Melissa Sampson

I didn't actually cheer, as I was in disbelief and shock. I did applaud, but really thought BD got robbed. My brother made it to finals for the first time in 6 years, and was kind of rooting for Phantom, but even he didn't think that was a championship show. It's like he told me after the show, when people watch the dvd's back they're going to realize Bd should have won, Cavaliers really should have come in 2nd, and Phantom should have been 3rd. But he was excited for the organization. Congradulations go out to Phantom. It was probably their best show since the mid 90's.

I think Crown, BD, Cavaliers, and SCV would be at the top of the list for this award. Although it wouldn't surprise me if Glassmen, Colts or Blue Stars won it either. I personally don't see a show like Phantom or Cadets winning this award. But if it is more of a fan friendly award, I think it definitely would go to Crown. After the Dubuque show, when they were announcing scores, everyone was like...You mean the good corps didn't win?-talking about Crown.

1. Blue Devils 2. Cavaliers 3. Cadets Top 3 all within a point Next 3 are 2 points back of Cadets and all within 1.2 of each other 4. Carolina Crown 5. Santa Clara Vanguard 6. Phantom Regiment 7. Bluecoats At least 1.5 back from top 6, and at least 1 .25 ahead of Boston 8. Boston Crusaders 9. Blue Knights BAC and BK within half a point of each other and over 2 points ahead of Blue Stars 10. Blue Stars 11. Glassmen 12. Colts Colts are last corps in, barely ahead of Crossmen and MS by tenths of a point. 13. Crossmen 14. Madison Scouts 15. Spirit 13-15 all within a point of each other 16. Troopers 17. Academy 18. Pacific Crest 16-18 all within a point of each other 19. Mandarins 20. Pioneer

Funny that you should bring that up. At the beginning of the year, when they announced their show selections, I was like WHAT? I thought the selections seemed cheesy, and the combination of those together were going to be horrible. I had my mind made up I was probably not going to like this show, after having loved them so much last year. And then I saw the show. WOW!!!!! So while I would have never chosen those pieces together, what Crown has done with them is nothing short of amazing. Great musical book, great drill, amazing guardwork. I think this show is definitely top 3 level this year. And while I don't see them beating Cavies or BD this season, I think this show can definitely compete with anyone else in the 3-7 bracket. And if they continue on the path they are currently on, I can definitely see them contending for a championship in the next few years.

I think both Crown and Bluecoats have put out some awesome shows the last few years. Both corps are finally breaking into the top 7, and are really starting to challenge even the top 3. 2 years ago I would have probably given the edge to Bluecoats, but this year the advantage definitely goes to Crown. Great show design, great performance from the corps. I think either Crown or Bluecoats will be the next new champion. Right now I would guess Crown.

Percussion Phantom or Cavies Brass Blue Devils Guard Crown or Blue Devils

I have no clue how Phantom beat Blue Devils in brass last night. Phantom is NOWHERE near the level of BD in brass. I think the judges are just trying to make a game out of it now. But I don't see Phantom, Crown, or SCV coming anywhere near the level of Cavaliers and Blue Devils. I have finally now seen both live, and I would give a slight edge to Blue Devils. Although it has been 2 weeks since I have seen Cavies live.

I really thought the only caption Phantom should have won was maybe drums. Everywhere else, it was obvious Blue Devils were worlds ahead of Phantom. I don't understand how Phantom even came close in brass, with several intonation issues. I would have had Blue Devils about 4 points up on Phantom last night. Having now seen both Cavies and Blue Devils live, I think these 2 are definitely on a collision course to the championship. Without a question of a doubt the 2 best designed shows of the year.

19 World Class corps are putting out some wonderful shows this year(95%-not bad at all) Blue Stars have a great show that could put them in finals. Troopers have my favorite show from them in many years. Carolina Crown took music I didn't think would work well together, and turned it into an awesome program. I am grateful that Bluecoats microphones/amps etc weren't working in Madison. I am TOTALLY excited that the Dubuque, Normal, and Madison shows didn't get rained out like it looked like was going to happen. I am really glad that corps other than the top 3 are in the hunt to win caption awards. I am also really glad that finals are only a 6 hour drive this year.

I would now come close to agreeing with this, just switch the places of Bluecoats and Crown, and the placements of Colts and Blue Stars, and I think this is pretty close to what we could see come finals week. I know after Rockford, I didn't think the Cavies had the show to win, but after having seen it twice more now, I really think this is the show to beat. It definitely isn't my favorite Cavies show of all time, but it is a very good and complete package, the kind that usually wins finals at DCI. I think Boston is another surprise this year. Great show, filled with great music and lots of Visual GE. I now wouldn't be surprised if they tagged either Coats or Crown during the season. There are some awesome shows out there this year. I can't wait to see them all at finals week.

