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No disrespect to any of the commenters but the rehashing of whataretheprops/terrribledesigners on the daily gets tiresome. I've been in the DCI community as a parent for the last 4 years now and I remember day1 going to my first SA show and watching Pacific Crest thinking that show was fantastic. At the end of the day PC was like 15 or 16 and I couldn't believe it. Then I learned from the community what a feeder corps was, what slotting was, how bad the design was, how bad the drill, how bad the music.....etc...etc.... It felt like the community was telling everyone new to the DCI world, you're not supposed to like them because A or B or C. I think GE might be the worst stat to judge because its the most subjective. You're completely at the mercy of the judge who places you lower because mello#9 didn't smile during transition.

lmao Almost a week passed? You're welcome.

I just have to say, after watching a few recordings, these are the moments that stick out to me so far (a long one): 1.) Opener - Sop sax soloist alone in the 50. Quickly followed by two others - the first gathering. The corps behind them all slowly inching towards this small gathering. Just like real life, we are all hesitant to join in on something until there is a sudden tipping point. That’s the moment they all rush in and give us their first hit. 2.) Kashmir - is used almost as a congratulatory moment where everyone realizes they’ve all assembled for the first time and now need to reconfigure to look like a solid front. 3.) Right after Kashmir - I call this the “rain drop”. Often times, a moment of organization, as with any pendulum, is followed by dispersion/division. Like a drop of water, the waves dissipate outward. Suddenly, we find ourselves in a moment of quiet/dispersion. The celebrations have ceased for now. 4.) The Fugue - Many moments of disjointedness. Ultimately culminating, once again, in a loud, celebratory gathering. 5.) That exposed guard rifle toss - Nothing to say except that I LOVE this moment. 6.) Closer - This is the MOST disjointed you’ll feel in the show. A moment of chaos. Then followed by calm - almost a moment of self-reflection. Then, culminating in probably their grandest and loudest gathering. This one is different because it’s victorious. Almost as if to say, “we almost didn’t think this one was gonna happen.” 7.) Show concept - Every movement seems to show this ebb-and-flow of gathering and dispersion that is also reflected in their loudest moments and their quietest moments. This is why I get a visceral reaction to this show. The hairs on the back of my neck stand up because BD is really leaning into these ultra quiet moments in this show. Every moment is indeed a new variation in gathering. It’s not so much about a story being told as it is a feeling/emotion that’s being evoked - the contrast of being alone vs. being together. ——— Finally, I came to DCP to nerd out on my favorite shows and corps. I understand that show threads can get pretty contentious but this is the BD thread. It’s meant for those who want to nerd out on their show. Along with the constructive discussion of their performances/show concept/etc. But if you want to reply to my post here with something of bad faith, I urge you to please keep it to yourself. If you have your own theories and/or breakdowns of the show, I’d love to hear them! After all, this is the fun part of drum corps for me.

I just wanted to come on this thread and say that I really love Mandarins show this year! The brassline is incredible, and the drill is creative and top notch!

9 pages and counting on a thread dedicated to "losing interest" in Drum Corps. Cracks me up. Just FYI for those who were born after I aged out; People have been saying Drum Corps is dying since at least 1971. This has been said to the point of being a cliché. I saw a ton of wide-eyed high school kids and younger completely enthralled at the Walnut CA show last Friday night. They want to be in this activity and they're the ones that are going to ensure it continues. "Economic realities" and all.

Tell your friend about Rule 47.6 "A corps will receive a 3.2 bonus for adding the first version of their closer." Think this rule was added a few years ago on the recommendation of the Velvet Knights.

I for one, did not have a clear picture as to what "If I Must Fall" meant either. I had my assumptions that it was kind of like Crown's show in that a certain event will happen and will be inevitable. Thankfully, I saw on this page the fully completed quote and never even realized that it was in the show reveal! It is a simple theme to understand, but most people, like myself guiltily, only saw "If I Must Fall..." which lead me to have some speculation. I don't think the Mandarins need to add vocals and the enjoyment of a show does not solely come from the theme. Phantom Regiment allows people to make a story up themselves and adds a solid product to spur the imagination. To the people more curious, they will probably look again at the graphic and see the completed quote, or see a video going on a deeper dive of the show by the design team.

