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I blogged along the way on this thread last night, though I may throw a real review out in the review forum (which sadly seems to be forgotten for the most part), but a few thoughts based on comments above and a night's sleep are below. Also, I'm not buying the giant conspiracy theories. I thought placements were spot on last night, as well as relative gaps. The top 3 are in a virtual dead heat right now. Who can bring it with emotion and execution every night with consistency? BD DOES have more audience impact and effect than they did in Denver, certainly. The first 8 minutes of the show are kinda cool - especially musically. The visual program is way too cluttered, but if you do look closely you will see more drill from BD with some real demand, since say 2008. My problem with this show is the last 2 minutes. All momentum is lost and it starts to feel wearying and repetitive. Definitely still in the title hunt, for sure. CROWN did have a bit of an off night - by their standards. And to the poster who said maybe it was the close proximity to the stands, LOL. Really? I was 3 rows from the press box, on the 50. Nowhere near the volume or passion the corps had in Denver, though the show is still fabulous, and I am unabashedly rooting for them. This show - and especially the Abyss sectoin can sparkle and take your breath away, and it has to if they want to win. Cadets were my biggest pleasant surprise. Most powerful brassline of the night - with great quality and a variety of musical effects. Awesome drumline. Guard is not as impactful, and the boxes are distracting and quite dirty from an alignment and spacing perspective. Will be eager to see if better received from the upper deck in San Antonio tomorrow. SCV is improving rapidly, but still has far more dirt to clean than the 3 above them. I don't see how anyone can say this is a rehash of 89, ummm, no. This is vintage Vanguard with emotion, class, beauty and entertainment, but the design is also vibrant, current & fresh. Love the new (I think it's new) drill near the end with the Fluer De Lis and the full on logo shield in quick succession. Also loved the 2 pieces layered in when corps comes back in from backfield - I don't know if that's new or I just didn't notice it above the crowd roar in Denver. Favorite show this year, followed by Crown & Troopers, so far. Cavaliers - Oh my. Cavalier note to self - never follow Cadets & Crown's hornlines. I think BK is actually stronger, with a better design too. Back to back, BK might have beaten Cavaliers last night. Still, likable moments in this show - especially in the closer. Music ensemble (Ok, Analysis) defintiely a weak point, agree with scoring. Blue Knights - Show is growing and gelling nicely. Such a nice mood created & sustained. Not Crossmen's first circle, but the whole show accomplishes a great deal for mood and effect and is very enjoyable. Great visual design and colors as well. Spirit - More polished, and with more depth in programming than either Crossmen or Blue Stars at this point in the year. This show sold me much better in person than at the movies or online. Both Crossmen & Blue Stars have more glaring weaknesses at this point. Not saying Spirit can't be passed, but far less certain of that than I thought I was last weekend. Ending needs work, and Sweet Georgia Brown would be much more effective as a complete or longer musical thought. Crossmen - I think the performance levels are stronger with this corps this year. Their program, though, is not. The visual program is WAY to compac, and GE Visual & Visual Analysis scores were spot on. Musically, way too many different thoughts or pieces crammed into 11 minutes. At times the protest theme seems overdone and a bit forced. Some nice moments though, like the Some Nights phrase. Unfortunately, it's way too short and would be far more effective if expanded and emotion could sustain & build. Top 12 caliber corps and performance levels, but program makes them very vulnerable at this point. Ending also feels tacked on and too brief. Blue Stars - HUGE volume, but not always with great quality. Loud and intense, but often I struggled to stay engaged with the show. I miss the more melodic shows with more musical depth that Blue Stars brought from 2007-2010. The voodoo them comes across nicely, and there are some neat moments from guard, horns & drums with visual references to the theme. Hopefully Stars can work on bringing more polish, tone & depth to their brass sound in the next few weeks. Colts - nicely entertaining. Hate the uni, though. I thought their red uni of past 6 years was FAR better. Obviously a youthful group, but the show is well designed for the most part and fits their talent. As they work to emote and make the Field of Dreams section more fluid and less mechanical, it can be very special. I think they are missing something, though to not have any visual reference to baseball when they both PLAY music from Field of Dreams and use it as their show title? Visually, this design & performance could challenge for Finals, but I don't think the corps is quite there musically. Mandarins - Bravo, Mandarins. HUGE step forward from 2012. Great new unis, very tasteful, impactful show. A quality, quality show worth seeing folks. Harvey

