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1998 Drum Corps International
Show Reviews - As Posted on RAMD!
Listed are the dates and the show site, the reviews will be filled in, if and when they are available or submitted. The following reviews are solely the opinion of the reviewers. If you disagree with any comments, feel free to email the author, all reviews are signed with an email address. If you want to add your review to this page, send any reviews, comments or questions to: soundmachine@soundmachine.org
Monday July 13
| Columbus, OH (DCI)
MARION CADETS CINCINNATI GLORY KIWANIS KAVALIERS CAVALIERS PHANTOM REGIMENT CROSSMEN Michael (sans a sleepy Nancy) Drove up to Columbus yesterday for my first taste of drum corps. Nice night; a tad bit on the humid side. 6. 35-ish Marion Cadets (Marion, Ohio) This corps had 5 brass players. Usually when a corps of this size hits the field, I am thinking, "Oh no... 10 minutes of a lot of what I'd rather not endure." However, the Cadets deliver a show worth watching. They sound good and look good. Although, I have to admit that I had trouble recognizing the style of the show, etc. 5. 47-ish Cincinnati Glory (Cincinnati, Ohio) This corps had 24 brass, but they sounded like 35 brass. Very nice symphonically inspired show. This corps marches with the presence of a corps that has been around for awhile. Definately worth the staff and members' time. 4. 60-ish Kiwanis Kavaliers (Kitchener, Ontario) This clearly open class corps is playing "An American in Paris". Missed step-offs, missed horn moves, missed halts, random horn angles, phazing, and other visual confusion are keeping this corps from being at the level that they were the past 2 years. Their interpretation sounds good, but since the corps is having so much trouble with little things... truth is that the better a corps looks, they better their scores in all categories. 3. 77-ish Phantom Regiment (Rockford, Illinois) See the review for number 4. Phantom has 15 contras, but you would not know it. The sopranos have a bad case of the fracks-n-gacks. I am not convinced that they have a bad show. As a matter of fact, it is a better overall design than last year's show. However, a fan comes to expect a certain level of quality from Phantom Regiment. PR normally begins to peak early in the DCI tour; this is a bad sign for 1998. One could only speculate as to why the staff and members are not fixing the easy things. Are the corps staffers and/or members burned out? 2. 80-ish Crossmen (Newark, Delaware) WOW! What a CLEAN horn line. This show is fantastic! This corps even comes with a top-notch lead soprano line with a HOT and stellar-range soloist! Not as colorful as last year, the Crossmen are solid from top to bottom. The scary thing is that the show has plenty of room to grow. I suspect that a lot of the growth will occur visually. While the drill is clean, it is a tad bit sterile. A little more drill and a tad bit more color, and BANG, another top-6 placement by the Crossmen. 1. 84-ish Cavaliers (Rosemont, Illinois) The Cavaliers have put together a great show which includes a solid horn line and strong drum line. I cannot give away the details, but long-time Cavalier fans will LOVE this show! One more note, the crowd was very small for what used to be a big-time show in Ohio. Also, the crowd was torn between Crossmen and Cavaliers. AND, finally, PR did NOT get a standing-O at any point during their show. Okay, interested in yet another take on last night's Columbus show? If not, just move on to the next post. A couple of conditions though, because I'm in the midst of packing up everything I own to move a few states south of here, I didn't get to the whole show. I only got to see Cavaliers, Phantom and Crossmen. Therefore my review will be highly limited in scope. My apologies to Kiwanis, Glory and Marion. Plus, everyone probably knows the scores by now, so I won't worry about that either. As was said previously, the crowd was very sparse in relation to previous Pageant shows, the big thing I noticed was lack of school buses in the parking lot - in other words, not many high school came to this show (anyone know why?). Also, this will be the last Cooper stadium show on turf. At the end of this baseball season, the Clippers will be putting in sod. I wonder how this will affect shows because the field will have to be painted and the baseball team might not like that too well. Anyhow. The first corps I saw was Cavaliers. Wow. I was impressed from beginning to end, top to bottom and all points in between. I especially liked the extra touches they put in to honor their past. Example, the color guard uniforms, throwbacks to the 80s, the opening set of guard moves with the flags was great (simple pleasures sometimes). Yet throughout the show, the Cavaliers maintained a good blend of horns to drums and showed power when they wanted to. These guys appear to really understand the show and perform it well. Their visual technique is the best I've seen all year. However, they had a lot of members that were anticipating drill moves and it caused many forms not to lock in and be clean (it will be real nice to see this show visual "Cavalier" clean in Orlando). Plus there were a few members that seemed to lose focus at times, this could be discounted by the odd orientation of the field to the press box (for those who don't know, the press box is at an angle to the field because it's naturally a baseball field). The crowd was highly appreciative of what Rosemont was putting on the field, hey, crowds eat up entertainment and want more, more and more. The closing section will most likely elicit crowd responses that will rival SCV doing Bottle Dance in '92. Cavaliers clearly were the best corps on the field tonight in all captions. Phantom was up next. I had a hard time trying to keep my mind clear of all the mostly negative comments about 1998 PR. But as the show progressed, I found many of those comments to be close to the mark. This is definitely an off year for Phantom. I don't know what magnitude of rewrites could help, there just seems to be problems all over. Phantom has a very good horn line, there were times when they filled up the stadium with a very nice sound. How is it that PR can seemingly always have 14 contras when most other corps struggle to get 10? One of the biggest problems I had with Rockford was the wandering horn angle. I stopped counting how many times I saw horns pointed this way and that. I hope it is because there has been a lot of rewrite learning in the past few days and that this will improve soon. Even with that, there were good parts of the drill that just did not come across well. The guard at times completely disappeared from the field, I wonder if their uniforms blend them in too much. And the corps proper uniforms with the red sash overlays, I'm not sure if that works well with the all black uniforms. The previous few years, PR has been able to come out and dominate the field with their clean lines and color combinations, but it's not working this year and I can't really say why. Despite everyone calling this an off year, there's still a lot to like in this show. There are parts that are really good musically. And a few times they hit some really nice drill moves. If they can string more of that together, then a late season surge is possible for Regiment. Otherwise, it's hard to say how far down they will go in Finals. Getting beat by 3 points from Crossmen is not a good sign. Crossmen came up next. They colored their uniform tops, the Plus, er Cross sign is now solid black. I sure hope this is a transition color and that maybe their going to finish