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Showing content with the highest reputation on 08/13/2019 in Posts

  1. How ‘bout .. . Go With the Flo ! Any of our Finalist Corps does their usual outstanding performance but, half-way through, STOPS abruptly and walks off the field. Leaving the entire audience screaming and shaking their fists !
    8 points
  2. And brass tears are expected and should be judged as part of the show. There will often be drill in complete silence. There will be the obligatory fly over fabric lettered "Please Wait. Resetting your connection." while the Corps plays underneath. This, of course, happens frequently.
    7 points
  3. People are constantly looking for something to be outraged about and they latched on to Dan's words and proceeded to climb atop their ivory tower as if they have never misspoken in their entire lives. Dan apologized to the DM/members and staff at Spartans and they are the only ones that deserve an apology from him. They rest of the world can get off their high horse and maybe take a peak in the mirror and remember they are not perfect. The age of the social media outrage warrrior is one that will go down in the history as one of the worst most destructive periods in out time.
    7 points
  4. Thank you Bluecoats for another incredible season. From my first viewing at the tour premiere on 6/20, I knew this show would contend the entire season. I was excited to watch every chance I got on Flo. Being the year I got to watch all 3 nights in Indy, it was truly special. This was one of the most entertaining shows in DCI history for me, and it will hold a special place in my heart forever. Thank you designers, instructors, and performers for making 2019 a memorable season for thousands of drum corps fans. Keeping doing you! BLOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!
    7 points
  5. Dear lord. Nothing else was close FOR ME. Since the topic was "favorite" I didn't see the need to say this was MY preference since the word favorite implies we're talking about a personal preference.
    7 points
  6. Just her father's house.
    6 points
  7. There should be a Goo penalty.
    6 points
  8. Stop using microphones for full ensemble brass. I am fine with solos and perhaps a small duet, trio, quartet, etc. Start using less mallets. With amps I just feel there is no need for all those mallets out there. I'd like to hear more rhythm or orchestral percussion coupled with the battery on the field. Not sure when brass and bells (my generic term for all the mallets) became such a desired sound. I can't recall ever playing in brass band or my college brass ensemble and thinking, "this needs more bells." I don't mind some when it supports the music, but it's way overused. I frankly was glad BD pulled back in some areas this year and featured some violin, guitar, some nice grooves, etc. But to me, all the corps are just using too many mallets and that has partly been the problem with allowing the field brass and drums to shine a bit more. Change the judging sheets so that electronic malfunctions and bad balance is reflected in GE Music and Music Analysis.
    6 points
  9. I am coming to DCA finals. All the way from London, England. As director of Cadence I toured with the Corps in DCA last Summer and had a blast so I am coming back to meet old friends in DCA and hopefully make new ones. I will be found in the midst of the Cabelleros Alumni Corps on Friday night dancing my stuff as per last year. I am arriving Thursday, going to the hall of fame dinner as a guest of Doreen Sandor on Friday then staying for the weekend. Se you all there....
    6 points
  10. Yup, I made the topic title "favorite Ballad of the year" instead of "best ballad of the year" specifically so that there wouldn't be any arguments over which one was best. This is all just personal preference
    6 points
  11. Kudos to Jeff for judging the PERFORMANCE in front of him and ignoring the rest of the season. Too many judges make up their minds about a show early and NEVER take a fresh look at each performance. Clearly Jeff is a judge who's willing to let the performers change his mind. And that's the guy you want evaluating your show.
    5 points
  12. Yes, it was an out-of-line question and totally inappropriate. It could have been avoided with better preparation and knowing what he was going to ask rather than just winging it. That being said, once it was out there, he was very contrite, took responsibility, and handled the situation in about as responsible and professional a manner as you could ask for. That goes a long way toward rectifying the situation. We've all done and said some silly things in our day, the guy deserves some slack.
    5 points
  13. Also while what he said was not great, he has apologized multiple times, including once about two hours ago on social media. It’s time to move on. He knows he screwed up.
