Sideways Posted August 3, 2017 Share Posted August 3, 2017 Blue Devils are in the control right now and musically they just overwhelm you with sound. Everything Must Change is seriously one of the most impressive things I have ever heard. Visually I can acknowledge how clean they are with all varieties of movement, dance, and drill. That being said I am still wanting more a something more visually at the end in order to match the sound. If they do not have any more tricks in their bag this might cost them the title...other than that this corps has all the swagger and confidence it needs this year. Likely will fall to second with a ~5% of BC catching them at finals too. I will not call Santa Clara a dark horse since they have the total show this year but are not yet achieving at the same level as BD. If this corps puts down couple clean runs in the next week and it is 1999 all over again. The intensity is reaching a boiling point and you can tell their fans are just waiting to get smacked in the face with a fire hose! Are those final chords from the brass ensemble quoting Send in the Clowns? OMG!!! SCV for the win. Carolina Crown - Almost feel bad for this corps after all the changes in the last year. Strongest percussion section for them perhaps ever, brass is solid is ever, championship level brass line and book again, and finally a drill I can get excited about. Then on the flip side the guard is in a "rebuilding" year and if there is one caption you do not want to be weak in at this level is color guard. Vocalist....She does a fantastic job and it does fit with the show but it till drives me nuts in "for good," with how #### good that horn line it. "No one to KNow one" I find her efforts much more in line with the piece and less a distraction. Soloist of the years goes to the bottom bass...way to own those quarter notes! With a clean guard this show should win but will likely fall to 4th as BC continues to clean. Bluecoats - This show is a worthy successor to Down Side Up. You know what works for you and is just fresh enough (to me) to keep me from accusing you of being too formulaic. Ballad is a little bit of boat anchor energy wise. It is so pretty and the staging has improved a ton but does not quite deliver the needed emotional impact. Color palette between the guard and horns/percussion hurts them a bit visually but cannot do much about that now. Zombie Woof is fun and I want a little more from the Psychopomp reprise at the end. Other than that you need to clean, clean, clean...and clean some more. Coats ceiling is how much they clean up but will likely settle into 3rd...not bad after your first championship. Cavies - Not much to say here other than well done. My gut says you are stuck in fifth no matter what at this point but who cares, this is a fun show and you are performing the snot out of it. Rep is there percussion and guard. Continue to improve the horns and another solid concept and you will be back up on the podium soon enough. Perhaps tone the cheese down a bit next year but might as well go all in for this year. Reach into the DCA bag of tricks (Statesmen) and pull out some fire extinguishers for that My Way ending. Add a trumpet soloist at the end and toss the horn into the stands! 5th is a great achievement this year. Crusaders - Again not too much to say here other than well done and you have exceeded all expectations this year. Weird show and a bit controversial but it is well executed and written very smartly for a corps in transition (on the rise). I do not care if you finish 6 or 7 this just finish strong and take pride in what the future has in store. Likely will drop to 7th as Cadets clean up. Cadets - Huge transition for you this year and the design team has taken a lot of gambles in this production of Bernstein's Mass. I'm simply thrilled that it is not a dumpster fire like last year's show. My single largest complaint is the robes on the brass for so much of the show. They look great and it seems like a good concept but I just want to see those Cadet feet! On the flip side there are no bouncing plumes to distract us this year. Vocals are well integrated and respectful to the original work and, while still not my favorite, presents well for this production. There is more meat in this production than BAC but 6th or 7th place depends on cleaning. History and pride will motivate this group into a 6th place finish. It would take "divine" intervention to catch Cavies. Phantom and BK Phantom and BK Bones and Blue Stars Bones and Blue Stars Madison and Mandarins Madison and Mandarins 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThePlanets Posted August 3, 2017 Share Posted August 3, 2017 (edited) Your speculations are rather conservative. As are mine. There is a prediction thread but that has gotten long and I feel it more appropriate for preseason to early season discussion. 1. SCV. 50th anniversary is the perfect year to win DCI. I feel they have been underrated the past few years so I could be totally wrong. 2. The Blue Devils. They aren't going to get below silver because they are the blue devils. It's also a negative for me because my favorite show from them doesn't actually get rewarded with a gold medal...so the same old blue devils will be back next year. 3. Bluecoats- They pass crown finals week after a lot of cleaning. They have a much better show design and get them like they got the cadets in 2014 and 2015. 4. Crown- their show design and color guard drops them on placement. Brass caption winners though. 