Thanks to Alan Melson for directly emailing this review to us! see scores SUMMARY: A ***hot*** evening, but still a great evening for the stadium (and parking lot) full of fans who braved Dallas traffic to come to Lake Highlands HS's 20th annual Festival of Drums and Bugles. Lone Star - This young-looking corps has a pretty good thing going here. This year's all-Buddy Rich show worked well tonight, and even had its moments of raucous, in-your-face big jazz. I counted only 25 or so in the horn line; for such a small number they had a full sound. Drill was dirty in a few markedly obvious spots, and occasionally the brass were a bit blatty, but overall a nice show...the energy and spirit are there, and with a little cleaning and polishing they could make a decent showing during Finals Week. Southwind - This corps was actually billed third on the program, but was overtaken by Pioneer. Their show this year, which juxtaposes contemporary Gospel (Sandi Patti, etc.) with old-time spirituals, is a good concept, but seems a little tired. Perhaps it was just this particular performance, but at times there just wasn't a lot of energy: the guard had some problems and the horn line tuning wasn't very consistent throughout the duration of the performance. The drumline had a few nice moments, and the "Resurrection Ceremony" feature with the field drums, etc. worked really well. There is definitely still potential in this show, but the corps better get going to improve over the next few weeks. Pioneer- This was the first time I have heard this corps, and I was impressed. They have a big sound which makes them seem larger than their actual size, and the Irish theme that can be seen in the music and uniforms really works for them this year. A few slight precision problems in the marching, but nothing too major; however, I heard some comments in the audience around me about a snare player who partially lost his snare (I think the drum came partially loose or something...I didn't see it clearly)...the player was struggling with it for most of the closer. Overall a nice program...very musically tasteful. Carolina Crown - Wow, the chess piece motif is an incredible visual asset for this corps! From the very beginning of the show, Crown seemed eager to make its presence felt. The marching was at times pretty messy, but the drill seems very challenging and the music is really pretty solid so I'm sure this can be fixed after a few more performances. The drumline was excellent, and the guard work was nice too (much of their time seemed consumed by moving the chesspieces, but it was done fairly inconspicuously so that it didn't distract the audience). Definitely a corps to watch...they just keep getting better and better. Magic of Orlando - Quite an interesting repertoire........Robt. Smith's "Twelve Seconds to the Moon" seems to fit this corps (obviously, since they perform his music every year, it seems) and they really have a nice brass sound, particularly the opening soloist. During the middle section I noticed a little phasing, partly because of the wide spread of the hornline (with the guard and their ladders around the 50). I'm not sure what to think about the guard's uniform...I guess the gold uni's and the pointy-star hats go with the theme, but they are definitely different. For some reason, the mello-sop duet solo thing seems to be getting a little repetive with this corps. I liked the mounted-cymbal thing, something that I hadn't seen before. Not a bad show, but lacked a little visually. Cavaliers- I have read in previous summaries so far this summer that the Cavies' hornline is really a disappointment after last year's championship. I went into this show expecting to be let down, but curiously, I wasn't. While not as spectacular as 1995's Planets show, this Copland-Orbon program was really nice, especially with the "Fanfare for the Common Man" theme flourishes that exist as part of Symphony No. 3 (the latter part of the show). The guard is visually unique as usual, this time using a variety of lattice-type wood sheets that bend to help create a variety of positions, often encircling or covering guard members. The Cavies' drumline ROCKED, and the brass still exhibited the warm, full-bodied sound that fans are accustomed to. Still a really quality program. Phantom Regiment- PR is definitely "Back in Black". After last year's return to this look, the corps really shows it with