I was looking through my 97 DCI program, and it had scores from all the past DCI quarters, prelims, etc. I noticed there used to be alot of All-Girl drum corps, in fact, they had their own division. I know the Bandettes were an all girl corps fairly recently, and they seemed to have disappeared, other than doing parades still the last I heard. But what actually happened with the all girl corps? Did they all just fold, so DCI discontinued that part of the competition? Or did DCI eliminate that part of the competition, so they had nowhere to perform? I haven't seen any discussion on this before, so please forgive me if this topic has been discussed before.

Cadets also did that in their 99(think that was the year) production. Very cool move when the rifle is caught.

I would love to march with Troopers guard, now all I have to do is get a fake ID saying I am still 21. I have talked with a few girls in the local band about possibly marching colorguard, but still haven't found anyone that is able to do so yet. But I am gonna keep trying. I would love to see Troopers, along with some of the underdogs move up in the standings. It is so great to see them come back.

In all honesty, I think most of the corps directors know exactly where almost every single judge is going to put them, regardless of their performance at any given time. That is also part of the reason the scores are usually extremely predictable, all during the course of the season. I do think this thread is a good one. It is nice to see if one judge completely slams a certain corps every time they see that corps, regardless of that corps performance. I will be interested to see the stats during the course of the season.

As much as I would love to see Phantom in an all black uni again, I just don't think any uniform changes would be a good financial decision at this time.

Thank you for your point of view. And all the others who put them on here. I agree with many points you brought up. On the Capital Sound, I completely disagree. I thought CC had them beat last year in most areas of the show. Better GE, better hornline(and no, bigger isn't always better either) better guard. I really thought the performance level of CC was on par with CS as well. Being slighted isn't exactly what I meant, let me try to explain it out a little better. If you have seen the Colt Cadets in the past, you know what I mean. It used to be a bunch of 8-13 year olds, with little musical knowledge, and poorly performed easily written drill. Cute and fun to watch at the beginning of the evening. Now the level has definitely gone up. I am not saying they are anywhere near the level of the top Open Class corps, but they are definitely improving, and better than alot of the lower level Open Class corps. In almost any year up to last year, I would have agreed Capital Sound was better. But last year, I really thought Colt Cadets had stepped up their game, and Capital Sound was a little weaker than normal, and CC should have beaten them. Definitely in every contest I saw them in together. It is nice to see at least one midwest corps with a feeder unit. It is also nice to see the level of that group rising. Colt Cadets should be very proud of their performance. I would just like to see the scores and placements reflect the actual show, and maybe less of what the judges perceptions of the corps are(happens in World Class DI all the time too)

I have to say, I don't think BK should conform to anything. I like the shows they put out every year. I think they use great music, and have some cool drill. Even the top corps have used some unusual guardwork, or dance movements, or something unusual in their show(Cavies 94 comes mind) So what if the judges don't score it with a 90? I can't wait to see their show in Dubuque on Thursday night, and in Madison on Saturday. I am disappointed they aren't in Bloominton on Friday. As far as members leaving and going to other corps, I bet they don't experience that anywhere near the level of Pioneer, Blue Stars, Colts, and many other corps. As alot of people on here have discussed, if all the members that started in one corps to gain experience, stayed in that corps instead of leaving for a higher placing corps, all of the corps would be alot closer to the same level. Anyway, I would almost bet that I am once again going to love the Blue Knights this year.

I will start out by saying I absolutely love the youtube site. Millions of people put wonderful entertaining, and sometimes very odd videos up. Some are good quality, some you can't even hardly see a picture. And during the summer, hundreds of new and wonderful drum corps videos pop up, only to sometime be taken down in a matter of minutes. Ok, I understand copyrights and all that, but in all honesty, what does it really hurt for a drum corps video to be posted for a week or 2? Some corps actually post their own videos on there, as well as their own websites. If I am not mistaken, I believe Cavaliers, Cadets and Blue Devils have all posted their own corps videos on there from time to time. There are also hundreds of high school marching bands that post their videos on there, and none of the publishing companies seem to have any complaints about their usage on the site. so here are the questions I have, and I would love to hear what others think of that website, and everything. If copyrights are the issue, why are some of the corps(and marching bands) putting their own videos on there? When someone does post a drum corps video, who are the complaints to get it taken off coming from? The corps themselves? DCI? BMI and ASCAP, the owners of the copyrights? And really what is the problem with a 2 minute, low quality video being on there? What is it actually hurting? It's not like anyone is making money on them. If DCI or the corps are having them pulled, I think they are actually hurting themselves more by doing that. I think the advertising benefits alone are amazing, from having these videos posted. I don't expect anyone would not buy a cd or dvd, just because they saw 3 minutes of low quality version of the show on the internet. If anything, when I see these online, I just want to see the show live more, or get the cd or high quality dvd in my hands.

