[Is Madison Still Madison?]

That's a question I've asked myself repeatedly since Scott Stewart stepped down last year. After attending finals week, I finally have my answer.

I showed up to the Scout's rehearsal on Friday and walked over to the horn arc. They were practicing the part in the show with all the sixteenth-note runs. I was immediately impressed - what a cool effect. The more segments they played, the more I started to hear an in-your-face style I feared would no longer exist. They also had some great lead sopranos - as one would expect any good Madison hornline to have. Yet, as I looked around at the staff, it depressed me to recognize so few faces. It reminded me how betrayed I felt when certain staff members left - many to other corps (namely BD). On a break I spoke to some current members about a few of the changes that had taken place. Some were very disturbing. Under new management there has been a big reduction in free days, allotted rehearsal time for I&E, and sleep. Madison was always a corps that could rehearse for 6 hours, yet be so intense and so efficient that it was as if we had rehearsed for 10 hours.

I tried to keep an open mind as I walked over to the field for coordination. Once they started, I immediately noticed the first two changes I was truly excited about: the color guard and the movement in the drill. The guard was spinning like no Madison guard had spun since 1999. The rifle toss with an emphatic yell on the catch gave me goose bumps. And the hornline was really moving! Plus, they were clean to boot. Their field entrance was spectacular. The average age may have dropped four years, but as they moved across the field in a company front, it was hard to imagine them looking any more intense/intimidating/powerful.

Without the traditional Madison entrance, it was nice to see so many fleurs-de-lis in the show (3 large ones and 2 smaller ones). They eventually did their run-through and I liked it a lot. I was getting very excited for that night's performance when I heard a current Madison employee speak about placements. Quite honestly, it made me sick to my stomach. That type of discussion would have never taken place with Scott around. In general, the staff and the members NEVER cared about the scoring. All that mattered was that we did our absolute best and that we entertained night in and night out. That was it.

That incident put a sour taste in my mouth so I started to have other doubts creep into my mind. Was there too much ballad time? Was the ending exciting enough? Was Madison still Madison?

I got to the stadium for semi's and my seats were in a great location - fairly low in the second level, and on the 40. When it was finally time for Madison to perform I got chills as I saw them take the field. This was it. The Superman suits were on; it was go time. They looked and sounded amazing. They were clean AND entertaining. I got goose bumps multiple times - the type of goose bumps I can only get when watching Madison perform. When they released their final note I was so proud. So proud to have been a Madison Scout. So proud of the current Madison Scouts.

The following day was the Scouts' final rehearsal. Typically this is a rehearsal filled with pranks, and I wondered if that would still be the case. When three contrabasses came up to play the sop trio in the opener, my question was quickly answered.

That night I was going up the elevator in my hotel when someone looked over at me and saw I was wearing a Madison Scouts' shirt. He said, "They had a great show tonight," nodding at my shirt.

"Yeah, they did, didn't they?" I responded.

He came back, "Ya know, they really should have placed a lot higher."

It was unbelievable how many times I heard that comment when I marched. Not being concerned with the whole judging element of drum corps, I never knew how to respond to a statement like that, and that was still the case. I just looked at him and smiled.

Yes, Madison is still Madison.

- Ted Martin

Scouts '97, '99

[Philly Thoughts!]

They have improved a ton. Their scores do not reflect that, and they should. They have come further in the last 10 days than they have all season. It is silly that they are being left out of finals. It really is.

[Philly Thoughts!]

OK, I know some of you read my 15-part review that was posted on RAMD as the show was taking place (with the help of NanciD). However, many of my comments were choppy because I was typing with my thumbs (on my Blackberry) as fast as I could, while simultaneously trying to watch the corps perform!!! My review was good for initial thoughts and first impressions, but now I'd like to comment on some things after having a day to digest what I saw.

Blue Devils:

I really liked them. Going into the show, I had heard many people say they were boring. However, being a former sop player, and a huge guard fan, I couldn't disagree more! I just loved their show. I think they have come a long way since the beginning of the season. I'm not a big fan of the DCI scoring system, but it looks as if they are going to pass Cadets the week of finals. It's funny to think how close Crossmen were to them at the beginning of the year!

