July 21, 1997, Omaha, NE

Blue Devils..............87.7 - GE, Brass, and Visual
Santa Clara Vanguard.....85.6 - percussion
Bluecoats................78.0
Carolina Crown...........72.9
Academie Musicale........70.0
Pioneer..................62.6
Blue Stars...............56.4

Thanks to Dave Leon for emailing us these scores!
Thanks to Lyle J Jaixen for emailing us these scores!

Review - July 21, 1997, Omaha, NE

Thanks to Ed Edwards for emailing us this review!


Editorial notes:

Blue Stars: 56.4 (my score 51)
This show seems a little watered down & thin. Not much excitement here, but they give it a really good effort. I think there may be too many corps out of Wisconsin making it difficult to compete for talent.

Pioneer: 62.6 (my score 69)
Pretty decent show considering the level of difficulty. Not going to knock them for not enough dancing because they had a very busy color guard out there. They did as much dancing as they could. Besides, I go for the drums & brass myself. Not the color guard.

Academie Musicale: 70.0 (my score 64)
Good show except one thing: too small. I just don't get excited by a corps of less than 100-110. My high school had 120 members. So it's time to recruit for A.M. Color guard had some problems holding onto things down in front where it counts! Drummers never dropped any sticks...put them in front!

Carolina Crown: 72.9 (my score 77)
This was the first corps of the night to really pore it on! Finally got goosebumps when the brass & perc. turned our way and pounded it! Nice props & costumes too. But the playing was very good and the marching is coming along well. Another month and they'll be ready for Finals.

Bluecoats: 78.0 (my score 81)
I felt they deserved a score into the 80s, and they almost made it. The jazz was super. Great drum line! They all had the feal for the jazz they were playing. Rare these days. Don't lose that style!

Santa Clara Vanguard: 85.6 (my score 88)
I didn't care for their repertoire, but it was still an excellent show. Marching was typical Vanguard....Outstanding! Drum line was very tight and crisp. Not as good of a show as I've seen the corps do in the past however. Something was missing. But they still gave the Devils a run for it.

Blue Devils: 87.7 (my score 90)
I really thought they'd make a 90s score. This is a really great show. Loved the music. That's what I came for after all. They swing. They swang, and they swung all around the field playing some really good jazz. Percussion kicked this show into high gear where it stayed all the way through. (Being a drummer I might be biased maybe?) The color guard really added to the terrific jazz scores visually to help the Casablanca theme become reality. I'll have to agree with previous reviews on one thing however. The ending. It wasn't. It just doesn't do it for me. I hope that doesn't hurt them in the finals in Florida!

Review - July 21, 1997, Omaha, NE

Thanks to Lyle J Jaixen for emailing us this review!


Editorial notes:

Message: Blue Stars - Had a chance to watch their horn line practice earlier today. They are pretty young and short on members (only 40 horns). This show was not bad. Overall, corps does a great job but small #'s shows. Mid horns sound great. Can you tell I am former soprano player???

Pioneer - Finally 60+ horns!! First goosebumps of the season. I, also, disagree w/ earlier critiques of not enough dancing in CG. They need to clean up what they have though. I got sick of swords. Was there a sale on these or what? Every corps has swords. Not a fan of these things. Pioneer was the only corps to play leaving the field after scores. I miss that. America 'O Canada by all is nice but not individuality. Members can always sleep on the bus to next city if it gets late and the bored crowd members can go home if it gets too late for them. Some people only get to see one show a year-give us all you got. I'm getting off the track... Good show Pioneer.

Academie Musicale - Best horn line so far this evening. And only 54 brass. CG did have a few drops but looked together other than that. I thought perc book was pretty simple but I am horn player. I think that these guys had the best energy level of all corps the entire evening. Very entertaining show. Good luck at finals!

Carolina Crown - Slow start to show. Took a while to get things together. Energy level goes up and down throughout. Perc is pretty tight. Brass had intonation problems. Didn't seem into it tonight.

Bluecoats - Not a big fan of these guys up till tonight but man were they swinging hard. Brass is real good. Great swing feel. Drill needs some work. Marching skills need improvement as well. Should end up in the heat if they keep it up.

SCV - Fun show. I think SCV is back from the way the opener sounded. Show really loses it for me after that. I think they're having too much fun. Scatter drill and yelling and screaming is for VK not SCV. Cut some of this and they might get a top three spot.

Blue Devils - I saw them rehearse the evening before (dodging sprinklers). There were a lot of individuals still making mistakes in rehearsal and the show. Guess I expected more. Perc and Brass were pretty hot most of the night. CG looked pretty good too. Show seemed blah tonight - off night? Concert afterward was awesome. I used to feel electricity watching BD come on the field in the 80's. Haven't seen it since. Get rid of the black pants or add a stripe. Marching didn't impress me and this may be why.

I enjoyed the smaller corps more tonight. Seemed to me that they worked harder to get where they are. Big corps seem to be trying to impress the judges more than get the crowd off their butts. Stop the political b/s and entertain the crowd everyone.


July 21, 1997, Tulsa, OK

Madison Scouts...........87.0
Phantom Regiment.........85.2
Magic of Orlando.........79.3
Glassmen.................78.2
Kiwanis Kavaliers........72.5
Colts....................71.7
Southwind................62.1
Delta Brigade............51.3
Lone Star................51.0

Thanks to Jennifer Zlimen for emailing us these scores!

