< PreviousMaher) and All-age drum corps Atlanta CV (above left, Chris Maher) and Carolina Gold (above right, Chris Maher). It’s always great to see these groups on the field. The hometown, naturally, roared as Atlanta CV came out this evening. Both groups represented the Drum Corps Associates organization well as they prepare for their own season-ending championship at the new site in Williamsport, PA, over Labor Day weekend. Jersey Surf (right, Tom Siegfried) led off the World Class today with a colorful show pitting the calming blue against the fiery red IN THEIR “Mondrian”-inspired program.Pioneer (below right, Ron Walloch) began a great evening of color guard showcasing. I really love the added visual impact the expansive props have on the overall show. The two-winged solo color guard dancer ends the show, symbolic of one of the “Celtic Dragons.” Seattle Cascades (below, Pat Chagnon) was the first corps exhibiting some great horn power. All the sections played to the top levels of the stadium and the blue sunbursts from the color guard flags were awesome! Genesis (bottom right, Chris Maher) again raised the horn volume another level and in this stadium with many hard surfaces, the corps is deafening. Not only volume, but great articulation skill were shown by the corps from Austin, TX. For those that have not seen the “Hell on Wheels” production by the Memphis, TN-based Key Poulan with Key Poulan, IVafter a stunning Mandarinsperformance at the Rose Bowl.Knowledge ObjectivesWarm UpsBronze ObjectivesSilver ObjectivesGold ObjectivesPlatinum Objectives2018 DRUM CORPSMandarinsCascadesSpartansHurricanesSunrisersJulianaJulianaStar UnitedBAND DIRECTORS - Start the school year with BASICS!BASICS! BASICS! BASICS! is an acountability methodcreated to provide beginning, intermediate, and advanced created to provide beginning, intermediate, and advanced band students with the basic tools and fundamental concepts needed for musical growth in their Middle School and High School Bands. The method book series has been developed in a manner that simplifies often difficult music concepts. Mastery of the objectives will foster the fundamental skills Mastery of the objectives will foster the fundamental skills needed to become a literate musician. The comprehensive program is designed to be self-paced with a reasonableminimum weekly requirement and no maximum requirement for more advanced students. SmartMusic Classic compatible!“Quality Music for the Contemporary Ensemble"Key Poulan Owner / Composer / Arrangerkey@keypoulanmusic.comwww.keypoulanmusic.com1658 E. Lexington AvenueFresno, California 93720(559) 299-5399Music City (right, Tom Siegfried) be in your seat at the beginning. One of the most entertaining entrances by a drum corps has a color guard member in the lead holding the headlight of a train, the brass section follows as they all run on to the field from the cover of the tunnel. The highlight musically must be the featured trombones. Great soloists and a great slide trombone sectional. The Oregon Crusaders (second from top right, John Matter) rounded out block number one playing their show with a theme called “Redrum.” That’s “murder” spelled backwards. All work and no play, makes Jack a dull boy. This show makes you visualize the movie, “The Shining,” and the craziness of Jack Nicholson. The highlight for me, both on the sidelines and in the stands is the closing move with the large, long red flags. It is an incredible closing statement of color! After a 45-minute intermission, block 2 began. The time was a little long to me, as the stadium is well-engineered to take care of all the people running for refreshments. I heard that this stadium has MORE restrooms for both men and women than usual, so even here the stadium is prepared to get the crowd back to their seats easily. The Troopers’ (below, John Matter) show has a moment when the music is Both Sides Now and on the “old” side we see the corps and guard in the traditional blue uniforms and on the other side, the corps and guard become adorned in their bright yellow and orange look. This is creative design, both musically and visually! Pacific Crest (bottom right, John Matter), as you know, is my hometown corps and this is my only show to see them from the stands. Their 25th anniversary ballad features the “La La Land” audition scene where the female lead sings about the “fools who dream.” My daughter dreamed of playing for Pacific Crest, but never made it on to the field. This evening several members of the corps paid tribute to her by dedicating their performances to her memory. For all of them wearing the Pacific Crest wave tattoos with the L.T. initials, thank you for making Lindsay a part of the only drum corps performance she ever made on the field! From high above the surface, I didn’t actually see her, but I felt her there on the field somehow. I will never