On the Road – Pasadena 2007

// August 31st, 2007

(1 votes, average: 4 out of 5)

Along with a large number of drum corps fans, I made the trek to Pasadena for finals and between other commitments managed to take in the top 6 corps at both quarters, semi-finals and finals.  While there was the usual wrangling over scores (who was in, who was out, who got screwed, who received a gift score), I found the overall show experience to be on of the best I’ve had as an audience member in many years.

The Rose Bowl is well suited for this event and has a great deal of open space around it for warm-up, market place and parking (as much as I love finals in Madison, Camp

OK . . . so the performances.  Everybody expected BD to win and hey guess what . . .  there they were on Saturday with the gold medals around there necks.  Granted, they played well but I have to admit that I have a bit of a problem with a corps scoring as high as they did with what I perceive as so little content in their show.  The visual package mostly consisted of park-and-blow statements and playing back field.  That and I have a hard time understanding why a horn line that plays as well as BD obviously does limits itself to three dynamic levels . . . facing the box, facing the end-zone and facing back field. 

 I had the opportunity to see Cadets from many vantage points.  Thursday night during the “re-chalk” incident, found me on the goal line of side 2, Friday night I finagled my way into the press box and at finals, I enjoyed a 50 yard line seat on in row 66.  I can honestly say without any hesitation that The Cadets fielded one of the most amazing corps I have seen.  I only wish they would not have talked over it.  This group of kids ran their tails off (many times topping 220 bpm) in a highly demanding drill and still managed to outplay every corps on the field (sorry BD . . . I’m paid to write what I think). 

The Cavaliers owe their third place finish to their clean form development and strong color guard (not to mention the design team).  Had this corps taken on a lesser designed show, chances are they would have found themselves somewhere around 6^th or 7^th place.  In fact, the horn played so weakly at semi-finals, many of us in the press box were wondering if they wouldn’t drop a place or two. 

The Phantom Regiment roared into 4^th place with a well conceived show that was played so extremely well it must have been difficult to put them ahead of the Cavaliers.  The last statement of Firebird had them running the length of the field and back with no perceivable loss in power or tone quality.  I think if they were able to clean up the feet a bit more and make sure more bodies were in set forms, hey could have placed higher.

Rounding out the top 5 was the Santa Clara Vanguard.  True to form, SCVG presented a high energy, crisp performance that was played and marched at the highest level.  The only problem is that I can’t remember much of it.  I’m afraid the GE was fleeting and the show left no real impression.

The darlings of this year’s finals were Carolina Crown and with such good reason.  I believe them to have had the best designed show on the field and every year these kids march and play a little better.  Their show concept of Triple Crown could have come across as so hokey yet Crown’s extremely talented designed team pulled it off without a hitch.  The biggest treat for me with this show was watching the best guard in DCI this year (Cavaliers my sweet . . . .).  No other group moved with this kind of unified technique nor did any of them explore space the way Crown did.  The guard designers down there found planes that most designers aren’t even aware exist.

I’m already looking forward to next season to see how things shakeout.  There are so many questions.

• Have the Cavaliers ended their amazing run or was 2007 just a blip?
• Will 2008 be the summer that Blue Stars make it back to finals?
• What about Madison?  Will they survive this staff change or will they become the next corps to fall away for good?

Remember boys and girls.  Audition camps begin in 83 days and we get to start this merry-go-round all over again.