I blogged along the way on this thread last night on the show thread, but I for one hate having to sift through whole show treads to find what are the review-like comments, so I thought I would post here, asumming there may be others like me. I'm going to start with some Kudos to the judges. This is a hyper competitive year, and I thought placements were spot on last night, as well as relative gaps. The top 3 are in a virtual dead heat right now. Who can bring it with emotion and execution every night with consistency? In reverse order of finish. BD's show is growing on me a bit. As they re-write and improve, I found a lot more impact and effect in the show than I did in Denver 2 weeks ago.. The first 8 minutes of the show are kinda cool - especially musically. The visual program is way too cluttered, but if you do look closely you will see more drill from BD with some real demand, since say 2008. Yet another phenomenal guard from BD. Where this show loses me is the last 2 minutes. To my tastes, all momentum is lost and it starts to feel wearying and repetitive. BD is definitely still in the title hunt, for sure. If they would reprogram the last 2 minutes, or even the last minute, it could really propel the show forward. One thing I noticed that I really liked, there are several moments where the corps uses their uniform VERY effectively, with a side turn or move that really highlights the white striping on the right side. These types of small touches are the type of things that always set BD apart. Now if only we could get a year with NO PROPS. The poles add very little to this show to me. Crown - let me say I'm a huge fan & I pulling for this corps to win this year. That siad, I thought they had a bit of a flat or off night - by their standards. Cadets were louder and some of the passion just seemed to be missing from the hornline last night. And to the poster who said maybe it was the close proximity to the stands, LOL. Really? I was 3 rows from the press box, on the 50. This show - and especially the Abyss sectoin can sparkle and take your breath away, and it has to if they want to win. That ballad has the potential to be one of the moments of the year in the activity, along with some of SCV's special moments. Looking forward to getting the upper deck perspecitve of this show Saturday in S.A., and I would bet they have a more impassioned performance. Cadets - Easily my biggest pleasant surprise last night. Love the first 2/3s of the show. Also, easily the most powerful brassline of the night - with great quality and a variety of musical effects. Awesome drumline. Guard is not as impactful - I think I would have had them 4th in Guard last night, too. The quote of the night, from behind me - "I love this show except for those god awful Harlequin Outhouses on wheels." They ARE distracting and quite dirty from an alignment and spacing perspective, though there is improvement on that front. Will be eager to see if better received from the upper deck in San Antonio tomorrow. The mash of Adagio & Medea is at times cool and at times less than effecitve. I'd like to hear more resolutoin of Medea. I do like the Adagio ending, though. My other struggle is the unfavorable comparison in my head to SCV's legendary, powerful & emotional Adagio in 2000. This corps has the chops to win, too, though. SCV - This corps is improving rapidly (remarkable cleaning progress since Denver), but still has far more dirt to clean than the 3 above them. I don't see how anyone can say this is a rehash of 89, ummm, no. This is vintage Vanguard with emotion, class, beauty and entertainment, but the design is also vibrant, current & fresh. Love the new (I think it's new) drill near the end with the Fluer De Lis and the full on logo shield in quick succession. Also loved the 2 pieces layered in when corps comes back in from backfield - I don't know if that's new or I just didn't notice it above the crowd roar in Denver. Favorite show this year, followed by Crown & Troopers, so far. I think this show - along with many of Regiment's shows in past 10 years show how successfully a show can connect with a large segment of the audience when you make sure there is not too much clutter - either visually or musically. Cavaliers - Oh my. Cavalier note to self - never follow Cadets & Crown's hornlines. I think BK is actually stronger, with a better design too. Back to back, BK might have beaten Cavaliers last night. Still, likable moments in this show - especially in the closer. Music ensemble (Ok, Analysis) defintiely a weak point, agree with scoring. The robes are used WAY too long and just make the corps look dirtier than