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For many years I have been able to accurately predict the finals results and placements with few exceptions. This year I see many of the corps upping their game. I'll do an in-depth review on my second view in the next week or so. Curious as to others predictions after the first few shows. I've color coded the competitive positions and expect to lock in after my next view. If they're not color coded I expect them to be locked into that position. Good luck to all the corps and welcome back to competition. 1. Blue Devils 2. Bluecoats 3. Carolina Crown 4. Phantom Regiment 5. Santa Clara 6. Cadets 7. Cavaliers 8. Blue Stars 9. Boston 10. Mandarins 11. Colts 12. Madison Scouts

I think Crown is amazing this year. They sound so good and clean. And the music really creates some 'moments'. I predict ill be on my feet a couple times during their live performances I plan to attend. I keep hearing people talking about innovation on here. I think the app thing is definitely innovative though not sure it'll have any lasting impact. The thing that gets me every time is great challenging music and marching with some interesting and dramatic moments, and it seems to me that that is also what gets rewarded by the judges. Seems like the harder/cleaner bar is what wins ( can't tell me the Blue Devils don't include very difficult drill and music into their shows, because I know some of you are thinking this lol). I can't wait to see what happens as the season gets closer to August. Im really not sure who will end up on top, and I don't really care, because I love the competition and all the drama it brings. And honestly Im just so dang happy there is a competitive season this year!!!

Yep and I am here and ready to take it on the chin, and hand over my receipt. I was wrong with last night's outcome. Crown won fair and square, no excuses. However you don't speak for everyone. There was people saying it's over based off one Crown performance in the show thread the other night. Those are the people I was referring to. But in the end you collected my receipt, and I own it and stand by my comment. No backpedaling here.

I love Phantom but 😬. Boston will not be ninth. I’ll eat a plate of rare beef liver covered in sauerkraut and topped with radishes if that happens.

Coming off two solid, early season runs, I’d think from staff to performer, everyone’s in a good place. With a week to dissect/clean/polish? IMO: advantage Crown.

I mean, Cadets have been innovators in my time as a fan (2005 on); people just didn't like those particular innovations (use of amplification, specifically amplified voice). One can quibble with whether the chilly reception was because they were talking or because what they were saying didn't work, but it was an innovation for which they got pilloried (enough that when the Hopkins scandal broke there were people here whose response, in addition to condemnation of what he did, was 'oh good maybe we can get rid of all the rules changes/innovations that we blame on him now'). I'd also argue that there isn't much new ground being broken in general. The biggest changes the Bluecoats have made are "what if we took the time and spent the money to find the 'right way' to do amplification," which in my mind is less innovating and more throwing money at a problem; "what if we built really really big set pieces," which, same; and "what if we wore comfortable uniforms instead of putting on heavy jackets during the summer," which was something the 27th Lancers (among others) figured out >fifty years ago? Is any of it really that innovative? Similar with Crown: what have they innovated beyond "what if we got really really good at playing technical brass passages" and "what if our uniforms changed to match the show," which is something Star figured out in the 80s? Cadets seem to be in a classic rock-and-a-hard-place mode: they're told to innovate, but people don't like the innovations they come up with, or the more basic changes from tradition (see: all the yelling about not having maroon in 2016; though that too may have been less of a 'how dare you change' and more of a 'this doesn't work' complaint). All that said: I imagine we (myself most of all here) might be pinning too much on one performance of one show and what that one performance of that one show says about the state of both a specific corps and the activity as a whole. So. Feel free to consider the above the sound and the fury signifying nothing.

I don’t think I’ve made a prediction contribution in here. Here’s mine and I’m sticking with it 1. Blue Devils 2. Carolina Crown 3. Bluecoats 4. Santa Clara Vanguard 5. Cavaliers 6. Boston Crusaders 7. Blue Stars 8. Phantom Regiment 9. Cadets 10. Mandarins 11. Blue Knights 12. Colts

In other news: PC over Academy in percussion. We'll now return you to your local BD station.

Ah, everyone at each others throats...this will be a good season for Crown. A whole nother 6 weeks of this. Yay!!!

Well the better high school bands in the country are using the same designers and instructors we see in drum corps so that’s gonna happen. I’d say they more take what they do in drum corps and adapt it for the HS world. Same with WGI. Tons of overlap in designers.

Anyone looking to collect receipts in August, here is your chance.

