Hrothgar15

Of course you have the absolute right not to like the music they put on the field, or any other aspect for that matter. But to claim that there is "no music" in the show is ridiculous.

-Whistling of Kill Bill theme -Pit interlude -Brass entrance -Build-up -Climax of Kill Bill section -Tempo increase -Frantic melody from brass -Mello call, trumpet response -Loudness till end -Pounding opening of Liquid by low brass -Melody introduced by mellos -Smooth line in low brass -Continuation of melody, into staccato 7/4 section (all this in the midst of flurry of notes from pit) -Ascending trumpet fanfare -Buildup section with triplet figures in mellos and trumpets -Majestic chord of opener, leading right into more triplet passages, trading off between each section and accompanied by pounding drumline beat -Slow decrescendo by all sections as action decreases -Cymbal crash into quarter-note melody traded off between low and high brass -Melody builds into a sudden explosion of sound, with ascending fanfare line in mellos -Loud section continues with brash statements by trumpets and mellos -Section continues and crescendos until final chord, then lets go -Peaceful section introduced by eighth-note line in the pit -More placid melodies from low brass -Beautiful, sonorous baritone solo by none other than Michael Terry -Intensity increases in all sections, leads to loud, staccato hits in high brass -Liquid melody returns in full glory by trumpets -Loud chordal sections -Chromatic passage up to final climax -All Liquid motifs come together in a loud "rush" to the end of the opener -Opener ends with three staccato eighth notes in the brass, then mimicked by the drumline -Ballad begins with mysterious drum beat and unison note in the low brass -First ascending melody in mellos begins, accompanied with chordal harmony in low brass -Peaceful section of ballad continues, with continuation of mello melody -Trumpets enter, with constantly building chords as the entire corps crescendos -Louder and louder, until final chord is held -Backs down again, mellos return for another haunting melody as snares begin their frantic section -Snares and all sections of the corps build up to a huge climax -Loud, haunting melody is played by entire corps, with support from an ever-moving snare passage -Melody closes with a final chord, then dies down -Trumpet solo with final statement of ballad -Mello solo leads right into Machine percussion feature -Industrial-like noises are heard from percussive elements -Drumline begins throwing it down in a series of mind-boggling passages, moving from one section to another -Brass enters softly, slowly builds up -Machine-like, jazzy melody by trumpets -Percussion festivities continue, including a tenor feature that never seems to end -Frantically builds until end of section -Closer is introduced by mysterious passage from the brass, with layered chords and a running line in the mellos -Percussion begin the closer, Mirrors -Low brass have first, dancing melody -Shrill, pounding melody by trumpets that is never resolved -Response by mellos -Percussion interlude, then chromatic passage down back to the dance-like section of the piece -Melody started by low brass is now copied by mellos, constantly getting higher -Trumpets enter abruptly and build into powerful chord -Kill Bill melody resurfaces in majestic yet haunting fashion -Chord is held and ends, giving way for the percussion to continue the dance-like section -Drive to the end of the show -Medea-like elements are traded off between all sections -Passage of mello runs introduces culmination of show that incorporates all motifs into a frantic melody -Melody finally bulids until brash statement by trumpets -Trumpets give way to complete silence -Entire corps begins final statement, beginning with a loud, elongated chord -Continues to flurry of Medea passages, constantly moving and always getting louder, into terse, staccato hits from the entire corps -Loud, majestic chordal ending begins, building up into Twilight Zone theme -The final chord is held into three staccato hits that end the show Nope, no music there.

God, that show is amazing. Great brass book, and that percussion feature... . It's almost as if Bocook walked right in there and showed them how it's done.

The freakin' loud section in the Cadets' opener...first time they hit that section I literally jumped out of my seat.

I was really looking forward to this event (even with the inexcusable volume level)...was it canceled, or what?

It's also the only show in DCI history to provoke a "conversation" between audience members during the show: "Let's go!" "Take it home!" "C'mon, finish it!" "Yeah!" "Do it!" "Take it!" Or something like that.

This is definitely on of the biggest controversies in the DCI community. I, for one, am in love with the music. I absolutely hated it the first time I heard it and thought it was the least-entertaining music I had ever heard on the field, and thought that it was such a dissapointing final show for Star. But after watching the show more and more and listening to the music more carefully, I finally appreciated all its nuances and realized that music doesn't have to be consistently loud and in-your-face to be entertainng, and can safely say it's a work of art and clearly puts that show in a league of its own. What are everyone else's opinions?

