were a bit frantic, but still pretty decent.( I didn't realize Brohard and Jackson or even Bierek weren't marching. I know Casey is doing BD C/B corps and Jackson is coaching the tenors, but what happened to Mike???)
The Blue Devils or SCV didn't do an on-field warmup, but SCV had a much cleaner line than BD.
But the show belonged to the Academy.

I'm going to the Elizabeth, PA show tonight... Phantom, Crown, Boston, BK, and Crossmen are the Div. I corps, so I'll be able to get a good, early look at most of the top 12 corps, since there are no repeats from the Pittsburgh show. Expect a full-fledged review late tonight or tomorrow.

As promised, here's the Elizabeth, PA show... corps are in order of tentative appearance, and not actual appearance:

Teal Sound-Voices of the Sun
They were supposed to perform first, but actually performed third... There was no intermission, so my mind wandered a bit through their show, but I was sincerely impressed by the musicianship and talent displayed. The thing that stuck out the most was how noticeably short the show was... it might have been 10 minutes. Regardless, the music selection was very good, and the show was pretty cohesive. The drill wasn't overwhelmingly dizzying or anything like that, but I was surprisingly engaged throughout most of the show. The percussion was pretty tight for the most part, and the horns held their own. They were always in tune, but there were a couple rough attacks and releases. A little bit of phasing as well, but nothing that completely made the show unlistenable. Good stuff!

Score: 66.950, First place, Div. I

Crossmen-Symphonic Metamorphosis
I really liked this show. The music was absolutely fantastic, and they really played with a lot of emotion and color. The battery was pretty tight, but the snares were exceptionally wet, and it really made it sound a bit dirty at points. At the rate their going however, they'll be really clean by Finals. The horns were lush and very easy to listen to, no horrendous flaws that would be expected to be fixed at this point in the season. It was a crowd favorite, and a pleasure to listen to and watch. They'll be going places very quickly, I can assure you. This change of pace, what with Texas and a new director, surely seems like a good thing at this point.

Score: 69.150, Fifth place

Boston Crusaders-A Picasso Suite
I liked this show... the music selection was great, and the corps as a whole was very tight, but it lacked a certain sensitivity. The entire show was performed at a minimum of mezzo forte... and that was during the very beginning of the ballad. There was very little dynamic variance; the first and last 4 minutes of the show were performed at or above fortissimo. The musicianship as far as notes, rhythms, and attacks and releases go was superb, but it was just a sonic assault on the ears. The show design is great, and the color guard is a lot of fun to watch... they were pretty clean and did some interesting stuff dressed as painters with easels. Another good one to keep an eye out for.

Score: 74.040, Fourth place

Blue Knights-Dark Dances
Overwhemingly surprised that the title of the show contained no cheesy allusion to the word "Knight," coupled with the fact that it was Dmitri Shostakovitch in their repertoire, I was supremely excited to see the show. Unfortunately, it left a bit of a sour taste in my mouth. I've never been a huge fan of BK... their shows seem to be abstract, dissonant, and not too entertaining for me, and this was no exception. Don't get me wrong, it was a great show technically; the brass was spot-on, the battery was tight, the color guard looked graceful and effortless, and the mallets were flying all over the place at times... I just wasn't too entertained by it. Part of it might have been the fact that it was pouring down rain during their performance, so I'll give them the benefit of the doubt.

Score: 75.250, Third place

Carolina Crown-Triple Crown
This show was my (as well as the entire crowd's, it seemed) favorite show of the night. The music (what a selection, might I add) is beautifully done... my second favorite hornline for a reason. Their sound has never been so lush, and it's so flawless for this point in the season. The percussion is infinitely better than last year, although they still have some work to do... regardless, it's a significant improvement, and after last year, it's awesome seeing them work as a cohesive unit. The color guard performs as horses (hence the title of the show), but it isn't as corny as it sounds. It's a lot of fun, and there are some great laughs as well as some serious notes and musical integrity there. They were less than a point and a half off of Phantom... I wonder what would've happened had it rained a bit less during their performance.

Score: 79.200, Second place

Phantom Regiment-On Air
I was really hoping that Phantom would do something great, and they really did. The show is damn near flawless for this point in the season. The brass is smoking, the percussion is so tight, and the whole show is just one cohesive entity, from start to finish. I can't stress how much cohesiveness means to me. The new sash/drum color combo is fantastic... I'd never thought I'd say Phantom looked so good in (iridescent) green. This is definitely a contender for a top spot, and after watching Coats, Cadets, and Cavies at the Pittsburgh show, I'm very excited to see how things will begin to work themselves out. I hope everyone gets a chance to see the show... its a perfect example of what drum corps is about. Great selections in music, superb musicianship, a fantastic guard, and a heart-racing ending (with the Firebird Suite, of course).

