Thanks to Mark Herzing for directly emailing this review to us! Partial review of the Willingboro NJ show. Dunderheads from the South...we miss-time our arrival, run into traffic, take the wrong exit, and find ourselves wandering in the wastelands of rural NJ, looking for Willingboro. We are waylaid by a pack of feral cows, driven half- mad by toxic waste, who assault us, lowing their death-moos. As the horde of slobbering bovines advance, we clutch our battle-mops tight and prepare for their attack.... But I digress. We arrive in Willingboro, having tragically missed... Raiders (67.4) East Coast Jazz (70.6) Sorry guys. Spartans (74.9) -- From field level, they looked OK. The music was mostly sounded familiar from other recent drum corps shows. Surprised to hear "Belkis: Queen of Sheba" again (Cavies '94) -- not a piece I expected a corps at this level to take on. Looking forward to seeing them from the stands. Jersey Surf (68.1) -- Some improvement over Clifton last weekend. Guardwork is still incomplete in some sections. I'm struck by the improvement this corps has shown over the last two years. They are a evenings and weekends affair (and sometimes it shows), but it's great that these kids are getting a chance to march. They are remarkably competitive considering the constraints they've placed on themselves. Division I Boston Crusaders (67.5) -- The work over the last week definitely shows, particularly in "On the Town" which has improved a great deal since Clifton. The guard has added baseball caps during the Howard Hanson piece (percussion feature). My impression is that this is a very young, but tough-minded unit. The guard hit all of their throws -- impressive considering their age. Biggest challenge -- moving ridding the show of its "Brand X" and making it a BAC show. They did it last year -- I think they can do it again. Crossmen (76.1) -- The dominance of the percussion and guard is remarkable. Both units demonstrate top-6 qualities consistently throughout the show. The horns have their work cut out for them -- "The Sultan Fainted" is a chop buster, pure and simple. In general, Xmen are a gas, and the crowd is with them (even at this hot, sleepy show). Cadets of Bergen County (86.3) -- Big trouble as one of the prop carts lost its wheels early in the show. In general, my sense was that they were a bit "off" in some areas. Nevertheless, it's hard to find fault with the basic structure of the show. IMO, best Cadets to come out since 1993. For pure competition, this looks like a great year (resurgent SCV, BD in top form, Cavies and Phantom hanging in there). I envy those who will get to see DATR! Looking forward to Madison in two weeks.
Thanks to Laura and John Schroeder on r.a.m.d for this review! The heat was likely a huge problem for everyone. Major problem today with the Cadets backdrop - one got stuck in the mud or something, and lost one set of wheels from the middle of the cart, causing about a five minute delay before their performance (in last position). During the show, the same cart lost another set of wheels from the end and was immobilized. This caused a reasonably serious problem with the motion and staging, and I think it hurt the corps confidence. Despite that, it didn't seem to hurt their score much, much to many of the fans surprise. The Crossmen were great! I saw them in Newark and was non-plussed, but no more! The opening 10 seconds is super, a guard extravaganza. The guard throughout is much improved over past years. Energy and enthusiasm are up, and the show sells really well, especially during Birdland. The ending has real "attitude". Overall, a gas, and a shame at 10 points down from the Cadets somewhat off performance. Boston Crusaders were a pleasant surprise. Fairly large hornline, enjoyable throughout. The American theme should go over real well at Disney. Don't know if they'll make finals with only a 67 now, but a welcome show all the same. Spartans left Laura unimpressed, but this must be tempered by the presence of a squirming 4 year-old. The Roman theme works pretty well - they seem well on track to do well in Class A, maybe even fairly well in Open Class. East Coast Jazz has a nice book, but a little surprising that they beat Jersey Surf. For the jazz enthusiasts among us, a very enjoyable show. Jersey Surf was the local favorite, of course, and overall did a nice job. The guard uniforms, a yellow vinyl shorts/jacket combo with white over-the-knee vinyl go-go boots, would make even an anorexic girl look heavy, and were distracting since the girls kept tugging at the boots and the shorts. Still, this corp's mission is to provide a quality weekend program, and it succeeds well. Raiders were good despite their small size (15 horns). It takes a small amount of doing to adjust the huge-corps expectations, but they have a very good soprano soloist and a decent contra-bass, and the rest of hornline holds their own as well. The guard needs work. Many thanks to those sitting near us - we know that our attempts to control our three young children (5.5, 4, 8 weeks) were somewhat less than successful at times, but appreciate the patience of all around. The show itself was well run - especially getting into the parking lot. The seating arrangements were terrific - Surf sold VIP tickets for $25 up the 50 and at the top, which didn't sell well, but general admission seating at $12 got us seats also on the 50 and only a few rows down. I suppose had I bought the $25 seats, I would have been upset, but for us it was great! -- -=-=- Laura and John Schroeder, Collingswood NJ http://www.voicenet.com/~jschroed
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