bluestarsfco

I think the Cadets had enough big props this year But seriously...I actually did like the ballad piece, but I couldn't hear the singer AT ALL from where I was sitting, which was admittedly in the upper deck. But where I sit should not matter. Unless they intend to deny the "cheap seats" the pleasuring of hearing the entire spectrum of the music, which I highly doubt.

I unfortunately didn't get the chance to see MSARP, thought I'm sure I would've enjoyed the #### out of it. I'm rather surprised that no one has mentioned the Royal Aires Reunion Corps though. Are they not worth mentioning with the other recent reunion corps (27, Star, SCV Alumni, etc.)

Actually, there IS one corps I feel that way about, and it's not the Cavaliers. And no, I won't say who it is. Granted, it's just me being stereotypical, but hey, we all have our weaknesses.

Good. I hope they do that next year. They have so much talent that just gets obfuscated by an attempt at some sort of far-out concept of "art." Just march and play great music well!

Well, don't take my word for it. I'm curious to see what other people thought from their vantage point. My impression was that people sat on their hands and the show just kind of ended. Crowd response was not comparable to any other finals I've been at. I wish I could have hope, but my bet is that that they will continue to try to expand their vision of drum corps, crowd be ######. Oh and, if you're going to make your corps the poster child for amps & electronics, for god's sake, at least get it to WORK. Every other corps that chose to use it seemed to be able to.

All I can say is, I hope all the money spent on design staff, props, electronics and amplification were worth it. Crowd didn't seem to be buying it where I was sitting. Especially since we couldn't hear any of the narration, vocals or singing. And no, it was not from the thunderous applause.

I'm probably going to get flamed big time for saying this, but I disagree. I thought across the board that performance/execution was UP, but the show designs this year (in general) SUCKED. The euphemism of "polishing a turd" comes to find. Polish and perfect a turd all you want....it's still a turd. Yes, there were some shows that stood out as being spectacular shows, but the majority were boring, uninteresting, and unispiring (IMHO). Blue Knights for instance. What happened to playing actual music that has at least a glimmer of a theme? It just seems like most it has become "effects" instead of music (yeah yea, drum corps is art, I know.) I think the corps that most ipidomizes this shift is the Madison Scouts. Comparing the crowd response in 1999 vs 2006, it's not even in the ballpark. In '99, with a much less "refined" product, the Scouts lit that place up with standing ovations after every piece and probably 5 minutes worth of applause after they were off the field. This year? Eh...another corps show...that ended with a Fleiur de Lis. I almost hate to say this, but I actually was more entertained by the USMC D&BC than pretty much all of the Bottom 6. Maybe because they played music you could clap to, and sounded good doing it. Now again, I'm NOT dispairaging the members AT ALL. Like I said, the performance and achievement was high across the board. They obviously worked their butts of with what they were given and achieved a lot. I just think that they were not given very good "products" to perform this year. So is DCI improving? In regards to entertaining show design, I say no way.

I've noticed another addition to this list lately. Polo shirts with the collars turned up. Personally, I'd stick with the hawaiian shirt.

I don't mean to hijack the thread, but I just thought I'd offer some clarification/history. The corps started doing a majority of the camps from the Twin Cities area in '04. Mainly for reasons like lack of affordable and spacious rehearsal space in the La Crosse area. Having spent the first 24 years of my life in the La Crosse area, I can also say that the local band programs are not as strong as other areas of the country, and the marching programs are a joke. Other musical activities get much more focus (Show Choir for instance.) So there really hasn't been a recruiting base for many many years. Twin Cities though, as you mentioned is a mere 2 or so hours from La Crosse and has a wealth of talent, many of which have been going to many other successful corps for many years. Also, as was mentioned, there is a wealth of great All-Age corps opportunities that soak up a lot of that talent. So for the Blue Stars, it was pretty obvious to look to the Twin Cities area. The current Executive Director, Brad Furlano, is an Onalaska native (like me), which is connected to La Crosse. The home office is, always has been, and will probably continue to be in La Crosse, especially with Brad being local. I would be remiss if I didn't mention that we've received key grants from the La Crosse Foundation that have gone a long ways towards setting the corps up for the successes it is seeing now. In regards to La Crescent, MN , the Blue Stars are actually a merger between the La Crescent Apple Arrows parade corps and the Blue Stars parade corps.

I just purchased 89, 92, 93, 96, and 99. They take the "4th one free" off after you pay. Your Invoice at the end will say the total, but you'll get an e-mail with a new invoice that shows the reduced price. Kinda wierd, but I'll take it. No coupons for me though :(

From one ugly uni to another. At least the old one had some historical significance.