the coloring by making the Crosses the color of blue the guard wears. Otherwise, yuck. I had a few problems watching this show, because some X-men staff kind of elbowed their way in next to me and cahtterboxed throughout the entire show. Honestly, I was very put off by the actions of their staff, they seemed not to care about the audience, as if they had run of the entire stadium and go walk and go wherever they pleased whenever they pleased, without once asking please or saying thank you. Anyhow, on to the show. Crossmen's opening chord reverberated nicely throughout the stands, Cooper Stadium is always a good "sound pocket." The intensity level of this show has definitely picked up from the last time I saw it at the end of June. Is there still a contra hole? It was hard to tell as sometimes the hole was there and sometimes it wasn't. Anyone notice that Crossmen stand still an awful lot? Like every time they cut loose and play real loud? Just a lot of standing around at times, it starts to take away from the rest of the visual design. Which at times is extremely excellent. That guard/pit feature - great stuff, one of my favorite moments this summer so far. Crossmen's visual technique has a lot of phasing problems throughout the show as well as a few individuals with the wayward horn angle. Again, I'll give the benefit of the doubt because of the odd orientation of the stadium, but then, Cavaliers didn't have any problems with this. As usual, Crossmen's drums were solid and the guard had a lot of good moments (and yes, some of the comments the staff made next to me about adding some color here and there, and resetting some guard people stage right towards the end are good thoughts, but talk about it without disturbing others, please?). Crossmen finished around 5 points behind Cavaliers and I think the spread was about right. Cavaliers are definitely a step up over X-men and close to 2 steps over PR. If anyone here read my (quack) analysis of Hershey and DeKalb, then some of my thoughts followed suit with this show. Crossmen are indeed in the 2nd block and Cavaliers are in the first block with Cadets, SCV and BD. I hope Rosemont and Bergen County match up in a show, because it will be a great one to watch. |
Saturday July 11
| Hershey, PA (DCI Atlantic)
It was a spectacular day,the venue was ideal and the show was terriffic.The quality of this show should have had a sold out stadium. We have got to sell the product more effectively to ensure its future. More about that at another time. The Cadets were awesome.This may be the most talented corps that the Cadets have ever had.They will be hard to stop in Orlando. Les Etoiles are a very enjoyable small corps with many creative/innovative ideas and a dynamite percussion section.They demonstrate that you don't need a big budget and a big corps to be entertaining and competitive. It was great to see Boston and Spirit with significant growth in membership and with crowd pleasing programs.Both seem to have an outside chance to make the top twelve. Really enjoyed Bluecoats' and Magic's shows.Blue could crack the top six.The brass line may be the best ever for Magic. I liked the Crown but feel they may not repeat as finalists. After last year's great show, Crossmen were a disappointment. The players are excellent marchers and the music, while it did not grab me was well performed. It s the guard parts that just don't compare to last year. Had a brief conversation with two mellophone players from Scotland and Japan who march with Boston who reported that they were having a fabulous summer. The only criticism I wish to offer was that two of the corps exploited female sexuality. Both my wife and felt the same way. While the Reading Bucs presened a fine exhibition I thought that their show last year was more intersting and enjoyable when their corps was significantly smaller. I thought 1997 was a watershed year for senior corps and despite the fact that Sky and Westshore are not on the field this year the future for DCA is bright. The best to all the corps! Frank A glorious day for daytime drum and bugle corps (mostly sunny, highs in low 80s, slight breeze, no humidity). The glow of the lengthening afternoon sun made the final few corps particularly colorful. Hersheypark Stadium was filled between the 10s. Review of participating units in order of appearance. Northern Lights Marching Band: Not a bad performance of Pat Metheny's First Circle. Loud at times, with power, and kids were really performing and maxing it out out there. But as posted by someone else earlier this week on RAMD, why have woodwinds if you're going to just march them around the back of the field? I heard flutes and clarinets about twice. Adding woodwinds to an on-field mix is foolish if you don't feature them. Enough of us have heard good marching band woodwind sections used well to know that it can be done. US Marine Drum and Bugle Corps: Lately it seems to have become fashionable on RAMD to slam the Marine Drum and Bugle Corps. My question: Why? Sure, they trade off speed for playing musically (and together). And sure, they're kind of vanilla to watch. But I'll take it. I loved the Glad arrangement of "Christ the Lord is Risen Today" and the laid-back version of "Ensueno." Their backfield playing is spectacularly well done. The few and the proud did themselves proud in Hershey. Spirit of Atlanta: Mark Thurston's percussion writing has a unique stamp, and he's brought it to Spirit. The brass book is also very demanding, with the mellophones having some killer runs in "Swanee River". They kind of get lost in the muddle, though; maybe they could be doubled an octave down and that would help? Precious Lord, Take My Hand features some wonderful guard staging and a very mature musical treatment. The finale of "Sweet Georgia Brown" is a lot of fun and has a lot of potential, but the brass are tiring near the end of the show. As the judges indicated by their scoring, if the show can be given firmer definition, Spirit will challenge for finals. Les Etoiles: I like the darkness of the arrangements of music from recent action movies "The Rock" and "Dante's Peak". More low brass would help. The high voices tend to overbalance them. The seven sopranos play very well. For about 3/4 of the show the field battery are playing eight quads and eight basses. 1/4 is 8 snares and 8 basses. The large # of quads lend themselves to the dark texture, however, it seems as if the pit has most of the material. And the spinning drummers do nothing for me. It looked like they imported a thrill ride from neighboring Hersheypark. Boston Crusaders: My program bears the words: "sop. ouch!" But there is a wonderful baritone soloist in the ballad. The best part of the show, to my mind is "Conquest." There is a lot of potential with good solid traditional drill evolutions and neat flags at the end of the show bearing the Boston "lion" designs. Again, the brass section needs to endure. Kiwanis Kavaliers: Rhapsody in Blue was a bad choice for Spirit of Atlanta of 1996, and An American in Paris is a bad choice for Kavaliers this year. Why? Because there is no flow established in either piece. In his book "The Joy of Music" Leonard Bernstein explains how both of these pieces are basically great melodies stitched together by little bits of music. In other words, no development. So I wish what Kavalier's arrangers would have done is rearranged the melodies so they would flow in more of a drum corps style. I also wish the bright tops would be on the guard the whole show instead of just at the end. The rhythm picks up nicely at the end, and the kids have the potential to make this one work better. Magic