Colts gave a great performance. The crowd loved it. Highlights: great show theme comes across well and integrates visuals and music, outstanding soloists, another marching cymbal line (!!!!!). This will be a show I listen to long after August. Needs work: I don't feel like the color palette puts us on the Silk Road as much as on Santa Monica beach, and the two piles of luggage feel anachronistic.

First of all there are plenty of Crown fans in this forum. Second, I don't think a lot of people expected Crown to beat Blue Coats last night. The biggest difference this year to me is the guard and how much improved they are from 2019 and that is reflected in the GE scores, hiring Tyler was key and he has made an immediate impact as the guard is back to the level of 2015 & 2016, IMO. The brass is off the charts good, it might be the best Crown brass ever but lets debate that at the end of the year and the Ott trophy is staying with Crown. I hope the percussion can hold its own and the visual show has enough meat in it to bring home the gold but the Devils and Blue Coats will be right there with Crown, can't wait to see everyone in Indy..

Still here -- proudly.

Ohio is in the midwest.

I might be wrong; don't anticipate Bloo with their stunt-heavy, action-packed adventure show to challenge the Crownies the rest of the season. Bloo may very well be in Crownies rear view mirror. 😎

Sat at the top on the 50, some general observations from the night. It is so much better to watch shows in person than on Flo. Obviously Flo is better than nothing, but I will take being crammed next to thousands of people in 100 degree heat with no breeze to see shows live. Incredibly enjoyable night! PC - Love the Depeche Mode ballad and it looks much better now that they have some of their holes filled in. I just wish they did something with the props. BK - I seem to have enjoyed this more than those watching on Flo, but clearly seems like a step back for the corps compared to some of their recent years. I did really like their color palate and feels like there is room to grow. BD - Was super amazing to watch live and felt like a July version of a championship caliber show. Still work to do but it oozed quality. The two guard members without equipment were super distracting. Does anyone know what happened there or is it actually designed that way and I just missed it last weekend? SCV - Did not like the show last weekend on Flo, but really enjoyed it tonight. Both the corps and guard uniforms worked better live, but still not as good as it probably should be. Could feel the let down in the audience when the show just ended. Academy - Probably tougher on them due to being an alum, but that was a rough run in both music and visual. Felt worse than the shows on Flo last weekend. That said, this is the first year since 2017 where I felt they have a shot a finals with the show design. Like the new outfit for Willy Wonka. The placements and gaps between corps seemed generally spot on for the performances tonight.

Dang man, you know this prediction is mucked up when you have BD, Bloo, and Crown fans all in agreement.

LOL. This is so messy. I love it

Yea my sarcastic comment went directly over your head.

Or BAC has a great show!

I see that spread opening up. I don't think the Bluecoats are going to swap places with Crown all season... I wouldn't put money on it, but I think the signs are there not only across the captions, but also in the designs. These more general themes (like Crown's) and less narrative shows tend to do better in the long run for GE. This, plus the competitive (if not dominant) writing and execution among the sections for Crown is likely to continue slotting to the top or a tight second with BD in the mix. We may see fewer corps holding the captions as well, which isn't good for a drumcorps like the Bluecoats that put their focus on GE design. In light of BD and Crown, I think Bloo's show is screaming 'fun times in 3rd place'. The show that everyone wants to see before watching the championship program at the end of the night.

Perhaps I’m in the minority here but after hearing most of the corps music after the first couple of shows I think the Blue Stars music is outstanding. I recognize there are performance issues as is the case with all the corps to one degree or another and in specific groups. I’m biased because I love Prokofiev and would like to hear a corps arrange the Quarrel from his Cinderella Suite #1 again.

Hippies and hipsters are two very much different things. Think tie dye shirts and acid trips vs fedora hats and thick rim glasses

I predict this won’t be one of those years for you 😃

This didn't age well. Believe me, no one is thinking Devils and/or the Bluecoats are going to sit back and let Crown stroll to a 2nd championship.

I was just wondering how the OP's hangover was this morning. 🤣

That would be the 2 horse race for the silver.

I laugh when people say west coast inflation like BD doesn't have the most rings.

