Tupid_06

My top 3 favorite shows so far: 1. Bluecoats 2. Troopers 3. Blue Stars

I really want to see an "Aliens" themed show after listening to the soundtrack from the movie...there is a LOT of really cool music and sound effects that I think could be pulled off in a modern drum corps show. "Ripley's Rescue" is probably my favorite overall theme from the soundtrack, but I like many parts of different songs from the soundtrack too. I think an Aliens theme would fit well with what the Mandarins have been doing the past few years...but I'd love to see other corps produce shows with a dark/suspenseful vibe to it.

I didn't say what they are doing is not difficult, and you did point that out...however, I think we are interpreting things a little differently. You seem focused on difficulty from a performance standpoint, and I am more focused on difficulty from a design standpoint. Not sure if that makes sense, but I'll try and explain: I think the beginning of the show is done about as well as they can do from a performance standpoint. I'm not expecting them to be running and gunning to the 2008 Cavaliers drill while jumping over each other while playing Flight of the Bumblebee. I know what their limitations are, and I think what they are doing visually along with the music is fine for the most part. Most of my issues with the show come from the ballad onward. From the design standpoint, I think that what they do doesn't expose them to error as much as...say...Carolina Crown 2012 for example, or other shows where the corps are more focused visually on moving and acting as one unit most of the time. There is a lot of "individuality" going on in BD's show that make it nearly impossible to determine if what they are doing is actually clean and precise. How do you judge the cleanliness of something when there are so many different things going on and everything is different? Doing that eliminates the risk of making a definitive mistake, and I think it really limits how exposed you are compared to corps that behave more as a unit when they are marching or utilizing body movement...therefore I don't consider BD 2017 as difficult in that sense. Performing a show like Carolina Crown did in 2012, or any of the Gaines-era Cavalier shows opens the corps up to visual mistakes being made and easily caught, whereas a show designed more like BD 2017 masks finding any visual mistakes in many places by utilizing individual movement instead of movement that is the same across many people in a definitive formation. I hope that clarifies what I meant, because I feel like I'm saying something different than what you think.

I would say those are both issues in regard to BD 2017 and some of the more modern shows and their drill. Sure, they are doing some difficult things while playing, but a lot of the time it doesn't involve marching and doesn't leave them as exposed to error.

My answer would be the part from about 12:05-12:30, but even so, it's just a few small groups of rotating lines and boxes that doesn't come across as visually impressive as what Star did with 42 (?) people in one rotating box. The BD 2017 show lacked a lot of the visual velocity that made other shows exciting, and it would have been nice to have more of those moments to compliment some of the music they played. This year, SCV seems to be one of the main corps that lacks that kind of velocity in their drill...although I suspect that a new ending will be put in and then they will have a very similar formula to their show from last year that put most of the visual demand in that last minute. I think that having only 30 seconds to a minute of exciting drill isn't enough considering that corps like the Cavaliers and Cadets in the 2000's were exciting or interesting to watch for nearly their entire show. I think BAC has the most exciting visual program this year, but I still prefer what most drum corps were doing a decade ago, and in some cases, even 2 decades ago or more.

You said that the box rotation in the opener for '91 Star was the hardest thing they did all show. What would you say the hardest thing is that BD did in 2017 drill-wise? Edit: I'm asking for an example from 2017, because I think that their 2014 show has many exposed visual moments in their drill while the 2017 show does not have nearly as many. I already know my answer, but it would be interesting to hear another opinion on this.

I just started watching the video and I can already tell you that they actually did march and play quite a bit in BD 2014, and I already know the conclusion you came to within the first two minutes of watching. Had you chosen BD 2017 I think you would get a much different result.

While I sort of agree with your take, the timing also creates buzz while everyone (including potential marchers) is tuned into DCI and paying attention to the activity. If they announce it after the season has ended a lot less people would know about this until the following summer when they tune back in to DCI. Edit: Just realized they actually have their 2020 audition packets up already.

All I really care about is what kind of show they do next season at this point. I just want something that is designed well, entertaining, and that still has that Scouts "vibe" to it. Allowing women into the corps doesn't mean they have to completely change that, and it even opens up more opportunities for them design-wise. If allowing women into the corps is the catalyst that gives the leadership an excuse to ditch the MS brand and become completely unrecognizable from their show design and music, then that is when I know the leadership is complete garbage. I've already had more patience here than most regarding CK and DP, but if they come out with a show next year that looks and sounds like it was designed for a completely different corps or some BOA band like last year's show then that's when I join the rest of the people calling for leadership changes.

I'm just hoping that whatever they do next year, it still feels like a show the Madison Scouts would do. I like this year's show too, but I just wish they did more with it. If they completely change their style and put out shows similar to what BK, Blue Stars, and some other corps do then I will be worried. I thought Last Man Standing was a pretty good show that pushed the boundaries for them, but I still felt a bit of Madison in it. I don't know if they could push it much further in that direction and still sound like the Madison Scouts though.

Well...I guess I'm going to have to wait until next year to decide if this move was worth it. I don't really know what to think right now.

I always thought the cross into the star at the end of 1999 Madison's Jesus Christ Superstar was a really good example of this.

Some of my thoughts: I like the music. The chords at the end of Young Person's Guide are something I haven't heard in decades, but I remember those types of chords from the 70's and 80's shows being common. Visually, there are some cool things going on, especially at the end of Backlash. Only complaints I have are that there are many opportunites to add some body movement that would help sell the show more. I'm not a huge fan of the modern body movement corps are incorporating, but I'm sure there are things they have done in the past that would work in moments where not much is going on visually. There are some rough transitions between songs, but I'm hoping they come up with something that makes the show flow better. Just a suggestion, but I feel like the closer needs a soloist at some point. If they are trying to mimic the old closers that the Scouts did, they all had a soloist in there, and "One Voice" is just calling for it in my opinion. The brass sounds a bit dirty and young, but I'm hoping they can improve a lot over the next few weeks. I do appreciate this kind of show, but there are many things they could do to make it better to sell it to the audience.

Just because a show is more entertaining doesn't mean that it will score higher a lot of the time (example: 90's Scouts). I do like Phantom's show more than the Blue Stars and Cadets so far, but I feel like all the other corps at Detroit were cleaner and had more going on with their shows, even if I didn't like some of them as much, but I can understand why they score higher most of the time. To be a good judge, I feel like you have to ignore whatever emotion a show gives you and just look at the content of the show and the execution. It takes a really good eye and ear to do that, and things don't come across nearly as clear on the big screen as they do live.

2008 Phantom Regiment probably. There just aren't that many other shows that get me as immersed and excited as that one.