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My apologies to the DrumScorps people for my outburst over last night's score postings. Of course if they get garbage in, then they're going to post garbage out. My frustration was misplaced, in that this is the second time inside a week that DCI has either mis-keyed or NOT keyed scores in at all (leaving a "0" in a caption). As hard as the kids, staff, and volunteers work at this activity, one would reasonably think that proper care would be taken at the end of a contest to properly key in the results. But, to many poster's responses, the information is "free"...and I definitely lost my temper seeing the Cavaliers posted as a 13th-place corp with a 10-point drop in score. I'm going to wait at least 2 hours after Pittsburgh wraps tonight to even check. Again...my sincerest apologies.

im in tears...that was an elite performnace...no doubt..yes im homer..never saw them this good...ever

I hesitate to post this in this thread as I'm not going to argue scores and I'm not going to cut on any other corps here. I'm just going to make a case for the depth of Bluecoats show design for some of you who think it is just a fluff show or inferior retread. I will offer just my opinion that it is a much more difficult visual and musical book than last year, but in a year where GE and analysis judges seem to be weighing execution more heavily than content, any argument should be about DCI priorities and not nitpicking the other shows that are scoring better. Anyway, follow on if you have a moment (I do have an extensive professional background in this type of thing)... 3PoC's totally overly verbose analysis of A Jagged Line from a design perspective: Firstly, it's a MUSIC show. For all of the "'coats are so pushing the envelope" talk, musically they are playing actual full movements of songs like we did back in my DCI days, including a drum break that is it's own complete musical movement just like we did every year I marched. Anybody here remember Stone Ground 7, Devil Went Down to Georgia, Black Market Juggler, New Country etc...? One Study/One Summary is very much in that lineage. The music book, from beginning to end, makes sense together - adventurous contemporary music with progressive metric and polyrhythmic motifs and strong melodic elements. It's a coherent playlist that is of a kind. So what kind of music is it really? Well, it is clear that the designers, because of the irregularity of the rhythms, the way many of the melodic themes jump around in pitch and are bounced around, often in a hocket style from instrument to instrument. decided to go with the adjective jagged. The idea of "jagged" is inherent in nearly every phrase of the music book and it's simple word with a clear visual associations, I believe the designers likely already knew they wanted to further explore a few significant developments they made over their past few years, particularly; a backstage type area so that performers could exit/enter view to highlight and focus on what they wanted to feature; motion on the x,y and z axes; surround sound design; full ensemble dance and emphasis on personalizing the performers. They took basic extensions of the idea of "jagged" such as zig-zag, back and forth/side to side, leaving and coming back, contrast, black and white, high and low etc... and put it all together to make a show that you can totally enjoy even with no attention paid to deeper underlying thematic concepts, But they are there. Let's look at some of the significant thematic implementations: The big center stage - well obviously it's a massive jagged line, but it also creates two fields - a here and there, a front and back, and a down and up. The show starts with an individual with a trumpet slowly going up and back with the words "Leaving on a train, don't know when I'll be back again" playing, and ends with a phalanx of low brass rapidly back down and forward as the music returns "home" to the main opening theme. They also return to using both sides of the field evenly as well as to a reprise of the signature move of the show, the fast side to side run that sums up the to and fro idea (and just looks cool). In between the leaving and the coming back bookends, the group journeys far backfield on side 1 where, beginning with innocence (notice the children's choir sample in the intro) they grow til tall, then during One Study/One Summary they make their way, starting with exuberance and near the end collapsing as they form a huge arrow pointing to the opposite side downfield, yet they rise in the end to triumphantly conquer the Zomby Woof in style on side 2. The center prop frames the scenes in the (imo wonderfully understated and unobtrusive yet effective) narrative. The Ballad - Why are they going away from us? They are on a journey far away. They were just in your face a moment ago blasting the end of the opener. now they want a jaggedy close/far contrast and to move the narrative away to a far off place where they will experience growth from the journey. The classic hero archetype in literature always has a Yoda part where the hero gains wisdom and strength in a place far from home before they can take on the Vader (or Zomby Woof) character. Why mic them backfield and have the sound come out of speakers on the opposite side? Apart from trying to capture the sound design of the source material which brilliantly dissolves into ambient cacophony with the distant drumming and shimmering and nearly distorting reverberations, they are also going for a spatial displacement effect where the sound literally zig-zags across the field. Narratively, I'm left to use my imagination on what this represents so I like to imagine that it's like a disturbance in the force type thing that perhaps rouses and foreshadows the Zomby Woof movement since that side is where that scene will soon take place. I dunno, may be wrong but it works for me! I've read other interesting interpretations as well. The best song lyrics almost always leave enough to the imagination to me let me find my own meaning. Color scheme and costuming - most obviously, black and white are contrasting opposites like many others in the show, but I get a distinct black&white silent movie vibe, particularly with the Charlie Chaplin character The Little Tramp. The Fosse movement vocabulary is pretty apparent but some folks don't realize that the bowler hat and cane Fosse character was his modernized version the Chaplin character, whom Fosse admired greatly. So I see the performers as variations of the tramp character, a good-hearted vagrant or vagabond type who wanders to and fro(!) getting into antics and surviving on charm, cunning and grit. But why Chaplin via Fosse for a show with such contemporary music? Well, I'm gonna suggest that it is precisely because of that contrast - old/new, In drum corps terms, this is an old-school format musical product with modern music, wrapped in a new school "theme" which is premised on very old school entertainment vocabulary. That's a pretty jagged (time)line. Again, I'm not gonna argue scores about this show, but I will argue it has depth of content (including incredible performance demand) that is pretty apparent if you look. The best part imo is that you can not care a whit about thematic construction and still throw babies at a great cohesive show featuring incredible performances of great songs! In that sense I guess it is a lot like Down Side Up. And that's a good thing. Peace! P.S. Your favorite corps is pretty awesome too! Don't let competition ruin your appreciation of the corps your fave is battling. In 2 weeks this will all be history. Savor them all!