    5 points
  14. Mandatory for each corps to march at least 30 contras
    5 points
  15. Stop: masking brass sound with A & E. Let’s hear the brass lines themselves without electronic enhancement. Mic ONLY soloists. start: limiting the amount of props/prop items. This will minimize prop assembly areas, prop trucks, prop crews being the horn lines. change: static “staging” of brass, guard and percussion to being more on the move. Designers have given in to reducing movement to enable “features” to the point where every production had multiple features. Well it feels like it.
    5 points
  16. To you. No reason to negate everyone else’s choice.
    5 points
  17. Crown. Nothing else was even close.
    5 points
  18. We're sorry to report the magnificent mountain sculpture is no longer available. It has recently been purchased by a brewery in Golden Colorado for their headquarters.
    5 points
  19. 1. Cavies (the only one that got a standing ovation every time)
    5 points
  20. Pacific Crest makes its very first Finals.
    5 points
  21. I wanted to post this after semi finals but life got in the way and my phone was dead. I'm glad I am posting now though since the season has had a few days to settle. Please feel free to post your thoughts on 2019 shows as well. Conveniently- I will be commenting on every WC corps and the top 3 in OC. 25. Seattle Cascades- all I can say is WOW. I knew if the Cascades were the 25 seed that this is a great year for drum corps. Those jazz soloists were phenomenal. The grid, itself was a little scary. I thought we learned our lesson with the Cavaliers last year. Feet getting caught left and right but no falls. Very cool when the grid was lifted though. 24. Jersey Surf- Oh man. I have always wanted to see Jersey Surf live and I finally got the opportunity to. Very musical, visually pleasing, and easy to follow. Liked the uniform change. Maybe not as fun as 12/13 but well done and tastefully performed. 23. Music City- Hello! Truth be told I watched them rehearse the percussion feature in Conneaut Lake on Sunday. Was hoping to stay longer but it started to rain. That's okay though because I was wowed by the brass, the overall GE, and the amount of color in this show. Sure it was probably too cute- but I thought it should have swapped with Genesis in placement. My favorite of the first group on the field. 22. Gold- Well. I'll be. This California group had no trouble making the trip to Indy, fielding 16 CONTRAS, and grabbing the OC bronze. A nice show that reminded me of the game of Life with unique color guard props and all original music. A major step up from last year. This is my pick for the next group to jump to world class. 21. Legends- I like this OC corps. Instead of the ocean I pictured the Siren of the great lakes taking down many ships at Whitefish point and Thunder Bay. Easy show to get into. 20. Genesis- Nice 10th anniversary tribute show with earthen tones. Quite interesting to see the Greensleeves waving out of the props. 19. The Spartans- Experiment X. The program description had me almost uninterested especially since I just saw another 10th anniversary show...but WOW I loved this one. They definitely deserved the OC victory... although Im a sucker for Latin music on the football field. 18. Troopers- There is definitely a gap between 19-25 and the Troop. The whole Star Trek thing wasn't my cup of tea but wow is that hornline tasty. 17. Madison Scouts- If you are interested you can read my full experience on the Madison hype train thread. This was probably the most emotional show of the year for me. Unbelievably fantastic. Really makes me want to go back in time and see the 75-97 scouts live. 16. The Colts- I think this show had the strongest GE of non-finalist corps. Hells Bells and throwing the trident then Hell freezes over and the visual effects mixed with the ice cold sounds of chimes in the pit. Very fun, musical, easy to follow show all around. 15. The Academy- Bridge over troubled water was beautiful. I don't know if I was still drained from the previous two shows but I really miss the fun Academy from 2015-2017. Very nice performance but probably the least interesting show design of the year (but hey- would have been middle of the pack most years). 14. Pacific Crest- Whaaa? The lights were a very cool effect and I want to congratulate them on their highest score and placement of all time. This show had a great message and was performed well. Didn't make me ugly cry like BK 2014 but still a nice show. 13. Spirit of Atlanta- I was hoping this show would go places but where it landed placement-wise is just about right. Very nice, musical show that mixed very modern stuff and swing. Three uniform changes. A bit overkill but that's okay. I think Spirit Blue is plenty neon for the neon underground. Visually the ATL was very cool. 12. Phantom Regiment- Although they ended up in 12th this is the best flicker of Hope and Phantom show since 2012. Absolutely beautiful brass moments. Arguably some of the best brass moments of the night. Some cool visual moments and the chant was powerful. Some very awkward transitions though. Regardless I have a good feeling about Phantom 2020 if they make some minor changes. 