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Just wow...that's all I can say about tonight. Cannot wait until tomorrow to see what the uniforms do to the show, but Crown has something special this year. That ballad sent chills up my spine, and the closer is just fun. I do think it is a temporary ending, but it is definitely more concrete than years past. Going to be a fun summer!

A note from the Don Warren Celebration of Life ... "A message from Paul Litteau (Cavies). Last night was the "Send Off" show for The Cavaliers, which was expanded to feature the Celebration of Life for the corps' founder Don Warren. Several hundred alumni and guests joined the current members of the corps for this event at the Rosemont Theater. Many speakers shared memories of Don. A highlight was the presentation by Hugh Mahon (former Garfield Cadet Director and one of the surviving founders of DCI) who spoke on behalf of himself, DCI and The Cadets. After he finished, virtually every current member of the corps thanked him individually, many saying they had not previously fully appreciated the long friendship and mutual respect between our corps. Countless alumni and other guests also extended their appreciation. It was a great event... and Hugh did The Cadets proud."

Having seen the visual show in person (twice) I would say two things....first, the guard seems to have picked up right where they left off in August. In what I believe to be is a first for BAC, the group consists of 22 guys and 22 girls...and they look older to me. Visually, the drill is faster paced and more intricate than last year, with the focal points constantly shifting and pulling your attention from moment to moment. The use of the props is well choreographed and they are nearly constantly in play. No there is nothing being burned...at least not that I could see. As I said earlier on another thread, the horn line seems very tall to me (and I saw them without uniforms). The staging of the herald trumpets is a wow moment...of which there are many. Another great moment is the 44 rifles. I am trying to not give too much away, and it may be a challenge for the film crew in Detroit to catch everything, but I think most folks in the theatre will enjoy the show. 5 days now and counting...

or Zhora from the original Blade Runner. But, Kudos to Crown for making replica uniforms available to the public on Amazon ...

Well I told myself I wasn't going to get back on here until the season started, but I just have to say that I was blown away from the concert in the park recording! This group sounds INCREDIBLE. Can't wait for the season to start and look forward to seeing what this group accomplishes!

I mean...I'm going to have to see it on the field. But honestly, it kinda looks like the cone of shame I put on our chiweenie when he decides to eat his own tail...

Safe travels, Cavaliers! Enjoy your time on the left coast. See ya 7/5.

More mature brass sound. More mature brass book. More mature Cavaliers show design. Nothing like they’ve done in a very long time. Hope it translates well on the field and to the fans. Very excited to see them in California and Arizona.

Ryan George handiwork!

What a kick @$$ set list. I’d drive all night for that. For the record, I listened to E=MC2 on my mid-fi, semi respectable home audio set-up this a.m. And it STILL chokes me up. I hereby surrender my Man Card...

Just got back from ensemble and watched tonight’s run. The corps was in their upper half’s tonight, and the unis are going to look sharp. They added 10 pages of drill to the end of the show tonight and I’m beginning to think this ending isn’t so temporary after all. And it’s a #### good ending. Got to watch the guard tonight a little more carefully and am convinced they will be much stronger than in past seasons. There’s a vibe with this group that I haven’t seen since 2013...

Wait till you hear this show. A complete departure from the mash-ups of the last three seasons. You are going to love it. Everytime I listen I like it even more. Dare I say this on DCP...but I think the writing may be just as mature and complex as Boston. Definitely prefer Cavies ballad.

Excited to see the corps, reading this thread and listening to the music has me pumped!

I agree. I just listened to the park concert video, and WOW am I blown away with the music! I will also say that their brass and percussion sound AMAZING! They could well be in the hunt for top 3 in those two captions. And I am sure their guard will be excellent once again. Difficult to do, for sure, but possible with their talent and quality of music book. Not sure how the visual side will turn out, but this show should be a musical feast for fans.

I was at the Cavaliers event last night, and saw the costume for this year. Very cool Gangs of New York inspired look that seems a good fit for them and the program.

I just had the pleasure of spending three days volunteering with The Cadets. I am so excited about the season! They have something very special in the making!

Really enjoying being excited about the Cadets again! Nothing but good news coming from the corps. Regardless of placement, this is going to be fun!

2010 Phantom Regiment Into the Light.

hypocrisy, a drum corps alumni strength since day 2 of the activity

I just got home from watching the Blue Stars rehearsal and I must say, they are gunning for a placement higher than 8th! That hornline is on fire and is playing with an intensity and maturity of a top 5 line! This years show is a definite step up in design and it has all the elements of being a memorable favorite amongst the fans! The music is accessible, it's entertaining, and it's exciting! In addition, it's challenging and the members have met the challenge and have a very mature sound. The percussion book is sweet, tasty, and the members are throwing down! In terms of the guard, this is the most far ahead I have seen them in a long time. I'm so looking forward to seeing this show develop and evolve throughout the season. If the Blue Stars keep up the hard work and keep this show developing as it is; then the responsibility will be on the judges to do what's right. I really believe this year's Blue Stars are a Top 7 corps.