Wwas that actually Boston?...oh my freakling gawd....incredible brass...tight percuaaion...guard...just wow after wow

Hi everyone. Let me start by apologizing for the errors last night. We never like to report incorrect information. When errors do occur, we try to resolve them quickly. Unfortunately, there are some things out of our control and last night was one example of that. We are a small team of 2 people and while we always try to check scores as they come in, sometimes life gets in the way. We appreciate everyone's patience as the app has gone through some growing pains this season. This year's app was our biggest update yet and with a lot of new features/content came a lot of unexpected issues. The app has taken off way beyond what we could have imagined when this project started 3 years ago. This year alone the app has been opened over 3 million times, we've sent over 500,000 push notifications, and users have made thousands of posts made to the forums through the app. We're working our best to keep up with the demand and already have some changes in mind for the off-season to improve the stability and performance of the app. Again, thank you for using our app. We love our users and we wouldn't be where we are if it weren't for you.

I wanted to take a moment to tell all you BD fans it was a true pleasure to host the corps over the past two days. We had over 500 people in the stands on Monday evening for rehearsal. Many people in the crowd came up to me and expressed how much they really loved the show this year. From the throw-back solos in the beginning (Seawright-mania), to the amazing work of the drumline (WTG ScoJo), to a brass line that just brings it and a guard that tells a great story with phenomenal work. For the parents, we did what we could to make their stay enjoyable. We even had our boosters give the cook staff a break by providing a "homemade" snack (Peach Crisp & Ice Cream) for the corps on Monday night. This is the third time we have hosted BD and our students learn so much about what it takes to put on a show with hard work and determination at every rehearsal. Our band camp actually started on the same day the corps arrived and the students got to see what it takes up close and personal. Looking forward to seeing everyone again this weekend at Allentown. I will have my tail-gate set up across from the HAM-FAM and look forward to seeing all you fans. Stop by and if you mention my name here on DCP, you get a dog and a beer.

