Danpod Posted June 19, 2009 Posted June 19, 2009 I'm about to head over to Blossom Athletic Center in San Antonio to check out the The Crossmen Preview Experience event. I'll be sending some live info via The Danpodcast Twitter Page so go check it out. I'll also take some pictures and report back here with a little review from tonight. Can't wait to see a full run of Forbidden! And rumor has it that the corps is wearing capes... Quote
Danpod Posted June 20, 2009 Author Posted June 20, 2009 Just returned from the Preview Experience deal. Here's the skinny on the show. Skinny meaning quite lengthy. The show is described as "a love story about two people who think that cannot be with each other." Twilight, anyone? The first movement, including the pre-show, is titled Fascination. The corps lines up on the left side while the guard is on the right. There are multiple fragmented entrances by the brass until the first big hit of the show lands, which is supposed to coincide with the corps announcement. The mellos are absolutely killer in this show! Bravo to them. We now blend into part two, titled Fantasy. This part is supposed to describe how life would be if the two characters were able to be together. Lots of staging and entrance challenges are evident here. However, the design here molds everything together very well. There's just enough fragmented and ensemble music to keep everyone happy. We have a little drum break here while the corps is doing some nice drill backfield. The corps enters seamlessly after the drum break in a brass choir. This part of the show is a big change from what was previously heard. You had all kinds of fragmented and dissonant music up until this point. The corps finishes out the movement with some difficult drill and a huge series of eighth notes. The next part is an arrangement of My Immortal by Evanescence. Two baritone soloists in the front introduce the melody. A trio of full corps crescendos build some nice anticipation for the soprano screamer, also meant to simulate the scream from the guard character. The big hit in My Immortal was a crowd favorite and it probably will be all season. THe next part starts off with a drum break. The drumline has some nice visuals that add great difficulty to what they are playing. The corps ended half way through this part in a makeshift form. I'm not sure if they know all of the drill yet but nevertheless, it was a nice teaser to keep people paying attention throughout the whole season. Mark Chambers told the crowd that there will be "an exit as we leave the field". Quote
Danpod Posted June 20, 2009 Author Posted June 20, 2009 Okay, so let's get to some opinion: The corps members are wearing black capes this year. These are not the capes that you saw during the 2007 pre-show. These capes are very sleek and about as streamlined to the uniform as possible. They make for a very unique look. They utilize them a few times during the show and we were assured that they would be used even more as the season went on. With that being said, I'm not sure how the capes will be evaluated by the judges. To the naked eye, it seemed like the capes slowed the corps down. I'm not saying that the capes are physically weighing down the members. I remember the drill being a lot faster during rehearsals than tonight. There is just that much more black that has to travel with each member. With the wind tonight, there were some moves where you saw the black of the cape, then an empty gap, and then the corps member. At the same token, most major shows take place indoors so the wind won't be a factor. There are plenty of opportunities to use the cape to tell the story and they'll be working hard on that. I'm not sure if the capes will add more positive effect than negative. That is something that we will find out over the next few weeks. Character is going to make or break this show. Even with a rough skeleton, the drill design does a good job of telling the story. It'll be interesting to see how the characters develop throughout the season. I will be anxious to see if one of the corps members bites a guard member. Ouch. The drumline must improve. In terms of timing, the corps does very well. However, the drumline is very dirty in their exposed sections. I'm sure they'll get it down. I think this corps can be in Finals. I really do. In order for that to happen, they'll need to add tons of character to the show. Also, their visual performance has to be top notch for the capes to be pulled off on the field. Finally, they have to nail all of their fragmented music. When the corps plays together, they sound fantastic. When you break then down into smaller sections, you can sense a level of shakiness. That is something that will probably get fixed over time. Personally, I think the musical and visual design is there. Design wise, the total package fits together very well. Execution is going to be key for them. They'll win over audiences this year, I promise you that. If they can get some consistent performances under them early in the season, they will have a good chance of performing on Saturday night. Quote
Danpod Posted June 20, 2009 Author Posted June 20, 2009 One last thing: One of The Crossmen volunteers was named the Drum Corps International Volunteer of the Year. Congratulations Denise! Quote
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