You ARE new to these here parts! Knocking what we have not seen is the bread and butter of DCP! 😎

I was actually gonna give this a shot, despite my better judgment. But then, I couldn’t get past the copy and paste stage and said oh, the hell with it.

I’m right along with him! I’ve already got my choices slotted for 5th, 4th, 3rd, and 2nd! 🙂

IMO they had the kids to move up in past years but the forced design of "western" and "traditional" pushed them down.

Drum line warming up https://www.pscp.tv/w/b9V6FzYwMTEyNzR8MWt2SnBPUWROUk1HRT8Mv3Np1sKxXc8IO0vyCNvihC6c_LNk-AmZIB6JlcGR

Makes them look like the darlings of DCI. Very nice article.

I’ll fill mine in after the show dates.

We’re looking forward to seeing them that’s for sure.

Most definitely one of my favorite Crown shows.

Boston Crusaders 2017 is one of the few shows where I enjoy every single thing about the show. The ballad is incredible in that one, the whole show is so unrelenting, intense, and entertaining. That ended up being my favorite of 2017.

There is some symbolism to the black and white photos... you’ll see what I mean in a few short days. If you’re looking for a tight narrative or storyline, similar to what you’ve seen with Crown in years past, this show probably won’t be your cup of tea. There is an overarching theme to the Crown show, but the primary focus is on the performers and using the music and motion to provide the narrative. Not as sexy as Jack and the Beanstalk. But can still be just as effective.

Reminds me of Zorg

I DEMAND A RECOUNT! 😄

I am going to share this review of camp and edit out/withhold a few names. This is from a volunteer that knows a lot about our activity. I always trust his opinion when I see him. Consider this the first official review of the season. = ) Enjoy! ________________________________________________________________________________________ I wish you could have seen the look on my face as I watched ensemble rehearsal for the first time tonight. It has been nothing less than a warm and fuzzy feeling seeing everyone and watching The Cadets practice. As I promised you here are some of my thoughts of what I’ve seen here at Cadetland. With practically nothing coming out of camps and spring training I couldn’t take it another minute not knowing, so I decided to come to Ada and see with my own eyes what was going on. It’s not my first time that I have traveled to watch Cadets ensemble rehearsal. As a matter of fact this trip is about more than coming to watch ensemble rehearsal. I’m really excited to see just what The Cadets have been up to this winter and spring. Ok. .ok. .ok, all the excitement you’re hearing about is FOR REAL!!! I’m not going to tease you on what I saw tonight but at the same time I’m not going to let the cat out of the bag either. I’m sure I can share with you and still keep everything close to the chest. The Cadets look good, they sound good, and they are good! The last couple of years The Cadets have lagged in show design or it developed slowly (my opinion). Not this summer!! This show is appropriately titled BEHOLD and what I mean by appropriately is the design team put much thought in how they wanted to approach this show concept to support it with music and visual. . .BEHOLD. The brass-line is huge and powerful, I believe I counted 80 in total. I can tell you Bridge over Troubled Water is going to be my moment for the summer and I’m sure for many others. The battery is just crazy fun to watch and they have a drum feature that really showcases their talent. The colorguard is where I get a feel of Cadets of old. The rifle line is all male, which has some really cool moments in the opener and the females are on saber. I don’t know if it was designed that way, but it certainly looks cool and the design team can do so much with that. Yes, there are props and they are used well. I promised Scott I wouldn’t disclose what they are or how they are used. I will say of the props the Cadets have used in the past, and there have been many, these by far have been done right. Transporting them all summer is another story. It all makes sense once you see the show; the understanding about women, power, and equality. It dawned on me that all the musical selections are by female composers. I’m not on tour yet but I must give the design team a huge KUDOS!! They are taking their time and getting it right. If you watched any of the YouTube features the design team did explaining the show concept you will understand right away once you hear and see the visual package. You know I’m trying to be as nosey as I can while I’m in Ada. So, I am seeing some things, including the uniforms. Compared to some of the uniforms I have seen of the other corps, I think everyone will like the look of the Cadets this summer. Since I wasn’t able to make any rehearsals at camp Saginaw I relied on my friends, who live close to camp Saginaw, to tell me what they were seeing when they were at ensemble rehearsal. I can’t thank them enough! They told me I would like what I see. You don’t know how many times I tried to get information out of sewing crew and they gave me nothing, but they did manage to talk me off the ledge on many occasions. Now that I have seen what I came to see with my own eyes, and I am a true optimist coupled with being a realist, I would say this is a nicely designed entertaining show and these Cadets have the potential of being really good. They will surprise a lot of drum corps folks (that was my stab at those pessimists on DCP). My last thought is I feel the design team is getting it right and tweaking the show down the road won’t require any major rewrites, but we’ll see. I’m certainly glad I came to see The Cadets before they pull out on Wednesday for their first show in Detroit. I’m getting my personal peek before they give their community performance, in full uniform. I’d say the Cadets are meeting their goal of being prepared and ready for their first show. Let’s hope the men in green like what they see. I usually come out the gate on tour with The Cadets, but tour officially starts for me in Allentown. That means a blog everyday right into Indy. I’ve got a good feeling about this summer and I’m sure I am not alone. I’m so proud of these Cadets for all their hard work and I can’t wait to get this summer started. Go Cadets Go!!!

