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In 2013, I thought they singlehandledly redefined the role of a color guard in drum corps. A color guard is supposed to be used, first and foremost, to push large towers around a football field.

I miss the rains down in Africa.

I miss Blue Stars guard in hot pants!

DINNER :)

Shame about Surf folding ;)

A lot of moving staff and connections between the two organizations. Historically and especially this year. It's not unusually or unwarranted. The two corps are going thru similar transitions and have become the east monsters that Boston is working hard to try and rival for talent and resources. The dynamic between the three is an extremely interesting topic for many of us. Where will the dominoes fall?

Ha! If we could have convinced those guard members to push those towers out of the back of the semi on I95...

My guess. Toto loves the cash from the African skies it brings however.

I love the "Sparkle Sleeve". I think it is one of the cool customizable aspects of BD's uniforms. BD 2014 is actually my favorite uniform ever. Flashy without going too overboard, the subtle pink is great.

Yeah yeah yeah....ALMOST every detail:)

Back in the mid 60's, Boston had their contra bells covered with an elastic covering with a red Waldo in the middle. (Just can't copy and paste it for some reason. If any IT folks want to PM me their e-mail, I'll send it for their addition to this topic. It's a photo of a newspaper article though.)

or maybe they'll cover the bells of the sousa things with various set visually appropriate materials ending with a compass rose.

Oh I know that visual bugaboo! Every year my fingers are crossed. But honestly, THIS YEAR I am excited about all the visual possibilities and potential for growth. Depending on design of course, and execution, could really be a break out show for them - while developing their brand in the process - which is timely. I really hope they find a lane, the way Academy has done.

don't forget how SCV really set the bar by playing really different music early on. Then BD, then Cadets, Then Cavaliers Then Star, Then Crown, Now Bluecoats. yea I think they really did and in more ways than just those big colorful props. They are raising the bar with soundscapes and electronic re-enforcing. I think modern drum corps is very exciting. I am glad my son opened up my mind to it all. I enjoy it so much more than trying to pick apart shows all the time.

City Mission Cadet Corps. I would love to see these guys back in action. They were a great corps back in the day, circa 1960s-1970s. We (Sunrisers) benefited quite a bit from having a number of their members join our corps, 1970s-1980s.

I also miss riffle lines with skirts and boots.

Crowns, perhaps? Although I think I've heard people call them "fakos."

Everything we post on any site should already be known as "IMO" so we don't need to type it. (You got that BRASSO?) With these prediction topics, what anyone types probably should be classified as guessing and not wishing.

You know we're in some serious need for hype when we're talking about Crown in a Cadets thread. #shakoofsilence

I couldn't rank my picks, too hard. This is my list for cool initial first hits, no matter how long it took to arrive. 1989, 2011, 2013!!, 2015 Cadets 1995, 1996!!, 2010, 2015 Scouts Frameworks , 2006, 2010 Cavies 1989, 2014 SCV (1989 was a great year for DCI) 2009-2015 Blue Devils (mostly '12 and '14) 2010, 2015!!, 2016 Bluecoats 2016 Blue Knights (sounded VERY hard to achieve. I'm not sure if there's something as atonal and nightmarish than this, twas unique.) 2010, 2012, 2013, 2016!! Carolina Crown I know I'm missing a bunch of stuff, old and new. I'll update when I think of more.

Haha that looks like Crown's shakos. Or whatever the heck you call those open-top things.

Love those chocolate-covered strawberries when the berries are in season in the Delmarva area. Not so much during the off-season when the berries are from elsewhere, like California. Compared to the local variety, those berries taste like cardboard. LOL.

I've brought up 2002 Santa Clara Vangaurd but I think all the shows between 1999 and 2004 all deserve a little more attention. You have in my opinion an all time great ballad, one of their better hornlines, a really #### cool opener, and an absolutely seamless show with a ridiculous drumline all packed into those years.

Guys - his helmet reference was in response to the post above him, to which he was replying, which was referring to the Blue Devil's tops, but the Bluecoats' helmets. Come on, you're all better at reading comprehension than this!