11. Crossmen- I. Love. This. Show. One of the most enjoyable of the year for me. The field entrance (props and all), the tambre of the guitar, the power, the percussion feature, some great brass licks, the ride of the Valkyrie motifs from the trombones. The Valkyrie visual. The weird costumes. Just a great show all around. Great job Crossmen. 10. The Mandarins- Very Creepy Show. Fantastic, dark brass. Loved that the tenor voice in brass was all Euphoniums. Very interesting to watch the guard (and battery) tell the story line throughout this show. The Mandarins are great at that. If they fix their percussion issues they could climb- but they have had 2 years in a row of shows that are actually kind of scary. 9. The Cadets- Percussion and battery were absolutely amazing and had some fantastic features. I did not feel empowered as a female by this show. And that's all I have to say about that. 8. Blue Stars- Another corps that brought me one of my favorite shows by them in years. I think that from a visual and narration standpoint this story was told very well. The brass and percussion also sounded great. Not sure how I feel about almost the entire corps going to bed during the solo...but I did like the tents😁 7. Blue Knights- My favorite show, at least musically, of the year. I also find the blurry mirrors to be a wonderful aide in the show theme. The brass and percussion are together. There are such open and exposed sections of the show. There are beautiful moments of pure silence and reflection. From the Hurt solo to the end is so powerful and emotional. 6. Boston Crusaders- Ah. Yes. Now we have entered the top 6. Huge jump. Brass sounded great, Guard was absolutely amazing and crucial to the story telling. Very nice, easy to follow show. They added some extra Gore for semis and people seemed to love the David v. Goliath fight. I didn't miss the shot this time. 5. The Cavaliers- Another wonderful, fun, easy to follow show. Brass and percussion were extremely powerful, and the Cavaliers Guard were great to watch for fighting and portraying the show theme. Easily one of the best Cavaliers hornlines of all time. 4. Carolina Crown- Compared to most- this was a no frills drum corps show. Lots of movement and classic marching and formations by the MMs and they provided great visuals. Brass was beautiful and extremely clean as expected for Crown and Gabriel's Oboe gets my nod for best ballad of the year. Percussion was tight and probably my favorite percussion feature of the year too. 3. Santa Clara Vanguard- you haven't heard loud until you have heard SCV 2019. Lots of aggression but also a good amount of beauty going on musically. Probably the most talented corps of 2019. I have no idea what was going on the whole time though. As a side note getting the sousaphone into the cage looked as difficult as mastering one of those puzzle games at the Cracker Barrel. 2. The Bluecoats- I think this show had the best musical arrangements of the year. Just sheer genius. A crowd favorite for years to come. So many little things going on at the beginning, Eleanor Rigby, just wow. Blackbird was absolutely beautiful, as most Bloo ballads are. Come together was a rock concert. Then they played an encore. Just WOW. 1. The Blue Devils- They came into the field with a swagger that only BD is capable of. It was obvious this was the most confident and comfortable corps of the year. They did some cool stuff with the multiple uses of props. My favorite thing about BD this year, as it is in most years, is the battery. I had my eyes on center snare the whole time as I know he is one of the most talented musicians on the field and it was his age out year. Overall I felt this was one of the most enjoyable years for DCI. Almost all of the shows were very entertaining. The singing trend seems to be dying down, there was a lot of diversity in show design, and many corps are starting to March and move again but unlike 15 years ago the emphasis is on overall GE, music and visual theming - rather than who can push the drill the farthest. This season went by fast and I am looking forward to what next year brings. ✌️
    5 points
  22. Ballads are easily my favorite part of any drum corps show and this year had some great ones. My favorite this year was BD's ballad with the simple yet effective rotating drill and very emotional music. And the snap of the unison sabres is the cherry on the top Honorable mention goes to the Cavaliers, Blue Stars, and Blue Knights