Hard to tell though. The line at the SCV booth was a big circle, while Bluecoats line was much more jagged.

ok...holy crap...brasss..oh my gawd

My Blue Devil actually posted a photo of his plate full of snack on his Instagram. Looks like he took more than one serving of each item. Well done, sir!

I was at Bloo's ensemble rehearsal tonight in Newark, OH. The staff made some subtle changes to the ballad and the magic I experienced in Spring Training is back! I am cautiously optimistic when I say I think it is fixed!

This was DCI's error. The recap was identical on their website. Fact check before hurling accusations.

Getting the shaft? Talk to BD and Crown from last year. They got beat by a show that started with a three minute freaking ostinato, a note cracking, winking soloist that knew where the camera was and what the reaction would be, and the entire corps running up and sliding down ramps as their exclamation point to each visual construction (Whee!!!). Was it a lot of fun to watch? Absolutely. Could it be considered a one off? Probably. But, Bluecoats then repackaged the same approach to design under the guise of "Fosse" and expected the same results. They are not getting them, and it is pretty easy to see why (not as clean, novelty has worn off, REALLY complete designs by other corps). Shafted, my ***.

Great job tonite. Liahona. ' Appreciated.. you were our eyes and ears.

Eat 'em up Boston!

If anyone is curious about my title, I grew up in Chester. There was a sign there that had that phrase for many years. Other Chester trivia is that the Crossmen had their very first practice--where the two corps merged together--literally 4.3 miles from this stadium in a parking lot of Boeing. This parking lot became known as Boeing Beach because that was where the corps practiced for many years. Needless today, many Crossmen alumni plan to attend the show.

I was in Annapolis yesterday, and I really enjoyed the tweaks that have been made in this show! This is totally different in person. The effect (and potential for more) is most definitely there. The ending is awesome, not just for this show, but for ANY show. The choir is outstanding. I like the way they're now staged closer to the 50. The way the choir is used is a great innovation, and something that will be talked about for years to come. I'd love to see a future show with a choir somewhere down the line. Battery is absolutely tops. Brass has grown a TON. Guard is still improving and adding to the effect (especially at the end). I am very impressed with this staff. Positive vibes all around. It is clear that everyone is really enjoying this experience. You simply can't fake this good vibe. It is REAL! The future is looking good, from what I saw.

No need to apologize. When I see Cavaliers get four pointed by Blue Stars, when I see Cavaliers score drop almost 8 points, when I see Cavaliers tie with Mandarins, I laugh and assume it was an error that will be corrected shortly. DrumScorps is 1000x better than any method of finding scores from the past, and (almost) everyone on these boards appreciate what you're doing. Thank you, DrumScorps!

OK, I only read the first several posts so if I am jumping in this discussion not totally informed about what has already been discussed, forgive me. As most of you know, I am a Bluecoats homer but I refuse to get sucked into any discussion about how the judging community is screwing anybody ... even my beloved Bluecoats. The judges may not be perfect but I believe they have the best interests of the MMs at heart. I may not agree with them but I don't think they are out to screw anyone. Things may turn around a bit for Bluecoats. I was very impressed with the work they did tonight. And if they move-up it will be because they put in the work in an intelligent way. And if they don't move-up it will be because other corps were better. At least that's the way I see it.

ok..bac souvie driver came to the rescue...called aaa for me...love bac :)

Thanks for the play by play, Liahona!! Safe Travels!!

for a show that waa not a fav of mine early season..i must admit..its growing on me...keep working it...

Awesome. So excited for you! And all the Boston fans and members

no play by play dor thia one...soaking thia performance in...haha

She Must Burn!

To answer the original post: Yes, BD and SCV are the top 2 because they have the best shows, performed at the highest level. It's pretty simple.

