June 25, Woodstock IL

Thanks to Glenn Johnson on RAMD for this review!

I attended the Woodstock, IL show on Sunday and recorded the following
scores and impressions:

Phantom Regiment Cadets (27.8) - average age of members is 14.  Their
cool jazz program has a long way to go.

Colt Cadets (29.8) - time for a hot dog

Capital Sound (35.5) - certainly better than Junior Scouts used to be

Golden Lancers (37.8) - this is a very small corps with fewer than ten
horns, but I was very impressed by their quality.  The average age
of the members seemed to be more typical of an open class corps.

Kilties (40.6) - first time viewing of this senior corps (not counting
'92 Finals), and I was very impressed.  Their show is basically old-time
drum corps with symetrical drill and an American flag (and POW/MIA flag)
group.  Even though I did not follow drum corps until '82, I really enjoyed
their show (along with most other spectators).

Troopers (52.1) - it is not my favorite Trooper program, but it was
very enjoyable.  Execution problems kept them behind Pioneer again.
I talked to their souvie man, and he claimed that the corps was
marching 110, but needed a few low brass players.  My wife made the
following count:  38 horns, 25 guard, 7 pit, 2 cymbols, 7 snares,
3 quads, 4 bass, and 2 drum majors (including 1 female DM).  This is
only 88 members on the field. Where are the others?  As reported elsewhere,
the Appalacian Spring program ends with a _silent_ sunburst, even though
the horn players are holding their instruments in playing position.
I was disappointed by the ending, but my wife thinks that it was very
effective (remember Garfield's quiet '87 ending when they did Appalacian
Spring?).

Pioneer (55.6) - they will almost certainly make semi-finals this year.
Talking to one of their instructors, I learned that 3 of their best
horn soloists were temporarily sick (due the heat) and had to be replaced
with backup soloists.  Another member was out of action due to a sprain.
I did not notice any major problems with the solos.  They are marching
around 90-95 members this year, a big jump.  The spectators really
appreciated having "Gary Owen March" played to them as Pioneer trooped
the stands after their show.  I hope that other corps will use this
opportunity to provide a little extra entertainment for the spectators.

Cadets (72.4) - I was really blown away by this show!  With all of
the props on the field and the high-speed drill, it is a wonder that
there were almost no collisions (one lamp-post fell down near the end).
There is so much going on that it will take many viewings to catch
all of the action.

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