BAC/Cadets:

I didn't mind the American theme that these two corps had. However, I did not appreciate the use of props. The pictures and the written signs were so over-the-top! It really jaded my entire opinion of their field shows. I just couldn't enjoy them after seeing those things. It was especially hard to stomach seeing that they performed back-to-back last night. I really hope the Cadets don't do anything additional with the WTC/Firemen theme at Finals.

That being said, the Cadets enore was pheomenal!!! Originally when they announced that BD had lost by .05, I was so disappointed. After seeing the encore, I didn't mind that the Cadets won whatsoever!!!! They were totally jammin'. Their trumpets were on fire. And, I LOVED the guard in the encore. I have never seen that before, but it was really a sight to see. At the end of the encore, the Cadets did a second encore. I was so excited, but I did not appreciate some of the hand gestures the members were doing. They were acting like college football players after scoring a touchdown. I thought they could have used better judgement, and acted more professionally. Don't get me wrong, though, the Cadets victory concert was my favorite part of the night. I liked it more than all of the field shows combined!

Color Guard/Visual:

One thing that I noticed that really separates the top tier corps from the bottom tier corps is the visual program. The corps with more challenging visual and color guard programs tended to score much higher. I LOVE the color guard aspect of drum corps. However, I am sad that it, along with the visual program, has become the main driver of scores. I think that music should be the main driver. I have yet to see the Cavies this year, but I cannot WAIT to. In the past, though, I have always enjoyed the visual portion of their programs MUCH more than their musical portion, and the judges never seem to fault them for lacking musical exectution or, more accurately, musical entertainment.

Madison Scouts:

Many things about this corps, and the way the activity treats this corps, make me sad. I'm sad that their color guard program has deteriorated so much since 1999. They had some killer guards in the late 90's. I thought their '97 guard rivaled any in DCI. I'm not sure why exactly it has deteriorated, but I know there are many factors. Part of it may be the lack of talented guys willing to march drum corps. Much of it may be the difficulty they've had retaining strong staff members. Some of those factors include low pay, importance placed upon hiring staff from alumni, and the lack of emphasis the guard typically has in Madison's shows. One noteable exception was '97, which the guard was featured in a lot, and was a phenomenal year for them. Regardless, the CG members have worked their ##### off this summer, and it shows. Their work is not overly difficult, but it is fairly clean. It just took them until August to make it so.

Starting in '00 the top 3 or 4 corps in DCI really took their drill to another level. Unfortunately, Madison did not do so. If you watch the Cavies the last 2 or 3 years, and then you watch the Scouts, you can see a marked difference in the degree of difficulty and execution. That being said, I think Madison's visual progam is still in the top 6 or 7 in DCI. As you can see, the judges and I clearly disagree.

I have no comments on percussion because I'm not qualified to make them. I thought their drum-line was phenomenal, but I have no basis for arguing that they should score higher.

What makes me most sad about Madison is that the brass line continues to be strong (IMO top 3 in DCI year-in and year-out) and the judging community does not give them credit for that. I can tell you that last night they rivaled BD's brass. Their were loud, powerful, precise, and exciting. Their brass alone should be placing them in the top 10, making finals with ease.

I agree that Madison's shows in '00, '01 and '02 have been sub-par for Madison. I vehemently disagree that their placings have been fair and accurate in those years, however.

Bluecoats:

Loved the show, and loved the entire CG on rifles!

Kiwanis:

I thought their show was very entertaining! I liked it much better than some of the shows that went on significantly later in the evening . . .

Seattle and Spirit:

Congrats to both of them for their Cinderella stories. It would be huge, for obvious reasons, for either/both corps to make finals.

For those of you that missed my top 5's from last night, here they are!

Most entertaining (and most important IMO):

1) blue devils

2) madison (they may have been #1 if they would have performed later in the program. it's so disappointing to see them when it's partially light out and when people are still finding their seats)

3) bluecoats

4) cadets

5) glassmen (this really pleasantly surprised me)

Best color guard:

1) blue devils

2) cadets

3) glassmen

4) bluecoats

5) crossmen (be nice, staff!)

Best brass:

1) blue devils

2) madison

3) bluecoats

4) glassmen

5) cadets

Best percussion:

i'm not really qualified to say, but I really liked BD and Glassmen!

thx