I see it as a technically strong music and visual program....and then a seemingly nice/sweet girl shows up, but then she goes bat-#### crazy yelling at me. #IDONT'TKNOW YOU

OP's post is laughably stupid. He clearly has no grasp on the amount of effort it takes to develop an app and then offer it for free. And that too, b*tching about something that isn't even the app's fault. I understand you're a Cavies Dad, but chill the hell out, and stop complaining about a completely free service.

Hello everyone, I wanted to let you know that I finally have my blog – Along the Mill Brook – ­up and working. This morning I am running away with the drum corps again. I am on my way to Clifton, NJ to meet up with the Boston Crusaders and see the show for the first time as a fan from the 50-yard line. I received a lot of positive comments about my story about volunteering for the corps for their first four shows in June – I Ran Away with the Drum Corps. Many have encouraged me to write more. It is my plan to have a daily post as I attend six shows leading up to the championships, so check back again soon. Unfortunately, I will not be able to attend the show in Lawrence because I will be in Chester, PA to see what the other boys and girls are up to. It should prove to be an awesome homecoming for the corps that has been away working so hard all summer. Give them a lot of love! http://www.alongthemillbrook.com/2017/07/30/im-running-away-with-the-drum-corps-part-ii/

They shouted "And also with you!" (Although Catholics will know that the correct saying as of 2008 or so is "And with your spirit")

scv..that performance alone waa worth the 70 ticket...honorable mention ro bac

I'm am seriously regretting not going to lawrence...bac folks..they are going to bring the house down..no doubt...im still in shock..it hasent sunk in...yet

I just knew you'd be " in tears " as a BAC alum to see the 2017 Boston Crusaders show for your very first time tonite... and its quite alright, my fine friend.

that was a really great perdormance by the company...loved it...welcome to america

some guy in crowd came all the way from paris today for show

Finally made it to my seat...wooohooo

"Bridget Bishop... please bid the rain to stop."

Just because it's the kind of mood I'm in today: What would I do if I were in charge? Read through the DCP "Music Corps Should Do" thread...

Bluecoats are scoring where they are because the top three are performing better across the captions. It's simple math. And saying no one will remember BD show but they'll remember this? Give me a break. I like Jagged Line a lot but it's a rehash of last years formula and the corps is not clean enough to medal. The brass book is far behind the top three, GE is struggling because of the flow of the show, they're having trouble locking in musically, and visually they're very dirty. And just to stir the pot a bit, SCV is doing more interesting things with electronics and have been since 2015.

I feel the same way, except for sporadic bouts of ambivalence.

19 pages, I didn't read them all. Bluecoats have an excellent, truly entertaining show. And it's scoring well. Two weeks left and they're already mid-low 90s, it'll probably finish in the 95-96 range. Any show that finishes around a 95 is awesome and is receiving a truly outstanding score, something that 99% of drum corps shows will never achieve. It's important to remember that something can be great - nay, outstanding - in this activity, even if it doesn't win. Just because someone is better within our subjective game of inches doesn't detract from how outstanding a show and a corps truly is.

So why single out DrumScorps instead of DCI themselves. Why are you putting more stock in a smartphone app than, ya' know... the organization that's actually responsible for drum corps.

I did emphasize that "The best part" referring to the design "imo is that you can not care a whit about thematic construction and still throw babies at a great cohesive show featuring incredible performances of great songs!". I was trying to say that I thought the show was effectively designed in such a way that it could be accessible and exciting to the "higher, faster, louder!" old school type corps fan because of it's music book, and yet still have a compelling concept motivating the action on the field for the more studious types of fans to enjoy. Some shows find difficulty keeping both of those type of fans engaged..

I'm more homer than ever, cavaliers need to at least medal this season

The placements this year are fine, they are all where they should be. Last year I thought crown should've won and Bloo in 3rd but we all have different opinions, it's called being human.