Let me put it this way. Could the Cadets have performed their show a lot better than they did on finals night? Definitely. Was the Cavaliers brass dirt clean and nearing perfection? Absolutely. However, We Are the Future, as a show, is on a completely different level to me than Niagara Falls could ever dream of being. It may be because the Cadets' 2000 show was what drew me into this activity, but it always has a special place in my heart. Is it because of a clean, perfect hornline? Nope. Is it because of perfect visual execution by all members? Absolutely not. That show was far from reaching that level. However, you can put me in with the people finals night who screamed their heads off right before the big push in the Cadets' opener, the people who weren't screaming for perfect intonation and a completely balanced hornline but for an explosion of sheer power and glory. Was it slightly out of tune? Definitely. Was it perfectly balanced? Not at all. But every time I listen to or watch that show, that statement brings out the emotions inside of me that can only be associated with drum corps. The Cavaliers show from that year is lightyears away from bringing out any sort of emotion for me at all, let alone that I find in We Are the Future. Part of that is because of what I myself look for in a drum corps show--the ability of the players to thoroughly express themselves and convey a story, not through words, but through their instruments, to create a production that is indescribably majestic. We Are the Future, in my opinion, did just that; it's definitely some of the greatest music ever to be played on a football field in the entire history of activity, and the fact that maybe the members didn't play the music as perfectly as possible finals night doesn't even cross my mind whatsoever. While the Cadets' story is about the journey of life and the future of the world to come, the Cavaliers' story that year was about a waterfall. Somehow, the two just aren't equal in my mind. That, along with the fact that the music of Niagara Falls just doesn't do anything for me and contains very few elements that I personally look for in drum corps shows, explains this decision. Sure, there are some cool visuals in that show that were executed perfectly by the members, but that to me is not at all what drum corps is about (and is miles, miles below the full majestic glory of, say, a final, closing chorale of "We Go On"). Of course, all of what I've stated here is complete opinion, and the beauty of this activity is that fans are allowed to hold such opinions. In fact, I view the tie from that year to represent that the drum corps activity is incredibly diverse, and the many style portrayed can all be interpreted differently by the fans.

That's ridiculous. What are they doing now that isn't classic Cadets? The music is the best they've put on the field since 2000, and from what I hear, the drill is up there too, and once they complete their show and perfect the musical and visual performances, I have serious, serious, doubts this show won't make it to the top three.

"Come on, finish it!" And all this time I thought that "babies burning" was a reference to the pagan nature of the story.

I don't know what's more annoying, "Oh my God, babies burning" or "YYYEEEAHHH!" in Roman Images when no one was clapping.

What was being in Star like after '93?

It is truly incredible. One of the best brass books ever written. It has everything I look for in a drum corps show: speed, power, dynamic contrast, emotion, precision, and topped off by a huge chorale at the end. What could be better? Definitely one of the most underrated shows in DCI history. More shows like this need to be put on the show today...this is drum corps. And I definitely prefer it to their five-minutes-of-nothing-above-mezzo-piano 1991 book.

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Yes, but the scoring isn't relative to the other corps' performances. I'm asking what accounted for such a low score.

I'll admit, I haven't seen the visual portion of the show, but the music is just excellent (completely entertaining, emotional, and lightyears ahead of what the Cavaliers put on the field that year) and the performance does not seem a bit below that of 1989. So what happened? Was it visually dirty? Poor visual GE? A big mishap? Answers would be greatly appreciated.

Where have I heard this before...

Sounds find to me. Tempo kind of fluctuates, but I wouldn't call that a "messup."

What did x and y equal?

Whoops. I meant to say music or visual in my original post.

Now, we're all familiar with the debacle of a soprano solo in the Blue Devils' 1989 show. What other memorable messups, marching or visual, can you think of? Not a very encouraging topic, but interesting nontheless.