More stat nerd data. First show to most recent show % improvements. Corps First Score Most Recent % Increase Blue Knights 65.900 79.400 20% Troopers 67.750 79.650 18% Cavaliers 69.450 81.000 17% Boston Crusaders 76.200 87.800 15% Colts 68.250 78.000 14% Mandarins 73.150 82.950 13% Blue Devils 75.400 85.250 13% Phantom Regiment 74.900 84.450 13% Blue Stars 70.800 79.100 12% Santa Clara Vanguard 76.550 85.000 11% Carolina Crown 79.850 84.300 6% Bluecoats 83.300 86.500 4%

i forgot to predict Flo would #### up their lone All Age broadcast before Indy. i know i thought it, and Flo delivered as only Flo can

Hats off to Mandarins persevering as they got a nice 2 point jump in score last night despite that brutal heat

You mean like the show on the 11th they booked that got cancelled due to storms? But yes, let's assume Bluestars didn't get hit with a bit of bad luck on the score being used and they were just lazy and didn't book a show. 🤫

i think you are slightly overreacting. the bluecoats team is a well oiled machine, and they have the talent to do just about anything thats thrown at them, and fast. this is truly not so dissimilar to last year. they'll be ok, at worst they are on track to finish in 2nd place, and unless something cataclysmic happens i dont see them dropping lower than that. this is an absurdly competitive season and bloo is aware and working hard.

Come on, no one “hates” Crown. It’s just banter. The big world class corps are all on a stage. If anything people have unfairly high expectations for Crown and expect them to contend for the gold every year, and when they don’t, it’s obvious. No one picks apart Music City (yet) because they aren’t in that top tier. My issue with Crown is that they clearly have the skill and resources to be the best. Every single year. The only thing they get consistently great is brass. They are the victim of their own self-built expectations.

Nobody panic...I repeat nobody panic. Closer edits are happening. Nothing too drastic yet, but parts of the early show music are being (subtly) integrated into the closer. And the current ending is definitely a placeholder for now. Don't expect major changes until after the Texas run. Sounds like this is the same build formula they are using from last season.

I mentioned earlier that i feel this show so emotionally! I am so glad others feel it, too!

All captions are subjective.

If people just pay attention and read the show title and quote, I feel like it's one of the easiest themes to understand.

big week for Bloo! 5 shows, 4 of which are back to back! we'll finally get to see how they match up against the powerhouse from boston! hopefully this gets the crowd complaining about lack of shows from bloo to simmer down haha. pumped to see the new closer on flo!

Last night's run in AZ.

Your takes on BD are a highlight of my summers. Your artistic sensibility is put to such great use here. I too nerd out on BD shows and how they make me feel, but I need you to explain to me how and why they make me feel that way. I am loving this show so hard. Thank you!

Thank you brother for taking the time to break down this beautiful, emotionally impactful show. I get deeply emotional when i engaged it. Lots of heart! 💙🤍💙💙🤍🤍💙🤍💙🤍💙🤍💙🤍💙

I haven’t read all the posts, but I really like the WW solo in their opener this year. And I’ve been anti-WW for as long as I can remember.

Rylan - thanks for sharing this. I can't get enough of this show, and I look forward to seeing/hearing the latest changes. Everything so far has been so awesome to watch develop. Bravo to BD, the designers, staff, and performers, for putting together an unforgettable show again! Out of all of the standout moments, my favorite has to be the sax solo which has been invited to the gathering a little late. How ironic that it's in a song called "Uninvited". There are other parts of the show that I'm blown away by, but I think it's really cool of BD to not shy from the use of a woodwind instrument. That, to me, is groundbreaking in this activity.

Waco is their last show before SA. The Mandarins debut their new closer at Houston the last two years, night before SA. So if they follow the trend, we might get the changes at Waco.

I can recall a few times BITD when (for whatever Godly reason) we went on right after Cavaliers, Phantom or Belleville and we actually benefitted from their going on before us. We called it sloppy seconds.

If you honestly think that "Boston is a snoozefest" you need to have your eyes and ears checked. Methinks it is more a case of corps envy.