of Orlando: Great volume! Good definition from the horn line and good ensemble sound. I really enjoy the mellophone soloist in the middle number. Percussion unmemorable. This is the first corps that I enjoyed the drum solo drill. Question: will they jazz up the end? Carolina Crown: At this point in the season, the design is way ahead of execution, although Crown does a decent job at performing all aspects of the show. But for the second straight year, I am really impressed by the guard staging and overall visual concept of Carolina Crown. Russian Christmas Music is the weakest part (needs more oomph.) I bopped along to Armenian Dances and dug the alto section. The closer of "Praise Jerusalem" is also very nice. If we can sell bigger impact points, we'll be set. Bluecoats: The short "Winter" opening is very nice, with the corps coalescing from full-field coverage and the guard spinning very shiny, wintry-looking sabres and flags. The field explodes with color for "Spring." "Summertime" features a lot of vocalization from the males in the horn line. The melody is kind of disjointed between sections and I sort of zoned out for that, but there is an excellent segue into the quiet part of "Autumn Leaves" and "Autumn Leaves" delivers the goods. Crossmen: I like the color scheme. It reminds me of a day at the beach. This corps feels nearly seamless in its weaving together of brass, perc., visual. The feel of the Metheny charts is extremely authentic. We perhaps will have no other show this year with this much "build" and "drive" in the design and execution. But Crossmen's horn line needs to be consistent to make that happen. There were wonderful moments from them, but also very scary sounds from the lower voices in the beginning of "Letter from Home" and some other glaring inconsistencies. When (not "if") that is cleaned, program will kick. As it is, it kicks pretty hard. Cadets of Bergen County: No falls. Head and shoulders above the rest in execution in all areas. Clearly the hands down best corps here, and maybe the best in the country. But I have one major problem with the Cadets this year. Last year I said that the show reminded me of a fireworks display. This year, it's even more so. I almost feel like this show has so many pyrotechnics crammed into it that there is no room for storytelling or even involvement in the process. It's as if somebody said, "Let's do eleven minutes of amazing stuff." Runs, tosses, evolutions, company fronts, power chords, tenor solos, Z-pulls... but I don't feel anything when I watch it. Maybe I'm wrong. Maybe the Cadets have done it so well for so often I have simply ceased to be amazed when they're incredible. Well. Reading Buccaneers: Hey. I was pleasantly surprised. Reading has a good show this year. I particularly like "Festive Overture." Way to go. The combined Cadets/Crossmen thing at the end was very, very, very, very, very loud and hot. The kids really seem to be comfortable with each other and really enjoy the whole thing. That's nice to see. BTW, the reason we had to see the show in the afternoon is that there is a professional soccer game in the stadium this evening. I kind of liked it in the afternoon. I'm sure a couple of the corps are enjoying being at Hersheypark tonight. It's a gorgeous day for it. Greetings, and I apologize for posting this late but my pig roast last night ran till 5 am, and I can't recover that quick anymore. Without ny further delay(and no more headache) here is my review of hershey from the top row...and yes, I am still a drummer and I notice them first. Cadets, 86.8.......Wow. Um, I realize it is July, but can they be that good???? Yes, they can and they still have changes to go(learned that Friday at rehearsal). Great first impact, I loved the sound of the brss...more mello/bari than in the past. Visual is unreal, and how they don't run into each other I will never know. Drumline is great and I have just 2 wrods....tenor feature.....it's sick(meant ina good way). Of course the ending is hi speed and the guard is incredible tho I saw some drops. But hey they can't be perfect yet...It's only July. Crossmen, 79.6....Well, I admit I had a tough time letting go of the 91 Metheny show. It takes a while but the blue drums grow on ya and they do go well with the guard's uni's. I do wish the drums had thron more down in Third Wind break, but they have their moments and do creat a nice groove. The ballad was beautiful and yes I did see a Bones drummer dance(thought it was the pre show beer) First Circle cooked, and having just seen Mr Metheny live, they did it justice and allowed the sops to scream at the end.....Give these guys and gals some time and a top6 spot could be theirs again. Bluecoats, 79.0......Welcome back Autumn Leaves!!!! The whole show was well done and when the sops get their chops at 100% the show will cook. I especially liked the guard in Summertime....Other people may it was sleazy or degrading, but hey it was a down and dirtyversion ya know? Drumline is good, esp the tenors. In time the Coats can clean and challenge for top 8. Crown, 73.0.....Well, I wanna like em, but they need to let loose occasionally. Technically nice, play with some jeuvos. Russian Xmas was nice, as was the dnaces, but the closer hasn't hit me yet...maybe after my friends bootleg tapes are here, I might like it. Crown, let loose and you have a fan. Magic, 71.5.....Hey anyone that plays House of The Rising Sun can't be bad. And oh they let looose. Some dirt yes, but fun to watch. Noticeable difference in drummers....finally a line from them I liked. The guard was a show themselves as always, and this is a guaranteed top 12 show...now, play just a little louder ok? Spirit, 69.7.....Well, I like the idea. It just needs some reworking...the build to the ending is too long, and really the ending is too quick, altho I did catch an old Xman lick....Thank you Mark I missed that lick. Spirit, I wanna like you, but the show seems disjointed...maybe I'm disjointed so I will stay on the wagon till East. Boston. 65.4.....Ahhhhhhh, Conquest. No it isn't the old version, it's the new version and it's BAC!!! Much improvement since I saw them rehearse Thursday, and I will go on a limb and say darkhorse for top 12.....fill in the holes, clean it up and maybe, just maybe, We'll hear the song in finlas...finally!!!! Kiwanis, 63.3....Well, I liked Evita better. A lot better. 11 minues of An American in Paris is just too much.......changed feels way too often, and to be honest, I thought the score was high. But that's why you do this til August. Les Etoiles, 60.7.....I owe these guys an apology....Ma Nature(and pre show "sodas" made me miss 1/2 the show, but I did see the last half and again the racks are back....from a fan's perspective, that is GE....from the judges who knows. Smaller this year, but solid, I would say come Orlando, these guys should be in top 17...and at Atown I'll go the restroom during someone else!!!!!!! Reading Bucs, exhibition.......I like the concept, I like the drumline, but the horns seemed shaky, and the holes hurt. Kudos to the drumline for smokin me, and if the hornline egts better they can chalenge the big 3 at DCA. The drill was pretty much see what ya hear, but I really didnt see the guard due to the drummers...and hey can the pit have any more notes????/ Wow, Jim ever hear of a rest?? But they played it well and it fit...Good luck to the Bucs, and I'll see ya at Cumberland. Marines...well, you guys are the cream of the crop. You guys need to do more shows, because I can't get enough of ya. Ok, time for bed now, the hangover is coming back. |
| DeKalb, IL (DCM Championships)