Perhaps if you'd read further than "mic", you'd see that I'm not complaining about the existence of mics in and of themselves, but rather Vanguard's specific use of them to solely amplify their strongest brass players to the level of being almost equal to the entire rest of the brass section for the sole purpose of giving their brassline less musical demand. That you think that visual is so important that it trumps both Music and GE in terms of accreditation is laughable. There's really nothing more to say on this matter, since any time anyone brings up music to you you immediately swerve straight back to visual as if that's some kind of panacea. Since you want a breakdown so bad, let's go. Bluecoats first: Sure, they do a lot of standing/body movement and playing. I'll note that in the other thread, you were incredibly in favor of body movement as having superior demand to traditional marching, so in the name of consistency I'd expect you to actually like that the Bluecoats are doing body visuals while playing. That said, about 2:30 into the Bluecoats show is an extended period of marching and playing, around 190 BPM, only 16 counts of which are half time. You also conveniently ignored the rhythmically difficult section at the end of their opener, while they are doing the follow-the-leader through the prop. Lots of body movement during the ballad, including hip movement, kneeling, and standing up. There's also marching and playing, too. You're quick to criticize the closer. Let's examine. Sure, there's a lot of park and blow. There's also a lot of your favorite, body movement while playing. You also seem to be ignoring the last moments of the show, the unwinding drill while the full brass line is playing melodic material (or countermelodic in the case of the mellos). Also, I would note that the brass line is playing in front of the staged shotgun mics, so there is no ambient amplification at the end of the show. Let's move on to your Vanguard, shall we? The opening bars are just random chords. Sure, there's timing challenges, but the big thing to notice here is that the small ensemble (hereafter referred to as The 12) are playing all of the difficult parts. By the end of the opening statement, the full brassline has not played anything more rhythmically interesting than a quarter note triplet, and has not done any more difficult visual challenge than a plie and some marching while holding a long tone chord. Percussion break 1. The brassline plays chords, while The 12 play triple-tonguing. Percussion break 2. The 12 gets featured as they stand on the props. When the rest of the brass comes in, they are immobile after having posed. Percussion break 3 (long one this time). The 12 plays a jazzy little number before being joined by the full brassline, which only starts playing once they hit an extended halt (the big > sign). The body movement during the halt consists of individuals swaying. Percussion break 4. Finally, some full brass playing and marching that's more interesting than long tones. It's short lived, though, as we quickly go back to sporadic punches in the brass and then chords while The 12 play the rip into the impact. Percussion break 5. Three whole seconds of sixteenth notes in the brass line as they jump back and forth before... Theremin break 1 (Percussion break 6). I get super excited when the brassline gets into pods, because they play interesting music (no moving, of course), but literally as soon as the third pod starts playing, we're immediately into: Percussion break 7. During percussion break 7, the brass moves freely into position to park and bark some ascending chugga-digga-duts. I'll allow the 16 counts of front ensemble to not be counted as a percussion break (although it is, since the next brass statement is a completely different musical idea). This next statement is a very Gaines-esque drill moment, which I enjoy, but again, the entire brass moment is only 14 seconds long before: Percussion break 8. Some nice brass after Percussion 8, especially with the jazz running. This is getting tiring, so I'll stop here. You get the idea.

You don't learn lessons well, do you. DCI posts the scores. They're the only source. When they go live, all sorts of automated scripts and tools go into action and grab the scores to push them to whatever application. It's all done without human intervention. Quit lashing out, and relax. They'll be fixed eventually. Don't be so entitled to instant access that your day is ruined by a tiny hiccup.

You clearly don't understand how automation works. It's a tabulation/entry error. Not the fault of DrumScorps or Blue Devils App or whatever.

When you guys need me I'll be over here trying to figure out how 4th place in an ultra-competitive year counts as "getting the shaft."

The Bluecoats are having trouble with this show and it is showing. There are some extremely difficult elements to it. If they can clean it, I could see them jump Crown. That said, the product that SCV and BD are putting on the field, is much cleaner with equal difficulty in a more complete package (no real weaknesses)

I'm so happy for you!