I know it won't change anything at this point, but I'm not sure "fate" needed a figure in the show. It is such a nebulous concept that maybe trying to make it a figure in the show is part of the problem. Then the character(s) riding around the props gesturing here and there also aren't adding to the concept. Trying too hard. I think there are a myriad of (better) ways the concept could have been communicated.

I sort of think it’s ######## how crown is perennially #### on lately for having “inadequate show designs”. I’ve even said it, I want crown to be “better”. I watch their shows and I see things other corps couldn’t even dream of. even their championship winning colleagues. It’s like blatantly obvious. I mostly want crown to have some trendy year so 1/4 of yall can just stfu. ive lost my rose colored goggles for crown a while ago and I can look across the landscape and appreciate and understand what each corps is doing, their motivation, their end goal. I can see what crown is doing, or not doing. What I can say is… I see a corps year to year that puts out monstrous shows and while a lot them aren’t champion “worthy”, it feels like, it’s like a love to dismiss crown on here. And I’m a TOTAL troll. Y’all know I talk #### cross the board. I just don’t understand the hate on crown. Are they an easy target? Like what is the fascination? It’s a completely great show. I don’t see what makes it significantly 6th place compared to 3rd. As a college sports minded person the perception is really the key. Is it really a 6th place show? Or is there other trends in place that are just “cooler” than what crowns doing? Are you punished in drum corps for not following trends? Is the champion just the most “out there” show? Not hating on that. I love the challenging and pushing of the envelope. I love BDs saxophone soloist. I love BCs inversion of the taboo of mic’ing and creating the cool echo effect in their show this year. I’m totalllllly cool with all of that. I just don’t think BECAUSE you’re doing it, it should ultimately be better or seen as a “higher” artistic form. I just see crowns show and I’m like hell yeah, and I ALSO see a Bluecoats show and am like hell yeah. I just don’t know where the threshold is anymore. I think all the in-between is biased hogwash. I’m just a troll, so whatever. But some idiot judge could make a dumb decision based off pressure. Also I’m not saying judges are so easily swayed. I’m just noticing how diverse this sport is, and it doesn’t seem like it can be judged fairly anymore with some wanting to go for the horizon, and some wanting to stay more traditional. Everything is becoming harder to sort of pin down. I’m not saying crown will win but I also can’t tell you who should. I WOULD say who’s the cleanest should win. But a little thing called GE can come in and mess all of that up. I’m just a little unenthused.

Congratulations, Boston!! Continue to work smart and keep your eyes on the goal!! Best wishes and safe travels to all of the corps as they make their way to the next destination!!

That definitely does matter for the 0.7 and 0.8 spreads. But that 0.3 was a deliberate choice by that judge--only 0.1 behind in content and 0.2 behind in achievement.

Phantom Regiment has the biggest momentum for me right now. Coming off of last year, they have this sort of? Controversial show. It was a little overlooked (not by me CHECK my post history) I think shows should honestly be more like this. No name. Titles and themes and explanations give so much room for assumption and bad or false impressions. This show is truly yours for you to interpret. Vanguard was doing this same exact type of vibe for me. I personally love the Vanguard show, but after reading comments it sort of proved my point. They are confined to the realm of “avante garde” so they are held to the candle of WHATEVER each individual person may think that means. Phantom mitigated this so cleverly imo. if you want a truly new modern show it’s not bluecoats. They’re actually so amazing and will likely repeat. But phantom is doing something truly different here and the waves they’ll make when they finish successfully will be HUGE. This also isn’t a shot at the Coats. I just see drum corps evolving and BC definitely sort of hyper drived it and this is the response.

Think this is my first time logging into this forum in a year, the website even deactivated my account. As someone who still hasnt quite hit their 30s yet, my loss of interest in drum corps isn’t out of some nostalgia for the DCI of the 80-2000s like it is for some. I didn’t start tuning into DCI until 2012. DCI is starting to feel soulless for me. Corps are folding, the season is becoming extremely short, less and less people are able to afford the activity. Finding a show near you that has a decent lineup is becoming increasingly difficult without turning it into a full day/weekend trip. The shows themselves are becoming increasingly more contrived (especially the thematic elements) and it is the same corps with big pockets that stand any sort of chance of moving up the ladder. The musical arrangements in general are also leaving a lot to be desired. Don’t get me wrong there are some shows that are really well arranged, Bluecoats are a huge standout for me this year. Phantom and Crown also have great arrangements. Beyond the ballad, Boston remains a snoozefest, SCV has been a shell of itself without JD Shaw (arrangement-wise, the hornline itself sounds great this year), and even BD is just not doing it for me despite the signature BD sound still being there. It’s Wish this wasn’t the case but I’ve made peace with the fact that the activity is slowly dying. The economics make it inevitable. Maybe I’ll try going to semis this year and see how I feel.