Well, what feels like the longest evening of the drum corps season has finally concluded. Starting at 7 p.m., the DCM Championships for 1998 in DeKalb, Illinois (about 65 miles west of Chicago) on the campus of Northern Illinois University produced an exciting night of drum corps, and by 12:35 a.m., when “America/ O Canada” was ending, the leading Division I drum corps in the Midwest was firmly established. Once again, it was another perfect night of weather for drum corps in the Midwest. Huskie Stadium is an excellent venue with a very large concert side. My seat was 50 rows up on the 43 yard line: damn near perfect. After three successive shows at high school stadiums, it was nice to get up high (no, I didn’t say “get high”) and see some drill and visuals. A fairly large crowd was on hand; it looked as if it were full between the 10s, but it was hard to tell from where I was. DCM presented championship competition in 4 classes this evening. Due to the late hour (4 a.m.) and in an attempt to keep the post of decent length I will only review Div. I and Sr. Corps here. I’ll review Div. II & III in a separate post. First, the scores and caption winners as announced (apparently there was some confusion with Div. I caption winners). Caption awards were based on the preliminary performances: Reviews are based only on Finals performance DCM Sr. Prelims: DCM Sr. Finals: DCM Sr. Captions: DCM Div. I Prelims: DCM Div. I Finals: DCM Div. I Captions (Note: It looks like Glassmen won Percussion caption while Cavies also won Visual, not PR. Apparently the announcer made a mistake or was given wrong info. Check other posts for exact results.) Kilties - The “Mad Plaid” as expected lived up to its fun loving self and put on a very entertaining show. Tons and tons better than their show I saw 3 weeks ago in Waukesha, the Kilties have presented a show filled with traditional drum corps movements and drill that look wonderful in plaid kilts and spats. Several standing ovations from the crowd were well deserved. Minnesota Brass - As the score and caption wins indicate, this corps is strong in all areas presenting the music of Tower of Power. The color guard is fantastic and the battery was very tight this evening. Memo to the eastern Sr. Corps: Minnesota Brass, which I believe will be in Allentown during Labor Day weekend, is for real and might just bring that championship to the Midwest. Before MB performed, the announcer introduced one of the corps’ sops who just turned 70 years old and who has been involved with DC for 52 years. Pioneer - Their new uniforms which feature tan pants are quite nice and reminds me of 27th. Unfortunately, in addition to the new uniforms, Pioneer also uses some newly designed multi-colored flags in the opener which IMO are just hideous. Thankfully, regardless of new flags and uniforms, Pioneer are still producing good sounds which has improved along with the percussion. Closing drill still needs work, but this corps in still on its way to having a fantastic season which could land it in the Top 15. Colts - In this, their 35th anniversary season, the Colts are definitely serving notice that they want to be back in Top 12 with this program “Acapella Celebration.” Their brass sound is very rich and full and the sop solo is wonderful and full of emotion. Best I’ve heard this season. The drill has some nice moments especially when they do this contraction move into a circle (or diamond, sorry I couldn’t tell). Phantom Regiment - “The Music of Rome” show has undergone many changes visually, most for the better in my opinion. The closer is really quite different going from more angular designs earlier in the season to more circular drill. The various flags that are used, especially the ending oversized ones, are simply fantastic. And the color guard was just plain “on” this evening. I’ve been partial to this show since the beginning of the season and I still love it. I say don’t count PR out of the hunt; the potential for this show IMO is still quite high. Glassmen - I thought this performance was better than last week in Michigan City, with the brass the strongest I’ve heard them this summer. Percussion is definitely the strength of the corps and they expose this talented section quite a bit throughout the show. There are two glaring holes (one in the sops and the other with the contras) that have a negative impact on the visual presentation IMO. Were there illnesses or are the Gmen still needing to fill positions? Madison - Yummy, yummy, yummy. This show, like most Madison shows, is incredibly appealing. And the closer, a jazz-rock fusion number called “Remembrance” is phenomenal. The drawback for Madison, according to many around me, is that their visual program isn’t demanding enough and fails to take appropriate risks (whatever that means). I’m not sure if I agree, but recap analysis should shed some light. Cavaliers - The color guard’s new unis are finally here and basically it’s like what’s happening with Madison: start the show in unis similar looking to the rest of the corps, then peel off into more typical guard garb after the opener. This development may have led to the increase in points this week. Also contributing were probably the percussion which knocked off the Glassmen for the first time this season. The show tonight was quite clean compared to others and very well balanced: brass vs.percussion,vs. CG. This was a big victory tonight and well deserved in my mind. Closing thoughts and observations: - While most in the stands agreed with or understood the placements, the margin between Madison and Cavies was very unexpected. - Cavies margin of victory over Madison suggests they might be ahead of BD and SCV. They definitely come out of the midwest as the corps to beat from this part of the country. - It will be interesting to see what Madison and Gmen do in response to what happened this weekend. While Cavies pick up 4 points since Michigan City, these two stay static at 79 and 77, respectively. - If you accept the premise that scores on the East Coast are on the high side, then Colts should definitely make Top 12 with Carolina Crown and Magic battling to perform on Saturday of Championships week. - This next week will be quite interesting as the Crossmen come to the area on their way to Denver. They face PR and Cavies on Monday and then Madison and Glassmen Tuesday and Wednesday. These shows should give good clues as to who will be in Top 6. Review of Div. III Finals: Coachmen, Grand Rapids, MI - This small group of 21 had a much better performance than last week in Michigan City as they performed “The Civil War Yet To Come” (Kind of grim). The interaction between the guard and the rest of the corps is quite effective. The drill they have is marched well making you wonder what could have been with more members (but I guess that’s a common question or thought with most Div. II and Div. III units). The closer still needs more work in the brass. Marion Cadets, Marion, OH - Even smaller than the Coachmen with 5B/4CG/12P, the Cadets pride themselves on being “Small, but Powerful.” I was impressed by their musical balance: the percussion didn’t overwhelm the brass, which is only half the size of the percussion. Visually the corps was appealing with the CG in groovy 70s-inspired outfits. During the concert number, the CG dances with the basses (w/o their bass drum attached) ala the Blue Devils’ CG. Another impressive fact about Marion is that they didn’t use of drum major for over half of the show and the tempo didn’t seem to suffer that much. General Butler Vagabonds, Butler, PA - What a refreshing treat from this young group as they presented “Fiddler on the Roof” (announcement