they are. Dirt I'm not accustomed to seeing in guard, too, though they seem to be making reasonable progress there. Blue Knights - I was worried about BK when Sully left, but this is another great year for BK (makes 4 in a row by my count). Show is growing and gelling nicely. Such a nice mood created & sustained. It's not the intense or driving First Circle/Jazz Crossmen used to bring. It's more like a bit of the Magic (Mass year if that makes any sense) or Suncoast Florida feel to it. The whole show creastes a very effective and chohesive mood. The hornline is fabulous, and has a really nice blend across all sections. The use of the color pallette is great, the guard is strong and the drill is effective and well performed. If they can clean a noticably dirty ending 45 seconds, I think they are a real top 8 threat - maybe even 7th. My only quibble - I still can't stand the blue ball. It's distracting. I concentrated to try to ignore it this time, and that effort was rewarded with more enjoyment and appreciation of the show. Spirit - I was mentally starting to write Spirit off without ever seeing them live (I should know better) - bit mistake. They are more polished, and with more depth in programming than either Crossmen or Blue Stars at this point in the year. This show sold me much better in person than at the movies or online. Both Crossmen & Blue Stars have more glaring weaknesses at this point. Not saying Spirit can't be passed, but far less certain of that than I thought I was last weekend. Ending needs work, and Sweet Georgia Brown would be much more effective as a complete or longer musical thought. Crossmen - I protest. :) I think the performance levels are stronger with this corps this year. Their program, though, is not. The visual program is WAY to compact, and GE Visual & Visual Analysis scores were spot on. Musically, way too many different thoughts or pieces crammed into 11 minutes. At times the protest theme seems overdone and a bit forced. Some nice moments though, like the Some Nights phrase. Unfortunately, it's way too short and would be far more effective if expanded and emotion could sustain & build. This is a Top 12 caliber corps and with finalist performance level potential, but program makes them very vulnerable at this point. The guard is also strong. My other reaction - the ending also feels tacked on and too brief. Nothing in this show really grabs you and holds you like the Opening/Closing MJ song last year. Blue Stars - HUGE volume, but not always with great quality. Loud and intense, but often I struggled to stay engaged with the show. I miss the more melodic shows with more musical depth that Blue Stars brought from 2007-2010. The voodoo theme comes across nicely, and there are some neat moments from guard, horns & drums with visual references to the theme. Hopefully Stars can work on bringing more polish, tone & depth to their brass sound in the next few weeks. Marching execution needs some work too. I think Blue Stars have the potential to make Finals, but there is still something missing here that I haven't put a finger on yet. Last night was my first viewing though, which can often be misleading. Maybe I'll get a better read tomorrow night. Colts - nicely entertaining. Seems to be a very split opinion on their new uniforms - upon first viewing, though, I hate it. I thought their red uni of past 6 years was FAR better. This uniform makes them feel less mature, and smaller. Obviously a youthful group, but the show is well designed for the most part and fits their talent. As they work to emote and make the Field of Dreams section more fluid and less mechanical, it can be very special. I think they are missing something, though to not have any visual reference to baseball when they both PLAY music from Field of Dreams and use it as their show title? Visually, this design & performance could challenge for Finals, with a huge step forward from last year (thank you, Sully), but I don't think the corps is quite there musically. Mandarins - Bravo, Mandarins. HUGE step forward from 2012. Great new unis, very tasteful, impactful show. A quality, quality show worth seeing folks. The narration (which I usually despise) is appropriate and complimentary. For original music I thought the show was effective musically, too. I'm sure the corps lost a lot of time traveling from California this week, so I'm looking foward to seeing them again in San Antonio. In our old Semis days of top 17, I would say this is the first Semis caliber show I've seen from Mandarins in several years. Great to see the step up in numbers of performers, performance levels and show design. Harvey

