Keith Laubhan

Cool... I look forward to seeing it live. Too bad I'll have to wait until Saturday night in Indy to check it out in person.

Did a little scraping, and this is what I've come up with so far... feel free to correct or add to this. Blue Devils - Brighton HS (Thu, Fri & Sat) Blue Knights - Loveland HS (I think?) (Fri), Englewood HS (Sat) Bluecoats - Sheridan (Fri & Sat) Cavaliers - Dakota Ridge (Fri & Sat) Madison - Valley High School (Gilcrest) Santa Clara - Sand Creek HS (Colo Springs) Troopers - North Ridge HS (Greely) (Fri & Sat)

Does anyone have any info on where the corps will be staying for the Windsor and Denver editions of Drums Along The Rockies?

Will do... And I just ordered a sweet HD camcorder that's supposed to come in time to take up to Windsor, so I'll be sure to post some lot footage on Facebook for you to check out.

Let's hope! I do think it has a lot of potential. Haven't seen them since the Stanford webcast, where they were dirty as sin, but when they clean up, I don't see any reason why they can't continue to be competitive with Boston and Blue Stars. I too would like to see a better placement than last year, especially considering that it's a better show. Unfortunately (for BK, not the fans), it seems like everyone else is better, too, so it's going to be tougher than past years to hop up in the final standings. I do think them and Boston have the shows to overtake Blue Stars, though, so here's hoping!

I don't know if that's necessarily the case... they've increased in score at every show, save for one, including a seven-tenths increase tonight over their last score. They seem to be progressing at roughly the same rate as similarly scoring corps. More than anything, they just haven't been in as many shows as other corps on the left coast tour. I do think you're right, though... San Antonio will be very telling.

Yup.... BK's been rocking that prep step in some form for about a decade. It's just one of many things that's unique (and sometimes polarizing) about them. Personally, I dig it, and like that it's their own.

Conceptually, it sounds almost an exact rip-off of an RCC indoor percussion show from a few years back. That said, I do like this Crusaders show from what I've seen on the Fan Network, and liking a Boston show is typically hard for me to admit. Good on them to adding to a really entertaining, really competitive middle tier.

Absolutely valid... All I'm basing it on is my interpretation of the line graphs. I'm looking at areas of relatively significant separation and the overall trajectory of each line. Overall, there are some pretty clear cables that have developed. There are some gray areas (Boston and Glassmen's recent jumps, for example), there's already a level of volatility (especially in the middle tiers), and I make no assumptions that those tiers that I've defined will hold true in even a week's time.... I do find it to be an interesting topic, though. Nobody knows how it all shake out, but it'll be fun to watch.

To me, the tiers are a little bit more about "clumping," as well as where I'd expect the corps who haven't performed in a day or two to be scoring. This is much less mathmatically defined, but visually, when you look at the graphs, there are generally some clear gaps in the overal data. Here's how I'd seperate them, given my overall "feel" of the scores: I: Crown, Cadets, Blue Devils II: Vanguard, Cavaliers, Phantom, Bluecoats III: Crusaders, Blue Stars, Blue Knights, Glassmen IV: Troopers, Scouts, Spirit, Colts, Academy, Crossmen V: Mandarins, Pacific Crest, Surf, Pioneer

I've always found that baffling... Maybe it's because I've only instructed/performed in WGI, but the sheets seem readily available there, and I think everyone benefits from the transparency. In over a decade of following drum corps and (only) one year marching, I've never seen the GE definition on the DCI sheets. That would be like MLB or the NFL keeping the rule book a secret to the fans of those sports. Don't understand the infield fly rule or how pass interference is defined? Tough, but keep tuning in and supporting us! This is one of my only gripes with what I think is an otherwise great organization and competitive system.

If you want to factor in the human interest piece, 2008 Phantom is right up there. 1982 and 1994 Blue Devils were pretty dominant, too, and while I wasn't around to watch those shows live, seems like the audience really ate them up. I think, on paper, 2002 Cavaliers is maybe the best show ever designed (in my opinion), but there doesn't seem to be that raw emotional connection to push it over the top.

Would be really cool for that victory to be a finals spot... Blue Stars reminded me how much fun it is to see a new face in the top 12.