8am is still my fave. The brass were so good, they made me cry.

The last ST whiteboard!

I think you will be quite pleased. Loved what I heard last night.

Bridgemen 1976- Awesome opener! Go Bananas! Star of Indiana 1989- Good Contras on Dargason. Highest score for a 6th place show ever? Cadets 1991-Minimalism before it was cool, and still very well executed. Bluecoats 2008- The Boxer. Nuff said. **Phantom Regiment 2010- Awesome show, one of the best percussion groups ever assembled. This is the best 6th place show for me.

I would say this is an interesting thought that has some amount of truth, but as worded, I would have to disagree. I believe bands and drum corps horn lines sound the way they do in regards to tone and blend based not on the arrangements, necessarily, but the fundamental sound concept that is in the instructor(s) heads, the one they demand is produced by their ensemble. Breathing, air use, upper body tension, playing in the center of their horn, exercises used, frequency of use of tuners, awareness of tuning responsibilities in chord and intervalic ally, mouthpiece choices, instrument brand, chop maturity, "abstract" tone concepts taught (bright, dark, round, pointed, etc.), frequency use of a harmony director, volume contribution per performer, number of performers on each part, field placement, range capabilities of those on first parts (this also affects key choices), etc. all affect tone, balance, and blend. These approaches are shared pretty commonly between the Crown staff and Marcus staff. Marcus could have players with better fundamental skills than the players at Avon. That said, yes, voice leading, density of scoring chords (closed versus open), use of chord tones beyond root-third-fifth, favored keys, treatment of melody with counter melody, ranges used, etc. can affect the way we reprieve tone, balance, blend. Matt approaches the winter and summer day-to-day aspects of brass rehearsals very differently than Gino. Their personalities are different. Their style of teaching is different. When great attention to detail is done happens differently, etc. So much goes into the sounds we hear coming from all brass sections. And finally, yes, Klesch often sounds like Klesch, Bocook like Bocook, Mozart like Mozart, etc. Thanks for bringing up an interesting thought.

With source music not released yet, I think my only hope for the Cavies this season is that they use five or less pieces of source material this year. Any chance that dream comes to fruition? I've loved every aspect of what they've done the last three seasons, with the sole exception of thinking that not allowing a melody to materialize completely is still a current trend in music books. I'm also QUITE excited to see where their brass improvements last year lead them to this year. Absolutely love the brass ensemble sound from last season.

hey at least FLo doesn't get unplugged for a coffee pot like at DCA last year

I saw an ensemble practice the other night. I predict live crowds are going to enjoy this show very much. I predict the corps is going to enjoy performing this show very much. The judges may like it also. It's very accessible to a non-"music major" crowd, while also having the bells and whistles that should get some good content scores. Signed, Non "music major" person

Kinda funny that, for all the hand-wringing us old-timers have done over the years about Troop changing their visual image, here we are contemplating whether this complete revamp goes far enough. I get where you're coming from; I too would have welcomed even more daring. But the space aesthetic has always been clean and spare, so more adornment might have worked against that idea. Perhaps the designers also are considering that, sure, it all looks a bit plain on 3 or 4 people, but when you multiply the look by 150, then less becomes more.

Oh my! Crown expanded on the Anna Hartman look. Different for sure!

Got to love the smile from the FE guy at 52".

I've loved Crown unis for the longest time, but this teaser... It's like an A-Shirt under a rain jacket. I've loved pretty much every new uniform this season except for this one. Really hope the full thing proves these initial thoughts wrong.

On Madness and Creativity- Cavaliers 2018

1980 was a great year for competition. I have seen the top 4 and would love to see this show.

I would say that design wise, he definitely doesn't shine like some of the more experienced designers at the top of the heap. But to be fair, he also hasn't been doing this for 20 years either. He needs some seasoning. I like what I see (hear) from them this year as far as the brass book. The battery book seems a little heavy handed but I also have only heard anything of it in a 40 second snippet and then a standstill with HORRID acoustics for marching percussion. I'll withhold judgement until I see the entire package. And who knows, in 5 years or so maybe we'll be using phrases like 'Another brilliant Will Pitts design / arrangement." I always look at stuff like this and kind of circle back to my own experiences in building cues. I've had people come to me and hand me a cue that I built in 2005. Back then, I was proud as peach of that cue I'm sure. Every time this happens, I offer to buy the cue back and make a new one which is at least equal in design at no additional cost to the customer. Then I take that old cue and I BURN IT. We grow in art as we gain experience. Let's give the cat a chance. Just MHO

You’re usually pretty brutally honest regarding them so hearing you so excited makes me very excited. Can’t wait to see the show!