steelchops

OK, for those not happy with the way things ended this year, how would you have ranked your top 12? For me: Crown BD SCV Cadets Bloo Phantom Madison Boston Cavies BK Spirit Blue stars Discuss

Dud- you are doing an awesome job, thank you

Yes, Mason's son is special forces, so nothing but respect for the troops should be gleaned from Madison's show, really disappointed in those that have taken this away from that...

I also marched that year, played French Horn and saw the collision and ultimate slip. We were on late, the grass was getting wet with dew. I think it happened so fast, we weren't sure what to do, we hadn't had a fall all year. You could always tell how we were doing in a show that year by the look on Jimmy Elvord's face if you could see him in the stands. I briefly caught his face at the end of the opemer and he seemed pretty happy, so I thought we were doing OK that night.

anyone know where Madison is practicing this week M-T W?

Moral of the story: always make sure you have a firm grip on your marimba!

No, he walks across ALL the drum heads!!

I was at both shows- East Troy and tonight at Whitewater. I went tonight because I wanted to know if this show is real- is it really as good as I think it is? Answer: THIS. SHOW IS FREAKIN AWESOME! Opener is just a great use of all the audio technology available in DCI. It is powerful visually and musically. and this is after a hot day in the mid 80s. cant wait to see the when they're more rested. Believe me I'm more of a purist, but when you see this show (hopefully in person) it draws you in, and before you know it, it's over, leaving you wanting more. Classic Scouts, with a modern and rugged twist, powerful. I sat a bit low so I didn't see the shapes on the field, but the show is so good, I didn't really care Btw, the previous picture with the guard dude that looks like he is standing on a snare? The next 4 seconds AFTER that picture are even MORE awesome!

Yes, saw it in East Troy last night, The guard unis only add to the whole effect, IMO. Opener is AWESOME, and no "slow spots" in show- lots of action, so much is going on, one needs to see the show multiple times to really grasp it. Show went by so fast, I couldn't believe 12 minutes had elapsed. Average age of crowd was about 82, but they were pretty wild, saw one lady throw her undies and another guy whipped his O2 tank...(just kidding on this last part)

You are correct, corpsband, when you see the guard uniforms, all will make sense!!

When I saw the show, the camo only adds not only to the theme, but kicks up the masculinity and ruggedness for the corps, both pluses in my book!

Just saw the show HOLY CRAP!!! Loud, Power, it is for real!!! NO JOKE!!! MAJOR POWER- HUGE. CROWD!!!

Pardon if this is a repeat, but with Madison's ESOM, which I believe goes down as a classic, what would your top 10 all time closers be? Let's see 'em!

If you could place your favorite drum corps doing your all time favorite show in any venue- what would it be? Mine would be 1995 Madison Scouts at my local High School's Friday Football half time- just to see the look on the kid's in the bleachers faces when they hear the power and see excellence would make my day! Any other ideas?

Completely agree with Ed from Kansas- I was on a plane to California and because they had WiFi, down loaded and watched- I actually got emotional and tried to hide my tears- I did not know what hit me, but this is truly an emotional and dramatic show, and I believe the more it is seen the more it will be understood and appreciated.........I don't want to guide too much, but I also believe it is genius....

This question is based on naivety on my part because I don't understand the whole rationale behind formation of TOC shows. Because there are some awesome "non TOC" groups- do you think they will be slotted at Finals to prove these 8 are the top groups, as a face saving measure? Just wondering if the top 8 have been selected.........

OK, I LOVE the Madison Scout's music over the years, especially the jazz or latin jazz books. BUT, I'm willing to branch out into some of the other GREAT performances over the years. What would be the TOP 5 all time performances you all could recommend for a Madison fan willing to expand their horizons?? Discuss!!

Given the great season Madison had in 2010, if you were to continue the "re-branding" of Madison, what would your next concept be? Discuss!!

I also went to the show- Madison's show was a pleasure to watch, very entertaining. The guard unis and choreography made sense and were well chosen because they reflect the era of the music. I think when you actually see the show, experience the entertainment value, it is truly a crowd pleaser!

Just listened to it on itunes- you are correct!!!! They could light the crowd if this was part of a bigger latin picture!!

Radar improving dramatically, my guess 20 minutes and it's done!!! Let the show go on!!

Although there are some consistently great performers, there are some corps that for what ever reason fall into some challenging times. Being an old timer, I can remember 1972 Madison had a challenging year, and came on really strong in 1973. Any other examples out there? What turned the tide?

Madison Scouts, DCI finals, 1974. We went on before SCV, the grass was wet. In the opener, I saw 2 french horns slam their bells together, which had never happened in either a practice or performance. Was this a sign of things to come that evening? About 16 counts later, one of the sops fell flat on his back. I can't remember if he got back up, I think he walked off the field? The rest is history!

I have to say how amazed I am at the thoughtfulness of these amazing replies! There definitely is some personal depth on DCP!! I was in the Scouts in 1974, and I'm still wild about drum corps 34 years later!! Sleeping (or trying to sleep) under bus seats on all night trips or on hard gym floors, and then starting practice on little sleep day after day makes one pretty adaptable to adversity later in life, which is a pretty important trait.

Besides learning about winning and losing, what other things has the drum corps experience taught us all that has helped us in life? I keep thinking about the Madison Scouts during the 2007 season where the corps faced some major obstacles. They changed the show, persevered, never gave up, and this hard work paid off this year with their reappearance in finals. All of these qualities are going to help during life- I know there are other ideas out there where the experience helped us during our post drum corps life- any examples?