5. The Cavaliers. The Cavies are back this year with another fun program with great visuals. Its refreshing to see them climb back up the ranks. They win color guard. 6. Boston. The MMs believe in this show and keep getting better. I wouldn't be overly surprised if they slip into 5th but a jump from almost missing finals to 6th place is fantastic. They will be a medal threat in years to come. 7. BK. I know it's a bit of a stretch as they are battling Phantom for 8 and are a bit behind the cadets but I see this show coming through. 8. The Cadets- they have dropped in placement in the final push in most years since their championship... I don't expect this year to be different. They just aren't selling their show to me this year. For the record I liked the Awakening and it was my husband's favorite of 2016. 9. Phantom- might be 8 or even 7 but I am sticking with 9. 10. The crossmen 11. The blue stars 12. Mandarins Edited August 3, 2017 by ThePlanets 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fred Windish Posted August 3, 2017 Share Posted August 3, 2017 (edited) Blue Devils and Santa Clara are both the class of the field. I feel certain they will be Gold and Silver in some order. My preference for Champion is Santa Clara. I find their design the most interesting. Third and Fourth is real toss-up between Bluecoats and Crown. But, I'll choose Crown for 3rd. Bluecoats 4th. Cavaliers DO seem to be locked-in at 5th. Cadets and Boston, another "too close to call." But, I'm going to go with Cadets for 6th. Cadets REALLY impressed me last year by pulling that difficult production together. This is another challenge for Cadets to overcome. I do think they have a path to 6th, despite how much improved Boston is. Gotta be Blue Knights in 8th. They might even catch-up to Boston. (insert Phantom HERE!) Sorry. Hopeful Blue Stars are next at 9th. Lots of quality there, however. Crossmen in 10th. Somehow seems low, though. But, wadda 'ya gonna do? Madison grabs the 12th. But, don't get too comfy Crossmen and Blue Stars. Hope I didn't miss anyone! Edited August 3, 2017 by Fred Windish Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Terri Schehr Posted August 3, 2017 Share Posted August 3, 2017 1 minute ago, Fred Windish said: Blue Devils and Santa Clara are both the class of the field. I feel certain they will be Gold and Silver in some order. My preference for Champion is Santa Clara. I find their design the most interesting. Third and Fourth is real toss-up between Bluecoats and Crown. But, I'll choose Crown for 3rd. Bluecoats 4th. Cavaliers DO seem to be locked-in at 5th. Cadets and Boston, another "too close to call." But, I'm going to go with Cadets for 6th. Cadets REALLY impressed me last year by pulling that difficult production together. This is another challenge for Cadets to overcome. I do think they have a path to 6th, despite how much improved Boston is. Gotta be Blue Knights in 8th. They might even catch-up to Boston. Hopeful Blue Stars are next at 9th. Lots of quality there, however. Crossmen in 10th. Somehow seems low, though. But, wadda 'ya gonna do? Madison grabs the 12th. But, don't get too comfy Crossmen and Blue Stars. Hope I didn't miss anyone! Where's Regiment? 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fred Windish Posted August 3, 2017 Share Posted August 3, 2017 2 minutes ago, Terri Schehr said: Where's Regiment? AMAZING! This is the SECOND time I left them out of the rankings. Be back in a minute. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThePlanets Posted August 3, 2017 Share Posted August 3, 2017 4 minutes ago, Fred Windish said: AMAZING! This is the SECOND time I left them out of the rankings. Be back in a minute. They are phantoms in your rankings 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fred Windish Posted August 3, 2017 Share Posted August 3, 2017 (edited) OK - Let's do Phantom in 9th. Blue Stars 10th. Crossmen at 11 Scouts at 12. Guess my omission means Phantom doesn't do much for me this year! Any other errors? Edited August 3, 2017 by Fred Windish 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bicsta Posted August 3, 2017 Share Posted August 3, 2017 SCV spins to the top of the heap for their first championship in nearly 2 decades. Bloo zig zag their way to silver. I KNOW crown will not be denied a medal. Blue Devils viz scores drop over championship weekend, as everyone realizes that they have too much park and bark and non drill, out of time movement. Brass scores high, drums score low. Boston sneaks up to 5th on the back of a 2nd place finish in guard Cadets surge past Cavies. Amen! Cavies fun show is ultimately let down by "Mars Way" closer i see the Knights in 8th. Phantom's 2nd tune track and field meet runs to 9th. Blue Stars? I haven't seen them this year. X-men. Opener prop use is cluttered, holding back an otherwise superb design. Welcome back to finals, Men of Madison! 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
henry7184 Posted August 3, 2017 Share Posted August 3, 2017 12 minutes ago, bicsta said: Cadets surge past Cavies. Amen! LOL. Absolutely a 0% chance of that happening. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
luv4corps Posted August 3, 2017 Share Posted August 3, 2017 (edited) The BD show has such a mojo to it, such an energy - I just don't see it getting beat. And I love SCV's show as well. Both deserve it. Both have come to 2017 with guns blazing. Regardless who takes the gold, it has been an absolute pleasure to watch. Edited August 3, 2017 by luv4corps 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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