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Showing content with the highest reputation on 05/19/2016 in all areas

  1. Stop feeding the troll.
    3 points
  2. Judging by the snippets I've heard, It appears to me that OC is taking on more of a persona this year - i.e. fielding an even more theatrical show under the creative leadership of a bolstered design staff. I look forward to OC growing their brand in 2016.
    3 points
  3. Bluecoats 2006: Connexus This was the first finals I ever went to even though I've followed the activity since 1987, and I absolutely adored this show. It was powerful, heartfelt, and jazzy. It seems like it was the precursor to current Blooo shows, or maybe the second precursor after their 2005 Caravan show. Connexus was their highest ever finish, at 4th, but I still feel like this show was under-rated, as it's not spoken about in the same sentence as the three shows that finished above it that year (BD: Godfather Part Blue, PR: Faust, Cavaliers: Machine).
    2 points
  4. Really? You're more proficient at the English language than Shakespeare?
    2 points
  5. I can tell you for a fact, after working for a group that purchased a design from a visual designer from a top 3 World Class corps... We got the short end of the stick. Because we weren't #1 on their list. We got a piece of garbage that had to be rewritten (by someone else) 5 weeks in because they couldn't be troubled to worry about the little corps or the lack of effectiveness of their design. They just phoned it in, and called in done. So yes, the did give us a way less creative design turd to attempt to glitter and paint.
    2 points
  6. Sounds like a red Haring to me,
    2 points
  7. See though, I can't find that stats from the last few seasons, but many corps have a pretty good retention rate at this point. I can only thing of 3 that have really low %. While you can do well with member retention, you still have to set those people up for success. That doesn't happen with membership, it happens in show creation in the offseason.
    2 points
  8. So we know BK has the most well put together show, that must mean you have seen everyone else's right? Look, they have a fantastic announcement, upward trend, but I always hate those naive, baseless, blanket statements when we have no idea what anyone else is doing. Sometimes a corps with a fantastic announcement and source material falls incredibly flat, and sometimes a corps who seems pretty basic, vague, and boring comes out and shocks us. So yes, they seem to have a great show and are probably going to keep trending upward, but it's way early to be making those kinds of statements. If they jump Vanguard, Bluecoats, AND Cadets, I will quit this site and eat my own two feet. I think they have a shot at Vanguard comparing the two on face value, but until they seriously ramp up visual design and cleanliness and become a caption contender somewhere and not 6th or so across the board, it's going to take more than one or two good seasons to break into that upper echelon. That's also assuming no one behind them improves drastically. Have absolutely loved BK the past two years, but let's not get ahead of ourselves.......
    2 points
  9. This sounds really cool. Wonder if they'll play Moonlight Sonata backwards? Haha. Need to catch up on some of the music, Gorgon is an absolutely sinister and nasty piece in the best of ways. Really excited about this.
    2 points
  10. It's interesting that two groups are performing Pat Metheny songs this summer.... ;)
    2 points
  11. I agree with most of the posters comments above. There are so many factors determining what helps a corps move up in the rankings. There is so much competition to get the top talent and designers, which makes it much easier for corps that have been established. It also doesn't help if some of the best talent in these corps leaves in the following years to march a higher placing corps in hopes of improving or winning a medal. On the flip side, sometimes higher placement isn't always better. Sometimes in the quest to move up in the rankings, we have lost corps who spent too much money trying to make finals, only to fold the next year, or within the next 5 years. I would personally much rather see corps placing in the 19-25 place range with great entertaining shows, than to see them push too fast, and end up folding. Some corps also have been very smart and shortened their season so they don't overspend. In the last decade several corps have had their move ins later, and have not performed in competition until July, when sometimes the first competition of the season was around June 16-20th. I think this shows that placement isn't quite as important to the organizations as stability, and the ability to take care of their members and staff not only this season, but in the distant future as well. As cool as it would be to see Mandarins, Crest, Academy, or Pioneer break into the top 12, I would much rather they place 19-25 and be able to keep performing for the next 50 years. In the last decade, I have seen more public support for the lower placing corps. At prelims and semi-finals, some of the lower placing corps have really wowed the audiences. Crowds have gone wild for Colts, Surf, Mandarins, Academy, Oregon and Crest with thunderous applause for great shows, even if they didn't place top 12. So instead of judging a show off of the judges scores, what is wrong with just enjoying all these amazing corps shows for what they are? Too many people are watching scores during the summer, and then when it comes to prelims and semis, they don't go watch the lower placing corps because they think because a show is scoring a 70, it isn't very good. Which brings me to a major point. If you want to see corps placing in the 19-25th group do better, do more to help support them. Buy from their souvie booths, donate to their gas fund. volunteer for them during the camps or summer tour.
