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From DCI website today, edits are listed. Over 2 minutes of Blue Knights, Cavies, and Boston shows are cut, and over 3 minutes from Blue Stars...42 seconds of BD as well. We can discuss the licensing issues ad nauseum, but honestly, this all just stinks. Something has got to be done to fix this so that everyone gets paid appropriately and the shows still stay intact. Probably will never happen, but it just seems wrong to not see full shows after the kids and staffs work so hard. So frustrating...

I hope I'm still alive when Tresona goes out of business.

Yes, there was a lot of secrecy. I estimate it was less about hype and more about allowing designers privacy to try on ideas and experiment before committing to a theme/concept. 'Tis the season for tinkering.

The only thing I would change is having a drum majors retreat on Friday night and announce the scores at the end of the show. And possibly start Semifinals about an hour or two earlier. Friday night tends to run on way too long.

Pointing out people getting carried away with rumors and speculation in a thread titled "2018 Show Announcent(sic)/Rumors?"

It was easier back in the day when each corps would play themselves off the field. Even starting the shows an hour earlier would help

waiting through the age out stuff on Friday adds to the "will this ever end" feeling

Ditto on Saturday night finals when half of the Worldwide Chamber of Commerce each have their photo taken so a cheque comes across next season. The mad dash to get everyone off the field and out of the stadium by midnight because the Colts have a game the next day does not lead to a safe situation for anyone. Because GH and some of the DCI board are insomniacs doesn't mean that fits everyone else.

Gold Bond powder works well.

Not DCI, but Kidsgrove Scouts are doing "24601 - A Les Miserables Story" in 2018. Design staff includes, John Meehan, Scott Johnson and Sean Gordon. Unfortunately we won't be coming to the STates this year, but this is gonna be an amazing show. We are fully expecting to march another full sized corps with a brass line expecting to top out over 50 members which is huge for Europe.

I hate Tresona... They've basically inserted themselves into all of this, and it's for their financial gain more than it is for the spirit of protecting content producers. I'll just hope that the content producers and creators get the lion share of the proceeds, but with many middle men scenarios, that's probably not going to be the case.

Going waaaay back (to my era!) at the World Open the prior year champ did not even compete in prelims. In 71 the Troopers went straight to finals, and only the top 11 prelim corps made it to finals. 12th place Blessed Sacrament was therefore left out (they had been 2nd in 1970, their last great year).

Yes

I feel differently about this. I am not aware of the argument that took place other than what I have read, but to me I never cared for the defending champ going on last. I would hardly call it a time honored tradition -- it was just a tradition that ultimately meant nothing, at least in my eyes. Eventually that tradition was going to unravel when PBS began to change their program coverage of Finals, some years only showing the top 5, maybe top 6 corps. Once that happened I absolutely feel that the top 5 or 6 in that order should get on TV. If this was the case in 1989 with PBS only showing the top 5, then I have no problem with the other 5 directors voting against Madison and telling them to go on in order of placement. That tradition was bound to change, and because some people cling to traditions there is no doubt it was going to cause an argument. It happens, but I don't think there was anything evil or childish about it. Perhaps it was just time to fight that rule and work toward something better and more fair.

Father, actually. Charles Ives is, perhaps apocryphally, said to have been inspired by his father's stunt of having two bands, playing different music, march toward each other from opposite ends of the main street. Wikipedia describes it more prosaically, though.

Disappointing but I’ve come to expect it

Literally one of the very few fantastic uses of a vocalist ever in the marching arts... How dare they...

In full disclosure..... I didn't know about 2002. I had to look it up.

Boston won the Spirit of Disney Award in 2000 for "Red". "You Are My Star" was 2002. The Cadets won the Spirit of Disney Award that year.

Hot take: are Cadets the Barstool Sports of drum corps minus the humor factor?

I really hope they don’t do this as it would confirm some of my less that flattering thoughts about Hoppy. You may recall the jokes I made about last year’s show tanking because it failed to produce the desired controversy, a bit of truth and all. Cadets and the Borg seem to thrive on a victim-complex that results in a siege mentality. They claim it’s being innovative, I see it as part of the Cadets Cult Brainwashing process and find it off-putting to say the least. It would help explain knowing that they’ll have 4 roving singers even before they have set the show, something that strikes me as another boxed-in, hats-backwards, design failure just waiting to be dumped on the field

Amen X.

the designers, always the designers. I remember when the activity was about the marching members and the audience.

Was that at Finals or Prelims? Cadets and BD went on near the front of the live show for Finals in 1989 - that was the first show I ever saw on TV. Mike

sure do... it was like night and day.