Score: 80.500, First place


The encore was also notable... Phantom performed, and the very first selection was Shostakovich's Fifth Symphony, Fourth Movement... It felt as though I was sitting in the stands watching their 1996 Finals performance, which I was too young to even know about at the time. They played it with the same intensity they played their actual show, and it was a blast to watch and listen to.

I wish the weather had been better, as the corps were really struggling at times to fight the rain and wind... the guards all had their share of drops and sails, and the batteries did lose a couple sticks. All-in-all, though, it was a great night.

good review jaco. Crown's definitely the corps I'm keeping my eye on.

I saw a couple vids with a Phantom encore, playing a Shostakovich medley with the 5th in it. The arrangement they played was actually the one from 1974 I believe; the low brass have more of the melody. And I also heard a bit of the 2003 opener (in a drumline clip), I'd really like to see them play that.

I was also at the Elizabeth, PA show, but my review is probably not going to be as eloquent as jaco's. Also, I didn't see Teal's or BAC's show because I was busy getting my ears blown off by the Phantom brass warmup.

Another note – due to the rain, most of the corps were unplugged tonight. Yay for old school!

Crossmen

Their review may be longer than the others because I saw them in rehearsal and spoke to a few of their staff and members. Plus, I may be a bit biased because they're family. Anywho...

There was a vast improvement from last year in every caption. The battery finally had some of that swagger back, especially during their lot. The first movement was a medley of Russian Christmas Music, First Circle, Birdland, and Deep in the Heart of Texas to name a few. Could be very cool if they bumped the tempo a little bit to add some drama. They have a ballad that's actually more of a drum feature than anything with snare solos and drum pods. There's also a really nice park and bark section where the hornline is doing some of their most intricate playing, contrary to what you'd usually hear during those types of sections.

Overall, the percussion is MUCH better than the past couple years, especially this early in the season. Nice little balls to the walls drum feature – sort of reminded me of Puma when Thurston was writing. The biggest issue in the percussion right now is the phasing that occasionally occurs both back to front between battery and pit and side to side within the pit. The visual program has the corps spread out from end-zone to end-zone quite a bit which adds to the difficulty. I do prefer the battery writing more than last year, but I'm still on the fence about the pit arrangements. They have a few runs and features, but sometimes it doesn't seem to correspond to the rest of the music at all. Perhaps it was just some minor phasing between the vibes and marimbas, but they haven't quite found the pocket yet.

The visual program is eons ahead of any of their other captions, and the scores show it. The new white trim on the jackets and aussies look really good under the lights, and the guard is well on their way. Mark Sylvester’s drill is definitely evident with some nice integration between the corps and the guard. However, they move better than they sound. In my opinion, they were the weakest hornline out there last night, with respect to volume. After some asking around, apparently, their staff has the teaching philosophy of “we’re going to sound good first then bump the volume”. Unfortunately, their brass scores aren’t showing any improvement because the judges just CAN’T HEAR THEM, besides some nasty intonation problems coming out of the mello line. Lots of exposed parts that just weren’t done well. Hopefully they’ll have that all straightened out by finals time.

Overall, I liked their show a lot more than I thought I would, but there’s a lot of room for improvement. They also have some drill changes on tap so it’ll be interesting to see how they end up. The new staff is definitely more serious this year and won’t be satisfied with anything less than making Finals.

Blue Knights

I honestly had ADHD during their show. Everything was done…well, but it just didn’t hold my attention. Their opener was a Shostakovich tune that I recognized from one of Phantom’s old shows and that sounded pretty nice. Nothing really memorable for me – it was just a well done show that everyone has learned to expect from them. I’m just REALLY tired of the body movement which they did throughout the entire opener and ballad.

Carolina Crown

Okay, I’ll admit it. This is the first Crown show that I’ve liked. Ever. They take advantage of their show concept without being extremely corny, despite their use of horse gates as props. However, those were integrated into their drill quite well in the closer. And ya know, I’d actually put Crown’s brass over Phantom at this show. Whether it be the rain or whatever, Crown seemed to have the better sound and soloists. And finally – they have a percussion section to match their hornline. They’re definitely more integrated with the horn book and playing with some aggression. By the end of the season, I could see their show easily in the top 5 - perhaps ahead of Bluecoats because it seems like Crown has a lot more room to grow.