Rule 47.7 … don’t feed the trolls

Naaaaa … The timing is right …War Memorial Stadium is where the magic happens, year after year

Ah, I get it now! Crown’s fate should be encircled by the guard’s rifles at the end, sealing their fate - like the bad guy was cornered at the end of Relentless! Yes! I can get into that!!! And have a large banner reading “Fate is your destiny”, ala “Abandon all hope, ye who enter here” like from Inferno. Crown, make it happen!

The Mandarins and their color guard should find it very heartening to see the caption score from Drums Across the Desert. The guard has been putting in the work on a very demanding book and to score that close to the superb Boston color guard speaks very highly of the results Mandarins color guard is achieving. Here's hoping the work brings continued success to them. I expect that as the entire corps keeps pushing they will start to see their scores rise relatively in more and more captions as they master this challenging show.

I’m assuming, especially with this year’s show, that the show concept would be considered by many, on the surface, as “simple” especially in comparison to previous BD shows. But that’s an inaccurate descriptor. Instead, I believe the concept is innate. Which we mistakenly interpret as simple. I believe our capacity to feel the emotion of alone-vs-togetherness is something, as social creatures, we are born with and very familiar with. This is what I think this year’s show is about and why it may make you feel that way.

Mind blown! You’re so right! 🎷 For many, that sax is still uninvited. 🤣

Your feelings are completely understandable and valid. The all-brass sound is special, soloists included, and it would be hard not to reimagine in your head those solos interpreted on brass. My perspective is a bit different, being a saxophonist who marched college in a band with brass and saxophones, but the brass sound is part of what made me love DCI. Still, I also find these woodwind solos thrilling for how well played they are and how well they work in their shows. At least we know (hope?) that brass solos will still predominate.

Me too. I thought the oboe was an abomination, and did not see the value added. Just looked odd on the field and sounded small. Oh well, whatcha gonna do? Still love Concord and the activity.

Judges are highly experienced and also biased. That’s why there are so many diverse judges judging each performance and show. The nature of DCP is nerds talking about show design and performance. Were I the parent of a marching member I’m pretty sure a lot of what is discussed her would irritate me to no end. My suggestion is to try to see the engagement here as a positive for DCI, given that we are not in any way a part of the show designs or judging.

I’m anxious to see if they debut their new ending in Waco, or if they’ll actually wait until San Antonio itself. The new ending does bookend the show nicely in terms of the theme.

Changes coming this week. Excited to see what the Mandarins have up their sleeve. Love the score jump from last night.

Bluecoats had 2 rainouts. As was pointed out to me yesterday, they ('Coats) had the same # of shows (4) to this point in time last year.

Not sure if you’re diminishing the score bump or just observing that the panel of judges makes a difference (which it does…it was mostly the same set of judges for all three SoCal shows). But regardless, they did in fact rehearse for 3 hours today. It was indoors, but they rehearsed.

And a much-needed one, at LEAST purely from an optics standpoint!

It was Michael Turner. He also is strong with his numbers. What he saw is what it was.

Mandarins were only 0.3 behind Boston in guard, 0.8 behind them in brass, and 0.7 behind them in percussion! Whoah!

1 Boston Crusaders 87.800 2 Mandarins 82.950 3 Blue Knights 79.400 4 Pacific Crest 73.650 5 The Academy 72.950 6 Seattle Cascades 70.850

Don’t get this doom and gloom here at all.. thanks to Flo I have watched more dci shows these last few years than ever before. The Broken Arrow / Texas tour are all on the schedule this week and can’t wait to see it . Last night watched Little Rock and then the last few corps from the show replay in Cali . Enjoy what we got!