Tonight is my first night to see these corps as last night was my first night to see those corps - I am excited to see the shows tonight!
Show is Muchachos, Boston Crusaders Sr., 7th Regiment, Spartans, Jersey Surf, Crossmen, Boston Crusaders, Phantom Regiment, Cadets, and the Blue Coats.
The Muchachos from Manchester, New Hampshire - Very small group of varying ages - 27 total members
- It's just great to see them out there - Show titled Turning Up The Heat. I think there first song was Tiger of San Pedro - Birdland was next. The picture is an older one, but gives you the idea. The next song was a Latin song. The color guard did a great job dancing to Carlos Santana's Smooth.
Boston Crusaders Sr. Corps - 25 and Still Alive! Promised to play some Crusader Classics! Looks "Old School" as there seems to be no pit! Conquest off the line and goose bumps followed
I was not familiar with with many of the titles of the songs, but by listening and watching old drum corps videos and albums, I recognized many of the songs. Hava Nahghila was played much to everyone's delight. The show ended with a nice rendition of Unchained Melody, still one of my very favorite finale songs! It is really great to see history live on!
Time for the first Open Corps of the night 7th Regiment from New London, CT. Wave Forms is the theme of their show - Nice opening statement! Great color palette. Some noticeable holes and hopefully they will get filled. I really liked the "bubble gum" looking flags - nice pop of color. The students in the group look very young, but this did not diminish the effort at all. They have a lot of cleaning to do in all departments, but seem to have a good concept in the making. Transition into finale was rough, but it will be better and looking forward to seeing them again. Score tonight was 53.35 for 2nd place
Next corps on the field is the Spartans from Nashua, New Hampshire. At this point the sound on the Live Stream is off. To be honest this broadcast cannot compare to last night's. I think the theme is Totem - which explains the costumes and props. I get the helmets - but they really hurt the over all look of the show. Again a few holes in the corps. This group has been around for a long time. Each year they clearly get better and better. The guard head gear is ... well ... awful - I don't think they need it. Trombone feature was good (the player that is). Not sure how this bluesy piece with the very sexual dancing fits into Totem? The head gear mostly came off and it looks way better - like the way the girls have their hair oneway more than the feathers. looks like we sacrificed a guard girl - yipes. Overall I think the Spartans have a much better sound than ever. This shows a lot of promise for the Spartans. Score - 54.65 for 1st place
The Jersey Surf will be performing next and are from Camden County, NJ. I know of a lot of young people marching in this group so I hope they have a great show! This is also the first World Class corps to perform - their show is Ebb & Flow with a lot of music from La Mer - Color guard in long cape type things in beautiful sea colors. Very pretty opening - Yellow flags? Guessing they will change. Corps uniforms are very beautiful - Recognized a young man who marched at Avon Grove, WCU, and Main Line Independent. Ballad reminds me of Lampeter Strasburg's winter guard show :-) The corps shows a lot of maturity from last year as does their actual show. I like it and hope they do well with it. Of course like most everyone there is a lot of work to do, but this seems to be in their grasp! Score 56.90 for 6th place
Intermission
First after intermission are the Crossmen from San Antonio, TX. The picture above is from last year. There show last year was one of my favorites of the season. I am anxious to see this year. My problem is when they have such a good year, often topping it the next is difficult. The show is entitled Continuum - and is all original music. Interesting props and field cover. The best thing this corps ever did was get out from under YEA and move to Texas. No corps uniforms are good looking and the guard uni's are too. I love that they still keep their sense of where they came from! Pretty opening statement - Wow - I have to say that I think this is better than last year, but in a different way. The show was engaging, the music was familiar at times and the colors beautiful. The movement suggested movement along a continuum of sorts. I am excited for them. I seriously just sat and watched and didn't want it to end. It was my "feel good about life show." Score 66.35 for 4th place
Boston Crusaders are doing Quixotic - I see windmills - and of course they are from Boston, MA - though it was announced Hyde Park, but that does to have the cache' that Boston has. I still remember in 2000 when they made the top five - so exciting!! Well - I liked this show way better than last years, but once again I just didn't get the mixed messages - I felt like the corps was doing one show and the guard was doing another. Was it supposed to be cartoonish? Was there humor embedded? It is really annoying when you are watching a show and just have no clue what they are trying to say because it has not been laid out clearly. I hope, as the season goes on, the show will become clearer :-) Score 65.45 for 5th place
Now from Rockford-Loves Park, Illinois - Phantom Regiment. I have heard good things about this show and am anxious to view for the first time. The show is entitled Voice of Promise. The Pit is dressed differently than the corps - Hmmm different look. Wow ballad was beautiful - Phantom Horn line!! I got everything up to Young People's Guide. The show was beautiful and moving - but I thought the show ended before they played Young Person's Guide and from the way the audience responded - so did they, Phantomettnes worked their buns off tonight! Score 70.05 for 3rd place
The picture above was one of my favorite moments of last year's show for sure!! The show this year is called the Statues Awakening. Of course the Cadets are from Allentown, PA - but they have been from all over the place. I believe the original title was Stoned - but that was probably not a great idea - but now watching the show - it would have worked! I liked the violin - nice and eery touch. Also like the trumpet soloist on top of the prop. Color guard was better than last year too as long as they continue to improve from here. Some really amazing musical moments and a couple of very cool visual moments. Cadets won High Percussion! Score 73.50 for 2nd place
And finally tonight - closing out the show - from Canton, OH - The Blue Coats. The picture is from Tilt and one of the many cool moments in the show from that year. This year the show is entitled Down Side Up. I have seen bits and pieces of this show and know that the music is way cool as is some of the visuals. Have not seen a full run in uniforms so this should be exciting. After tonight, I will have seen almost all the corps except for Spirit of Atlanta, who I think is having a shorter tour this summer to save a little money. Hey - Drum Corps is very very expensive! It is similar to taking a broadway show on tour! Wow uniform on the major is crazy looking oh on everyone in fact. I love the opening Metheny song! Holy Shit - Amazing, Fun, Crazy, Beautiful, Sexy - This is definitely a show that is going to be in the top 3. I seriously can't believe what I just saw. Score 74.80 for 1st place.
Final thoughts: I am anxious to see the recaps to see why the Cadets and Blue Coats are so close. If you look at where everyone stands on the DCI Scores Chart you can see how things are unfolding. Looking forward to watching these shows grow as the season continues. No matter what - watching any drum corps is better than not watching any drum corps!!
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