Leaderboard

This years Phantom Regiment show is one of the best shows of all time, easily, hands down, period. The look they have on that field is fresh, inviting, classy, interesting, beautiful, magnificent. Guard is more than capable of spinning with the best of them and by Finals night will..the costuming is breathtaking. Kc and Jamey, et all have done a tremendous job with this corps. The visual design is sweet, easy on the eye, works well with the music, covers the field in new, unique design...its just amazing, can I say more ?? LOL....Easily the best PR design, as a total show in the last 23 years. Geoffrey

Scouts are really pushing this year. Right now they are sitting 7th in the spread rankings and have not only been scoring better than Cavies, but also creeping closer to Bluecoats head-to-head. Top 5 is not out of the question this season. Would do wonders for recruiting for the 75th anniversary season next year to possibly put them in contention. Thank you Chris Komnck, Dann Peterson, Jim Mason and MEG staff for breathing life back into a proud and historic organization!

I agree with this, but also want us not to seem to slight the young men that marched in our corps during some turbulent times. The current corps and management is building upon their commitment to being a part of, and sustaining a long-standing brotherhood. I absolutely know that is not BigBadMadMan's intent, but I want all of the men that have worn the superman suit to understand that they are ALL valued and appreciated by those of us who have been a part of this organization at one time. We are all connected. MYNWA

I'd like to offer a prayer if I may..... Lord, Please be with those that have been afflicted by this awful tragedy. Help those in the path of these fires to move swiftly and find safe haven. Please be with all the families who have suffered with the loss of their homes or property, i pray they will recover and get back to a normal life again soon. If it be thy will help to bring rain to these areas to help put out these fires and bring hope to all in Colorado. I pray in your holy son's name, Amen I watch much of Texas burn last summer, it broke my heart and to see it in my adopted 2nd state is just awful..

I'll just leave this here...

For 12 minutes of music, I feel I get a perfect balance of Pictures and traditional Scouts. Robert W. Smith did a wonderful job IMO. Park-and-bark, hold sets...whatever you want to call them ALL corps utilize them. There isn't a single corps that moves the entire time. Madison has some cleaning to do, but they're definitely moving and playing a lot more competitively this year. The members and staff have a very clear vision for the organization and you're beginning to see the fruits of all the hard work put in since 2010. I'd be a little hurt if they were stagnant...great to see them off to a strong start. I expect the same progress for Spirit in the future. Even before last year, oddly enough, I've always found myself extremely entertained by their productions. They had a fantastic season last year and they're building on that success. They are great this year and we can all agree that expectations are very high for them. We should enjoy the fact that these two corps are making statements against some of the "giants" which is awesome. Let's appreciate the success that both corps are having at the moment...it's a little mind-blowing IMO.

Absolutely not a slight. Those young men that saw the corps through rough waters are just as much a reason for success as previous or current members are. Proud of all of them!

Agreed. Start the show on the back sideline, company front for 12 minutes and end on the front sideline. Or.. the FRONT HASH! ~Leon Voice~

I have seldom posted on here - I will probably be labeled a troll. Probably a better description would be one of those fans talked about on other strands you keep trying to recruit. That said - I have watched most of the shows, and my favorite is the Cavaliers. I realize most of you know much more than I do, but the music has stuck in my head since I heard it, and the drill is interesting to watch and makes as much sense as anyone else's at this point of the year. Many of the comments I've read don't seem to add up, and I wonder how much of this discussion is just the way DCI works. As I followed the season last year, I could tell in early July the Cavies wouldn't win in August, even though at the time they were winning every night. All you could read about was how the show was based on gimmicks, had too much electronics, had bad guard uniforms. Unfortunate comments, considering the incredible product as a whole these young men were putting on the field every night. Watch the show with fresh eyes and you'll see there was a lot more to it than that. I believe the same thing is happening this year too - people see weaknesses (what show doesn't have them at this time?) and it is snowballing into corps-bashing. I wonder how much of this Cavalier-feeding-frenzy is that people have found a weakness with Gaines leaving and have jumped on it. Sure, things look and flow a little different, but I for one don't think they're as desperate as some are saying. Take a recent discussion about guard design - look at the show with a little more objective eyes. The guard is integrated, sometimes in sophisticated ways that rival any of the Gaines shows. (Compare that to the lack of integration in the Cadets show, which I have not even seen mentioned in the forums.) I now there are quality issues - as they are in every show - and you can see a lot of growth if you watch videos from different nights. I just hope the effort put into this show is judged based on what they are putting on the field, not compared to what the Cavies did in the past. I think the show can stand on its own merit. The result of all this? I was thinking about going to San Antonio in July for regionals, but I will probably wait until another year.