####, there are a lot of cynical people commenting on this topic... I don't understand how this can be seen as anything but mutually beneficial for both organizations. DCI gets to further position itself as the standard-bearer for the marching arts (as well it should be), and MENC gets the expertise from the standard-bearer to help music educators develop better ciriculum for their marching ensembles. It seems there's some massive confusion on the missions and goals of MENC... they're not in the show promotion, competitive circuit, or rule making/enforcing business. They specifically state that it's not about stylistic choices. They're basically a trade group for music teachers. This whole thing is no different than an electricians union advocating that there should be basic standards of safety on the job, or a trade organization outlining a basic code of conduct for its members. I don't see this as being anything other than MENC trying to help its teachers be better at this specific discipline of music by means of general concepts, while DCI gets some love for being at the top of that game.

I doubt it's anything nefarious, but it does look like a pretty big inconsistency... as a BK honk, I'll go ahead and just take the Blue side of the argument! ;)

I love the overall musical program, but I still wish they were moving with more athleticism (in the appropriate spots, of course)... That said, I'm still rooting hard for them, and would LOVE to see them pick up the prize in August. Good job to BK, too! Good number... looking like it could be the corps hottest start ever. Hopefully it's a sign of things to come!

White jackets, dark green bibbers, with a red stripe woulda been hot for the SCV DMs... missed opportunity. Here's hoping BK had a great show and gets a nice fat number! :)

That exact uniform, with the leather strap (to better tie in the hats and gauntlets) and the darker gray pants, would be my all-time favorite Troopers uniform.

I was really impressed with the progress the Troopers have made this year. I could see them potentially jumping 3 spots from last year and knocking on the door to Finals. I've also been surprised by Blue Knights, Boston, and Santa Clara. I think it's going to be hard for anyone to jump miles up in the final standings, but I think all three of those corps are going to turn heads this year.

Yeah... they are unique. I'm not crazy about them, myself, but they do fit the "Cowboys and Indians" nature of the show. They're based off of Native American clothing (perhaps in bit of a characturized way), and have fringe and warm colors, but with a twist. They're very much modern colorguard costumes inspired by what you'd see in like Disney's Pocahontas, for instance.

I really enjoyed both of the DCI corps at the event. Troopers looked large, and that was confirmed by Fred Morris, who said that it's the largest Troopers ever. Color guard was dirty, but much more effective than they've been in past years. Drums were on par with last year's line, maybe a touch better. I was really impressed with their brass. Heard some individuals, and like any performance this time of year, there was dirt, but their overall sound is loud and biting. They've got some problems with the marching technique, but plenty of time to work that out. Show concept was really clever. The mix between classic Troopers-style programming and West Side Story came off very well. I especially enjoyed fusing Rumble from WSS and the gun fight from Billy the Kid. This is as good as I've seen Troop at this time of year since I started watching drum corps in '96. I expect some good things from them. I'm sure finals will be as (if not more) competitive to get into as last year, but I'd be lying if I said they didn't have a chance. As for BK, I was quite impressed. Programming (and from what I could tell at a low vantage point, the drill) are much more effective than they traditionally are out of BK, without losing sophistication or the unique qualities that Blue Knights generally have. This is the best marching Blue Knights that I've seen in years, and I think the simplification of the technique is a big reason. There's still some body movement in the corps, but it's much less emphasized than in years past. Color guard looked GOOD (both from a performance standpoint and the costuming), drum line is miles better than this time last year (save for the encore pieces, which were laughable) and the brass sounds on par or better (at least to me) to what they were doing a year ago, as well. I had been hearing good things from friends on staff, and was thrilled to finally see it in person. There's no reason why this can't be the best Blue Knights corps to date, and I mean that wholeheartedly. As I look back on what I consider to be the best BK corps (1999, 2000, 2006) I think this corps has the ability to top all of them in every way (save for 2000's percussion line). Who knows how that will translate in placement, and obviously that has as much to do with everyone else as it does this corps, but I can honestly say that it's gearing up to be my favorite BK production ever, especially coming off what I considered to be a disappointing show last year. I was on the fence on whether I'd be traveling to Indy, but now I've got to do it.

Out of curiousity, are they still using the all black uniforms with the white accents, or have they added some red back in?

Hmm... I prefer the previous Boston uniforms a lot more... they used to look sleek and dark... now they look mushy. I do find myself liking the Colts more and more as time goes on.

Oh. Dear... Those are... something?

Just joined Twitter, so feel free to follow me @KeithLaub And while I'm at it, I might as well pimp the one I set up for the Rocky Mountain Percussion Association, too... @RMPAorg