forget this performance as long as I live, “Here’s to the ones who dream!” I know that Madison Scouts (left, Ron Walloch) have tried many things in the last several years and this year is no exception. Yes, there is a female flugel horn soloist. And yes, the uniforms this year are radically different than last. But I like this show, from the blue uniformed veins, to the red uniformed arteries all leading toward the giant heart prop, the Madison group is renowned for an incredible brass line and they were definitely there this evening. With beautiful brass soloists and small ensembles throughout the performance, tonight the corps lit up some lights (over their hearts) on the front of their uniforms, very effective visually all the way to the top of the seating area. The Academy (right, John Matter) is “Academic”! The group lulls you into a quiet moment and then wham! All the flags come up and the brass hits you in the face with the first great moment of the show. From up in the stands this move defines drum corps! The Colts (left, Ron Walloch) are always entertaining and a highlight every year. The show opens with a great trumpet solo and the entire brass section is impressive, both musically and visually, through the traditional rotating blocks. Their creative use of the beds that turn into stained glass panels are used in a variety of ways and there are even some familiar melodies coming from their powerful brass section.“Knock” is the Spirit of Atlanta’s (top of next page, Pat Chagnon) show. There are 24 sets of doors on the field and the crowd gave a thunderous welcome as they arrived, needless to say. The opening move brought the crowd alive with great sounds and great sights as the doors move around and the guard frames the entire field. Kudos to Spirit’s best trumpet screamer of the evening so far! Not much to say about the Mandarins (below, John Matter) except “see you on Saturday night in Indy.” This group has it all -- a color guard that performs on the large rotating stage with rifles that have light strips on one side. They are tossed and caught in perfect synchronization. The brass section impressively articulates and produces a volume echoing throughout this large stadium. The battery sounds clean, even in this cavernous venue! The opening guard soloist dancing herself to death sets the scene and the rest is pure entertainment. The Crossmen (below, Ron Walloch) use a giant hourglass as their main prop, playing a show called “The In-between.” The purple flags of the guard and the opening brass hit is awesome. I want to see it again! Incredible dynamic control from this brass group. Soft, lyrical passages to downright fully open thunder showcases a very impressive performance. The dominant caption is the guard, they are impressive to watch. The Phantom Regiment (below, Ron Walloch) closed out block number two. This group has a section in front of the front ensemble that is defined by a mat. At one point in the show, the entire battery is playing tenor drums and they come out onto this mat. The guard also performs here. It’s an interesting design as it gets the performers closer to the audience. I’ve always loved watching this guard, using so many perfect tosses that are perfectly caught at exactly the same time. I eagerly await the closer coming out front and giving the Phantom “kick”! Another 45-minute break, time to get a free refill of my Diet Coke. This stadium has the machines on the customer side, so you just go get fresh ice and top off your large souvenir cup and you’re good to go for the third block! This third block was a blur to me. Every corps at this time of the evening was awesome and the crowd reacted by coming to its feet at the close of every performance. I had a blast watching this last block as each corps had areas where the performance is already PERFECT! This entire group has cleverly designed shows, with interesting and thought-provoking props. They all execute musically as perfectly as you’ll ever hear a performance, both in brass and percussion. There is dynamic perfection to trumpet players playing notes so high above the staff it touched the Mercedes Benz Stadium ceiling! And to wrap it all together -- SPEED and visual perfection. The performers are literally running to their next positions and the drill has them contorting their bodies in the most unnatural positions. That being said, here are my favorite moments from the last nine corps . . . Leading off block #3 was The Cadets (left, Chris Maher). I love this new uniform. Kudos to my new friend Sarah Bowden, baritone soloist and visual artist extraordinaire! I met her father in Murfreesboro, TN, the epitome of the proud papa. He is the atypical Southern gentleman. He beamed when he spoke of his three-year vet daughter. It was fun sharing the sideline with him while we took pictures. This group has and this evening