I believe in long term trends, not single-year crises. So if the Cavs place 4th or 5th or even 8th this year, it says nothing about the strength of the organization in the longterm, and it certainly doesn't mean they'll permanently become a mid-rank corps. ...That's if they place out of the top 5 this year. Do you hear any fat ladies? I certainly don't. Such little faith and bad vibes, around here!

I would have to agree with the above statement.

Back from the show. A few thoughts... Cavaliers: Not exactly sure where to start with this show. A lot of peeps have been freaking out over this show design... and they're right. Sorry, Cavie honks. It's bad. Very bad. Music is classic Cavies but the guard is doing the 15 minutes theme. It's almost as if this show is at war with itself. Schizophrenic might describe it. The drill is a whole other issue. It's not a cleanliness issue (everybody is dirty right now) but programming again. Depending on what BAC decides to do, Cavies are looking at 7th place (unless they rewrite some MAJOR chunks of this mess). I was genuinely surprised Cavies broke 70 tonight. It's that bad. Also, before some of you freak out, I'm not the one who made things the way they are. I'm just telling you how it is. Cadets: Nice show! Tasty. Drums are a level above Crown. Guard is too. Drill content is a dead heat with Crown. Cadets are cleaner visually. The ballad is absolutely beautiful. Where they are taking it on the chin is horns. High brass and middle brass - dead even with Crown. Low brass - not even close. Maybe it's being tech'd that way but the horn sound didn't feel supported fully. Music technically was cleaner than Crown but the GE isn't there yet. Personally, I liked the portion of the show Cadets play backfield then to the end zone. I can see what they're going for with the effect. I haven't seen SCV but Cadets are going to make a serious run at the drum trophy. Crown: Hello, horn line! WOW! You guys and gals rattled my lungs a couple of times. Yes, please! I felt like the show design is trying to channel Star '93 in a big way. (Except all the body stuff is in the back half of this show.) An unbelievable amount of notes in the horn line. Full, rich, deep dark chocolate sound. Keep cleaning and you'll add another brass trophy. Everyone has heard it before - guard blends too much. They do. I asked about the meaning of the cubes - got the explanation - visually, it's not enough. This show has SO much content that if it can be cleaned - Hello DCI Championship. It's that simple really. * On a side note - I spoke with the retired band director of Sevierville h/s and he said that they ARE putting turf in next year. He said that this group will be the last that marches on this field as it is. I can't remember 95% of the places I marched but I DO remember this field and everyone that has ever performed on it knows why.

Haven't read through this entire thread, but some points I've seen I agree with. One point is the power of the brass line, and equal "dirtiness" in their drill. It has been confirmed to me by Phantom staff of years past that, Music is a major focus for Phantom and their Brass staff to the point that they Air and Valve during their Visual Rehearsals. Even play sections of the music while playing drill. Perhaps the constant push by the first year "premier" brass staff from Phantom is overpowering the Visual guys for field time and focus. Perhaps it is the staff's focus to make sure that the hornline is sounding great, and the visual will come with time. Because certainly there are not as many visual errors in the Drumline as there are in the Brass. And from Experience the Curva-linear, fluctuating interval drill style SCV has, is hard to clean as there are very few reference points for the members to gauge.. They really have to rep the drill a lot to nail it down, and it will take them a least a couple more weeks to get clean. But once it is clean look out. SCV has the package to medal and as huge fan of SCV, I hope they do. Just hope they are clean by ATL, when Ill see them live for the first time.