a dark, rich sound that I hope will be a mainstay. The all-Shostakovich show exhibits the strength of their hornline this year, particularly the sonorous contras and bari's. Some nice licks in the alto's during the 5th Symphony Finale, and a really superb drum feature that shows off the new dark-red Premiers, as well as the talent of their players. The pit really stood out in this show, too...nice work on the upper mallets. Very strong visual show...a great guard with superior pole work. I think Phantom really has a shot this year if they can keep the momentum............................... Overall wonderful performances tonight....can't wait to see these corps at Finals! =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Alan Melson amelson@ix.netcom.com After 8/20/96, you can reach me at: mamelson@delta.is.tcu.edu =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
Thanks to Lee Jackson on r.a.m.d for this review! Here are the results from the 20th annual Lake Highlands Festival of Drums and Bugles, held in Richardson, TX (a Dallas suburb). see scores For anyone who wants to know what my wife and I saw, here's a totally unofficial review. This was my first exposure to all of these groups this year, so it's probably not what a lot of you who have seen the shows would think. This is personal shash, so read it if you want, and direct all flames to /dev/null. First off the line, Lone Star looked much improved over last year. Their drum line was surprisingly tight up until the feature in "Love for Sale," where they had some timing problems. Nothing a good stretch of rehearsals can't fix. Look for their 7th place 54.2 score to improve steadily. Performing second, Pioneer had their usual good percussion performance, despite one of the snares almost losing his drum during "Scotland the Brave." They had a few moments of great ensemble brass when in close formations, although they seemed to have trouble when they spread out for field coverage. Fifth, 64.0. Southwind, the third group to perform, was a bit of a personal disappointment. I thought last year's show was quite decent, but this year's hasn't stabilized yet. "Make His Praise Glorious" never really seemed to take off as it should, and the rest of the show never picked up the slack. As a result, they took sixth at 61.7. Carolina Crown, performing fourth and just before intermission, had a very visually appealing and interesting setup with their "Chess...and the Art of Strategy" show. They used their giant chess pieces to great effect on the field, hiding sections of the corps while others were featured. Towards the end of the show, they featured each choir of the percussion separately, marching them downstage along the 50 towards the pit, while the rest of the corps stood still along either side, forming a "street" for the featured group. After each feature, the corps would maneuver for a few counts while the next featured section entered the street, then would reassemble into the street again and repeat the process. Quite good. They managed to jump ahead of Magic of Orlando by a point - final placement, third at 73.4. After a lengthy intermission, Magic of Orlando took the field with their "12 Seconds to the Moon" program. Personally, I thought they were well balanced overall, with the probable exception of a rather random sounding section in the middle of their show (too much pit - a bit overwhelming). They had one of my favorite moments of the night, where they brought out a specially built flag which resembled a gossamer version of the Wright Flyer and ran it solo across the field, while the sopranos held a very high chord for what seemed like eternity. (Would someone please time this? Is it 12 seconds long, as I'm guessing?) However, the judges felt they were outgunned by Carolina Crown, and placed Magic fourth at 72.4. The next to last to perform, Cavaliers came out very strong with a buildup to a statement from Copland, then moved into "Parama" with a vengance. While their opener had many on their feet, the rest of the show couldn't quite keep up with it. Their colorguard was typical strong Cavaliers style, brass was solid, and drums were solid, but their drill needs work. They had a lot of alignment problems tonight. Also, I personally thought that some intangible quality was missing from this year's show - something which made previous Cavies shows special just wasn't there tonight. Second, 84.2. Finally, Phantom Regiment. This group has one thing going for them that is evident from the start - horns. Not just in size (14 contras? Good Lord), but in quality and talent. Their percussion is rather small in comparison, with no cymbals onfield (all in the pit), but they balance surprisingly well. Also, for the first time in quite a while, they have a drill that seems more exciting than the Cavaliers' drill, and they march it very well. The only weak spot was their colorguard, with a few more synchronization problems than the Cavies' guard had. First, 84.7. // Lee Jackson // Nighthawks, Houston TX // Pit performer/composer 1984
