grimmo

How far do you need to go back? If you watch stuff from the early 90's I don't see it being any cleaner or individual technique being any stronger (at equivalent tempos). If you go back to the early mid 80's I'd say the same. On the footage I've seen from the 70's the individual quality of technique wasn't any better then either. Can someone quote a year we can go and watch where the drill was noticeably tighter than it is today? Certainly the shows I remember as being really tight have benefited from a rose tinted memory when I've gone back and watched them!

interesting topic. IMO xmen 91 is one of their best ever shows but I wonder if it's better than PR92, even though PR92 is, imo, a long way from one of PR's best. 92 like 91 was a very strong year, and though the show may have been off finals night and not the package it might have been, my understanding is that PR still had a very strong corps that year. If the two shows had been judged side by side it might have been interesting...but then with that mode of though I guess the most recent shows would always outscore comparative shows from yesteryear hence making CC 06 the winner in that sense?

in the pantheon of great corps snare drummers, how good is he? To a non drummer it looks very similar in complexity and speed to what Nick Angelis was doing in that snare solo in Blast.

The general perception of you guys from across the pond has been one of a nation of gas guzzlers. Now before you all jump on me I should say that this is very much the word on the street. We've seen the traditionally large and inefficient cars (when compared to whats typical in Europe) and your more ingrained car culture, and we have drawn our conclusions from that. That said over the last couple of decades I think it's obvious to anyone with half a brain the the two continents are moving more in line. We now have a lot of the same cars on the road etc. Though you guys still seem to be too much in love with 4x4's and SUV's! :) For info in the UK right now "petrol" is about 95 pence a litre. Converted that's about $6.77 a gallon. It's a good job we don't have a touring circuit!! Our public transport is quite dodgy too. The Japanese are the ones to look to for an example there. Latest talk here is of black boxes in cars and being charged per mile driven based on which roads you drive on and whether it's peak or off peak times. Now that's scary b**bs

Aas has been said listen to the recordings can sometimes give a different impression to what happened live. My overriding memory of BD 96 was just how tight they were ensemble-wise. It's by no means my favourite BD show but I remember being very impressed with how tight everything seemed - especially all those shot notes - side to side and front to back. Cadets 96 is a good show imo, but not one that sticks out for ensemble strengths in the same way as BD's did. My main memory from that year was Cadets coming out with a noticeably louder sound (for Cadets anyway). IIRC the staff had made a consicous effort that year to step up the intensity from the hornline.

I think it was mainly a marketing ploy to get people talking about their show and the corps in the close season that year. It worked! The apperance of the piece in the show is by its very nature very debatable. the show concept was something about listening with your eyes so using that piece made sense in theory but you could argue equally validly that what they put on the field was just silent drill at the top of the show and bore no relevance to the original piece.

That's it exactly. When you watching the whole package then a lot of show's have enoughtinterest in the overall package to compensate, but from the perpective of just listening and having an ending that has caused you to leave handprints in the steering wheel and sent you 50 mph over the speed limit without realising - I think that aspect has been squeezed out of shows in recent years. By hook or by crook...I just want goosebumps at the end of a show. Always have, always will!!

Hmmm...92....that or 95 are two of their better ones but not branstormers..imo. Not if you compare to some of the Cadets, Regiment, Vanguard, Devs or Madison endings around that time. Great show 92, but does the last 30 seconds of that show rock you in the same way as say Madison 95, Dev's 92 or Regiment 89?

True, and a loud ending isnt necessarily good, but the point in question is that those barnstorming endings that really set the crowd on fire now seem to be fewer and far between.

There have been many fantastic reviews on this site this year (thanks to all those people) and one of the recurring themes has been the subject of the choppiness of some of the arranging. As someone with a background in the visual side of the activity I can appreciate why that evolution has occurred, though with my 'fan' hat on I can't say that I really like it. Anyway, what I've not seen too much mention of is the impact these segmented arrangements have on the endings of shows... I still love getting the DVD's through to paw over, but the release of the CD's is pretty much a non event for me now, and when I think about it, it's because of the nature of the arranging and the fact that a lot of these shows don’t make sense unless you put the visual with the audio. You can listen to them and apprieciate it but I don’t think the music on its own has enough continuity to take you on the journey that ends in goosebumps. I think that's fair comment? This preamble leads to me to the point I want to make….endings. Despite the continuing evolution of drum corps and the increasing amount corps pack into an 11/12 minute show, has the art of a powerhouse ending fallen by the wayside? Looking back over the last few years, PR03 stands out like a sore thumb to me as a show with an ending that raised the hair on the back of the neck. I hope I don't sound like too much of an old git (Im not), but I don’t think corps do endings like they used to!! They seem to be either too low key or too contrived. How many corps now just go for an extended chord as a way to try and drive a reaction? In 05 there are a number of shows I really like, but I can't think of any corps with a fanastic musical ending. Cadets is sudden but works in the context of the show, Cavies is.. well... a cavies ending (love the visual and the excellence side of things but have they ever had a blow-us-all-away ending?). PR this year had a great show but imo the weakest portion was the last 30 seconds, same with madison, BD… So, has the art of the ending been sacrificed for other considerations? …as an side can anyone name a year where cavies had an ending that gets the hairs to stand up and you wanting to give a spotaneous standing O, wherever you might be listening?? For each of the last 5 years they reaction they get, I think has been due to appreciation of the 11 minutes that has gone before, and not a spontaneous reaction to the actual ending itself. I think there is a distinction between the two and when you get both you can really tell! If anyone from cavies ever happens to read this, hope the above doesn’t read as cavie bashing, call it my personal challenge to you guys for next year! :) Cheers. ps - goosebump winner for me from the audio this year - Cadets ballad. Well done!!

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