Thursday, July 2, 2009 Vicksburg, MI Legends Drum Corps Preview DCI World Class/Open Class
vettepassesyou
Thursday, July 2, 2009
Vicksburg, MI Legends Drum Corps Preview
Place Corps Score
World Class
1 The Cavaliers 79.500
2 Blue Stars 76.400
3 Glassmen 72.200
4 Colts 71.000
Open Class
1 Colt Cadets 67.600
2 Legends 62.200
3 Racine Scouts 60.400
4 Dutch Boy 51.200
"
- DCI.org
Levi
review. Originally posted on facebook in a timely manner, though!
Levi Boldt
1994 Coachmen
1995-97, 1999 Colts
2000 Americanos Visual Staff
Lineup: Dutch Boy, Racine Scouts, Colt Cadets, Legends, Colts, Blue
Stars, Glassmen, Cavaliers. Recap available at
http://www.dci.org/scores/recap/view.cfm?event_id=1ac458f6-4493-4ff3-81dd-81c8a87b12c1
For starters it was seriously COLD and fairly breezy tonight. The
temperature on the sign out front said 61 degrees when I parked my car
and hit 52 by the end of the night. The wind was strong enough to
knock over some of Blue Star's props and probably caused a few drops
along the way. Also, this is the one and only show I'm going to make
it to this year. Everything below is my reaction to a first read (with
the exception of the Colts, whom I watched rehearse in the afternoon).
I won't bore you with the show repertoire details. You can look that
up yourself. Now on to the corps:
I missed Dutch Boy entirely. My cell phone rang after I had parked and
entered souvie area -- my niece changed her mind and decided to come
after all. So I went to pick her up and missed the opening act in the
process. Phase one of my multi-step scheme to recruit another Colt in
the family... check!
Racine Scouts. I got to the stadium in time to hear the second half of
the show. Hornline is trying really hard, too hard at times. Blend and
balance are citical when the corps is that small. Don't be a hero.
Having said that, they do have a good feel for the jazz tunes they
were playing. I was under the bleachers, so I can't comment on the
visual aspect, but I found myself tapping my toes anyway.
Colts Cadets are fielding a BIG corps this year! Full battery, contras
in the hornline, very cool to see them growing. And they can put out a
BIG sound when they want. Very impressed with the young 'uns. Liked
the show concept. Time to clean it and teach the hornline how to get
the feet out of the bell and stay in tune at all times. If these kids
are the future of the Colts, I have a really good feeling about my
corps for the next few years.
Legends (home town corps). Only fielded half a show. Literally, they
played two pieces and it was over in something like 5 minutes. Ummm...
it's JULY! While the visual design is fairly complex for a small corps
and what they did do was performed competently, there's no earthly
reason why the full show isn't on the field. Add in the details later!
If you don't at least put it out there you'll never get it clean.
Seriously, a big disappointment. I know this is only a partial review,
but I only saw a partial show. What more do you want from me, a
cookie?
Colts, love 'em. I'm openly biased and okay with that. Hornline had a
great, warm sound. Soprano soloist had excellent control on a very
exposed long note at the end of the ballad. Loved the rifle toss in
the middle of the hornline in SOS. Truly excellent showmanship.
Because this is the corps I love the most, I also scrutinized them the
most. I did notice some stuff: the entire soprano line missed a
release in the opener by like a 32nd, some body control problems (esp.
body still moving after the feet stop) and interval and line dress
issues. There are still a couple holes, which may be a contributing
factor. I was at their rehearsal and noticed a new bari and a new
contra learning the drill that weren't in the show tonight. There's
still a mellophone hole, but unfortunately someone else will have to
fill it. I hear DCI doesn't look kindly on forging birth certificates
(nor would my wife and kids, for that matter). Judging by the staff's
comments in full corps rehearsal, it sounds like they put in a fairly
substantial drill change today and more is coming shortly. Looks to me
like they sold the hell out of it. It will still take a bit for me to
get over the fact that synthesizers are on the field, but the Colts
were the one corps tonight that used amplification without overdoing
it. One complaint about the visual design: at times things look
cluttered and congested. This may be cured by good old fashioned
cleaning, or the perception may be due to the fact that I was sitting
relatively low in the stands. But sitting in the same spot, I didn't
get that feel from the other big boys.
Blue Stars. First the good: I like the show concept. Not quite sure
that the sewing machine and clothesline props were utilized enough to
make it worth the logistical nightmare they're sure to create, but the
corps told a nice story. And the brass can make a really nice, dark
sound when they want. Now the bad: amplifying the pit so you don't
have to abandon all technique and just beat the crap out of your
instrument for it to be heard is one thing, but turn the volume down!
The pit is supposed to support and add color to the brass, not the
other way around. It was distracting in a major way. Plus, a note to
the guard: catch your &@*$%# tosses! Way too many drops tonight. I'm
no color guard guy, but this was really bad. Yes, there was a breeze,
but you're so good and so close to making the leap to the next level.
The other big corps all caught theirs. Why couldn't you?
At this point, I got sick of my niece shivering, handed her some cash
and told her to get something warm from the concession stand. She came
back with hot chocolate. Hot chocolate at a drum corps show? That's
wrong on so many levels, not the least of which is the fact that
someone running concession stand planned ahead enough to buy a bunch
of hot chocolate to sell! Global warming my ass. This just isn't
right.
Glassmen. Solid show. No real complaints, besides wondering why you
really needed electronic drums. Honestly, you're a DRUM CORPS. Use a
REAL DRUM. But overall it just didn't grab me. I'm not saying it's a
boring "hot dog" show. It was reasonably entertaining, but I just
honestly can't remember much about it that was either stellar or
rotten. On balance, I suppose consistency is a good thing. I did like
how more corps are really starting the show during the "warm-up" time
to set the mood and build some interest while the announcer is doing
his spiel and the DM salutes, etc. Other corps tonight did the same
thing, but G-men pulled it off the best of the night.
Cavaliers: Really, 16 contras? I didn't realize you were in a big-bore
pissing match with that other Illinois corps. Don't get me wrong -- I
like it. But 16 contras should make my chest cavity resonate more than
it did tonight. Also, was that a water sound effect coming out of your
amps or just big-time static? If the former, then I understand it for
maybe 30 seconds, but I just don't get why I had to listen to it for
nearly 10 minutes. If the latter, fix it! You're giving me all the
more reason to dislike amps either way.
We took off after Cavies. It just wasn't worth freezing to hear the
scores, America/Oh Canada, and Somewhere Over the Rainbow. When I got
home and pulled up the recap, I was shocked to see such a big spread
between Blue Stars and Glassmen/Colts and such a small one between
Blue Stars and Cavies. Sorry guys in the green shirts, they were good,
but not THAT good!
In other news, my niece said she liked Cavies the most because of
their hats. I've got a lot of work to do with this one...
On Jul 2, 10:50 pm, vettepassesyou <usatrum...@yahoo.com> wrote:
> "
> Thursday, July 2, 2009
> Vicksburg, MI Legends Drum Corps Preview
>
> Place Corps Scoreg