CLASSIC XV Review

Another Classic has come and gone but not soon to be forgotten. This was probably the best that I have seen, the perfect mix of entertainment as proven all night long by the packed-house’s response to each and every group. There were the DCA corps; the Crusaders and the Brigadiers,  the mini’s; Ghost Riders and Prime Time Brass, our special percussion guests; CADRE from Canada, the Greece HS Blue Knights Band and the alumni including Light Brigade all the way from Revere, MA, the Thunderbirds from Erie, PA and last but not least Mighty St. Joe’s. Certainly as everyone could see this was a huge success…….

There are so many people to thank that make this all possible. I’m certain I will miss some but I’ll try to mention as many as possible. First off to Sully for making this all happen and continuing to drive this corps (and the trailer when necessary). Next to the Classic committee for setting up this event every year and following through with every single detail including the great party at the Barnard Exempts after the show. There are so many in that group that I won’t even try to name them all. A special thanks to those who don’t get to see the show because their jobs are out at the tables in the hallway; to Gracie Sullivan and Margo Pipitone for working the souvenir table, to Tony P. for his work with the equipment and the 50/50 raffle, to Norm Shaefer who spends a good share of the night at the ticket table, to the Wilcox sisters, Karen & Nancy  (Heart2) for moving the corps and making sure that everyone was in the right place at the right time, to Helen & Al Codd for spending their day in the parking lot, rain or shine and I think we had a bit of both, to the program hawkers and everyone else that may have had a hand in getting this all accomplished. And thanks to the Greece School District for their gracious use of their facilities. This has been established as an ideal spot for the Classic. One last thanks to those that kept the “Mighty St. Joe’s Classic” thread alive on DrumCorpsPlanet. Up ‘til the show there were over 5000 hits on this topic alone. Hopefully it helped fill the auditorium.

On to the review of the show: Unfortunately the “Gauntleteers” (Bruce & Sandy Lindsey and Friends) were unable to make the trip down from Canada this year so, at this time I have no ‘unbiased’ review to post from them. They have assured me that they will be in Buffalo at the DCI show to pump up the corps and have a couple of cocktails with us in the parking lot (if that’s allowed). Here is Bruce’s review of the sound clips on the MSJ web site, “I listened to MSJ's sound files and was pretty impressed with this year’s book and effort...lots of new music. Seems like MSJ stepped back and took a collective breath and decided that they were gonna put forth a great effort for this year and it sure sounds like it paid off. Some tasty drum parts in there too….” And from another of our own, Geoff Whiting “I went up to Rochester in the early afternoon so that I could check out the groups in rehearsal. MSJ was surprisingly big, though not as huge as past editions (48-50 horns). They sounded well rehearsed and ready to rock ("NY Minute" (Somewhere and On Broadway), "My Shawl" (Cozz), "The House I Live In" (Cozz). These are ancient MSJ standards from 1963-65. "Irish in Your Face" (Fabrizio arrangements from 1971 I believe reworked by Donny). Also, "Rio", " Brazil ", "Temptation", " Georgia ". Drum line is doing some challenging rudimental stuff. Nice chops. Love that back sticking! The corps really burned the house down with Ace in the Georgia finale! Really quite a bit of music and everyone seems to be enjoying themselves. It was great for me to see so many old faces again.”  I wonder what he meant by “old faces”? Also Tom Peashey (DCW) was in attendance and will post his review in the near future in Drum Corps World. There should be a couple of other articles about the corps and a review of the Harrisburg show also. We’ll have to pass around Sully’s copy of the paper. Did hear lots of positive comments after the show and at the party and the MP3 audio files on our web site and the crowd response should give us all a pretty good feeling of how we did. As always, put on that Classic Uniform and we are Mighty. By the way, and I’m sure some of you already know this, the nickname “Mighty” was added to St. Joe’s in the mid-60’s in response to the corps string of victories in the junior class division throughout WNY, PA and Canada. Just thought I’d throw that in here. One last notable issue was The Crusaders ability to bounce back from the vandalism of their truck and equipment to perform at such a high level of professionalism, kudos to their members and staff. As always the school emptied out real fast either in anticipation of finding a parking spot at the party or just the fact that it had been a long day culminating in the corps expending what was left of its energy on the stage. I know this is a pretty exhausting day for me but there always seems to be enough left for the Barnard Exempts.

As we arrived at the party there were buses looking for places to hide in the lot. We did manage to find a spot near the back of the hall. Had to fight our way through the smokers to get in but better outside than in. Sorry all you smokers but I think that’s one of the best laws ever passed as far as bar laws are concerned. The place was mobbed. Had some trouble getting drinks at the bar. Just doesn’t seem like they’re ready for such large numbers at this time of the night. I know it was after 11:00 P.M. when we got there. Oh well, we managed as it seemed everyone there did. So many people there from all the corps mingling, dancing and just sharing old and new drum corps stories.  As the party continued on to near closing I looked around and all that were left were MSJers. After the usual “I Love You Man” (otherwise known as “That’s What Friends Are For”) dance it was time to play back the show on the DJ’s sound system, our first chance to hear what we really sounded like that night and it was good. Even better with all the cocktails that had gone down in the past couple of hours. Again thanks to all who helped put this whole day together, another Classic success for Mighty St. Joe’s. There are several putting their heads together in preparation for the 2009 Classic.

Now on to the summer program, pretty full schedule with a little time off in July and August. Looking forward to the corps continuing on with such enthusiasm as displayed in both Harrisburg and The Classic. Hope to see you all at the parades and on the field. Bring along a friend, there’s always room for more.

Bob Wielgosz