Have you seen the VHS versions of any of those shows? Is it any better?

I think they always mic the crowd at finals. So they can include the crowd reaction. It's fairly easy to tell on a recording when the crowd ISN'T miced because you barely hear them at all. Well that sucks that they couldn't fix it. I'm surprised that NOBODY on DCP has that year. Sure would like some feedback...

By "bad" I mean an overabundance of pit vs the rest of the corps. Especially when cymbals come in. It obscures the rest of the corps. The end of the Blue Devils show is #### near impossible to hear. It would be nice if they were able to correct the balance somehow, but I'm betting not.

Does anyone here have the '95 Legacy DVDs? I'm planning on "upgrading" a few years from VHS, and I'm wondering if they were able to do anything to improve the sound quality from the old VHS & CD verions? I'm guessing not since you can't do much when the original recording is bad, but I just thought I'd ask before I spend the $$$.

Are you kidding? I think trumpet lines in general sound thinner and tinnier than just about any soprano line I've heard. ESPECIALLY in the upper range.

As a performer, it always pumped me up to hear the crowd yelling for us. The corps that is...not individual performers (ie kryyystalll"). As such, I think the "Vanguard Yell" is perfectly appropriate. If I were marching Vanguard, I know I'd look forward to hearing it from the field.

Hot ####! Wish I could've been there for that! What are they doing between playing? Is that singing or mouthpiece buzzing?

Thanks for the mental picture Bozz. Now back to drum corps!

Looks like a stock band uniform. I do like the color of the sash though.

I was at the show last night. Yes, the fleu-de-lis IS hard to make out, and I thought the exact same thing you said. It's silver, but it's such a light shade of silver that it doesn't really stick out from a distance. They'd might as well just have a plain white jacket. Yes, the mirror is too low. And it doesn't really work at all on the uniform. They should just dump it. I liked the guard uniforms. In general, I miss the 88-02 uniforms A LOT. I miss the days when corps had the balls to wear leg stripes. Both this and the last version is just way too TIGHT. I'm waiting for the day when someone comes out with a full spandex uniform that totally contours to the body, because that's how it's heading the way everyone is fitting their unis these days. Regarding the "clean" look, to me it just looks "santized". Very lacking in character and BLAH. That being said, I agree with the poster who said the all-green would look good.

For all you Blue Stars fans out there, here are some photos from this weekend: Sunfish Days Parade in Onalaska, WI - 5/27/06 Sectional Rehearsal @ Camp Decorah - 5/28/06 Memorial Day Parade in La Crosse, WI - 5/29/06 Most of the corps is there but they're still waiting for 15 some horns, some percussion and some guard which should be arriving later this week. The corps is sounding great with the new set of horns and drums!

In any case, from reading the Blue Stars forum, it would appear that the staff this year is taking a more "traditional" approach with the marching style. That is, no "hard pivots" or hip-ball changes. I'll be interested to see what kind of marching style they'll be going with this year.

The technique is more "difficult" at high speeds than a simple placement, but it isn't impossible, nor is difficulty a reason not to march with a particular technique. Unless your only goal is to make marching easy, with no regard to style. As far as degrading sound, I stand by my statement. What your lower body does should not have any effect on what your upper does. Again, with proper technique. I'm sure you could find a way to have ANY marching style impact your sound if you're doing it wrong. But now we're talking about training and execution, not technique. I agree though. The argument is silly because there are a myriad of styles out there, and all are effective. Just look at Phantom '96. They marched their opener using a bycicle step, and used their regular technique for the rest of the show. And of course, I agree with Orpheus.

No offense, but most of you sound like you've never done a "hard pivot" (a.k.a. hip-ball change) in your life. They're not any "harder on the body", and they aren't particularly hard to do at fast tempos if you're using proper technique. Sure you can blow out knees, but hip-ball changes having nothing to do with the knees. In fact, it seems that the Cadets have lots of injuries year in and year out...and they march straight leg. So I don't see your point. In terms of continuity of playing, again, I don't see your point. If you're you're using proper technique, you won't hear it in your sound. It's all about seperating your upper body from your lower body, regardless of what marching technique you're using. So your statement is just plain wrong. From a flow standpoint, it's a style thing. As far as a placement being "exciting"...how can a technique who's goal is to be unnoticed be "exciting"? As Miranda said, the hip-ball change transition is used because it has a different effect than a simple placement of the foot. Are they more challenging to teach? Yeah. Are they harder to clean? perhaps. But the effect is worth it.