Thanks to Donald Chinn on r.a.m.d for this review! A quick note on the Erie show, held at Corry H.S. in Corry, PA. Weather: A massive thunderstorm hit the area about 4 hours before show time. The storm lasted about 2 hours. (Does this remind anyone of Buffalo last year?) They went on with the show. As the evening went on, there was a hint of fog rolling in. Crowd: absolutely dead. Perhaps the thunderstorm made people a little less enthusastic. All the corps seemed to have gotten a smattering of applause (even after being blasted in the face in the standstill by the Blue Devils afterwards!). Lake Erie Regiment (Erie, PA) (exhibition): "Contemporary Liturgies." This is a young corps (founded in 1993). The music they chose was pretty sophisticated, perhaps a little too sophisticated for them at this point, but the corps shows much promise. Watch out for them in a couple years. Golden Lancers (Pittsburgh, PA): "Through the Air." Their new gold and black uniforms look really sharp. Again, another corps who look like they are on the right path. Score: 66.25. North Shore (Toronto, ONT): "Gershwin melodies" (Cuban Overture, Someone to Watch Over Me, I Got Rhythm). Another entertaining performance. They could have taken Cuban Overture a little faster, as it seemed to drag at times. Score: 57.9. Kiwanis Kavaliers (Kitchener, ONT): "West Side Story." An very entertaining show. Their show seems to be influenced by the Cadets 1994 show. They do a few new things, though. One is the use of garbage cans as instruments (a la STOMP). The color guard is dresses "ganglike." Score: 72.55. Boston Crusaders (Boston, MA): "Portraits of Our Homeland -- the East." A well-designed show with an American theme. Performance levels not quite there yet, though. In many ways, the show feels like Star 1992, but there are a several interesting twists in the show. One is the ending of Grovers Corner, where a color guard member places flowers in one of the props (a landscape of farm country) they have. Score: 70.65. Velvet Knights (Anaheim, CA): "VK in Space." More zaniness from the crew that brought us previous Magical Mystery Tours. This time they are in space. I won't spoil too much for you here. The opening "fake out" moves are neat. Star Trek is the most heavily used theme, but there are a few bars here and there from Star Wars, 2001, and a bunch of other tunes that I recognized, but couldn't place. They spoof other corps: Cavaliers, Santa Clara Vanguard's Bottle Dance. After 2001 and Jetsons, their show gets really serious with Star Trek images and Klingon bat-leths. But then the final push is more lighthearted again. Score: 67.35. Magic of Orlando (Orlando, FL): "Twelve Seconds to the Moon." An original composition by Robert Smith, commissioned for the USAF Band of Flight. I don't know much about the piece, but it is basically a contemporary wind ensemble piece. The color guard have some pretty funky goldish uniforms. Score: 78.15. Phantom Regiment (Rockford, IL): "Defiant Heart -- music of Shostakovich." To me, this was a very dark show. The 14 contras help a low in getting the deep dark sound needed. (Of course, most of Shostakovich's music is dark and/or depressing, except for works such as his 9th Symphony.) All throughout the show, images of Russia under the czars, Lenin, Mother Russia, etc. raced through my head. This show is just a short bit away from being a really powerful and thought-provoking show. I think work needs to be done on the execution (especially in the brass). Also, I think the color guard should be involved a little more. (Their all-red uniforms are nice color-wise, but they just seem to disappear in the sea of black.) Score: 88.45. Blue Devils (Concord, CA): "Club Blue: A Gangster Chronicle." I felt like I was in some smoky bar drinking a beer (and having my ears ripped off) while watching this show. What can I say: great horns, great drums, great color guard. They execute the show really well. The standstill afterwards was amazingly in tune and together. Attacks and releases were great. About the only negative I can think of is that the performance as it is now seems a little too mechanical. Perhaps little changes in tempo, dynamics, or phrasing could make the musical part of the show a little more interesting. The Blue Devils have done these kinds of changes in the past, so I should hope they will do so this year. Score: 89.95. Erie Thunderbird Alumni Sr. Corps (exhibition): An entertaining standstill concert. Lots of antics and silliness (amazing what can happen when there are no rules or points). The crowd was more entertained by this corps than any of the other corps. The soloists were outstanding. Who will win it all? I personally think that the Blue Devils don't have a Championship-calibre show. (It's executed at Championship level, though.) The Cadets certainly have all the elements of a Championship show, but they need to work on their execution (there are a LOT of notes to master in their show). Phantom could have a Championship show, but I think the show may be too dark to have audience appeal and/or general effect. Something about their show doesn't flow smoothly, but I can't put my finger on it (then again, I have only seen it once). I have not seen Cavaliers, Madison, or Santa Clara, but out of those three, my guess is that the Cavaliers has the best chance, because their show presumably is sophisticated and may require all of the last two weeks left in the season to perfect it. I am looking forward to seeing all three of these shows. As has been said before, this looks like a good year. -- Donald
Last updated: August 4, 1996
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