Phantom Regiment

Let me preface this by saying that I’m in love with Phantom, and they certainly didn’t disappoint. They sort of looked like those little goombas from Super Mario Bros. last night since they weren’t wearing their plumes. This show has more emotional moments than Faust last year, in my opinion. The drumline is on par with last year (clean, playing some notes, and really pretty teal fade on their drums), but I don’t think that the pit arrangement is integrated as well as it has been. Don’t get me wrong – they did have a lot of nice features that were played well with the most dynamic contrast of the night. The talent and the ears are there. Hornline was amazing as usual, even with little blips here and there and some demanding drill. Flower Duet was my favorite ballad with the flugel duet – it was a shame because it didn’t come out as well as it did during their rehearsal that afternoon. The closer ends in a formation that could easily adapted into a wedge by the time Finals rolls around…My only real problem with this show is the guard uniform. It’s some sort of American Indian costume with the bright colored fringe – I really don’t get it. There’s going to be some real competition at the top.

Encore – Phantom Regiment

If you get a chance to watch Phantom doing the encore, do it. And make sure that you sit about 5 rows from the front – it’s amazing how powerful their hornline is. I think I had to change my pants after they played “Nessun Dorma”.

Anyway, that’s all I got. Forgive me for not being able to remember more details – I hate writing things down at shows.

You're true about Crossmen, Patty. When I saw them at the TX drum corps preview: 1: You're right about their lot this year. It's not only a lot more enjoyable, but seems more powerful, if that makes sense. I've never thought there's something better in the beginning of a lot session than to hear the power of 8th's starting. Surprisingly, they did the Russian Christmas Music big pretty nicely. I wasn't in PA last night, but they executed that one pretty loud... Really, I think they have a great show ,but maybe some things could be adjusted.

I'm still very anxious to see Phantom, Cavaliers and Vanguard. DCI TX takes too long!

Patty... I sat 8 rows up on the 50 during the encore... I'm assuming we were within speaking distance, haha. Small world.

Oh, and I thought Phantom's guard uniforms were supposed to be birds? My girlfriend said it looked more like Pocahontas.

PR's guard uniforms aren't done. They have 3 more additions to make to it this summer.

This is from the Lexington, KY show on the 26th of June. I only saw a few corps actually perform since I stayed in the lot for awhile.

Phantom Regiment: They have an incredible ensemble, a great sounding brass section, and the cleanest line I've ever heard in June. It amazes me how good they are right now. Their show didn't do a whole lot for me though. The opener blew me away but I lost interest as the show progressed. I also have to question the necessity of the black props. I wasn't high enough to see the drill. Great performers but I could see them peaking too early. I also liked the drumline book except that every exposed lick sounds sort of the same.

Cadets: Wow. I might be a little biased having a friend playing there but I was blown away by their show. I've heard complaints about the narration but for me, it worked. The beginning was a tad annoying but as it went on, it felt more like thoughts made audible and less like narration. The music did a much better job of building suspense than in PR's show. I was on the edge of my seat just waiting for that big hit. The brass was very, very loud and the drumline is playing a ton of notes.

Southwind: I was supposed to be playing snare there this year so I am a little biased towards them as well. I liked the show concept. There were a lot of holes in the drill. The drumline is almost all rookies but with such a great staff, they'll definitely improve as the season progesses.

Good luck to everyone.

Anyone with a little Mempho love?

Hey, Nex! How's the season going?

We're doing really well . . . you can check out the thread Alex, Chris and I have somewhere in here and send some care packages to the Bethel address for the week we spend if you're nice

I went to the Canton, OH show last night. Road trip! Great show. Corps are in order of appearance.

Pioneer-Fields of Green
Well, it was a step in the right direction for them. They actually added a piece (Holst's Suite in Eb for Military Band) that wasn't traditional Irish. We got there way early, and as the first corps, they were pretty much the only full battery warming up, so we watched them for a bit. They played through this really groovy 6/8 section a bunch of times, and the battery is moderately clean. The snares are a bit dirty, but their tuning (which I don't like) covers it up pretty well. Their show wasn't bad... they took a couple of their traditional Irish pieces and switched it up a little bit. One was the aforementioned 6/8 jungle groove, one was a brass combo-style jazz piece that was a lot of fun. I don't expect anything outrageous from Pioneer, but their show was fun to watch and listen to, and there was a lot of energy.