    4 points
  23. From FloMarching -- Crown in the lot.
    4 points
  24. Perhaps a Rocket Mortgage "commercial" or two (or seven).
    4 points
  25. Watching that victory run.............WOW............JUST............WOW.
    4 points
  26. I love listening to his tape of 2013 Cadets finals night. Prosperie is the man!!!!
    4 points
  27. Sports reporters ask athletes pointed questions like this fairly often, but (1) the interview subjects know to expect this and are prepared, and (2) Potter's job in these interviews is to be DCI's public relations representative, not an independent journalist. If he were acting as a genuine reporter, like Tricia Nadolny, there are far tougher inquiries he should be directing at other people rather than tossing awkward questions like this at corps members. That said, he apologized publicly within an hour or two, and I don't think he meant harm, so there's no need to dwell on it.
    4 points
  28. It just felt like it totally took away from their accomplishment. Why ask about what effect having two other corps would have had when they had their best show and season in over a decade? Ask about that. Ask how much fun a show like that is to perform. Ask what it felt like to win ten years after the corps didn’t even field and how much that meant.
    4 points
  29. It was pretty uncalled for and in poor taste. I rather like Dan Potter so the fact that came out of his mouth was shocking to me. Not a cool thing to say but he acknowledges he made a mistake.
    4 points
  30. ####, there was Bowling on? If only I’d known! 😉😂
    4 points
  31. The Cavaliers. For me, it's not even close. I hope they consider keeping it for encores.
    4 points
  32. Carolina Crown - Gabriel's Oboe Just got to work and Yo-Yo Ma was playing it on Pandora.
    4 points
  33. A “Big band” concept would be amazing by any number of corps. A New Orleans concept That was based in jazz but focused on the unique culture of that area would be pretty neat and, musically, very interesting. And while I probably would regret it, after seeing the bluecoats show, and watching the new Elton John movie, a show based on his music would be a blast. No pun intended.
    4 points
  34. Gabriel’s oboe. -Crown Hurt - BK ordinary world - southwind
    4 points
  35. I love you Carolina Crown. Your future is bright. I know the staff is smart enough to take notes on this season and they will do even more next year. Don’t they all? Like I said with the Cavs, I see a gold medal very soon. I saw the hunger for it with them and also Boston. It’s only a matter of time till it happens. Designers: take this break to go find a concept or theme that will #### me up this next summer, because being the crown honk I am I will eat it up.
    4 points
  36. Crown Spartans Bluecoats Blue Knights The Academy Music City
    4 points
  37. Stop - Tarps Start - Marching again Change - I'll get back to you.
    4 points
  38. How did BD's staff happen to come across a television documentary soundtrack, anyway? (Their ballad is "A True Passion" from the second season of the National Geographic series, Genius, which was about Pablo Picasso. (The first season was about Einstein.))