Drum corps is marching band, just as our sun is a sphere. Both the sun and a basketball are spheres, but on vastly different scales. Both the Ford Pinto (those that are left) and Ferrari Testarossas are cars, and that's where the similarity ends. Mt. Vesuvius was a major eruption that wiped out Pompeii and Herculaneum. I was wiped out by an eruption after eating at Taco Bell. The two events were not the same scale of destruction, just as drum corps and marching band are on different scales. Don't make me talk about pyroclastic flows.

A short bit from the Ft. Mill show

This is the first video that captures the sound that they had when I hear them live last week! So good! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0AHefr1J-ZI

This show easily could have been a nightmare. But I find it tasteful and even kind of hip. Keep it up Cadets. You have a fan in Wyoming!

I got the vibe it symbolizes going "outside the box", as in pushing yourself and those around you to superhuman levels to achieve for the common good of all.

I texted my son after the show to see how it was.. ME: How was that field to march on? I read that it was slightly hill-like. HIM: If by hill-like they meant it's a hill, then yes. It wasn't great.

Just like it did all those years when they didn't win nationals, the guys who showed up after the '99, and '94, and 05 seasons, and - oh, wait... it's not a ring-chaser corps. Never has been. The guys who will continue to audition there are guys who simply want to be part of the tradition of The Cavaliers. Placement has never been central to how the corps works.

Huh ?

I am actually an Air Academy Marching Band alumni, and I marched last season with the Blue Knights. I lived in that area, but now I live in Houston.

Life is competitive. The whole point of the video is summed up in a single statement from the extended version ... "the painful recognition of one's own shortcomings". If you watch the entire video, not the trailer, there is an entirely different tone... it is about 2 back to back undefeated seasons creating an unfounded sense of invincibility, that they we brought back to reality a bit, that they had taken themselves a bit too seriously.... hence the whole motivation for the Da Da concept. It also set up the fact that they have a lot of current vulnerabilities... loads of age outs previous season, young corps, several injuries sidelining members, including guys like center snare, etc. Watch the whole thing... a different vibe than the intro.

6-27-12 Summer Music Games- Cincinnati, OH Actually in Fairfield, OH though 7:00pm (Gates oppen at 5:30pm) SUMMER MUSIC GAMES SCHEDULE 5:30 pm Gates open 7:00 pm Welcome & Announcements 7:05 pm National Anthem (Fairfield High School Marching Band) Presentation of Colors (Fairfield Fire Department Honor Guard) 7:15 pm Cincinnati Tradition 7:32 pm Legends 7:49 pm Crossmen 8:06 pm Intermission 8:26 pm Colts 8:43 pm The Cavaliers 9:00 pm The Cadets 9:27 pm Awards and Corps Brass Finale Weather Forecast SUNNY 81 Degrees at 7:00PM 67 Degrees at 10:00PM Note: I will be at the show giving short reviews after each corps. My assesments will be my own honest opinion. I will not be rude, but I will be fair. Take my opinions as they are.

You've just put the entirety of DCP in a single thread. Congratulations!

I like to think of them as "enthusiasts" or "future marchers"!

I loooove crossmens show! The rumors about ttheir screamers is true! Some visual moments that were creative. I just need more, idk. What their doing is great, I just don't see it them in finals this year. On a side note, I am surrounded by bandos, and it is so funny to hear their oohs and ahhs when world class takes over! Hahaha I'm glad I didn't where my jacket today! They might be star struck that an alumni sat right next to them! Haha I forget how big of a deal it is.

Lengend have themselves a relatively demanding show. Well done though. Low brass and percussion were nice strengths. Crossmen up

Nice job, guys!

2 hrs till show time. Time for me to get up outta bed and get ready! (I work night shift, get off my back!)

I found this cool article on the evolution of the bugle which talks about many of the rule changes related to that instrument: http://www.middlehornleader.com/Evolution%20of%20the%20Bugle%20--%20Section%204.htm

.

There's no better cure for those of us that marched in those times than to see how quickly the corps has recovered. I'll never forget the sheer pride I felt sitting in the cheap (free; thanks DCI) seats during the 2010 finals as the Scouts marched onto the field.