    2 points
  12. Yes....unlike earlier days, it was a small component of a total show, and it got a lot of disdain on RAMD back then. Loved the "Ragtime" opener.
    1 point
  13. Was just about to post this one.............haha. It's probably absolute blasphemy to say I prefer this over Crown 2015 in terms of presentation of similar themes. I think had the hornline not been rebuilding with a staff change that year and were at the level they are now that show could have pushed much higher than it was. The improvement they made from day one in 2011 is nothing short of astounding, I remember hearing them in the theater and wondering if they were going to make the top 10. Still some brass issues end of season, but they didn't sound like a corps struggling to make finals. 2011 and 2010 are both probably my favorite drill offerings by Pete Weber, that's the definition of organic drill. All sorts of crazy stuff in there, and some pretty clever symbolism in it. That's the first Rennick year, but it sure didn't sound like it. Guard was pretty aggressive and portrayed the themes of that show to a T. The ballad "Eternal Knot" is emotionally stunning, still one I listen to a lot.
    1 point
  14. The Devils Staircase,,,,2011 SCV...LOVEEEEEEEEEEEEEE it !
    1 point
  15. That one and 98 both IMO, they get completely overshadowed by 1999. 1999 is actually my least favorite of their 1996 - 2004 era, it's still a great show, but I found 1997 and 1998 to be absolutely as entertaining, well designed, and INCREDIBLY difficult. The opening and closing of "Fog City Sketches" are some of my favorite minutes of drum corps, the last two minutes of that show are absolutely gorgeous. That's definitely an all time favorite, can say a lot of similar things about 1998.
    1 point
  16. I too would enjoy hearing new songs played such as these. I'm not that familiar with them as you are, but I tend to like new things never played before, rather than a redo of the classics, so these you cite seem intriguing to me. That said, Corps today do lots of redo of themes ( or like kind themes ) and do rewrite arrangements of song classics. From a quick glance of the 2016 musical programming list with the Corps and their selections, some have been played before. Some songs, with this season's playing, will have now been played as much as a dozen or more times before by Drum Corps. However, they all were rewrites, and all were thus fresh from that standpoint anyway when heard in these previous seasons and with all the previous Corps that played the song, or did the theme again. But yes, I do agree with you that there is lots of untapped music out there, from lots of composers, that DCI Corps, for one reason or another, ( copyrights ? ) has endeavored to not pursue thus far.
    1 point
  17. The complaints about BD's show title are about as silly as the complaints about Cadets' originally calling their show Stoned. I honestly don't understand the huge fuss
    1 point
  18. Hey I was just paraphrasing the update As they say, nothing earth shattering
    1 point
  19. Yep being open minded to a given selection that is orchestrated differently sure opens the mind up for inherent enjoyment and pleasure; like this spice here which is certainly a variety in life!!! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GudkGuBb1ng
    1 point
  20. https://www.facebook.com/george.hopkins.yea/videos/vb.507456910/10153602230531911/?type=3&permPage=1
    1 point
  21. Obviously speculation but I think there's a pretty good chance for some form of narration in this show much like the past 2 years. I've found BK's narration pretty tasteful since they use pre-recorded soundbites rather than live ones. Sounds more professional and is very needed considering how abstract their shows have become.
    1 point
  22. Crossmen 1993, Songs for the Planet Earth Part II: A Celebration of Humanity. It gets overlooked in comparison to the prior year, but it serves as an almost perfect sequel show, literally opening right where the original show left off. How could you not make like that guy in the recording and shout "Woooo-hoo-hoo!" as they begin with the strains of Fanfare for the Common Man? The first movement straight up jams, the ballad Koto Song is beautifully haunting, River Music is anthemic and I could whistle Freda for the rest of my life. The remainder of the show summarizes the music from the year before before capping off the show itself. The "question" posed at the end of 1992 is answered in 1993, and then some. https://twitter.com/DrumCorpsClips/status/699518263986774016
    1 point
  23. wow "Sleeping at Last" as a finale... This show is gonna bring people to tears
    1 point
  24. You as a staff are ALWAYS concerned about where your corps and captions place. You don't want the membership to have that idea though. Because there's a lot of it that's out of their control. I would say that very few corps stress placement to the members. It does you no good. However, you do want to design the best possible package to set your membership up for success.