Favorites from the Boston Crusaders: 2017...... " Wicked Games " 2000...... " Red " 2013...... " Rise " 2009...... " Core of Temptation " 2002........ " You Are My Star " Honorable Mention..... 2008" Neocosmos " ; 2003 " Bravo " 2010" Thy Kingdom Come "; ... 2004"Composition of Color" 2001" Harmonium ". Ok, but just not my cup of java: .... 2014." Animal Farm " ( did appreciate the edginess and the boldness with the show theme however )..... 2016" Quixotic ".

Should be out sometime next week.

Been there--did that---didn't like it. 1988. There is plenty of suspense with the current system--and upsets do occur. 2008.

In order to "copy BOA" as you suggest: a. Prelims would be split into two separate halves, on separate days, with separate judging panels. Even though we all know scores from different panels are not truly comparable, advancement to semifinals would be determined by the top 30 scores across these two prelim panels. But yes, we might not know who is winning at that point. b. Semifinals would run the same day as finals, starting as early in the morning as necessary to get in the requisite number of performances. Of course, much of the mystery of BOA Grand Nationals is because so many of the bands there have not competed head-to-head earlier in the season. To copy that would require eliminating tour, and sequestering corps in their home regions until championship week.

I loved it.

That top 6 bottom 6 draw type format format was also the way DCI '88 was split; and it stunk!!!

If that's indeed true, that's too bad for the Cadets. Hopkins was really excited about the possibility of working with the NY Phil, and that would've been a great opportunity for the students.

Yup! For fans, it was frustrating not to have a sense of where their favorite corps ranked. The suspense didn't add to anyone's enjoyment. It also must have made the judges' jobs more difficult because the random order: 1) was a change from what was being done all season, and 2) required extra diligence (on an already tough night of decisions) to balance between "leaving room" and awarding a high number/ranking, when deserved.

Random draw— I’d hate to be a 12th place corps having to go after BD

well if the Cadets got cash...

I suggest you look up DCI 1988....

Gotta say it was very cold warming up in the lot, but our kids handled it well. On the field it seemed a good 10 degrees warmer, actually. Best part for us was the great tailgate party the parents threw for the band. One parent, a huge Giants fan and season ticket holder, has a trailer and all the stuff needed for tailgating. It was a great time after we performed. USBands did a great job preparing the bands for the cold IMO. Provided tents for individuals to get warm...an indoor warmup area for those who desired it. Sold handwarmers at the Cadets souvie booth.

I figure the top BOA bands, if not penalized by rules against membership size and instrumentation, would score somewhere in the 70s. But once you accept that the sheer athleticism isn't there, it become very easy to enjoy high school marching bands for the artistry they do achieve.

There were many "championships" and champions in those days. One I recall very clearly was the 1970 Miami show. While warming up the Garfield horn line, I kept hearing some pretty fine sounds from just out of sight around the other side of the stadium. When we finished I began to walk in that direction and the sound just got better and better. It was a corps from Kansas I had never even heard of, the Argonne Rebels! And half the horn line seemed to be populated by 12 year-old girls! When I finally got around in front of them the drum major gave a downbeat and they tore into Barnum and Bailey's like it was raw meat. I was totally gob-smacked. When they finished I asked one of the kids who their horn instructor was. "That lady over there", he replied, "Mrs. Opie." Sandra Opie. She sure took me to school that day. Then, that evening, Boston wailed Mancini's Conquest, complete with young Jimmy Centorino's scorching solo, and I stood on the back sideline as the Troopers blew open the circle while every flashbulb in the universe went off in my face. I get high even now, just thinking about this stuff. The '70s? Yeah. What a trip.

Or, if Cadets do this show, to the right.

Let's do the Crown Warp again.

BK's show for 2018 apparently to have more ( their words ) " baddass " in it than what we've been traditionally used to from BK. Sounds very intriguing to me. Looking forward to seeing and hearing more BK " baddass " elements in their show design this summer for marchers and audiences alike !

Copyright, people. The word is copyright. Every time I see "copywrite" I get a little closer to knowing how Michael Boo feels when he sees "Blue Coats". There certainly is such a thing as copywriting, as in writing copy. Just as there are coats that are blue. And there are coats that are white, which is what would be worn by the men who eventually take me away if I hadn't spoken up. I'm feeling much better now. Carry on.

if i recall Tilt wasn't trotted out super early. it's a game. builds suspense. and really if 5th is bad, heaven help us all

I say keep it where it is. It's hard to read the show as it is now, especially in smaller stadiums or lower seats and in just one viewing. I honestly enjoyed the 128 limit, as it allowed the audience and the designers to focus on just one or two elements.

You won't improve the show by adding more. Limits were placed on Drum Corps for a reason, to encourage and select only the best players / performers and push the creative envelope. Relying on electronic insurments, amplification and static props results in less emphasis on the individual performers and will eventually make all corps look and sound the same (ordinary).

Add the prop proliferation to this. How many corps are running an extra truck all summer long just to haul them around.

They’re 100 pages behind but the Scouts may catch up with Cadets.