Review - July 21, 1997, Tulsa, OK

Thanks to Wayne Bovenschen for emailing us this review!


Editorial notes:

Message: No storms in Tulsa this year...but EXTREMELY humid during the day and early evening (heat index 100+). I don't miss the days of putting on a uniform in this heat! Being a percussionist, many drum comments have been included...

Lone Star (9th - 51.0): Extremely good drumline. It appears as though the judges do not like the fact that it is a drumline show with brass accompaniment. I might understand this, but how often is a corps hammered for no percussion breaks? I enjoyed the production - although if I hear En Fuego one more time by a drumline, I may be ill!

Delta Brigade (8th - 51.3): Extremely good brass line. There were only 18, but good tone and projection. The show is drawn from many different sources for the In the First Degree theme. The Elfman material was my favorite (trivia - the "Zagnut" scene in Beetlejuice - I have no life!) Unfortunately, the members were (I believe) nervous. With 12 from Oklahoma, it was a "home" show and there were many breaks throughout the ensemble. I watched the corps rehearse earlier and know they will do extremely well at nationals. The percussion were very good in the lot, but freaked in the show. Great pit work!

Southwind (7th - 62.1): I was led to believe that this corps was horrible (from talk and RAMD postings). I disagree. Yes, there is a wide array of dirty sections throughout the ensemble, but the brass has power and the percussion is far improved over last year (at this show, anyway). The sops have a tendancy to blow WAY sharp - hopefully this will be approached by the staff. The Grainger (Childrens' March) works VERY well (of course I'm a biased Grainger fan). I was hoping Iron Will would be more exciting - maybe a fix before nationals. The percussion have tempo problems, but each segment sounds stronger than last year.

Colts (6th - 71.7): Very exciting. The "biker chick" thing I've heard about is there for a reason - they can't hold on to the equipment! I hope this was only a problem tonight and not throughout the year. The brass is, as always, great. The sops tend to cross the crass barrier, but who was judging BS&T in the old days?! Someday, a drumline (or staff) will be assembled to match the level of the brass. No more comments on this (if you know me, enough said).

Kiwanis Kavaliers (5th - 72.5): My only error in my personal judging. I thought Colts had them tonight, but it was close. The show is okay with excitement - I was expecting more after last year, but there is still time. The Evita flags are absolutely perfect. Great brass but weak percussion. This is unlike the Kavs of old so I'll give them the benefit of the doubt - it must have been an off night. To the brass person who fell, GREAT recovery! It could have easily been a 1984 Garfield Whitewater flashback! :)

Glassmen (4th - 78.2): Percussion...Wow...It was hard to watch the rest of the show! The snare line is HOT! (More on this in the original "Percussion TEACHING" post on RAMD). After so many years of getting a hot dog during the Glassmen at nationals, I am humbled. Whoever is responsible for bring in the new percussion staff, you deserve a pay raise. I also like the fact that they are doing a different version of Carmen (compared to SCV 90). So often corps do music another corps has already performed, and it is usually a bad facsimile. This is tastefully done. I like the Glassmen (these words have NEVER left my mouth until tonight). Did I mention the drumline...........?

Magic (3rd - 79.3): Extremely entertaining. I'm not one to like stuff that borders on "hokie", but it works. As always , the Robert Smith brass line is incredible. The drumline is also improved. My respect to Dave Carbone - the snare line is great. The platinum hair in the guard? I don't get it, but so what - it was a great production!

Phantom Regiment (2nd - 85.2): I am a FMM so I tend to be critical. Last years show was the best PR show I have ever seen - not a single segment I didn't enjoy. This year, I find it difficult to enjoy ANY part of the production. If it took Wagner a week to tell the story, I guess I just don't feel it works in 11 minutes. The brass is awesome (as usual), although I didn't feel the low brass were as strong (staging?). The snare line is again very good, although not as strong as last year. The tenors need attention from the staff, however. After watching rehearsal in the afternoon, I can't remember a single tenor comment from the staff. All attention was given to the snares - they don't need it! (J.J. - a plea from a fellow teacher - check out the guys holding the drums you used to carry. They need your leadership. Not once did I hear the tenor feature to be even recognizable.)

Madison Scouts (1st - 87.0): I marched in the Cavaliers and Phantom Regiment. I have been trained to dislike the guys to the north. I LOVE THIS SHOW. I'm waiting to see Devs and CBC, but these guys may win (I can't believe I'm writing this!). Finally - NOTHING SPANISH!!!!!!!! The Mutt & Jeff thing is hilarious (I understand one of these guys is actually named Jeff)! The drumline is great - a bit too many notes, but you come to expect that. The brass also a great - I've never been a fan of the Madison "tone" but I'm either liking it, or they have darkened the sound a bit. I can't wait for Whitewater!

Overall, the results were okay - I felt Colts and Glassmen were one place too low, but the spreads were close so I was pleased. That is a first for me - I'm usually pretty upset at the placements. I'm sure if I saw a recap, I would be barking at the percussion placements, however. It's a good year in DCI - see you at Whitewater!

July Scores

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