PHANTOM 2003

[hboyce]

Actually I age out in 07. I just stopped marching. And I marched in a different division than Phantom so there was no competitive aspect.

I liked the show okay, but I felt all the accolades the hornline recieved for their performance wasn't warranted after what I heard from them live.

Like some people say that everyone is jumping on the Madison bandwagon this year, I felt that everyone jumped on the Phantom bandwagon in 03.

[raphael18]

That's cool, I know how that is - personally, I don't like Madison's show at all this year (really don't like their arrangements).

To each his own - which div 2/3?

[hboyce]

which div 2/3?

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Esperanza

[Lance]

I don't think it's a Madison bandwagon at all. They finished 1.5 points behind the defending champions, and beat them in a couple of music captions. If it is a bandwagon, it's looking pretty stable to me.

[fourouttheforty]

Yum, Pachelbel.

I played this in my car for some friends. They're band kids, but not really the marching band/drum corps types. Their expressions were priceless after that sound goes from barely audible to huge. (I have to turn it down during the impact 'cause the opening phrases are so soft) There isn't a show for me that has more energy and emotion that Phantom '03.

Yes, sometimes was over zealous, but I'll take that over a safe performance any day.

[PhantomR]

I don't think it's a Madison bandwagon at all.  They finished 1.5 points behind the defending champions, and beat them in a couple of music captions.  If it is a bandwagon, it's looking pretty stable to me.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

and if it is a bandwagon, there is about 95% of the the drum corps community in it.

~>conner

[festive]

One of the most overrated and bandwagoned hornlines of all time.

I saw them live at finals and I was sitting at about the 0 yardline. During the turnaround in Canon they were facing directly at me for about a second. I heard some of the nastiest sounds coming out of them that I have ever heard from a hornline.

And people wondered why they didn't win brass or even come close.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

There were some not good things about that performance, to be sure. The dissonance from the contras to the rest of the hornline at the contra entrance was one of the more terrifying memories I have of that summer, watching the corps. That's just one example. Still, I think you may be generalizing the entire season from one show. It would be a mistake to do that, though you are certainly understood in your critique of finals, and entitled to your opinion regardless.

As far as I'm concerned, though, the Regiment corps that year gave everyone a dose of something they were sorely missing: the sound of a genuine, old school drum and bugle corps. Having been around the activity for long enough to know, there's a serious disconnect between the traditional sound of a corps and the sound being produced now. I would explain it like this: I saw two symphony concerts earlier this year. One was the Pittsburgh Symphony and one was the Kirov. The Pittsburgh played in a manner that was always controlled, and brilliant. And about half the audience was asleep (even though I personally found their performance stunning). The Kirov played in a way that was passionate and highly emotional--and occasionally they lost control of their sound. But man, did their brass section love playing for us. You could tell. And everyone left with huge smiles and genuine happiness.

Pittsburgh might have been technically better than the Kirov, but if you asked what the people in the audience would want to hear again, they'd want to hear the Kirov. I'll bet the response would be about 90% in favor of hearing passion over technique. The 10% would likely drown in the snobbery of their own elitism. A winning brass book in DCI might get you the accolades of judges, but it won't necessarily win you the greatest fan response. It's nice to have both, but that's pretty rare.

I would simply suggest to you that the drum corps audience wants to be entertained, not simply bedazzled by a display of technical prowess. Most fans are not performance majors in college. Most of them couldn't give a rip whether the corps in front of them has "greater technical demand and proficiency" if the show isn't interesting to them.

All of this said, Regiment was fourth in brass performance at finals that year, less than a point away from the Blue Devils. I would tend to think the judge got it right. It was one of the most exciting brass lines in recent memory, IMO, and not the least bit overrated.

[Lieut. General Effect]

There were some not good things about that performance, to be sure.  The dissonance from the contras to the rest of the hornline at the contra entrance was one of the more terrifying memories I have of that summer, watching the corps.  That's just one example. Still, I think you may be generalizing the entire season from one show.  It would be a mistake to do that, though you are certainly understood in your critique of finals, and entitled to your opinion regardless.