I call sour grapes on everything you post... I understand being a honk for your favorite, but everytime I read your posts it seems your putting down other corps for the sake of making Madison look better. While I enjoy Madison's show this year it is not "light years" ahead of Cavies.

Sorry.... It's different! With respect to your father from the western circuit, now adays is completely different. When there used to be 2 big regionals in the summer no one saw each other for long stretches... Now corps see each other every weekend. Conspiracy? No, but storylines sell tickets and all of the Regionals sans Allentown are multi thousand seat domes or stadiums. Trust me corps A might be competitive with Corps B, but allow for a flopping of placements and watch reaction... BD over Criwn, Cadets virtually tied... Bluecoats, Madison, Phantom all close, BK fighting Cavies to very tight race, Blue Stars losing to Crossmen who lost to Colts earlier, Troop lurking... You bet they do this stuff. It's not conspiracy, it keeps fans watching and corps pushing their products even harder.

Did you march with Blue Devils in 2009?

Star was great with Medea, but the piece actually ends like Cadets version, not like 1993 Also find it interesting Cadets program is deemed derivative but SCV can do their 1989 program and its considered fresh?

Last night from my location (general admission 35-40 down low) it was polite appreciation. Stunned silence in many cases. Some dinosaurs behind me commented that SO much is going on with the show they cannot focus. They admitted it was full of talent, but very difficult to like this show. And as a pre-fossil - I have to agree... Random thoughts - in random order even: Loudest corps was Cadets - I'm loving the straight ahead, no story line, no contrived theme (ok - side by side is what it's called, but really what the heck does that mena? This show is all about playing a modern master really well) and found them really likable for the second year in a row. Loudest goo was BD - almost painful to hear all the electronics.. Biggest goosebumps - pick any one of them from SCV - being a fan that got my start in early 80's and a big fan of Vanguard from that era - it's nice to see this corps remind me of that time. High mark times? Cymbal Lines? Broadway? Strong visual presence? Oh yeah - THAT is Vanguard! Crown clearly is marching and playing some serious notes. The sound was magnificent - but volume way off from year's past. Reading through the comments here and the recaps, perhaps it was an off night. But if an off night in mid to late July has one .1 behind the Blue Devils, then one is sitting in a good position. Bones - if they could march as well as they play... I was really impressed with their sound, not so much with visual or even programming choices. If you are gonna tease me with Some Nights - get on with it and deliver some more!! Blue Knights - not a fan of the design - but they perform it will - with multiple viewings I can see how it might grow on me. Did they drop the bicycle step last year or is this the first year? I don't miss it...I think this group has improved visually a great deal over the last two seasons. Cavies - what a mess. They had a tough spot by following SCV, Cadets, and Crown - but wow - they have a long way to return to old form. Big ouch moment was a huge hole in a long chord where Tubas just totally botched the stagger breathing. Half the section must have taken a breath at an inopportune moment. Colts are sporting a new uni that the Mrs and I enjoyed. Gradient purple red and blue I think in the coats that have a similar strip down their legs. Nice look. It is a fun show - I wish this show would have been performed by the Colts of about 10 years ago. That said - show up early and get a nice entertaining show! Mandarins marched the same number of Tubas as Mellos. With a deep bari/euph section, they had a nice depth to their sound most corps their size can't enjoy. The show fits them nicely with the coming to America from China theme. Blue Stars were first corps of night to smack the crowd with sound. I'm not sure I like this theme much - not familiar with the music either. I wanted to like them - really I did! Big crowd - great lineup for a non major. And thankfully the weather was cooperating and made for a pleasant evening!

Or quite possibly that was a very favorable panel for blue devils, that's the impression I got. The same judges have had crown down to blue devils all year. Turner, Tortia, Morris , have all had blue devils up all season, when they all judge the same show together, damage can be done. I wouldn't take one shows results to mean the tides have turned. I won't be surprised if that one point lead returns this weekend in crowns favor.