Thanks to Bryan W. Dickerson on r.a.m.d for this review! see scores Pls note before these comments that I am an avowed, loyalist to the Regiment and always will be. Lone Star - Not bad for a corps the size that they are. Show complexity was just about right for them, challenging but not impossible. I was impressed for the 4th or 5th incarnation of a Texas-based corps. Southwind - Overall, good show, even though I was expecting more of them sound-wise. But then it's just mid-season Pioneer - Impressive!! Excellent show--good drill and good music. Pioneer is just what so many people have been wanting: recognizable music without sacrificing challenges for the kids, and an overall entertaining show without gimmicks to speak of. Bravo! One of my guests, who had never been to a show, was really impressed with the show that they did and how well it seemed to fit them. Just good, solid drum corps. Magic of Orlando - Good sound and decent drill, although it was a bit cluttered for my taste. Although a bit spacey of a theme, it was not unreachable, like when Spirit did that space thing several years ago. Carolina Crown - The props seemed almost too much for a rather decent show. Good ideas, good music, nice sound(although I heard some tuning problems, but that's that darned musical ear, I have!), and a good drill when they weren't hiding behind the chess pieces(I was glad when they finally pulled then out of the way so they could show some marching!). They were my friends' next favorite of the evening. (I must preface the following remarks with my bias: I don't particularly care for the Cavies and have not since I marched in '85. That year after the Regiment's first show with the Cavaliers, our director encouraged us to go congratulate the Cavaliers on a good show. Our cordiality was met with the statement: "Yea, you'd better get used to it, 'cause we're gonna' be kickin your asses all summer long." Now my wife has noted that my attitude has mellowed some--after all that was 11 years ago and it was *just drum corps*--but to some degree, even from the stands, I still get a strong sense of that same attitude. Some of you current and more recent members will probably be able to correct that. And I hope you will.) Cavaliers - To me, it seems the Cavies carried a casualness onto the field that was almost an attitude of "We've won it before and we really don't have to impress you, tonight." Some nice drill and music, but the music was too disjointed for my taste. I don't get the guard work...and in some spots, I don't *want* to get the guard work. But the guard was too casual too. Seems they would have gotten more of my attention with maybe some more energy. Phantom Regiment - As I said, I am biased. But 'Look out, Loretta' is right! This corps has the same makings as the 1989 Regiment. What a really awesome brass section. Very smooth at the beginning and very loud when it needs to be!!! Why isn't the Regiment taking marching captions??? or have they been taking marching captions, and I haven't been paying attention. Overall, VERY CLASSY presentation. My friend said that even if I hadn't been there to bias his point of view, he still would have picked the Regiment as the best of the evening for their class, their good sound(my friend is a good musician in his own right), and their excellent presentation. And their victory concert was out of this world--I know I sound like a veritable wealth of cliches, but I was really blown away!!! I hope some of my pictures come out--if they do, I'll post them on my Regiment page(y'all come visit and 'sign the guest book'): http://www.popi.net/~bryand/pr.html . Well, it's late and I must return to real life in four and a half hours....zzzzzz Bryan Dickerson Contrabass 1985 Phantom Regiment (and still proud of it!!)
