Hrothgar15

Conner, how can you get past the fact that the Cavies ending is just...flat? It's a GREAT show, don't get me wrong, but the entire closer is just...ehhh... I mean look at all of the great corps this year, and look at their endings. Blue Devils, ending with some glorious chords. Phantom, ending with some glorious chords. Bluecoats, Santa Clara Vanguard, Madison Scouts, ending with, again, glorious chords. And then Cavies, ending with a few hits. You're just like, "That's it?" It makes the show seem a lot less "big" than it could be...and that's never a good thing.

Right, because the percussion introduciton, and all of those intricate runs toward the end of the opener, and the beginning of the ballad, and the majority of the closer are SO LOUD. <**>

"When a Man Loves a Woman"...could this be the very best chart ever performed in drum corps? It very well could be.

How?

What happened to him?

Hop in, guys! Heh..."Hop"....

Official Chat Room: Official DCI Indianapolis DCP Chat Room Click, then navigate to Indianapolis (evening). Please use your DCP username as your nickname. Have fun!

So here's the idea. To the streaming of the Indy show as real as possible, why not have a chat room that we can use to discuss the corps performancs in real time, just as you would during a show...between performances, of course! Here's the idea. Instead of viewing the content through the regular Season Pass site, click here: Official DCI Indianapolis DCP Chat Room which will take you to the streaming content but will add a novel feature: a chat window on the same page that can be positioned wherever you want! This is by far the easiest way to have a chat, because you don't even have to open a new tab or window to use it, and you can talk on the very same page while watching the corps. I'm not sure when the show starts, but if you want to chat about the corps you're watching, hit that link around 6:00 or so. I'll be in the chat right now so come in and we can test it out. Also, try to use your DCP username as your nickname so we all know who we are. Have fun!

Gotta give props to DCI for putting this service. This is one form of electronics that is actually helping the activity. Can't wait to see Blue Devils' 800-pound gorilla of a show, Cavies' insane marching machine, and the Bluecoats' total package. And can't forget the Cadets' 100% beef with mustard, relish, and onions on a bun! Delicous! Their tastiest show in years, by far! Since this is the first time I've watched streaming content, I have a few questions. How is the audio/video quality? Is it comparable with the other video clips on Season Pass? Also, what exactly is included...do we get to see the scores and Champinons' Fanfare?

Go PHANTOM! I honestly believe they'll surpass the Cadets come Atlanta. Keep it going!

Obviously, no one has been able to see every corps quite yet, and some people have seen very few. But the APDs give us a somewhat accurate representation of each corps musical performance. So, based on those, where does everyone stand? Phantom Regiment- 9/10 Bluecoats- 9/10 Blue Devils- 9/10 Cavies- 8/10 (better ending for a 9/10) Santa Clara Vanguard- 8/10 Carolina Crown- 6/10 Madison Scouts- 5/10 Cadets- 4/10 (take out vocals for a 10/10) I guess I need to listen to Crown a few more times to "get" it. Madison's, unfortunately, is completely flat. Maybe next year. Your thoughts?

Matthew Elcock tells it like it is. Just a simple, no-frills podcast. And he's hiarlious! I look forward to that little blue dot that appears in iTunes whenever there's a new episode. Keep it up! If you haven't already, subscribe to this podcast. Definitely.

Err, perhaps I should have been more clear. I just edited it for clarity.

