Cadets of Bergen County..95.2 Phantom Regiment.........91.9 Crossmen.................90.1 Colts....................83.8 Kiwanis Kavaliers........82.5 East Coast Jazz..........69.5 Mandarins................69.0 Tarheel Sun..............68.3 Pride of Soka............57.0Thanks to Babylove for emailing us these scores!
Pride of Soka - 68
Not bad. I was not sure what to expect since most corps cross the pond
(either one) and usually don't challenge for spots even in Div II-III
finals. On the other hand I had seen scores indicating that Soka could
one of those corps that will. They have some problems in Sop support
and some bad midrange attacks but they give a solid effort. The drums
are much better than the horns and the drill is pretty good as well.
They do a nice reverse Z-pull but especially at the end they have some
spacing problems. This is looking good for finals.
Mandarins - 72
Much better than Soka but the drums this year are weaker. The taiko (sp?),
drums are back and they sound pretty good. The drill is pretty good too.
The horns on occasion and through a fair amount of the closer have a
dissonance, really bad in some spots. Div-III finals this year are looking
good though.
East Coast Jazz - 75
WOW, what a sop line! These guys smoke on the opener and on the solo's
through the show. The drums didn't impress me on the opener but once they
hit the drum solo they clicked in and played very tight from then on. I
think they have better drums, horns, and GE than Mandarins.
Tarheel Sun - 75.3
Whoa Boy! For a second year corps they are smokin! They have a drill that
is impressive by open class standards and they march it very well. The
drums are sweet and can cook through some pretty tough work. The horns
have lots of volume and give lots of GE but lack a real quality sound
except in the 'slow' number. Legit contenders for top 21.
Kiwanis Kavaliers - 81
That drum line is good. The drill is happening and the horns are just
gorgeous. I got to see yet another new ending, even though I liked the one
in Whitewater just fine. This one works as well or better. I like the
umbrellas they are neat. They really look good for a spot in finals, they
just have to beat either Colts or Blue Knights.
Colts - 84
Damn, and Holy Bat Bells! This horn line came out incredibly loud for the
quality sound they put out. No way Kiwanis is beating this tonight. The
biker babes are still stunning (personal preference I guess) and that horn
waver rub-down is fun. GE starts hot but slows down after the second tune.
Still this show is great!
Crossmen - 88
As good as the Colts are the Crossmen are better. Not with volume which
Colts had in spades but in quality balance and tone. They did not have the
volume I heard in Whitewater, but then again Colts were nowhere near as
loud then either so maybe it's relative. The show starts hot and the GE
stays up all the way through. The drums are awesome, the best by far this
evening. The drill is working as well. But I thought Colts were closer
than the judges did.
Phantom Regiment - 92
What an intense horn line. The GE resides in perfection for this show and
tonight they were pretty close. A major improvement from Whitewater. The
drums were very tight this evening and the drill was impeccable. The guard
had no drops and impressed me a bunch. This was a very tight show.
Cadets of Bergen County - 94
Wow. Let me say that again, wow. This is a very difficult show and the
drill is moving, but I was surprised to see more problems in Cadets (3)
than I did in Phantom (0). I had the same surprise at the guard where
Cadets had a couple of drops and Phantom had none. Still the drum line
here really can't be human, and the GE they have is tremendous. They were
the winner without a doubt but I would have placed them only 2 pts apart
or less instead of 3 or more.
The retreat went very well, with America/Canada. With Cadets and Phantom there you expect some good sound. Afterwards Cadets lined up in a larger than usual semicircle. And I was wondering why Pride of Soka was not leaving the field. In a very classy move Soka's horn line were brought into the line to play for retreat. They played Empire of the Sun and it was really very nice. A little rougher than usual, but still as touching. Then the horns sat out with the guard and drums down in front. Space time once again, and that resolve at the end is amazing. They were cranking it up big time, I think that was for Soka, who must now have bleached skin and hair. Not bad.
Well, that's it from me. Enjoy them all in Orlando, We'll see ya there!
Santa Clara Vanguard.....92.6 Cavaliers................90.8 Glassmen.................86.8 Carolina Crown...........82.2 Boston Crusaders.........80.1 Southwind................67.6 Allegiance Elite.........63.2 Golden Lancers...........62.9Thanks to Ed Harvey for emailing us these scores!
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