Thanks to Eric Senzig on r.a.m.d for this review! Scores have been posted already so I won't bother reposting them ... Lone Star: I was both pleased and disappointed with this show. Pleased, because the corps is making a definite effort to return to the 1994 crowd-pleasing style, and the show is much more high-energy and appealing than last year's. A little disappointed, knowing the high hopes the corps had back in November, and seeing only a marginal increase in numbers. TONS of improvement must be made to be competitive at the Division II level, and I can't say right now if I think they'll make finals or not. That being said, this is a HOT show! The guard (only 8 of them) is sporting hot pink uni's and showy, iridiscent jackets, and they set and maintain a nightclub-type mood by slinking around and flirting with the brass and percussion members throughout the show. The 25 brass play together well, but still show early-season hesitancy often. I have to add that the marching technique is awful in the brass and is contributing to some problems with sound. This is still a very young horn line, and the book is written to their level while still challenging them and entertaining the crowd. The drumline is spectacular for such a small corps. I'm told they were beating Spirit and Southwind's drums in DCS and even tied Crown one night. I think the tempo in the closer has yet to be cranked to the level I heard in rehearsals in Commerce two weeks ago. This corps has lots of potential that, if realized, can take them far. Hopefully now that the DCI tour has started they will settle in and find their groove. Pioneer: This was definitely an off show tonight. The brass showed hesititation and entrances during rests in the opener, and the corps as a whole didn't seem to be as confident after that. Forms were off here and there, soloists were cracking notes, it wasn't as good as I've seen it in the past week. "Gary Owen March" was crowd appealing as usual. I haven't mentioned the percussion solo: it begins with a bass riff using mainly the lower 3 of 6 basses, and of them mostly the bottom bass, who just pounds away on that thing and really gets the crowd going. In the "I Could See It Coming" department: the percussion field judge got caught in the middle of the shifting company fronts, and because I know the show well I watched him walk to the wrong place, and not move when he should have ... the crowd witnessed a little bit of Judge Pinball on side 2. The poor judge slammed right into a mello player, then bounced off a tenor player in the back rank before emerging behind the corps. I agreed with the lower score compared to Kansas City. Southwind: I had high expectations given their last year's show and placement, and I am sorry to say I was disappointed. This year's show lacks most of the energy, feel, and entertainment factor from last year's show. First of all, the guard uniforms have GOT to go. Not only are they extremely unflattering, they are an awful color than can generously be described as a dull, dirty yellow. The opener of "Make His Praise Glorious" lacks feeling and seems to communicate, "We're trying to do something different than the Madison arrangement", but it doesn't work yet. In fact, I don't think I heard any section of the corps get any louder than a polite "f" dynamic. The brass is playing well and together, but like Lone Star, needs to give a lot of attention to feet and individual marching technique. The percussion feature, "Resurrection Ceremony", uses a lot of African drums near the front line, but again these performers aren't communicating the same "feel" of last year that really sold the show. Unfortunately the brass stands fast during much of the battery feature, as if drill still needs to be added. "Are You Ready For A Miracle", a holdover from last year, showed some signs of life at last, and featured a terrific baritone soloist in the "upper-squeal" register that got the crowd going. The closer seemed to retreat back to an "artsy" feel and lost the energy that they had just regained. I'm hoping Southwind can recapture the style that sold last year's show and make it work for them again. Carolina Crown: Believe the hype, this is a fascinating show you MUST see. The chess pieces really make the show. It begins with the chess pieces lined up in opposing end zones, as if a chess game is about to begin, and the guard moves the pieces just like the beginning of a chess game, with the pawns first, and later the back-row pieces. While this is happening there are percussion instruments in each end zone, playing rhythms communicating feelings of battle, much like how Cadets began their '93 show. Come to think of it, the guard uniforms strongly resemble the Cadets' from that same show. The rest of the corps has new purple coats, with a silver and black striped sash across the left shoulder -- it reminded me of the piano keyboard looking sash the Bushwackers wear. Brass and percussion were strong but still have plenty of cleaning to do. I have to say that I was VERY impressed with Crown's guard and their excellent weapons work. They seemed to be right up there with Cavies in that aspect. The show is well designed to accentuate weapons catches with percussion hits, for a great effect from the "why didn't anyone think of that before" department. As others said earlier, the drum feature is just like last year, with the corps standing in files on the 45s while the various sections march in the area in between as they are featured. It is creative, but I don't like keeping most of the corps standing still during this section when they can be doing other