July 15, 1997, Kansas City, MO

Cavaliers................83.7
Phantom Regiment.........82.6
Glassmen.................76.9
Boston Crusaders.........69.3
Pioneer..................67.9
Phantom Regiment Cadets..54.2
Bandettes................25.6


Thanks to Tim Haan for emailing us these scores!

Review - July 15, 1997, Kansas City, MO

Thanks to Matt Elcock on r.a.m.d for this review!


Editorial notes:

I got out of work early, drove into Kansas City, found the contest site completely by accident and finally saw my first drum corps of the season.

The Sky Ryders were first in exhibition, performing a percussion ensemble piece with color guard work. The new uniforms are kind of off-white with purple detail, with a front like Cadets and a tassel on the right shoulder. (I may be wrong on the details, it's kind of fuzzy.) Good work by the performers, but I was hoping to see some horns this year... maybe next year. After the show, I tried to buy one of the Sky Ryders Rainbow shirts, but they were sold out. I settled for a coffee mug instead.

Bandettes were next. They had a real good snare drummer and tenor player, and the rest of the corps was okay. Not much else to mention, except for the final moment of the show when three members of the color guard enter the field in the uniforms of long-gone all-girl corps. I don't know the names of the corps (but I should) so I can't answer that question. Anyone else know? Either way, it was a very nice touch.

Phantom Regiment Cadets were third... Their performance proved one thing to me: Anyone who says that drum corps is boring today needs to start looking again. Sure they are Div III, but the show gave me goosebumps! Execution isn't the best, but I enjoyed myself. There were a lot of great ideas on the field and the kids really sold it... and isn't that the point? We get so caught up in the competition and who will make Top 12 that we forget that there is so much good stuff out there to see.

Boston Crusaders - This show has lots of potential. The corps just needs to clean it up, and possibly make the ending more effective. As soon as the corps starts "Lincoln Portrait", the show takes off. I was against Boston playing "Lincoln" because of my experience from last summer... but it does work now. It's great to see rope drums on the field again.

Pioneer - I don't think that the show has the same potential to achieve Finals as Boston, but the "Riverdance" show was the highlight of the evening for me. (And, I've never liked Pioneer before.) Very well arranged and designed. There was only one drawback that I saw: First, either make the dancing harder or cut it from the show. The choreography that is in the show right now looked lack-luster. The guard needs to sell it more. This is going to be a Must Listen on the CDs... and probably a video as well.

Phantom Regiment - This show just didn't do anything for me... maybe it'll grow on me on a second viewing. It just seemed that the corps was doing what they were doing because they wanted to show that they were Top 6. The show was artistic, but it didn't go anywhere. Meanwhile, the ending of the show left me stumped. Anyone know the story of the Ring Cycle and can explain the last image in the show?

(Side note to PR's staff: WHAT THE HECK IS WITH THE DM'S UNIFORM??? The straight men are drooling and the gay men are snickering... and I have no idea what the women think. I dunno what they were thinking...) Glassmen - First off, Glassmen had an interesting night. At the beginning of the third number (aka Ladder Hell), the sprinklers came on in the right end zone and remained on for the rest of the show. Show Staff kept turning the jets away from the corps, but that didn't help 2 or 3 guard members at the end who had to do their final work in the rain. :) Fortunately, the drill didn't take them into that area until the very end.

Meanwhile, I'm really beginning to see a pattern: The Top 6 are artistic for the sake of being artistic... everyone else can mix entertainment into the mix. I really liked this show, even though I don't understand the ladders. (Is it in the corps charter that a bizarre type of prop must be used in each show?) The drums did great, making my Fantasy Corps very happy. One drawback was that one guard group did way too much dancing and very little guard work. The other two sections were fine.

Cavaliers - I either love Cavies or I hate them. This is a love year... if you are going to be artistic, then go all the way. That is what Cavies did. They won't win because the show is too "out there", but they will be listened to often by me after I get the recordings. The silent drill works, even though it is more fitting for dance or theatre. They won, and it was the correct decision imho.

In fact, all my predictions were correct except for Pioneer beating Boston in drums.

Next stop: Denver!!!

Recaps - July 15, 1997, Kansas City, MO

Thanks to Brad Simon for emailing us these recaps! Thanks to Matt Elcock on r.a.m.d for these recaps! GE Ensemble Performance MUS VIS TOT MUS VIS TOT BRASS RERC VIS TOT SUB PEN TOTAL Bandettes 59 30 8.9 42 33 7.5 21 39 32 92.0 25.6 0 25.6 PR Cadets 118 99 21.7 71 87 15.8 51 61 55 16.7 54.2 0 54.2 Boston 146 133 27.9 106 107 21.3 58 78 66 20.2 69.4 0.1 69.3 Pioneer 147 127 27.4 101 100 20.1 66 74 64 20.4 67.9 0 67.9 Phantom 170 162 33.2 122 123 24.5 82 87 80 24.9 82.6 0 82.6 Glassmen 160 153 31.3 118 115 23.3 68 84 71 22.3 76.9 0 76.9 Cavaliers 169 163 33.2 125 126 25.1 83 88 83 25.4 83.7 0 83.7

July 15, 1997, Tupelo, MS

Madison Scouts...........85.0
Magic of Orlando.........79.2
Kiwanis Kavaliers........73.8
Southwind................67.6

Div II/III
Delta Brigade............68.6
Lone Star................67.1

Thanks to Mike Wetzel on r.a.m.d for these scores!

July 15, 1997, Logan, UT

Blue Devils..............86.1
Santa Clara Vanguard.....81.5
Blue Knights.............73.9
Troopers.................58.9

Div II/II
SC Vanguard Cadets.......69.2

Thanks to Larry on r.a.m.d for these scores!

Review - July 15, 1997, Logan, UT

Thanks to Alex Mckinley for emailing us this review!


Editorial notes:

Here is my short but fun review of the Logan, UT show. I'm a drummer so please note I'm checking out the lines all of the time. Summaries are in order of finish from bottom to top. Dig it kids!

SCV Cadets: The tenor line is pretty cool. The show didn't do much for me. It was cool to hear Don't Cry for Me, Argentina.

Troopers: What has happened to such a cool corps? They have gone down- hill the past few years. 3 snares, 2 tenors, and 4 basses. Wow! The crowd did love them though. The sunburst was a mess. The music was a mess. But they are the Troopers. Utah loves them.

Blue Knights: Very cool. Big improvement from last year. I think they can earn spot seven for finals. The snares are playing on plastic. It freaked me out at first but they sounded great. The drill is very nice and the brass is putting out some sound. Nice change from last year. Way to go guys.

Santa Clara: They are back. I expect them to finish very high. I'm not to familiar with Bernstien stuff. It kind of reminded me of Cadets 94 though. Kind of abstract. The drumline is going to rule DCI again. The closer is so incredible. The GE isn't there like years past. I think that's where the Devils are going to kill them. We will see. Go Vanguard!

Blue Devils: I think the program is better than last years'. The music is awesome. The horns are LOUD. I spent the day watching the drumline and was disappointed until they played the book. The victory show was intense. I must say the guard is great. Very fun to watch. This show does not let up. Check it out. Someone said its all on the drumline's shoulders. It's true. I don't think the drumline will beat SCV's drumline. but I'm not a judge.

Thanks. Questions, comments, or dates. Email me..................

July Scores

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