Blue Devils..............91.2 Santa Clara..............88.7 Phantom..................88.2 Crossmen.................83.7 Bluecoats................82.9 Glassmen.................82.9 Kiwanis..................77.7 Boston Crusaders.........74.2 Les Etoiles..............71.8 Southwind................66.6 Troopers.................62.7 Thanks to Steve Nickolson for emailing us these scores!special review
Southwind - 66.6
I have to say that I was impressed with the sound that this small corps put out tonight. They have a beautiful ballad in the middle of the show that seemed to sound very sweet. It was the first drum corps I had heard all year, so I guess anything would have sounded good, but this corps really did a fine job. There were things for them to work on, but that's normal.
Troopers - 62.7
First and foremost I believe the thing that hurt them was their lack of drumline. They had only three snares and two quads I believe, and in a competition like this, that really won't cut it. The brass seemed to be OK, but not as good as Southwind. Also, I know funds probably are tight, but the Troopers are dying for new uniforms. They need a new, bold look. Their uni's aren't cutting it.
Boston Crusaders - 74.2
A really nice show tonight. They proved to be a level above the small corps. They seemed relaxed and loose and really had fun with their show. They had a nice drill and sound that the crowd really seemed to enjoy. An all around nice performance from a corps that seems to be coming up the drum corps ranks.
Kiwanis Kavaliers - 77.7
First of all, I love the black. The uniforms gave this corps an almost imposing look. They looked like they meant business and I was happy to hear them play like it too. They really are leaps and bounds above where they usually are in past years. The whole show, drill, marching, brass line, really seem to be coming together for this corps. One of my favorite shows all night.
Les Etoiles - 71.8
They went on after K.K., so they might have seemed better than they really were as their score might indicate. To be honest, I can't really remember that much about their show, which is never a good sign.
Glassmen - 82.9
Wow! This corps really has a "swagger" to them that really is conveyed nicely to the crowd. They have a drumline that kicks and much better than recent years. They are assured a spot in the finals this year. They were the first corps of the night to really blast your ears out. They seemed to have an extra "forte" that the preceding corps did not. Watch for them not only in the finals, but also in upcoming years.
Crossmen - 83.7
Double WOW! Obviously the most exciting, entertaining, and all-out Birdland blasting show of the night. They had it all. The guard seemed huge! Not only that, they seemed good too. The drumline was there for them as usual, and the brass held their own. They really came out and lit up Whitewater's Forrest Perkins Stadium with a jazzy, jazzy show that built up to a climax at the end that was awesome. I don't know why this corps can't break into the top six. If the crowd judged, they'd be there for sure.
Bluecoats - 82.9
Now even though they tied with the Glassmen, I would have to say that their show was not as entertaining. They did deserve to be in the 80's with their usually strong brass. There was just nothing in their show that really stuck with me. Tough going on after the Crossmen tonight. I'm sure that won't be happening at finals.
Blue Devils - 91.2
What can you say. The typical amazing Blue Devilish show. Even though I've seen more memorable shows from them in the past like My Spanish Heart, this show still rocks and their horn line is still beyond belief. Their guard did a wonderful job performing to Casablanca and was great as usual. I believe their drumline will decide if they win it all this year, and after seeing them tonight, they'll be ready come finals. Also, everyone makes a big deal about how the ending isn't typical Blue Devils. I found nothing wrong with it. It was a nice emotional ending to a show that had plenty of blasting horns throughout.
Santa Clara Vanguard - 88.7
This show is definitely much more exciting than the past couple of years, and I was hoping for a better score a little closer to the Devils. Oh well, it's just nice to have the old exciting Santa Clara back. I'm not sure if they won percussion or not, but they should have. Those guys cooked. That's one area where they should be better than the Devils. Santa Clara will be strong come finals.
Phantom Regiment - 88.2
First of all, the drum major's outfit was no big deal. I repeat...no big deal. Get over it already. One thing I couldn't get over is how much this corps has went downhill. Sure, they still have a strong hornline, percussion and guard, but their show is nowhere near as exciting and entertaining as last year. Last year's show had passion and real emotion. The best phantom show ever, and it all started with the music. This year's show's music really lacked I felt. The Wagner stuff didn't do much for me at all. It amazes me how much a corps can change from year to year. Also, Phantom's lack of color may have been taken too far. Last year the guard looked to great in the red, and this year they put them in black. So now the whole corps is basically in black. The gold could have worked better, but when you use basically the same white, gold, and black flags for the whole show, it gets stale and boring. I don't mean to be harsh. I love Phantom, but I don't know what happened this year, compared to last. Maybe it's time to go back to white?
After a hot and muggy drive up to Wisconsin, we made our way through Whitewater to Perkins Stadium, known to us drum corps old timers as Warhawk Stadium. This was strange to me (Tom) since it was only 22 years ago that I performed in this stadium for the first time. My corps at the time the Imperials from Norwood Park/Skokie Illinois didn't make finals. That night I saw for the first time the 1975 Madison Scouts and the Santa Clara Vanguard doing the bottle dance. I also saw the Guardsmen who I would be marching with the following year. Okay, enough reminiscing. on the show.
First up was Southwind. We were very impressed with their show called Scenes from Childhood. The color guard was very good and the musical show was tight. They were much stronger than I anticipated (10th-66.6).