I may have misunderstood the original posters question. I also may be misunderstanding the use of the word "Transition" In that case, I would say that Cadets and Cavaliers use the MOST transitions, as the music is sometimes almost never ending, like the drill. And the transitions are basically seamless from both corps. I guess sometimes I type faster than my brain functions.

Colts are looking and sounding GREAT this year. I thought last year was possibly their best show ever, and this year is looking awesome as well. I saw them in Rockford, and thought they had the best colorguard of the night. Other corps may have had more difficult shows guardwise, but Colts seemed the most solid of all of them. That hornline is fantastic. And I think the drumline has improved since last year as well. I think they will definitely remain in the top 12 this season. Probably in the 9-10 position. Go COLTS!!!

I have really enjoyed Oregon Crusaders shows over the last few years. We had heard a rumor in the midwest here that they had folded. I am so glad to see that isn't true. Best of luck OC this season!!!

Best of luck to you with your corps next year. I am sorry I won't be able to see you perform, since I live in the midwest. Hopefully you will be successful, and put out a cd and dvd of your performance, so those of us that aren't lucky enough to see you can at least buy a cd and dvd of your show.

Ok, I know there was only one show for them so far, but doesn anyone else think the last 2 years, they haven't really gotten any respect. I noticed it last year when they were alot better than Capital Sound, but Capital Sound was beating them in almost every show. Don't get me wrong, I really love Capital Sound, but Colt Cadets were much better than them all year last year, and only beat them in a few shows. Then last night, they were up against Racine Scouts. I like the Racine Scouts, but the spread was nowhere near where it should have been. There honestly should have been a 12-15 point spread between the 2 corps. I know the Colt Cadets have really gone through some changes the last couple of years, and the average age of the members has probably increased by about 3 years. Now I am not saying they will be in the running for top 5 in open class, but it seems like the judges still score them like the little kids corps they used to be, instead of an open class corps. Almost as if they are programmed with the score without even watching the open class corps. Just my thoughts. Anyone else notice that, especially the last 2 years?

You are right, I have not seen Cadets or BD. I am also not saying they ARE going to beat Cavaliers, but they are the only 2 corps I think would have the possibility of beating Cavies at this time. I also haven't seen Coats or SCV, and those would be the other 2 corps that could possibly sneak in and beat Cavies, but I don't expect either of them will. At this time, that is my opinion, and that could change after seeing everyone else.

After last night, I thought Phantom had a very good first showing. I thought the spread was a little off between them and Cavies, but then I thought the spreads were wrong all across the board. I thought Cavies should have been closer to 2 points ahead of Phantom. The spread between Phantom and Crown was probably close to being right. I don't think Phantom is going to beat Cavies at all this year. The visual package and colorguard is going to hold them back. Phantom did have an awesome brass line, and could be a challenge for the brass trophy. I thought Colts were a little underscored, and should have been at least 4-5 points ahead of Blue Stars. Great performances by both corps, just thought Colts had a little better package and performance. I think at the end of the season, they will be within a point, but I don't foresee Blue Stars overtaking Colts this season. Blue Stars really should have had a bigger margin over Scouts. I thought they were at least 3 points better at this time. The placements were correct, but the scores were nowhere near what they should have been, but that is just my opinion. On the Open Class side, I think the judging was even worse. I thought Colt Cadets should have won by at least 12-14 points. There was absolutely no comparison. I like Racine Scouts, and I give them a world of credit coming out with about the minimum number of members, but in every aspect of the shows, Colt Cadets should have been 2.5-3 points better than Racine Scouts. I also thought last year, the judges kind of held Colt Cadets back, as in early shows they were getting beat by Capital Sound, and they were much better than them as well. It's almost as if the judges are looking at them being a feeder corps, instead of an actual open class drum corps. I thought Colt Cadets score was probably accurate last night, but Racine Scouts were probably given a little extra credit(I did like your show Racine Scouts-can't wait to see it again next weekend)