    4 points
  39. Just wanted to take a moment to thank Carolina Crown for an incredible season. I went to all three ensemble rehearsals and performances in Indy, and was truly inspired by all six encounters. I have such incredible love for this activity, and never has it been so truly expressed in so many ways as it was this weekend by Crown 2019. In rehearsals, it was such a privilege to witness the members' extraordinary passion, relentless determination, not to mention ridiculous talent. But it also revealed the love, respect, and admiration that all members have for each other, across sections, and across staff and performers. I know that many corps have these qualities, but there was a totality to it all that seemed off the charts this year, and of course, was particularly expressive at the end of the season. This corps knew it had something special this season, and they were soaking in every last morsel. The performances revealed the fruits of that labor, but were absolutely fueled by that emotional energy and awareness evident in rehearsal, and just stunningly expressed each evening in performance. Those performances expressed everything I love about drum corps: performers leaving it all out on the field, enjoying every second of it, feeding off the energy of the crowd, culminating in the unbridled joy of knowing they just knocked it out of the park. It is the looks on their faces, the jumping in the air after nailing the show, and the post performance embraces that move me so much, and reaffirm my love of this activity, regardless of scores, placements, and all the other thing we complain about. It's what will bring be back next year, as it has 20 times before. Thank you Carolina Crown, this alum is so freaking proud, and grateful.
    4 points
  40. Agreed, such a good read! Would love to hear his tape for Devs from this year. Here you go:
    3 points
  41. Just wanted to drop in and say congratulations to the Blue Devils on a great season and championship. Really loved the show. Engrossing from beginning to end, beautifully designed, and of course impeccably executed by members who know how to close. Just a privilege to watch all around. Special shout out to the guard, I really thought they would take the Zingali, and deserved it in my book. And to Brandon and the percussion section; what a storybook way to end a great tenure with BD. Congrats, again ... until next summer!
    3 points
  42. Oh -- You mean this one? Thanks! I thought so, too.
    3 points
  43. STOP- Unnecessary body movement. Get a good movement person and visually interpret your music correctly. START- Judging the amount of time units play as a group. The amount of time your percussion and brass play should matter. CHANGE- There are to many non-judge-able elements in drum corps shows. ( singers, choirs,violins, guitars and all the electronic sounds that are produced ) The judging has to evolve at the same rate as the shows.
    3 points
  44. How about a tribute to John Williams? One of the greatest composers of our time. It would have to be a very well thought out and put together show. If done right, it could simply be amazing. I'm not sure which corps' design staff would do it justice though.
    3 points
  45. If you would share this on your social media (FB, Twitter, Instagram, etc)... We would appreciate it.
    3 points
  46. That's not long-winded at all. If you ever see BDCorno post, he played french horn in BD. I'm sure you guys would have lots to share. In 74 BD played Chant & Jubilo for their OTL. (Off The Line for youngsters). Something about the sound... They did this build up to a sudden halt and then a slow majestic fanfare that always made me think of Ancient Rome - like a soundtrack for Ben Hur. I think it was the chord structure/voicing. I dunno, just a drummer.... When I got older, I wanted to be in a corps that traveled across the country instead of staying on the west coast. I also wanted to be stretched as a performer. I was thinking Concord or Santa Clara. I never realized how fortunate I was to be so close to the previous years' second and third place corps. I went to one rehearsal at BD and it just felt right. I never made it to an SC practice. All I had to do to make the line was beat this guy from the Royalaires, Scott, I think was his name.... uhhh..yeah.... Lucky for me they went with ten snares that year so I made it. I can't express how much I enjoyed BD 76, just an incredible year. Thank you Rick Odello, Ron Menke, and Steve Chorazy. And to Jerry Seawright, thank you for your leadership keeping us moving down the road. Anyway, now I'm long-winded.. ⌛ Thanks for the chat.
    3 points
  47. Not sure whether we are doing a show for a single corps, but I've been preaching that Crown needs to go back to what got them into the top tier...quirky and campy. i.e. Puck One, Danzon, and basically the entire Finis show. I suggest that they maximize on Danzon and do a Dia de los Muertos show. The colors, the culture, THE MUSIC...could really be something special with that brass.
    3 points
  48. The Cavaliers ballad was a showstopper and my musical and emotional highlight of the summer. When they reached the climax, with the guard spread endzone to endzone performing some truly incredible flag work.. well it was just stunning.
    3 points
  49. Life-sized Goliath figure. Head not included. 1-800-555-4BAC
    3 points
  50. 1. Cavaliers 2. Bloo 3. BK 4. PAC Crest
    3 points
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