Score: 65.250, 6th place

Blue Stars-Power and Grace
I hadn't seen this show before, but I was REALLY impressed. It obviously wasn't the most technically clean show of the night, but they're in great shape for this point in the season. The first chord they open with is played at FFF, and I wasn't paying attention, looking at my book, and it scared the crap out of me. The uniforms' half white-half blue design lends a lot to the visual aspect of their show, particularly when the corps splits in opposite directions. They did a great job with Firebird, and a great job with Swan Lake. The crowd really enjoyed this show. If you get a chance, please check them out.

Score: 73.250, 5th place

Colts-Equinox
This show wasn't really my favorite of the night... it was a little slow at points and didn't have that certain something to really keep me interested through the whole thing. Regardless, they were consistent and clean the whole way through. The guard did a great job, the percussion was clean, and the book has definitely improved as Jeff Queen has gotten more feedback and experience. It's a good show, and it's worth watching for the mere technicality of it.

Score: 75.000, 4th place

Blue Devils-Winged Victory
This was also the first time I had seen this show, and they absolutely blew me away. The horn line is fantastic, and the battery is just absolutely smoking. One slightly sad part of the show was during a particularly breakneck drill section, the center snare crashed and burned pretty hard. The battery had some absolutely sick notes during that point, and kept it together incredibly well without their center snare, who couldn't get his drum on straight or his sound projector out of the way. I wish they would have incorporated the tom rack more, or at least brought it out further, but it's a great show with some great notes... Check these guys out if you get an opportunity.

Score: 83.600, 2nd place

The Cavaliers-And So It Goes
This was the second time I had seen their show. It wowed me the first time, and it kicked my butt the second time. After talking with Bruno Zuccala (guard designer) in the lot, he said there were a lot of huge changes they had made, and he was worried they wouldn't score that well. No need to worry, Bruno. No doubt after their last note that they won the evening. The guard put so much energy into the performance, you could just feel it. It isn't often when a guard REALLY sticks out to me, but it was fantastic. The battery is clean, clean, clean. The opener is the most crowd-enveloping 2 and a half minutes I've ever been a part of. The only aspect of the show I don't like is the end... it either needs more, or less. They sort of end the show at MF, not like big, powerful chords, nor is it quiet fading into the end. Regardless, it was the cleanest show of the night, and the Cadets have to be unreal to continue to outscore them.

Score: 84.400, 1st place

Bluecoats-Criminal
The show has developed a ton since I saw them last. They added orange elastic to the drums to redo the effect they had last year with Connexus, and the guard uniforms are awesome, and add a lot more to the theme than the last time I saw them, prior to the uniforms. The crowd's favorite point of the show was the strip tease, in which a baritone plays a real sleazy hornline while a guard girl takes off the orange prison jumpsuit into a sexier, red and black number. The show wasn't the most technically sound of the night, and I was a little disappointed, because I thought that they would have been smoking at the rate they were going, as well as it being their home show. That's not to say it wasn't a good show. It was an absolute blast, and enjoyable to the last second. Jay is really representing DLO well... the battery is clean and the book is great. I hope they start getting their stuff together, because it's a great show with a LOT of potential.

Score: 83.450, 3rd place

How did BD's center snare crash and burn? What happened?

i'm sad to hear the center snare crashed...if i remember correctly that part was supposed to be pretty crazy with the drill and choreography, given the music

The brass lined up diagonally with gaps ever 4 people or so, and the entire battery serpentined its way through the line, with some pretty sick notes... the snare started going backwards and I dunno if he ran into someone or just slipped, but he ate it.

i just realized that the center snare was matt regua...aww man that sucks. at least it wasn't finals. then it would've been another infamous crash.

Patty's ticking . . . I expected a Charleston review by now

We're back at Bethel for a couple days. If I had more time before Ensemble block I'd review (well, more overview-like) the shows I've seen so far. I'll try to do that tonight or tomorrow before we leave for the Jacksonville, AL show this Sunday.

She certainly is!

Man, BD really climbed to the top. I wish for SCV to get higher, and would like Crossmen to get higher, too. =D

Charleston, WV – July 10

My apologies for slacking on getting a review up – real life has been interfering. Anyway, I don’t remember all that much, but here are my impressions from that show. Keep in mind that I was a little grumpy because the show had an hour and 15 minute rain delay, and I was surrounded by clueless bandos who refused to stop talking throughout the entire show. I do understand how much work each of these groups have put into their shows, but these are my impressions of their products.