I'll tell you exactly why I voted for Cadets 2000 and why it is my favorite drum corps show of all time. First of all, and I’ll say this up front: this show is the whole reason why I’m a drum corps fan in the first place, the whole reason why I attended the Classic Countdown last night, the whole reason why I post on these forums. Sure, I had heard of drum corps before. My band director had mentioned it, encouraging us to go a show that was in town, casually mentioning it to compare it to marching band, and whatnot. My friends and I knew what it was, except I had had absolutely zero exposure to it. The first actual viewing of drum corps I experienced was when I was perusing a site that had some finals videos for downlaod and noticed that some drum corps called the Cadets of Bergen County had performed To Tame the Perilous Skies in 1992. I fan of the piece, I downloaded it, but unfortunately, my speakers were not working at the time and I could only watch the visual program. I immediately noticed the perfection of the visual product—much more refined than anything I had seen in marching band—and the complexity of the drill that was performed. My first real exposure occurred a few months later. I had walked into the band room and heard on the stereo system what I thought to be a marching band show. I heard an eighth-note line with brass instruments playing a oving melody above it, which proceeded to a melody in the trumpets and a four-count pause. During this pause, I heard this huge from the audience, and a moment later, my ears were flooded with the loudest, most breathtaking chord I had ever heard. It continued, with an ascending melody accompanied with these majestic, changing chords. When I thought this had stopped, after a crescendo that seemed to be ending the section, I heard still more: yet another chord, and a powerful statement from the low brass that ultimately concluded with a 16-count crescendo, followed by the roar of a crowd. I was listening, to, of course, to the Cadets’ 2000 field show, “We Are the Future.” Amazed, I waited to hear more: terse hits from the trumpets followed by ascending eighth-note lines, and then a whimsical melody, consisting of groups of three eighth-notes, played by the trumpets and echoed by the mellophones. Then came a sixteenth-note passage leading up to a pounding eigth-note measure, followed by an intense, flowing section adorned with various fast passages and ultimately concluded in another crescendo and proceeded on to the rest of the production. Unfortunately, that was all that I would hear that day. I was completely mesmerized that entire day by what I had heard, those melodies, those chords, a completely mystifying piece of music. I learned it was a drum corps show by the Cadets, and with a little research, I found a link to an audio file of the show and proceeded to put it on my MP3 players. Over the next few days, I listened to the show constantly, drawn in by the emulation of the ticking of clocks and that wonderful melody in the first part of the opener. Gradually, I became familiarized with the rest of the music: even more forceful, mysterious melodies from the brass, the great transition melody in the mellophones, the fluid five-four section and ultimately the final chords of “Chaos.” Next was the ballad, started by a low melody in the horns and proceeding to a baritone solo and a slow, peaceful melody by the rest of the corps. The beautiful mellophone solo at the end leads to a faster, section of triplet figures with constantly increasing motion and volume, progressing finally to a long, wondorous chord. What came next affirmed to me that this was one of the best musical productions ever created: a catchy, climbing 6/8 rhythm that seemed to just represent joy and energy. This section was then interrupted by a slower soft melody from which, out of nowhere, came a wall of power from the brass complete with a fanfare line in the trumpets, and just when I thought the section had finished, a section triplet figures led finally to one of the most sublime harmonies ever played on the football field. After a brief percussion interlude following this section, the brass was at it again with a moving line of notes grouped in six that kept climing and climbing to reach an awesome chorale backed by moving lines in the mellophones, truly beautiful music. Next of course, came an exhibit of excellence of the percussive arts, started by a snare solo. The other percussionists, reacting almost as if they feel they “can do better,” responded: the snare line entered with a passage, interluded by a melody in the brass, and this trade off of the different percussion instruments continued until it reached, although I could not see it at the time, a tenor feature requiring perfect precision and choreography. The final feature of this exhbition, of course, was a sixteenth-note run by the entire hornline, which, besides being musically exciting, happened to be played with the brass players fingering the instruments of the players beside them, quickly switching hands intermittingly. Finally I became acquainted with the last section of the show, started by a moving reprise of the 6/8 melody that was introduced earlier. The tension builds and builds until the corps reaches a final chord, a pause is heard, and then engages in a beatiful, emotional chorale entitled “We Go On,” one that exemplifies the whole theme that the people on the field performing this masterpiece were, indeed, the future. The show closes with an ever-building, ridiculously fast seven-four section that leads to the final three chords of the show, the third of which is an eight-count crescendo, barely able to be heard over the cheer of the crowd, signifying the end of the production. I listened to the show very often after first acquiring it, slowly familiarizing myself with it, constantly humming it in my head. Eventually I obtained a copy of the visual production, adding a whole new element to the show. The visual production, I felt, was perfectly executed and completely extraordinary. It wasn’t the Cavies-esque succession of visually pleasing stints—it was fast, fluid drill that fits with the music, creating a complete moving symphony of bodies across the field. The last thirty seconds of the show, I feel along with many others, consist of some of the greatest, most energetic drill ever put on the field. The show represents exactly what the Cadets stand for: incredible, powerful, beautiful music accompanied with an amazing visual program that are married to form an emotional production representing a different aspect of this world. And that’s why I chose Cadets 2000 as the best drum corps production of all time.

In the finals recording of the Cadets 1987 show, near the last two-three minutes of the show, there's some sort of siren sound that goes off twice. Does anyone know what the deal is with this?

Wait, OK, so he's originally wearing a black uniform, right? Something tells me that when he goes under the sheet thing, there's a regular uniform under there, and he puts it on while he's concealed from the audience. Then, at the end when everyone is running off the field, he discreetly runs out of the sheet, but no one sees him since so many people are running past it. If it isn't that, then I'm stumped.

Um, this may be a stupid question, but how did that guy vanish from the chair anyway? Where did he go? And who was he?