    1 point
  25. Here's my baseless and pointless prediction, just for fun: 1. Blue Devils 2. Bluecoats (don't even know what the show is, but that design team of theirs is awesome and they're becoming the "cool" destination corps for a lot of talent much like the Cavies were in the early to mid 2000's) 3. Carolina Crown 4. Santa Clara Vanguard 5. Cadets (sorry Cadets, it's an even year) 6. Blue Knights 7. Phantom Regiment 8. Blue Stars 9. Cavaliers 10. Boston Crusaders 11. Madison Scouts 12. Troopers
    1 point
  26. I spent time yesterday contemplating the OP's question. For some reason [maybe because of my love for WI & DCM back in the day] I selected one corps' scoring history the previous 25 years. I saw this corps play in exhibition at Navy Pier Chicago many summers ago [2005 I think], I think it was late June. I told my wife: "this corps has resurgence written all over it!" Sure enough, they went Div 1 & 14th in semis in '06, 14th in semis in '07, and 8th in finals in '08. I remember seeing them for the first time in Whitewater in 1978, and I've always enjoyed what they do. Blue Stars.
    1 point
  27. Sign up for TSA PreCheck ... its $85 but so worth it.
    1 point
  28. I am basing this off of what I have seen and heard and right now, I am more impressed by what BK is doing than I am with SCV or the Cadets
    1 point
  29. This show and BD have me the most excited so far! Source music for this one seems amazing
    1 point
  30. "BK has the most well pit together show this year" Seriously?
    1 point
  31. I agree with your GE and placement choices. BK has a very interesting show that is put together well. Everything makes sense and is put where it is perfectly, and it's a continuation of the last two shows. I could go on and on about their program, but that's for a different thread. Gonna be an awesome year for BK, along with many others!!
    1 point
  32. Forgot to add ... this source music is dope.
    1 point
  33. i'm so excited for this, i can't stand the wait.
    1 point
  34. Conclusion of the series. The moment before you die, the reason you're alive, and finally the Human Condition
    1 point
  35. Just to add, they'll only be playing the first movement of Gorgon
    1 point
  36. 1 point
  37. And for those of you wondering, I have heard that there will be an alteration to the current uniform
    1 point
  38. 1 point
  39. This show is a musical interpretation of "the great event" by Leonard Cohen. The opener is Rouse's "Gorgon" acting as the event and the rest of the show is the aftermath of said event. Dark, powerful, beautiful.
    1 point
  40. Perhaps I'm misinterpreting the point too, but my guess is that OP is cleverly poking fun at some of the old honks on here who complain about how overly complex show themes are nowadays. Many people complain that they shouldn't have to go online and do research for a modern drum corps show, but OP is showing that the same kind of complexity existed before this millennium too.
    1 point
  41. Blue Knights 2016: "The Great Event" http://ascendperformingarts.org/blue-knights-announce-2016-show-the-great-event/ http://youtu.be/sJjV8hFHCXE?a
