July 24, 1997, Stillwater, MN

Cadets of Bergen.........89.0
Madison Scouts...........87.3
Crossmen.................82.9
Blue Knights.............80.1
Spirit of Atlanta........69.8
Pioneer..................67.1
Blue Stars...............59.6

Thanks to Jennifer Zlimen for emailing us these scores!

Review - July 24, 1997, Stillwater, MN

Thanks to Jeni Zlimen for providing this review!


Editorial notes:

Here goes night 2 - a lot of the corps were the came from last night, so I will just add anything new.

7th place - 59.6 - Blue Stars - The looked and sounded better tonight. Only a few breaks in their opening Inferno, and the only time you could hear the judges was during the ascension. They still seem to struggle a bit during the quiet parts, but overall a stronger and better show this evening. Should be a strong contender in Div. 2.

6th place - Pioneer - 67.1 - This corps also looked better this evening, even after being rushed onto the field. Horns sounded cleaner and sharper, the dancers that I still don't like almost looked together during some of their group unison movements. The visual program is still lacking in a few things, but the hornline executes well enough to distract from this most of the time. If I hadn't heard the judges during half the program I actually may have enjoyed them, and coming from someone who didn't enjoy the stage production of Riverdance this is a big step.

5th place - Spirit of Atlanta - 69.8 - First time viewing this show this year. Love the choice of music, really compliments the corps. The hornline seemed a little weak, but that may be because of their low numbers. The people they had could play, but there weren't enough of them. Good guard, liked the unis. It was fun to see a group do music that seemed so close to home for them. Overall, much improved over last year, and I look forward to seeing them again in Orlando.

4th place, 80.1 - Blue Knights - missed most of this show, what I saw was from the sideline. Sounded much better than the time I last heard them, they seem to carry the theme of Ben Hur through their program. I still don't particularly enjoy the theme of their show, but they sounded and looked much better than my previous viewing. If it came down to BK and the Colts for that 12th spot, I think it deserved to go to the Colts.

3rd place, Crossmen - 82.9 - This show was even HOTTER tonight... Man is this a good selection of music for them. Birdland was more upbeat tonight, soloist rocked, guard was right on again. Sunshine seemed louder, the hornline seems to gel more with each performance. Drumline also looked better tonight, their feature rocked. Niner-two once again brought the crowd to it's feet with 15 seconds left in the program... that loud in your face ending is fantastic. I still think this show has the potential to break into the top 6, and I can't wait to see these guys in Orlando!!!!!!

2nd place, Madison Scouts - 87.3 - IMHO, this show was better than Wed. night, and I am totally clueless as to why their score dropped. Everything seemed more on tonight, especially the hornline. Sounded much stronger tonight. Still love the guard program, easily the best they have had in years, and it is fun to listen to the crowd reaction to them throughout the whole show. I still think this is the best ensemble program I have seen all year, and should take them far in Orlando. IMO, not 1.7 points behind the Cadets tonight. I thought the spread should have been less than a point.

1st place, Cadets, 89.0 - Better show than the night before, but the hornline still sounds really dirty in parts of their show. There is still a lot of room for improvement here. Guard looKed much better tonight, had better control of their equipment. Drumline seemed even tighter tonight... they are amazing! Overall a strong show, but not a point and a half better than the Scouts... maybe a half a point at the most. This show has much room for improvement yet, and I hope that they can clean it up in time for Orlando. They did have a better audience connection tonight, but it still seems to be lacking the emotion of a championship corps. The encore was entertaining ... we were lucky enough to be right next to the drum majors when they conducted from the stands. I'm surprised there are no pics of that on ramd yet... :) The warmup is really funny, like the fun tunes interspaced with the chords was fun. Encore sounded better tonight than last night as well. Still not one of my fave shows this year, but I'm curious to see how they improve going into finals.

Minnesota Brass Inc. performed again this evening, and they sounded 100 times better tonight... Probably because of that hot bari that finally decided to show up... But seriously, had they performed the way they did last night in DeKalb that DCM title would be theirs. Hornline was hot, soloists were awesome, guard looked great, everything just seemed to click! Loved the show last night! Great Job!

Well, that's it for me until finals......can't wait to see how the regionals shape up!

Jeni Zlimen

July 24, 1997, Michigan City, IN

Santa Clara Vanguard.....88.3
Cavaliers................86.8
Phantom Regiment.........86.6
Magic of Orlando.........79.3
Kiwanis Kavaliers........74.8
Academie Musicale........69.1
Southwind................65.0

Thanks to Dave Leon for emailing us these scores!

July Scores

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