impressed me with the speed and precise movement of the entire corps. The Blue Knights (right, Chris Maher) begin their show with all these triangle props of different colors scattered on the field. They are moved throughout the show and end up put together like those old brain games into pyramids. Clever design and beautiful execution. OK, I will admit when I saw the Blue Stars (left, John Matter) in the theatre, I did not like those yellow construction shoes. But today, I think the word that describes the Blue Stars show is “Genius”. How do you showcase how clean your visual movement really is? Contrast the green of the artificial turf with yellow shoes!! The guard tricks are also genius, twirling 2 x 4’s?!! I can’t wait to see this show again! “SOS” if I don’t get to see the Boston Crusaders show again soon….I’m gonna die! Of course the music is great, but again I am impressed with the creativity of the design. I thought the “flame” prop was going to be old since they premiered it last year…but I was wrong, it’s fantastic and fits the show theme. I think the closer of this group is the most creative use of fabric I’ve ever seen. The group is being rescued, a giant wave comes by….and they are gone! Is this a Las Vegas magic show? In a word, the next show -- and this corps -- is a “BEAST”! Carolina Crown (right, Tom Siegfried) from the second level, the brass of this group articulates and separates notes like no other in the activity. With the rise of the percussion group and the consistent great performances of the guard, I would think they would be closer to contending for the title. I like this show a lot and am exhausted after watching the effort as the performers move so fast. The Cavaliers (left, Ron Walloch) have always been one of my favorite corps to watch. The group is always so physical. A triple-tonguing clinic was given by the corps this evening. I love the low brass features, it’s all about the bass! Interesting to see the Blue Devils (top of next page, John Matter) go so “early” in the evening. Nevertheless, I love the theme of this show and how the designers piece the show together so thoughtfully. This is a process that the Blue Devils have mastered and they are always impressive to me. The speed that they play and the speed at which they move is one of the reasons they consistently lead this activity. How about that percussion feature where the pit member throws stuff into that garbage can to make the sound . . . very creative. And again, I can’t get enough of the trumpet soloist with this group. The Santa Vanguard (right, Chris Maher) have had a great season so far and it continued this evening. The crowd greeted the corps like they think this may be the champion this year! Perhaps with the most ingenious props in the activity this year, this group is incredible. Each time I’ve seen them this year, I eagerly await the three trumpet soloists. When they start wailing, the crowd goes wild!The battery sounds very clean. One of the snares fell down on his way up to the stage today and the entire crowd gasped. He continued like he was OK. Closing out the show was the Bluecoats (below, Pat Chagnon). The Atlanta crowd welcomed the group with their cheers of “Bloooooooo”! And you always hear someone explaining to a newbie – “no, not boo . . . BLUE!” Again, this corps uses their props with extreme creativity. The way they are moved throughout the field, tipped over to form different shapes, used to transport smaller chairs, it’s amazing. The Canton corps likes to mess with your mind . . . at the beginning, there is a move where the crowd anticipates a big brass hit and then they put their horns down. You can hear the crowd go, huh? Nice use of piccolo trumpets and the trumpet screamers were impressive. The jazz genre fits them perfectly. A regional makes for a very long day, but when you’re having so much fun, the time goes quickly. Every performance was entertaining. The performers should be proud of their achievements thus far, as all the shows are approaching perfection. I know the designers are still tinkering, they add and adjust almost every day. The visual people keep tweaking the body movements and any day now, PR is going to add my favorite move, the famous kick! See you in Indianapolis at the DCI World Championships! n n nBugles Across America.orgAttentionTrumpet PlayersBugles Across America, NFPis asking you to consider sounding Taps . . .24 notes to thank veterans so you could march in a DCI unitNo dues The pay you get is hugsand hand shakes from the families!For information contact:Tom Day, Bugler, Founder and President, advisor to the Illinois Secretary of State1824 South Cuyler Avenue IBerwyn, IL 60401-2052Phone 708.484.9029 IFax 708-484-9896E-mail: tomjday@sbcglobal.net Iwww.BuglesAcrossAmerica.orgBugles Across America is a 501 (c)(3) non-profit accepting tax deductible contributionsNext >