2007 was a really fantastic year when you think about it. Blue Devils won it on an anniversary year, Cadets were an absolute monster corps regardless of thoughts on their show. Cavaliers were their old selves in a solid third with a very fun show that doesn't get mentioned a ton. 4th - 7th Phantom Regiment, Santa Clara Vanguard, Carolina Crown, and Bluecoats were ridiculously tight and all had shows I REALLY enjoy. Dark Blue Knights show was really nice. Boston Crusaders Picasso show is another one that's a lot of fun that doesn't get mentioned a ton. Great drumline. Colts Equinox show is top to bottom fantastic, another one that I quite enjoy from that season. Glassmen's Gypsy show was great as well and Spirit of Atlanta had some great moments, personally really like the ballad. Then outside finals you had Academy blasting into division 1, Blue Stars back from their D2 days for the second year in a row almost knocking on finals, Madison Scouts with a really fun show despite their struggles, Crossmen with their first show after moving to Texas, Pacific Crests really fun Vegas show, Cascades still going strong, Southwinds last hurah, Troopers best show in a good while after going inactive, Mandarins IMO underrated Dragon Dance show, AND Pioneer being Pioneer and giving us some good Irish fun. One of the few seasons that I own both volumes of the DVD. Underrated season perhaps? I also feel pretty strongly about 2002 in that regard.

it's why i think we're going to see a lot of corps transition to bloo-style "uniforms" in the very near future people got mad at me for suggesting it, but with what they're being asked to do on the field, it makes sense to me doesn't mean i like it, either

I am all for uniforms that restrict dance & body movements.

I haven't heard anyone mention it yet, but when I think of underrated shows, I think of: Crossmen 1990 Great music, excellent soloists, and an exciting drill that matched the music so well. They perfected the "art of the pass-through", as one form crossed through another just at the end of a musical phrase, generating a great effect.

whatever is the choice, I hope it is WAY less spandex and gymnastics uniforms for the horn and drumlines

Your ignorance of this activity and the people you're referring to is adorable.

I would love to have been on the other side of that.

the first big chord that scv hit in 2004 scared my nephew (i think he was 5) so bad, he started crying. not sure if that's the "best", but i still remember that moment. and yeah, 96 BD was f'ing loud.

Blue Devils 1996. Up close and personal... and LOUD. Madison Scouts 1975.... that huge hit to start "Slaughter" from a mile away on the back sideline.

Donald: Hey look, it's the 2017 uniform thread. Mike: 1 uniform illustration, and 3 pages of discussion. There must be a lot of CRAP in it. Donald: It would be so much fun to trash 1 person in that utter field of crap. Mike: Yeah, and pretend it's nothing compared to our own elevated discourse, like "Just because I dont like uniform doesnt mean i dont like it." smh. Donald: Tee hee, smh, it'll be just like 2nd grade again! Woo! --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Anyhoo, Southwind could wear Glassmen 93 unis, and I'd still be ecstatic just to see them back.

Yee gads. I'm not a fan of the leggings trend in Drum Corp. Not to mention the rest of this uni.

I know it's purely semantic, but does 60 marching members all wearing the same thing automatically make it a "uniform"? In my opinion, the answer is no, it's not automatically a uniform. Bloo's corps proper wasn't wearing a uniform this past year, they were wearing a costume. I'd argue that what most colorguards have worn for the past 20+ years are also costumes, even if they were identical for males and females. Maybe a more accurate phrase would be "performance wear". More and more, the term "uniform" just doesn't work for me with the majority of DCI. I realize the impulse of some kids on here will be to go for a dictionary, but I think adults understand that connotation is just as powerful as denotation when it comes to how we actually understand words and phrases.

I dont understand. I absolutely hate the jumpsuits. I thought you meant because I hate the uniforms I hate WGI and DCI which IS NOT the case.

Jumpsuits are stupid.

Fran would approve of Art Van Damme, I'll bet. Still, as Pepe would say, "Did ya ever win da Dream?" I never met an instrument I didn't like, but I really don't want to meet all of them on the field. For me, the real musical challenge in Drum Corps has always been to create great sounds with brass and percussion.