July 22, Massillon, OH - DCI North

There is another review of DCI North and Columbus.

Thanks to Mark Herzing on RAMD for this review!

1st - Blue Devils (89.8): After a somewhat reserved performance in Columbus
on July 21, the Blue Devils convincingly staked their claim to the role as
front runner for the DCI Title.  BD stormed the field  to open the margin
between themselves and the Cadets of Bergen County to 1.3 points.    The
Devs are dishing up a heapn' helpn' of diabolical delights for dc fans.
The visual program is a veritable feast of sinister imagery and  sound.
Yes, there are minor nits to pick.  In particular the Devs can't seem to
decide if they are going to "tell" the story of "The Legand of Alcobasa" or
not.  Overall, though, this show works like gangbusters (in fact, I like
it better than last year's).  I wouldn't be surprised at all if they
cruised to a 2nd straight undefeated season.  At the risk of sounding
critical (God forbid) I DO have a few bones to pick at a philosophical
level with this show design.  Why, pray tell, does the reigning Champion
feel it necessary to recycle (practically note for note) "Day Danse" from
the 1994 show?  Anyone remember the last time a Champion did this (I think
it was the1983 Devils, but I may be wrong)?  The yearly rehashing of
repetoire was a dc tradition that was thankfully  laid to rest.  Too bad
the Devs couldn't have found a new vehicle for showing off all of that
talent.  Now settle down and stop hyperventilating, kiddies.

2nd - Cadets of Bergen County (88.5):  The Cadets' 1995 season is clearly a
good news/bad news proposition.  The good news is that they have a
marvelous show with true Championship potential.   Although they trailed
the Devils by 1.3 points tonight, at this time last year (21 days before
finals at POC), they trailed by 3.5 points.  The bad news is that if CBC
aspires to win the Championship, they have to overcome a Devils corps that
may have  raised the bar by a few notches, as well as Madison and the
Cavaliers.  Furthermore, the Cadets have to contend with a few more
questions marks than the other contenders.  Does the horn line have the
"stuff" to handle this show at a Championship level?  Will the judges "buy"
the park-and-bark "Swing Swing Swing" and the color pre ending (or whatever
the CBC design team eventually settles on a substitute)?  If the answer to
these questions is "yes" they'll make the Devils sweat, and may surprise
them.  If "no" they may end up in 4th.  Regardless of the final outcome,
the Cadets are winning themselves (and drum corps in general) many  new
fans.  As with the Columbus show there were scattered boos heard during the
announcement of the Devil's victory (!).

3rd - Phantom Regiment (83.5):  MAN WE ARE REALLY DARK AND REALLY LOUD AND
DARK AND LOUD....AND....uhhhh.....DARK!!!!  This was my first look at PR,
and I have to confess that they pretty much left me cold.  Visually,
everything seems to  get swallowed up by all the black swirling around on
the field.  That rich contra-heavy sound is really overdone in these
arrangements (It's like listening to a 10.5 minutes of tuba  ensemble.  No
problem for me: I'm a tuba player, but for most folks, it's a bit much).


4th - Bluecoats (80.1):  The 'coats were clearly boosted by this highly
partisan crowd (2nd best crowd reaction of the  evening).  Minor rewrites
to the closer (it's less of a free-form jam now) have done a world of good.
Also, in their quest for contras, the 'Coats appear to have struck the
motherload: they are up to nine now (they had five two weeks ago) with a
whole for a tenth (I think).

5th - Magic (78.5):  Much better, tighter show than last night in Columbus,
allowing Magic to overtake Glassmen.  Could someone PLEASE teach Robert
Smith how to write endings?  The ending to "Air" works OK (unison note),
"Land" works well (unison note) and "Sky" works not at all (unison note
played in a rhythmic pattern).  Tonight, the crowd didn't appear to
understand that the show was over.

6th - Glassmen (76.8):  This is a solid and entertaining show that's
beginning to grow on me after two viewings.  The biggest problem that I can
see is the "Ode to Joy"  tag following "Mighty Fortress" (is this a recent
addition?  I've heard nothing about it in recent reviews).   Frankly, it
doesn't make a great deal of sense, and is a bit anticlimactic.

7th - Crossmen (76.3):  A tale of two shows.  "School for Scandel" is
simply not working right now.  There's a lot of potential here, but the
corps is simply not getting the music across to the audience.
The closer works extremely well.

8th - Carolina Crown (73.8):  A very pleasant surprise.  Crown is taking a
very creative and exicting approach to programming.  They could easily be
in the top twelve.

9th - Crusaders (65.8):  Improved over the previous night in Columbus, but
the show still doesn't  appear to go anywhere.

10th - Nite Express (56.1):  Much improved over the previous night in
Columbus.  The show actually does make some sense.

Devils did movements 3 and 4 from their show as an encore, "from the arc."
If you get a chance to see the Devs in a standstill, check out their snare
captain.  Very intense.  Very scary.

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