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DCUK
rolls into town in Leicester - a review
A review we have
been sent following the DCUK Leicester
on 19th July 2015 - thanks Tony
Saffron Lane Stadium in Leicester has seen many
DCUK spectacular events over the years and the end of the first half
of the 2015 season was no exception.
The journey to Leicester was a damp and
miserable one and after the excellent weather two weeks ago it
looked like we were in for a wet day, however right on cue at lunch
time to sun shone and we had a dry, sunny, if a little breezy, day.
 First up Concord AllStars.
This enthusiastic young group continue to improve their
1980’s pop music production, for such a young ensemble they
produce a great brass sound and the percussion have some innovative
moments. Colour Guard has always been strength for Concord and this
year’s group do not disappoint.
Great to see young people enjoying performing and a credit to
your organisations long and distinguished history. (1st
Place Junior Class – 48.75)
 Moving to the Open Class sees the Comets at
their first DCUK event. If
they were nervous it did not show with some very accomplished
musical moments - my favourite being the “I Dreamed A Dream”
from Les Mis. Were there really on 9 brass players? The Colour Guard
came into their own with the change of tempo moving into ‘Oh What
A Night’ with some very accomplished dancing.
Hope you enjoyed your experience and look forward to seeing
you back to future events. (9th Place Open Class –
40.05)
 Next into the arena - Stafford Lancers with
their distinctive blue uniforms.
The show music is from War of the World’s and their
performance levels were significantly improved from 2 weeks ago with
some excellent vocal work and strong percussion. If the corps
continues at this level of improvement this will be a show to watch
in the second half of the season. (8th Place Open Class
– 49.20)
 Third corps in Open Class sees East Coast Elite
take the field. An
impressive sight with their columns bringing focus to the
performance. A challenging show with members being stretched across
all sections, a pity that their electrics failed at the beginning,
however they did not let this hold them back and with an impressive
company front clearly this corps has a strong instructional and
design team behind them. (5th Place Open Class – 55.05)
 Beeches enter the field with their production
of The Sword In The Stone. An
impressive horn line and a small colour guard performing for the
first time this season. This corps has made excellent progress
during 2015. (7th Place Open Class- 51.05)
 Final Corps before the interval was Revolution.
A show which is well designed to maximise the members
abilities and thus allows for confidence to build and be exploited
in the effect captions, a fitting climax to the first part of the
competition. (4th Place Open Class – 57.50)
 After the chance to visit the food stands and catch up with friends
the show restated with 37th Kingswood.
A Corps who knows how to portray a story to the audience. The
show is high in demand across all sections and if cleaned for the
second half of the season one to watch in September. (6th
Place Open Class – 54.05)
 Cadence enter the field with their distinctive
red uniforms. A Corps
which has progressed in recent years now bringing to the field a
quality production including a huge black flag running over the
whole corps - a well-deserved 3rd place. (3rd
Place Open Class – 58.75)
 The host corps for today The Company - from the
moment the pre-show commences the atmosphere transforms you to
France for a magical 18 minutes with so much innovation and
showmanship on display at times you don’t know what to watch! A
Corps which always aims high and today delivered. (1st
Place Open Class – 76.95)
 And so to the final corps of the day - the much
anticipated and eagerly awaited Kidsgrove Scouts. Always a firm
favourite with the audience with their own brand of demanding Drum
Corps this corps never fails to deliver. This year’s show sees the
stone circle with Stonehenge clearly on display. Some excellent
colour guard work with impressive sunrise flags and with such a
large horn line how can you fail to be impressed with the quality of
the sound. Today is the final competitive performance before
Kidsgrove travel to the USA for the Drum Corps Associates
Championships and we wish them every success for their trip. (2nd
Place Open Class – 74.95)
Thank you to the Company for hosting the show
and for the audience for travelling to support the event a fitting
climax to the first half of the season and can’t wait for
September and Finals time !
Report by Tony Bourdain
Photos by Richard Haw/Chris
Eaton
23rd July 2015
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