of this program got an enthusiastic response from the crowd which obviously liked the familiar). Marching 18B/10P/8CG/1DM the corps was dressed in period costumes resembling poor Russian Jews. Also adding to the visual presentation were gorgeous silks and the use of a large scrim (remember the see through screen-like thing Issac Mizrahi used in “Unzipped”). The Brass sounded decent and featured a very nice mellophone solo, but the percussion feature had a few problems. The strength of the corps, however, was the color guard which was quite appealing visually and deservedly won its caption award. Phantom Legion - This feeder corps for Phantom Regiment, almost approaching the size limit for this division, is very good and was far ahead of its competition this evening. Just like PR, the percussion pit is absolutely huge with tons of equipment. The brass play with a nice controlled sound and have two contras that are pumping out volume. The color guard is effective and very much reminds you of their older “sisters,” but the use of those green flags at one point in the show just didn’t work for me. One of the most impressive things about this corps was the drum major, who actually draws your attention to her. She has incredible presence and obvious command of the corps. She is destined to succeed in a long line of very strong drum majors out of the Midwest. Watch out for her. Review of Div. II Finals (Note: Unfortunately, only two corps performed at Finals since this Division only had 4 corps in prelims. Not to take anything away from the Blue Stars who placed second in Prelims and earned their place in Finals, but based on the Prelim scores the second best Div. II corps in the Midwest at this time is very much a toss-up and seeing them fight it out in Finals would have been fun.) Blue Stars, LaCrosse, WI - Presenting the music from “Spartacus” this how has come a long was in three weeks since I last saw it, but still has a long way to go. While there were some major marching problems and the CG seemed to be off this evening, the highlight of the show was the rotating star drill which was done to great effect. This is not the most accessible show out there, but it still has nice moments. Capital Sound, Madison, WI - As I mentioned last week, this show is just fun, fun, fun. One of the most entertaining shows of the evening, the corps gives the audience big band jazz tunes which are totally accessible and familiar. The drill is even fun, especially during the percussion feature which brings the crowd to their feet. While the drums were a little muddy at times, I thought the brass sparkled. And the use of the mannequins in tails as dance partners for the guard is very effective. Good job Capital Sound! Michael Pleasants Great time. I flew up from Dallas for the show and it was my first non-DCI Finals show out of Texas and the South. A show in the low 60's temperature wise was quite an experience. Im used to those 95 degree Texas shows.During Phantom's show they blasted a strong deep chord just as a cool breeze hit over the stands and it was a goosebump on top of goosebump moment. Great stadium, parking was a little difficult Saturday night.. but never want to complain about too many people watching Drum Corps. Note- If you've only seen Shows in big metropolitan areas, like myself, do yourself a favor and go to a small town show - they're great. Sound traveled great - this was the loudest I've felt the music at almost any show. Both nights.. great shows... lots of passion, lots of drive. Saw some really good stuff. 1) Cavaliers - This show is it ! This blew me completely away both nights. I love how they've taken tradition and used it beyond cliche to trully create a full theme to their show. Take note of the Guards interpretation of different drum major salutes during the second piece. Very well done ! Machine is awesome. What a closer - my favorite closer since Madison 95. Power ... beyond power. Plus - the Stepover move at the end. Always wanted to see the Cavies do that. I love this show - I think it has the chance at being contender in Orlando - Top 3 for sure. 2) Madison - Another Great Show. Full of wonderful moments. Hall of the
Mountain King is probably my favorite arrangement I've heard so far this year.
Audience was (Of course) really getting into it. Remembrance a much better
version than 90. 3) Glassmen - Don't want to jump on any particular Bandwagon but jeez - Glassmen are for real !!!!!! Great show, loud and effective - the colors and everything fitting perfectly - great silks at the beginning. To anyone who saw Glassmen of 1996 struggling through their Semi Finals show in 13th position while a storm was blowing into the Citrus Bowl sending flags going everywhere and the yard markers rolling across the field right through their show - it's all very heartening. I wished there was more of the Polovetsian Dances - but still it's minor - Glassmen are the biggest reason Im loving Drum Corps this year. 4) Phantom - Well... I am a huge, huge Phantom fan. 3 of my fav 5 shows of all time are Phantom. Few liked the Ring last year and I loved it - it was my favorite last year. But... this is.. this is... maybe 2/3rds of a great show. First the good - The red draped fabric over the black of the uniforms is the most outstanding combination of the black and another color since they switched. Guard is good, brass is good. But... that last 3rd of the show is deadly. Phantom 96 ended also on a not so quick drill but that music had it in spades - this whole last piece just goes and goes and goes... and I just didn't care at the end. Huge white and black Roman flags are unfurled at the end and it's pretty effective (I think it would have been better if they were red with gold or black filigree (is that what it is?) instead of black and white. Also there's this purple and green, I think, silk in the middle that doesn't fit this show and this corps at all. And the Shields (that I'd never seen, just heard of) are gone and now the guard unfurls this Giant gray fabric forming the top of a Roman Temple. This seemed to me to be a Division III type thing to do (not denigrating DIII, it's necessary to intensify GE in their smaller corps) But PR in 1998 should be above this. All Corps have their off years and I think this is one for PR. 5)Colts - Great job by the Colts. Show's theme didn't appeal to me, but I thought they sold it. Louder than I expected, way louder. I really liked this show and didn't really expect to that much. 6) Pioneer - Great new uniforms. This Corps isn't there yet, but it's making leaps and bounds every year and 'there' is within their grasp in a couple of years. It's getting late, so I'll talk about the other divisions later but just real quick - Capital Sound - I love this show and they sell it well. Drum Feature provided first real moment of the night. The mannequins work and if I'm not mistaken I saw a little subversive part where the Male soloist knocks aside the beautiful blonde and walks off hand in hand with the other male in the tuxedo. Interesting. Really liked General Butler Vagabonds- never saw them before. Couple Monster equipment throws in this group. Fiddler on the Roof theme still works and I liked the simple but effective costuming. Was interesting to see the Pit 'Peasant Girls' in line at the DCI booth looking like they just stepped off the boat from Armenia. Marion Cadets - Lots of spirit and the very first African American Female DM I've ever seen ( someone can correct me) Good job. Coachmen - 'The Civil War to Come' - Boy that's an uplifiting show theme. Next year's theme ' We're all just going to die anyway.... Two quick non DCM notes. People from Illinois - it's not necessary to follow someone on the highway about 3 feet behind. Jeez people. 1 time and I wouldnt have said anything but after the 9th or 10th time I wish I had been packing heat, you know. Also, whats with the irregular toll road amounts ? 40 cents ? 55 cents ? and my favorite 15 cents ? How about a quarter and 50 cents , doesn't that make a lot more sense ? (excuse the pun) Gotta get going. Shawn M. |