Crossmen were HOT tonight. I don't know if it's being in Texas or what but something clicked tonight that I haven't seen all season. Glad to see them making solid progress.

$100 says they don't

"Here comes my date... I met him on the Internet. He's a French model."

I believe it is supposed to resemble ashes ~ they are rising from the ashes to be the Boston Crusaders we know today.

Some wonder whether that diet too late at night in front of a computer is what brings about these rants and poor postings. God knows I've gotten emails from him that have made me wonder.

(from george takei's fb feed)

This is what Boston is all about. They know the ups and downs. proud to be alum.

Oh trust me...I wasn't happy with the last few BD wins, but I get why they won. The beauty of this year is actually in the recaps. People are judging their sheet, and then math adds up to create winners and losers. different corps winning different captions...it makes it tight. and interesting. Part of the problem is, DCI has really only had a real race in 2007, 2008 and 2011 in the last several years. When it comes to marketing, sheet technical excellence isn't going to put ##### in the seats. Entertainment value is. But entertainment value is only a portion of general effect. There have been many times I've judged GE and not liked a show as a fan, but I had it up on my sheet because it met the criteria. That is what has helped BD in those years...they met the criteria. But when a corps wins all summer, by a lot, and the show isn't popular, then every Oliver Stone with a DCP login comes in and assigns blame and creates conspiracies.

This math is over my head...

"We're Never going back to 1978". in the DCI Field Pass from 6/26, at around the 54 minute mark, Michael Cesario makes this comment. Someone tipped me off on it, and I went in and listened.....and i was tilted to believe going in he was bashing old time drum corps and legacy fans. But yet, as he goes on, he doesn't. He mentions how great our memories of then were, but then touts what he believes is great about drum corps today, and he thinks a lot of it is better. Now I disagree to a point when says corps don;t sound and look alike...sure, several have their own "style", but there are several music and visual design trends that are done by everyone as if they were compulsories. But I have to give it up to Michael when in this same field pass, he talks about how the new judging system installed last year had bumps in the road, and not all judges got it right away....even kind of alluded to some still need work. Take a listen: http://www.dci.org/news/view.cfm?news_id=f2768bf8-e3cb-4d8f-89af-2ddd23685a19 hats off Michael. You're actually giving a level of honesty here that's rarely heard from people at the top of DCI. I may not agree with all you say here, but I love that you have the set to say what you do.

Men, have a great show tonight! MYNWA

This is what Crown needed to watch out for, BD is starting to get clean. The recap shows them getting credit for the demand in the content/composition sub-captions and beating Crown there. Crown is still taking the achievement/execution sub-caption. The cleaner BD gets the more credit they'll get for this monster of a design . Winning those sub captions along with the spread in percussion will be enough to sink Crown unless some changes are made. BD won't necessarily have to "out perform" Crown to pass them the way these sheets are written!!

I don't think anyone could possibly say that.

An old idea. How did you think I got here?

Blue Devils top Crown!

I won't guess the scores but my order is guessing 1. Madison 2. Phantom 3. Bluecoats 4. Cavaliers

There are way too many of these kinds of gimmicks in shows today. I'd rather see a little less artificial flash and more focus on the musical and visual abilities of the performers.

I hereby designate crownisking as the official show thread started. In doing so, he/she must use these graphics with the same easy-to-read show information. Who agrees?

NEW! Added 07.19

Wishing Pacific Crest good luck tonight from sunny CA!

My predictions 1. Phantom Regiment 2. Madison Scouts 3. Bluecoats 4.Boston Crusaders 5. Cavaliers 6. Pacific Crest 7. Academy 8. Jersey Surf 9. Genesis

engaged can come in many forms.Remember the triad of effect is the emotional, the aesthetic and the intellectual. Not all of them require the crowd to do anything but sit there. BD has obviously gone down the super intellectual path ( I prefer Cesario's faux intellectualism line), and just touching on the other two from time to time. as the sheets work, it works for them. Personally, the show that hits all parts of the triad equally should be the highest GE scoring show, but that's not how it works in general. And lets face it...BD isn't programming to us. So our reactions mean little to the design team. Sure they and the kids will compain and FTW etc if the crowd doesnt gush over them, but it's been obvious for 5 years they are on this path and don't care or something would have changed

then put up or shut up. I'm your Huckleberry

Right. Because there's never been a close finish for the title. Isn't that right, 2008?