    1 point
  42. Ah, I DIDN'T guess the show title. But I was right next to the obvious choice. (Trying to be too clever.)
    1 point
  43. I predict very large crowd's! Don't wait to buy your tickets, just saying. Peace
    1 point
  44. Awesome. Finally some activity here, I was starting to wonder if the rumors were true. Let's hope not. We are planning on being there the whole weekend, for what DCA decides on letting us do is still in there arena. Things change weekly and I will try to keep you up to date with my cryptic posts. Thanks for asking and showing some excitement. Peace
    1 point
  45. Yes, you've noticed. That's the point. The meaning of "making finals" has downsides. If the objective is to create conditions that make it more possible for 19-25 corps to become upwardly mobile, then eliminating the finals-night cutoff makes sense. Because a 12-corps-only Saturday nurtures a "finals or die" culture that incentivizes members to abandon lower-placing corps. Diminish that incentive, and you create conditions that make it more likely that at least some veterans will stay with their original corps, improving their competitive capability. "Finals or die" has the effect of concentrating talent at the top, which creates dazzling top-level corps to be sure, but also contributes to the sclerosis of the competitive rankings. "Finals or die" = nothing changes. There is a nostalgia and gauzy romance around the idea of "making finals." There is a chest-thumping satisfaction to it. But it serves no practical purpose. The 12-corps limit to finals does not encourage greater number of kids to try out for corps. The 12-corps limit on Saturday does not increase revenues to DCI. The 12-corps-only rule does not broaden the appeal of the activity. It does not sell more DVDs. At no other (non-ToC) DCI contest is an arbitrary limit placed on the number of corps competing. The "Top 12" has no reason to exist other than conceit. Do the members of BD care if they beat a field of 11 or a field of 24? I don't think so. Whether they are the 12th or 25th corps of the day to perform, they step off at the same time. The crowd is just as amped up. The stakes are just as high. I don't think Saturday is any more special to them either way. They're out there on Saturday to be No. 1, period. The number of corps behind them is immaterial. Only 2-4 corps go into Saturday with ambitions of winning the championship. All others go into Saturday to finish on top of the grouping of corps in their competitive neighborhood. Expanding the field to 25 on Saturday would not undermine that dynamic; in fact, it would enhance it, giving all corps one "finals" shot at coming out on top of their grouping. Seems to me that makes finals more exciting, not less. The only corps that have a direct stake in "making finals" are the 12th- and 13th-place corps. For all others it is an abstraction. I hear you saying, "Abstraction? It is a point of pride for marching member to be able to claim they march for a 'finalist corps.' Striving for finals is one of the things that promotes excellence in the activity." And that is exactly why it contributes to the "finals or bust" culture. I don't know why a member would have any less pride in the claim that they march for a corps that ranks among the top 5, or top 10, or top 15, or why they would be any less dedicated to excellence, because the objective remains to win a championship -- first among all comers, not merely first among 12. Hey, I don't think this idea has even a snowball's chance. But the OP asked what could help move the 19-25 corps into a more competitive position. Eliminating the arbitrary 12-corps limit to finals would help.
    1 point
  46. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jRcj1CRNuYQ
    1 point
  47. 1 point
  48. so the answer is to let EVERYONE play on saturday? gross. you've just taken the meaning of "making finals" and tossed that out the window.
    1 point
  49. I'll reprise an idea I have expressed elsewhere: Thursday, Prelims: All corps competing for WC championship Friday, Semis: 25 top corps from prelims. Just like it is now. Saturday, Finals: The same 25 corps, in reverse order of Semis placement; defending champion has option to perform last You just put 25 corps on the field on Friday; there's no reason you can't put 25 corps on the field Saturday. Yes, Saturday programming would be longer than it is now. It's 8 hours of drum corps. Doesn't matter. Friday was 8 hours of drum corps, too. Luckily, Saturday is allocated 24 hours of earth rotation, just like Friday. The Saturday event ends at the same time at night as it does under the current 12-corps setup. Maybe the crowd trickles in and only really fills the stands as the top 15 or so begin to compete. Doesn't matter; that's what happens on Friday anyway. You still end up with your champion; you still get the finals-night battle among the top 3-4 corps for that crucial 0.05-point difference. You still get a brass champion, etc. Over the years, you gradually do away with the artificial chasm between 12th and 13th place. The cluster of corps on either side of the 12-13 dividing line can compete naturally on Saturday to see who is the best among their tier. From No.1 thru No. 25, corps compete more organically within their competitive clusters. In that way, you end up with one official champion and several unofficial "champions" within their competitive neighborhoods. Longer term, by diminishing the "finals or bust" mindset, you reduce incentive for members to jump to higher-placing corps. You don't eliminate it, but you reduce it. This is where you increase the potential for 19-25 corps to place higher. More fluidity in the standings. Vinyl LPs, and TV broadcasts, which in the 1970s helped to enforce and ultimately cement into the DCI psyche a 12-corps finals night, no longer are relevant. Everything is streaming and digital. There are no more artificial reasons for a "Top 12," unless there is some law that says the show can begin no earlier than 7 p.m. You sell more hot dogs, more T-shirts You don't sell more tickets, but you can charge more for them on Saturday than you did on Friday -- which happens already. 13 corps get one more payday All age-outs get their finals-night opportunity You probably get more and better post-finals parties Yes, it means the end -- or a significant modification -- of the one and only full-corps retreat of the season. I would miss it. But the gains would far outweigh the losses.
    1 point
  50. They did have the "mojo" so to speak on finals night in '08.
    1 point
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