| Stroudsburg, PA (DCA)
A very nice show, the weather was perfect, and the corps were entertaining. The audience was very enthusiastic. Here is an unbiased overview (critique) of what I saw. Bucs were pretty solid, Sopranos tight in opener. There was nice staging for the Brass features in Festive Overture. Percussion very tight, drill nice, needs a little more cleaning, but good for July. Guard did some nice things, but needs to get a little tighter. Sun was much improved tonight than in the last show. Brass had nice power, and Drums were aggressive and pretty clean. Pit had good control during the slow piece. Some minor phasing here and there, but I'm sure it will get tighter soon. Cool guard stuff. Very exposed drumline, but they can play. Drill needs some more work also. Brass had power to the end of the show. Cabs are right in your face. Mr. P. hiccupped a little in the beginning, but made up for it later. Nice mellophone soloist too. Very nice control during concerto. The backfield thing is nice. Pit also had good control in concerto. Guard looked good, but a little sloppy, I'm sure they will get it together. They have a great Bass line, they can move and play musically. Very intense beginning of Malaga. There is a little sloppiness in Sopranos, but they have power, and range. Cool 3/4 rumps and end of show. It was great seeing Jimmy Russo conducting also. Hurcs started with a nice backfield sound. A good opening hit, nice impacts. The vibe player is there again this year and did a nice job in Stella by Starlight. Oh, yeah, the Drumset stuff (ala Big Noise) was real nice also, in 1941. Good ending of show. The Chieftans came out with a silent start. They played a Star Spangled Banner medley. The ideas were nice, but it sounded like they just learned the show. Also, It seemed the the music they were playing was a bit aggressive for the size and ability, of the corps. There were some good ideas, but not easy to sell. They had about 18 Horns, and 14 Drums. It would have been nice to have one of the snare drummers play on quads, as that was a noticeably missing voice. The drill intervals were a bit much also. I give them credit for trying, but I wish they would play it a little safer. There were some poly meter things in Appalacian Spring, but real tough to read because of their size. The end of the show was nice. I hope they improve, and maybe water down a bit to get more effect. Lots of marchers were out of step a lot. I still think there were some good thoughts there, but just not coming across. Good luck Chieftans... The Blue Eagles came out and had about 20 or so horns, and played the way the Chieftans should have. They played in concert formation, no drill, but the horns were solid and powerful. The drums were playing older parade style patterns, something along the lines of "Hogans Heroes", but played together. I wish they had a little more variety in the writing. I really enjoyed "Spirit of Spain". It was a highlight of the evening. I hope no one was offended by my review. This was an honest observation of what I saw this evening. |
Friday July 10
| DeKalb, IL (DCM)
A few thoughts... Pioneer's new uniform is quite classy. Very clean and crisp looking. I like it. I think the tan pants will grow on me. Nice job. I and many others thought Glory got screwed. I thought they would easily beat Americanos and Blue Stars and at least be competitive with Capital Sound. Glory plays with a lot of energy and it shows in a big way. I enjoyed their show. Fast-paced, challenging, exciting. In Div. I, all of the guards struggled tonight. Wind had died down by show time so that shouldn't be an excuse. I saw a ton of drops early in PR's show, almost as many in both Cavaliers and Scouts. But it was weird. At times all three guards looked terrific. Regiment's new silks in the Villa Borghese are AWESOME. Great crowd reaction. Cavaliers guard looked great early in the show, but that also the retro stuff that is not too complex. And Scouts looked good often. I thought Scouts were the best corps tonight. I (and a Cavalier friend) both were shocked at the result and the spread. Scouts are solid in all areas. Cavaliers have improved a ton since Oswego, but I still don't get much out of the show. Many in the crowd did enjoy it though. Regiment completely scrapped the closer drill (they taught the new drill Tuesday and had part of Wednesday and all of Thursday to practice). The result? Tons better. Not just an improvement, but a HUGE improvement. The performance was far from clean tonight, but the effect is so much better. Glassmen's drum line is outstanding. If they didn't win drums tonight, the judge must have been deaf. The opener is good, but I think the rest of the show is a bit dull. Drums are just so impressive, though. Colts have some very good moments: the second half of the second tune, the ballad, the ending. Opener is generally lacking in excitement. Horn line is way better than a year ago. Controlled with good tone quality. My opinion is that Colts horns sound better than Glassmen's. Scouts had the best horns as far as performance goes. Regiment still has the best sound when everything clicks - no comparison - but there is still tentativeness evident. Check out the new marching style for Glassmen. Just a hint of Garfield in there :) Didn't really notice G-men's guard. Pioneer marched 10 snares (about 3 too many). Scouts use no snares, all tenors on one tune; and then use all snares and no tenors on another tune. Mello soloist for PR at the beginning of the closer is fantastic. In-tune mellophone (isn't that an oxymoron). This girl can play! Scouts soloists hit most of the scream notes. Nice contra work by Capital Sound on the guard feature. Good drum majors from most of the corps. The Scouts guy (same as last year) has a great presence on the podium as does Steven Moss of Regiment and the Emily N. of Colts. Good crowd tonight. Perfect weather. Announcer at the show kept saying Saturday night's show is nearly a sellout. If that's true, that's great. Stadium Lounge was closed. Too bad. Several new bars near the stadium since I last attended DCM in 95. Can't go to finals tomorrow - have to work - but I'll be in Ypsi in a couple weeks. Enjoy. |
Thursday July 9
| Madison, WI (DCM)