Troopers were up next. Their show was an American Theme. They were very small, but most importantly, they were there!!!! The crowd was very enthusiastic toward their performance, especially the sunburst. The performance had some obvious execution problems, but hey, they have only been in competition for a couple of weeks. It was really exciting to see them (11th - 62.7).
Boston Crusaders were very impressive playing Portraits of Our Homeland. This show was very tight. Boston has a stronger corps than they had last year. We enjoyed it and the crowd responded. They contrasted the first two corps with a much higher volume level. (8th - 74.2).
Kiwanis Kavaliers were a pleasant surprise playing Evita. A very strong performance with a well arranged show. I not sure that they will break into the top 12 at Orlando, but they clearly are in the hunt. (7th - 77.7).
Les Etoiles were next. They did not have a single theme show. It was a really neat show. The style was clearly French. The most memorable part of the show was the closer when the drummers placed themselves in what looked like a circus apparatus. The drummers were spinning upside down while playing. The crowd was on their feet before the show was over. Their performance was not as strong as their competitors, but they were a lot of fun to watch!!! (9th - 71.8).
Glassmen were up next with The Age of Gold, the Music of Georges Bizet). This is the 4th time I have seen this show. It is very strong and very impressive. It is clearly a top 12 show. We plan to see them on Saturday night in Orlando. The familiar music of Carmen is a real crowd pleaser. (tie 5th - 82.9).
Crossmen wowed us with Colors of Jazz. The colorguard was great!!! They had some of the best flag work of the night. The Visual effects were very strong. The music was very tight and drum line was up to their usual form. The jazz needs a few more liberties taken with it since the show doesn't swing as much as it could. This will be a very strong year for Crossmen. (4th - 83.7).
Bluecoats did Midnight Blue - Jazz After Dark. Great horn show! Bluecoats were powerful with a very crowd pleasing show. I have come to expect great jazz shows from Bluecoats and they delivered. (tie 5th - 82.9).
Blue Devils did not disappoint with Casablanca. This was a classy show. The hornline is amazingly enjoyable (even for the hearing impaired). During the quiet parts, the crowd was absolutely silent!! The soft ending is cool, but it mutes the crowd response at the end. This is not a jump to your feet ending, but it is really cool. (1st - 91.2).
Santa Clara Vanguard was a treat with Fog City Sketches. This show was very powerful. Wow, this is the Vanguard of old!! I was not going to be upset if Vanguard pulled an upset and won. This show is tight, loud, and very precise. The staccato triple forte notes make the stadium vibrate with power. I can't wait to see them again. (2nd - 88.7).
Phantom Regiment is much improved over the last time I saw them 2 weeks ago in DeKalb. They are doing The Ring by Wagner. This is a very classy and very powerful show. Clearly a top 6 corps, but a championship title will be hard to get with this show. It is good, but it is not generating the crowd response that Phantom is use to getting. Clearly a great show. (3rd - 88.2).
Amazingly, we thought that the scoring and placement was very accurate. We agreed with everything except the spread between Blue Devils and Santa Clara which should have been a little tighter. Also we thought that Les Etoiles would have closed in more on Boston. Overall, a great show. No one was boring and the placements did not upset the crowd. The rain and lightning held off and the mosquitoes were few and far between. There is rain in the forecast for tonight's show (part 2). We will see how things hold.
Tom and Teresa Corso in Wisconsin this week (we will be reporting on the Kilties Classic next week then it is off to South Carolina).
Recaps - July 25, 1997, Whitewater, WI - DCI Midwest
Thanks to Lulu Barrueco on r.a.m.d for these recaps! Gen effect ensemble performance c/g total mus vis ttl mus vis ttl bra perc vis ttl Blue Devils 18.8 18.0 36.8 14.0 13.6 27.6 9.0 8.9 8.9 26.8 9.1 91.2 SCV 18.4 17.5 35.9 13.8 13.3 27.1 8.3 9.0 8.4 25.7 8.8 88.7 Phathom Reg 18.6 17.2 35.8 13.7 13.0 26.7 8.6 8.6 8.5 25.7 8.7 88.2 Crossmen 17.7 16.2 33.9 13.0 12.6 25.6 7.8 8.4 8.0 24.2 8.4 83.7 Bluecoats 18.1 15.9 34.0 12.9 12.0 24.9 8.2 8.0 7.8 24.0 8.5 82.9 Glassmen 18.0 15.7 33.7 12.8 12.1 24.9 8.1 8.3 7.9 24.3 8.6 82.9 K. Kavaliers 16.7 15.0 31.7 12.0 11.7 23.7 7.3 7.5 7.5 22.3 8.1 77.7 Boston Crus 17.0 14.3 31.3 11.6 11.1 22.7 6.5 7.3 6.4 20.2 7.7 74.2 Les Etoiles 16.0 14.2 30.2 10.6 10.9 21.5 7.1 6.8 6.2 20.1 7.6 71.8 Southwind 15.2 13.0 28.2 10.4 9.8 20.2 6.0 6.4 5.8 18.2 7.1 66.6 Troopers 14.0 13.5 27.5 9.8 9.4 19.2 4.5 5.9 5.6 16.0 6.6 62.7
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