Memphis Sound

Though I may be biased since some of our DLO members march here, they had one of the more enjoyable shows of the evening. Dug the opening vocals of Sol Fa, but it would’ve been more effective if it was louder. It got lost in the big stadium. I already liked the song “Song of Aeolus”, so I was pleasantly surprised by it. They had some minor phasing issues back to front throughout, as well as during their closer. Their pit was disproportionately huge for a Div 3 (10 in front), and they didn’t even have the volume I was expecting. Balance and accuracy issues throughout the opener and the ballad really ruined them for me. However, all in all, I really enjoyed the program – it had a good flow to it, and there was a lot of power coming from that little hornline. Arrangements were nicely done, and the line sounded a lot better than the corps after them.

Colt Cadets

Now, I understand that this is the Colts feeder corps and most of these kids are young – but did they have to choose a repertoire that reflected that? It felt like a HS band show with Carry On Wayward Son (Kansas), Ants Marching (DMB), and All the Small Things (Blink 182), and they had arrangements that didn’t seem sophisticated enough to be used by a Div 2 drum corps. It was definitely crowd-friendly. I’ll give them that. But, the percussion was a mess. Dirty half notes on the rims?! C’mon. Harsh, I know. I do appreciate what they were doing out there, but perhaps I was expecting too much.

Troopers

Welcome back! It was a nice showing, and I appreciated the inclusion of their Sunburst drill and high-stepping. Nothing really memorable for me though. What I didn’t like is that their hornline seemed to play at only 2 volumes – really loud (because they were facing the front) and soft (because they were facing backfield). Doesn’t anyone play with real dynamics anymore?

Boston Crusaders

Again, nothing particularly memorable for me. It did remind me of their previous Latin shows though. Their percussion section was a breath of fresh air – they were throwing down some notes. They were also another corps who liked to turn backfield for much of the show.

Blue Devils

First impression? Their guard is badass especially with their wings, their hornline is really powerful, and this show reminds of me their dark show in ’95. No real story to it. Sad to say that the drumline was dirty – especially during their rack/bass feature. Boo. Their pit was just RAMMING 16th notes down the audience’s throats, and they were doing it well. But, you could tell that they changed the volume levels at various points of the show. That takes a little getting used to. They had the cleanest vis program of the night, but overall, I just didn’t get it. I mean, they played Space Chords during it. What?


Cavaliers

I actually really liked their arrangements – you’d never know that they were playing a Billy Joel show. Loved the guard uniforms. The pit book reflected the capabilities of the Jims a whole lot more than they did last year. The battery was fairly aggressive, and only really reminded me of Vanguard during their little pod features. I loved their little jab on BD with their “F Tuning” chord progression and Ditty-like parts in the battery during the end of the opener. Feets were a bit dirtier than I’ve ever seen them. My only real beef with the show is the ending. I mean…that’s it? That can’t be their Finals ending. It’s just so anti-Cavaliers. There’s no neck-breaking drill. No big powerful chords. Just no GE whatsoever in the last 45 seconds. It seemed like they should’ve ended the show after their production number, “Pressure”, or whatever it was called. I could easily see them over BD in Finals if they would just rewrite their ending.

Phantom Regiment

They sounded better than they did last week when I saw them, but their feet were a mess. I’m wondering if they were just afraid of slippage since the turf was still a little wet. Not much else to add that I haven’t already said. Just that their percussion section easily outplayed everyone else that night. They have lots of work to do to stay in the top 5.

Overall Impressions

Though I probably sound really negative towards all of the corps, that wasn’t my intent. I’m just used to homing in on ticks. It really was a pretty enjoyable show, and I’m interested to see how everyone’s shows turn out.

The ending will change. It always does. Last years original ending left me flat, but what they put in for finals....holy lord!!!

theres a minute and half left to put on the field for the cavies.

Sorry it was early this morning and i had to go, I was talking to my instructer at the Murfeesburo show and he told us theres still a minute and a half left and theyre still taking a few of the parts under tempo.

The masters of music contest was amazing top 3 all within 1.2 tenths of a point.

Blue Knights- I didn't see there show i was looking around and such.

Carolina Crown- The new uniforms look great. The hornline is sounding awesome along with the drums. The triple crown theme is very apparent throughout the show.

SCV- It wasn't a very memorable show, I liked it i just dont remember much.

Bluecoats- WOW what an entertaining show everyone was into it, The drumline is very very hot i saw them in the lot and dang its clean. I really like the music it has a nice groove.