things. Overall, there seems to be a lot less marching going on in this show than you would expect from a top 12 corps, but from a creative standpoint at least the unique staging is making up for it. I would be interested to see if Crown is losing credit for not marching as much as other corps. I agreed with the placement and spread (1 point) between them and Magic. Crown got the first standing ovation of the night following their show. Magic: I posted earlier in the season saying I really didn't like their '95 show because it sounded just like '94 and the guard uniforms were awful. The guard uniforms are still awful, but rest assured that the music is nothing like you expected to hear from Robert Smith. The guard has gold body suits and many of them have weird looking gadgets on the top of their heads ... people around me laughed when I mentioned the guard had "hood ornaments". Like Crown there is a heck of a lot going on in this show and I will need to watch closely again tonight to understand it better. The music is darker and more emotional than I expected. There is a section in the middle of the show where someone commented there is some really weird brass playing and tons clanky of pit stuff going on; the color guard is doing work with metal ten-foot ladders here, and I got an impression of an abstract construction scene, as if the corps were building the spaceship that takes off near the end of the show. There is a LOT more drill and marching going on here than with Crown's show, and it is still cluttered and in need of cleaning; perhaps this is where they are losing the most points compared to Crown. The overall show is not nearly as "must-see" as Crown's, but it is very interesting and will be strongly competitive heading into the DCI tour. Cavaliers: I thought this was an "up" show for them based on visual and brass performance, but I guess I was proven wrong, at least in the judges' opinion. Both for Cavies and Phantom, I spent a lot of time watching the percussion because I've studied the brass and guard enough after three viewings already. The snare feature is jaw-droppingly impressive and got a lot of applause from the crowd. The tenor feature is just kind of there, but the bass feature is just as impressive as the snares'. The brass is gradually improving but as I said before, they have a much meatier book than usual and they are still trying to get a handle on it. No standing-O's during the show, but the corps was rewarded with a strong ovation at the end of the show. Phantom: WOW! They did it! I've been waiting for this to happen ... but I think that they have an easier show and any victories over Cavaliers will be temporary as the Cavies perfect their more difficult show. I watched very carefully to see when the brass was playing their loudest and most intricate passages, and sure enough, they slow down drastically or stop altogether whenever the demand gets high. But man oh man do they sound gorgeous when they cut loose. Near the end of the 5th Symphony finale, there is a powerful build as the brass line, by sections, hits a company front: first the sopranos with a major chord, then the mellos, baritones, and contras in succession with clashing unison notes, then with everyone parked in the company front (catch the pattern here?) they resolve to another major chord and really belt out a loud, LOUD, but still musical sound. I too really like the slow build in the opener, "Ballet Suite". I think the demand in percussion and marching while playing difficult licks is noticeably lower than Cavies and could hurt them soon if more demand isn't added ... but Phantom has been known to spice up the show and add as the season goes along, so we'll see. The percussion book is noticeably less difficult (even to a brass person like me) than Cavies, but they do some nice things. The snares really play well together as a unit and do a lot of "ripple" visuals that get oohs and aahs from the audience. The tenors do some three-mallet work during their feature, with a snare stick in the right hand and both tenor mallets in the left, that is pretty interesting. Phantom had the only mid-show standing ovations of any corps tonight. Last night's show was a first for me in that I was attending with someone who had never seen or heard of drum corps before. She does have an extensive background in dance, though, and was able to comment on that aspect quite accurately. Her favorite corps were Phantom, for their musicality, Crown, for their unique visual presentation, and Cavaliers, for their weapons work, in that order. Phantom did perform a mini-victory concert after the retreat, and performed the "Ballet Suite" opener and the "5th Symphony" finale with brass and battery percussion only. I was waiting to hear "Amazing Grace", but to my dismay it didn't happen. Perhaps tomorrow night. I thought it odd that, given that Texas is prime drum corps country both in participation and fan following, the crowd tonight was less enthusiastic than I'm used to seeing them -- only one corps (Phantom) earned a mid-show standing ovation. It was clear that while the crowd really enjoyed Cavaliers, Phantom was the hands down crowd favorite tonight, and their victory was greeted with wild applause. My official DCW review of the Killeen show appears tomorrow. It's my last online review of the summer for those of you who are getting tired of me. =) If any of you are going, look for me, I'll be hanging out with Hooter, wearing Phantom's new "Be Afraid Of The Dark" t-shirt. Eric Senzig Sky Ryders 1992 Brass Arranger, Texas Legion
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