While I don't think the vocalist is necessary and feel she detracts from the overall show, the biggest problem I have is with the talking. I've never read Alice and Wonderland, I have no idea what the story is supposed to be about, so I have no idea what's going on here. How am I supposed to enjoy the show? The music should provide enjoyment enough, like it always does in every great drum corps show. I shouldn't have to read a book in order to enjoy a show. The idea is creative, yes, but it doesn't fit. It's not drum corps, in my opinion. To me, it's more of a play with a drumline. More importantly, I don't understand what they're saying. Off with her head? I don't get it. Swallowed something two hours ago...riiiight... Alice is obviously not the biggest drum corps fan in the world with her, "Do they have to do that every time?" Basically a PERFORMER is mocking 72 years of tradition. It would be annoying if someone sitting next to me asked me that; now imagine it coming from the field, from a performer, 100 times louder. I just don't understand why this is necessary. But what do I understand? I understand a great tenor lick, or an amazing snare feature, or a fat bass feature, or a powerful chord, or a I think that's what fans are looking for when they come to drum corps shows, but they're getting other elements that are just distracting. If you come into this show thinking it'll be just like the Cadets shows of the '90s they are known for, you will hate it. If you come into this show thinking it'll be just like every other show on the field, you'll hate it. If you come into this show thinking it'll be just like every other drum corps show in history, you'll really hate it. You have to approach this show with no preconceived notions of drum corps, approach it like it isn't a drum corps show, and you might enjoy it. It's different, and it's new, but I'm not sure this departure from tradition is something I really want to see. I know anaogies are not the most useful, but I'd like to see someone dispute that. Say you have a favorite flavor of chocolate ice cream that you enjoy so much that you consider it part of your identity. The enjoyment you get out of this ice cream is unlike any joy you get from anything else. The ice cream has remained relatively the same for over 40 years. Sure, a few ingredients were thrown in over the years to improve on some of the little things, but the ice cream always tasted the same and nothing was really drastically changed. Now say, without warning, the makers of the ice cream decide to add a very strong japaneño flavoring to the chocolate ice cream. It's ruined; it's not the ice cream you grew up loving, and you'll never be able to eat the old ice cream again. Some people may say, "Just ignore the jalapeño and enjoy the chocolate," but as you know, this is impossible. You applaud the ice cream company for trying something different, but ultimately, it was a change for the worse. Rather have something unchanged and good than changed and bad. If something is exactly the same, unchanged, for hundreds of years, but it is the most amazing, quality product, how is there anything wrong with that? Sometimes "innovation" has everything to do with the past that it does with the future. That said, Finals night I'll watch and enjoy the Cadets' show, not as a drum corps show, but as a "show" with drum corps elements. I see where George and the design staff are coming from with this, using the percussion feature as a tea party, but I don't want them to get the idea that this is satisfactory, cause it's not. I encourage them to find ways to still tell a story with characters like this but present in a less obtruse, more musical fashion. What do I want for 2007? Amazing music for the opener, amazing music for the ballad, amazing music for the percussion feature, amazing music for the closer, and some amazing drill. Tie it all off with a theme and you've got an amazing show. That's it. No amped vocals, no singing, none of that. Just drum corps how it always has been and always will be. The Cadets have done this for approximately 90% of the their shows since 1983, and they can do it again next year.

Yes, things change. But things should always change for the better. Change for the better is ideal, but change for the worse is devastating. I'd be hard pressed to find a single fan that would rather see things change for the worse than stay good, just so they could change. And the idea is quite simple, really: there are many drum corps fans on this board who feel things are changing for the worse. As in, the quality of shows put on the field doesn't match what it was 15 years ago. And because of the many radical, changes that are adding foreign elements to the activity, like amplified singing of rock and roll songs, and spouting of lines like characters in a play, change for the worse is occurring. This means that shows could be exponentially more enjoyable than they are now, but the directors decide not to take them in that direction. The bottom line is, there are fans who have enjoyed the activity more in the past than they are now, and as long as there is a way to reverse the trend (allow fans to enjoy DCI more and more each year, eclipsing all other years), we'll argue about it and express our dissatisfaction.

Unfortunately, they just have a flat, boring, dull musical program the whole way through. I love the Scouts, but I love them for shows like '95, '96, '97, and '99. Maybe next year.

Exactly.

Am I the only one whose noticed this? The sound never used to be like this. I'm noticing this especially in BD and SCV this year...what's going on? The best example, from this year, of what a full ensemble chord should sound like is in Crown's APD at 10:11. But I swear, most times, it's like only the trumpets are playing. The homogenized drum corps "sound" that G bugles produced is no longer there. If you guys have the finals recordings, check out these chords that reproduce this sound perfectly. You're not supposed to hear individual instruments, just one big sound. Like the following: Blue Devils 1988- 9:47 Blue Devils 1989- 0:20, 9:21 Blue Devils 1992- 10:49 Cadets 1993- 1:00, 7:36 Cadets 1996- 11:10 Cadets 1997- 8:26 Cadets 2001- 0:28 Phantom Regiment 1991- 2:04 SCV 1992- 4:19

Guess he's just finished installing Windows XP on his laptop! :P

Where did you march?

Horn line? Cavaliers. Battery? Phantom Regiment. Front ensemble? Cadets. Visual package? Cavaliers. Amps? (Brave -- err, stupid? -- question, I know!) Santa Clara Vanguard. Guard? Blue Devils. APD? Bluecoats/Phantom Regiment. Overall show design? Phantom Regiment/Santa Clara Vanguard.

Yeah. I thought I was on the General board by accident when I posted it here, and now I don't know how to delete it!

AAAAAHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!! Er...sorry. Go Vanguard?

I'm probably one of the biggest Cadets fans on these forums. The corps this year is just not the Cadets, and therefore, I'm not a fan of this show. The Cadets have never been a "silly" corps, and that's all this show is. Their name is the CADETS, for crying out loud.