Hi all. Was at the Madison show last night and thought I would post the "results" and a quick review. A BIG disclaimer about the results- the show was not actually judges, instead they handed ballots out to 100 random people in the stadium and had them vote as to who was most entertaining, etc. That should give you a good clue of who won, but some of the other results were interesting! Reviews in reverse order of finish: Governaires- The show seemed to be lacking a little bit of energy from the last time I saw them in Waukesha. Don't know if they are saving it for DeKalb or were just missing some members tonight, but not their normal energy level. The guard has advanced quite a bit since I last saw them- you can tell they are having a good time out there! The brass seemed to struggle a bit tonight, especially the sops. Had a lot of trouble with the squealing solos. Drumline has improved quite a bit since Waukesha- got some "wow's" from the crowd during their feature, and also had some fun rhythms in NIght in Tunisia. Overall an entertaining show, and will be interesting to see if they can raise the energy level to make Finals in DeKalb! Americanos- Once again playing a latin show, had a great sounding brass quartet open the show with a Night in Tunisia. They struggled through the rest of that and Beautiful Maria of my Soul, but the rest of the show was much improved. Had a couple of good sop soloists later in the show. The drumline and pit were good, also got a good crowd reaction during their percussion feature. The one thing that bothererd me about the show was the guard uniforms. They wore these funky colored body suits, which I don't think are meant to make anyone look attractive. Looked much better and in tune with the show design when they put on the wrap skirts for Spanish Eyes. Overall also a good show, but I don't think enough oomph to challenge Capital Sound and/or the Bluestars for the Div II title. Cincinatti Glory- the last time I saw this group was in DeKalb last year, and man have they grown! The guard was excellent, and they had some really fun and eye-catching silks. Also some unique patterns that really caught the crowd's attention. The group seemed to struggle a bit with their first two tunes, but really pulled it together with the music from Ben Hur. Their drum line looked extremely good, especially for being so young. Brass line sounded good as well, with a few intonation problems scattered in the show but overall very impressive. I haven't seen the Phantom Legion yet, but I believe Cincinatti Glory will give them a run for the Div. III title. Colts- The best way I can describe this show is mellow! The horn line lets it go a few times, but overall very controlled and serene. In the middle of the show and towards the end you start to hear some dissonance, which the crowd really seemed to enjoy. The guard looked good but does not seem as good as last year's "Biker Chicks". Did a lot of good things with color during the show. The hornline had a good sound, but I miss their loud and rockus show from last year. Overall still a good show and well executed, could get them back into the top 12 at finals this year. The Pioneer- as most of you have heard on here, the Pioneer got new uniforms. Three pieces of advice- brown/tan is not an attractive color, it does not matc green, silver, and black, and tan pants do not look good with white spats. The drum majors looked much better in all back. But enough on the unis- the show did not seem as much "in your face" as it did in Waukesha. The guard has improved quite a bit since then- got a lot of new silks that are really effective during Irish Rhapsody. The hronline seemed to be lacking some energy tonight, but they may be saving up for DeKalb as well. Drumline looked much improved, and had a really fun feature. Danny Boy has improved tremendously, but they still have some work to do on some of the backfield playing. It looks like they rewrote a lot of Irish Rhapsody, and are still trying to familiarize themselves with it. Should be great when they have it fully learned. One of the crowd favorites tonight, and looking forward to seeing them in DeKalb! Capital Sound- I love this show! Their guard is great, especially when they are tangoing with the mannequins in Hernando's Hideaway. Also like the contra solo during that- got a lot of laughs from the audience. The sound of this group has come a long way since Sun Prairie, they are getting a much better sound from all sections, particularly the sops. Percussion does a lot of typical Scout things during the feature, with the old yellow drums from a few years ago and the spinning cymbals. The whole organization just has a look of class this year, and can easily pull off the jazz selections they play. Closer of Moonlight Serenade/Woodchopper's Ball had the crowd on its feet, only group to get an ovation during their show. Overall a tremendous group, and I would be dissapointed if they don't win Div. II at DeKalb tonight! Cavies- Start with the group spread over the whole field, makes them look huge! The best way to describe this group is control- they have a controlled sound through the whole program. Don't get me wrong, it sounds great, but it would be nice to see them let it all hang out at least once during the show. They didn't seem to have that many impact points up until Machine- did a lot more work with their traditional geometric shapes and patterns. The guard looked spectacular tonight, very few drops with none at key points. Drumline also looked fairly clean, you could hear some struggling yet in the horns. Overall a much better show than last year, and it will be interesting to see them and the Scouts duel it out for the title Saturday! Scouts- also much improved since the last time I have seen them. Horns are back to their normal blow your face off style, percussion was very creative in using the all snare/all tenor thing in the first two selections- all tenors for In the Hall of the Mountain King was a good choice. The guard seemed to have a really rough night tonight- saw at least 6 drops during impact parts of the show. Hornline was clearly the best of the night, seem to be doing a lot more runs that they have in years before. The show seems to end a bit suddenly for me- comes up on you really quick when you aren't expecting it. Overall an entertaining and difficult show, but leaves me wanting more. I think I'll be forever biased after the performance they put on at finals in Orlando last year. After seeing all 6 division 1 corps and 3 division 2 groups, it looks like the Scouts and the Cavies will be battling it out for the Div. I title and Capital Sound the Div. II title unless the Blue Stars have made a lot of improvement in the last couple weeks. I don't think the Glassmen have the overall package to take the title, but should win drums handily. Phantom is a wild card, but the show doesn't seem to have the GE impact to take it all. Should be a fun time in DeKalb this weekend...Looking forward to it! |
Wednesday July 8
| Blountville, TN (DCI Atlantic)
WOW.. it is 4:30 here in the morning. I just got in from a 6 hour drive to watch drumcorps. I am tired. Man.. Ok here is the best review I can come up with.. First off congrats to the Sullivan High School for a good show. Great corps great ticket prices (8 bucks for 50 yrd line seats right in the middle) and a great time. There were a couple of thousand people there and it was perfect weather (70 or so and slightly raining which I could have done without). Vollentiers (sp?) -- This show did nothing for me. It was played decently but the music is way to odd ball for a 18 member hornline. Bernsteins "Mass" would probally not be atempted now a days in a 60 member hornline. But they did have their moments. Lone Star -- Well, hmm.. Drumline was smokin. This is a drum corps show that features a good drumline. The hornline is very weak. And they only had 3 guard members. This was strange. The John Tesh music worked ok. Not much going on visually just a good drumline. They had good moments and they had plenty of rough ones too. Spirit of Atlanta -- WOW!!! This is some improvement from All Days. WOW!! What a hornline.. Man they were sooo loud. It was really nice to see some Sops letting it hang out. Well, now to the problems. They played really out of control in spots. They were just loud, sometimes kinda out of tune, and also very out of control. Very nice effects by being so loud at times though.The drumline had a good show tonight, they were really on. Visually this show doesn't have top 12 material but man the horns sound like they are ready for top 12. Kiwanis Kavaliers -- This show did absolutley nothing for me. Way to dark. The to little to late attempt to add some color at the end was sorta lost in the darkness. The music was well played it is just so visually boring that you lose interest in the music. I don't know if it was more colorful if the music would stand out more or what but it is just kinda dark. Heck sometimes dark works (PR 96) but this is not PR's hornline. They had a good sound throughout and they were very well in tune but you just lose interest very quickly. BlueCoats-- WOW WOW WOW!!! This was really cookin tonight. Man, the hornline was even louder than SOA but yet they were more controlled. This is one heck of a hornline. The last chord of the show should have a patent put on it and never let anyone else do it. THIS IS ONE LOUD CHORD!!!!!! But summertime was my favorite. I loved the singing. They did a great show tonight and the scores showed it. Carolina Crown -- This show is very crownish, this is very sophisticated and very well played. This hornline isn't the biggest but man they can play. The guard is HUGE!! 38 people is a lot of guard. But they were very good. Only a few times did it get really involved and it get distracting from the music. The drumline played a good amount of notes in this show. They were very clean also.They had a great show. The only problem is that they don't look like they are really getting into this music. Kinda drags it down emotionally. Really nicely done though. Crossmen-- This was an interesting show. They had so many holes it was distracting from the drill. Very strange to see that many holes in one show. They did a great job though. The music is so clean and the drumline plays a bunch of notes. I love the drumlines (touch) technique. Really nice effect. This was a good show. I don't think they are 4 points from Cadets but Cadets didn't have a good show(I will get to that later).. Anyway Xmen had a great pit and very good guard. Also very big. The closer seemed to end kinda sudden(do they have the full ending on?) It was loud and then it just sorta quit. Leaving you with the wondering if they were finished. Cadets-- This is interesting. This is a great show. Very very clean. They weren't into the music as much as they were during rehearsal this afternoon, I think that is why they didn't jump as much in their score. The main thing to this show is the Ballad. This is soooo beautiful. This is such a wonderful movement to the peice. The movement before (drum solo) is really good. The drumline was amazing. These guys were playing so many notes above their ears it was absolutely amazing to watch them play.The drill is typical cadets with very fast moves and very clean feet. Great show guys. Well, I am tired. The show started 45 minutes late due to the judges being late. Also the first two corps weren't judged due to the fact that the judges were still not there. Oh well.. this ends a great dci day. Can't wait till Alton Ilinois!!! Michael Bell Lone Star: Not a whole lot to say about that, just that I never have and never will understand why a corps with less than 35 people would ever attempt to play a show with more 7/8 stuff than Cadets or BD combined. Volunteers: To be honest it was simply entertaining! Just not in the way they intended. Sorry, I love drum corps, all drum corps, but I felt embarrassed for them just watching this show. however it's not the kids fault. I fault the staff for show design. It was obviously out of the kids realm of performance. Spirit of Atlanta: This show alone made me happy I traveled 7 hours! I'm being completely honest when I say this, Spirit had the most powerful hornline of the night! The brass line is not just good for Spirit, but good for anyone. The horns are definately top 12 material. Now the guard and percussion were about average. Not bad but not awe-inspiring. Anyway, if you get a chance to catch Spirit DO! You might be seeing a top 12 corps without even realizing it. Kiwanis Kavs: I can barely remember this show... oh they played an american in Paris! All I cna say about that is they aren't gonna be close to where they ended last year. All I can say is.. NO NO! Bluecoats: I really enjoyed watching this show, from an entertainment stand point that is. It's early season but it's obvious that this show is far better designed than last year's. Every section was good. The tenor line was smackin' quite a few rims, but at least if you're gonna hit a rim do it attempting something difficult instead of just tanking an easy passage(Crossmen). Carolina Crown: I can't believe the improvement in this corps from the last two years. The scores might not show it, but they should be right up on Coats. Their show is far more demanding than Coats, Colts, or Magic. Crossmen: I don't know what to say! I was hyped about seeing Xmen because I've been looking on here reading about how great they are. I was shocked when I saw this show! However it was that a couple of weeks ago said their drumline was top 4 material must have been stoked on crack! For lack of better words the line from last year has seemed to disappeared! They don't attempt anything! And waht they do play Isn't top 4 by any stretch of the imagination! Ok, enough dawgin' The guard rocked(as usual) and the horns were sound. The show design in this beast was severely flawed. The arrangement of 'First Circle' does not do Metheny any justice at all! They got an 82. All I can say is what I saw was not an 82 at all. My last word on this one is... B6. Cadets: I was so hyped to see this corps that scored an 86 just the night before. Well, I totally dug the show. The music was inriguing, although at times too much like last year's book. The drill was a little toned down from last year but there was still a couple of stock Cadets moves in there. Ok, I liked the program.... however, execution was a different story. The corps has changed their marching technique a little this year. To what you might ask? Well, if I hadn't had friends in the corps tell me there's no way I could have been able to distinguish a technique of choice. If you get to see Cadets just promise me you'll take 1 min to just watch any 5 people in the hornline. It doesn't matter what instrument, just watch any 5 people and I GAURANTEE you will see about 3 variations on backwards, forward, and slide technique. My other problem with this show is that the guard is never the center of attention. They always border the horns. This is very unusual for Cadets and was disturbing to me. I assume the guard must be a little weaker than last year. Some would call it smart writing; call it what you will but that's the way it is this year. I liked this show a lot, but it is outrageous that they are already at an 86! Don't be surprised if the stay around this score throughout DCI Atlantics. Well, I was totally pleased with the show and it was well worth the drive. I don't mean to be harsh, but perfection is only attianed through criticism. I was on the west coast last week and caught a couple shows. HEH HEH. Well, I'll let all of you people saying that this is Cadets year have your moment. I've seen BD and Cadets both already. And take my word for it, BD could clean Cadets grill right now! But Finals is a long time away. Just take my word for it until you get a chance to see um in person. I'm OUT! Charlie Carter |
Tuesday July 7
| Washington, DC (DCI Atlantic)
Here are just a few of my thoughts on the DC show tonight: Cadets of Bergen County - 86.1 Crossmen - 79.3 Bluecoats - 76.4 Magic of Orlando - 72.2 Carolina Crown - 68.6 Spirit of Atlanta - 65.4 Boston Crusader - 61.2 Kiwanis Kavaliers - 58.8 |
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