As far as I'm concerned, though, the Regiment corps that year gave everyone a dose of something they were sorely missing:  the sound of a genuine, old school drum and bugle corps.  Having been around the activity for long enough to know, there's a serious disconnect between the traditional sound of a corps and the sound being produced now.  I would explain it like this:  I saw two symphony concerts earlier this year.  One was the Pittsburgh Symphony and one was the Kirov.  The Pittsburgh played in a manner that was always controlled, and brilliant.  And about half the audience was asleep (even though I personally found their performance stunning).  The Kirov played in a way that was passionate and highly emotional--and occasionally they lost control of their sound.  But man, did their brass section love playing for us.  You could tell.  And everyone left with huge smiles and genuine happiness.

Pittsburgh might have been technically better than the Kirov, but if you asked what the people in the audience would want to hear again, they'd want to hear the Kirov.  I'll bet the response would be about 90% in favor of hearing passion over technique.  The 10% would likely drown in the snobbery of their own elitism.  A winning brass book in DCI might get you the accolades of judges, but it won't necessarily win you the greatest fan response.  It's nice to have both, but that's pretty rare.

I would simply suggest to you that the drum corps audience wants to be entertained, not simply bedazzled by a display of technical prowess.  Most fans are not performance majors in college.  Most of them couldn't give a rip whether the corps in front of them has "greater technical demand and proficiency" if the show isn't interesting to them. 

All of this said, Regiment was fourth in brass performance at finals that year, less than a point away from the Blue Devils.  I would tend to think the judge got it right.  It was one of the most exciting brass lines in recent memory, IMO, and not the least bit overrated.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

'Well said !..... A " winning show " can be a " loser " with the majority of the audience. Many " critically acclaimed " Broadway productions, Symphonies, Theatrie, Opera, etc, were box office busts. It's nice to have the appreciation of the high brow. But given the choice, I'd much rather have the widespread appreciation of the audience. The real " classics " are those productions that are able to garner the appreciation and connect with BOTH the " judges ",( ie the critics ), AND the paying audience.

Edited July 15, 2005 by Lieut. General Effect

[MichaelG]

Phantom 03 is one of the most well-written shows I've ever seen and there was more emotion in that performance than most corps have.

Judging the ability of an entire hornline based on one moment in one performance is being a wee bit too general, in my opinion.

That being said, if the performance had been flawless, it would have soared past Cadets, Cavaliers, and Blue Devils to take the title that year. No one is saying they should have been champions - just that that show was a great one, which it certainly was. I dare anyone to listen to "Canon in D" and not be moved.

[Matt_S]

Pittsburgh might have been technically better than the Kirov, but if you asked what the people in the audience would want to hear again, they'd want to hear the Kirov.  I'll bet the response would be about 90% in favor of hearing passion over technique.  The 10% would likely drown in the snobbery of their own elitism. 

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

See, I hear that story, and all I can think is that if you took any number of people off of the street, you'd be hard pressed to find enough drum corps fans to even equal 10%.

You seem to be suggesting that a show is automatically better if it appeals to large numbers of people. If that were true, we should all be on the Coldplay or American Idol forums, instead of DCP. Certainly we're in an extreme minority as drum corps fans, as you were when you watched Pittsburgh perform. But is that lack of broad, mainstream appeal really a flaw with either drum corps or Pittsburgh? I would claim that it is not, but rather that the two performances simply require an appreciation that many people lack. Since you seem to have this appreciation, I would be careful about referring to it as "the snobbery of (your) own elitism".

If lack of mainstream appeal is not a flaw, then it would be hard to argue that having it is a benefit. There is, of course, the commerical benefit; more people attending means more money, and so Coldplay will make far more money than drum corps. But intrinsically, does broad mainstream appeal truly give a show more worth? You seem to be trying to claim that it does, which would be bad news for us drum corps fans. It would mean that we're wasting our time on an inferior product, and we need to be buying exclusively from the best sellers list, because that's clearly what more people want to hear. If that doesn't sound reasonable to you, then maybe it's worth realizing that sometimes being in the minority isn't such a bad thing.

I'm constantly amazed at how drum corps fans - who have already chosen to be in the minority of the population - refuse to accept someone whose tastes place them in the minority yet again.