Phantom- Very cool show to watch, I liked it a lot. Had the best dynamics out of all the corps.

Blue Devils- Im not a big BD fan but this show is amazing. I was blown away by it.

Cavaliers- This is an awesome show! Very very entertaining, I can't wait to see whats put in.

Cadets- The narration was mehh ok, I think the begining was a bit overdone but the rest was good. There hornline is very very very powerful i love it. Having an amazing drumline doesnt help much but.... these guys can play...very well.

Hope the review helped some all the corps were amazing on friday.

Atlanta Regional:

Pioneer - nothing different than any other year. I was impressed by their drumline, pretty clean sound and stick heights.

Southwind - Was not impressed with the music selection, I couldn't tell what it was. Later I found out it was original, that explained a lot; it was mostly blasts, which were nice. smoking perc. section

Cascades - I seriously waited in line at a tshirt counter behind ONE party for the entire show. That really pissed me off, thank you slowwwwwwwww folk.

Troopers - easily one of my favorites of the evening. This show was old school, musical, and fun; the crowd really got in to them. I was impressed with the intensity their percussion section played with; and the snares were rockin' the mylar! Their show lacked visual though, their guard was about the size of the snareline.

Madison Scouts - first powerful DCI sound of the night, some nice drill, sure not the scouts we know and love though.

Crossmen - Sloppy joe they had some execution errors. I could hardly tell when they played birdland; nothing lined up. The drumline was tight though.

Intermission - I enjoyed that a bunch

Spirit - opener was great, gotta love that spirit sound. But progressively got sloppier. The percussion book was on the easy side. I only saw them in prelims

Glassmen - liked the show a lot, the guard's gypsy uniforms really played, and they were the best guard in prelims; and the music was much more musical than others. Some execution issues, phasing wasn't bad at all. I only saw them in prelims

Blue Stars - this show was a mess. The uniforms played well though, great visual effect. They had the dirtiest drumline of the day. I'd guess they just had a bad day, because they got knocked back quite a bit, and didn't make finals. I could see potential.

Colts - solid show, solid hornline. Not a whole lot to say. I only saw them in prelimes.

BAC - great show, loved the music, but is forgetable. They didn't come together till about halfway through the show, but ended with a bang. Visually, their guard was pretty decent, and the esles played well with the picasso concept. Both a quad and a contra fell in the show, and a couple people tripped over an esle. I saw their line in the lot later, they were solid; drum feature was quite what it was last year though. They were among my favs of the night

Carolina Crown - Wow. I was speechless after their show. No one in the crowd was sitting at their finish, they easily had the best crowd reaction. The music was actually music, not a sequence of blasts we hear a lot in drum corp; subtle humor really added. And the hornline played balls to the walls with precision. As far as their drumline goes, they jumped a canyon from last year; once they entered the lot, almost everyone followed them in anxious pursuit (including myself). I shortly saw why. This corp rightfully moved from 8th to 6th. They sold me, I'll be trying out for them next year.

Blue Knights - How many more "Dark" things can they do? This show put me to sleep, no impact. Zero crowd reaction. They moved back from 7th to 9th.

Intermission - once again, well played, but too much crowd involvment

SCV - good show, nothing stuck out to me though. The drumline's young, the book was easier than usual. Nice, but nothing memorable.

Bluecoats - this show was BA. Great theme, great music, very creative. They won brass, which suprised me. They didn't impact like some of the other corps did. Not very technical, that might explain it. The uni's looked awesome, perfect for their show. This is my #2 corp to look out for, my first being Crown.

Phantom - What can I say? They threw it down, nobody puts the power on the field like phantom. The beginning had some balance issues, but they cleaned. The music wasn't quite last year, and I'll admit, some parts were a little draggy. They rightfully won percussion, clean as a whistle, very impressive drum feature. What gave me the deer in the headlights look was their trumpet's sprint in the closer while playing quite a few notes, almost perfectly.

Blue Devils - they won first. I know it's their 35 year and everything, but the music just didn't fit Blue Devils. They gave it some of their usual feel, but I wasn't too impressed. Guard was awesome, hornline had major balance issues, drumline had cleanliness problems as usual, but was better than I had heard. I didn't like their drum feature; I liked the idea of it, but a drum feature should have at least some playing. Overall, I didn't care for the show.

Cadets - man did I underestimate this show. Going in, I planned on skipping their show and staying in the lot. That would've been the worst mistake of the night. Some bugs were fixed with the narration, and most of the time really w