Agreed NewJersey... Storylines sell tickets and create revenue. How many fans would go to Finals week if you knew the placements ahead of time?

Why during the week in Indy, all of a sudden we get these huge spreads appearing between corps that were relatively close prior? Lets say for example, we go into Indy with Crown/Cadets/BD very tight (95.9, 95.6, 95.5), I guarantee by finals that becomes 98.3, 97.4, 96.8. You know what I'm talking about..I'm not saying conspiracy, just the number management technique used. Two brass lines can't tie? If two corps are really close, every judge feels inclined to separate them by a .1 or .2, it winds up bring a point plus spread! (Unless a corps has one weak caption). Maybe it doesn't matter...

I am not a believer in your judging conspiracy theories. My father was a member of the drum corps judging community in CA (used to be Pacific Coast Judges Association but has certainly changed since back in the day), but what you are suggesting just DOES NOT HAPPEN.

It's frustrating to see most of the conversation about SOA on DCP revolve around who folks think is going to pass them. From what I've seen, and I haven't seen that much (will see them in San Antonio this weekend) Clear and accessible show concept that most audiences consider fun (not counting the DCP dinks that have to say "I think this is the third year in a row they've done this show... hurr durr de hurr") Great sounding horn line that's playing music that's syleistically interesting Improved visual program year over year. Visual has been SOA's Achilles heel for some time now, in my opinion Guard and percussion are harder for me to talk about. I'm a brass guy. I also think that some fans on here use the phrase "not enough demand" as a substitute for "I don't think their show is cerebral enough" or think the two can't co-exist. They see the Blue Devils on their post-modern kick and think "Now, THAT'S high demand", and yes, it is, but there's not causality there. There's no shame in having a fun show. I'm glad SOA has a fun show. I hope they continue to have fun shows. I try not to be a homer, but sometimes you've got to say something nice about your team. Get some, Spirit of Atlanta. Throw down and kick a**.

If they are "destined" to win by the judging community, you will see other caption spreads increase over spot 2 to compensate for perceived percussion weakness. Mark my words.

I do thing Crown could have had an off night, but BD has to be stoked as I think this is the fist time they have beaten Crown since they left CA.

Every corps from top to bottom built from somewhere. Blue devils, carolina crown, cavaliers, cadets, they didnt wake up one day being a "powerhouse" with no work or effort. They put in the time, the effort, the energy, and spent decades building what they have. To even hint that taking away from corps who have worked hard and succeeded to just give to other corps who have either not worked hard enough, squandered their resources, or who maybe are on their way to the top but just have not reached it yet is ridiculous.

Crown's percussion scores are going to be difficult to overcome, but this is getting exciting, right?

Those were the two guys judging from the grassy knoll, right? Jersey guys are brutal conspiracy theorists. If Cadets win you'll say the panel was excellent.

I see phantom staying above on this show grouping

It's a wide open race now folks. Why oh why must Crown's percussion be the thorn in their side again this year? I have to say though, I love BD's show and Crown's show equally. Cadets show does nothing for me. No one can do Medea like Star of Indiana.

CROSSMEN !!!!!!! WAY TO GO ! Love this show.

Blue Devils back on top and Crossmen passing up Blue Stars. I couldn't be happier.

Not till Atlanta or so. It was very messy in the early season, but the mirrors hid a lot

Not according to the judges.

If I don't say it later, reference back here. But I think it's safe for me to say, we as a DCP community, truly love everyone who takes the time and effort to post little tidbits about the show. You pay your good money to watch and enjoy the show, and you let us in! Thank you very much!

Hard drill? Heh...not so easy, is it. Love, Every Cadet ever.