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July 19, 2009

Ring of Fire

A "Ring of Fire" in meteorology terms is a high pressure system stagnated with thunderstorms circling the pressure in a clockwise motion. This weather pattern is what the corps had to endure while making their way towards DCI Southwest in San Antonio. What started as stormy weather in Hutchinson, Kansas one day turned into blistering hot weather in Oklahoma. This set the stage for a day so hot, they moved the start time of the show back thirty minutes in hopes that it would bring cooler temperatures. No such luck. Nine corps endured the heat wave high of 103 in Broken Arrow to put on a performance and they did not disappoint.

Most of the drumlines were smart in the warm-up locations, looking for shady areas or the large grass fields next to the parking lot. Anything not to warmup on the blacktop. Below are pictures, videos, and a short review of each corp I was able to catch up with. Since there were nine drum corps, I was not able to catch them all or the portion I did catch did not warrant enough for me to make any comments.

Troopers

What an improvement since the last I saw them which was a year or two ago. The rolls had a nice throaty sound to them and the group seemed confident in what they were playing based on their body language. If you haven't seen Troopers in the lot this year, you need to drop by on your way to the bigger corps and check them out.

Colts

Again, another drumline that has made solid improvements since last year. The Colts are playing the best I have heard them in the last three years hands down.I attribute a lot of that to Max and the rest of the drum staff who have brought a very precise and controlled, yet relaxed, approach to the drum. Their rolls are fantastic for this part of the season and they should be right in the mix with the rest of the groups drumming in the 8-12 slots.

Blue Knights

I only got to see Blue Knights for a few minutes so I'm not going to make any comments. But during that time I was able to grab a little video.

Madison Scouts

It started getting dark on me at this point so I wasn't able to see the Scouts too well since they were away from the parking lot lights. I was able to grab a little video....even if a little grainy, it is an improvement over my video of Scouts in Van Buren last year.

Blue Devils

Good stuff from Blue Devils as usual, let's see how long it will stay up on YouTube. Here's hoping for better results than last year. Some interesting things in these video clips: they are playing some extremely hard warm-up material. If you look close enough, you will see some of the snareline agrees with me. Also it seems there is a tribute to the YouTube user Banished Beyond in the 3rd video clip and then the snare drummer that impersonates Banished points to someone in the crowd. Very interesting...

Posted by Ryan on 11:04 PM

July 18, 2009

DCI Southwestern Championship Results

1 Blue Devils	91.400
2 The Cavaliers	89.750
3 Holy Name Cadets	89.550
4 Carolina Crown	89.150
5 Santa Clara Vanguard	87.800
6 Bluecoats	86.500
7 Blue Stars	84.650
8 Phantom Regiment	84.250
9 Boston Crusaders	84.200
10 Glassmen	82.200
11 Blue Knights	81.800
12 Troopers	79.600
13 Colts	79.100
14 Madison Scouts	77.100
15 Crossmen	76.300
16 The Academy	75.900
17 Spirit	75.150

Look behind the numbers at the recap breakdown and you'll notice that Carolina Crown placed 3rd in drums right behind Blue Devils and Cavaliers. Can they push ahead and climb their way up to the top in the next three weeks? We will see...

Posted by Ryan on 11:30 PM

July 14, 2009

Blue Devils System Blue Today

The Blue Devils are doing one of their "System Blue" clinics today in Tulsa, OK at Union HS. The clinic starts at 12 PM and goes all afternoon.

Posted by Ryan on 06:47 AM | Comments (0)

July 02, 2009

Carolina Crown on Hot Streak

What may have seemed like a fluke has turned into a hot streak for Carolina Crown as they have beaten the likes of Phantom Regiment, Cavaliers, and The Cadets all in a six day span. The Cadets have not only conceaded to Crown once but three nights in a row. This is not only overall score but in drum score as well. At this point the only other major corps not to fall at the hands of Crown are the corps currently on the West Coast circuit: Blue Devils, SCV, and Bluecoats.

Posted by Ryan on 07:54 PM | Comments (0)