I became a fanatic specifically because drum corps wasn't marching band. Only drums and percussion? Really? Cool. Where do I sign up. Wannabes and bandos need not sign up. Does that sound elitist? Who cares. This is marching music's major league, right. We only want the best of the best. That by definition is elitist. And if DCI knew what the heck they were doing, they could create NEW drum corps die hards instead of just watching the old ones die off.

so let's say they pop an 81. will you then say "oops, I was wrong?" or just find some other mathematical theorum/time space continuum to justify it

I know the Troopers have five members from the Colorado Springs area (info got from the Troopers alumni page). Prayers and good thoughts for all of members who are away from home during this scary time.

Anyone else notice that both GE judges had Madison winning the show last night? GO SCOUTS!!

SCV did their encore prior to the show due to a noise ordinance in the city of Santa Clara (8:30pm). The drum majors got to get their pictures taken with Snoopy & Charlie Brown (from Great America) during the awards ceremony.

I still say, like I did in my last post, improve show locations.

theyre reaching for top 6 this year!! wow!

SCV is closing in on PR and Boston broke 70. Man I wish I was there tonight!

Was there a perc judge tonight? Scouts drumline is pretty solid this year, so I expect that to help them when they start getting read.

Looking forward to seeing Renegades and So Cal Dream when they come to the Bellflower show on July 15th. I think Freelancers will be there too. Very cool!

I was more taken aback by how the narrator said Concord, with emphasis on both syllables instead of more on the first. I always heard pronounced CONKerd. Not big deal, but that is what I got. The slightly cocky intro didn't bother me....because it is essentially fact. There is nothing wrong with doing what you do in order to win. Whoever made the comment about them being more interested in winning than in actually being good was respectful in that opinion, but I think missed the point of the rest of that statement. It is just a motivational tactic, used all over the place. That is how champions stay champions. The perception that you are an underdog and that you have something to prove has been used everywhere. That said...I can't tell you how annoying it is to hear a rapper or a wide receiver or a hockey player or boxer or whoever throwing out the "I have been disrespected" statement when literally noone has done anything close to that. Devils are dangerously close to that with this Episode 1 video. That is not what they said, but it is darn close. I'll bet you that at least one production meeting for this involved that sort of thing being thrown out by the powers that be. In the end, all the statements made by members and staff were great. Its just the narration that needs to be watched. Hey "annoying narration"? Where have I heard that before?

Hey, nice to meet you! Always great to meet people in the industry who also marched corps. Interesting points that I didn't know or didn't think about. If only we could be in a brainstorm session at DCI headquarters! I think we can both agree that DCI is long overdue for some outside opinion.

Having known George for almost 30 years, he will always try and push the envelope. No, woodwinds don't belong in drum corps. Neither does electronics and Bb brass, and it needs to stop somewhere. Corps are not "Drum and Bugle Corps" anymore. Heck, they don't even call themselves that anymore. Read the trucks.....Cadets Drum Corps (not drum and bugle corps). I am tired of the arrogance to what the activity was, and should be to a point. If you want a band, form a band and leave DCI. Heck the top directors have already tried that with this Tour of Champions thing. Make drum corps accessible for the average kid, not the college music major with $5000 to spare. Sorry gang, it has gone too far. NEVER LET WOODWINDS IN DCI, unless you want more marching bands. 'nuff said.

Talk about Different Strokes.... I CANNOT STAND Allentown! I hated it as a performer too (wish they had turf back then...that elephant grass was awful) I honestly haven't figured out why DCI East hasn't upgraded to a larger university venue but I guess there are the traditionalists out there. Maybe I'm an oddball here

The majority of the synth playing is in their pre-show. There are indeed a lot of visual/synth filled moments, but I would say at least 3/4ths of the show the brass is playing. Not to mention (at least in my honest opinion) this is one of the hardest horn books in dci right now. There is so much complexity when it comes to Stravinsky and it takes tons of understanding of the nature and the style of the his pieces to play them extremely well. I'm sure once the music and the drill cleans up the synth/dance will be much more entertaining. There is just a lot to this show that doesn't feel complete for the simple fact that the show is still developing and being cleaned.

I like Indy and all, but I kinda miss having it in different places.

After watching it on the fan network, I actually think this might turn out as one of my favorite shows this year. I'm not sold on it yet, but I feel it has the most potential (for me to love it) in my opinion.