BD’s guard has been a slow grower for a number of seasons now, IMO, probably since 2015 for me. So other guards looking more together as of July 2 sounds about right and doesn’t worry really me. The rifle line for Metamorph struggled for much of the season too. The technique takes them a second. They’ll get there. TJ’s gonna kick some butt. BAC of late has tended to look better by now, though — but I’m not worried about them either. Crown and Bloo look right on track. I think Bloo has underrated for a few seasons now, and I’m hoping they, in particular, get their due soon. I fear SCV is falling into the CrownGuard 2019 trap: tons of talent, a fairly clean book, but a design that just doesn’t know how to show them off at all, which is a shame.

Even with a ruff run a 75.45 puts things in Perspective.

A lot of people said the same thing with Star of Indiana in 1993.

I was at both shows...both Cadets and BAC had very strong shows yesterday. But both were absolute electric tonight gaining standing ovations.

The hometown crowd gave a warm response to the Cavies. Lots to see in this show, though the two tarps don't add much. The rotating ramps / clock hands is a great effect. I hope they can find a way to rotate the "time" messages more smoothly. An energetic performance.

Music City has a nice show. Highlights: marching cymbal line (!!!), a trombone ensemble, long blue fabric (waves?), and Morse code flags Needs work: communicating the show theme, flags that blend too much with guard outfits, highlighting the soloists visually

And he hard codes all of it so we must thank them for staying up till shows are done

Yes. This is cleaning week!!!

If this happens we need you to stream it.

I always looked at it as Crownies are viewed as the hippies of DCP. As everyone says, mockingly, when something goes down in the Crown threads, "I forgot, I'm in the Crown thread". People seem to have issues with hippies. So, here we are, as Crownies, the hippies of DCP. Lol. That sounded better in my head.

I guess we are now using warmups to determine the 2022 champions...

Thanks, NGBR. No kidding on being spoiled. Even last year, it seemed like they were present at just about everything. Guess I'm stuck watching 90 Day Fiance tonight. Plenty of WTF moments in that to get me through.

A couple weeks. Update time... 1. Blue Devils (the safest bet) 2. Carolina Crown 3. Bluecoats 4. Santa Clara Vanguard 5. Boston Crusaders 6. Cavaliers 7. Cadets 8. Phantom Regiment 9. Mandarins 10. Blue Stars 11. Blue Knights 12. Crossmen (just by the skin of their teeth) The battle for twelfth is going to be just as fierce as the three way fight for first. 13. Colts 14. Troopers (I'm intrigued by what the Troopers have going on. They were really strong, last year, and could also be challenging for that 12th spot. Might have to swap them and the Colts down the way. In addition, last year's uniforms were awesome and much better than their Magic Mike and The Orville outfits.) 15. Academy 16. Madison Scouts 17. Pacific Crest 18. Music City 19. Genesis 20. Jersey Surf

I walk into rooms and forget why I did.

1. Told y'all it was gonna be a fun season. 2. Let's try to be bigger than the trolls. I recommend "Well aren't you precious! Bless your heart!" as the correct reply to anyone trying to stir the pot. We are from the South, y'all. Short version is ❤️. Feel free to copy/paste! 3. I love love love CrownGuard! Go Crown! 👑

Tonight Pacific Crest- Getting better each night! Still a ways to go, but definitely cleaner than my last viewing Blue Knights- Okay first show, but guard needs LOTS of cleaning. Still a bit of drill left to add, but had a vintage feel to it that was nice Blue Devils- Added a LOT in a short time. Rough run for them tonight, but it'll clean up overtime. Moon River still gets me everytime SCV- Hornline has all the power! Still not a fan of the unis, but the show itself is coming together. Very disappointing that there still isn't a closer at this point. The Academy- Most fun show of the night! Wonka works well and despite there being a home-field crowd, you can tell everyone was into it!

If people think a guard score is just equipment work, then I get why people get upset when they don’t understand judging today.

SCORE: 64.15!!!!!!!! That's a jump of almost 4 points!! Way to go MCDC!

Since Cavalcade of Brass isn't on Flo, here's the Music City percussion in the lot right before the show. After warmups, they play through the whole show. This was live-streamed on DCI's FB page. https://www.facebook.com/drumcorpsinternational/videos/549366993338344

Anyone remember Yea Olden Days when guard members who didn't know the work were put in drill w/ arm in a sling? And then after the performance they are in lot doing guard work with a miraculously healed arm.

Just to give some context about Bostons guard drops. Everyone was dropping and a couple of brass players (not Bostons) slipped and fell stepping up onto metal Ramps. It rained for a while delaying the show and the field was wet. Guard equipment was very wet for everyone. Many drops for all corps.