2005 Crossmen - 2005 DCI Audio Archive APD

Show: Crossroads

• Classical Gas
• Radar Love
• So Far Away
• Paradise by the Dashboard Light

The Good: My wife was not a fan of this show when she heard about the musical selections. The Crossmen converted her in Allentown. That's how fun this show is. I didn't recognize Classical Gas but it's got that Crossmen groove so it fits perfectly. Radar Love has a great contra line that I can't help but bop my head to. I really like the horn arrangements during this piece. You can never go wrong with a looooong loud ending chord, either, especially with the corps right up on the front sideline. I've never been much for Carole King but Crossmen did a great job with So Far Away. In fact, I'd say Crossmen have had two of the best ballads in drum corps over the past two years.

The Bad: For as entertaining as this show was, there was also a lot of dirt, which was unfortunate. Much as I would have enjoyed seeing this show in Finals, there was just too much ground to make up. The percussion arrangements left me kind of flat, too, and I feel the Crossmen miss Lee Beddis more than they think they do. Much as I enjoyed Paradise by the Dashboard Light, I don't think it worked very well on the field.

The Ugly: The Crossmen aren't in Finals. That's pretty ugly in my book.

Overview: This show gets a lot of plays on my iPod but it was clearly performed at a 14th place level. Crossmen are making moves to get their house back in order with a new director and the return of Chuck Naffier. I hope they're able to jump right back into Finals next year.

Website: http://www.yea.org/site/PageServer?pagename=Crossmen

2006 Auditions: November 18-20